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Teddy Dief

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Teddy Dief
Dief at the We Are OFK premier in 2022
Occupation(s)Game designer, creative director, writer
Notable work

Teddy Diefenbach, also known as Teddy Dief is an American videogame designer and writer. They worked as a creative director at Square Enix Montreal, directed the game We Are OFK,[1] and was co-designer for the game Hyper Light Drifter.[1] They co-founded the artist collective Glitch City and participate in a yearly charity live-stream called Chocobowl.

Biography

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Dief was born in Illinois. They graduated from Columbia University, where they studied music, computer science, and Japanese. They later took filmmaking at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts.[2]

Dief worked for Disney as a designer on Pirates of the Caribbean Online and for the University of South Carolina School of Cinematic Arts as a game narrative researcher. One of the first game they developed on their own was Kyoto Wild for PC.[3] In 2013 they joined Heart Machine to work on the role playing game Hyper Light Drifter.

Dief left Heart Machine in May 2016 and started work as the creative director of Square Enix Montreal. During this period, they were reportedly working on a game project with Fez programmer Renaud Bédard for two years. On January 29, 2018, Dief announced their resignation after Square Enix shelved the project, citing the company's shift in business strategy. Dief stated that this development marked their return to "full-time indie development".[4][5]

Dief was the creative director of We Are OFK, a videogame released in 2022 about the origin story of a virtual band called OFK.[6] According to Dief, it is an actual music project and consists of five episodes.[7][8]

Aside from their design work for several games, Dief also worked as a writer, voice actor, and musician. In We are OFK, Dief provided the voice for the character Luca Le Fae.[9]

Philanthropy

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Dief is involved in several gaming initiatives. Together with Alex Preston, Beau Blyth, and Samurai Gunn, they co-created Glitch City, a Los Angeles-based game makers and independent artists collective. In 2015, they co-founded Chocobowl, a 48-hour live stream that involves game developers playing Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs). Chocobowl has since been used as a platform to raise money for organizations such AbleGamers and The Bail Project.[1]

Game credits

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  • 2022 - We Are OFK (Director, Co-Writer) [10]
  • 2016 - Hyper Light Drifter (Designer, Coder) [11]
  • 2016 - Fitz Packerton (Game Designer) [12]
  • 2014 - Kyoto Wild (Game Designer) [13]
  • 2012 - Shove Pro (Game Designer)
  • 2011 - Jumpkick Justice (Game Designer)

Other Credits

  • 2024 - Another Crab's Treasure (Special Thanks) [14] [15]
  • 2024 - Pacific Drive (Narrative Scripting Assistance) [16]
  • 2021 - Solar Ash (Special Thanks) [17]
  • 2020 - Bugsnax (Special Thanks) [18]
  • 2017 - Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator (Special Thanks) [19]
  • 2017 - Night in the Woods (Special Thanks) [20]
  • 2016 - Quadrilateral Cowboy (Special Thanks) [21]
  • 2014 - Nidhogg (Special Thanks) [22]

Awards and nominations

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Date Award / Publication Category Work Result Ref.
December 1, 2016 The Game Awards Best Independent Game Hyper Light Drifter [a] Nominated [23]
December 1, 2016 The Game Awards Best Action/Adventure Nominated [23]
February 23, 2017 D.I.C.E. Awards Role-Playing Game of the Year Nominated
March 1, 2017 Game Developers Choice Awards Best Debut Nominated
March 1, 2017 Independent Games Festival Excellence In Visual Art Won
March 1, 2017 Independent Games Festival Audience Award Won
March 22, 2023 Independent Games Festival Excellence In Audio We Are OFK [b][24] Nominated [25]
March 22, 2023 Game Developers Choice Awards Social Impact Nominated [26]
June 9, 2024 Peabody Awards Interactive & Immersive Won [27]
  1. ^ Co-nominated with Alx Preston, Beau Blyth, Casey Hunt, Sean Ward, Richard Vreeland, Akash Thakkar, Cosimo Galluzzi, Prof Brown
  2. ^ Co-nominated with Mikayla Foote, Jarryd Huntley, Adriel Wallick, Kezia Adamo, Claire Jia, Jenny Yu, Nafisah Tung, Killian Ng, Taylor Reynolds, DeVon Beasley, Jane Kim, Chelsea Hash, Akash Thakkar, omniboi, Khris Brown, Ally Maki, Fiona Rene, Syhaya Aviel, Deedee Magno, Erika Ishii, Greg Chun, Kaiji Tang, Kimberly Brooks, Krizia Bajos, Miguel Angel Caballero, Sara Amini, Yuri Lowenthal, Luna Shadows, Thomas Powers, Nicole Brady, Chelsea Blecha, Charles Hilton, Kat Tsai, Henry Wong, Elora Pautrat, Jack Covell, David Reynolds, Beatriz Artola, Jorel Corpus, Jett Galindo

