Best 2600 Programmer

[vdub_bobby]

I picked, basically, the dozen or so most prolific 2600 programmers, with a few exceptions.

 

Feel free to put anyone else who deserves the title in your posts

[Lauren Tyler]

There were a lot of GCC programmers that didn't get a lot of credit. Doug Macare did a great job on Pole Position for the Atari 2600. It was a tough call also, as I wanted to vote for each one of them, but I guess the nod went to David Crane in the end.

[+Random Terrain]

Are we talking about game design or programming? You can be a great programmer who knows all of the tricks and your code might be so pretty that it makes other programmers spontaneously goo their pants when they look at it, but if the game isn't fun, your programming skills don't matter.

[vdub_bobby]

Are we talking about game design or programming? You can be a great programmer who knows all of the tricks and your code might be so pretty that it makes other programmers spontaneously goo their pants when they look at it, but if the game isn't fun, your programming skills don't matter.

842242[/snapback]

I don't know that I could say it better myself

 

But programming skills DO matter - just take a look at Team Savage

 

I'd consider technical mastery, quality of visuals, quality of sound effects and music, ease of play (controls hard to learn? counterintuitive? unresponsive?), and overall quality of the game(s). Plus, quantity matters too, to some extent. Warren Robinett has basically one crap game (Slot Racers), one oddity that isn't really a game (Basic Programming), and one game that is one of the 5 best for the system (Adventure). Is that a better body of work than Larry Kaplan's, who has several fantastic games (Kaboom!, Combat) plus several mediocre games (Bowling), but nothing really as immersive, groundbreaking, and complex as Adventure? I dunno.

 

But they're making games - in the end it comes down to how much fun the game is.

 

Please post any omissions or errors in the lists of games, by the way.

[Mindfield]

I'd have to go with Crane. He knew a good game when he dreamed one up and he was able to code it to rich, vibrant life.

 

BTW, he also worked on Ghostbusters, if you're going for a complete, erm ... "gameography" of his works.

[Dr. Morbis]

Crane is the easy answer, but I had to toss a vote out to Larry Kaplan for creating the ultimate twitch game; a game so great, that it's addictive qualities still haven't been topped 20 years later, even with multi-million dollar budgets and hundreds/thousands of people working on single games.

 

Kaboom!

 

(Combat is quite an achievement too considering there was virtually no precendent for original games at the time [outside of Pong variants]).

Edited April 23, 2005 by Dr. Morbis

[Bruce Tomlin]

(Combat is quite an achievement too considering there was virtually no precendent for original games at the time [outside of Pong variants]).

Huh? Combat was a game from the discrete logic era. The TIA was designed to easily mimic the discrete logic games of the time, in particular Pong and Combat.

[Big Player]

I think Garry Kitchen should be on the list. His games are Keystone Kapers, Pressure Cooker, Donkey Kong and Space Jockey.

 

It's really a tough call for me though. I would really like to see the results of this poll if it was voted on by only members of the Stella Mailing List. By knowing the how to program the 2600, they would have a better idea of who the best programmers are. Or who got the most out of the system. From what I've read on this site, Pitfall seems to have some amazing programming with the formula that creates the screen layout.

 

Here is an interesting thread old thread on which is the best 4K 2600 game.

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19551

[Brad2600]

I feel that David Crane is the best. I mean, he made so many awesome Activision titles and I feel that he deserves accolades.

 

Not to discount the work of the other programmers. They all deserve recognization but I feel that David Crane takes the cake.

[Goochman]

Didnt Doug N do Defender II also?

 

Defender II and Solaris - 'nuf said

[the 5th ghost]

Got to give props to Larry Kaplan, who gets my vote.

 

His list of games covered all the controllers: joystick, paddles and keyboard controllers. Plus, Kaboom! and Target Fun are personal favs, while Bridge must have been an enormous task to program, but I don't know anything about programming.

 

Crane is clearly the master in pushing the envelope and raising the bar for other programmers, yet he seemed to always stay on top. His games, I think, inspired what was to come and from what I know, is still involved in video games on some level.

 

Alan Miller also deserves recognition for his achievments.

[Shannon]

Interesting poll but I'm not sure if I could really come up with an answer.

 

What? No Steve Jobs and breakout??

 

Oh wait a minute he's listed as a designer.

Edited April 25, 2005 by Shannon

[djmips]

I would give extra marks to anyone who launched a genre. I think that River Raid and Carol Shaw stand out in that manner.

 

Also, a small point, but the 5th ghost, mentions Larry Kaplan as the Combat author, (and it is even credited to Kaplan in vdub_bobby's poll). This is a common error that seems to confuse him with another Larry; Larry Wagner. (Joey Decuir also gets a credit according to AtariAge.)

[TheHoboInYourRoom]

If only I had two votes...

