Christopher Crawford (born June 1, 1950) is an American
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
designer
A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans.
In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...
and writer. Hired by
Alan Kay
Alan Curtis Kay (born May 17, 1940) published by the Association for Computing Machinery 2012 is an American computer scientist best known for his pioneering work on object-oriented programming and windowing graphical user interface (GUI) d ...
to work at
Atari, Inc.
Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry.
Based primarily around the Sunny ...
, he wrote the
computer wargame
A computer wargame is a wargame played on a digital device. Descended from board wargaming, it simulates military conflict at the tactical, operational or strategic level. Computer wargames are both sold commercially for recreational use an ...
''
Eastern Front (1941)
''Eastern Front (1941)'' is a computer wargame for the Atari 8-bit family created by Chris Crawford and published through the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1981. A scenario editor and assembly language source code for the game were also s ...
'' for the
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...
which was sold through the
Atari Program Exchange
Atari Program Exchange (APX) was a division of Atari, Inc. that sold software via mail-order for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers. Quarterly APX catalogs were sent to all registered Atari 8-bit owners. APX encouraged any programmer, not j ...
and later Atari's official product line. After leaving Atari, he wrote a string of games beginning with ''
Balance of Power'' for
Macintosh
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...
. Writing about the process of developing games, he became known among other creators in the nascent home computer game industry for his passionate advocacy of game design as an art form. He self-published ''
The Journal of Computer Game Design'' and founded the Computer Game Developers Conference (later renamed to the
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival, and a variety of tutori ...
).
In 1992 Crawford withdrew from commercial game development and began experimenting with ideas for a next generation interactive storytelling system. In 2018, Crawford announced that he had halted his work on interactive storytelling, concluding that it will take centuries for civilization to embrace the required concepts.
Biography
Crawford was born in 1950 in
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
. After receiving a Bachelor's in physics from
UC Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...
in 1972 and a Master's in physics from the
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...
in 1975, Crawford taught at a
community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...
and the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
.
Crawford first encountered computer games in Missouri, when he met someone attempting to computerize
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the company' ...
's ''
Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg ( , ; from 'lightning' + 'war') is a word used to describe a surprise attack using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with close air su ...
''. While teaching, he wrote an early version of ''
Tanktics
''Tanktics: Computer Game of Armored Combat on the Eastern Front'', also named ''Wargy I'', is a 1976 two-player tank battle video game by Chris Crawford. It was Crawford's first video game; it was initially sold directly by him, and was publis ...
'' in
Fortran for the
IBM 1130
The IBM 1130 Computing System, introduced in 1965, was IBM's least expensive computer at that time. A binary 16-bit machine, it was marketed to price-sensitive, computing-intensive technical markets, like education and engineering, succeeding th ...
in 1976 as a hobby, then wrote ''Tanktics'' and an early version of ''
Legionnaire
The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...
'' for
personal computers
A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
such as the
KIM-1
The KIM-1, short for ''Keyboard Input Monitor'', is a small 6502-based single-board computer developed and produced by MOS Technology, Inc. and launched in 1976. It was very successful in that period, due to its low price (thanks to the inexp ...
and
Commodore PET
The Commodore PET is a line of personal computers produced starting in 1977 by Commodore International. A single all-in-one case combines a MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor, Commodore BASIC in read-only memory, keyboard, monochrome monitor, an ...
. In 1978 Crawford began selling the games and by 1979 "made the startling discovery," he later said, "that it is far more lucrative and enjoyable to teach for fun and program for money." He joined
Atari
Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...
that year, founding the Games Research Group under
Alan Kay
Alan Curtis Kay (born May 17, 1940) published by the Association for Computing Machinery 2012 is an American computer scientist best known for his pioneering work on object-oriented programming and windowing graphical user interface (GUI) d ...
in 1982.
1980s
![Computer Gaming World issue 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Computer_Gaming_World_issue_2.3_%28page_23_Chris_Crawford%29.jpg)
At Atari Crawford started game work with ''
Wizard'' for the
Atari VCS
The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor- ...
