David Cook (game designer)

{{Short description|American game designer}} {{Infobox person | name = David Cook | image = David "Zeb" Cook - Lucca Comics & Games 2016.jpg | caption = Cook at the 2016 Lucca Comics & Games | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = East Lansing, Michigan, U.S.<ref name="Dragon #104">{{cite journal |title=TSR Profiles |journal=Dragon |issue=#104 |pages=63 |publisher=TSR, Inc. |location=Lake Geneva, Wisconsin |date=December 1985 }}</ref> | spouse = Helen | other_names = Zeb<ref name="Dragon #104"/> | known_for = | education = | children = Ian | employer = | occupation = Game designer, writer | website = }} [[File:David "Zeb" Cook.jpg|thumb|right|David "Zeb" Cook (left) at GaryCon III.]]

'''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 second edition of ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'', and invented the Planescape setting for ''AD&D''. He is a member of the Origins Hall of Fame.

==Early life== Cook was born in East Lansing, Michigan, and grew up on a farm in Iowa. His father was a farmer and college professor. In junior high school, Cook played wargames such as Avalon Hill's ''Blitzkrieg'' and ''Afrika Korps'': "I was primarily a wargamer, but there wasn't any role-playing available then."<ref name="Dragon #104"/> In college, he was introduced to the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game through the University of Iowa gaming club.<ref name="Dragon #104"/>

Cook earned his B.A. in English (with a Theater minor) in 1977.<ref name="Dragon #104"/> He married his high school sweetheart, Helen, with whom he had one son, Ian.<ref name="Dragon #104"/> Cook became a high school teacher in Milligan, Nebraska, where his students gave him his nickname of "Zeb". The name derives from his signature, which is dominated by a stroke resembling a 'Z,' as well as from his resemblance to the James Arness character Zeb Macahan in the TV series ''How the West Was Won.''<ref name="Dragon #104"/>

==Career== Cook responded to an ad in ''Dragon'' magazine for a game designer position at TSR. After writing a sample module section and completing the designer test that the company then used, Cook became the third full-time game designer hired by TSR.<ref name="Dragon #104"/> Lawrence Schick was head of design and development at the time and brought Cook on board during a time of substantial growth at TSR.<ref name="designers">{{cite book |author=Shannon Appelcline |title=Designers & Dragons |publisher=Mongoose Publishing |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-907702-58-7}}</ref>{{rp|11}} Cook later became Senior Designer. "Game designing is hard work [...] but everything worth doing is hard work. The important thing is to do it well, and to have fun while you're doing it." Cook created role-playing games, modules, family board games, card games, rulebooks, and party mystery games.<ref name="Dragon #104"/>

He created the ''Partyzone'' mystery game line and ''The Spy Ring'' scenario.<ref name="Dragon #104"/> The first ''Partyzone'' game was named one of the Top 100 Games of 1985 by ''Games'' Magazine. Other notable works for TSR include the role-playing games ''Conan the Barbarian,'' ''Crimefighters'',<ref>{{cite journal |author=Cook, David |title=Crimefighters |date=March 1981 |publisher=Dragon |issue=47 |journal=Rollenspiel-almanach.de |url=http://www.rollenspiel-almanach.de/wp-content/uploads/Crimefighters.pdf}}</ref> ''The Adventures of Indiana Jones,'' ''Star Frontiers,'' ''Sirocco,'' and ''Escape from New York''. Cook also wrote several influential early adventure modules for D&D and AD&D, such as ''A1: Slave Pits of the Undercity,'' ''I1: Dwellers of the Forbidden City,'' ''X1: The Isle of Dread,'' ''X4: Master of the Desert Nomads,'' and ''X5: Temple of Death'' (the 'Desert Nomads' series). Other module work included ''CM4: Earthshaker!,'' ''AC5: Dragon Tiles II,'' ''AC2: D&D Game Combat Shield,'' ''B6: The Veiled Society,'' ''CB1: Conan Unchained!,'' and ''M1: Blizzard Pass'' for ''D&D'' and ''AD&D'', and ''Top Secret'' module ''TS005: Orient Express'' and ''Boot Hill'' module ''BH2: Lost Conquistador Mine''.<ref name="Dragon #104"/>

