Spring+2009+Lecture+11+Notes

= __Spring 2009 Lecture 11 Notes__ =


 


 * Early 1980's – Some video-games did not follow traditional themes
 * Centipede nontraditional game
 * Created at Atari by Ed Logg (Asteroids) and Dona Bailey
 * Bailey – worked at General Motors – co-designed microprocessor for Cruise Control
 * Took job at Atari – follow her love of video-games
 * Only female programmer in coin-op division
 * Heard Logg was developing game called Centipede – asked to help
 * Logg fleshed out idea – graphics/basic game programming – handed it over to Bailey
 * Bailey did bulk of game-programming – collaborative effort of ideas between them
 * Centipede an original game, not original concept
 * Idea came from Atari book of ideas – book created during brainstorming sessions
 * Original idea called “Bug Shooter” - Logg converted idea to Centipede
 * Final game used trackball – players controlled tiny character shooting upwards
 * Long centipede came down screen, winding between mushrooms
 * Game evolved during production – static mushrooms became destructible
 * Any enemies shot (spiders, scorpions, centipede segments) became new mushrooms
 * Periodically fleas brought new mushrooms in
 * Goal to shoot all 11 sections of Centipede to advance to next level
 * Centipede altered direction when hit mushroom – players devised strategies
 * Forced centipede to go to where they wanted by creating mushrooms in specific places
 * One of the only games of the time to appeal to females as well as males
 * 1st game developed by female programmer – obviously few players knew this
 * Bailey's presence on game still probably helped attract female players
 * She had added pastel color scheme – may have caught eye of female players
 * Centipede big success - 1st nation video-game tournament used Centipede
 * October, 1981 – Tournament Games – 3-day competition at Chicago Exposition Center
 * Advertised as 10,000-15,000 of the best video-game players competing in Centipede
 * Tournament Games experienced in holding similar competitions
 * Experience did not translate to video-games
 * Held local tournaments, invited local winners to participate in national
 * All entrants had to pay travel fees and room and board
 * Non-invited, walk-on contestants had to pay $60 registration fee
 * Fees too expensive for typical teenage video-game player – only 150 entrants
 * Tournament itself not gamer-friendly
 * Players encouraged to practice beforehand – practice machines not set on free-play
 * Also had internal timers on them – cut games off after 3 minutes
 * Winner – Eric Ginner – given $12,000 check
 * Top female contestant of less than a dozen females – Ok-See Han – given $4000 check
 * Both checks bounced – Atari ended up covering checks to avoid bad publicity
 * David Theurer – working on new game – Tempest
 * Also not original idea – from Atari book of ideas – “First-Person Space Invaders”
 * First-Person needed vector generator – Theurer found new generator under development
 * New generator capable of producing color lines – used on Tempest
 * Original game done quickly – shown to bosses
 * Game boring – just Space Invaders from different perspective – told to change or kill idea
 * Theurer proposed idea based on nightmare – monsters coming out of hole to kill him
 * Could keep basic existing game-play – wrap play-field around cylinder to create 3D hole
 * Bosses approved – he added a knob as controller – acted as a dial – spun hole for aiming
 * Spinning viewpoint made some early tester nauseas
 * Altered game – hole stationary, player's “gun” moved around hole to shoot enemies
 * Added in final visual effect – fire-works when player got on high-score list
 * Final game hit, despite 2 large problems
 * First – problem with color vector generator – very unstable – overheated
 * Melted components to circuit-board during production – overheating not fully fixed
 * Tempest units continually broke down – owners complained – bad for sales
 * Second – programming glitch – rumors of players getting hours of play on single quarter
 * Story said players got 40 free credits – Theurer assumed it was faulty hardware
 * Turned out to be his own fault – programming conflict
 * Anti-Piracy code written in – if code copied, but objects off-position, game shut down
 * Theurer perfectionist – last minute saw non-centered Atari logo in game – centered it
 * Conflict accidentally created with Anti-Piracy code
 * Glitch caused 40 free credits to be given when specific score achieved by player
 * Other glitches – vector objects would double in size under certain conditions
 * Players only cared about free credits – figured out how to do it – repeated it
 * Tempest still successful – Atari had instituted a bonus-policy for successful games
 * Policy came out after Missile Command – upset Theurer
 * Policy decided upon – specifically held off instituting until after Tempest made money
 * Theurer outraged – lost millions of dollars in bonus due to Warner greed
 * Lots of money being made in early 80's – Atari not making most
 * Bally/Midway making most with sequel to Pac-Man – Ms. Pac-Man
 * Toru Iwatani had nothing to do with creation Ms. Pac-Man – nor did Namco or Midway
 * Two MIT students – Doug Macrae and Kevin Curran behind Ms. Pac-Man
 * Junior in college – Macrae started coin-op route
 * Gottlieb pinball machine from brother – 3 Missile Command machines bought himself
 * Made money until Missile Command stopped drawing customers
 * Typical small-route problem – older games lose interest after new games come out
 * Typical owners had to buy new machines – Macrae MIT engineering student
 * Asked fellow student for help – Kevin Curran
 * Macrae focused on Computer Graphics – Curran focused on Electrical Engineering
 * Together, wanted to make games – had no resources to make full cabinets, etc.
