Ellen Beeman

{{short description| American fantasy and science fiction author, television}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Ellen Beeman

| image = Ellen Beeman, Microsoft Game Studios' Lead Producer, at Game Design Expo 2009 (3672899996) (cropped).jpg

| caption = Ellen Beeman at Game Design Expo 2009

| occupation = Independent Game Developer, Instructor at DigiPen Institute of Technology

| website = https://www.ellenbeeman.com/

}}

Ellen Guon Beeman is an American fantasy and science fiction author, television screenwriter and computer game designer/producer. She has published four novels and has worked on over 40 video games.

Career in the game industry

Ellen Beeman describes herself as "mom, videogame designer and producer, author, gadget geekette, Celtic fiddler, former TV writer and city commissioner, etc."{{Cite web|url=https://www.ellenbeeman.com/single-post/2018/01/01/About-Me|title=EllenBeeman.com|website=EllenBeeman.com|date=January 2018 |language=en|access-date=2018-04-09}}

In 1989, Beeman left a career in television writing and was hired by Sierra Online as a project manager.{{cite web|url=http://www.gamezebo.com/2007/10/women_in_gaming_ellen_beeman_c.html |title=Women in Gaming: Ellen Beeman, Carbonated Games |author=Bell, Erin |publisher=Gamezebo.com |date=October 5, 2007 |access-date=2007-10-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009083104/http://www.gamezebo.com/2007/10/women_in_gaming_ellen_beeman_c.html |archive-date=October 9, 2007 }} She worked as a writer and project manager at Origin Systems for several Wing Commander titles.

Beeman worked on five games in the Wing Commander series before deciding to move away from sci-fi aerial combat games. She described her experience working on the games as intense, recalling how the images of spaceship afterburners became so ingrained in her mind that she felt she needed to take a break from the genre. This led her to leave Origin Systems, where she had worked on the Wing Commander series.

Despite her departure from the franchise, Beeman has expressed that Wing Commander II remains one of the projects she is most proud of in her career. She noted that, while she moved on from the genre, the impact of the game and the work she did on it holds a special place in her professional achievements. "Faculty XP: Ellen Beeman Piloting 'Wing Commander II' in the Early '90s." DigiPen, https://www.digipen.edu/showcase/news/faculty-xp-ellen-beeman-piloting-wing-commander-ii-early-90s-acclaim. Accessed March 2025.

In 2006, she was ranked in the top 100 most influential women in the game industry by Edge Online (formerly next-gen.biz).{{cite web |url=http://www.next-gen.biz/features/game-industrys-100-most-influential-women |title=Game Industry's 100 Most Influential Women |access-date=2008-07-23 |publisher=Edge Online |date=September 11, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110625083858/http://www.next-gen.biz/features/game-industrys-100-most-influential-women |archive-date=June 25, 2011 |df=mdy }} At the time, she was Lead Program Manager at Microsoft Casual Games, a producer role.

Beeman has also been credited at Monolith Productions, Electronic Arts and Disney. She has lectured at many video game industry conferences, including Game Developers Conference, LOGIN, SXSW Interactive, Microsoft Gamefest, PAX and PAX Dev, and Game Design Expo. She is one of the founders as well as formerly the Program Chair for Women in Games International.

As of 2019, she is an independent video game developer and consultant in Kirkland, Washington, and an associate professor at DigiPen Institute of Technology.{{citation|title=Speaker bios: Ellen Beeman, Co-Owner, Gizmocracy|publisher=Penny Arcade Expo|work=PAX Conference schedule, August 28–29, 2013|url=http://dev.paxsite.com/speakers/bio/ellen-beeman|access-date=2013-11-26|archive-date=January 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109062242/http://dev.paxsite.com/speakers/bio/ellen-beeman|url-status=dead}}{{citation|publisher=Washington Secretary of State|title=Corporations registration: GIZMOCRACY LLC|date=December 6, 2009|url=http://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/search_detail.aspx?ubi=602974085|access-date=2013-11-26}}{{citation |title=Game Nite 2: Speaker bios |publisher=EMP Museum |date=May 2013 |url=http://www.empmuseum.org/game-nite-2-game-over-speaker-bios.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501192105/http://www.empmuseum.org/game-nite-2-game-over-speaker-bios.aspx |archive-date=May 1, 2013 |df=mdy }}{{citation|title=THIS FRIDAY! GAME NITE 2: GAME OVER|url=http://www.igdaseattle.org/wordpress/?p=568|publisher=International Game Developers Association Seattle chapter|date=May 7, 2013|access-date=2013-11-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130145531/http://www.igdaseattle.org/wordpress/?p=568|archive-date=January 30, 2018|url-status=dead}}