Ted Dabney / Atari & Computer Space Creator Tells His Story

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Ted Dabney / Atari & Computer Space Creator Tells His Story

We are excited to announce that coming in our October RetroGamingRoundup podcast, next week, we will present a 2+ hour interview with Mr. Ted Dabney, co-creator of Atari and also the first commercially produced arcade game, Computer Space. This is his first aired interview.

This is an interview you don't want to miss. As many of you know the story Nolan Bushnell tells about how Computer Space and Atari came into existence isn't exactly the way it was. Ted tells all and answers many of the questions we have all had for years.

When the podcast goes live, I will update this thread with a show link.
 
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A few weeks ago I read some interesting stuff from Dick Ball who also helped create Computer Space, and he also had an interesting take on Bushnell's involvement...
 
A few weeks ago I read some interesting stuff from Dick Ball who also helped create Computer Space, and he also had an interesting take on Bushnell's involvement...

Ya, Ted's recollection of the birth of Atari and CS doesn't exactly match that of what Nolan has been telling everyone for years. This really is a great interview and Ted calls out Nolan on lots of things. We hope to have the show out by end of this week.
 
October Podcast is out!

As promised we have released our October 2010 Podcast which features our in depth interview with Atari and Computer Space Co-Creator, Mr. Ted Dabney.

http://www.retrogamingroundup.com/shownotes/2010/roundup024_2010.10.htm

Editorial - (00:00)
Breaking News! - (40:26)
Hardware Flashback - (41:48)
Guinness Gaming Records - (58:02)
Mike'd Up - (59:27)
Ted Dabney Interview - (95:08)
Atar Rewind - (205:14)
The Desert Dump - (218:18)
Top Ten Atari Arcade Games - see our results - (231:12)
Gaming Trivia - (356:03)
News And Mailbag - (356:57)
URLS And Emails - (428:27)



LINKS MENTIONED IN THE SHOW

EDITORIAL
The Atari Mindlink
The AtariTel
The Amstrad E M@iler
The Atari Bionics System
Xybots Arcade Game
Kangaroo Arcade Game
Atari CX-55: 2600/5200 Adaptor
Atari 2600 Games
Atari Pro Darts Handheld
Atari Cosmos Handheld
Atari Breakout Handheld
The Atari 5200



BREAKING NEWS
Intellivision DS Pre Orders



HARDWARE FLASHBACK
Custom Atari 2600 Cartridge



MIKE'D UP
Tomy Tutor Computer
Tomy Tutor Hyperspace
Tomy Tutor Traffic Jam
N64 Snowboard Kids
N64 Fighters Destiny 2
Tomy Chat Bot Robot
Radio Shack Robie Jr.
Sony PS1 Martian Gothic
Coleco Telstar Arcade
PC Zork Nemesis
Colecovision
Nintendo NES
Computer Perfection Electronic Game
Timex Sinlair 1500
Gamecube Battalion Wars



TED DABNEY
The Founding Fathers
Computer Space Fan Site
Computer Space in Jaws



ATAR-REWIND
Atari: Pole Position
Bally/Midway: Mappy
Atari: Gravitar
Atari: Black Widow
Atari: Cosmos
Kee Games: Tank
Atari: Space Race
Dig Dug Commercial
Atari: Quantum
Atari: Food Fight
Atari: Tempest
Atari: Lunar Lander
Atari: Asteroids
Adventure Easter Egg
Al Alcorn
Ed Rotberg Interview
Ed Logg Interview
Howard Scott Warshaw Interview
Warren Robinett Interview
30 Secrets of Atari



THE DESERT DUMP
Wintergreen - When I Wake Up
Wintergreen MySpace Page



TOP TEN ATARI ARCADE GAMES
Klax
Sprint 2
Star Wars
Pong
Computer Space
Stunt Cycle
Battlezone
Quantum
Asteroids
Asteroids Deluxe
Warlords
Tempest



NEWS
The 5 most ridiculous computers ever made
Good Old Games: Now you see it, now you don't.
Bill Logiudice's books on Amazon.com
The end of software ownership
Steve Wiebe back on top
Charging for in-game movies
Pole Position Cartoon
Atari aims to revitalize brand
Nolan Bushnell to Keynote SIEGE in Atlanta
The great Atari Rollercoaster
Atari co-founder forecasts gaming future
Interview with Nolan Bushnell
The History of Atari
Atari brand awareness weak among young gamers
Pitts recalls making America's first coin-op
World's first video arcade game
The First Video Game
Restored PDP-1 Demonstration
Computer Space Game Play
Computer Space in Soylent Green
Atari launches Atari Go
Atari Jaguar Launch
Atari and SEGA deal
Atari ST Midi ports
Atari Basic and Atari DOS
Gary Kildall
First Atari Pong Machine
Atari Burial Rumours
Atari Assembly Lines Xmas 1978
Atari's IBM 370-148 Mainframe
Atari's New Coin-op PCB Facility (1979)
The Bold Move Forward: The Atari Jaguar 64
Giant Tetris Arcade Game (Among others)
8bit Wood
Golgo 13 Nudity Hack
NES Zoomed out game levels
Chunkout for the Gameboy Color
Liberace Museum Closing
Charlie Brooker's Gameswipe
Castles In Videogames
"Official" ZX Spectrum emulator for iPhone
Star V Arcade Game
Craig's List Ad Of The Month: Stuck In A Well
 
Downloading now. Looks like a ton of information! Thanks for producing this!!!


quick thing: that animated background on your website hurts the eyes!
 
Great contribution to the site parrot.

Thank you.

