|
Russ Wetmore
Russ Wetmore is an American computer programmer and video game designer best known for writing commercial games and applications for the Atari 8-bit family in the early to mid 1980s. His ''Frogger''-inspired '' Preppie!'' was published by Adventure International as well as its sequel. He stopped writing games after the video game crash of 1983 and developed the integrated '' HomePak'' productivity suite for Batteries Included. Education Interested in classical music, Wetmore majored in music composition at Morehead State University, from 1973–1975, until running out of money. Game development Wetmore met Scott Adams in 1981 and was hired to work for Adventure International as a liaison for external game authors. When he became interested in developing his own games, Adams loaned him an Atari 800. Wetmore's first commercial game was '' Preppie!'' (1982) for the Atari 8-bit computers, which merges the design of ''Frogger'' with the preppy fad of the early 1980s. He designed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Preppie! (video Game)
''Preppie!'' is an action video game for the Atari 8-bit family published by Adventure International in 1982. It was programmed by Russ Wetmore of Star Systems Software, whose name is prominently displayed on the box cover. Leaning on the preppy trend of the early 1980s, the game follows prep schooler Wadsworth Overcash as he navigates the hazards of a country club to retrieve golf balls. ''Preppie!'' borrows heavily from Konami's ''Frogger'', with lanes of traffic in the bottom half of the screen and a river crossing the top portion. Alligators are an element from both ''Frogger'' and preppy fashion; an open-mouthed gator is the icon of shirt brand Izod. Reviewers recognized the game as derivative, but called the music and visuals some of the best for Atari 8-bit computers. ''Preppie!'' was followed by a maze game, ''Preppie! II'', from the same author in 1983. In January 2016, Russ Wetmore released the source code for both games. Gameplay Like ''Frogger'', the player must cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Source Code
In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source code. The source code is often transformed by an assembler or compiler into binary machine code that can be executed by the computer. The machine code is then available for execution at a later time. Most application software is distributed in a form that includes only executable files. If the source code were included it would be useful to a user, programmer or a system administrator, any of whom might wish to study or modify the program. Alternatively, depending on the technology being used, source code may be interpreted and executed directly. Definitions Richard Stallman's definition, formulated in his 1989 seminal li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Video Game Designers
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] |
American Computer Programmers
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 * B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company by market capitalization, the fourth-largest personal computer vendor by unit sales and second-largest mobile phone manufacturer. It is one of the Big Five American information technology companies, alongside Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft. Apple was founded as Apple Computer Company on April 1, 1976, by Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne to develop and sell Wozniak's Apple I personal computer. It was incorporated by Jobs and Wozniak as Apple Computer, Inc. in 1977 and the company's next computer, the Apple II, became a best seller and one of the first mass-produced microcomputers. Apple went public in 1980 to instant financial success. The company developed computers featuring innovative graphical user interfaces, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ANALOG Computing
''ANALOG Computing'' (an acronym for Atari Newsletter And Lots Of Games) was an American computer magazine devoted to the Atari 8-bit family of home computers. It was published from 1981 until 1989. In addition to reviews and tutorials, ''ANALOG'' printed multiple programs in each issue for users to type in. The magazine had a reputation for listings of machine language games–much smoother than those written in Atari BASIC—and which were uncommon in competing magazines. Such games were accompanied by the assembly language source code. ''ANALOG'' also sold commercial games, two books of type-in software, and access to a custom bulletin-board system. Originally the title as printed on the cover was ''A.N.A.L.O.G. 400/800 Magazine'', but by the eighth issue it changed to ''A.N.A.L.O.G. Computing''. Though the dots remained in the logo, it was simply referred to as ''ANALOG'' or ''ANALOG Computing'' inside the magazine. While the program listings were covered under the m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antic Software