After Tom Moldvay wrote the second edition of the ''D&D'' ''Basic Set'', published in 1980, Cook developed the ''Expert Set'' to take characters beyond third level.<ref name="designers"/>{{rp|11}} Cook was the primary author of the original ''Oriental Adventures'',<ref name="designers"/>{{rp|17}} ostensibly under the guidance and direction of Gary Gygax,<ref name="Dragon #104"/> which among other things introduced the concept of non-weapon proficiencies into AD&D,<ref name="cook">* David Cook, "Oriental opens new vistas", ''Dragon'' 104:20-21, Dec 1985.</ref> and he designed the far eastern setting, Kara-Tur.<ref name="WD74">{{cite journal |last=Shepherd |first=Ashley |title=Open Box: Dungeon Modules |journal=White Dwarf |issue=74 |pages=9–10 |publisher=Games Workshop |date=February 1986 |issn=0265-8712}}</ref> Cook, with Jim Ward, Steve Winter, and Mike Breault, co-wrote the adventure scenario that was adapted into the game ''Pool of Radiance''.<ref name="Dragon149">{{cite journal |title=The Envelope, Please! |author=The ''Dragon'' editors |journal=Dragon |issue=149 |date=September 1989 |pages=20–21}}</ref> Cook was the lead designer on the 2nd edition of ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game.<ref name="designers"/>{{rp|22}}<ref name="GS"/> In ''Dragon'' #118 (February 1987), Cook wrote the column "Who Dies?" in which he discussed which character classes may be thrown out in the revision, with the intention of provoking a response from readers.<ref name="designers"/>{{rp|22}} Cook was also the lead designer on the ''Planescape'' campaign setting.<ref name="GS">{{cite web |url=http://uk.pc.gamespy.com/pc/city-of-villians/644153p1.html |title=City of Villains A Chat with Zeb Cook (PC) |author=Allen 'Delsyn' Rausch |date=2005-08-22 |publisher=GameSpy |access-date=2008-02-27}}</ref> When TSR was looking to replace Spelljammer after the setting ended, Slade Henson suggested that a new campaign setting could be built using the original ''Manual of the Planes''; after the idea went unused for a year, Cook took it over and invented Planescape as a result.<ref name="designers"/>{{rp|26}} One reviewer described ''Planescape'' as "the finest game world ever produced for ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons''".<ref>{{cite journal |title=Pyramid Pick: Planescape |url=http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/login/article.html?id=803 |journal=Pyramid |first=Scott |last=Haring |author-link=Scott Haring |author2=Andrew Hartsock |volume=#8 |publisher=Steve Jackson Games |date=August 1994 |access-date=2008-02-26}}</ref>

Cook left TSR in 1994 to work in the field of electronic media.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}} He worked on the game ''Fallout 2''.<ref name="HG">{{Cite book |contribution=Toon |title=Hobby Games: The 100 Best |last=Cook |first=Dave "Zeb" |editor-last=Lowder |editor-first=James |editor-link=James Lowder |publisher=Green Ronin Publishing |year=2007 |pages=327–330 |isbn=978-1-932442-96-0}}</ref> He was the lead designer on the 2005 ''City of Villains'' computer game for Cryptic Studios.<ref name="designers"/>{{rp|153}}<ref name="GS"/> After he left Cryptic, he joined Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment as the lead systems designer for the video game ''Stargate Worlds''.<ref name="TenTonHammer">{{cite web |url=http://www.tentonhammer.com/index.php?q=node/194 |title=Stargate Worlds Q&A with David "Zeb" Cook From Cities to Worlds |publisher=TenTonHammer.com |author=Jeff Woleslagle |author2=Phil Comeau |date=2006-05-11 |access-date=2019-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519090439/http://www.tentonhammer.com/index.php?q=node%2F194 |archive-date=2011-05-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2001 he was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame.<ref name="GR">{{cite web |url=http://www.gamingreport.com/article.php?sid=9113 |title=Winners of Origins Game Awards |author=Damon White |date=2003-06-28 |publisher=GamingReport.com |access-date=2008-02-27 |archive-date=2004-01-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040120212942/http://www.gamingreport.com/article.php?sid=9113 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2013, Cook worked as Content Designer at ZeniMax Online Studios on ''The Elder Scrolls Online''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Elder Scrolls |work=edlerscrollsonline.com |url=http://elderscrollsonline.com/en/news/post/2013/07/25/developer-question-of-the-week-32 |date=2013}}</ref> With the release of the Elsweyr expansion for the game in June 2019, Cook was credited as a Senior Product Owner for Bethesda.Net.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Elder Scrolls Online: Elsweyr Credits |work=elderscrollsonline.com |url=https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/elsweyr-credits |date=2022}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{cite web |url=http://www.pen-paper.net/rpgdb.php?op=showcreator&creatorid=502 |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |title=Bibliography at Pen & Paper |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930201428/http://www.pen-paper.net/rpgdb.php?op=showcreator&creatorid=502 |access-date=March 6, 2007 }} * {{BoardGameGeek designer|name=David "Zeb" Cook}} * [https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/07/interview-david-zeb-cook-part-i.html Interview] at Grognardia.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, David}} Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Dungeons & Dragons game designers Category:People from East Lansing, Michigan