5. Chief Programmer's Son Begged Developers To Let Him Come Home
Few can claim they know the early FIFA titles any better than Jan Tian. As one of the lead programmers on the very first game, Tian worked tirelessly on ensuring FIFA International Soccer was as original and great as it possibly could be. He was the one who envisioned the isometric view that would stick with the series until it moved to a full 3D for the Playstation releases of FIFA games. So dedicated to the cause was Tian that he worked himself to the bone, even ending up in hospital due to a lack of sleep. One evening, whilst working alongside Bruce McMillan to perfect nuances of the game, the office phone rang. On the other end was one of Tian's children, a young boy who desperately wanted to see his father. Tian's Son said that he wanted his dad to come home, which must have been an emotional moment for the programmer. Still, he worked relentlessly, mainly focusing on how to make the CPU as realistic as possible. Tian didn't want the computer to act differently from a human player, which was his real challenge. Due to his effort, he received an award for 'Outstanding Achievement' from EA.