Steve Perrin
Encyclopedia
Stephen Herbert Perrin, born January 22 1946 and simply known as Steve Perrin, is a game designer and technical writer
/editor
.
Perrin is probably best known for creating the role-playing game
RuneQuest
for Chaosium
. While at Chaosium he also created Stormbringer
, Worlds of Wonder, Elfquest
, and Superworld
, and contributed to Thieves' World
and Call of Cthulhu
. One of his first contributions to the world of RPGs was "The Perrin Conventions", a set of house rules for Dungeons & Dragons
, which lead to his work on RuneQuest.
He wrote the 1987 Champions role playing game supplement The Voice of Doom.
He worked at Interplay Productions
, Maxis
, and Spectrum Holobyte
, doing game design, playtesting, and writing manuals for such computer games
as Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
, SimCity 2000
, and Flight of the Intruder
to name but a few. He has also worked freelance for many of the major players in the games industry including TSR
, FASA, Hero Games
, West End Games
, and Iron Crown Enterprises
.
Steve Perrin's Quest Rules
(SPQR) is the latest Steve Perrin role-playing game, which he sells independently through Chaos Limited. In 2004 he collaborated with Taldren on Black 9 Ops as a paper and pencil accompaniment to the company's Black9 PC and XBoxgame, which fell afoul of developer-publisher friction and now looks to be unlikely to be published. Perrin decided to make Black 9 Ops available for free.
Perrin earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from San Francisco State University
.
Technical writer
A technical writer is a professional writer who designs, creates, and maintains technical documentation...
/editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
.
Perrin is probably best known for creating the role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
RuneQuest
RuneQuest
RuneQuest is a fantasy role-playing game first published in 1978 by Chaosium, created by Steve Perrin and set in Greg Stafford's mythical world of Glorantha. RuneQuest was notable for its original gaming system and for its verisimilitude in adhering to an original fantasy world...
for Chaosium
Chaosium
Chaosium is one of the longer lived publishers of role-playing games still in existence. Founded by Greg Stafford, its first game was actually a wargame, White Bear and Red Moon, which later mutated into Dragon Pass and its sequel, Nomad Gods...
. While at Chaosium he also created Stormbringer
Stormbringer (role-playing game)
The Stormbringer fantasy role-playing game published by Chaosium puts the players in the world of the Young Kingdoms, based on the Elric of Melniboné books by Michael Moorcock. The game takes its name from Elric’s sword, Stormbringer...
, Worlds of Wonder, Elfquest
Elfquest
Elfquest is a cult hit comic book property created by Wendy and Richard Pini in 1978. It is a fantasy story about a community of elves and other fictional species who struggle to survive and coexist on a primitive Earth-like planet with two moons. Several published volumes of prose fiction also...
, and Superworld
Superworld
Superworld is a superhero-themed role-playing game published by Chaosium in 1983. Written by Basic Role-Playing and RuneQuest author Steve Perrin, Superworld began as one third of the Worlds of Wonder product, which also included a generic fantasy setting, "Magic World", and a generic science...
, and contributed to Thieves' World
Thieves World
Thieves' World is a shared world fantasy series created by Robert Lynn Asprin in 1978. The original series comprised twelve anthologies, including stories by such science fiction authors as Poul Anderson, John Brunner, Andrew J. Offutt, C. J. Cherryh, Janet Morris, Chris Morris...
and Call of Cthulhu
Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game)
Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and the associated Cthulhu Mythos.The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium.-Setting:...
. One of his first contributions to the world of RPGs was "The Perrin Conventions", a set of house rules for Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
, which lead to his work on RuneQuest.
He wrote the 1987 Champions role playing game supplement The Voice of Doom.
He worked at Interplay Productions
Interplay Entertainment
Interplay Entertainment Corporation is an American video game developer and publisher, founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by Brian Fargo. The company had been a quality developer until they started publishing their own games in 1988, like Neuromancer and Battle Chess. The company was renamed...
, Maxis
Maxis
Maxis is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of one of the best-selling computer games of all time, The Sims and its first sequel, The Sims 2...
, and Spectrum Holobyte
Spectrum HoloByte
Spectrum HoloByte, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher originally based in Alameda, California.The company was founded in 1983 and was most famous for its simulation games, notably the Falcon series of flight simulators and Vette!, a driving simulator from 1989...
, doing game design, playtesting, and writing manuals for such computer games
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
as Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (video game)
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is a PC Star Trek simulation game that simulates the life of a typical Starfleet cadet. The object in the game is for the player to learn the basics of flying a starship so that the player can eventually become a captain of one's very own ship...
, SimCity 2000
SimCity 2000
SimCity 2000 is a simulation/city building video game and the second installment in the SimCity series. SimCity 2000 was first released by Maxis in 1994 for computers running Apple Macintosh Operating System...
, and Flight of the Intruder
Flight of the Intruder (video game)
Flight of the Intruder is a 1990 flight simulator developed by Rowan Software and published by Spectrum Holobyte for the PC , Commodore Amiga and Atari ST. It was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991 with Imagineering as the developer and Mindscape as the publisher...
to name but a few. He has also worked freelance for many of the major players in the games industry including TSR
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
, FASA, Hero Games
Hero Games
Hero Games is the publisher of the Hero System, a generic roleplaying rules set that can be used to simulate many different genres, and was the co-developer of the Fuzion system.-History:...
, West End Games
West End Games
West End Games was a company that made board, role-playing, and war games. It was founded by Daniel Scott Palter in 1974 in New York, but later moved to Honesdale, Pennsylvania...
, and Iron Crown Enterprises
Iron Crown Enterprises
Iron Crown Enterprises was a publisher of role playing, board, miniature battle, and collectible card games.ICE was incorporated in 1980 shortly after the principal founders graduated from the University of Virginia...
.
Steve Perrin's Quest Rules
Steve Perrin's Quest Rules
Steve Perrin's Quest Rules, or SPQR for short, is a role-playing game system created and sold by Steve Perrin.- History :SPQR rules are based on those Perrin created for the role-playing game called RuneQuest, first published in 1978 by Chaosium and set in Greg Stafford's fantasy world, Glorantha...
(SPQR) is the latest Steve Perrin role-playing game, which he sells independently through Chaos Limited. In 2004 he collaborated with Taldren on Black 9 Ops as a paper and pencil accompaniment to the company's Black9 PC and XBoxgame, which fell afoul of developer-publisher friction and now looks to be unlikely to be published. Perrin decided to make Black 9 Ops available for free.
Perrin earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
.