''Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers'' is a
digital book edited by James Hague and published in 1997.
[The full HTML ''Halcyon Days'' book](_blank)
/ref> The book was originally formatted using HTML
The HyperText Markup Language or HTML is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It can be assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and scripting languages such as JavaSc ...
and sold via mail-order
Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as:
* Sending an order form in the mail
* Placing a telephone call
* Placing ...
, shipped on a floppy disk by Dadgum Games for USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
$20. In 2002, ''Halcyon Days'' was made freely available on the web.John Romero
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
who told Wired News
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...
the interviews were "like hearing messages from old gods."
Interviewees
* Ed Averett: Magnavox Odyssey²
The Magnavox Odyssey 2 (stylized as Magnavox Odyssey²), also known as Philips Odyssey 2, is a second generation home video game console that was released in 1978. It was sold in Europe as the Philips Videopac G7000, in Brazil and Peru as the P ...
games
* 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 ...
: ''M.U.L.E.
''M.U.L.E.'' is a 1983 multiplayer video game written for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers by Ozark Softscape. Designer Danielle Bunten Berry (credited as Dan Bunten) took advantage of the four joystick ports of the Atari 400 and 800 to a ...
'', '' The Seven Cities of Gold''
* Stephen C. Biggs
* Adam Billyard
* Bill Budge: '' Raster Blaster'', ''Pinball Construction Set
''Pinball Construction Set'' is a video game by Bill Budge written for the Apple II. It was originally published in 1982 through Budge's own company, BudgeCo, then was released by Electronic Arts in 1983 along with ports to the Atari 8-bit fami ...
''
* Chris Crawford: '' Eastern Front'', ''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 ...
''
* Steve DeFrisco
* David Fox: ''Rescue on Fractalus!
''Rescue On Fractalus!'' is a 1985 first-person shooter computer game created by Lucasfilm Games. It was originally released for the Atari 8-bit family and the Atari 5200 games console. It was also ported to other popular platforms of the day, ...
''
* Jon Freeman & 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 ...
* Gary Gilbertson
* Marc Goodman: ''The Bilestoad
''The Bilestoad'' is a video game by Marc Goodman (credited as "Mangrove Earthshoe") for the Apple II and published in 1982 by Datamost.
In ''The Bilestoad'', players control "meatlings" that hack and battle with axes and shields from a top-vi ...
''
* Dan Gorlin Dan Gorlin is a video game programmer and designer best known for his 1982 Apple II game '' Choplifter'', in which the player pilots a helicopter to rescue hostages. His next Apple II game, '' Airheart'' (1987), took three years to complete. While ...
: ''Choplifter
''Choplifter'' (stylized as ''Choplifter!'') is military themed scrolling shooter developed by Dan Gorlin for the Apple II and published by Broderbund in 1982. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit family the same year and also to the VIC-20, Com ...
''
* Tom Griner
* Steve Hales: ''Fort Apocalypse
''Fort Apocalypse'' is a multidirectional scrolling shooter for the Atari 8-bit family created by Steve Hales and published by Synapse Software in 1982. Joe Vierra ported it to the Commodore 64 the same year. The player navigates an underground ...
''
* John Harris
* Eugene Jarvis
Eugene Peyton Jarvis is an American game designer and video game programmer, known for producing pinball machines for Atari and video games for Williams Electronics. Most notable among his works are the seminal arcade video games '' Defender'' ...
* David Lubar
David Lubar (born March 16, 1954) is an author of numerous books for teens. He is also a video game programmer, who programmed ''Breakout (arcade game), Super Breakout'' for the Game Boy and ''Frogger'' for both the Super Nintendo Entertainment ...
* Scott Ludwig
* Archer Maclean
* Jeff Minter
Jeff Minter (born 22 April 1962) is an independent English video game designer and programmer who often goes by the name Yak. He is the founder of software house Llamasoft and has created dozens of games during his career, which began in 19 ...
* Brian Moriarty
* Doug Neubauer
Doug Neubauer is an American integrated circuit designer, video game designer, and programmer best known for the logic design on Atari's POKEY chip and designing and programming the 1979 video game ''Star Raiders'' which became the killer app f ...
: '' Star Raiders'', '' Solaris''
* Philip Price
* Warren Robinett
Joseph Warren Robinett Jr. (born December 25, 1951) In the A. Miller interview, Robinett says he was 26 in November 1977. is a designer of interactive computer graphics software, notable as the developer of the Atari 2600's ''Adventure'' — ...
: ''Adventure
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...
''
* Ed Rotberg: '' Battlezone'', ''Blasteroids
''Blasteroids'' is the third official sequel to the 1979 multidirectional shooter video game, ''Asteroids''. It was developed by Atari Games and released in arcades in 1987. Unlike the previous games, ''Blasteroids'' uses raster graphics instead ...
'', ''S.T.U.N. Runner
''S.T.U.N. Runner'' (Spread Tunnel Underground Network Runner) is 3D racing/shooter game released in arcades by Atari Games in 1989. The player pilots a futuristic vehicle which can exceed 900 mph, through various tunnels and courses with ...
''
* Warren Schwader: '' Sammy Lightfoot''
* Paul Shirley: ''Spindizzy
''Cities in Flight'' is a four-volume series of science fiction novels and short stories by American writer James Blish, originally published between 1950 and 1962, which were first known collectively as the "Okie" novels. The series features ent ...
''
* Tim Skelly
Tim Skelly (February 10, 1951 – death reported March 2, 2020) was a video game designer and game programmer who developed arcade games for Cinematronics from 1978 until 1981. He designed a series of pure action games using black and white vect ...
See also
*'' Coders at Work''
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halcyon Days (Book)
Books about video games
1997 non-fiction books
Ebooks
Video game culture
Video game design