Report on the death of Danielle Bunten Berry

Giant List archive, July 11, 1998

I heard about this earlier this week, but as it seemed almost a rumor I held off until I received confirmation: possibly the greatest computer game designer of all time, Danielle Bunten Berry, passed away just over a week ago. She was best known for Ozark Softscape's legendary M.U.L.E. and Seven Cities of Gold, but those are just two highlights of an astounding career. Cartels & Cutthroats is an Apple II classic. Robot Rascals is an experimental software and board game combo designed for family play. And Modem Wars beat the network craze by a full five years.

Dani's hallmark was the multi-player game, as anyone who's ever sat down with three friends for a game of M.U.L.E. can attest to. When jaded, hotshot 3D coders get together for an afternoon party in 1998, and drag out an Atari 800 to play M.U.L.E.—now there's a design for the ages.

A memorial page has been set up at Mpath which goes into her amazing life and career much better than I possibly could.