Larry Kaplan
Larry Kaplan is an American game designer who was the co-founder of Activision. Kaplan studied at the University of California, Berkeley from 1968 through 1974 and graduated with a degree in Computer Science. He started at Atari, Inc. in August 1976 and wrote games for the Atari Video Computer System. Kaplan also worked on the Atari 400/800 operating system. He co-founded Activision in late 1979. Since leaving Activision in 1982, Kaplan has worked at Amiga,https://www.digitpress.com/library/interviews/interview_larry_kaplan.html Atari Games, Silicon Graphics, Worlds of Wonder, and MicroUnity. He was hired as Lead Technical Director on the 1998 movie '' Antz'', but stayed with the project for only a few months. Credits Kaplan wrote the following Atari 2600 games: * '' Air-Sea Battle'' (1977, Atari) one of the nine Atari 2600 launch titles * '' Street Racer'' (1977, Atari) one of the nine Atari 2600 launch titles * ''Brain Games'' (1978, Atari) * ''Bowling'' (1979, Atari) * ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Game Designer
Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design are also applied to other interactions, in the form of gamification. Game designer and developer Robert Zubek defines game design by breaking it down into its elements, which he says are the following: * Gameplay, which is the interaction between the player and the mechanics and systems * Mechanics and systems, which are the rules and objects in the game * Player experience, which is how users feel when they're playing the game Games such as board games, card games, dice games, casino games, role-playing games, sports, video games, war games, or simulation games benefit from the principles of game design. Academically, game design is part of game studies, while game theory studies strategic decision making (primarily in non-game situations). Games have historically inspired ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Street Racer (1977 Video Game)
''Street Racer'' is a racing video game developed for the Atari Video Computer System, later known as the Atari 2600. It was programmed by Larry Kaplan and released by Atari, Inc. in September 1977 as one of the nine Atari VCS launch titles. The game was also published by Sears for their Tele-Games product line as ''Speedway II''. Gameplay ''Street Racer'' was one of the two launch titles programmed by Kaplan; ''Air-Sea Battle'' was the other. ''Street Racer'' offered 27 game variations, grouped into the following sub-games: * 1–6: Street racer * 7–12: Slalom * 13–16: Dodgem * 17–20: Jet shooter * 21–24: Number cruncher * 25–27: Scoop ball Each of the sub-games has roughly the same gameplay: the player controls a vehicle that must avoid or collect certain objects as they scroll down the screen. Between one and four players can compete simultaneously by using the paddle controllers,https://atariage.com/manual_page.php?SystemID=2600&ItemTypeID=&SoftwareLabelID=513&c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Video Game Programmers
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) systems which, in turn, were replaced by flat panel displays of several types. Video systems vary in display resolution, aspect ratio, refresh rate, color capabilities and other qualities. Analog and digital variants exist and can be carried on a variety of media, including radio broadcast, magnetic tape, optical discs, computer files, and network streaming. History Analog video Video technology was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) television systems, but several new technologies for video display devices have since been invented. Video was originally exclusively a live technology. Charles Ginsburg led an Ampex research team developing one of the first practical vi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American Video Game Designers
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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University Of California, Berkeley Alumni
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the designation is reserved for colleges that have a graduate school. The word ''university'' is derived from the Latin ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". The first universities were created in Europe by Catholic Church monks. The University of Bologna (''Università di Bologna''), founded in 1088, is the first university in the sense of: *Being a high degree-awarding institute. *Having independence from the ecclesiastic schools, although conducted by both clergy and non-clergy. *Using the word ''universitas'' (which was coined at its foundation). *Issuing secular and non-secular degrees: grammar, rhetoric, logic, theology, canon law, notarial law.Hunt Janin: "The university ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Year Of Birth Missing (living People)
A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hours of daylight, and, consequently, vegetation and soil fertility. In temperate and subpolar regions around the planet, four seasons are generally recognized: spring, summer, autumn and winter. In tropical and subtropical regions, several geographical sectors do not present defined seasons; but in the seasonal tropics, the annual wet and dry seasons are recognized and tracked. A calendar year is an approximation of the number of days of the Earth's orbital period, as counted in a given calendar. The Gregorian calendar, or modern calendar, presents its calendar year to be either a common year of 365 days or a leap year of 366 days, as do the Julian calendars. For the Gregorian calendar, the average length of the calendar year (the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Living People
