occupation andy hollis
X - COM ( sometimes stylized as " X - Com ") is a ___MASK23___ fiction video ___MASK48___ franchise featuring an elite international organization tasked with countering alien invasions of Earth . The series began with the strategy video ___MASK48___ "" created by Mythos Games and MicroProse in 1994 . The original line up by MicroProse included six published and at least two cancelled games , as well as two novels . The " X - COM " series , in particular its original entry , achieved a sizable cult following and has influenced many other video games ; including the creation of a number of clones , spiritual successors , and unofficial remakes . A ___MASK99___ is a software engineer , programmer , or ___MASK19___ who primarily develops codebases for video games or related software , such as game development tools . Game programming has many specialized disciplines , all of which fall under the umbrella term of " ___MASK99___ ". A ___MASK99___ should not be confused with a game designer , who works on game design . MicroProse was an American video ___MASK48___ ___MASK12___ and developer founded by " Wild " Bill Stealey and Sid Meier in 1982 as MicroProse Software Inc . It developed and published numerous games , many of which are regarded as groundbreaking , classics and cult titles , including starting the " Civilization " and " X - COM " series . Most of their internally developed titles were vehicle simulation and strategy games . John Wilbur " Wild Bill " Stealey Sr . ( born 1947 ) is a retired United States Air Force ___MASK3___ ___MASK70___ and the current CEO of iEntertainment Network . Andy Hollis is an American ___MASK48___ ___MASK72___ and ___MASK99___ , mainly known for his flight simulator games . He was one of the founding members of MicroProse . A video ___MASK48___ is an electronic ___MASK48___ that involves human or animal interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device such as a TV screen or ___MASK57___ monitor . The word " video " in " video ___MASK48___ " traditionally referred to a raster display device , but as of the 2000s , it implies any type of display device that can produce two - or three - dimensional images . Some theorists categorize video games as an art form , but this designation is controversial . A video ___MASK48___ ___MASK12___ is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video ___MASK48___ developer . As with book publishers or publishers of DVD movies , video ___MASK48___ publishers are responsible for their product ' s manufacturing and marketing , including market research and all aspects of ___MASK85___ . A ___MASK19___ is a scientist who has acquired the knowledge of computer science , the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application . Sidney K . " Sid " Meier ( born February 24 , 1954 ) is a ___MASK71___ , ___MASK72___ , and ___MASK60___ of several popular strategy video games and simulation video games , most notably the " Civilization " series . Meier co - founded MicroProse in 1982 with Bill Stealey and is the Director of Creative Development of Firaxis Games , which he co - founded with Jeff Briggs and Brian Reynolds in 1996 . He has won several prestigious accolades for his contributions to the video game industry . A flight simulator is a device that artificially re - creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies , for pilot training , design , or other purposes . It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly , how they react to applications of flight controls , the effects of other aircraft systems , and how the aircraft reacts to external factors such as air density , turbulence , wind shear , cloud , precipitation , etc . Flight simulation is used for a variety of reasons , including flight training ( mainly of pilots ), the design and development of the aircraft itself , and ___MASK11___ into aircraft characteristics and control handling qualities . A ___MASK57___ is a device that can be instructed to carry out an arbitrary set of arithmetic or logical operations automatically . The ability of computers to follow a sequence of operations , called a " program ", make computers very flexible and useful . Such computers are used as control systems for a very wide variety of industrial and consumer devices . This includes simple special purpose devices like microwave ovens and remote controls , factory devices such as industrial robots and ___MASK57___ assisted design , but also in general purpose devices like personal computers and mobile devices such as smartphones . The Internet is run on computers and it connects millions of other computers . A ___MASK48___ development tool is a specialized software application that assists or facilitates the making of a ___MASK57___ or video ___MASK48___ . Some tasks handled by tools include the conversion of assets ( such as 3D models , textures , etc .) into formats required by the ___MASK48___ , level editing and ___MASK33___ compilation . ___MASK48___ ___MASK88___ , a subset of game development , is the software development of video games . ___MASK48___ ___MASK88___ requires substantial skill in software engineering as well as specialization in one or more of the following areas , which overlap heavily to create a game : simulation , computer graphics , artificial intelligence , physics , audio ___MASK88___ , and input . For massively multiplayer online games , additional areas , such as network ___MASK88___ and database ___MASK88___ are often included . Though often engaged in by professional game programmers , many novices may program games as a hobby . A ___MASK74___ is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to the design , development , maintenance , testing , and evaluation of the software and systems that make computers or anything containing software work . ___MASK57___ software , or simply software , is that part of a ___MASK57___ system that consists of encoded information or ___MASK57___ instructions , in contrast to the physical hardware from which the system is built . A ___MASK71___ , ___MASK57___ ___MASK71___ , developer , dev , coder , or software engineer is a person who writes ___MASK57___ software . The term " ___MASK57___ ___MASK71___ " can refer to a specialist in one area of ___MASK57___ ___MASK88___ or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software . One who practices or professes a formal approach to ___MASK88___ may also be known as a ___MASK71___ analyst . A ___MASK71___ ' s primary ___MASK57___ language ( Assembly , COBOL , C , C ++, C #, Java , Lisp , Python , etc .) is often prefixed to these titles , and those who work in a Web environment often prefix their titles with " Web ". The term " ___MASK71___ " can be used to refer to a software developer , ___MASK80___ , mobile applications developer , embedded firmware developer , software engineer , ___MASK19___ , or software analyst . However , members of these professions possess other software engineering skills , beyond ___MASK88___ ; for this reason , the term " ___MASK71___ ", or " code monkey ", is sometimes considered an insulting or derogatory oversimplification of these other professions . This has sparked much debate amongst developers , analysts , ___MASK57___ scientists , programmers , and outsiders who continue to be puzzled at the subtle differences in the definitions of these occupations .