Antic Software was a software company associated with ''Antic'', a magazine for the Atari 8-bit family of computers. Bound into issues of the magazine, the Antic Software catalog initially sold Atari 8-bit games, applications, and utilities from the recently defunct Atari Program Exchange. Original submissions were later added, as well as public domain collections, with all software provided on self-documented disk. When the Atari ST was released, it became a mixture of Atari 8-bit and Atari ST software and sold some major Atari ST titles such as CAD-3D. The magazine insert changed names several times, eventually being branded as ''The Catalog''. ''Antic'' assistant editor Gigi Bisson wrote in the May 1986 issue that, " ntic Softwarekept the magazine afloat during the lean year," referring to the period following Atari, Inc.'s financial collapse. History When the Atari Program Exchange (APX) was shut down by Atari CEO James J. Morgan in 1984, Gary Yost convinced ''Antic'' ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rolodex
A Rolodex is a rotating card file device used to store business contact information. Its name, a portmanteau of the words ''rolling'' and ''index'', has become somewhat genericized (usually as ''rolodex'') for any personal organizer performing this function, or as a metonym for the total of an individual's accumulated business contacts. In this usage, it has generally come to describe an effect or characteristic of the small-world network of a business's investors, board of directors, or the value of a CEO's contacts, or in organizational structure. The Rolodex is iconic enough as a piece of ubiquitous business furniture that it has been shown in the Smithsonian. History The Rolodex was invented in 1956 by Danish engineer Hildaur Neilsen, the chief engineer of Arnold Neustadter's company Zephyr American, a stationery manufacturer in New York. Neustadter was often credited with having invented it. First marketed in 1958, it was an improvement to an earlier design called the ''Whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bug Off!
''Bug Off!'' is a single screen fixed shooter for the Atari 8-bit family written by Sparky Starks and published by Adventure International in 1982. QuelleSoft released the game in Germany as ''Kampf dem Ungeziefer'' ("Fight the Bugs") in 1984. Gameplay The object of ''Bug Off!'' is to control a variety of bugs that swarm out of a Florida sinkhole and endanger the player's garden. The player controls a chemical sprayer, which can be moved on all four outer edges of the gameplay window. The sprayer will always point towards the center of the screen, where the garden resides. Only the wasps and spiders are dangerous to the player. They eat all the player's DDT supplies and thus end the game. The player tries to hold out until nightfall, when the butterflies appear, which reward the player bonus points for every corner that has remained free and also the army will drop in a new supply of the DDT. When the player is hit, he will lose his current can of DDT from his sprayer, and a se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Optimized Systems Software
Optimized Systems Software (OSS) was a company that produced disk operating systems, programming languages with integrated development environments, and applications primarily for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers. OSS was best known for their enhanced versions of Atari BASIC and the MAC/65 assembler, both of which are much faster than Atari's products, and the Action! programming language. OSS also sold some products for the Apple II. OSS transitioned to 16-bit platforms with Personal Pascal for the Atari ST and Personal Prolog for Macintosh (which was also advertised for the Atari ST, but may not have been released). OSS was not as significant in those markets. History Optimized Systems Software was formed in early 1981 by Bill Wilkinson, Mike Peters, Paul Laughton, and Kathleen O'Brien. Laughton, the primary author of Atari BASIC, was still employed by Atari, Inc. at the time, and had permission to be involved with OSS from his manager. O'Brien wrote the Atari As ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Action! (programming Language)
Action! is a procedural programming language and integrated development environment written by Clinton Parker for the Atari 8-bit family. The language, which is similar to ALGOL, compiles to high-performance code for the MOS Technologies 6502 of the Atari computers. Action! was distributed on ROM cartridge by Optimized Systems Software starting in 1983. It was one of the company's first bank-switched 16 kB "Super Cartridges". Parker, working with Henry Baker, had previously developed Micro-SPL, a systems programming language for the Xerox Alto. Action! is largely a port of Micro-SPL concepts to the Atari with changes to support the 6502 processor and the addition of an integrated fullscreen editor and debugger. Action! was used to develop at least two commercial products—the '' HomePak'' productivity suite and '' Games Computers Play'' client program—and numerous programs in ''ANALOG Computing'' and ''Antic'' magazines. The editor inspired the PaperClip word process ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