 * Idea to make enhancements for Macrae's machines
 * Secondary circuit boards – attached to original game-boards – changed game
 * Moved off campus – got 3 more workers – money from Macrae's mom and from route
 * Took apart 1 Missile Command machine – studied design – dissected code for game
 * Created board to work in conjunction with original
 * Intercept original code – decide when to use new code or use original code for game
 * Result – accelerated Missile Command – new laser-shooting UFOs – new color scheme
 * Called new version Super Missile Attack – MIT students began playing new version
 * Macrae and Curran felt same could happen across country
 * Worried about copyright infringement – thought they would be OK
 * No code copied, new code just overlaid on top
 * Called new company General Computer Corporation (GCC) – made boards for $30 – sold for $295
 * Over 1000 Super Missile Attach enhancement boards sold in next few months
 * Decided to try same thing on most popular game in the world – Pac-Man
 * August 1981 – Pac-Man programming analyzed – board design begun
 * Atari sued General Computer for copyright infringement on Missile Command
 * Atari filed as copyright infringement – wasn't their real concern
 * Had problem with concept of enhancement boards entirely
 * Coin-op thrived on fact that arcade owners had to buy new machines every few months
 * Enhancement boards would allow them to upgrade existing machines for much cheaper
 * Atari CEO Ray Kassar and Warner President Steve Ross had to stop General Computer
 * Case presented as piracy – all previous piracy cases involved blatant code-copying
 * General Computer's enhancement different – did not plagiarize any code
 * New ground, legally – potentially drawn-out court case
 * Atari approached Macrae and Curran to find reasonable solution
 * Asked what they were after – responded saying they just wanted to make games
 * Atari cut a deal – dropped law-suit with prejudice (means they admitted it was faulty suit)
 * Gave Macrae and Curran $50,000 a month for next 2 years to develop games for Atari
 * Macrae and Curran agreed to stop making enhancement boards
 * Had already development Pac-Man enhancement – didn't want to abandon it
 * Wording of agreement – couldn't release boards without copyright-holder's permission
 * Atari assumed no one would give permission – Macrae and Curran wanted to find out
 * Flew to Chicago to see Bally/Midway – owned copyright to Pac-Man
 * Intended on bluffing – brought court papers – showed Atari dropped suit with prejudice
 * Claimed they had just beaten Atari in court – told Bally about Pac-Man board
 * Said they just wanted Bally's blessing before releasing it – expected Bally to agree
 * Not expecting that Bally had no post-Pac-Man game lined up
 * Hundreds of thousands of Pac-Man games around world – nothing to make after
 * Bally Proposed sequel to Pac-Man, using enhancement board
 * Few minor issues – General Computers original enhancement called “Crazy Otto”
 * Gave Pac-Man legs – Bally/Midway insisted on staying true to original design
 * Macrae and Curran agreed – took out legs – decided to make character female, instead
 * Originally Pac-Woman – some women at Midway objected to title – inappropriate
 * Didn't understand why – still changed it – Miss Pac-Man
 * Was pointed out that third cut-scene had Pac-Man and Miss Pac-Man getting a baby
 * Some concern over controversy of having a child out of wed-lock
 * Changed name to Mrs. Pac-Man
 * 72 hours before production set to begin, wanted to ensure everyone was happy
 * Made 5th and final change – Ms. Pac-Man
 * Never any actual Ms. Pac-Man boards created
 * All Ms. Pac-Man games were original Pac-Man games with enhancement boards
 * Final game got Nakamura's approval – since Namco made original game
 * Had same basic game-play – number of changes
 * Most major – original had 1 maze – Ms. Pac-Man had 4 mazes
 * Moved faster – ghosts no longer moved in predictable patterns
 * Bonus fruit marched around maze – no longer stationary
