Hi, I'm Cory O'Brien.
I write books, jokes, and games. Here's some of the stuff I've done...
Literary: Jessica Felleman // JLLA
Publicity (Two Truths and a Lie): Demetri Papadimitropoulos // Pantheon
In a mostly underwater near-future Los Angeles, aging combat-drone veteran Orr Vue now lives a simple life, trading snippets of what’s become the most valuable currency: information. But that quiet existence comes to an end when the cops show up, asking about a man he loved a quarter of a century ago.
Fast paced, funny, and shockingly romantic, Two Truths and a Lie is Raymond Chandler reinvented for the 22nd century.
“Two Truths and a Lie is a compulsively readable debut novel, an intricately plotted cyberpunk-noir mystery that takes the idea that information is currency to hilarious and shocking extremes.”
—Dexter Palmer, author of Version Control
"Redfall is an open-world, co-op FPS from Arkane Austin, the award-winning team behind Prey and Dishonored. Continuing Arkane’s legacy of carefully crafted worlds and immersive sims, Redfall brings the studio’s signature gameplay to this story-driven action shooter."
A "sinister synthwave social media simulator" that takes place in a spooky pastel house in the future. It features a diverse cast of characters, and explores depression, self-perception, and healing. Winner of an Apple Design Award for Inclusivity, and an IndieCade Narrative Award, among others.
An incredibly silly monster-based dating sim for four players. I did a lot of the dialogue.
The sequel to Monster Prom! I was the lead narrative designer. There's a tree that smokes cigarettes, it's great.
A high-velocity aerial combat shooter that also teaches you an important lesson about forgiving yourself. Plus it has a talking cat.
Sometimes I make games. They are always extremely good.
A two-player tabletop version of the Voight-Kampff test, complete with paperwork.
A game of tough moral choices.
If you have a fistful of nickels and no patience, this is a very good RPG for you to play.
Build baby towers with your eyes closed, while one of your friends secretly tries to destroy them. Fun for the whole family.
I wrote a couple of books. You can buy them on Amazon.
Briefly outsold Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces
Even better than the first one.
I've worked with various artists to invent fictional people. These are the people we invented.
He eats eggs – poached, over-easy, deviled, basted, but never scrambled. He cracks them in one hand, with the barest touch of his broad thumbnail. He waters his many plants with a porcelain pitcher. He feeds his cat. Then he sleeps, and dreams of being a hero in a time where strength was treasured.
I have a medium account. So far I have written one thing, and it is about not writing.
We got into this “business” because we wanted to pull off the ultimate con: to get paid for doing something we would do anyway, for free. Working when work seems futile transforms our labors of love into unlovable labor. When we turn writing into just another job, we’ve failed at the con — we’ve conned ourselves.
The first thing I did on the internet. Myths told like it's 3AM and I'm drunk on chat.
I have made a study of the various ways you can call someone a donk. This series of short essays will dramatically improve your offensive capacity.
swearofthemonth.club"Minced oaths get a bad rap. To self-respecting swearologists, they’re often looked down upon as low-fat, sugar-free swear substitutes. To many of the prudes they’re supposed to placate, even minced oaths are too rude. But to me, an intellectual, minced swears are friggin’ cool as heck, and ruddy interesting to boot. The low-fat/sugar-free analogy is a bad one, actually. Whereas ersatz foods are designed to be almost indistinguishable from their full-flavored counterparts, minced oaths are specifically constructed to avoid being mistaken for the real deal. Consider “fuck” and its most commonly used alternatives..."