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{{Infobox person
| name               = Sandy Petersen
| image              = Sandy Petersen 01.jpg
| image_size         = 200px
| caption            = Petersen at [[Lucca Comics & Games]] 2011
| birth_name         = Carl Sanford Joslyn Petersen
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1955|09|16}}
| birth_place        = [[St. Louis, Missouri]]
| occupation         = [[Game designer]]
| years_active  = 1980 - present
| notable_works = [[Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game)|''Call of Cthulhu'']] (1981)<br/>''[[Doom (1993 video game)|Doom]]'' (1993)<br/>''[[Doom II]]'' (1994)<br/>''[[Quake (video game)|Quake]]'' (1996)
}}

'''Carl Sanford Joslyn "Sandy" Petersen''' (born September 16, 1955) is an American [[game designer]]. He worked at [[Chaosium]], contributing to the development of ''[[RuneQuest]]'' and creating the acclaimed and influential horror [[role-playing game]] [[Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game)|''Call of Cthulhu'']]. He later joined [[id Software]] where he worked on the development of the [[Doom (franchise)|''Doom'' franchise]] and [[Quake (video game)|''Quake'']]. As part of [[Ensemble Studios]], Petersen subsequently contributed to the ''[[Age of Empires]]'' franchise.

==Biography==
Petersen was born in [[St. Louis, Missouri]] and developed a love for dinosaurs at age 3. He studied [[zoology]] at [[Brigham Young University]] and later attended the [[University of California, Berkeley]], majoring in [[entomology]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Petersen |first1=Sandy |title=Yithian Evolution |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obbvwh1eRC0 |website=YouTube |date=10 December 2021 |access-date=23 March 2022}}</ref>

Petersen is a practicing member of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], but sees no conflict between his faith and his design of games involving Satanic elements. While working on ''Doom'', he said to [[John Romero]], "I have no problems with the demons in the game. They're just cartoons. And, anyway, ''they're'' the bad guys."<ref name="Masters of Doom p144">Kushner (2003), p.144.</ref>

==Work==
===Chaosium===
Petersen became a full-time staff member at [[Chaosium]] in 1982.<ref name="designers p86">Appelcline (2011), p.86.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Meet the Team |url=https://petersengames.com/meet-the-team/}}</ref> His interest for role-playing games and [[H. P. Lovecraft]] were fused when he became principal author of Chaosium's game ''[[Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game)|Call of Cthulhu]]'', published 1981,<ref name="Dragon197">{{cite journal|title=Eye of the Monitor|author=Petersen, Sandy|journal=[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]|issue=197|date=September 1993|pages=57–62}}</ref> and many scenarios and background pieces thereafter.<ref name="HG p144">Petersen (2007), p.144.</ref>

He authored several critically acclaimed ''RuneQuest'' supplements for [[Avalon Hill]] and [[Games Workshop]].<ref name="HG p144"/> Petersen served as co-designer for [[West End Games]]'s ''[[Ghostbusters (role-playing game)|Ghostbusters]]'' role-playing game.<ref name="HG p144"/>

===MicroProse===
Petersen worked some time for video game company [[MicroProse]], where he is credited for work on ''[[Sid Meier's Pirates!]]'' and ''[[Sword of the Samurai (1989 video game)|Sword of the Samurai]]''.<ref name="HG p144"/> Between 1989 and 1992 he worked on more MicroProse video games including ''[[Darklands (video game)|Darklands]]'', ''[[Hyperspeed (video game)|Hyperspeed]]'', and ''[[Lightspeed (video game)|Lightspeed]]''. Petersen was laid off in 1992 and was jobless for five months. He considered that period as one of the worst times of his life.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Petersen |first1=Sandy |title=Tales from the Dark Days of Id Software |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwV3uwM19EY |website=YouTube |date=20 April 2020 |access-date=15 March 2022}}</ref>

===Id Software===
Petersen was hired by [[id Software]] in August 1993. During his interview, [[John Romero]] introduced him to DoomEd and simply asked him to build a level. Romero was ultimately happy with the results, so Petersen was brought on to production for ''[[Doom (1993 video game)|Doom]]''. The level from Petersen's interview eventually became "E2M6".<ref name="romero pp.146-174">Romero (2023), pp.146-174.</ref> He was a fast level designer and produced all maps for the third episode of ''Doom'', Inferno. Petersen designed 17 levels for ''[[Doom II]]'', a little over half of the 32 total. An 18th, "Dead Simple", was redesigned by [[American McGee]] before release.<ref name="romero pp.185-197">Romero (2023), pp.185-197.</ref> 

