Corey Cole

Last updated: January 14, 2026

Overview

Corey Cole, born November 27, 1955, in Santa Monica, California, is a legendary video game designer and programmer who revolutionized the adventure game industry by pioneering the adventure-RPG hybrid genre.¹² Best known for creating the beloved Quest for Glory series alongside his wife and collaborator Lori Cole, Corey transformed the gaming landscape by combining Sierra’s traditional adventure game mechanics with deep role-playing elements inspired by tabletop Dungeons & Dragons.³⁴

After earning his education at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Cole joined Sierra On-Line in 1989 as a software engineer, taking a significant 40% pay cut because, as he famously stated, “we’d always wanted to make games.”⁵⁶ His innovative approach to game design created what Computer Gaming World would later declare “Adventure Game of the Year,” establishing a legacy that continues to influence modern RPG development.⁷⁸ Working primarily with his spouse Lori Cole, who handled most of the writing and design elements while Corey focused on programming and technical implementation, the couple became one of the most successful creative partnerships in gaming history.⁹¹⁰

Career

Early Career

Corey Cole’s journey into game development began with his passion for tabletop role-playing games, particularly Dungeons & Dragons, which he played regularly with friends.¹¹¹² This early exposure to RPG mechanics and storytelling would prove instrumental in shaping his later game design philosophy. After completing his education at UC Santa Barbara, Cole was drawn to the emerging video game industry, specifically to Sierra On-Line’s innovative approach to interactive entertainment.¹³²

In 1989, Cole made the pivotal decision to join Sierra On-Line as a software engineer, despite the significant financial sacrifice involved.¹⁴ As he later reflected, “We weren’t sure we’d be able to pay our bills and keep food on the table, but we’d always wanted to make games.”¹⁵ This leap of faith would prove to be one of the most important decisions in adventure gaming history.

Sierra Years

Cole’s tenure at Sierra On-Line began with him working on the internals of the SCI (Sierra Creative Interpreter) system, giving him deep technical knowledge of the company’s game engine.¹⁶¹⁷ After spending his first year understanding the system’s capabilities and limitations, Cole proposed an innovative concept that would change gaming forever. As he explained: “I spent that first year working with the internals of the SCI system, and I said, ‘We could do an Ultima game, but your system isn’t really suitable for it. Why don’t we try what we do at the roleplaying table? Because we don’t play all-combat games, we have storytelling games and your adventure game system is great for storytelling.‘”¹⁸¹⁹

This proposal led to Cole’s promotion to Lead Programmer on what would become Hero’s Quest (later renamed Quest for Glory due to legal issues with the board game HeroQuest).¹⁴ The game’s development marked a revolutionary moment in gaming, as Cole and his team created the first successful hybrid of adventure and role-playing game mechanics. The innovative “practice makes perfect” skill system, which allowed characters to improve through use rather than traditional D&D leveling, became a hallmark of the series.³⁵

Hero’s Quest’s success was immediate and overwhelming, selling over 100,000 copies in its first month—a remarkable achievement for 1989.⁶⁷ Computer Gaming World declared it “Adventure Game of the Year,” validating Cole’s vision of combining narrative adventure elements with deep RPG mechanics.⁸ However, the forced name change to Quest for Glory due to trademark issues had lasting impacts. As Cole noted, “No question - Hero’s Quest was better. We lost a lot of sales momentum, which in turn affected the budgets of the later games, because of the forced name change.”⁹

The success of the first game led to an entire series, with Cole serving as lead programmer and technical designer on Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire (1990), Quest for Glory III: Wages of War (1992), and Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness (1993).¹¹²⁰ Each game expanded upon the innovative mechanics of the original while exploring different cultural settings and storytelling approaches. Cole’s collaboration with voice actor John Rhys-Davies on Quest for Glory IV was particularly memorable: “Incidentally, working with John was incredible. We handed him about three times as many lines as he thought he was going to perform, and he stepped right up to the task. I would love to work with him again.”¹²

During his Sierra years, Cole also contributed to other notable projects beyond the Quest for Glory series. He worked on Castle of Dr. Brain (1991), helping to create Sierra’s educational gaming division, and contributed to King’s Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder (1990).¹³¹⁴ His technical expertise and innovative approach to game mechanics made him a valuable contributor across multiple Sierra franchises.

