Chuck Bueche
Encyclopedia
Chuck Bueche is a game programmer
most famous for his involvement with the Ultima computer game series.
Bueche was a high school friend and university roommate of Richard Garriott
in Austin, Texas
. After being introduced to computers by Garriott in 1981, Bueche founded his own company, Craniac Entertainment. Shortly thereafter, three of Bueche's games, Lunar Leepers, Jawbreaker II and Laf Pak, were published by Sierra On-Line.
In 1983, Bueche, along with Richard Garriott, Robert Garriott
, and Owen Garriott, founded the software company Origin Systems Inc. Origin became the publisher of Richard's Ultima series; Bueche ported
many of the original Apple II series
games to the Commodore 64
and Atari 800. He was also responsible for the design and programming of many of Origin's other hits, including Autoduel
and 2400 A.D.
The last original game Chuck developed at Origin was 2500 A.D., but was halted in production in 1988 due to poor sales of 2400 A.D.
Bueche left Origin in 1988 to obtain a Bachelor's degree
in Electrical Engineering
from the University of Texas at Austin
(1990). He later held executive positions at Velocity Incorporated, Xatrix Entertainment, and Dell Computer.
In the Ultima series, Bueche is represented by Lord British's court jester, also named Chuckles. In later games in the series, Chuckles is notorious for taunting the series' main character, the Avatar, with silly riddles and games.
Game programmer
A game programmer is a software engineer, programmer, or computer scientist who primarily develops codebase for video games or related software, such as game development tools. Game programming has many specialized disciplines all of which fall under the umbrella term of "game programmer"...
most famous for his involvement with the Ultima computer game series.
Bueche was a high school friend and university roommate of Richard Garriott
Richard Garriott
Richard Allen Garriott is a British-American video game developer and entrepreneur.He is also known as his alter egos Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa...
in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. After being introduced to computers by Garriott in 1981, Bueche founded his own company, Craniac Entertainment. Shortly thereafter, three of Bueche's games, Lunar Leepers, Jawbreaker II and Laf Pak, were published by Sierra On-Line.
In 1983, Bueche, along with Richard Garriott, Robert Garriott
Robert Garriott
Robert K. Garriott is a computer game industry figure and entrepreneur. He co-founded Origin Systems and Destination Games with his brother, Richard Garriott, and was the CEO of NCsoft-North America until 2008. He is the second-eldest son of NASA astronaut Owen K. Garriott...
, and Owen Garriott, founded the software company Origin Systems Inc. Origin became the publisher of Richard's Ultima series; Bueche ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
many of the original Apple II series
Apple II series
The Apple II series is a set of 8-bit home computers, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977 with the original Apple II...
games to the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
and Atari 800. He was also responsible for the design and programming of many of Origin's other hits, including Autoduel
Autoduel
Autoduel is a 1985 computer role-playing game published by Origin Systems for the Atari 400 and Atari 800 , Commodore 64, Apple II, Apple Macintosh, and MS-DOS. It was released in 1987 for the Atari ST and in 1988 for the Amiga...
and 2400 A.D.
2400 A.D.
2400 A.D. is a 1987 computer role-playing game designed by Chuck Bueche and published by Origin Systems. It was developed for the DOS and Apple II platforms; a version for the Commodore 64 was planned, but never completed.-Premise:...
The last original game Chuck developed at Origin was 2500 A.D., but was halted in production in 1988 due to poor sales of 2400 A.D.
Bueche left Origin in 1988 to obtain a Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in Electrical Engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
from the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
(1990). He later held executive positions at Velocity Incorporated, Xatrix Entertainment, and Dell Computer.
In the Ultima series, Bueche is represented by Lord British's court jester, also named Chuckles. In later games in the series, Chuckles is notorious for taunting the series' main character, the Avatar, with silly riddles and games.
External links
- Craniac Entertainment (Bueche's company)