, but Atari Marketing decided not to publish this work. He then turned his attention to the new "Atari Home Computer System," now referred to as the
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...
. His first releases on this platform were ''
Energy Czar Energy Czar, and also later Climate Czar, is a nickname, using the political term "czar", for the person in the government of the United States given authority over energy or climate policy within the executive branch. This has never been the offi ...
'' and ''
Scram
A scram or SCRAM is an emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor effected by immediately terminating the fission reaction. It is also the name that is given to the manually operated kill switch that initiates the shutdown. In commercial reactor ...
'', both of which were written in
Atari BASIC
Atari BASIC is an interpreter for the BASIC programming language that shipped with the Atari 8-bit family of 6502-based home computers. Unlike most American BASICs of the home computer era, Atari BASIC is not a derivative of Microsoft BASIC a ...
and published by Atari.
He experimented with the Atari 8-bit computer's hardware-assisted smooth scrolling and used it to produce a scrolling map display. This work led to ''
Eastern Front (1941)
''Eastern Front (1941)'' is a computer wargame for the Atari 8-bit family created by Chris Crawford and published through the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1981. A scenario editor and assembly language source code for the game were also s ...
'', which is widely considered one of the first
wargame
A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...
s on a microcomputer to compete with traditional paper-n-pencil games in terms of depth.
''Eastern Front'' was initially published through the
Atari Program Exchange
Atari Program Exchange (APX) was a division of Atari, Inc. that sold software via mail-order for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers. Quarterly APX catalogs were sent to all registered Atari 8-bit owners. APX encouraged any programmer, not j ...
, which was intended for user-written software. It was later moved to Atari's official product line. He followed this with ''Legionnaire'', based on the same display engine but adding real-time instead of turn-based game play.
Using the knowledge gathered while writing these games, he helped produce technical documentation covering the custom hardware of the Atari 8-bit family, from the hardware-assisted smooth scrolling to digitized sounds, with the information presented in a friendly format for a wide audience. This included videos distributed by ACE (Atari Computer Enthusiast) Support to user groups, and a series of articles published in ''
BYTE
The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable unit ...
'' magazine containing most of the content of the book, ''
De Re Atari
''De Re Atari'' ("All About Atari"), subtitled "A Guide to Effective Programming," is a book written by Atari, Inc. employees in 1981 and published by the Atari Program Exchange in 1982 as an unbound, shrink-wrapped set of three-holed punched p ...
'' that would be published later by the Atari Program Exchange.
By 1983 ''BYTE'' called Crawford "easily the most innovative and talented person working on the Atari 400/800 computer today",
and his name was well enough known that Avalon Hill's advertising for a revised version of ''Legionnaire'' mentioned Crawford as author.
Laid off in 1984, in the collapse of Atari during the
video game crash of 1983
The video game crash of 1983 (known as the Atari shock in Japan) was a large-scale recession in the video game industry that occurred from 1983 to 1985, primarily in the United States. The crash was attributed to several factors, including ma ...
, Crawford went freelance and produced ''
Balance of Power'' for the
Macintosh
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...
in 1985, which was a best-seller, reaching 250,000 units sold.
Crawford wrote a non-fiction book published by McGraw Hill in 1984: ''
The Art of Computer Game Design''
Game Developers Conference
The
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival, and a variety of tutori ...
, which in 2013 drew over 23,000 attendees, was conceived of in 1987. The first gathering was held in 1988 as
salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
in Crawford's living room with roughly 27 game design friends and associates. The gathering's original name, the Computer Game Developers Conference, would remain into the 1990s until the word ''Computer'' was dropped. While the GDC has become a prominent event in the gaming industry, Crawford was eventually ousted from the GDC board, and made his final official appearance at the gathering in 1994. He eventually returned to the conference, giving lectures in both 2001 and 2006.
Withdrawal from game industry
Crawford acknowledged that his views on computer game design were unusual and controversial. In a 1986 interview with ''
Computer Gaming World
''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...