Petersen was then involved with ''The Ultimate Doom'' in 1995 as well as the R&D phase for ''[[Quake (video game)|Quake]]''. At the time, ''Quake'' was based on an [[Quake (video game)#The Fight for Justice (1990-91)|id staff D&D campaign]]. Petersen was enthusiastic about the project, though he had not been a player in the original campaign as it was before his arrival at the company.<ref name="romero pp.213-235">Romero (2023), pp.213-235.</ref> With id Software's designers waiting for the [[Quake engine]] to be ready for its design team, the studio sent Petersen to work temporarily at [[Rogue Entertainment]], which was licensing the [[Doom engine]] to develop ''[[Strife (1996 video game)|Strife]]''.<ref name="romero pp.236-247">Romero (2023), pp.236-247.</ref> Romero also credits Petersen with coming up with the title for the ''[[Hexen: Beyond Heretic|Hexen]]'' expansion ''[[Deathkings of the Dark Citadel]]''. When ''Quake'' was reformulated as a first-person shooter in late 1995, id removed Petersen from the ''Strife'' team to focus on the game. The revised ''Quake'' storyline is credited to Petersen, along with seven levels.<ref name="romero pp.248-274">Romero (2023), pp.248-274.</ref>

===Ensemble Studios===
Petersen left id Software for [[Ensemble Studios]] in June 1997.<ref>{{cite web|last=Feldman|first=Curt|url=http://headline.gamespot.com/news/97_07/09_id/index.html|title=Ensemble's Second Title Picks Up Speed|website=GameSpot|publisher=CBS Interactive|date=July 9, 1997|access-date=November 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19981203063509/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/97_07/09_id/index.html|archive-date=December 3, 1998}}</ref> There, he worked as a game designer on several of their ''[[Age of Empires]]'' titles, including ''[[Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome Expansion|Rise of Rome]]'', ''[[Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings|Age of Kings]]'', and ''[[Age of Empires II: The Conquerors|The Conquerors]]''.<ref name="HG p144"/> During this time, he was a frequent poster on the HeavenGames forums under the username ES_Sandyman. He ran a popular series of threads, "Ask Sandyman", where forum members could ask him about anything they wanted.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aok.heavengames.com/university/game-info/general-info/ask-sandyman/|title=Ask Sandyman – Age of Kings Heaven}}</ref>

===Other works===
Petersen was the executive producer for the 2011 film ''[[The Whisperer in Darkness (film)|The Whisperer in Darkness]]''. It was produced by H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society Motion Pictures in the style of a 1930s black and white horror film.

In April 2011,<ref name="Amazon listing Arcane Sampler 2011">{{Cite book |editor-last1 = Shumate |editor-first1 = Nathan |title = Arcane: Penny Dreadfuls for the 21st Century |date = April 2011 | publisher=Cold Fusion Media Empire |isbn = 978-1461059608 |url=https://www.amazon.com/Arcane-Penny-Dreadfuls-21st-Century/dp/1461059607/ |archive-date=January 9, 2026 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20260109185358/https://www.amazon.com/Arcane-Penny-Dreadfuls-21st-Century/dp/1461059607/ |url-status=live }}</ref> he served as the publisher of horror magazine ''Arcane: Penny Dreadfuls for the 21st Century''.<ref name="Arcane Webpage">{{cite web |url=http://www.arcanemagazine.com/ |title=Arcane: Penny Dreadfuls for the 21st Century |publisher=Cold Fusion Media |access-date=January 9, 2026 |archive-date=April 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110407212134/http://www.arcanemagazine.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Petersen took a professorship at [[The Guildhall at SMU]] in 2009 following the closure of [[Ensemble Studios]], where he taught several courses on [[game design]].<ref name="Guildhall Faculty Biographies">{{cite web |url=http://guildhall.smu.edu/Faculty.15.0.html?&cHash=2cfb264088&tx_guildhallbio_pi1 |title=The Guildhall at SMU Faculty |publisher=[[Southern Methodist University]] }}</ref>

Petersen worked at [[Barking Lizards Technologies]] as their creative director, after leaving The Guildhall, and worked on their iOS release ''Osiris Legends''.<ref name="SMU guildmasters">{{cite web |url=https://www.smu.edu/guildhall/about/guildmasters-and-speakers |title=Guildmasters & Keynote Speakers |access-date=January 9, 2026 |publisher=[[Southern Methodist University]] |archive-date=January 9, 2026 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20260109191646/https://www.smu.edu/guildhall/about/guildmasters-and-speakers |url-status=live }}</ref>

