Teddy Diefenbach, also known as Teddy Dief is an American videogame designer and writer. They worked as a creative director at Square Enix Montreal and was co-designer for the game Hyper Light Drifter.[1] They co-founded the artist collective Glitch City and participate in a yearly charity live-stream called Chocobowl.

Biography

Dief was born in Illinois. They graduated from Columbia University, where they studied music, computer science, and Japanese. They later took filmmaking at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts.[2]

Dief worked for Disney as a designer on Pirates of the Caribbean Online and for the University of South Carolina School of Cinematic Arts as a game narrative researcher. One of the first game they developed on their own was Kyoto Wild for PC.[3] In 2013 they joined Heart Machine to work on the role playing game Hyper Light Drifter.

Dief left Heart Machine in May 2016 and started work as the creative director of Square Enix Montreal. During this period, they were reportedly working on a game project with Fez programmer Renaud Bédard for two years. On January 29, 2018, Dief announced their resignation after Square Enix shelved the project, citing the company's shift in business strategy. Dief stated that this development marked their return to "full-time indie development".[4][5]

Dief was the creative director of We Are OFK, a videogame released in 2022 about the origin story of a virtual band called OFK.[6] According to Dief, it is an actual music project and consists of five episodes.[7][8]

Aside from their design work for several games, Dief also worked as a writer, voice actor, and musician. In We are OFK, Dief provided the voice for the character Luca Le Fae.[9]

Philanthropy

Dief is involved in several gaming initiatives. Together with Alex Preston, Beau Blyth, and Samurai Gunn, they co-created Glitch City, a Los Angeles-based game makers and independent artists collective. In 2015, they co-founded Chocobowl, a 48-hour live stream that involves game developers playing Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs). Chocobowl has since been used as a platform to raise money for organizations such AbleGamers and The Bail Project.[1]

Game Credits

  • We are OFK (2022)
  • Hyper Light Drifter (2016)
  • Fitz Packerton (2016)[10]
  • Kyoto Wild (2014)
  • Shove Pro (2012)
  • Jumpkick Justice (2011)

References

  1. 1 2 Brown, Andy (September 7, 2022). "Teddy Dief can't do this alone". NME. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  2. ↑ Lang, Brent (April 1, 2012). "Film Schools Turn to Television, Digital Shorts To Stay Relevant". TheWrap. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  3. ↑ Farokhmanesh, Megan (May 30, 2014). "Kyoto Wild is a Bushido Blade-inspired fight to be the last man standing". Polygon. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  4. ↑ Horti, Samuel (January 30, 2018). "Hyper Light Drifter designer Teddy Dief leaves Square Enix Montreal after studio cancels his next game". PCGamer. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  5. ↑ Meitzler, Ryan (January 30, 2018). "Square Enix Montreal Creative Director Teddy Dief Announces Departure; Returning to Indie Development". Dual Shockers. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  6. ↑ Conditt, Jessica (December 10, 2020). "'Hyper Light Drifter' co-designer returns with indie-pop series 'We are OFK'". Engadget. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  7. ↑ Chesler, Josh (August 24, 2022). "We Are OFK Brings A Virtual Band's Debut EP To An Episodic Narrative Video Game Format". Spin. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  8. ↑ Colantonio, Giovanni (August 17, 2022). "We Are OFK director explains the music game's 'big watch party energy'". Digital Trends. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  9. ↑ Remee, Jordan (January 28, 2022). "We Are OFK Episode 1 Called Me Out And Yet I Still Want To Play More". GameSpot. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  10. ↑ Hawkins, Janine (March 1, 2017). "Take A Memorable Trip In 'Fitz Packerton'". Vice. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
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