Scott Bennie

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Scott Bennie was a freelance game designer.

Early life

Scott Bennie was born in Abbotsford, British Columbia, son of teachers James and Alice Bennie, and younger brother of Vancouver radio announcer/producer Jim Bennie.[ citation needed ] Scott graduated from Abbotsford Senior High School, where he competed on the high school Reach For the Top team, [1] [2] [3] and wrestling team, [4] [5] [6] served on the student council, [7] and was class president.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Games career

Scott became interested in role playing games during his senior high school years, having been introduced to them at VCON in Vancouver in 1977. He submitted articles to Dragon , made his first sale in 1981, and became a freelancer for TSR, Inc.

In 1981, Scott encountered a game called Champions , which a friend brought back from Pacific Origins, where it debuted. He fell in love with it immediately. Scott reviewed Champions in Dragon, and eventually freelanced for Hero Games. Eventually he published his long-running Gestalt (Hero Games) campaign as a sourcebook for Blackwyrm Games.

In 1986, Scott graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Secondary Education from the University of British Columbia. He was hired in the electronic game industry at Interplay Productions in 1990.

Bennie was one of the four designers on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I , along with Jennell Jaquays, Troy Miles and Bruce Schlickbernd, and the reviewer from Electronic Games stated that "The design quartet ... has produced a game capable of testing veteran players, but the difficulty is in the situations." [8] Bennie designed Castles (1991), [9] which he produced in conjunction with developers from Quicksilver Software, and explained that they included a philosophy behind the role-playing elements in the game, and that Interplay had plans for future projects based on Castles. [10] Bennie was one of the four writers on Star Trek: Judgment Rites (1993), along with Elizabeth Danforth, Mark O'Green, and Mike Stackpole, and a reviewer quipped that "I don't even want to guess how many episodes of the series the four writers ... must have watched and rewatched to get in the mood, but clearly they've been living and breathing the stuff, and the timbre and nuances are just right." [11] Bennie was one of the writers on Fallout (1997), with Chris Taylor and Mark O'Green, with the reviewer from Edge saying that "Fallout was a landmark title in many ways, but it stands out particularly as the only post-apocalyptic game with much sense of believability about its setting or characters. Should the world go to waste, this is probably what it would be like; embittered, desperate, suspicious survivors inhabit close-knit shanty towns or the remains of once-great cities, and power depends on who is able to forage for the most weapons. The whole game was narrated in a small text-box to the left of the screen, adding extra verbal colour to the game's desolate wasteland." [12] Bennie worked on Starfleet Command (1999), notably on a story arc in campaign mode that included missions which advance the storyline of the game. [13]

Interplay grew from 20 employees to over 400 during Scott's tenure. Unfortunately, he developed CMT and diabetes while working there. A downturn in the industry and management changes led to his departure from Interplay.

Scott returned to Canada to resume his freelance writing career. He wrote award nominees Testament and Villainy Amok while caring for his ailing mother.

Bennie wrote the d20 System campaign setting book Testament: Roleplaying in the Biblical Era (2003). [14] A reviewer in 2007 stated that "Mr. Bennie clearly attempts to remain as neutral as possible when depicting the various cultures included in Testament. The product does not attempt to portray any culture as the "Good Guys" or the "Bad Guys." I do not claim to be an Old Testament scholar, though I have read it in its entirety. I found the cultural representations to be reasonably presented based on my passing knowledge of the OT." [15]

Spiritual life

A devout Christian, Scott led a home Bible study and assisted at his church's cold weather shelter program.[ citation needed ]

Death

On March 29, 2022, it was reported that Bennie had passed away due to complications with pneumonia. [16] [17]

Game Credits

Hero Games

Adventurers Club

Blackwyrm Games

Digital Hero

Dungeons and Dragons (TSR)

AD&D Dragonlance

AD&D Forgotten Realms

AD&D Greyhawk

AD&D Ravenloft

Dragon Magazine (TSR)

