CommaVid Inc. was a game developer and publisher for the
Atari 2600
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 microprocesso ...
that released six games between 1981 and 1983, plus a programming tool for the console.
The company was founded by Dr. Irwin Gaines, Dr. John Bronstein, and Dr. Joseph Biel
under the name Computer Magic Video, which was shortened to Com Ma Vid, or CommaVid.
It was based in Aurora, Illinois.
In addition to developing its own titles, CommaVid ported the arcade game ''
Venture'' to the 2600 for
Coleco
Coleco Industries, Inc. was an American company founded in 1932 by Maurice Greenberg as The Connecticut Leather Company. It was a successful toy company in the 1980s, mass-producing versions of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and its video game consol ...
.
Products
Games
The following games were released by CommaVid:
*''Cakewalk'', similar to ''
Tapper'' in gameplay
*''Cosmic Swarm''
*''Mines of Minos''
*''Room of Doom''
*''Stronghold''
MagicCard
''MagiCard'' is an Atari 2600 programming tool on a cartridge that originally came with a 100-page manual and was only available via mail order. According to CommaVid co-owner Gaines, 50 to 100 ''MagiCard'' cartridges were produced.
Video Life
''Video Life'' is a version of the cellular automaton known as
Conway's Game of Life
The Game of Life, also known simply as Life, is a cellular automaton devised by the British mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970. It is a zero-player game, meaning that its evolution is determined by its initial state, requiring no furthe ...
for the Atari 2600.
''Video Life'' was only available through a special
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 ...
offer to owners of CommaVid's ''Magicard''. Fewer than 20 cartridges of ''Video Life'' were made. A 2003 report in the ''
Chicago Reader
The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by ...
'' by Jeffrey Felshman estimates that cartridges would sell for as much $3000 at the time.
Unreleased prototypes
*''Frog Demo''
*''Mission Omega''
*''Rush Hour''
*''Underworld''
References
Atari 2600
Defunct video game companies of the United States
Video game companies established in 1981
Video game companies disestablished in 1983
Video game development companies
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