 

I would have to say David Crane, mostly because I've played all his games and it's amazing he was able to pull all of this off.

 

However, I also have to mention Doug Neubauer. I mean, c'mon! M*A*S*H and Solaris!

 

 

(Combat is quite an achievement too considering there was virtually no precendent for original games at the time [outside of Pong variants]).

You do know that Combat is a port of Tank from the arcades, don't you?

[vdub_bobby]

I would give extra marks to anyone who launched a genre. I think that River Raid and Carol Shaw stand out in that manner.

 

Also, a small point, but the 5th ghost, mentions Larry Kaplan as the Combat author, (and it is even credited to Kaplan in vdub_bobby's poll). This is a common error that seems to confuse him with another Larry; Larry Wagner. (Joey Decuir also gets a credit according to AtariAge.)

843442[/snapback]

You're right - at least according to AA, Larry Wagner is credited with Combat, and Larry Kaplan is credited with Tank Plus. Which, if true, seems odd.

 

And I left Garry Kitchen off the list because he "only" wrote those 4 games - and if I included everyone with 4 games on their resume the list would be twice as long. But those four games are a pretty good bunch!

[Mental Vortex]

Another vote for Crane. He did a great job on everything he did. Although you have to give Robinett credit for creating the first Easter Egg.

[ninjarabbit]

Not to sound like a broken record but my vote too goes to Crane. Pitfall 1 & 2 are easily in my top 10 and you still see his influence today in games like Metroid and the GBA Castlevania games.

[ZylonBane]

To all of you who seem to think that David Crane created anything on the 2600 that was a greater programming achievement than Solaris, I have only this to say to you--

 

I want some of what you're smoking.

[Goochman]

To all of you who seem to think that David Crane created anything on the 2600 that was a greater programming achievement than Solaris, I have only this to say to you--

 

I want some of what you're smoking.

843562[/snapback]

 

Agreed Zylon - Defender II was also a work of art - almost looks like the original arcade game.

[mos6507]

You're right - at least according to AA, Larry Wagner is credited with Combat, and Larry Kaplan is credited with Tank Plus.  Which, if true, seems odd.

 

I think Atari Age's programmer list originated with the old "big list" of game programmers which goes back to the early 90s.

 

That is where the original mix up between Larry Wagner and Larry Kaplan started.

 

Larry Wagner was actually managing the programmer group during the development of the Atari 2600. But he definitely wrote Combat. His personal notes that he made when coding the game were scanned in and included in the Stella v. 2 CD. This includes stuff like his graph paper sprite diagrams for all the rotations and the digits and the game variations.

 

In the early days Larry was acting as a liaison between the hardware group and the software group and he was instrumental in weighing the design decisions involved like how much RAM to put in it and how much ROM it was going to be able to address.

 

Beyond that, Larry's biggest technical contribution to the 2600 was that he actually prototyped the first banked ROM cartridge when working on Video Chess, but they eventually crammed it down to 4K.

[Shannon]

You're right - at least according to AA, Larry Wagner is credited with Combat, and Larry Kaplan is credited with Tank Plus.  Which, if true, seems odd.

 

And I left Garry Kitchen off the list because he "only" wrote those 4 games - and if I included everyone with 4 games on their resume the list would be twice as long.  But those four games are a pretty good bunch!

843546[/snapback]

Uhh then why is warren robinnet on there. He only did three games. Huh! HUh! HUH!

[vdub_bobby]

And I left Garry Kitchen off the list because he "only" wrote those 4 games - and if I included everyone with 4 games on their resume the list would be twice as long.  But those four games are a pretty good bunch!

843546[/snapback]

Uhh then why is warren robinnet on there. He only did three games. Huh! HUh! HUH!

843978[/snapback]

 

I said I made a few exceptions I think Adventure is good enough that even with only two other games, Robinett deserves to be up there. There are a few others on the list with fewer than the cutoff I used (6 games).

[kisrael]

Do we know who made the GCC Battlzone conversion? That is the most incredible technical feat I've seen on the 2600.

[Shannon]

And I left Garry Kitchen off the list because he "only" wrote those 4 games - and if I included everyone with 4 games on their resume the list would be twice as long.  But those four games are a pretty good bunch!

843546[/snapback]

Uhh then why is warren robinnet on there. He only did three games. Huh! HUh! HUH!

843978[/snapback]

 

I said I made a few exceptions I think Adventure is good enough that even with only two other games, Robinett deserves to be up there. There are a few others on the list with fewer than the cutoff I used (6 games).

844069[/snapback]

 

Hmmm I just assumed the cutoff was 5 since that was the only number you mentioned.

[KaineMaxwell]

David Crane for me. All of Activision's titles are classics in my mind and something you can always go back to for a quick fix.