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| INTERVIEW: AL BAKER |
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Al Baker programmed the game.com version of Frogger for Handheld Games.
He was interviewed by Brandon Cobb for “The end of the game.com” in
2010.
How were you first introduced to the game.com system, and what were your
initial thoughts of the machine?
Through Tom [Thomas Fessler of Handheld Games]. He periodically was using my
services to program various computer games and this was one of them.
You worked as lead programmer on the game.com version of Frogger for Handheld
Games. What can you share about the process? Were there any particular difficulties
along the way?
Back then the process was actually very simple. Games were not nearly the major
productions they have become even on handheld devices. I was given specifications
as to how the various levels would work. Tom and I (and I really don't remember
whose ideas dominated) came up with a level designer so that we could change the
way all the levels worked without reprogramming them. I implemented the levels
and Tom used his marvelous ability to see what worked and didn't work to make the
levels “fun”. We kept tweaking until we were done.
The original game.com system design allowed for two different game cartridges
to be inserted into the machine at once. If Frogger is started while another game
cartridge is simultaneously inserted into the machine, it plays at a much slower
rate than normal. Was this a known bug? If so, how and why did it occur?
I was/am unaware of the bug. If it was noticed, it was long after we had turned
it over to Tiger, or at least after I was no longer involved. Tom might know more.
How would you describe your experience with the game.com development kit?
Were the tools and documentation provided to you adequate, or was there a steep
learning curve involved?
It was very easy to use and by then I was so used to working with game
development kits, both hardware and software, that another one was “ho hum”.
It was what it was. However, I would have remembered if it were particularly
difficult to use.
What sort of interaction did you have with Tiger Electronics and their
game.com software team?
Reasonably close. We had several meetings at their
offices here in the northern Chicago suburbs. If we had any questions, they
were there to answer them. There weren't many since the documentation was very good. They
were not new at this and knew what developers needed.
Did you have the chance to do any additional game.com programming after
Frogger was completed?
Tom and I had some ideas for additional games, but I don't remember any of
them getting off the drawing boards. Tom would know more.
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