Brian Colin (born November 4, 1956) is an American video-game designer, artist and animator. Among his best-known works are the coin-operated arcade games '' Rampage'', ''

Arch Rivals ''Arch Rivals'' is a basketball sports video game released by Midway for arcades in 1989. Billed by Midway as "A Basket Brawl", the game features two-on-two full court basketball games in which players are encouraged to punch opposing players ...

'' and '' Rampage: World Tour'' as well as ''

General Chaos ''General Chaos'' is a video game developed by Game Refuge for the Sega Genesis and published by Electronic Arts in 1993. ''General Chaos'' is a satirical action/strategy game. Plot Ever since they were babies, brothers Chaos and Havoc enjoyed ...

'' for the

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

game console. He is the CEO of Game Refuge Inc., an independent video-game design and development studio with offices in

Downers Grove, Illinois Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. It is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The village is located between I-88 and I-55. ...

. He has been noted for his work in the field of bitmapped video-game graphics and animation, creating video-game sprites and tiled background graphics with a recognizable, identifiable style.

Career

Colin joined Bally/Midway as an artist and animator during the

golden age of arcade video games The golden age of arcade video games was the period of rapid growth, technological development and cultural influence of arcade video games, from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. The period began with the release of ''Space Invaders'' in 1978, ...

. His first project was creating new character animation for the arcade game ''

Discs of Tron ''Discs of Tron'' is the second arcade video game based on the 1982 Disney film ''Tron''. While the first ''Tron'' is a collection of four minigames, ''Discs of Tron'' is a single game inspired by ''Tron''s disc-battles. It is set in an arena sim ...

'', for which he was given onscreen credit. Between 1982 and 1984, he created in-game

raster graphics upright=1, The Smiley, smiley face in the top left corner is a raster image. When enlarged, individual pixels appear as squares. Enlarging further, each pixel can be analyzed, with their colors constructed through combination of the values for ...

and animation for numerous Bally/Midway arcade games, including ''

Kozmik Krooz'r ''Kozmik Krooz'r'' is a shoot 'em up video game developed by Bally Midway and released in arcades in 1982. The spaceship, a core element of the gameplay, is not an in-game graphic, but a physical plastic model. A series of mirrors projects the ...

'', ''

Spy Hunter Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

'' and ''Zwackery'', the latter being the first game for which Colin was credited as a game designer. 1985's '' Sarge'' was designed by Colin along with Bally/Midway programmer Jeff Nauman. It was their first complete collaboration in a partnership that would continue into the 21st century. Their 1986 game '' Rampage'' was a success that set arcade earnings records; it was eventually

ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desi ...

to more than 25 different platforms and is still prominently featured in Midway arcade compilations for current systems. Colin continued to work with other Bally/Midway programmers on games like ''Max RPM'' and '' Xenophobe'', but as of 1988's ''

Blasted ''Blasted'' is the first play by the British author Sarah Kane. It was first performed in 1995 at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London. Synopsis The play is set in an expensive hotel room in Leeds. Ian, a foul-mouthed middle-aged tabloid ...

'', he collaborated primarily with Nauman. Their next two games were released after Bally/Midway was acquired by

Williams Electronics WMS Industries, Inc. was an American electronic gaming and amusement manufacturer in Enterprise, Nevada. It was merged into Scientific Games in 2016. WMS's predecessor was the Williams Manufacturing Company, founded in 1943 by Harry E. Williams ...

in 1988: ''

'' in 1989 and '' Pigskin 621 A.D.'' in 1990. An

easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...

in Xenophobe was seen with the second stage being named "Colin's Rock", as tribute to Brian Colin. Colin left Williams/Bally/Midway to form the independent game development studio Game Refuge Inc. with Nauman in 1992. Starting with ''

'' in 1993, Colin has conceived and designed over 45 different video games under the Game Refuge brand, including the arcade games ''

Rampage World Tour ''Rampage World Tour'' is a video game released in 1997 and is the second game in the '' Rampage'' series. The game was developed as an arcade game for Midway Games by Game Refuge Inc. designers Brian Colin and Jeff Nauman, who conceived and desi ...

'' and '' Star Trek: Voyager''. He has also branched out into

video slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...

design,

advergaming An advergame is a form of advertising in video games, in which the video game is developed by or in close collaboration with a corporate entity for purposes of advertising a brand-name product. While other video games may use in-game advertising (s ...

and

touchscreen A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is often ...

gaming. He continues to produce games for PCs and mobile platforms as the CEO of Game Refuge. More recently he has attempted to create a sequel ''

'' called "General Chaos II: Sons of Chaos" with

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

backing.

Awards and honors

Colin's animated short film ''In Search of a Plot'' (1977) earned awards at the

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

, the Melbourne International Amateur Film Festival, the Datsun/Playboy FOCUS International Film Festival, the National Student and Amateur Filmmakers' Festival of Comedy and CINE (Council on International Nontheatrical Events). Colin is currently named as an inventor on three United States Patents related to the gaming industry. In 2005, Colin was inducted into the White Castle Hall of Fame.2005 Hall of Fame Inductees
at www.whitecastle.com In 2019, Colin was introduced to the International Video Game Hall of Fame (http://www.ivghof.info/class-of-2019/).

Notes

References

*Seninsky, Frank. "Frank's Cranks: Bally Aiming High" ''

Play Meter ''Play Meter'' (initially ''Coin Industry Play Meter'') was an American trade magazine focusing on the coin-op amusement arcade industry, including jukebox and arcade game machines. It was founded in December 1974 by publisher and editor Ralph C. ...

'', August 15, 1986, p. 42–44 *Haley, James. "Behind the Designing Scene" ''Canadian Coin Box Magazine'', August–September 1990, p. 36 *"Video-Game Previews: General Chaos" ''

VideoGames & Computer Entertainment ''VideoGames & Computer Entertainment'' (abbreviated as ''VG&CE'') was an American magazine dedicated to covering video games on computers, home consoles and arcades. It was published by LFP, Inc. from the late 1980s until the mid-1990s. Offe ...

'', August 1993, p. 47 *Bieniek, Chris. "Video-Game Reviews: General Chaos" ''

VideoGames Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedback ...

'', October 1993, p. 54 *"Rampage: World Tour Destruction Guide" ''Tips & Tricks'', June 1997, p. 40–45 *Bevan, Mike. "The Making of...Rampage" ''

Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' soon became ...

'' Issue 56, 2008, p. 70–75 *Bevan, Mike. "The Making of...Spy Hunter" ''

'' Issue 66, 2009, p. 28–31 *Hamen, Susan E. ''Inside the Industry: Engineering''. ABDO Publishing Company, 2011, p. 81–83.

External links

Official Game Refuge Web site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colin, Brian American video game designers Living people 1956 births