Larry Kaplan
Encyclopedia
Larry Kaplan is an American
video game designer and programmer
. He initially worked at Atari
and was responsible for a lot of their sales. Due to the lack of recognition for his work, he left Atari and became one of the five co-founders of Activision
.
He is best known for his Atari 2600
creation, Kaboom!. The game was published by Activision in 1981.
Kaplan left Activision in 1982 for stints at Amiga, Atari
, Silicon Graphics
, and Worlds of Wonder
. At last report, Kaplan worked for Microunity
, and lives in Los Altos, California
, United States
with his wife and three boys.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
video game designer and programmer
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"...
. He initially worked at Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
and was responsible for a lot of their sales. Due to the lack of recognition for his work, he left Atari and became one of the five co-founders of Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
.
He is best known for his Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
creation, Kaboom!. The game was published by Activision in 1981.
Kaplan left Activision in 1982 for stints at Amiga, Atari
Atari Games
Atari Games Corporation was an American producer of arcade games, and originally part of Atari, Inc..-History:When, in 1984, Warner Communications sold the Atari Consumer division of Atari Inc...
, Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics, Inc. was a manufacturer of high-performance computing solutions, including computer hardware and software, founded in 1981 by Jim Clark...
, and Worlds of Wonder
Worlds of Wonder (toy company)
Worlds of Wonder or WoW was a 1980s American toy company, founded by former Atari employees, including Don Kingsborough and Mark Robert Goldberg.Their products included:* Teddy Ruxpin, a story telling bear, in 1985...
. At last report, Kaplan worked for Microunity
MicroUnity
MicroUnity is a private company located in Santa Clara, California. The company was one of the first promoting Mediaprocessors, that is, CPUs tailored for digital media such as digital video and digital audio streams.-Founders:...
, and lives in Los Altos, California
Los Altos, California
Los Altos is a city at the southern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 28,976 according to the 2010 census....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with his wife and three boys.
Credits
In addition to Kaboom!, Kaplan wrote the following Atari 2600 games:- Air-Sea BattleAir-Sea BattleAir-Sea Battle is a game developed by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600, and was one of the nine original launch titles for that system when it was released in October 1977...
(1977; one of the nine Atari 2600 launch titles) - Street RacerStreet Racer (Atari 2600)Street Racer is an early racing video game developed for the Atari 2600, then known as the VCS . It was programmed by Larry Kaplan and released by Atari in February 1978 as one of the nine Atari 2600 launch titles...
(1977; one of the nine Atari 2600 launch titles) - Brain GamesBrain GamesBrain Games is a compilation of memory video games released by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600 in 1978. It was programmed by Larry Kaplan, and it featured a series of memory-related games, most of which required players to repeat from memory certain sequences or patterns.-Background:Programmed by...
(1978) - BowlingBowling (video game)Bowling is a video game for the Atari 2600 designed by Atari programmer Larry Kaplan; published by Atari. The game is based on the game of bowling, playable by one player or two players alternating.In all six variations, games last for 10 frames, or turns...
(1979) - Bridge (1981, for Activision)
External links
- Listing of Kaplan's library of work on AtariAgeAtariAgeAtari Age was a magazine distributed to Atari Club members from 1982 until 1984. It was published by The Atari Club Inc., a subsidiary of Atari, Inc.-History:...
- Interview with Larry Kaplan at Digital Press