Podcast appearances and mentions of ed rotberg

Senior corporate executive, serial entrepreneur, automotive designer and fine artist. Roger Hector is not only a successful businessman but a bona fide creative polymath. A long time ago, Roger sharpened his pencils at Atari Inc, working alongside co-founder Nolan Bushnell and creative director George Opperman on a vast range of videogame projects. Hector became R&D manager at Atari, before leaving to co-found his own games company, Videa, with Howard Delman and Ed Rotberg, programmer of Atari's Battlezone.

We're joined by the wonderful Ed Rotberg who was a core member of Atari's coin-op team from 1979 onwards, and worked on classics like Battlezone, S.T.U.N. Runner and Blasteroids. Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show: Bitmap Books https://www.bitmapbooks.com/ Check out PCBWay at http://pcbway.com for all your PCB needs Get 3 issues of your favourite Future Publishing gaming mag (Play, Edge, Retro Gamer and PC Gamer) for just £3! https://www.magazinesdirect.com/retrohour BetterHelp - You deserve to be happy. Try the world's largest on-line therapy service and get 10% off your first month by using our link at https://www.betterhelp.com/retro Thanks to our latest Patreon backers, in the Hall of Fame this week: Mikey McCorry We need your help to ensure the future of the podcast, if you'd like to help us with running costs, equipment and hosting, please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://theretrohour.com/support/ https://www.patreon.com/retrohour Get your Retro Hour merchandise: https://bit.ly/33OWBKd Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8 Website: http://theretrohour.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/retrohouruk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/ Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour Join us in Norway at Retro Messa on 20-21 August: https://retromessa.no/  Show notes:  Was Robin Williams the world's first podcaster?: https://bit.ly/3cDtuTg Arcade Paradise simulator: https://bit.ly/3JbGNXn Lego Atari 2600: https://bit.ly/3zHcwfK All SNES manuals have been uploaded by a fan: https://bit.ly/3SkuP1U Blood re-release for PC through Limited Run: https://bit.ly/3S6RLl5

Ed Rotberg is a true Atari legend and created the world's first FPS with his masterpiece Battlezone! Ed shares all about the development of Battlezone and how the game led to him being approached by the US army to work on a 'game' for military purposes. Ed also reflects on the Polybius rumours and why he chose to leave Atari. He also shares details about his time working at 3DO and lots more details about his illustrious career. Like what we do? Please consider supporting us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/arcadeattack Fancy discussing this podcast? Fancy suggesting a topic of conversation? Please tweet us @arcadeattackUK or catch us on facebook.com/arcadeattackUK All copyrighted material contained within this podcast is the property of their respective rights owners and their use here is protected under ‘fair use' for the purposes of comment or critique.  

In accordance with Theurer's Law - named after Missile Command and Tempest programmer Dave Theurer, which states that every programmer's first game will be a relative failure - Ed Rotberg's first game for Atari, Baseball, didn't exactly score a home run. However his sophomore title, 1981's Battlezone, with its distinctive green XY monitor graphics and unique periscope-adorned cabinet is rightly regarded as one of Atari's finest releases of the coin-op videogame Golden Age. You'll also learn about Battlezone variants, such as the well-documented but still fascinating development of the Bradley Trainer (a version of the game adapted for military training purposes) and a unique Stereoscopic Battlezone that never left the lab.

In this two-part series we delve deep into Star Wars (or Star Wars:A New Hope for those who didn’t see the movie in the summer of 1977). We examine the movie’s affect on us as 70’s kids and how Atari’s 1983 coin-operated “Star Wars: The Arcade Game” finally gave us the chance to be Luke Skywalker. See the photos from Sept. 26th, 1977 here: http://www.8bitrocket.com/2019/09/22/s22es2e11-star-wars-and-atari-in-the-vertical-blank-part-1/ References: -Coin Connection, May 1983 -Jed Margolin, Ed Rotberg “First Person Space War Memo” Dec 21, 1979 http://www.atarigames.com/safestuff/fpswidea.pdf -Dane Flansburgh former Project Archivist at The Strong https://www.museumofplay.org/blog/play-stuff/2015/07/star-wars-and-atari-documentation-of-a-classic-arcade-game -Jed Margolin, Atari VAX Email March 7, 1983 Mike Halley Interview http://www.atarigames.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=218:july-1983-mike-hally-interview&catid=14:news-articles&Itemid=5 https://www.jmargolin.com/vmail/Stat82.txt -Jed Margolin “Unit Vector Math For 3D Graphics” https://www.jmargolin.com/uvmath/uvmenu.htm Mike Halley Interview http://www.atarigames.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=218:july-1983-mike-hally-interview&catid=14:news-articles&Itemid=5 Lucasfilm memo to Atari Star Wars development team http://www.atarigames.com/safestuff/lucasstarwars.pdf