Thanks. We are planning on having Al Alcorn on next and possibly Nolan. Although I've heard through the grapevine that he is not thrilled with this Dabney interview. My goal, to have all three of them on at once and we can all get to the bottom of this once and for all :)

For the record, my intention is just to get as close to the truth as we can. And maybe the closest we can all get is to hear from all three of them and then make an educated guess as to how it all went down. All three, obviously had there part in the birth of an industry and without one another the history of gaming would have been forever changed - probably for the worse.
 
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A few weeks ago I read some interesting stuff from Dick Ball who also helped create Computer Space, and he also had an interesting take on Bushnell's involvement...

Mod, where did you read this? I am interested. Dick Ball donated a Computer Space to our local museum of science, which then indirectly led to my Computer Space being up for sale. He is a very interesting person from what I hear.

Feel free to take this to PM if you like. I have a few more details to share.
 
Mod, where did you read this? I am interested. Dick Ball donated a Computer Space to our local museum of science, which then indirectly led to my Computer Space being up for sale. He is a very interesting person from what I hear.

Feel free to take this to PM if you like. I have a few more details to share.

I'd be surprised that he had anything to do with it, what's he claiming on it? Ted did the bulk of the circuitry with Nolan "tying" Ted's circuit's and Steve Bristow (as an intern at Ampex) helping Nolan on a circuit.
 
Suspicions confirmed. I asked Ted about a "Dick Ball", who responded -

"I never heard the name. I doubt he ever worked on Computer Space."

I asked Steve Bristow, who worked on it as an intern at Ampex and then helped troubleshoot their manufacturing at Nutting, and then became lead engineer there after Nolan left, and also designed and built the 2 player version. He said the following:

"I do not recall Dick Ball".


So I'd be interested in where this was read about his involvement and why he's claiming it.
 
This is a great interview with Ted. He really takes the gloves off and gives it to Nolan. If you guys have the time, take a listen. Thank you for taking the time to do such an excellent podcast!


Of course if you havent seen this thread over on AtariAge, it will be interesting as well. There are a couple guys there who seem to back up what Ted is saying. Plus a surprise guest later on in the thread..
 
Mod, where did you read this? I am interested. Dick Ball donated a Computer Space to our local museum of science, which then indirectly led to my Computer Space being up for sale. He is a very interesting person from what I hear.

Feel free to take this to PM if you like. I have a few more details to share.

I'd be surprised that he had anything to do with it, what's he claiming on it? Ted did the bulk of the circuitry with Nolan "tying" Ted's circuit's and Steve Bristow (as an intern at Ampex) helping Nolan on a circuit.

Suspicions confirmed. I asked Ted about a "Dick Ball", who responded -

"I never heard the name. I doubt he ever worked on Computer Space."

I asked Steve Bristow, who worked on it as an intern at Ampex and then helped troubleshoot their manufacturing at Nutting, and then became lead engineer there after Nolan left, and also designed and built the 2 player version. He said the following:

"I do not recall Dick Ball".


So I'd be interested in where this was read about his involvement and why he's claiming it.

This is some info submitted for Computer Space (2P) by a person claiming to be "Dick Ball":

I have two machines stored, neither in working order. Since I originated the numbering system for the first Nutting machine, I beleive I have #85 and #125. I did the concept, design and marketing brief for this first video game. As "Assistant to the President" and an Industrial Designer, I did the Design and Marketing Brief for "Computer Quiz" which we developd into the first solid state coin operated game and the first plug in circuit boards. I had estimated the production run of "Computer Quiz" and reminded Nutting we must get another machine started. I did two briefs and we went with the video game. Two months later the new General Manager and I were fired over a dispute about Nutting buying an new airplane at company expense. We went on to form Cointronics.

I have not used any of the info as it doesn't seem relevant to Computer Space, and I can't confirm any of it. I was given contact info (and some other claims about Nutting machines with Bushnell involvement, as well as the demise of the company that is mainly opinion), but it is five years old...
 
This is some info submitted for Computer Space (2P) by a person claiming to be "Dick Ball":



I have not used any of the info as it doesn't seem relevant to Computer Space, and I can't confirm any of it. I was given contact info (and some other claims about Nutting machines with Bushnell involvement, as well as the demise of the company that is mainly opinion), but it is five years old...

I am guessing he was a Nutting employee.
 
I have not used any of the info as it doesn't seem relevant to Computer Space, and I can't confirm any of it. I was given contact info (and some other claims about Nutting machines with Bushnell involvement, as well as the demise of the company that is mainly opinion), but it is five years old...

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like he did PR/marketing work, i.e. the "concept, design and marketing brief ", not any work on the game itself.

We're actually looking to talk to a number of ex-Nutting people for the book, so if you can pass on his contact info in private it would be appreciated. Unfortunately, Bill died about 2 years ago and Dave doesn't have any of his brother's company's stuff. Though he was able to fill in to me how and why Bill's Nutting Associates was formed vs. his own company (Nutting Industries later Dave Nutting Associates) and why they both had versions of the same quiz game.

Incidentally, 2 player Computer Space was designed by Steve Bristow and his wife, after Nolan and Ted left to start up Syzygy/Atari in Spring of '72.
 
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I love when marketing guys claim they helped make a product. Has driven me as insane as it probably did the actual designers/engineers of CS, I feel for them. :)

Sounds like a good one, I'm downloading it now and will listen to it over the next (from the looks of how long it is) week or so. Have you got this up on iTunes? I went looking and either didn't use the right search terms or just plain didn't find it. It would make getting it on/handling it on my iPod a lot easier. From the sounds of the stuff you may have coming up, it'd be subscribe bait for sure.
 
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