Matt Forbeck (born August 4, 1968) is an American author 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 ...

from

Beloit, Wisconsin Beloit is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. History Twelve men in Colebrook, New Hampshire, created the "New England Emigrating Company" in October 1836 and sent ...

Biography

Forbeck first became interested in

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

s at age 13 when he started playing ''

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 TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

''. He earned a degree in creative writing from the Residential College at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and graduated in 1989. Forbeck began working full-time on games and fiction after graduating. He was the editor on an adventure by

Gary Gygax Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson. In the 1960s, Gygax created an ...

for New Infinities called ''Epic of Yarth: Necropolis''. He wrote ''Outlaw'' (1991) and ''Western Hero'' (1991) for the

Iron Crown Enterprises Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE) is a publishing company that has produced role playing, board, miniature, and collectible card games since 1980. Many of ICE's better-known products were related to J. R. R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth, but the ''Ro ...

and

Hero Games Hero Games (''DOJ, Inc dba Hero Games'') is the publisher of the Hero System, a generic roleplaying rules set that can be used to simulate many different genres, and was the co-developer of the ''Fuzion'' system. History In 1981, George MacDon ...

. Forbeck and Shane Hensley formed

Pinnacle Entertainment Group Pinnacle Entertainment Group is a publisher of role-playing games and wargames. History When Shane Lacy Hensley decided to create a 19th-century miniatures game he contacted Charles Ryan's company Chameleon Eclectic about publishing it. The resul ...

to publish ''

Deadlands ''Deadlands'' is a genre-mixing alternate history role-playing game which combines the Western and horror genres, with some steampunk elements. The original game was written by Shane Lacy Hensley and published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group i ...

''. Forbeck spent four years as the president of Pinnacle and was the director of the adventure games division at

Human Head Studios Human Head Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer located in Madison, Wisconsin. History Human Head Studios was founded in October 1997 by a group of six developers formerly from Raven Software: Ben Gokey, Chris Rhinehart, Paul ...

for two years. Forbeck left Pinnacle to move to

Alderac Entertainment Group Alderac Entertainment Group, or AEG, is a publisher of role-playing game, board game, and collectible card game products. AEG was formed by Jolly Blackburn in 1993 and is based in the city of Ontario, California. Prior to getting into their cur ...

just before the two companies ended their relationship, and sold his ''

Brave New World ''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hierarch ...

'' role-playing game to AEG. Forbeck has designed

collectible card game A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ...

roleplaying game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

s, miniatures games, and

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

s, and he has written short fiction, comic books, and novels for the companies

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for ga ...

Games Workshop Games Workshop Group (often abbreviated as GW) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are ''Warhammer Age of Sigmar'' and ''Warhammer 40,000''. Founded in 1975 by John Peake (gam ...

, TSR,

Decipher DECIPHER is a web-based resource and database of genomic variation data from analysis of patient DNA. It documents submicroscopic chromosome abnormalities ( microdeletions and duplications) and pathogenic sequence variants (single nucleotide ...

White Wolf A white wolf or Arctic wolf is a mammal of the ''Canidae'' family and a subspecies of the gray wolf. It may also refer to: Organizations * White Wolf (band), a Canadian heavy metal band * White Wolf (band), white power oi band from the USA * Whi ...

Pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

Green Ronin Green Ronin Publishing is an American company based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Chris Pramas and Nicole Lindroos, they have published several role-playing game–related products. They won several awards for their games including ...

AEG Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AG (AEG; ) was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in Berlin as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektricität'' in 1883 by Emil Rathenau. During the Second World War, AEG ...

Reaper Miniatures Reaper Miniatures is an American manufacturer of pewter and plastic figurines in the 25–35 mm scale, which include fantasy and science fiction figures. Founded in 1992 by brothers Ed and David Pugh, the company was originally based in Fort ...

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

WildStorm Productions Wildstorm Productions, (stylized as WildStorm), is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wildst ...

, Idea + Design Works, and many others. Forbeck has also worked for

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...

Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

Playmates Toys Playmates Toys Limited is a Hong Kong toy company. The company was founded in Hong Kong in 1966 by Sam Chan as Playmates Industrial, manufacturing dolls for other companies. In 1975, Playmates began marketing their own line of pre-school toys, ...

, and

. Along with game designer Jason Blair, he wrote the script for the video game ''

Conduit 2 '' Conduit 2'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by High Voltage Software for the Wii video game console. It is the sequel to ''The Conduit''. The definite article of the original title was dropped during development as the developer ...

''. Forbeck has won

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 aw ...

s for Best Roleplaying Game for ''

'' and ''

The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game ''The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game'', released by Decipher Inc. in 2002, is a role-playing game set in the Middle-earth of J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction. The game is set in the years between ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', ...

'', Best Miniatures Rules for '' Warzone'' and '' The Great Rail Wars'', Best Roleplaying Adventure for ''

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

'', Best Fantasy Board Game for ''

Genestealer In the fictional universe of ''Warhammer 40,000'', the Tyranids are a race and a playable army in the tabletop miniatures wargame. The Tyranids are described as a nomadic society of aliens which originated from beyond the Milky Way Galaxy and ...

'', and Best Short Story for "Prometheus Unwound" from '' The Book of All Flesh''. He is the author of the well-received ''Secret of the Spiritkeeper'', the first book in the Knights of the Silver Dragon series. Forbeck and his wife Ann live in

with their children Marty, Pat, Nick, Ken and Helen.

Bibliography

Role-playing games

*''

Mutant Chronicles ''Mutant Chronicles'' is a pen-and-paper role-playing game set in a post-apocalyptic world, originally published in 1993. It has spawned a franchise of collectible card games, miniature wargames, video games, novels, comic books, and a film ...

