Rob Dubbin, comedy writer, game designer (The Colbert Report, Scripto).
About this episode
Rob Dubbin is a comedy writer and game designer whose work spans late-night television, journalism, and interactive storytelling. After studying History and Literature at Harvard University, he began his career in comedy, becoming an Emmy-winning writer on The Colbert Report and later The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Away from television, his writing has appeared in publications including The New Yorker and The Verge.
More recently, he has moved into game design and tools, becoming the co-creator of Scripto, a collaborative writing platform for format-driven work—from television scripts to video games—where he serves as Head of Games. His current projects include co-hosting The Secret Lives of Games podcast and he recently launched the boardgame Starfriends. Across all of his work, he has become a thoughtful advocate for clarity and economy in writing—particularly in games, where he believes every word must earn its place.
SHOW LINKS:
Rob Dubbin
Brainfruit Studio / Star Friends
Star Friends – Kickstarter campaign
Scripto
Scripto – collaborative writing software
Scripto – eight takes on game writing
The Secret Lives of Games / Eggplant
Eggplant – the Secret Lives of Games podcast network
The Secret Lives of Games – on Apple Podcasts
Rob's Perfect Console
ZZT – zzt.org archive and community
Star Control 2: The Ur-Quan Masters – open source port
Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters – Steam
Master of Magic Classic – Steam
Other games and references discussed
Letterboxd – film rating and diary app
Apples to Apples – official site
Game Developers Conference (GDC)
The Colbert Report – Comedy Central
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – CBS
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