The Coles is a colloquial term referring to Corey Cole and Lori Ann Cole, a husband and wife team (married 1982) who are both

video game designer Video game design is the process of designing the content and rules of video games in the pre-production stage and designing the gameplay, environment, storyline and characters in the production stage. Some common video game design subdiscipline ...

s. While they are most well known working together designing the ''

Quest for Glory ''Quest for Glory'' is a series of hybrid adventure/role-playing video games, which were designed by Corey and Lori Ann Cole. The series was created in the Sierra Creative Interpreter, a toolset developed at Sierra specifically to assist with a ...

'' series, both are notable separately for designing games and (in the case of

programmer A computer programmer, sometimes referred to as a software developer, a software engineer, a programmer or a coder, is a person who creates computer programs — often for larger computer software. A programmer is someone who writes/creates ...

Corey Cole)

game engine A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term " software engine" used in the softwar ...

s independently of each other. They formed Far Studio, which was the developer of ''

Shannara ''Shannara'' is a series of high fantasy novels written by Terry Brooks, beginning with '' The Sword of Shannara'' in 1977 and concluding with ''The Last Druid'' which was released in October 2020; there is also a prequel, '' First King of Sha ...

'' and is now used for art and web development. They also formed a studio called Transolar Entertainment, which is the developer of the

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extr ...

RPG RPG may refer to: Military * Rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon **''Ruchnoi Protivotankoviy Granatomyot'' (Russian: ''Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт''), hand-held anti-tank grenade laun ...

hybrid '' Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption''.

Corey Cole

Corey Stuart Cole (born 27 November 1955 in Santa Monica) is an American game designer, programmer, and writer who co-created various iterations of the SCI engine, co-designed the first four games in the '' Quest for Glory series'' with his wife, and designed and directed '' Castle of Dr. Brain''.

Biography

Corey Cole is an avid ''

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. (T ...

'' fan, playing the game for 10 years before joining Sierra, and ultimately selling one

role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing as ...

module to

Judges Guild Judges Guild is a game publisher that has been active since 1976. The company created and sold many role-playing game supplements, periodicals and related materials, but became best known during the late 1970s and early 1980s as one of the leadi ...

. At that time he and his wife, Lori Cole published ''The Spell Book'', a role-playing game newsletter. They ran fantasy campaigns for years that had a unique rule system that later became the core of their ''Quest for Glory'' games.

Career at Sierra

Corey Cole started his programming career at

Sierra On-line Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is known for pioneering the graphic adventure game genre ...

in 1988, porting the SCI engine to Atari ST. He later co-programmed new iterations the SCI engine for use in many Sierra games during much of his tenure at Sierra. He began his career as a game developer, alongside his wife Lori Ann Cole, with '' Hero's Quest'' (which was later renamed ''Quest for Glory'') in 1989. He wasn't credited as co-developer of the game, but he was acknowledged as such by the games industry. ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through t ...

'' recognized both Corey Cole and Lori Ann Cole as the game's designers when they awarded ''Hero's Quest'' the Adventure Game of the Year award. He and his wife were co-designers of the next three games in the ''Quest for Glory'' series as well. He designed the puzzle adventure game '' Castle of Dr. Brain'', the first game in the ''Dr. Brain'' series, in 1991. The series is notable for being Sierra's only property to be licensed for use in television, as the

Children's Television Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—including its first and best-know ...

licensed it for use in their programming on December 9, 1993. After being included in the major 1994 Sierra layoff, Corey returned in 1997 to work on ''

Quest for Glory V ''Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire'' is the fifth and final game in the '' Quest for Glory'' computer game series by Sierra FX, a former "sub brand" of Sierra On-Line. Unlike the first four games, ''Dragon Fire'' is primarily an action role-playing ...

'', which was released in 1998. Corey did not take a development role on the game, but he did serve as a programmer. That same year, a photograph of his face was used as a head shot for a character in '' Police Quest: SWAT 2''. Corey's final role at Sierra was as a programmer on ''

Hoyle Casino ''Hoyle Casino'' is a virtual casino video game series, developed and published originally by Sierra Entertainment and since 2005 by Encore, Inc. It is a spin-off of Sierra's ''Hoyle's Official Book of Games'' series. Set in a virtual Las Vegas S ...

''. which was released in 2000.

Games

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...

'' Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon'' - Atari ST port (Sierra) *

'' Quest for Glory: So You Want to Be a Hero'' - programmer, Atari ST port (Sierra) *

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

'' King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown'' - development system programming (Sierra) *

'' Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire'' - designer, programmer, development system programming (Sierra) *

'' King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder'' - development system programming (Sierra) *

'' Hoyle's Official Book of Games Volume 2'' - development system programming (Sierra) *

'' Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail'' - development system programming (Sierra) *

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...

'' Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers'' - development team (Sierra) *

'' Mixed-Up Mother Goose'' - development system programming (Sierra) *

Mixed-Up Fairy Tales ''Mixed-Up Fairy Tales'' is a graphic adventure game released by Sierra On-Line in 1991. It is a follow-up to ''Mixed-Up Mother Goose'' and was made for younger players than those of Sierra's ''King's Quest'' or ''Space Quest'' series. In it, the ...

