Ian Colin Graham Bell (born 31 October 1962 in Hatfield, Hertfordshire) programmed, designed and developed the computer game Elite (1984) with David Braben, which met with much acclaim.
[2] Prior to Elite, he developed Free Fall, a game set inside a coriolis space station with the player controlling an alien punching astronaut, described by Bell as "the first ever Beat 'em up".
[5] Bell mentioned in his speech about the impact of games:You're reaching into the minds and the imaginary spaces of children, and you're to an extent shaping their characters and their life stories.
I'm glad [Elite] isn't Doom because I'm glad that even though we didn't really think in these terms, I think its effect on players and on people's lives is good, both in the sense of giving them good memories but also in making people think in different ways and awakening interest.
[6]After the initial success of Elite and having completed ports of it to the Commodore 64 (1985), Apple II (1986), and NES (1991), Bell spent a number of years undertaking personal research.