Related categories * :Year of birth missing (living people) / :Year of birth unknown * :Date of birth missing (living people) / :Date of birth unknown * :Place of birth missing (living people) / :Place of birth unknown * :Year of death missing / :Year of death unknown * :Date of death missing / :Date of death unknown * :Place of death missing / :Place of death unknown * :Missing middle or first names See also * :Dead people * :Template:L, which generates this category or death years, and birth year and sort keys. : {{DEFAULTSORT:Living people 21st-century people People by status ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kaboom! (video Game)
''Kaboom!'' is an action video game published in 1981 by Activision for the Atari VCS (renamed to the Atari 2600 in 1982). It was programmed by Larry Kaplan, and David Crane coded the overlaid sprites. The game was well received and sold over one million cartridges by 1983. ''Kaboom!'' is an unauthorized adaptation of the 1978 Atari, Inc. arcade video game ''Avalanche''. The gameplay of both is fundamentally the same, but ''Kaboom!'' was re-themed to be about a mad bomber instead of falling rocks. Ex-Atari programmer Larry Kaplan originally wanted to port Avalanche to the Atari 2600. In ''Avalanche'' all the boulders are lined up at the top which is difficult to accomplish on the 2600, so the design was adjusted. Atari 8-bit family and Atari 5200 ports followed in 1983. Gameplay The game is similar to ''Avalanche'' in concept, but instead of there being a pre-existing set of rocks across the top of the screen that randomly fall, a character known as the "Mad Bomber" moves ba ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bowling (video Game)
''Bowling'' is a sports video game published in 1979 by Atari, Inc. for the Atari VCS (later renamed the Atari 2600). It was programmed by Larry Kaplan who left Atari to co-found Activision the same year. The game is an interpretation of the sport bowling, playable by one or two players. Gameplay In all six variations, games last for 10 frames, or turns. At the start of each frame, the current player is given two chances to roll a bowling ball down an alley in an attempt to knock down as many of the ten bowling pins as possible. The bowler (on the left side of the screen) may move up and down his end of the alley to aim before releasing the ball. In four of the game's six variations, the ball can be steered before it hits the pins. Knocking down every pin on the first shot is a ''strike'', while knocking every pin down in both shots is a ''spare''. The player's score is determined by the number of pins knocked down in all 10 frames, as well as the number of strikes and spar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brain Games
''Brain Games'' is a collection of memory video games programmed by Larry Kaplan and released by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600 in 1978. It is a group of memory games, in which the player is faced with outwitting the computer in sound and picture puzzles.''Kiplinger's Personal Finance'', p. 44. It can be played as either a one or two player game. In place of using the standard joystick, ''Brain Games'' utilizes the 12-button keypad controller. ''Brain Games'' was suggested in the 1984 book ''Clinical Management of Memory Problems'' as an effective clinical device for memory retraining exercises. Noted for having a variety of useful games, patients would be faced with auditory and visual cues that may improve spatial reasoning. Gameplay Featuring a total of 19 games, the catalog of ''Brain Games'' includes a variety of memory games where the player must focus on a series of ciphers, symbols, and musical notes.''Atari Catalog'' (1982), p. 39. Each game has several options for al ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Air-Sea Battle
''Air-Sea Battle'' is a game developed by Atari, Inc. for the Atari VCS (renamed to the Atari 2600 in 1982), and was one of the nine original launch titles for that system when it was released in September 1977. It was published by Sears as ''Target Fun'' and was the pack-in game with the original Sears Tele-Games version of the Atari VCS. Gameplay There are six basic types of games available in ''Air-Sea Battle'' and, for each type, there are one or two groups of three games, for a total of twenty-seven game variants. Within each group, variant one is the standard game, variant two features guided missiles which can be directed left or right after being fired, and variant three pits a single player (using the right gun) against a computer opponent, which simply fires continuously at the default angle or speed. In every game, players shoot targets (enemy planes or ships, shooting gallery targets, or each other, depending on the game chosen) competing to get a higher score. Ea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one of the largest third-party video game publishers in the world and was the top United States publisher in 2016. The company was founded as Activision, Inc. on October 1, 1979 in Sunnyvale, California, by former Atari game developers upset at their treatment by Atari in order to develop their own games for the popular Atari 2600 home video game console. Activision was the first independent, third-party, console video game developer. The video game crash of 1983, in part created by too many new companies trying to follow in Activision's footsteps without the expertise of Activision's founders, hurt Activision's position in console games and forced the company to diversify into games for home computers, including the acquisition of Infocom. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |