Biography
R.S. vander Wende, also credited as Richard Vander Wende and Richard van der Wende, is an American visual designer and video game designer. He began his career at Industrial Light & Magic as a concept designer and matte artist on films including Howard the Duck (1986), Innerspace (1987) and Willow (1988).
He joined Walt Disney Feature Animation and served as production designer on the animated feature Aladdin (1992). His early visual development work on the project influenced the directors' decision to pursue the story. Subsequent film credits include The Rocketeer (1991) and The Pagemaster (1994).
Vander Wende later moved into video games, working as co-director and co-designer on Riven: The Sequel to Myst (1997) at Cyan Worlds. He returned to the studio in the early 2020s to direct a remake of the game.