'' he stated that he began writing software as a hobby that became a job with the goal of writing the best possible game. Crawford said that by 1982, his goal was to pursue computer games as an art form. While denouncing
hack and slash games ("just straight run, kill or be killed"),
text adventure
''
Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the ...
s ("about as interesting as a refrigerator light"), and the
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
and
Apple II
The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...
("so gutless. I don't feel I can do an interesting game on them"), he stated that
Danielle Bunten Berry
Danielle Bunten Berry (February 19, 1949 – July 3, 1998), formerly known as Dan Bunten, was an American game designer and programmer, known for the 1983 game ''M.U.L.E.'', one of the first influential multiplayer video games, and 1984's '' T ...
,
Jon Freeman and
Anne Westfall
Anne Westfall is an American game programmer and software developer, known for 1983's ''Archon: The Light and the Dark'', originally written for the Atari 8-bit family. She is married to fellow game developer Jon Freeman (game designer), Jon Free ...
, and himself were the only designers who had proven that they could develop more than one great game.
Crawford admitted that some critics called his games inaccessible:
At the 1992
CGDC, Chris Crawford gave "The Dragon Speech", which he considers "the finest speech of
islife". Throughout the speech, he used a dragon as a metaphor for video games as a medium of artistic expression. He declared that he and the video game industry were working "at cross purposes", with the industry focusing heavily on "depth", when Crawford wanted more "breadth": to explore new horizons rather than merely furthering what has already been explored. He arrived at the conclusion that he must leave the gaming industry in order to pursue this dream. He declared that he knew that this idea was insane, but he compared this "insanity" to that of
Don Quixote
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...
:
At the end of the speech, Crawford confronts the dragon:
Crawford then charged down the lecture hall and out the door.
Storyworlds
After his "Dragon" speech, at
GDC 1993, and his apparent exit from the gaming industry, Crawford did appear at GDC the following year but had not abandoned his unconventional views on game design. ''Computer Gaming World'' wrote after the 1993 conference that Crawford "has opted to focus upon a narrow niche of interactive art lovers rather than continuing to reach as many gamers as possible".
He served as editor of ''Interactive Entertainment Design'', a monthly collection of essays written for game designers.
Since then, Crawford has been working on ''
Storytron'' (originally known as ''Erasmatron''), an
engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...
for running
interactive electronic storyworlds. , a beta version of the Storytronics
authoring tool
An authoring system is a program that has pre-programmed elements for the development of interactive multimedia software titles. Authoring systems can be defined as software that allows its user to create multimedia applications for manipulating m ...
, Swat, has been released. The system was officially launched March 23, 2009, with Crawford's storyworld sequel to
''Balance of Power''. As of December 1, 2012, the project has been in a "medically induced coma." In August 2013 Crawford released
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 wo ...
of several of his games from his career to the public, fulfilling a 2011 given promise, among them ''Eastern Front (1941)'' and ''Balance of Power''.
People games
"People games", as termed by Crawford, are games where the goals are of a social nature and focus on interactions with well-defined characters. They are described in ''
Chris Crawford on Game Design
''Chris Crawford on Game Design'' () is a book about computer and video game design by Chris Crawford. Although referred to as the second edition of '' The Art of Computer Game Design'', it is in fact a completely new book. It was published by Pe ...
'' as well as in his "The Dragon Speech", as follows:
Bibliography
*''
De Re Atari
''De Re Atari'' ("All About Atari"), subtitled "A Guide to Effective Programming," is a book written by Atari, Inc. employees in 1981 and published by the Atari Program Exchange in 1982 as an unbound, shrink-wrapped set of three-holed punched p ...
'' (contributor) (1982)
*''
The Art of Computer Game Design'' (1984)
*''
Balance of Power'' (
Microsoft Press
Microsoft Press is the publishing arm of Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the ...
, 1986) - a book about the making of the game
*''
The Art of Interactive Design'' (
No Starch Press
No Starch Press is an American publishing company, specializing in technical literature often geared towards the geek, hacker, and DIY subcultures. Popular titles include '' Hacking: The Art of Exploitation'', Andrew Huang's ''Hacking the Xbo ...
