Erik Wolpaw: A Video Game Writing Legend

Erik Wolpaw is a renowned video game writer known for his contributions to iconic titles like Half-Life 2, Portal, and Psychonauts. He has also co-founded a popular gaming website and received recognition for his compelling storytelling and dialogue writing.
American video game writer
Erik Wolpaw
Wolpaw in 2012
Born
United States
NationalityAmerican
OccupationVideo game writer

Erik Wolpaw is an American video game writer. He and Chet Faliszek wrote the pioneering video game website Old Man Murray. He subsequently worked for game developers Double Fine Productions and Valve, and is known for his work on video games including Half-Life 2, Psychonauts, Portal, Portal 2 and Half-Life: Alyx.

Career

As a high-school student, Wolpaw wrote two games for the Atari 8-bit computers published as type-in programs in Antic magazine in 1983 and 1984. From 1997 to 2002, Wolpaw and Chet Faliszek wrote the video game-oriented website Old Man Murray. The site was highly influential in video game writing and game journalism. He also wrote for GameSpot.

He subsequently worked at Double Fine Productions as a writer for Psychonauts. In 2006, he won the Game Developers Choice Award for Best Writing for his story and dialogue contributions to Psychonauts. In 2004, Wolpaw joined Valve, where he and Faliszek wrote for games such as Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal and Portal 2. He left Valve in February 2017 to write for Psychonauts 2, though he ended up not working on it. In January 2019, he confirmed that he had returned to Valve as a part-time contractor on Artifact and Half-Life: Alyx.

Personal life

In 2004, Wolpaw was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. Expecting his condition to require a departure from the company, he spoke with managing director Gabe Newell, who surprised him by offering an extended leave with pay. "Your job is to get better," Newell said. "That is your job description at Valve. So go home to your wife and come back when you are better."

Works

Year Title Credits
2005 Psychonauts Co-writer
2006 Half-Life 2: Episode One Writer
2007 Half-Life 2: Episode Two Writer
2007 Portal Writer
2008 Left 4 Dead Co-writer
2011 Portal 2 Writer
2018 Artifact Writer
2020 Half-Life: Alyx Co-writer
2022 Aperture Desk Job Writer