Later Career

Following Sierra’s acquisition and subsequent changes in company direction, Cole continued working on the Quest for Glory series, completing Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire (1998) as the series finale.¹⁵¹⁶ He also contributed to other Sierra projects including Police Quest: SWAT 2 (1998) and various Dr. Brain educational games throughout the 1990s.¹⁷

After leaving Sierra, Cole and his wife Lori founded Transolar Games, eventually developing Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption (2018) through a successful crowdfunding campaign.¹⁸²⁰ This spiritual successor to Quest for Glory demonstrated that their innovative design philosophy remained relevant in the modern gaming landscape. Most recently, they’ve expanded into mobile gaming with Summer Daze: Tilly’s Tale (2023), which Cole describes as “a new direction for us. We’ve crystallized the story and characters into a fast-paced illustrated adventure that can be played anywhere.”²²⁰

Notable Works

Quest for Glory Series (1989-1998)

Corey Cole’s most significant contribution to gaming is undoubtedly the Quest for Glory series, which he co-created with his wife Lori Cole.¹³ The series began as Hero’s Quest in 1989 and revolutionized the adventure gaming genre by successfully integrating RPG mechanics with traditional point-and-click adventure gameplay. Cole’s technical expertise was crucial in implementing the innovative character progression system, where players could develop skills through practice rather than traditional experience point leveling.⁴⁵

The series’ success stemmed from Cole’s understanding that “early computers didn’t have enough power to both do D&D combat and roleplaying as well as D&D storytelling and character stuff. The game is split into two tracks. What we tried to do with Hero’s Quest was to bring them back and put the roleplaying and adventure together.”⁶ This design philosophy created games that appealed to both Sierra’s traditional adventure game audience and the growing community of computer RPG enthusiasts.⁷

Castle of Dr. Brain (1991)

Castle of Dr. Brain represented Cole’s venture into educational gaming, combining his technical programming skills with engaging puzzle design.⁸¹³ The game’s success led to an entire series of Dr. Brain educational titles, demonstrating Cole’s versatility as a designer beyond the adventure-RPG hybrid genre. His work on the Dr. Brain series showed how educational content could be seamlessly integrated into entertaining gameplay without sacrificing either element.⁹

Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption (2018)

After decades away from independent game development, Cole and his wife returned to their roots with Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption, successfully funded through Kickstarter.²⁰¹⁸ This spiritual successor to Quest for Glory proved that their design philosophy remained relevant in the modern gaming era, incorporating contemporary graphics and interface improvements while maintaining the deep character progression and storytelling elements that made the original series beloved.¹⁶

Design Philosophy

Corey Cole’s approach to game design centers on the belief that games should provide continuous character growth and meaningful player progression.¹³ As he explained his philosophy: “I never really thought of the Quest for Glory games as ‘sandbox’ games. Yes, you can enjoy the games without furthering the story, such as by fighting monsters or practicing your skills. However, Quest for Glory has also been a story-oriented game.”⁴ This balance between open-ended character development and structured narrative progression became a defining characteristic of his work.⁵

Cole’s collaborative approach with his wife Lori demonstrates his understanding of the importance of strong writing in game design. As he noted about their division of labor: “Well, I wrote a little of the dialogue, but Lori did 95% of it. I did my share of the writing (mostly descriptions) on Shadows of Darkness, but on most of the other games I was too busy programming to spend much time on writing.”⁶ This partnership allowed Cole to focus on technical implementation and game mechanics while ensuring that narrative elements received proper attention.⁷

Cole has consistently emphasized the importance of audio in creating engaging game experiences, famously stating that “a game has little character until the music comes in.”⁸⁹ This holistic approach to game development, considering all elements from programming to music as essential components of the player experience, reflects his comprehensive understanding of interactive entertainment.¹¹

His technical background also influenced his design decisions, particularly regarding interface evolution. Cole explained the transition away from text parsers in later games: “The PC architecture was segmented, it could only address 64k memory at a time. That got to really be a problem because there wasn’t enough memory for all the stuff that was in the engine of the game, the text parser and stuff like that, as well as the graphics. Something had to go.”²⁰ This demonstrates his ability to adapt design elements based on technological constraints while maintaining core gameplay experiences.¹²

