TDE EP41 - GCC Cofounder & Ms. Pac-Man Co-creator Doug Macrae
Summary
Doug McRae, co-founder of General Computer Corporation, discusses creating enhancement kits for arcade games like Missile Command and Pac-Man while at MIT. He details the technical reverse-engineering process, the lucrative sales of these kits, and the subsequent copyright lawsuit filed by Atari. The episode covers the legal settlement that led GCC to develop official home ports for Atari, including Ms. Pac-Man, and explores the early history of video game intellectual property.
Topics discussed
Introduction: Atari's decline and podcast mission
Doug's college years and pinball business
Transition to video games and Missile Command
Revenue issues and the speed hack discovery
Creating Super Missile Attack and GCC
The Atari lawsuit and settlement
Developing the Pac-Man enhancement kit
From Crazy Otto to Ms. Pac-Man
GCC's growth and Junior Pac-Man
Unreleased projects: LaserDisc and Fireman
Atari 2600 conversions and Ms. Pac-Man port
Shift to Macintosh and 2002 rights arbitration
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