1982–1985: How the COMMODORE 64 conquered the home computer industry Numerous developers and publishers, marketers and software pioneers from the early 1980s talk about their beginnings in the gaming industry and answer detailed questions about their formative years with the C64. A total of 64 unpublished interviews are focusing on the USA and Japan (Volume 1) as well as Canada and Europe (Volume 2). Hardback Edition + PDF 384 full-colour pages High-quality offset print 168 × 230 mm Pantone Metallics C64 colour guide 135 gr/m² Amber Graphic paper Finest print raster (120) Made in Germany An oral history of the COMMODORE pioneers The Italian researcher Andrea Pachetti presents his debut work. For 10 years, he invested his energy in tracking down and bringing together the visionaries, creators and publishers of this turbulent tech era. With introductory words by John Romero and Chris Crawford, both visionaries in the gaming industry, the latter being the founder of the GDC (Game Developers Conference). With lots of illustrated background information on the early computer games industry and its founding companies. Here, innovators such as Paul Norman (Aztec Challenge, Forbidden Forest), Jeff Bruette (Wizard of Wor), David Crane (Ghostbusters, Decathlon), Dane Bigham (Lode Runner, Choplifter), David S. Maynard (Worms) talk about their specific efforts that paved the way for the Commodore 64 as a gaming machine and why this period was so spectacular for a single producer in the USA and Japan. Exclusive talks with the industry veterans Andrew Kaluzniacki, Bruce Robinson, Chris Crawford, Chris Warling, Chuck Benton, Dane Bigham, David Crane, David Lundberg, David Martin, David S. Maynard, Douglas Carlston, Harry Briley, Hitoshi Suzuki, Jeff Bruette, Jerry W. Jewell, John Marvin, John Romero, Judy Braddick, Ken Madell, Ken Williams, Louis Ewens, Michael Crick, Michael J. Hanson, Mike Blackman, Mike Wacker, Paul Norman, Peter Filiberti, Randall Lockwood, Robert Leff, Satoshi Matsuoka, Scott C. Berk, Steve Hales, Steve Penners, Steven Sidley, Yash Terakura. About IT engineers and game makers We accompany entrepreneurs on their journey into an unformed publishing industry and watch spellbound as the first cassettes begin to hiss and floppy disks begin to rattle. While Commodore worked intensively on a designated software library and established a home computer edition from the arcade, countless entrepreneurs tried their luck for the first time on the fabulously engineered machines from Pennsylvania. Their iconic pixel worlds and ports have turned numerous computer games into today’s classics. Early C64 games & educational software Wizard of Wor, Gorf, Solar Fox, International Tennis, Jupiter Lander, Pitfall!, Ghostbusters, Decathlon, Novablast, Whistler’s Brother, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, Lode Runner, Choplifter, Frogger, BC’s Quest for Tires, Softporn Adventures, Repton, Worms?, M.U.L.E., Seven Cities of Gold, Silicon Warrior, Lunar Outpost, Caverns of Khafka, Aztec Challenge, Forbidden Forest, Beyond Forbidden Forest, FrogMaster, HesGames, Indiana Jones and the Lost Kingdom, Visible Solar System, Cosmic Life, Fort Apocalypse, DragonHawk, Fax, Escape MCP, Bets, Godzilla!, Labyrinth, Speed Racer, Slalom!, Waterline, Grave Robbers, Adventure Pack, Oils Wells, Jawbreaker and many more… With Industry profiles and “More Bytes” Which products were influential? What happened afterwards? How did the computer career progress? We have created a corresponding industry profile for each interview and summarised the most important works in tabular form. In addition, readers can use a navigation system within the book to jump to further information, which offers additional research and study opportunities through article links and reading tips. Including a wealth of classic 8-bit publishers Activision, Briley Software, Brøderbund, Comm*Data, Commodore Business Machines, Commodore Japan Limited, COSMI, Cyberia, Electronic Arts, Epyx, HAL Laboratory, Lucasfilm Games, HESware, Mindscape, Sierra On-Line, Sirius Software, Softsel, Spinnaker, Synapse, T&F Software, The Code Works, Tronix, United Microware Industries (UMI), Victory Software… and more. Back to the origins of the Commodore 64 REDO FROM START takes us back to the time when Commodore shook the foundations of the computer industry three times over with the PET 2001, the VIC-20, and the C64, reviving the optimism of the early 1980s in exciting eyewitness accounts and photo documentation. Packed with around 800 images, as well as numerous features, profiles and accompanying journalistic contents, this comprehensive and thoroughly researched work is equally interesting for beginners and experts in computer history.