In this two-part series we delve deep into Star Wars (or Star Wars:A New Hope for those who didn’t see the movie in the summer of 1977). We examine the movie’s affect on us as 70’s kids and how Atari’s 1983 coin-operated “Star Wars: The Arcade Game” finally gave us the chance to be Luke Skywalker. See the photos from Sept. 26th, 1977 here: http://www.8bitrocket.com/2019/09/22/s22es2e11-star-wars-and-atari-in-the-vertical-blank-part-1/ References: -Coin Connection, May 1983 -Jed Margolin, Ed Rotberg “First Person Space War Memo” Dec 21, 1979 http://www.atarigames.com/safestuff/fpswidea.pdf -Dane Flansburgh former Project Archivist at The Strong https://www.museumofplay.org/blog/play-stuff/2015/07/star-wars-and-atari-documentation-of-a-classic-arcade-game -Jed Margolin, Atari VAX Email March 7, 1983 Mike Halley Interview http://www.atarigames.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=218:july-1983-mike-hally-interview&catid=14:news-articles&Itemid=5 https://www.jmargolin.com/vmail/Stat82.txt -Jed Margolin “Unit Vector Math For 3D Graphics” https://www.jmargolin.com/uvmath/uvmenu.htm Mike Halley Interview http://www.atarigames.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=218:july-1983-mike-hally-interview&catid=14:news-articles&Itemid=5 Lucasfilm memo to Atari Star Wars development team http://www.atarigames.com/safestuff/lucasstarwars.pdf

In this episode we welcome ED ROTBERG to the show. You might remember Ed for creating such games as BATTLEZONE and S.T.U.N. Runner! Tune and hear how Ed was hired by Atari, his love for the Tesla, entrepreneurial projects, and what he's doing today! Original Air Date 11.29.2018 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/rcaderadio/support

Lee Actor, Advanced Musicsystem Lee Actor created Advanced Musicsystem, which was published by Atari Program Exchange. It first appeared in the spring 1982 APX catalog, where it won first prize in the Personal Interest and Development category. He also published Jukebox #1, which first appeared in the summer 1982 APX catalog. (There was no followup Jukebox #2.) He was also involved with the MIDI Music System by Hybrid Arts, a product that connected the Atari 8-bit computers to MIDI instruments. He worked at Videa, where he wrote the game Lasercade for the Atari VCS; and Sente Technologies, where he created the coin-op titles Snake Pit and Hat Trick. This interview took place on May 23, 2016. In it, we discuss Ed Rotberg, whom I previously interviewed. Advanced Musicsystem in the spring 1982 APX catalog Jukebox #1 in the summer 1982 catalog 2013 San Jose Mercury News article about Lee Digital Press interview with Lee Lee's web site: http://www.leeactor.com Ed Rotberg interview

Owen Rubin: Major Havoc, Space Duel Owen Rubin worked in Atari's coin-op division from 1976 to 1984 — he is best known for his programming work there on Major Havoc, Space Duel, and Battlezone. He also served as a go-between between the arcade division and the consumer division, where the Atari home computers were created. After that, he was a game designer at Nolan Bushnell's Bally Sente.  In this interview, we discuss Ed Rotberg, whom I previously interviewed. This interview contains some coarse language.  It took place on February 12, 2016. Teaser quotes: "And I lost it. I just completely lost it with him ... and I slammed the listings down on his desk, basically clearing his desk of just about everything else, and I said, 'Do it yourself, I quit.'" "I find MAME both very cool that you can see it, and very sad that you don't get the right feel." "We really wanted coin-op games to be about a 90-second experience. Up to a couple minutes if you got good at it." Owen's web site: http://www.orubin.com Owen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/orubin Ed Rotberg interview: http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-72-ed-rotberg-rotberg-synthesizer

Roger Hector, Atari’s Advanced Products Group Roger Hector started at Atari back in 1976.  As a creative designer, he was originally hired by Pete Takaishi (Industrial Design Manager), before working in the Art Department, and then finally for Al Alcorn.  He managed Atari's Advanced Products Group and helped create the Cosmos system before leaving to co-found Videa with Howard Delman and Ed Rotberg. This interview took place September 17, 2015. Teaser Quotes: “There’s a LOT of interesting stories!” “There was an old saying around there, somewhat cynical, but they said ‘hey, we could make money faster than we can piss it away’” “I think Atari was a place that deserved your fandom.” Links: Roger Hector interview for Gamasutra - http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3672/a_veteran_with_character_roger_.php?print=1 Roger Hector interview for 2600 Connection - http://www.2600connection.com/interviews/roger_hector/interview_roger_hector.html TopTrack Mobile App for Musicians developed by Roger - www.toptrackartist.com