References

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  1. ^ a b c Brown, Andy (September 7, 2022). "Teddy Dief can't do this alone". NME. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  2. ^ Lang, Brent (April 1, 2012). "Film Schools Turn to Television, Digital Shorts To Stay Relevant". TheWrap. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  3. ^ Farokhmanesh, Megan (May 30, 2014). "Kyoto Wild is a Bushido Blade-inspired fight to be the last man standing". Polygon. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  4. ^ Horti, Samuel (January 30, 2018). "Hyper Light Drifter designer Teddy Dief leaves Square Enix Montreal after studio cancels his next game". PCGamer. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  5. ^ Meitzler, Ryan (January 30, 2018). "Square Enix Montreal Creative Director Teddy Dief Announces Departure; Returning to Indie Development". Dual Shockers. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  6. ^ Conditt, Jessica (December 10, 2020). "'Hyper Light Drifter' co-designer returns with indie-pop series 'We are OFK'". Engadget. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  7. ^ Chesler, Josh (August 24, 2022). "We Are OFK Brings A Virtual Band's Debut EP To An Episodic Narrative Video Game Format". Spin. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  8. ^ Colantonio, Giovanni (August 17, 2022). "We Are OFK director explains the music game's 'big watch party energy'". Digital Trends. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  9. ^ Remee, Jordan (January 28, 2022). "We Are OFK Episode 1 Called Me Out And Yet I Still Want To Play More". GameSpot. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  10. ^ Team OFK (August 18, 2022). We Are OFK. Scene: Credits.
  11. ^ Heart Machine (March 31, 2016). Hyper Light Drifter. Scene: Credits.
  12. ^ Hawkins, Janine (March 1, 2017). "Take A Memorable Trip In 'Fitz Packerton'". Vice. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  13. ^ Lien, Tracey (May 6, 2014). "Kyoto Wild is the new game from Hyper Light Drift developer". Polygon. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  14. ^ "Teddy Diefenbach". Mobygames. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  15. ^ Aggro Crab (April 25, 2024). Another Crab's Treasure. Scene: Credits.
  16. ^ Ironwood Studios (February 22, 2024). Pacific Drive. Scene: Credits.
  17. ^ Heart Machine (December 2, 2021). Solar Ash. Annapurna Interactive. Scene: Credits.
  18. ^ Young Horses (November 12, 2020). Bugsnax. Scene: Credits.
  19. ^ Game Grumps (July 20, 2017). Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator. Scene: Credits.
  20. ^ Infinite Fall, Secret Lab (February 21, 2017). Night in the Woods. Scene: Credits.
  21. ^ Blendo Games (July 25, 2016). Quadrilateral Cowboy. Scene: Credits.
  22. ^ Messhof (January 13, 2014). Nidhogg. Scene: Credits.
  23. ^ a b Sarkar, Samit (Nov 16, 2016). "Here are the nominees for The Game Awards 2016". Polygon. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  24. ^ "We Are OFK". The Peabody Awards. 2024. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  25. ^ "2023 Finalists & Winners". Independent Games Festival. 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  26. ^ "23rd Annual Game Developers Choice Awards". Game Developers Choice Awards. 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  27. ^ Rousseau, Jeffrey (May 10, 2024). "Pentiment and We Are OFK win Peabody Awards". Games Industry.biz. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
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