Career
Sweeney established Epic as a shareware company while he was a student majoring in mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland. Epic got its start when Sweeney created ZZT, the company"s first game, released as a shareware in 1991. In interviews Sweeney has credited that game success with fueling the early growth of his company.
Sweeney worked on Epic"s Unreal Engine, used in the Unreal series of first-person shooters and multiple other video games.
In 2005, Sweeney attended Wake Technical Community College Digital Game Xpo as a guest speaker. He showed a demo of the Unreal Engine and talked about 3D Buzz"s book "Mastering Unreal Technology: The Art of Level Design".
On February 9, 2012, Sweeney was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) Hall of Fame for his technological innovations in the gaming industry.
