Ido Magal is the project lead on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Counter-Strike 2. He was also a level designer and a texture artist for the original Counter-Strike.
Biography
Ido's a UC Berkeley computer science drop-out turned artist. He enjoys photography, books about war, foreign films, and advising the President about issues of national importance. His Gameography includes IBM/Crayola's 3D Castle Creator, HotB's Black Bass Fishing (PC version), and C&C Red Alert 2.[1]
Originally from Israel,[2] Ido Magal joined the Counter-Strike Team as a texture artist in July 1999.[3] His initial task on the team was to assist in the creation of the official texture file for the game, cstrike.wad.[2]
He was employed by Valve Software in July 2001.[4][5] During the following year, he would assist in the creation of Chateau, Havana and Piranesi for the original Counter-Strike.
Ido also worked as a level designer on Counter-Strike: Source, being responsible for the updated versions of the maps such as Dust and Aztec.[6] He also created a remake of the ever popular Iceworld called Rockworld, though it was strictly an internal test map and was thus never released.[7]
In 2008-2009, Ido Magal, along with Matt Wood, began experimenting with a new version of Counter-Strike, codenamed CS2.[8][9] The project drew inspiration from innovative shooters at that time, such as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Little is known about the prototype’s gameplay or mechanics, as development was short-lived and discontinued as the team shifted focus to other projects.
In August 2009, Hidden Path Entertainment was contracted with Valve to port Counter-Strike: Source to gaming consoles.[10] Over time, the project evolved from a straightforward port into a modified version of the game. As development progressed, Ido Magal saw the potential for the port to become something more ambitious.[11] This led Valve and Hidden Path to begin working on a standalone, multi-platform title named Counter-Strike: Global Offensive with Ido Magal taking on the role of project lead.[12]
Following the release of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Ido Magal continued supporting the game,[13] and is most likely currently the project lead for Counter-Strike 2, as was the case with CS:GO.
List of maps
Official maps
| Map name | Game(s) | Responsibilities | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aztec | 
|
Environment artist | 2004 |
| Chateau | 
|
Level co-designer, texture artist | 2002 |
| Dust |
|
Environment artist | 2004 |
| Havana |
|
Level designer, texture artist | 2002 |
| Piranesi |
|
Texture artist | 2002 |
| Rockworld | (cut)
|
Level designer | 2004 |
| Venice | (cut)
|
Level designer, texture artist | 2002 |
Trivia
- In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, variant C of Balkan model is called "Ido".
References
- ↑ Counter-Strike: www.counter-strike.net - News archive - The CS Team
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Counter-Strike: www.counter-strike.net- News Archive - 4 new team members. Archived from the original on 2003-11-18.
- ↑ www.counter-strike.net - The CS Team. Archived from the original on 1999-11-27.
- ↑ Valve - People
- ↑ Magal, Ido. "Ido Magal's Profile". LinkedIn.
- ↑ Half-Life 2 - Raising the Bar. Archived on valvearchive.com.
- ↑ CS-Nation - cs: source impressions. Archived from the original on 2004-08-20.
- ↑ Matt T. Wood Interview (Half Life 2, Portal 2, CS:GO, Valve, Little Kitty Big City etc.). YouTube.
- ↑ CSGO to be Replaced by "Counter-Strike 2"? Archived on valvearchive.com.
- ↑ Hidden Path Entertainment - CS:GO Frequently Asked Questions. Archived from the original on 2016-08-29.
- ↑ Kotaku - What the New Counter-Strike Is and Isn't, According to Valve
- ↑ Kotaku - An Hour with Counter-Strike: GO
- ↑ Ido Magal's messages on mail-archive.com
External links
- ido_Valve on Reddit.