Today’s Google Doodle celebrates Jerry Lawson, the ‘father of the video game cartridge’

Google’s interactive Doodle today celebrates the life and accomplishments of video game pioneer Gerald “Jerry” Lawson on what would have been his 82nd birthday. The Doodle lets you play five retro pixel-art platformers in your browser — with two even letting you play as Lawson. The Doodles’ creators want to inspire young people to follow in his footsteps, and it includes a built-in level editor and creator to nudge them on that path.Lawson was known as the “father of the video game cartridge,” which he developed as Director of Engineering and Marketing at Fairchild Semiconductor. In 1976, the company released the Fairchild Channel F home console, with Lawson serving as lead developer. The Channel F (the “F” stood for “fun”) was the first system with interchangeable game cartridges, a novel concept in an era when games were permanently coded into hardware. Interchangeable ROM-based cartridges were a massive breakthrough that let users build entire libraries rather than playing one game ad nauseam.GoogleToday’s Doodle includes games from guest artists and game designers Davionne Gooden, Lauren Brown and Momo Pixel. “The concept starts with the player as a little Jerry Lawson,” explained Brown. “This takes us through anecdotes about Jerry’s life, parts of his journey that he went about to create the cartridge. Once you complete the level, you then get to create your own game with an editor that allows you to reimagine the level design and innovate like Jerry Lawson... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2022-12-01 18:15:43 UTC ]
News tagged with: #commercial success #libraries

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Time Inc. Launches Documentary Video Unit

Time Inc. invested heavily in video initiatives under Laura Lang, but even as the company prepares to transfer leadership to new CEO Joe Ripp, the medium remains a priority. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2013-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book festival celebrates 30 years

The Edinburgh Book Festival, which is celebrating 30 years, is the "largest and best respected literary festival in the world", according to its director. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2013-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why Is Google Highlighting Long-Form Articles?

People ask Google some deep questions, like “why am I here?” “should I have a third child?” and “why is my scab turning that color?” Apparently 10% of our time on Google is spent digging into broad topics like these. So Google is curating and featuring authoritative treatises on popular subjects... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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See 15 Pages of the Last of Us</em> Prequel Comic &mdash; And How It Influenced the Game

The Last of Us: American Dreams is a prequel comic book series from Dark Horse that reveals the untold story of the character Ellie a year before she met Joel.     Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2013-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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VIDEO: Meet the Author: Ben Wilson

Author Ben Wilson talks to the BBC's Nick Higham about his book charting the British Navy's history Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2013-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook announces Mobile Games Publishing pilot program

Facebook has reportedly been toying around with the idea of launching a distribution platform for mobile games, boosting advertising revenue by also taking a cut of sales. As of today, the initiative is official: a new Mobile Games Publishing page is now live on Facebook's developers site. The... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook sends friend request to mobile game developers

Facebook and the gaming community have a tumultuous relationship. Hardcore gamers look down on the social media giant for offering casual games like Farmville. However, Facebook has proven to be a great way to link gamers together. For instance, I am a big fan of Candy Crush Saga and Words With... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2013-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook offers promotional help to small game developers

Hoping to strengthen its services for mobile users, Facebook has created a new program to encourage third-party developers to build games that will run on the company's mobile clients.The new pilot program, called Facebook Mobile Games Publishing, will assist selected game development shops in... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2013-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Game|Life Podcast: A More Developer-Friendly Xbox One?

On this week's podcast: Xbox One self-publishing, EarthBound on Virtual Console, Shadow of the Eternals and changes at Electronic Arts.     Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2013-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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VIDEO: How to Make the Perfect Comic Book TV Show

As the nation's geeks and nerds pack away their spandex and cardboard cosplay costumes (until October's New York Comic-Con of course) staff writer and office comic book aficionado Sam Thielman explains who should be TV's next smash hit superheroes.     Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Xbox One to allow indie games makers

Microsoft is to allow independent games developers to self-publish on its Xbox One games console, in a reversal of its previous policy. Continue reading at BBC World

[ BBC World | 2013-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google adding textbooks to the Play Store

While most people associate Android with text-messages, Google hopes you will think of it in another "text" aspect too -- textbooks. Today, Google announces that it is bringing textbooks to the Play Store. The company has partnered with all five major textbook publishers -- Cengage, Wiley,... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2013-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google Play Store to Rent and Sell Textbooks

Google is getting into the textbook business by selling and renting materials from the top five education publishers in the US. The new service will launch August 8. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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VIDEO: Music to read books by

The Bookshop Band write songs inspired by the books of visiting authors like The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry's Rachel Joyce. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2013-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Comic-Con 2013: A look at past comic books and a glimpse of the genre's future (+video)

Gerard Jones, author of 'Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book,' explains the origins of comic books, the hardships they went through, and where they are apt to go next.  Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why Games Like Rogue Legacy</cite> Should Terrify Big Publishers

Rogue Legacy, from the makers of Don't S**t Your Pants, is the sort of indie game that should have traditional game publishers staining their pants indeed.     Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2013-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple, Google and others ask US government for more transparency with data requests

Just a few days after Google and Twitter pushed for the government to reveal the number of security-related requests, the Obama administration and Congress have just received another salvo backed by even more tech heavyweights -- 63, to be exact. A letter signed by many of the giants covered by... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter's Diagon Alley: visit on Google Street View

Google has added images of the Diagon Alley set from the 'Harry Potter' movies to its Street View function, allowing users to virtually walk through the magical shopping center. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Saving Mr. Banks' trailer explores how 'Mary Poppins' was adapted for the big screen (+video)

'Saving Mr. Banks' stars Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as 'Poppins' author P.L. Travers in the story of how the children's book became a Disney film. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Close Can Today’s Agent-Author Relationships Be?

Given the upheaval in digital publishing and many authors' entrepreneurial spirit, can today's literary agents engage their clients' art as they did in the past? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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