Colin McComb (born May 1970) is an American writer and

game designer Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design are also applied to other interactions, in ...

, who is best known for his work designing the

Planescape ''Planescape'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, designed by Zeb Cook, and published in 1994. It crosses numerous planes of existence, encompassing an entire cosmology called the Great Wheel, as de ...

setting for the ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...

'' role-playing game, and as the creative lead for the role-playing video game '' Torment: Tides of Numenera''.

Career history

Immediately after his commencement, McComb took at a job at

TSR, Inc. TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...

, where he produced numerous role-playing game supplements and magazine articles relating to those games. He won an

Origins Award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so (for example) the 1979 a ...

for Best Game Adventure in 1993 for ''

Dragon Mountain Dragon Mountain is a steel roller coaster located at Marineland of Canada near Niagara Falls, Ontario. Built by Arrow Huss, it opened to the public on July 16, 1983. At its opening, it claimed to have the longest ride time of 3 minutes and 30 ...

'', and another for New Role-Playing Supplement for the '' Birthright Campaign Setting'' in 1995. He is primarily known for his work on the Planescape line, for which he and

Monte Cook Monte Cook is an American professional tabletop role-playing game designer and writer, best known for his work on ''Dungeons & Dragons''. Role-playing industry career Early years Cook has been a professional game designer since 1988, worki ...

were the primary designers after the departure of

David "Zeb" Cook David "Zeb" Cook is an American game designer, best known for his work at TSR, Inc., where he was employed for over fifteen years. Cook designed several games, wrote the '' Expert Set'' for ''Dungeons & Dragons'', worked as lead designer of the ...

from TSR. In 1996, McComb left TSR to take a job at

Interplay Entertainment Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca ...

's roleplaying division, later called

Black Isle Studios Black Isle Studios is a division of the developer and publisher Interplay Entertainment that develops role-playing video games. It has published several games from other developers. Black Isle is based in Irvine, California. The division was fo ...

. While there, he had a small role in the design of ''

Fallout 2 ''Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game'' is a 1998 role-playing video game developed by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay Productions. It is a sequel to ''Fallout'' (1997), featuring similar graphics and game mechanics. The ...

'' and a far more significant role in the design of '' Planescape: Torment''. McComb left Black Isle in 2000, and moved to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

with

Robin Moulder Robin Moulder (born April 2, 1966) is an American musician, best known as being one of the founders of the riot goth-girl group Jack Off Jill and her subsequent project, TCR. She is a bassist, pianist, and programmer. History Robin Mould ...

, who would become his wife in 2001. In addition to his gaming work, McComb contributed interviews, album reviews, and concert reviews to the underground magazine ''

Outburn ''Outburn'' is a print magazine and online publication focusing on alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock, indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970 ...

''. In 2004, he reunited with his Planescape cohorts in the Malhavoc Press book, ''Beyond Countless Doorways'', which received an Honorable Mention for Best Writing at the 2005

ENnie Awards The ENNIE Awards (previously stylized as ENnie Awards) are awards for role-playing game (RPG) products (including game-related accessories, publications, and art) and their creators. The awards were created in 2001 by Russ Morrissey of EN World ...

. He and his wife also designed and wrote the manual for the MMORPG '' RYL'' in 2005. McComb taught at the

International Academy of Design and Technology The International Academy of Design and Technology (IADT) was a private for-profit media arts college in the United States with over ten branches. It was owned by Career Education Corporation. The institution was briefly merged with Sanford-Brown ...

. On August 10, 2012, it was announced that McComb joined ''

Wasteland 2 ''Wasteland 2'' is a post-apocalyptic role-playing video game developed by inXile Entertainment and published by Deep Silver. It is the sequel to 1988's ''Wasteland'', and was successfully crowdfunded through Kickstarter. After the postponement o ...

'' team as writer, reuniting with his Planescape cohorts once again. McComb was the creative lead for

inXile inXile Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and a studio of Xbox Game Studios based in Tustin, California. Specializing in role-playing video games, inXile was founded in 2002 by Interplay co-founder Brian Fargo. The studi ...

