Howard Scott Warshaw Interview: Atari, Programming, and Psychology (Podcast)
18This episode of the /r/retrogaming Podcast was originally published in 2015. It has been gone from the internet for a few years, and now it's back!
Read the full transcript here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/RetroGamingNetwork/wiki/podcast/episode05-howard-scott-warshaw-transcript
About Howard:
Howard Scott Warshaw was the programmer Atari's best selling original game, Yar’s Revenge, as well as E.T. the Extraterrestrial and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Now he's a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist. He has a Master’s in Engineering and a Master’s of Arts and Psychology.
Show Notes:
-Howard talks about his transition from programming (debugging code) to therapy (debugging people)
-How games are really a biofeedback loop
-Discussion on game design theory
-The 80/20 theory of programmers
-Why Howard thinks that Steven Spielberg is really an alien
-Some behind the scenes info about Atari: Game Over
-The conflict between game designers and gaming execs
-We take user questions, including Howard's thoughts on the XBLA/PSN re-imagining of Yar's Revenge, shortfalls of the 2600, and the recent deal between Atari and Dynamite Comics
-An in-depth discussion on violence in video games
-How parents can best deal with their children playing video games
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