Chapter 6 Interview: Ed Logg ....................
Chapter 6 Interview: Ed Logg ......................
Asteroids,Centipede, andGauntlet. If there was ever an impressive track
record for a game designer, that is it. Throw in some lesser-known classics
such asSuper Breakout,Millipede,Gauntlet II, andXybots, and you have a
truly unequaled career. Ed Logg designed and developed all of those titles at
Atari back in the heyday of the arcades. Before the collapse of the coin-op
market, Logg had already switched to working in home game development,
adapting popular Atari arcade games such as theSan Francisco Rushseries to
consoles. Subsequently, Logg took on an original home game for the first time,
serving as lead programmer on the unique platformerDr. Muto. Today Logg
has returned to his roots, working on games for mobile phones. To look at
them, the classic arcade games seem quite simple, but it is that simplicity
which forced their designers to refine them to the point of perfection. Logg’s
classic coin-op games remain some of the best computer games ever made,
and the insight designers can gain from studying them is enormous.What was it like working at Atari in the late ’70s and early ’80s?
We were young and energetic. I imagine it is very similar to the atmosphere at most
Internet start-ups these days. We were a relatively small group in the Coin Operated
Games Division. This allowed everyone to know everyone else. Ideas and pranks
flowed freely. Since we were working on a new medium we could do anything and it
would be “new.” Even games likeLunar Lander, done by Rich Moore, which had been
done originally years before, were new to our audience.
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