35 replies to this topic

[SpaceDice2010]

David Crane is mine by far. I loved his games.

[Frostbite76]

Bob Whitehead. I really love Chopper Command, Sky Jinks, Private Eye and Skiing. Plus he also made Stampede which most people love

[potatohead]

...Jarvis -- Defender. That game takes a person right to the limits. Drawing a blank on his first name right now, but that game really had a lot of firsts in it, and it takes one right to the limits of perception and action.

[Blackjack]

David Crane for the masterpiece of simplicity that is "Dragster". Add Pitfall, Fishing Derby, Freeway, and Gunslinger and it's a lock.

Close tie in second to Steve Cartwright for Frostbite and Seaquest,
and Howard Scott Warshaw for Yar's Revenge and Raiders of the Lost Ark. All 4 titles were just amazing.

Honorable mention to Bob Whitehead for Boxing and Stampede.

[roberto]

I'd said David too mostly for Pitfall which, though I don't really consider it a platformer, I do see it as Super Mario's Father

[diogoandrei]

Gotta go with David Crane and Steve Cartwright.

I do recognize that Pitfall! is branded in the history of Atari, but I go for Crane based on Pitfall II actually. I just love how the music interacts with the gaming experience.

Steve Cartwright, well, the guy did Frostbite, my favorite 2600 game.

Bow to the masters!

[Ransom]

As far as theory of game design goes, I like Chris Crawford a lot. The material he's produced over the years has been insightful and helpful (De Re Atari, The Art of Computer Game Design, etc.). I've also enjoyed his games (particularly Eastern Front and Balance of Power).

When it comes to actual games produced, though, Peter Molyneux and Richard Garriott are at the top of my list.


Edited to add: D'oh. Didn't notice this was in the 2600 forum (I browse by clicking "View New Content"). As far as 2600 game designers, my favorite would have to be Warren Robinett.

[Brian O]

David Crane and Steve Cartwright without a doubt (and pretty much anyone who was developing Activision games during the 2600's heyday). Those games were my first real exposure to gaming.

I'd have to throw in Shigeru Miyamoto as well. Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros, and the original Legend of Zelda are some of my favorite games.

-B

[Gorfy]

Warren Robinett for his creativity in designing/programming Adventure and for helping to bring programming to the masses with the Basic Programming cart.

[potatohead]

I would have to say Crane. Didn't see I was in the 2600 forum either.

Whoops!

[homerwannabee]

I have 3 main ones.

David Crane for Pitfall II, Decathlon, and Kaboom.


Steve Cartwright for Megamania, Barnstorming, and Plaque Attack.

Rob Fulop for Missile Command, Demon Attack, and Cosmic Ark.

[jaybird3rd]

Ransom, on Sun Feb 13, 2011 8:45 AM, said:

As far as theory of game design goes, I like Chris Crawford a lot. The material he's produced over the years has been insightful and helpful (De Re Atari, The Art of Computer Game Design, etc.). I've also enjoyed his games (particularly Eastern Front and Balance of Power).

I'd choose Crawford as well. As you say, his writings on game design have been excellent; I'm currently working my way through his latest, Chris Crawford on Game Design, and I'd also recommend The Art of Interactive Design for an insightful discussion of software design in general. I've been getting more interested in war simulation games recently, such as the ones from SSI for the Atari 800, so I've come to have a new appreciation for Eastern Front 1941.

Crawford also designed Wizard, one of the more interesting unreleased 2600 games, and he talks about it at length in the first book I linked to.

[Ransom]

jaybird3rd, on Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:56 PM, said:

I'd choose Crawford as well. As you say, his writings on game design have been excellent; I'm currently working my way through his latest, Chris Crawford on Game Design, and I'd also recommend The Art of Interactive Design for an insightful discussion of software design in general. I've been getting more interested in war simulation games recently, such as the ones from SSI for the Atari 800, so I've come to have a new appreciation for Eastern Front 1941.

Crawford also designed Wizard, one of the more interesting unreleased 2600 games, and he talks about it at length in the book I linked to.

Those are all good books. I haven't read Chris Crawford on Interactive Storytelling, but I plan to get it soon.

