Editing Tim Sweeney (section)

==Founding of Epic Games==
{{Main|Epic Games}}
Sweeney attended the [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]] starting around 1989 where he studied [[mechanical engineering]],<ref name="gamasutra"/> though he was still fascinated by computers.<ref name="kotaku"/> Around this time, his father, who worked for the [[Defense Mapping Agency]], gave him an [[IBM Personal Computer/AT]].<ref name="kotaku"/> Sweeney established a consulting business, Potomac Computer Systems, out of his parents' home, but it never took off and he shelved the company.<ref name="gamasutra"/> Later, Sweeney had the idea of creating games that could be sold, programming them at night or over weekends outside college work. This first required him to create a [[text editor]] based on the [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]] language to be able to program the game, which led to the idea of making a game out of the text editor itself. This became the basis of ''[[ZZT]]''. He let college friends and those around his neighborhood provide feedback, and was aware it was something he could sell to other computer users. To distribute the game, Sweeney looked to the [[shareware]] model, and wrote to [[Scott Miller (entrepreneur)|Scott Miller]] of [[3D Realms|Apogee Software, Ltd.]], a leading shareware producer at the time, for ideas on how to distribute ''ZZT''. He revitalized Potomac Computer Systems for selling ''ZZT'', fulfilling mail orders with help of his father. ''ZZT'' sold well enough, a few copies each day that came to about {{USD|100}} per day, that Sweeney decided to make developing games his career. Recognizing he needed a better name for a video game company, he renamed Potomac Computer Systems to Epic MegaGames.<ref name="gamasutra"/>

[[File:GDC 2016 TXT8604 Tim Sweeney (25730674112) (cropped2).jpg|thumb|right|Sweeney giving a presentation at the 2016 [[Game Developers Conference]]]]
Following ''ZZT'', Sweeney started working on his next title, ''[[Jill of the Jungle]]'', but found that he lacked the skills to complete this alone. He formed a team of four people to complete the game by mid-1992.<ref name="kotaku"/> For continued development, Sweeney sought out a business partner for Epic MegaGames, eventually coming to [[Mark Rein (software executive)|Mark Rein]], who had just been let go from [[id Software]]. Rein helped with growing and managing the company; due to the company's growth, Sweeney did not end up getting his degree, short by one credit.<ref name="gamasutra"/> Sweeney would later start work on the [[Unreal Engine]], developed for the 1998 [[first-person shooter]] ''[[Unreal (1998 video game)|Unreal]]'' and licensed by multiple other video games.<ref name="kotaku"/><ref>{{Cite book |title=High score!: the illustrated history of electronic games |last1=DeMaria |first1=Rusel |last2=Wilson |first2=Johnny L. |publisher=McGraw-Hill Professional |year=2003 |isbn=0-07-223172-6 |series=Computer Games |page=300}}</ref> With the success of ''Unreal'', the company relocated to North Carolina in 1999, and changed its name to Epic Games.<ref name="epicshop">{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/02/04/epic-sets-up-shop |title=Epic Sets up Shop |website=[[IGN]] |date=February 4, 1999 |publication-date=February 3, 1999 |access-date=July 13, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713174455/http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/02/04/epic-sets-up-shop |archive-date=July 13, 2017 }}</ref>