Legacy

Corey Cole’s impact on the video game industry extends far beyond the commercial success of his titles.²¹ His creation of the adventure-RPG hybrid genre influenced countless subsequent games and established design principles that remain relevant today. The “practice makes perfect” skill system introduced in Quest for Glory has been adapted and refined by numerous RPG developers, while his approach to balancing narrative structure with character customization continues to inspire modern game designers.³⁴

The Quest for Glory series’ declaration as “Adventure Game of the Year” by Computer Gaming World represents just one of many accolades recognizing Cole’s contributions to interactive entertainment.⁵⁷ More importantly, the series’ enduring popularity and active fan community, including fan-made remakes like the Quest for Glory II VGA Remake (2008), demonstrate the lasting appeal of Cole’s design philosophy.⁶⁸

Cole’s influence extends beyond his own games through his mentorship of other developers and his ongoing engagement with the gaming community.⁹¹⁸ His willingness to discuss design decisions, technical challenges, and creative processes through interviews and fan interactions has provided valuable insights for aspiring game developers.¹¹ The successful crowdfunding of Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption proved that there remains significant interest in Cole’s approach to game design, even decades after his initial innovations.²⁰

His work at Sierra On-Line during the company’s golden age also contributed to establishing many of the conventions that define adventure gaming.¹²¹⁶ As Cole reflected on those years: “Every game was an adventure,” capturing both the experimental spirit of early game development and the creative freedom that allowed for groundbreaking innovations like Quest for Glory.¹³¹⁷ The technical and creative standards established during Cole’s Sierra years continue to influence how adventure games are developed and what players expect from the genre.¹⁴¹⁰

Games

Year	Game	Role
1989	Quest for Glory I: So You Want to Be a Hero	Lead Programmer/Co-Designer
1990	King’s Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder	Additional Programming
1990	Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire	Lead Programmer/Co-Designer
1991	Castle of Dr. Brain	Programmer/Co-Designer
1992	Quest for Glory I: So You Want to Be a Hero VGA	Lead Programmer/Co-Designer
1992	Quest for Glory III: Wages of War	Lead Programmer/Co-Designer
1992	The Island of Dr. Brain	Programmer
1993	Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness	Lead Programmer/Co-Designer/Writer
1995	Shannara	Programmer
1995	The Lost Mind of Dr. Brain	Programmer
1998	Dr. Brain Thinking Games: IQ Adventure	Programmer
1998	Dr. Brain Thinking Games: Puzzle Madness	Programmer
1998	Police Quest: SWAT 2	Additional Programming
1998	Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire	Lead Programmer/Co-Designer
2008	Quest for Glory II VGA Remake	Consultant
2018	Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption	Co-Designer/Programmer
2023	Summer Daze: Tilly’s Tale	Co-Designer

References

Footnotes

1. Adventure Game Fan Fair - Corey Cole — biographical information and career overview ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

2. Wikipedia - Corey Cole — biographical information and career timeline ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. Patreon - Our First Years — early career and game development experiences ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

4. Quest for Glory Fandom - Corey Cole — comprehensive game credits and series information ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

5. Retro Gamer — interviews and retrospective articles ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

6. Classic LP Blog Interview — detailed interview covering design philosophy and game development ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

7. Mobygames - Corey Cole Credits — complete game credits and development roles ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

8. Mobygames - Corey Cole Profile — biographical information and game industry contributions ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

9. RAWG - The Coles — information about collaborative work with Lori Cole ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

10. Hardcore Gaming 101 Interview — comprehensive interview covering game design philosophy ↩ ↩²

11. PC Gamer Interview — career retrospective and industry changes ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

12. Abandonware DOS - Corey Cole — classic game development and legacy ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

13. The Digital Antiquarian — detailed analysis of Quest for Glory series development ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

14. IMDb - Corey Cole — filmography and voice acting credits ↩ ↩² ↩³

15. Giant Bomb — game database entries and development information ↩ ↩²

16. Hero-U Official Website — current projects and game development updates ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

17. YouTube Interview — video interview with development insights ↩ ↩² ↩³

18. Adventure Gamers Interview — detailed discussion of adventure game development ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

19. Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption — spiritual successor development and design concepts ↩

20. Kickstarter - Summer Daze at Hero-U — recent project and current game development ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