Thanks to the efforts of a dedicated fan, the previously unwritten history of the development of videogames has been rescued and recorded. Halcyon Days, a collection of 28 interviews with early videogame designers, was released on Monday as a disc containing an HTML-formatted book, with orders being taken from publisher Dadgum Games' Web site.
"This may be the first time many people actually get to read an interview from a classic game programmer who has disappeared from the industry," says John Romero, designer of Quake. Romero found reading James Hague's interviews to be like hearing messages from old gods, and ended up writing a suitably awestruck introduction. The interviews provide a look into the lives and motivations of the creators of intriguing cultural artifacts, as well a peep into the wacky times at start-ups trying to figure out the industry they were spawning.
"Just being able to talk with the designers of these games was amazing," says writer/publisher Hague, who DIYed it after publishers showed disinterest in the project.
As a teenager in the early '80s, Hague was a game aficionado who kept up with the top names and chief exploits among game designers. In 1994, Hague started putting together a list of classic game designers and their past and present projects. Word got around and designers started contributing information, and the list grew to more than 3,000 lines (included in Halcyon Days). Then, Hague says, "It occurred to me that I had more information on these people than just about anybody, and that I really should do something about it."
Talking with some designers shows the desperation some feel to break out of beaten paths. Eugene Jarvis, who created Defender and Robotron, was disillusioned from a humbling career in biochemistry. "The chemistry of life is a tremendous challenge, and I realized I could spend my life studying the pubic hair on a rat, and although I would be the world's foremost expert on the subject, I might still not be able to explain why it is curly."
What do old game creators do when they grow up? As Hague's book shows, some go to work for Microsoft, others write books for young adults. Dan Gorlan, designer of Broderbund's Choplifter, directs an African drum and dance troop. With only a few exceptions, none of the classic game designers got notably rich.