In mid-2013, Petersen led a successful [[Kickstarter]] campaign by his company, Green Eye Games, to produce the boardgame ''Cthulhu Wars''. Over US$1,400,000 was raised achieving over 3,500% of the initial target. This success allowed the creation of more figures (60), map expansions and additional scenario options.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1816687860/cthulhu-wars?ref=home_popular|title = Cthulhu Wars| date=15 April 2024 }}</ref> Green Eye Games also produced the unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign for ''Cthulhu World Combat'' (iOS, Android, Windows, PSN, Xbox Live).<ref name="Barking Lizards Management Team">{{cite web |url=http://www.barkinglizards.com/folks.html |title=Barking Lizards Management Team |publisher=Barking Lizards }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1816687860/cthulhu-world-combat |title = Cthulhu World Combat by Sandy Petersen — Kickstarter| date=24 October 2012 }}</ref><ref name="cthulhu world combat">{{cite web |url=http://www.cthulhuworldcombat.com |title=Cthulhu World Combat |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121121001840/http://www.cthulhuworldcombat.com/ |archive-date=November 21, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In June 2015, it was announced that Petersen and [[Greg Stafford (game designer)|Greg Stafford]] returned to Chaosium Inc.<ref>{{cite web|title=GREG STAFFORD & SANDY PETERSEN REJOIN CHAOSIUM INC.|url=http://www.chaosium.com/blog/greg-stafford-sandy-petersen-rejoin-chaosium-inc/|date=2015-06-02|access-date=2015-06-03|first=Greg|last=Stafford}}</ref> Petersen retired from the board in 2019, but continues to do occasional freelance work for the company.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Chaosium Team|author=Chaosium|url=https://www.chaosium.com/the-chaosium-team/|access-date=2023-10-24}}</ref>

Petersen runs a website, Petersen Games,<ref name="petersen games site">{{cite web |url=https://petersengames.com |title=Petersen Games |access-date=January 9, 2026 |archive-date=January 9, 2026 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20260109192501/https://petersengames.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> where he had sold various tabletop games, often based on his work with ''Call of Cthulhu''. As part of his ongoing work with ''Call of Cthulhu'' content he has published sourcebooks for ''[[Dungeons & Dragons|Dungeons and Dragons]] 5e'', ''[[Pathfinder Roleplaying Game|Pathfinder]]'', and ''Pathfinder 2e''. Those books adapt the Cthulhu mythos for those systems to allow for several mythos-based player character options, many monsters, new insanity rules, and much more. He can also be regularly seen on his YouTube channel, "Sandy of Cthulhu," where he speaks on subjects such as boardgames, roleplay adventures, his own personal works, his time with Id Software, tips on gameplay, advice on game design, authors, Lovecraftian horror, movies, and his love of fiction in general.

==Credits==

===Video games===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Title !! Developer !! Notes
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1989 || ''[[Sword of the Samurai]]'' || rowspan=7 | [[MicroProse]] 
|-
| ''[[Sid Meier's Pirates!]]'' || [[Atari ST]] version
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1990 || ''[[Lightspeed (video game)|Lightspeed]]'' ||
|-
| ''[[Command HQ]]'' ||
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1991 || ''[[Civilization (video game)|Civilization]]'' (1991) ||
|-
| ''[[Hyperspeed (video game)|Hyperspeed]]'' ||
|-
| 1992 || ''[[Darklands (video game)|Darklands]]'' ||
|-
| 1993 || ''[[Doom (1993 video game)|Doom]]'' || [[id Software]] ||
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1994 || ''[[Dragonsphere]]'' || [[MicroProse]]
|-
|  ''[[Wolfenstein 3D]]''  || rowspan=4 | [[id Software]] || [[Atari Jaguar]] version
|-
|  ''[[Doom II: Hell on Earth]]'' || 
|-
| 1995 || ''[[The Ultimate Doom]]'' ||
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1996 || ''[[Quake (video game)|Quake]]''
|-
| ''[[Hexen: Beyond Heretic]]'' || [[Raven Software]] || [[Sega Saturn]] and [[PlayStation]] versions
|-
| ''[[Final Doom]]'' || [[TeamTNT]] ||
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1997 || ''[[Quake II]]'' || id Software || Uncredited
|-
| ''[[Doom 64]]'' ||  [[Midway Studios San Diego]] ||
|-
| ''[[Age of Empires (video game)|Age of Empires]]'' || rowspan=9 | [[Ensemble Studios]] ||
|-
| 1998 || ''[[Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome]]'' ||
|-
| 1999 || ''[[Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings|Age of Empires II]]'' ||
|-
| 2000 || ''[[Age of Empires II: The Conquerors]]'' ||
|-
| 2002 || ''[[Age of Mythology]]'' ||
|-
| 2003 || ''[[Age of Mythology: The Titans]]'' ||
|-
| 2005 || ''[[Age of Empires III]]'' ||
|-
| 2006 || ''[[Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs]]'' ||
|-
| 2009 || ''[[Halo Wars]]''  ||
|-
| 2011 || ''Osiris Legends'' || Barking Lizard Studios ||
|-
| 2018 || ''[[Call of Cthulhu (video game)|Call of Cthulhu]]'' || [[Cyanide (company)|Cyanide]] ||
|-
| 2025 || ''Wartorn'' || Stray Kite Studios
|}