Dungeon Magazine

D&D Miscellaneous

D&D 3rd edition

ENWorld Publishing

Lord of the Rings (CODA, Decipher Publishing)

Marvel Superheroes

Mutants and Masterminds

World of Warcraft

Electronic Gaming

The Lord of the Rings

Star Trek

Other titles

Sony Entertainment

Sources

[22]

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References

  1. ↑ Schmidt, Barb (1977-04-06). "Barb Schmidt photo". Abbotsford News . Archived from the original on 2023-09-30. Retrieved 2023-09-30– via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "'Reach' team eliminated". Abbotsford News . 1977-04-13. Archived from the original on 2023-09-30. Retrieved 2023-09-30– via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Reach for top team preparing for challenge". Abbotsford News . 1978-03-29. Archived from the original on 2023-09-30. Retrieved 2023-09-30– via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Bennie, Scott (1977-07-27). "California exchange profitable for local wrestlers and coach". Abbotsford News . Archived from the original on 2023-09-30. Retrieved 2023-09-30– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Wrestling meet: Politics pin Abby(s) in Valley finals". Abbotsford News . 1978-02-22. Archived from the original on 2023-09-30. Retrieved 2023-09-30– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Abbotsford earns three bronze at Western Canadian wrestling". Abbotsford News . 1978-04-26. Archived from the original on 2023-09-30. Retrieved 2023-09-30– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "The student council; the music program". Abbotsford News . 1978-02-15. Archived from the original on 2023-09-30. Retrieved 2023-09-30– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Katz, Arnie (December 1993). "Lord of the Rings". Electronic Games . Vol. 2, no. 3. p. 141. Retrieved 2023-09-30– via Internet Archive.
  9. ↑ Stiller, Heiner (March 1996). "Damals im Gipskrieg" [Back in the plaster war]. PC Spiel (in German). p. 42. Retrieved 2023-09-30– via Internet Archive.
  10. ↑ Trotter, William R. (July–August 1991). "The Desktop General: Care for a Siege, My Liege?". Game Player's PC Strategy Guide . Vol. 4, no. 4. pp. 44–45. Retrieved 2023-09-30– via Internet Archive.
  11. ↑ Olafson, Peter (March 1994). "Star Trek: Judgment Rites". Electronic Entertainment. p. 82. ISSN   1042-2943 . Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  12. ↑ "Fallout". Edge . 2007-05-01. p. 79. ProQuest   2705723486.
  13. ↑ Atkin, Denny (May 1999). "Starfleet Command: Tactical Starship Combat in Realtime". Computer Gaming World . p. 60. Retrieved 2023-09-30– via Internet Archive.
  14. ↑ "Release Roundup". Polyhedron . March 2003. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-09-30– via Internet Archive.
  15. ↑ Heckman, Charlie (Summer 2007). "Testament: Roleplaying in the Biblical Era by Scott Bennie, from Green Ronin Publishing, at $32.95". Christian Gamers Guild. pp. 18–19. Retrieved 2023-09-30– via Internet Archive.
  16. ↑ https://www.pcgamer.com/scott-bennie-writer-on-interplays-lord-of-the-rings-star-trek-fallout-and-others-has-died/
  17. ↑ https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/fallout-dungeons-and-dragons-writer-scott-bennie-dies-61/
  18. 1 2 3 Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-playing Games. Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books. pp.  40–41. ISBN   0-87975-652-7 . Retrieved 2023-09-30– via Internet Archive.
  19. ↑ Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-playing Games. Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books. pp.  92. ISBN   0-87975-652-7 . Retrieved 2023-09-30– via Internet Archive.
  20. ↑ Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-playing Games. Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books. pp.  97. ISBN   0-87975-652-7 . Retrieved 2023-09-30– via Internet Archive.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-playing Games. Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books. pp.  55. ISBN   0-87975-652-7 . Retrieved 2023-09-30– via Internet Archive.
  22. ↑ https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/5640/scott-bennie
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