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If you could interview a programer from Nice Ideas.....


scalpel

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What tools were used to write the games?

 

Do you have still source code for some programs you've written?

 

How was a common work day?

 

Mattel provided with information or they had to reverse engineering?

 

Do you had a brainstorm for some complicated routine you needed in a game?

 

What do you think was your best experience when writing a game?

 

What you feel when you saw your game on sale?

 

Did you own an Intellivision?

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What was it like working with Keith?

 

Was Championship Tennis going to be 4-player on the ECS? If so, how did things change to it becoming incompatible with the ECS?

 

Why was World Cup Soccer's ECS 4-player support never mentioned on the box or manual?

 

Any Easter Eggs in the two games?

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Hey,

 

I'd interested to know about the hardware and software used in the development process. What hardware was the software written on? What were the tools like, editors, assemblers etc? How was the code tested? Did they have access to Magnus boards or Black Whale keyboard components?

 

Was there much communication or transfer of knowledge with the developers in California?

 

 

cheers

 

decle

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Nice Ideas finished Championship Tennis and World Cup Soccer/Football which were both started at Mattel USA. They also did "Illusions", "Hard Hat", "Spina the Bee", "Scarfinger" and games for other systems. Some programmers were from England. This according to IntellivisionLives.com.

 

Try and find out why Tennis was changed from a horizontal to a vertical orientation and why you can't run and swing at the same time. My understanding is that Ray Kaestner added doubles play and computer players but not sure of anything else. Find out if any other Intellivision games were started eg. "Pizza Time" "Magic Carpet".

 

After Mattel Electronics in the US closed, were they still giving their best efforts? And the usual questions about their programming and videogame experience prior to Mattel and then after Nice Ideas. Ask them if Keith Robinson spent more time in the office or with blue sky sessions at the beach.

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Excerpt from The Big Book of Answers**:

 

A woodchuck would chuck 23 chords of wood if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

 

** © 2324 Encyclopedia Galactica Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.

Does it say ,

How many shells does Sally sell by the sea shore??

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Excerpt from The Big Book of Answers**:

 

A woodchuck would chuck 23 chords of wood if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

 

** © 2324 Encyclopedia Galactica Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

 

A woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could chuck, it a woodchuck could chuck wood.

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Hi, Scalpel,

 

Of course it would be interesting to read an interview with a programmer from Nice Ideas. Being a programmer myself, and inspired by the tools and techniques of old, I personally would like to know more about the tools they used to create games back then. I don't mean a passing comment, but actual details of their programming environment.

 

By the way, another interesting question that occurs to me, and one that I don't think has been addressed in any other interview, is how were sound effects designed? Was it really just someone randomly tweaking numeric parameters until something interesting came out? Or was there some actual plan and design? Was there any audio analysis of real world sounds in order to simulate them? How was it done?

 

-dZ.

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