Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System
Encyclopedia
Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System is a book by Ian Bogost
and Nick Montfort
describing the history and technical challenges of programming for the Atari 2600
video game console
.
, and required the programmers to write each line of video to the television, one line at a time. As there were only a limited number of machine cycles in which to do this, the programmers were literally racing the electron beam across the screen.
Racing the Beam discusses the history of the VCS platform and the design decisions that impacted the types of games that could be written for it. Specific titles such as Combat
, Pitfall!
and Yars' Revenge
are analyzed from a technical and cultural perspective.
Racing the Beam was intended as the first in a series of books on early video game platforms, and has been cited by modern Atari 2600 enthusiasts as an inspiration for attempting to write new games for the platform.
Ian Bogost
Ian Bogost is a video game designer, critic and researcher. He is a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a founding partner at Persuasive Games...
and Nick Montfort
Nick Montfort
Nick Montfort is an associate professor of digital media at MIT in the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies. He is also a poet, computer scientist, and author of interactive fiction. Montfort has collaborated on the blog Grand Text Auto, the sticker novel Implementation, and the contemporary...
describing the history and technical challenges of programming for the 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...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
.
Content
The book's title comes from the fact that the Atari 2600, initially branded the VCS (Video Computer System), did not have a video frame bufferFramebuffer
A framebuffer is a video output device that drives a video display from a memory buffer containing a complete frame of data.The information in the memory buffer typically consists of color values for every pixel on the screen...
, and required the programmers to write each line of video to the television, one line at a time. As there were only a limited number of machine cycles in which to do this, the programmers were literally racing the electron beam across the screen.
Racing the Beam discusses the history of the VCS platform and the design decisions that impacted the types of games that could be written for it. Specific titles such as Combat
Combat (video game)
Combat is an early video game by Atari for the Atari 2600. It was released as one of the nine launch titles for the system in October 1977, and was included in the box with the system from its introduction until 1982...
, Pitfall!
Pitfall!
Pitfall! is a video game released by Activision for the Atari 2600 in 1982. It is the second best selling game made for the Atari 2600, with over 4 million copies sold.-Gameplay:...
and Yars' Revenge
Yars' Revenge
Yars' Revenge is a video game developed for the Atari 2600 in 1981. It was created by Howard Scott Warshaw, who also wrote the 2600 titles Raiders of the Lost Ark and the much-derided E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial...
are analyzed from a technical and cultural perspective.
Racing the Beam was intended as the first in a series of books on early video game platforms, and has been cited by modern Atari 2600 enthusiasts as an inspiration for attempting to write new games for the platform.