, 2002)
*''
Chris Crawford on Game Design
''Chris Crawford on Game Design'' () is a book about computer and video game design by Chris Crawford. Although referred to as the second edition of '' The Art of Computer Game Design'', it is in fact a completely new book. It was published by Pe ...
'' (
New Riders Press
Peachpit is a publisher of books focused on graphic design, web design, and development. Peachpit's parent company is Pearson Education, which owns additional educational media brands including Addison-Wesley, Prentice Hall, and New Riders.
Fo ...
, 2003)
*''
Chris Crawford on Interactive Storytelling'' (
New Riders Press
Peachpit is a publisher of books focused on graphic design, web design, and development. Peachpit's parent company is Pearson Education, which owns additional educational media brands including Addison-Wesley, Prentice Hall, and New Riders.
Fo ...
, 2004)
Games
*''
Tanktics
''Tanktics: Computer Game of Armored Combat on the Eastern Front'', also named ''Wargy I'', is a 1976 two-player tank battle video game by Chris Crawford. It was Crawford's first video game; it was initially sold directly by him, and was publis ...
'' (1978)
*''Energy Czar'' (1980)
*''
Wizard'' (1980 but only released 25 years later, with the
Atari Flashback 2
The Atari Flashback series are a line of dedicated video game consoles designed, produced, published and marketed by AtGames under license from Atari SA. The Flashback consoles are "plug-and-play" versions of the Atari 2600 console. They conta ...
)
*''
Scram
A scram or SCRAM is an emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor effected by immediately terminating the fission reaction. It is also the name that is given to the manually operated kill switch that initiates the shutdown. In commercial reactor ...
'' (1981)
*''
Eastern Front (1941)
''Eastern Front (1941)'' is a computer wargame for the Atari 8-bit family created by Chris Crawford and published through the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1981. A scenario editor and assembly language source code for the game were also s ...
'' (1981)
*''
Legionnaire
The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...
'' (1982)
*''
Gossip
Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling.
Gossip is a topic of research in evolutionary psychology, which has found gossip to be an important means ...
'' (1983)
*''
Excalibur
Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...
'' (1983)
*''
Balance of Power'' (1985)
*''
Patton Versus Rommel
''Patton vs. Rommel'' is a computer wargame designed and programmed by Chris Crawford for the Macintosh and published by Electronic Arts in 1986. Versions for MS-DOS compatible operating systems and Commodore 64 were developed by Sculptured Soft ...
'' (1986)
*''
Trust & Betrayal: The Legacy of Siboot'' (1987)
*''Balance of Power: The 1990 Edition'' (1989)
*''
The Global Dilemma: Guns or Butter'' (1990)
*''
Balance of the Planet
''Balance of the Planet'' is a simulation video game developed by Chris Crawford. He self-published it in 1990 for Macintosh. It was ported to MS-DOS and PC-98.
Development
Chris Crawford was approached in early 1989 by Epyx's Joe Miller abo ...
'' (1990)
*''
Patton Strikes Back
''Patton Strikes Back: The Battle of the Bulge'' is a 1991 computer wargame designed by Chris Crawford and published by Broderbund for the Macintosh and MS-DOS.
Gameplay
''Patton Strikes Back'' is a computer wargame that simulates the Battle of t ...
'' (1991)
*''
Balance of Power: 21st Century'' (2009)
References
External links
Erasmatazz- Chris Crawford's personal website
''Chris Crawford''profile at
MobyGames
A Conversation with Chris Crawfordin
The Escapist webmagazine
Video Games are Dead: A Chat With Storytronics Guru Chris Crawfordat
Gamasutra
''Game Developer'', known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021, is a website founded in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine '' Gam ...
* , with
Jason Rohrer
Jason Rohrer (born November 14, 1977) is an American computer programmer, writer, musician, and game designer. He publishes most of his software into the public domain (Public domain software) and charges for commercial platform distributed ve ...
and Chris Crawford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Chris
1950 births
American video game designers
Living people
Writers from Houston
Atari people
University of California, Davis alumni
University of Missouri alumni