[BlackRose1042]

Day 8: "Atom Smasher" by Jerry Lawson
Image of Atom Smasher, the first game under the Video Soft label led by Jerry Lawson (The Games Database)

Atom Smasher was the first game created by Jerry Lawson’s video game development company, likely the earliest Black-owned game development company in the U.S. Before he left to start his own venture, Lawson wrote the Atari video game system on how developers could create their own games to operate on the system. This revolutionized the video game industry, sparking the business model you see with your Xbox or Playstation today.
Photo of Jerry Lawson, via Global Nerdy

Jerry Lawson was born as Gerald Anderson Lawson in New York City on December 1, 1940 (Biography). He was always interested in electronics; as a kid he operated his own ham radio, and as he got older, he made money by repairing his neighbors’ television sets (Philadelphia Sun). His first-grade teacher told him that one day he could be like Black scientist George Washington Carver, a statement he said he’d never forget. And his parents encouraged his interest in science (Vintage Computing).
 
He started working at Fairchild Semiconductor in 1970, at a time where there were very few Black engineers in Silicon Valley. In his off time, he built Demolition Derby, a coin-operated arcade machine, in his garage. According to an interview in Vintage Computing, Fairchild wasn’t too happy when they found out about Lawson’s game. But they did ask him to build something for them. A few years later, he created and spearheaded their new game division. In 1976, their product, Fairchild Channel F, was released – the first console that allowed players to change out cartridges loaded with different games (Fast Company). Before this point, video games were hardcoded into one unit, so you could only play the game you bought at the time. 
 
 "I had a secret assignment. Even the boss that I worked for wasn’t to know what I was doing. I was directly reporting to a vice president at Fairchild with a budget."--Jerry Lawson, in conversation with Benj Edwards, Fast Company

This design revolutionized the video game industry, and other makers like Atari and Magnavox moved to make their own cartridge-loaded consoles, too. But all the games for these consoles were created by the companies themselves. There was no way for third-party video game developers to join in without their own console...that is, until a few people from Atari left to create their own video game console company, Activision. Atari sued Activision, claiming that the company was stealing its patents. To settle the lawsuit, Activision had to prove anyone could create games for Atari without stealing their intellectual property. So they hired Lawson to reverse-engineer the Atari and create cartridges that would work with their system (Museum of Play). Because of his work, the company settled the lawsuit and Activision became the company it is today, which just sold to Microsoft for $69B (Bloomberg).
 
Jerry Lawson’s work made it possible for any third-party game developer to create their own cartridges for Atari. Lawson took advantage and launched Video Soft, likely the earliest Black-owned game development company in the U.S. The company created over a dozen games for the Atari 2600 video game console. Their first game, Atom Smasher, “challenged one or two players to shoot atomic particles out an arena’s doors while dodging the moving particles themselves” (Museum of Play). The company shuttered along with the video-game bust of 1983 – 1984 (IGN).
Image of Fairchild Channel F Console, via Games Museum

Jerry Lawson passed away in April 2011. He was a pioneer in the video game industry, but often isn't named in its history. And his name isn't listed on the patent for the video game cartridge, despite his clear contributions (Wired).

 
 

"You’ve gotta step away from the crowd and go do your own thing. You find a ground, cover it, it’s brand new, you’re on your own — you’re an explorer. That’s about what it’s going to be like. Explore new vistas, new avenues, new ways — not relying on everyone else’s way to tell you which way to go, and how to go, and what you should be doing."
--Jerry Lawson's advice to Black people considering a career in science or engineering, in conversation with Benj Edwards, Vintage Computing 
 

Reflection Questions

1. Who are the leaders you might not know about in your industry?
   
   
2. Why is it important to share knowledge with other people in your field?