{{short description|English video game programmer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Giles Goddard | image = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1971|03|30|df=y}} | occupation = Video game programmer, CEO of Vitei and Chuhai Labs }} '''Giles Goddard''' (born 30 March 1971) is an English video game programmer. He was one of the first Western employees at Nintendo,<ref name="Source Gaming 1">{{cite web|url=https://sourcegaming.info/2017/07/02/gilesinterview/|title=Straight from the Source: Giles Goddard (Former Nintendo Employee, Vitei Games CEO)|publisher=Source Gaming|date=July 2, 2017|accessdate=May 30, 2020|author=PushDustin}}</ref> programming the Mario face in ''Super Mario 64'', and working on titles such as ''Star Fox'', ''1080° Snowboarding'', and ''Steel Diver''. In 2002, he founded Vitei, a video game developer based in Kyoto, Japan, and is CEO.

==Career== ===Argonaut Games=== Giles Goddard's interest in computers began when he was a teenager, when he used his ZX Spectrum, and later Amiga, to create demoscene works in his spare time.<ref name="1080 to GC">{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/02/10/from-1080-snowboarding-to-gamecube|title=From 1080 Snowboarding to GameCube|publisher=IGN|author=IGN Staff|date=February 9, 2001|accessdate=May 30, 2020}}</ref><ref name="Eurogamer 2">{{cite web|url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-04-27-meet-the-man-who-smuggled-the-demoscene-into-super-mario-64|title=Tales from inside 90s Nintendo - from the man who made Mario's face|publisher=Eurogamer|author=Martin Robinson|date=April 27, 2018|accessdate=May 30, 2020}}</ref> In his Amiga demos, he experimented with 3D wireframe graphics with filled polygons. During this time, Argonaut Software released ''Starglider 2'', one of the first computer games to use filled polygons.<ref name="NL 1">{{cite web|url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2011/05/feature_lads_of_the_rising_sun|title=Feature: Lads of the Rising Sun|publisher=Nintendo Life|author=Damien McFerran|date=May 4, 2011|accessdate=May 30, 2020}}</ref> Goddard soon left school before finishing his A-levels and joined Argonaut Games, where his first task was porting ''Starglider 2'' to the Macintosh SE. Argonaut would develop a reputation for creating cutting-edge, 3D games. They produced a 3D graphics demo for the Nintendo Entertainment System and collaborated with Nintendo to produce the Game Boy title ''X'', one of the few Game Boy games with 3D graphics.<ref name="NL 1"></ref><ref name="Eurogamer 2"></ref>

===Nintendo=== When Goddard was 18<ref name="Iwata Asks">{{cite web|url=https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Iwata-Asks/Iwata-Asks-Steel-Diver/Iwata-Asks-Steel-Diver/1-Ever-Since-the-Original-Star-Fox/1-Ever-Since-the-Original-Star-Fox-215293.html|title=1. Ever Since the Original Star Fox|publisher=Nintendo}}</ref> or 19,<ref name="Eurogamer 2"></ref> he moved to Kyoto to work for Nintendo, where he, alongside fellow Argonaut employee Dylan Cuthbert, helped develop ''Star Fox''<ref name="GlitterBerri">{{cite web|url=https://www.glitterberri.com/star-fox/message-from-god/|title=Message From God – Developer Interview|publisher=GlitterBerri's Game Translations|date=March 17, 2013|accessdate=May 30, 2020}}</ref> and ''Stunt Race FX''. Goddard remained with Nintendo during the Nintendo 64 era. He assisted with the demo of Link fighting an enemy, which would be shown at the Shoshinkai 1995 trade show.<ref name="NL 1"></ref> To show off skinning, he programmed the interactive Mario face in ''Super Mario 64'' by attaching painted ping-pong balls to his face and using an Indy camera to track movement.<ref name="SM64 interview">{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Mark |date=September 13, 2010 |title=The Making Of Super Mario 64 – full Giles Goddard interview (NGC) |url=https://pixelatron.com/blog/the-making-of-super-mario-64-full-giles-goddard-interview-ngc/ |access-date=October 6, 2022 |website=Pixelatron |language=en-US}}</ref> His next project, ''1080° Snowboarding'', saw him as one of the two lead programmers, alongside fellow Argonaut colleague Collin Reed. This game used frame interpolation and inverse kinematics to make character movement feel more realistic.<ref name="IGN 2">{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/03/20/1080-snowboarding-interview|title=1080 Snowboarding Interview|author=IGN Staff|date=March 19, 1998|accessdate=May 30, 2020}}</ref>

