| Annie VanderMeer Mitsoda | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Annie Carlson, Annie VanderMeer Carlson, Anne VanderMeer Carlson |
| Known for | Video games |
Annie VanderMeer Mitsoda (also credited as Annie Carlson, Annie VanderMeer Carlson, and Anne VanderMeer) is an American video game designer best known for her writing work on the 2008 PC title Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir.
Annie Carlson (then VanderMeer) attended Macalester College and earned a B.A. in English in 2003. After briefly working at a local GameStop, Carlson began work at Papaya Studio in summer 2004,[1] working Taxi Driver, the ill-fated videogame "sequel" to the film of the same name. After the game was cancelled in October 2005, Carlson joined Obsidian Entertainment in January 2006, beginning work on "Project New Jersey" (a rumored unreleased RPG[2]).
When Project New Jersey was cancelled, Carlson joined the Neverwinter Nights 2 team, where she worked on handling the in-game items.[3] After NWN2 was released, Carlson began work as a writing assistant on Alpha Protocol, working with creative lead Brian Mitsoda, where she was credited with helping create some of the characters.[4] While working on Alpha Protocol, Carlson assisted with additional design for the first expansion to Neverwinter Nights 2. Mask of the Betrayer.[5]
In early 2008, Carlson was moved onto the second expansion for Neverwinter Nights 2, Storm of Zehir as a designer and lead writer. Carlson also assisted with work on the Aliens RPG[6] and spoke at the 'Women in the Game Industry' panel at the 2008 Penny Arcade Expo[7] before she left the company in October 2008 to move to Seattle.
Carlson is currently working part-time as a game designer for DoubleBear Productions, and full-time as a game designer at ArenaNet for Guild Wars 2.[8] In June 2010, she married fellow game designer and DoubleBear founder Brian Mitsoda, changing her name to "VanderMeer Mitsoda." [9]