===Role-playing games===
* ''[[Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game)|Call of Cthulhu]]'' (1981)
* ''[[Ghostbusters (role-playing game)|Ghostbusters ]]'' (1986)

====Additional content for other role-playing games====
;[[Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition]]
:''Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos for 5e'' (2019, {{isbn|978-0-9995390-4-0}})
;[[Pathfinder Roleplaying Game|Pathfinder]]
:''Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos for Pathfinder - 1st Edition'' (2016, {{isbn|978-0-9995390-0-2}})
;[[Pathfinder 2e|Pathfinder 2nd Edition]]
:''Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos for Pathfinder 2nd Edition'' (2021, {{isbn|9781950982288}})

===Board games===
* ''Cthulhu Wars'' (2015)
* ''Theomachy'' (2016)
* ''Orcs Must Die!'' (2016)
* ''Castle Dicenstein'' (2017)
* ''Evil High Priest'' (2018)
* ''The Gods War'' (2018)
* ''Hyperspace'' (2019)
* ''Planet Apocalypse'' (2020)

===Films===
* ''[[The Whisperer in Darkness (film)|The Whisperer In Darkness]]'' (2011)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Works cited==
*{{Cite book |last=Appelcline |first=Shannon |title=Designers & Dragons |publisher=Mongoose Publishing |year=2011 |isbn= 978-1-907702-58-7 }}
*{{cite book |last=Kushner |first=David |title=[[Masters of Doom|Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture]] |publisher=Random House |isbn=0375505245 |year=2003 }}
*{{Cite book |contribution=[[Up Front (game)|Up Front]] |title=[[Hobby Games: The 100 Best]] |last=Petersen |first=Sandy |editor-last=Lowder |editor-first=James |editor-link=James Lowder |publisher=[[Green Ronin Publishing]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-932442-96-0 }}
*{{Cite book |last=Romero |first=John |title=DOOM Guy: Life in First Person |publisher=Abrams Press |year=2023 |isbn=978-1419758119 }}

==External links==
* {{Official website|http://petersengames.com}}
* [http://aok.heavengames.com/gameinfo/ask-sandyman Ask Sandy Series @ Age of Kings Heaven (1999-2001)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050322042740/http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/august02/gencon/petersen/ GameSpy interview (2002)]
* [http://www.yog-sothoth.com/articles.html/_/main/interviews/sandy-petersen-interview yog-sothoth.com interview]
* {{cite web|url=http://www.pen-paper.net/rpgdb.php?op=showcreator&creatorid=268|title=Pen & Paper: Roleplaying Game Credits for Sandy Petersen|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521045333/http://www.pen-paper.net/rpgdb.php?op=showcreator&creatorid=268|archive-date=2008-05-21}}
* [http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,821/ MobyGames biography]
* [http://guildhall.smu.edu/ The Guildhall @ SMU Homepage]
* {{in lang|it}} [http://www.rill.it/?q=node/497 An interview in Italian language on RiLL.it (2011)]

{{id Software}}
{{Quake series}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, Sandy}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American media critics]]
[[Category:American video game designers]]
[[Category:Artists from St. Louis]]
[[Category:Chaosium game designers]]
[[Category:Cthulhu Mythos writers]]
[[Category:American role-playing designers]]
[[Category:Id Software people]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saints from Missouri]]
[[Category:MicroProse people]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni]]
[[Category:Video game critics]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Sandy Petersen|access_date=2026-03-05}}