# Michael Cranford

Michael Cranford (born June 5, 1963) is a video game designer and programmer. As a designer and programmer his works include The Bard's Tale, The Bard's Tale II, and Dark Seed. Cranford left the video game industry in 1992 to pursue an academic career as an ethicist.

## Game designer

Cranford was the designer and programmer of 1985's The Bard's Tale and 1986's The Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight role-playing video games published by Interplay Productions. He also programmed the Apple II version of Donkey Kong, the Commodore 64 version of Super Zaxxon, as well as Maze Master (a spiritual predecessor of The Bard's Tale). His last video game was Dark Seed for Cyberdreams in 1992. He left the video game industry to pursue graduate studies, and thus was not involved in the creation of 1988's The Bard's Tale III. Almost thirty years later, however, he was approached by inXile Entertainment to assist with the development of The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep and had agreed to provide feedback and advice for the new game.

### Games

| Name | Year | Credited with | Publisher |
| Story Machine (VIC-20 port) | 1983 | programmer | Human Engineered Software |
| Maze Master | 1983 | designer, programmer | Human Engineered Software |
| Super Zaxxon (C64 port) | 1984 | programmer | Human Engineered Software |
| Donkey Kong (Apple II port) | 1984 | programmer | Atarisoft |
| The Bard's Tale | 1985 | designer, programmer | Electronic Arts |
| Borrowed Time | 1985 | writer | Activision |
| The Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight | 1986 | designer, programmer | Electronic Arts |
| Centauri Alliance | 1990 | designer, programmer | Broderbund |
| Dark Seed | 1992 | designer | Cyberdreams |

## Academic career

He was a professor for eight years at Biola University in La Mirada, California, gaining his Master of Divinity degree from Biola and a master's degree in Social Ethics from the University of Southern California. He is currently an adjunct professor of philosophy at Concordia University in Irvine, California. He studied architecture at the University of California, Berkeley and he holds a degree in philosophy from the University of California, and has completed a Ph.D. in Religion and Social Ethics from the University of Southern California, with a focus on ethics and technology.

## Publications

* Cranford, Michael (1993). "Election and Ethnicity: Paul's View of Israel in Romans 9.1-13". Journal for the Study of the New Testament. 15 (50). England: University of Sheffield: 27–41. doi:10.1177/0142064X9301505003. S2CID 146177953.
* Cranford, Michael (1994). "The Possibility of Perfect Obedience: Paul and an Implied Premise in Galatians 3:10 and 5:3". Novum Testamentum. 36 (3). Netherlands: E.J. Brill Publishers: 242–258. doi:10.1163/156853694X00111.
* Cranford, Michael (1995). "Abraham in Romans 4: The Father of All Who Believe". New Testament Studies. 41 (41). Cambridge University Press: 71–88. doi:10.1017/S0028688500022955. S2CID 171050684.
* Cranford, Michael (1996). "The Social Trajectory of Virtual Reality: Substantive Ethics in a World Without Constraints". Technology in Society. 18 (18): 79–92. doi:10.1016/0160-791X(95)00023-K.
* Cranford, Michael (December 1998). "Drug Testing and the Right to Privacy: Arguing the Ethics of Workplace Drug Testing". Journal of Business Ethics. 17 (16): 1805–1815. doi:10.1023/A:1005742923601. S2CID 142747864. Reprinted in Beauchamp & Bowie, ed. (2001). Ethical Theory and Business (6th & 7th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. pp. 294–302.
* Cranford, Michael (2007). Laura P. Hartman; Joe DesJardines (eds.). "Drug Testing and the Obligation to Prevent Harm". Business Ethics: Decision-Making for Personal Integrity and Social Responsibility. Boston: McGraw Hill: 301–307.