Our ancient ancestors spoke of a legendary place -- where the young and young at heart could test their skills against a magical, electronic device, using strategy, and their reflexes at 25¢ a pop. These wondrous havens were called "Video Arcades" and these hulking machines were called "Video Games." Believe it or not kids, it was the only place you could play a decent-looking, somewhat sophisticated video game, housed in a heavy, laminated wooden cabinet, because at the time the only thing you could play on your "push-button" phone was the tune, "Mary Had a Little Lamb." There is another legend however, that at least in one or more of these Video Arcades in Portland, Oregon in 1981 A.D., there lurked a mysterious Arcade Game called "Polybius" and it had a much more nefarious purpose than to provide amusement and rook a kid out of a short stack of quarters -- it may have been there to try its hand at brainwashing you, and then report its findings to a sinister government agency. There were reports of players who suffered terrible side effects from the visual phantasmagoria of the gameplay, like severe headaches, nausea, memory loss, nightmares, an aversion to playing any video games afterwards and in some extreme cases, suicide. But were these reports true? Did this diabolical game ever exist? Was the legend of Polybius just an "Urban Legend?" One thing we do know is true, prior to the legend of Polybius, a secret government agency really did try to zap unsuspecting people's brains and take notes. Tonight's Quote: “The obvious objective of video games is to entertain people by surprising them with new experiences.” - Miyamoto Shigeru, the "Father of Modern Video Games" and Co-creator of The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Super Mario Brothers and many more. Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! "The Cosmos' Most Ridiculously Implausible Videogames: Polybius - the most mysterious game of all time?" an article by Jason Helton http://bit.ly/1JZlNST "Polybius: Video Game of Death" by Brian Dunning from his Skeptoid Podcast #362 http://bit.ly/1SZ8eFN "Polybius: Portland's Own Seizure-Inducing Mystery Game" an article by Richard Grunert in Willamette Week http://bit.ly/1PVKKRB Polybius, the real Greek historian http://bit.ly/1Pjh2Aa Text of Original Polybius Comments from Steven Roach and Cyber Yogi http://bit.ly/20HOSpY The Simpsons and all it's Math http://bit.ly/1mqpuEw Duane Weatherall's Interview with Steven Roach http://bit.ly/20s6U2K Power Gloves & Tinfoil Hats: Case #001 http://bit.ly/1S1SnWB Download the Supposed ROM of the Game. PC Required http://bit.ly/23Ka7tA Interview with Ed Rotberg about Battlezone and the Military http://bit.ly/1SZaGMi Vector vs Raster http://bit.ly/1UMB2Pr Another Good Summary Article http://bit.ly/1NRnZXj Halcyon Days The Book http://bit.ly/1nOykP7 TEMPEST http://my.ign.com/atari/tempest BATTLEZONE http://my.ign.com/atari/battlezone Episode 031 - "Polybius" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved.

Ed Rotberg, Rotberg Synthesizer   Ed Rotberg worked programmer in Atari’s coin-op division, where he worked on Atari Baseball, Battlezone, Blasteroids, Hard Drivin’, and other coin-op games. He consulted for the Atari consumer side, where he created demos for the Atari 800 — including working on the music for the in-store demo — and the Rotberg Synthesizer music software.   Check the show notes atAtariPodcast.com for downloads of the Rotberg Synthesizer and Rotberg Scrolling Marquee software (which I acquired and uploaded toarchive.org after this interview took place.)   This interview took place April 28, 2015.   Teaser quote:   “My good friend Dan Pliskin wrote a tune called Disco Dirge that we programmed into the earliest version of the Rotberg Synthesizer to play at the bachelor party, as kind of a joke. Because Chris who was getting married was a disco fan, he was a disco buff and we all *hated* disco.”   Links:   Rotberg’s sound article in Antic magazine   Article at archive.org   Version of the same article in Softside   Rotberg Scrolling Marquee   Rotberg Synthesizer

In Episode 4 of the Season of Atari, we discuss Ed Rotberg’s 1980 first-person tank shooter, Battlezone. In addition to being a classic vector, Battlezone is also one of the first examples of an immersive,…Continue ReadingSeason 1, Episode 4: Battlezone