Clint Thompson Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Who are a few programmers you hold in high regard and why? For me: 1. Jeff Minter (Atari / Llamasoft) - He's always kind of been the underdog (or at least that's the way it has seemed due to bad timing and what appears to be companies undervaluing him) but could always make any machine bend over backwards and do whatever it is he commands of it. And even though most of his work is his own take or twist on many alreadly popular arcade/video games, I admire how he completely modernized Tempest into something far greater than the original. (granted that's just my opinion, but it's true! ). Plus his visualizer dabblings have always impressed me. He seems to know how to push things in just the right direction and is clearly unique in such an outstanding way. Feel like he deserves far more credit/recognition than he has received over the years. All in all, he's not just another brick in the wall... 2. Martin Brownlow (Virtuality / Shiny Entertainment) - I probably wouldn't have known about this guy had it not for been Missile Command 3D on the Jaguar - or at least that's the reason he sticks out in my mind. By default, there's nothing really over the board or spectacular with Missile Command on the Jaguar - playing it with the unreleased VR headset on the other hand reveals just how incredibly fast the Jaguar was capaple of handling a properly coded 3D game or even more so, another example of someone who is capable of making a machine do what he wants in fluid motion. It's one of those impressions that I will never shake. He went on to Shiny Entertainment and had a role with the development of MDK that many of you may be familiar with, and is now off onto better things these days from what I understand. 3. Douglas Little - I actually know very little about this guy other than he had some involvement with an unreleased Jaguar title called Livewire - which outisde of some videos, has never seen the light of day. Aside from that, anyone that can port Quake 2 on a machine such as the Atari Falcon in any potentially playable/usable form is a God in my eyes. It's not very often my jaw drops in sheer amazement and to be honest, it's been quite some time since I've been blown away but I fear his work may hold that crown for years to come. Maybe someday I'll uncover what company he is blessing with his insane coding talent but until then, I just know he can make an Atari Falcon scream like a [insert sexual innenudo here]. So off the top of my head, those are the first and only few people that really come to mind. Would like to hear about some other Programming Gods, if you will... 7800 - 130XE - XEGS - Lynx - Jaguar - ISO: Atari Falcon030 | STBook |STe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Doug Neubauer - the developer of Atari Star Raiders. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Neubauer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectorGamer Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Douglas E Smith - wrote a shit load of batch files where I work. RIP ⚠️ THIS MEMBER HAS BEEN BANNED FOR THE FOLLOWING INCIDENT: http://forums.atari.io/index.php/topic/475-theretrocade/?p=7683 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arenafoot Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Darrell Spice Jr. (Spiceware) - Medieval Mayhem, Space Rocks, Stay Frosty, Stay Frosty 2: Stay Frostier, Draconian, Timmy - awesome homebrew programmer!! Brian Matherne - owner/curator of "The MOST comprehensive list of Atari VCS/2600 homebrews ever compiled." http://tiny.cc/Atari2600Homebrew author of "The Atari 2600 Homebrew Companion" book series available on Amazon! www.amazon.com/author/brianmatherne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowsdower70 Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Scott Adams - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Adams_(game_designer) : Godfather of text adventure games. Richard Garriott (Lord British) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Garriott : Excellent RPGs and a true pioneer! Sid Meier - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Meier: Consistently making great stuff and sticking to what he does best. "For you - Rowsdower from the 70 - have been appointed Omnivisioner of the Game Grid." ~ Atari Adventure Square Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Hows about Bob PacManPlus Decrescenzo -- modern homebrew master. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectorGamer Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Hows about Bob PacManPlus Decrescenzo -- modern homebrew master. R U serious? All his games suck. Seriously I don't think this guy knows what makes a fun game. Just kidding. That guy is awesome and I have a whole bunch of his games! ⚠️ THIS MEMBER HAS BEEN BANNED FOR THE FOLLOWING INCIDENT: http://forums.atari.io/index.php/topic/475-theretrocade/?p=7683 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Adventure Square Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Warren Robinett (daddy!) whose name was the first I noticed from impishly stashing it in the niftiest (and first) VG easter egg, in my Kingdom. Also, Adventure was a must-have, must-play experience in those early, shiny days of 2600 discovery. Garry Kitchen, who built the foundation of gameplay coolness for the VCS by way of Activision. I still get a kick out of Pressure Cooker, which should be training material for fast food chains. David Crane, who is also a grandmaster of Atari origins and furthered the cause for home video gameplay as a worthy cultural staple. Pitfall! anyone? yeah, there's a pattern here, but I wouldn't actually put anyone (here and on the great others listed above) on a hierarchy scale. All programmers who put in hard work to bring us games are champions of fun, and should be honored. Having said that, Row pretty much nailed it in terms of names who made a splash in my long journey into transitioned gaming from golden age consoles to 486 PCs (and back to console) (and back again). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Iacovelli Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 I think the guys at activision are great crane and kitchen scott adams definatly,with out him we wouldn't any adenture type games. I think anybody who started in the early days home video games are great what A squared said) AVC Online:atari-video.club VGS website: http://videogamesummit.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabertooth Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Ed Logg Yu Suzuki Yuji Naka Shigeru Miyamoto Collectively, the guys at early Activision, Imagic and GCC. Jeff Minter Eugene Jarvis Mark Cerny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nosweargamer Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 Shigeru Miyamoto - The Steven Spielberg of gaming Howard Scott Warshaw - He really got a lot out of the 2600. David Crane - nuff said Rob Fulop - Ditto BTW, Fulop & Crane both worked on Night Trap. Did you know that one? The No Swear Gamer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChtJuo040EOCTVziObIgVcg Host of The Atari 7800 Game by Game Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and YouTube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectorGamer Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 Speaking of Bob, I just saw today he's working on Astro Fighter for the 7800. Game looks awesome. ⚠️ THIS MEMBER HAS BEEN BANNED FOR THE FOLLOWING INCIDENT: http://forums.atari.io/index.php/topic/475-theretrocade/?p=7683 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari 5200 Guy Posted January 22, 2016 Report Share Posted January 22, 2016 I'm going to say Howard Scott Warsaw. I never really did think that E.T. was all that bad. That's just me, though. My holy grail of a game would be a signed, boxed copy, of E.T. with the HSW initials. That would be priceless to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadioPoultry Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 Bill Williams. I first played Alley Cat around the time he died, but I've only really learned about him since yesterday. He had an amazing life story: http://www.filfre.net/2016/01/bill-williams-the-story-of-a-life/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Williams_(game_designer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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