Mabel Addis Mergardt (21 May 1912 – 13 August 2004) was an American writer, teacher and the first video game writer. She designed The Sumerian Game, programmed by William McKay, for the IBM 7090 in 1964, which inspired other kingdom management games such as Hamurabi from the early 1970s.

2024年8月24日 · In the 1960s, Mabel Addis was an elementary-school teacher in a small town in New York State when she was offered a unique opportunity that would make history: Create an educational game with...

Mabel Addis was born in 1912 and grew up in Mount Vernon, New York. She studied ancient history with a minor in psychology at Barnard (1933) and received her master’s degree in education from Columbia University.

2020年3月8日 · In doing so, Addis becomes the first person to write a video game, the first woman ever to level design for a video game, and first woman to be credited as creator of a video game; in this case...

In 1964, Mabel Addis made history as the first female game designer with The Sumerian Game, the first narrative-driven video game. Her groundbreaking work, blending storytelling with interactive gameplay, paved the way for future generations of women in gaming.

Mabel Addis. Mabel Addis was a school teacher at Katonah Elementary in New York who clearly enjoyed writing plays each year for her students. Although the Sumerian project was initiated by IBM’s Bruse Moncreiff, Mabel Addis is credited with writing and conducting it, with IBM’s William McKay programming it. Which means Mabel Addis is ...

2022年3月8日 · But it’s a pity that few have heard of her: she’s also widely considered as the first female video game designer, as well as the very first video game narrative designer of any gender, pioneering several features—such including narrative elements, cutscenes and even content patches—that can still be seen in modern titles.

2025年3月22日 · Mabel Addis, an elementary school teacher from New York, pioneered storytelling in video games with her creation of the Sumerian Game in the 1960s. The game, designed to teach economic theory, allowed students to simulate ruling a Sumerian city-state.

2019年10月2日 · Mabel Addis was believed to be the first female video game designer in the world. Her contributions to game design and education during her teaching career are too significant for the next generation. Her Sumerian game inspired lots of the later text-based adventure games.

2023年2月23日 · Mabel Addis, recognized as the first female game designer, will posthumously receive the Pioneer Award, which honors breakthrough business, tech, and game design milestones. The award-winning game designer, level designer, and programmer John Romero will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on such iconic and genre defining first ...