'' - lead programmer (Sierra) *

Jones in the Fast Lane ''Jones in the Fast Lane'' is a social simulation game for MS-DOS compatible operating systems. It was developed and published by Sierra Entertainment in 1991. Using a board game motif, the objective is to attain certain amounts of money, happin ...

'' - development system programming (Sierra) *

'' Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood'' - development system programming (Sierra) *

'' Castle of Dr. Brain'' - designer, director, programmer (Sierra) *

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

'' Quest for Glory I: So You Want to Be a Hero'' - co-designer *

'' Quest for Glory III: Wages of War'' - co-designer, voice actor (Sierra) *

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

'' Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness'' - co-designer, co-director, co-writer (Sierra) *

'' Hoyle's Classic Card Games'' - additional bridge programming (Sierra) *

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

'' - co-designer, programmer (Far Studio) *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

'' Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire'' - RPG and system software engineer (Sierra) *

'' Police Quest: SWAT 2'' - photograph model for a character (Sierra) *

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

'' - programmer (Sierra) *

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

'' Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption'' - co-designer (Transolar Games)

Lori Ann Cole

Lori Ann Cole (''née'' Armbruster) is an American game designer, director and writer who co-designed the first four ''

'' series with her husband, designed '' Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire'', and designed and directed ''

''. She is also a voice actor, voicing Queen Isabella in '' King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder!''.

Biography

Cole's varied background includes elementary education, film animation, and writing. She is a fanatic

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

player who became involved in game designing because of her husband's involvement in

Career at Sierra

Lori Ann Cole co-designed the ''Quest for Glory'' series with her husband Corey Cole. She was the sole designer of the final chapter, ''Quest for Glory V'', although her husband was a programmer for that game. She was also the designer of the second and final game in Sierra's ''Mixed-Up'' children's adventure game series, ''

''. While at Sierra, she also was a voice actor, voicing Queen Isabella in the CD-ROM version of ''King's Quest V''. After Sierra downsized in 1994, Lori returned the following year as the sole designer of ''Quest for Glory V'', which was released in 1998. That same year, a photograph of her face was used as a head shot for a character in '' SWAT 2''.

Games

'' Quest for Glory: So You Want to Be a Hero'' - director, writer (Sierra) *

'' Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire'' - co-designer, FACS Manual Writer (Sierra) *

'' King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder'' - voice actor (Queen Isabella) (Sierra) *

'' - designer, director (Sierra) *

'' Castle of Dr. Brain'' - additional material (Sierra) *

'' Quest for Glory I: So You Want to Be a Hero'' - director, co-designer *

'' Quest for Glory III: Wages of War'' - co-designer, director, writer, voice actor (Sierra) *

'' Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness'' - co-designer, co-director, co-writer (Sierra) *

'' - co-designer, writer (Far Studio) *

'' Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire'' - designer, documentation writer (Sierra) *

'' Police Quest: SWAT 2'' - photograph model for a character (Sierra) *

'' Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption'' - co-designer (Transolar Games)

Far Studio/Transolar Games

Since Sierra didn't give the ''

'' team the budget and time that the Coles felt the game needed, they decided to create games for other publishers. As a result, they formed a mini company called FAR Productions (named for the property they lived on, Flying Aardvark Ranch) and created ''

'' for

Legend Entertainment Legend Entertainment Company was an American developer and publisher of computer games, best known for creating adventure titles throughout the 1990s. The company was founded by Bob Bates and Mike Verdu, both veterans of the interactive fic ...

in 1995. In 2003, Corey and Lori decided to make a game based on a book that she was co-writing that was never published called ''How to Be a Hero''. After losing the website named after the book after running it for three years, they decided to rename the idea ''School of Heroes''. They originally planned to make the game a text adventure, which Corey programmed using

Inform Inform is a programming language and design system for interactive fiction originally created in 1993 by Graham Nelson. Inform can generate programs designed for the Z-code or Glulx virtual machines. Versions 1 through 5 were released bet ...

, but they were not satisfied with the feel of the game and put it aside. At the same time, they decided to create a website to promote the book. Corey programmed the interactive parts of the site, which would automate the original ''How to Be A Hero'' website's theme of allowing users to become "students" and complete "assignments". They planned to expand the site into a full interactive game, but those ideas never materialized. In late 2011, the Coles decided to stop taking assignments at ''School of Heroes'' and instead make the idea into a game. On October 19, 2012, after the success from successful projects by fellow Sierra alumni and at the encouragement of fans, Lori Ann and Corey Cole launched a Kickstarter for 2D adventure RPG based on that idea, ''Hero-U''. '' Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption'' was published by Transolar Games in 2018.

Recognition

'' awarded Corey and Lori Ann Cole (and producer Guruka Singh Khalsa) the Adventure Game of the Year award for '' Hero's Quest'' in 1990.

References

External links

School For HeroesHero-UTransolar Games

FAR Studio DesignsCorey Cole
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...

Lori Ann Cole
at MobyGames {{DEFAULTSORT:Coles, The American computer programmers American male video game actors American video game actresses American video game designers American video game directors Living people Married couples Sierra On-Line employees Video game writers Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women Women video game designers