Thomas Howalt

Company: Funcom Oslo AS

Current title: Project Manager

Current project: Anarchy Online

Favorite game(s) that you've worked on: Anarchy Online , Skipper & Skeeto 6, and The Mystery of the Talking Sundial

Current favorite game(s) to play: Anarchy Online , SimGolf , Medal of Honor , RTCW , Civ3 , Commandos 2 , Fifa 2002 , Capitalism 2 , The Sims

Favorite game(s) of all time: Pong , Elite , Duke Nukem3d , Zelda64 , Donkey Kong64 , Deus Ex , Thief 2 , System Shock 1&2 , Ultima Underworld 1&2 , SimCity

A native of Europe, Mr. Howalt comes to gaming after a long and successful career in the theater as both an actor and a director. Using the organizational skills he learned managing theater groups, he began producing children's games in the late 1990s and moved to Funcom in 2001 as a project manager. Some of the highlights of his career include the following:

• Background in theatre: directing, acting, writing, designing sets, and producing. More than 40 professional productions as director

• General manager for three years of a public music, theatre, and cultural center in Copenhagen

• Worked with CD-ROM games for children and families for three years (producing, designing, writing, voice-directing, and so on)

• Began working on Midgard for Funcom in April 2001 as project manager

• Project manager on AO since late September 2001

When Mr. Howalt isn't working, he spends time with his wife and two children, plays computer games, cooks, reads, writes , takes time with friends , sees theatre and movies, and travels . He also plays and listens to music, fixes his old apartment, wall-climbs, bicycles, swims, and hikes.