Top 10 PC Game Developers - #9 Corey and Lori Ann Cole

Corey and Lori Ann Cole a few years ago

Famous for: Quest for Glory series
Affiliations: Sierra On-Line

Corey and Lori Ann Cole are a husband and wife team of developers who are most famous for their Quest for Glory series of adventure/RPG hybrid games. Corey and Lori were into role-playing games long before they joined Sierra On-Line in 1988 but their experience with RPGs shows in their first game, Hero's Quest. Hero's Quest (later renamed to Quest for Glory for legal reasons) was released in 1989 and they continued to create four sequels to the game, with the final game, Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire being released in 1998.

Last year, along with other Sierra alumni, the Coles launched a Kickstarter to raise funds for a new adventure/RPG hybrid game called Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption. The funding campaign was a success and the game is now currently in development.

The reasons the Coles are on my list are for several reasons that could possibly be summarised by this video I made for a GOG competition awhile back:

If you don't want to watch the video the main reasons are:

1. First Example of an Adventure/RPG hybrid that I've played
2. First time I've employed alternative class-based solutions in an adventure game
3. First time I've been able to import characters across several games

A combination of these factors meant the Quest for Glory games brought innovation to the graphical adventure game genre. It's also interesting to note that it was not until Mass Effect that I played a game where you were able to export your characters to sequels. This is why I consider the QFG series ahead of its time and which is why Corey and Lori Ann Cole are in the top 10.

Up next at #8 an industry veteran who is probably the most controversial choice on this list.