=== <span class="anchor" id="Chuhai Labs"></span><span class="anchor" id="Vitei"></span> VITEI BACKROOM, Inc / Chuhai Labs === Afterwards, Goddard left Nintendo and became a freelancer, porting ''Doshin the Giant'' from the Nintendo 64DD to the GameCube.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sourcegaming.info/2017/07/02/gilesinterview/4/|title=Page 4 — N64DD, Doshin and Prototypes}}</ref> In 2002, Goddard founded the Japanese video game developer Vitei, Inc. as a Nintendo second party studio.<ref name="Iwata Asks"></ref> Vitei produced its first game, the Japan-exclusive Nintendo DS title ''Theta'', in 2007,<ref name="NL 1"></ref> and the WiiWare title ''Rock N' Roll Climber'' in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sourcegaming.info/2017/07/02/gilesinterview/5/|title=Page 5 — Rock n' Roll Wii and VR}}</ref> He was the head programmer for ''Steel Diver'', and Vitei would also develop its sequel, ''Steel Diver: Sub Wars'',<ref name="NL 2">{{cite web|url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/04/interview_a_look_through_the_periscope_at_steel_diver_sub_wars|title=Interview: A Look Through the Periscope at Steel Diver: Sub Wars|author=Thomas Whitehead|date=April 25, 2014|accessdate=May 30, 2020|publisher=Nintendo Life}}</ref> as well as ''Tank Troopers.''<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 21, 2016|title=3D戦車アクションゲーム『Tank Troopers（タンクトゥルーパーズ）』配信開始、最大6人で戦車バトルを楽しもう！|url=https://www.famitsu.com/news/201612/21123568.html}}</ref> In 2020, Vitei Backroom was rebranded as Chuhai Labs to expand into micro-publishing and to position the company to be more forward facing.<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 9, 2020|title=Vitei Backroom branches into publishing as Chuhai Labs|url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-10-13-vitei-backroom-branches-into-publishing-with-chuhai-labs}}</ref> Chuhai Labs developed ''Carve Snowboarding'', which launched on 27 May 2021. ''Carve Snowboarding'' is a virtual reality-focused spiritual successor to ''1080° Snowboarding'' for Oculus Quest.<ref name="Eurogamer 1">{{cite web|url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-04-19-the-man-behind-1080-snowboarding-is-working-on-a-successor|title=The man behind 1080° Snowboarding is working on a spiritual successor|author=Martin Robinson|date=April 19, 2019|accessdate=May 30, 2020|publisher=Eurogamer}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|user=giles|number=1385021771426930691|url=https://twitter.com/giles/status/1385021771426930691|title=So happy to finally announce our latest game, Carve Snowboarding.. on the Oculus Gaming Showcase no less! #CarveSnowboarding #ChuhaiLabs|date=April 21, 2021|access-date=May 23, 2021}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[https://twitter.com/giles Twitter profile] *[http://www.vitei.com/ Vitei official website] *[https://www.chuhailabs.com/ Chuhai Labs official website] *[https://www.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/ni55it/i_am_giles_goddard_i_made_star_fox_with_shigeru/ Reddit AMA] *[https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,29509/ Entry] at MobyGames *[https://web.archive.org/web/20051226014923/http://www.n-sider.com/personnelview.php?personnelid=27 N-Sider profile]

{{Argonaut Games}} {{Star Fox}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goddard, Giles}} Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:British video game programmers Category:Amiga people Category:Nintendo people