 * Other changes cosmetic – Pac-Man given red bow and lipstick to be turned female
 * More “feminine” colors – pinks and lighter blues
 * Fourth ghost – Clyde in Pac-Man – Sue in Ms. Pac-Man – named after Macrae's sister
 * Like original Pac-Man and Centipede – Ms. Pac-Man appealed to female players
 * Bigger hit than original – Pac-Man sold 100,000 in US – Ms. Pac-Man sold 115,000
 * Only 2 arcade games ever to sell over 100,000 units in US – sold even more world-wide
 * General Computer later made Junior Pac-Man for Bally/Midway – didn't do as well
 * Bally/Midway later contracted Dave Nutting to make Baby Pac-Man
 * Pac-style maze-chase game with pinball machine attached to it – not popular
 * Macrae and Curran sued Bally/Midway – claimed they had come up with Pac-Family idea
 * Won law suit – merchandising royalties of Pac-Family made Macrae and Curran millions
 * Namco did not actually have anything to do with Ms. Pac-Man and did not own the rights - Midway did
 * Midway ultimately gave the rights to Namco, so that Midway could continue to do business with them
 * Midway eventually did lose Namco's business after the various Pac-Man "family" games were made
 * 2 inventions from Ralph Baer (creator of 1st home video-game console, original Odyssey)
 * First – Ironic due to 1975 lawsuit – claimed Nolan Bushnell stole Baer's Odyssey idea
 * In 1976, Baer went to trade show, saw Bushnell idea – copied it
 * Bushnell device – toy called Touch Me – four buttons with flashing lights – made noises
 * Players had to memorize and repeat sounds – Baer saw potential in idea
 * Baer approached toy-design firm Marvin Glass Associates with idea
 * Baer and Marvin Glass designers improved idea – changed noises to musical notes
 * Baer looked through children's encyclopedia to find notes
 * Found 4 notes in harmony no matter what sequence played in – used in game
 * Made distinct colors per button, with specific note attached to each of 4 buttons
 * Final Product called Simon
 * Baer's original Simon prototype square with square buttons
 * After patent filed for, design changed to round with buttons forming a ring
 * Simon had 3 memorization games – 2 played against computer, 3rd against other player
 * Marvin Glass sold Simon to Milton Bradley – released for 1977 Holiday Season
 * Huge hit – still being sold today – despite success, Bushnell or Atari never sued
 * Baer cites 2 reasons – Bushnell's device simply had sequential lights, no pattern
 * Memorization only with noises – Simon used notes – each assigned each to specific color
 * Other reason more likely – Bushnell probably did not have patent for idea
 * Second invention – 1980 – idea to personalize video-games
 * Baer created camera – took black and white pictures of player's faces
 * Camera digitized pictures – load images into game – multiple purposes
 * Characters could have players' faces – High scores could have players' images
 * Baer thought everyone game-player would want their picture on every machine possible
 * Built prototype – presented it to Bally/Midway
 * Strong interest in device – execs had Baer place prototype into one of their machines
 * Placed in test location – did well first day – disaster second day – Midway dropped idea
 * Disaster – player decided to get up on chair, drop pants, take picture
 * Resulting image on high-score board all day
 * Invention wasn't a total loss
 * Midway designers wanted to make game based on popular rock group Journey
 * Game-play involved guiding band-members through obstacles – game simply titled "Journey," after the band
 * Baer's camera provided black and white images of band throughout game
 * Journey first game to use digitized graphical elements
 * Game was not good – Midway execs thought popularity of band enough to sell game
 * May have been correct in previous years – game released in early 1983
 * Arcades already starting to decline at end of 1982
 * No amount of pictures or Journey branding could save bad game


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