David Cook (game designer)

Where was David Cook born and what childhood activity shaped his future?

David Cook was born in East Lansing, Michigan, and spent his childhood on a farm in Iowa playing wargames like Avalon Hill's Blitzkrieg and Afrika Korps. This early hobby of strategizing complex battles led him to the University of Iowa gaming club where he encountered Dungeons and Dragons in 1977.

What nickname did David Cook receive while teaching high school in Nebraska and why?

David Cook received the nickname Zeb while teaching high school in Milligan, Nebraska. The moniker originated from his signature featuring a prominent stroke resembling the letter Z and his striking resemblance to James Arness who played a character named Zeb Macahan on the television series How the West Was Won.

Which major role-playing game settings did David Cook design during his tenure at TSR?

David Cook designed the Expert Set to allow characters to progress beyond the third level and created the original Oriental Adventures setting of Kara-Tur. He also invented Planescape which became one of the most beloved settings in the history of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.

What video games did David Cook work on after leaving TSR in 1994?

After leaving TSR in 1994 David Cook worked on the game Fallout 2 and served as the lead designer on the 2005 City of Villains computer game for Cryptic Studios. He later joined Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment as the lead systems designer for the video game Stargate Worlds.

When was David Cook inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame and what role did he hold at ZeniMax Online Studios?

David Cook was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame in 2001 for his contributions to the gaming industry. In 2013 he worked as Content Designer at ZeniMax Online Studios on The Elder Scrolls Online and was credited as a Senior Product Owner for Bethesda.Net with the release of the Elsweyr expansion in June 2019.

David Cook (game designer)

David Cook was born in East Lansing, Michigan, but his destiny was forged on a farm in Iowa where he spent his childhood playing wargames like Avalon Hill's Blitzkrieg and Afrika Korps. While most children played with toy soldiers, Cook was already strategizing complex battles, a hobby that would eventually lead him to the University of Iowa gaming club. It was there, in 1977, that he encountered Dungeons and Dragons for the first time, a game that would consume his professional life for the next fifteen years. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Theater, a background that would prove essential for his future work in storytelling and game design. After graduation, he took a job as a high school teacher in Milligan, Nebraska, where his students gave him the nickname Zeb. The moniker came from two sources: his signature, which featured a prominent stroke resembling the letter Z, and his striking resemblance to James Arness, the star of the television series How the West Was Won, who played a character named Zeb Macahan. This nickname would become his professional identity, marking him as a figure who bridged the gap between the classroom and the fantasy realms he would soon create.

The Third Designer At TSR

In the early 1980s, the game industry was a small, tightly knit community, and a job posting in Dragon magazine could change a life forever. Cook responded to an advertisement for a game designer position at TSR, Inc., submitting a sample module section and passing a rigorous designer test. He became the third full-time game designer hired by the company, joining a team that was rapidly expanding under the leadership of Lawrence Schick. Cook's tenure at TSR would span over fifteen years, during which he created role-playing games, modules, family board games, card games, and party mystery games. He developed the Partyzone mystery game line, with the first game earning a spot on the Top 100 Games of 1985 list by Games Magazine. His portfolio included the creation of Conan the Barbarian, Crimefighters, The Adventures of Indiana Jones, Star Frontiers, Sirocco, and Escape from New York. He also wrote several influential early adventure modules for Dungeons and Dragons and Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, including A1: Slave Pits of the Undercity, I1: Dwellers of the Forbidden City, X1: The Isle of Dread, and the Desert Nomads series. His work extended to the CM4: Earthshaker! and AC5: Dragon Tiles II modules, as well as the B6: The Veiled Society and CB1: Conan Unchained! adventures. He also contributed to the M1: Blizzard Pass for D and AD and the Top Secret module TS005: Orient Express and Boot Hill module BH2: Lost Conquistador Mine.

Common questions

Where was David Cook born and what childhood activity shaped his future?

What nickname did David Cook receive while teaching high school in Nebraska and why?

Which major role-playing game settings did David Cook design during his tenure at TSR?

What video games did David Cook work on after leaving TSR in 1994?

When was David Cook inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame and what role did he hold at ZeniMax Online Studios?

David Cook (game designer)

The Third Designer At TSR

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