BOOK: Interviews with classic game programmers

[jhague@dadgum.com (James Hague)]

I'm the author of the "Giant List of Classic Game Programmers" available
at http://www.dadgum.com/giantlist.html.

Since 1995 I 've been talking with many of the people on that list for a
book currently titled _Halcyon Days:  Interviews with Classic Computer and
Video Game Programmers_. The people included range from the well-known to
the obscure; some names sure to ring a bell are:

Jeff Minter (Gridrunner, Sheep In Space, Tempest 2000)
David Fox (Rescue on Fractalus)
Phil Price & Gary Gilbertson (Alternate Reality)
Warren Robinett (Adventure)
Bill Budge (Raster Blaster, Pinball Construction Set)
Tim Skelly (Rip-Off, Armor Attack, designer of Star Castle)
Ed Rotberg (Battlezone, Blasteroids, S.T.U.N. Runner)
John Harris (Jawbreaker)
Doug Neubauer (Star Raiders, Solaris)
Danielle Berry (M.U.L.E., Seven Cities of Gold)

Plus fifteen or so other programmers of classic games for the Atari 2600,
Atari 8-bit computers, Apple II, Commodore-64, and other systems.  Even
for a trivia hound like myself, the amount of new information is
staggering.  Do you know...

-What lousy Vic-20 game inspired Jeff Minter to start Llamasoft?
-What creature Warren Robinett removed from Adventure?
-What part George Lucas played in the development of Rescue on Fractalus?
-What famous Atari 800 game was programmed in a backwoods cabin, using the
car battery of a Jeep for power?
-What Star Raiders/Solaris follow-up was written by Doug Neubauer for the NES?
-What kinds of programming tricks were used to pull off impossible feats
like Electraglide?

The point isn't the trivia, though; it's hearing the stories and the
inside information and what went on inside the heads of the people who
wrote the classic games we remember so fondly.

_Halcyon Days_ should be available within the next six weeks.  To receive
advance notice, reply to this posting.  There are a few surprises I'm not
letting out of the bag yet, either (collectors of classic game
paraphenalia take note!).

-- 
James Hague
Dadgum Games
jhague@dadgum.com
http://www.dadgum.com