Brian Colin
 | This article includes a list of generalreferences,butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations.(August 2013) |
Brian Colin | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 4, 1956 |
| Occupation(s) | Video game designer,artist, animator |
| Known for | Rampage Arch Rivals |
Brian Colin(born November 4, 1956) is an Americanvideo-game designer,artist and animator. Among his best-known works are the coin-operated arcade gamesRampage,Arch RivalsandRampage: World Touras well asGeneral Chaosfor theSega Genesisgame console. He is the CEO ofGame Refuge,an independent video-game design and development studio with offices inDowners Grove, Illinois.He has been noted for his work in the field of bitmapped video-game graphics and animation, creating video-gamespritesand tiled background graphics with a recognizable, identifiable style.[1]
you can now see him across the country at gaming conventions.
Career
[edit]Colin joinedBally/Midwayas an artist and animator during thegolden age of arcade video games.His first project was creating new character animation for the arcade gameDiscs of Tron,for which he was given onscreen credit.[2]Between 1982 and 1984, he created in-gameraster graphicsand animation for numerous Bally/Midway arcade games, includingKozmik Krooz'r,Spy HunterandZwackery,the latter being the first game for which Colin was credited as a game designer.
1985'sSargewas 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 gameRampagewas a success that set arcade earnings records; it was eventuallyportedto more than 25 different platforms and is still prominently featured inMidway arcadecompilations for current systems.[3][4]
Colin continued to work with other Bally/Midway programmers on games likeMax RPMandXenophobe,but as of 1988'sBlasted,he collaborated primarily with Nauman. Their next two games were released after Bally/Midway was acquired byWilliams Electronicsin 1988:Arch Rivalsin 1989 andPigskin 621 A.D.in 1990. Aneaster eggin 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 game development studioGame Refugewith Nauman in 1992. Starting withGeneral Chaosin 1993, Colin has conceived and designed over 45 different video games under the Game Refuge brand, including the arcade gamesRampage World TourandStar Trek: Voyager.He has also branched out intovideo slot machinedesign,advergamingandtouchscreengaming. He continues to produce games for PCs and mobile platforms as the CEO of Game Refuge.
More recently he has attempted to create a sequelGeneral Chaoscalled "General Chaos II: Sons of Chaos" withKickstarterbacking.
Awards and honors
[edit]Colin's animated short filmIn Search of a Plot(1977) earned awards at theChicago International Film Festival,the Melbourne International Amateur Film Festival, the Datsun/Playboy FOCUS International Film Festival, the National Student and Amateur Filmmakers' Festival of Comedy andCINE (Council on International Nontheatrical Events).[5]
Colin is currently named as an inventor on three United States Patents related to the gaming industry.
In 2005, Colin was inducted into theWhite CastleHall of Fame.[6]
In 2019, Colin was introduced to the International Video Game Hall of Fame (http:// ivghof.info/class-of-2019/).
References
[edit]- ^"The Pigskin Player's Handbook"at video-game-ephemera
- ^Discs of Tron Arcade Game Easter Eggsat Digital Press: The Video Game Database
- ^"Bally Readies Choice Entertainment Line-Up"RePlay,August 1986 (on gamesetwatch )
- ^"Bally's Rampage a Smash Hit!" Canadian Coin Box Magazine, August 1986, p. 49
- ^Hurley, Gerard T. Open-Ended: A Film/Video Source Book With the Film/Video Index. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1982, p. 122-123.
- ^2005 Hall of Fame Inducteesat whitecastle
Other sources
[edit]- Seninsky, Frank. "Frank's Cranks: Bally Aiming High"Play Meter,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,August 1993, p. 47
- Bieniek, Chris. "Video-Game Reviews: General Chaos"VideoGames,October 1993, p. 54
- "Rampage: World Tour Destruction Guide"Tips & Tricks,June 1997, p. 40–45
- Bevan, Mike. "The Making of...Rampage"Retro GamerIssue 56, 2008, p. 70–75
- Bevan, Mike. "The Making of...Spy Hunter"Retro GamerIssue 66, 2009, p. 28–31
- Hamen, Susan E.Inside the Industry: Engineering.ABDO Publishing Company, 2011, p. 81–83.