'' (1993) *''

'' (1996), contributor *''

'' (1999) *''

Tales from the Loop ''Tales from the Loop'' is an American science fiction drama television series developed and written by Nathaniel Halpern based on the art book of the same name by Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag. The eight-episode first season was released in ...

'' (2017), additional writing *'' Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game'' (2022)

Collectible card games

*'' WildStorms: The Expandable Super-Hero Card Game'' (1995) *''

Fastbreak Fast break is an offensive strategy in basketball and handball. In a fast break, a team attempts to move the ball up court and into scoring position as quickly as possible, so that the defense is outnumbered and does not have time to set up. The ...

'' (1996) - an out-of-print

(CCG) by

WildStorm Wildstorm Productions, (stylized as WildStorm), is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wilds ...

based on professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. It was first released in August 1996 and was designed by Matt Forbeck. The original set had 303 cards plus 2 promo cards, though one source claims there are 8 promo cards. The art was cartoony with a humor theme and was described as having a "consistent theme" with its "best traits eingits humor and the realism". Matt Forbeck is featured on a card, and as one of the designers, put significant effort into designing and playing the game. :

Gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and pla ...

involves players taking on the role of coaches to guide their basketball players to victory. Two rows of 5 man teams are lined up and a basketball token is passed between the player cards using

Dribble In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

cards. The ball moves up columns and across rows on a 5x5 grid. Counter play is initiated through Foul cards that can steal or shoot the ball that is being dribbled via Grab cards. Passes are resisted with Steals and Shoot cards resisted with Blocks. Wild cards allow effects outside of moving the ball.

Fiction

Blood Bowl series

# ''Blood Bowl'' (2005) # ''Dead Ball'' (2005) # ''Death Match'' (2006) # ''Rumble in the Jungle'' (2007) :* ''The Blood Bowl Omnibus'' (2007) collects #1-3

Guild Wars series

* ''Ghosts of Ascalon'' (2010) with

Jeff Grubb Jeff Grubb (born August 27, 1957) is an author who writes novels, short stories, and comics and a computer and role-playing game designer in the fantasy genre. Grubb worked on the ''Dragonlance'' campaign setting under Tracy Hickman, and the ''F ...

Knights of the Silver Dragon series

* ''Secret of the Spiritkeeper'' (2004) * ''Prophecy of the Dragons'' (2006) * ''The Dragons Revealed'' (2006) * ''Knights of the Silver Dragon'' (2008) omnibus of all three novels, with

Ree Soesbee Ree Soesbee is an American game designer of collectible card games, role-playing games, and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), as well as a writer of primarily fantasy novels. Early life and education After Soesbee's mother ...

Dale Donovan Dale A. Donovan is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Career Dale Donovan began working in the hobby-gaming industry in 1989. A past editor of Dragon magazine, Donovan worked for TSR, Inc., Wizards of the Coast, and ...

and Linda Johns

Eberron series

* The Lost Mark: # ''Marked for Death'' (2005) # ''The Road to Death'' (2006) # ''The Queen of Death'' (2006)

Endless Quest series

* ''Escape the Underdark'' (2018) * ''Big Trouble'' (2018) * ''Into the Jungle'' (2018) * ''To Catch a Thief'' (2018) * ''Escape from Castle Ravenloft'' (2019) * ''The Mad Mage's Academy'' (2019)

''Magic: The Gathering'' comics

* ''Magic: The Gathering'' #1–4, with artist Martin Coccolo (2011–12) ** ''Magic: The Gathering Volume 1'' ( tpb, 2012,

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...

, ) * ''Magic: The Gathering: The Spell Thief'' #1–4, with artists Christian Duce, Martin Coccolo (2012) ** ''Magic: The Gathering Volume 2: The Spell Thief'' (tpb, 2012, IDW Publishing, ) * ''Magic: The Gathering: Path of Vengeance'' #1–4, with artists Jack Jadson, Martin Coccolo (2012–13) ** ''Magic: The Gathering Volume 3: Path of Vengeance'' (tpb, 2013, IDW Publishing, )

Novels

* ''Mutant Chronicles'' (2008) * ''Amortals'' (2010) * ''Vegas Knights'' (2011) * ''Carpathia'' (2012) * ''

Leverage Leverage or leveraged may refer to: *Leverage (mechanics), mechanical advantage achieved by using a lever * ''Leverage'' (album), a 2012 album by Lyriel *Leverage (dance), a type of dance connection *Leverage (finance), using given resources to ...

: The Con Job'' (2012) * '' Halo: New Blood'' (2015) * '' Halo: Legacy of Onyx'' (2017) * '' Halo: Bad Blood'' (2018) * ''Minecraft Dungeons: The Rise of the Arch-Illager'' (2020)

Nonfiction

* ''Star Wars vs. Star Trek: Could the Empire Kick the Federation's Ass? And Other Galaxy-Shaking Enigmas'' (2011)

Collections

* ''Crocodilopolis'' (1992) * ''Space Station Boomtown 13'' (1994) * ''Interesting Times'' (1994) * ''Musings'' (1995) * ''Reconciliation'' (1995) * ''Talking Heads'' (1999) * ''Reborn on the Bayou'' (1999) * ''Head Games'' (1999) * ''Prometheus Unwound'' (2001) * ''Coming Home'' (2005) * ''In the Belly of the Behemoth'' (2011) * ''The Fury Pact'' (2012)

Essays

* "Author's Introduction" in ''The Blood Bowl Omnibus'' (2007)

References

External links

Matt Forbeck's official site
*
Matt Forbeck interview, Gen Con 2009Doomzine #23 interview with Matt ForbeckMatt Forbeck: The Terrible Minds Interview
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forbeck, Matt 1968 births 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American male novelists Dungeons & Dragons game designers Living people People from Beloit, Wisconsin University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni