graywest Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 This might be a stupid question, but it's something I've been wondering about lately. Why is Tod Frye such a famous (or infamous) Atari programmer? Every time I see an interview relating to Atari or read some Atari-related history, Tod Frye is always mentioned. Is it just because he was the programmer of the ill-fated pac-man conversion? Most of his other games were never released. (According to the AtariAge database, his only other released game is SwordQuest:Fireworld.) What did he spend the rest of his time at Atari doing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic George 2K3 Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 Not only the ill-fated Pac-Man conversion, but also the never-released Save Mary proto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 This might be a stupid question, but it's something I've been wondering about lately. Why is Tod Frye such a famous (or infamous) Atari programmer? Every time I see an interview relating to Atari or read some Atari-related history, Tod Frye is always mentioned. Is it just because he was the programmer of the ill-fated pac-man conversion? Most of his other games were never released. (According to the AtariAge database, his only other released game is SwordQuest:Fireworld.) What did he spend the rest of his time at Atari doing? I'm sure that Pac-Man is a part of it. I believe Tod Frye also contributed to other programmer's games, and did a lot of work on the development of new display kernels that were later re-used by others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 He was the first video game millionaire... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaXpress Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 The two most written about 2600 programmers? Frye (PacMan) and Warshaw (ET). Failure will always be more interesting than success. That is the only reason that you see these two names dropped so often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanBoris Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 The two most written about 2600 programmers? Frye (PacMan) and Warshaw (ET). Failure will always be more interesting than success. That is the only reason that you see these two names dropped so often. Warshaw actually falls into both categories, ET as the failure, and Yars Revenge as the success. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaXpress Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 No journalist gives a shit about Yars' Revenge (most overrated 2600 game ever). Every single mention of Warshaw is about ET. Failure sells. If writers were interested in successful programmers we'd be seeing interviews with David Crane on a daily basis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 I think Tod gets mentioned alot because he was one the more 'interesting' programmers at Atari. Not only was he responsible for some of the worst 2600 games (Pac-Man, SQ: Fireworld), but some of the best as well (Save Mary, Shooting Gallery). From all the stories I've heard, he was a very 'colorful' person. Like someone else mentioned, he was one the first millionare programmer, but somehow managed to blow all that money. He apperently had several odd personal habits (someone once said he used to save dead skin in a jar), and was somewhat of a party person (rumors of drug use). He also was apperently a brilliant 2600 programmer, which is evident by his work on Xevious. I think all these facts make him one of the more talked about programmers. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 I like the story that HSW tells about Tod "walking the walls." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 I was just about to mention that; Tod used to climb the walls at Atari and once cut his head open on the sprinkler system. Anyone who's seen HSW's "Once Upon Atari" will know what we mean. Speaking of HSW, he's a pretty unique personality too (and a great self-promoter), and that's probably why he's also one of the more frequently-mentioned 2600 programmers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 I like the story that HSW tells about Tod "walking the walls." I don't know what it is about that DVD, but I never get sick of watching it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandmountainslim Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 The two most written about 2600 programmers? Frye (PacMan) and Warshaw (ET). Failure will always be more interesting than success. That is the only reason that you see these two names dropped so often. Don't know about Frye (has he dropped off the face of the earth?) but HSW is one nice dude I would like to see him try his hand at a homebrew someday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 I like the story that HSW tells about Tod "walking the walls." I don't know what it is about that DVD, but I never get sick of watching it Me too! I love it. Anyone who has ever watched it, understands the whole 'Tod Frye' thing. He is defintely an interesting person. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendano Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 No journalist gives a shit about Yars' Revenge (most overrated 2600 game ever). Every single mention of Warshaw is about ET. Failure sells. If writers were interested in successful programmers we'd be seeing interviews with David Crane on a daily basis. I just interviewed Howard Scott Warshaw for the Atari Times. I called him up for a phone interview and he was a very cool guy to talk with. I originally knew about Mr. Warshaw through Raiders of the Lost Ark (my favourite 2600 game) and it was only after looking up on AA that I found out he made ET. I knew ET was bad and all but I wasn't all that interested in talking about it. And all of his games are million copy sellers (even after ET's returns). And as for Frye, His Pac-Man was the first version I played and so I grew to love it (It to is a big seller). Even though I can see why the original is so much better I still enjoy the 2600 version. When I interviewed Warshaw I was interested in him because he was such a success, not a failure. And as for Yar's being overrated, It is the best selling ORIGINAL title for the 2600 and fans do love it for its great gameplay. How is it overrated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaXpress Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 I perosnally don't rate Yars as a Top 50 game. That's just me. I'm more impressed with Raiders and ET. He did some complex things in a short amount of time and showed a level of depth that no one had tried on the 2600. Yars was just a screwed up Star Castle. Tod Frye is also cearly a great programmer when you overlook you-know-what. But yes, Frye and Warshaw are the most talked about IN MAINSTREAM JOURNALISM because of their flops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 They have something else in common, in my opinion: they've had to take way too much crap over the years because of their flops. Neither E.T. nor Pac-Man are the worst games for the 2600 despite all the mindless Internet parroting to the contrary; anybody who things so hasn't played Froggo Karate, Apollo Racquetball, or any of the 2600's other real stinkers. They may have been among the most disappointing games for the 2600, but that disappointment is as much a result of poor marketing and management and inflated consumer expectations as it is a result of poor execution, and a lot of those factors were totally outside of Warshaw's and Frye's control. If you ask me, Atari management deserves most of the blame for the fact that those two games weren't better: I'm sure HSW would have tweaked and fixed E.T. if he had been given as much as two extra weeks to do so, and I'm sure that Tod Frye could have done a much better job with Pac-Man if he had been given 8K to work with instead of 4K (and if Atari had given their employees more of a reason to care about quality to begin with outside of the botched royalty deals). That still puts them head and shoulders above the rotten game programmers who got into the business to make a quick buck selling crap to an unsuspecting public. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandmountainslim Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 That still puts them head and shoulders above the rotten game programmers who got into the business to make a quick buck selling crap to an unsuspecting public. Yeah Swindlers selling crap like Desert Falcon, Space Jockey and Reactor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 That still puts them head and shoulders above the rotten game programmers who got into the business to make a quick buck selling crap to an unsuspecting public. Yeah Swindlers selling crap like Desert Falcon, Space Jockey and Reactor You'd better take Reactor off that list or we're going to have words... Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 Hi there! Tod Frye also worked on Summer and Winter Games. Greetings, Manuel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcrowe Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 I've always been meaning to get that DVD :/ Pac Man...not the worst game per se, but the biggest disappointment... ...not to mention the premium price paid > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 re: the topic... I guess that being part of Atari during it's most turbulent period didn't hurt. Though a great deal of other games were more advanced, most of those programmers had already left for battlefields anew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayton Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 I know I just didn't see Space Jockey labled as "crap". I love that game. Now if you had said that about Space Invaders.....man, I'd be mad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vdub_bobby Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 rotten game programmers who got into the business to make a quick buck selling crap to an unsuspecting public. Ahhhh. You caught me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpfalcon2003 Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 I think Tod Frye did a great job with Save Mary. I really like that game and play it alot. It's ashame it wasn't officially released in 1989 when it was made. I think it would have been very successful in sales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legeek Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 I think Tod Frye did a great job with Save Mary. I really like that game and play it alot. It's ashame it wasn't officially released in 1989 when it was made. I think it would have been very successful in sales. Seconded. Save Mary is my favorite Atari game from that period! By '89 though I doubt it would have turned the tide though... Cheers, Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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