His site is a good read as well.

[high voltage]

Gary Grigsby
Sid Meier

on VCS: Suki Lee

[BydoEmpire]

On the VCS, Rob Fulop!

[accousticguitar]

homerwannabee, on Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:02 PM, said:

David Crane for Pitfall II, Decathlon, and Kaboom.

Kaboom was programmed by Larry Kaplan.

jaybird3rd, on Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:56 PM, said:

I'd choose Crawford as well. As you say, his writings on game design have been excellent; I'm currently working my way through his latest, Chris Crawford on Game Design, and I'd also recommend The Art of Interactive Design for an insightful discussion of software design in general. I've been getting more interested in war simulation games recently, such as the ones from SSI for the Atari 800, so I've come to have a new appreciation for Eastern Front 1941.

Crawford also designed Wizard, one of the more interesting unreleased 2600 games, and he talks about it at length in the book I linked to.

Which book does he talk about Wizard in?

[jaybird3rd]

accousticguitar, on Mon Feb 14, 2011 10:45 AM, said:

Which book does he talk about Wizard in?

Chris Crawford on Game Design. Wizard gets its own 14-page chapter in the book. I'm sorry I wasn't more specific; I added the link to the second book later and didn't rephrase the next paragraph accordingly.

[toptenmaterial]

Brian O, on Sun Feb 13, 2011 8:51 AM, said:

I'd have to throw in Shigeru Miyamoto as well. Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros, and the original Legend of Zelda are some of my favorite games.

-B

Seconded. Also IGA for his contributions to Castlevania.

[accousticguitar]

jaybird3rd, on Mon Feb 14, 2011 12:06 PM, said:

accousticguitar, on Mon Feb 14, 2011 10:45 AM, said:

Which book does he talk about Wizard in?

Chris Crawford on Game Design. I'm sorry I wasn't more specific; I added the link to the second book later and didn't rephrase the next paragraph accordingly. Wizard gets its own 14-page chapter in the book.

Cool, thanks for the info! Wizard should have been released. IMO, it's one of the most underrated games Atari never produced.

[Rex Dart]

Whoever named The Earth Dies Screaming (Dan Thompson?).

[R.O.T.S]

I would agree with most of those mentioned above but i also have respect for programmers of my own personal favourite games even if they were responsible for a few other trash tiltes or just made one game,programmers like-

James Andreasen (for Haunted House)
Warren Robinett (for Adventure)
Bob Smith (for Riddle Of The Sphinx)
Howard Scott Warshaw (for Raiders of the lost ark and Yars Revenge)

[toptenmaterial]

R.O.T.S, on Mon Feb 14, 2011 12:51 PM, said:

I would agree with most of those mentioned above but i also have respect for programmers of my own personal favourite games even if they were responsible for a few other trash tiltes or just made one game,programmers like-

James Andreasen (for Haunted House)
Warren Robinett (for Adventure)
Bob Smith (for Riddle Of The Sphinx)
Howard Scott Warshaw (for Raiders of the lost ark and Yars Revenge)

Yeah, you really have to admire those early guys for making it happen. Everything they did was uncharted territory, with no friendly interface to assist them. The type of performance that they squeezed out of the VCS is nothing short of amazing.

[Gorfy]

Rex Dart, on Mon Feb 14, 2011 12:46 PM, said:

Whoever named The Earth Dies Screaming (Dan Thompson?).

Possibly Henry Cross, who was the screenwriter for the 1964 alien-invasion film with the same title. It's a good, retro-cool flick, by the way.

[toptenmaterial]

toptenmaterial, on Mon Feb 14, 2011 12:11 PM, said:

Brian O, on Sun Feb 13, 2011 8:51 AM, said:

I'd have to throw in Shigeru Miyamoto as well. Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros, and the original Legend of Zelda are some of my favorite games.

-B

Seconded. Also IGA for his contributions to Castlevania.

You know, I'm going to have to add the Houser bros for the latter GTAs- such vision, combined with humor.

[Silvio Mogno]

Douglas Neubauer (Solaris)
Peter C. Niday (Crystal Castles)
Rob Fulop (Demon Attack)