's 2017 RPG '' Torment: Tides of Numenera''. McComb works for the game studio

Drop Bear Bytes Drop, DROP, drops or DROPS may refer to: * Drop (liquid) or droplet, a small volume of liquid ** Eye drops, saline (sometimes mydriatic) drops used as medication for the eyes * Drop (unit), a unit of measure of volume * Falling (physics), allowi ...

as the Creative Lead on their upcoming title '' Broken Roads'', an RPG set in a post-apocalyptic Australia.

Notable work

TSR

*''

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Several different editions of the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ...

'' **''The Complete Book of Elves'' **''

'' *''

Amazing Engine ''Amazing Engine'' was a series of tabletop role-playing game books that was published by TSR, Inc. from 1993 until 1994. It was a generic role-playing game system - each publication employed the same minimalist generic rules, as described in th ...

'' **''The Galactos Barrier'' **''Bughunter'' (additional design) * Birthright **'' Birthright Campaign Setting'', with Richard Baker **'' Player's Secrets of Endier'' **'' Sword and Crown'' *

Dark Sun ''Dark Sun'' is an original ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (D&D) campaign setting set in the fictional, post-apocalyptic desert world of Athas. ''Dark Sun'' featured an innovative metaplot, influential art work, dark themes, and a genre-bending take o ...

**''The Complete Gladiators' Handbook'' *

Dragonlance ''Dragonlance'' is a shared universe created by Laura Hickman, Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived ''Dragonlance'' whil ...

**''Taladas: The Minotaurs'' **''Knight's Sword'' **''

Tales of the Lance ''Tales of the Lance'' is a boxed set issued by TSR for Dragonlance. It includes maps, source books, and player stat cards for various non-player characters (NPCs). Contents The ''Tales of the Lance'' boxed set summarizes the history of the sett ...

'' *''

'' **''Thunder Rift'' *

**''

Planescape Campaign Setting The ''Planescape Campaign Setting'' is a boxed set for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. The set was designed by David "Zeb" Cook and published in 1994. It introduced the Planescape setting and was highly praised by ''White W ...

'' (monster design) **''Planes of Law'' **''

Planes of Conflict ''Planes of Conflict'' is an accessory for the second edition of the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, published in 1995. Contents ''Planes of Conflict'' contains six maps and five manuals for use with the Planescape set ...

'' **''Players Primer to the Outlands'' (Audio CD script) **''Well of Worlds'' **'' Hellbound: The Blood War'' **'' On Hallowed Ground'' **''Faces of Evil: The Fiends'' **''The Great Modron March'' *

Ravenloft Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a ''pocket dimension'' or demiplane, called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces ...

**'' Islands of Terror'' **''Howls in the Night'' **'' Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium III: Creatures of Darkness'' (additional design) **''

Masque of the Red Death and Other Tales ''Masque of the Red Death and Other Tales'', subtitled "Terror in the 1890s", was published by TSR in 1994 as an alternate campaign setting for the horror fantasy role-playing game ''Ravenloft'', which itself uses the rules from the 2nd edition ...

Black Isle Studios

*''

'' *'' Planescape: Torment'' *''

Red Asphalt ''Red Asphalt'' is a series of instructional driver's education videos produced by the California Highway Patrol. The films are known for their graphic depictions of fatal car accidents. Horrendously injured and dismembered bodies are shown in t ...

'' (in-game commercial scripting)

inXile Entertainment

*''

'' *'' Torment: Tides of Numenera''

References

External links

Colin McComb's official website

MobyGames entry for Colin McComb
* * * — an interview in two parts with

Chris Avellone Chris Avellone is an American video game designer and comic book writer. He worked for Interplay and Obsidian Entertainment before working as a freelancer. He is best known for his work on role-playing video games such as '' Planescape: Torment' ...

and Colin McComb * — an interview in two parts with

and Colin McComb {{DEFAULTSORT:McComb, Colin 1970 births Living people American video game designers Dungeons & Dragons game designers Interplay Entertainment people Lake Forest College alumni Writers from Evanston, Illinois