Idol Profile

Idol Minds is an established, independent developer located at the base of the scenic Rocky Mountains in Louisville, Colorado.  Over the past 11 years, Idol Minds has built itself on a reputation of creating highly entertaining games in several genres, with sales exceeding 5.0 million units.

PAIN, our current PLAYSTATION3 project for the PlayStation® Network, demonstrates the current evolution of our company and its goals.  By focusing on technology and physics, PAIN immerses the player in a world of emergent gameplay and comedic destruction. Our mission is to create a user-defined experience, build a community of users, develop on next generation hardware, and of course, have fun doing it!

The Minds Behind Idol Minds

Mark Lyons, President and Chief Technology Officer

Mark has assembled a staff of game designers, programmers, and artists familiar with all of the latest real-time 3D game development and tool technology for both console and PC game production. He believes that it would be tough to find a more cohesive, talented, and dedicated group.

Mark first joined the video game industry almost 20 years ago developing games for the Super Nintendo. From there, he established his relationship with Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) where he designed and programmed games for the original PlayStation video game console. Mark formed Idol Minds in 1997 with a development contract in hand from SCEA. Today, Idol Minds and SCEA have produced more than nine titles together. Mark holds a B.S. in Information and Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology.

Jeff Litchford, Vice President of Production

Jeff has over 15 years of experience in the video game industry and has worked on over 20 titles. Jeff is the visionary behind the creation of PAIN. He brings his exceptional organizational and product management skills to Idol Minds, ensuring the quality and timeliness of all milestone deliverables. Jeff's focus is on new business and managing the production flow at Idol Minds; from scope, scheduling, and publisher relationships to mentoring and motivation. Prior to joining Idol Minds, Jeff held various art, design, and management positions at DMA Design, VR-1, Jaleco, and High Voltage. Jeff holds a B.S. in Business Management from Colorado State University.

Andrew Meier, Art Director

Andrew has been creating diverse and appealing environments with Idol Minds since it's formation in 1997. In recent years, Andrew put his considerable experience to guiding the artistic (and comedic) direction for PAIN and building a talented art team from scratch. With his fine art background, Andrew understands design fundamentals in addition to the many technical aspects of game development. Outside of work, Andrew mentors young artists at the Art Institute of Colorado and Westwood College. Prior to joining Idol Minds, Andrew received a B.F.A. in Industrial Design from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design and worked briefly as an industrial designer. 

Peter Walters, Animation Director

Peter joined Idol Minds in 1997. As the Animation Director, he leads the Character Department in all areas including, art concept, design, modeling, texturing, animation, rigging, and scripting. His experience includes environment art, web design, print design, character art, illustration, animation, user interface design, modeling, texturing, lighting, rigging, and mel scripting. Peter holds a B.F.A. in Graphic Design from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design.

 To learn about other "minds" at work see the Employee Profiles page.