Tod Frye
Encyclopedia
Tod R. Frye is a computer programmer once employed by Atari
, and is most notable for being charged with the home adaptation of Pac-Man
for the Atari 2600
video computer system. Pac-Man
proved to be a stunning financial coup for Atari, who secured the exclusive Namco
home license. The title drew criticism, however; players complained that although the design passively resembled its arcade counterpart, it lacked in both quality control and craftsmanship. The game sold many units, making a huge a profit for Atari, but many detractors consider that the quality of the port was one of the factors responsible for triggering the North American video game crash of 1983.
be allocated. Atari would manufacture 12 million Pac-Man cartridges, making Frye a millionaire in the process.
series Earthworld, Fireworld, Waterworld, Airworld (uncompleted).
Unreleased titles include Save Mary and Shooting Arcade and Xevious
(Atari 2600
) .
Frye also developed the Red-vs-Blue kernel vertical sprite re-use technology used in RealSports Football and several other Atari 2600 products.
After parting ways with Atari, Frye later worked for Axlon (one of the many companies founded by Atari Pioneer Nolan Bushnell
) and was hired as a programmer alongside fellow Atari employees Rob Zydbel, Bob Smith, and Howard Scott Warshaw
at The 3DO Company
. Frye remains active in video games, making technical contributions to classic compilations such as Midway Arcade Treasures
.
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 is most notable for being charged with the home adaptation of Pac-Man
Pac-Man
is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
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 computer system. Pac-Man
Pac-Man (Atari 2600)
In 1982, Atari Inc. released a port of Namco's hit arcade game Pac-Man for its Atari 2600 video game console. Like the original arcade version, the player controls the titular character with a joystick...
proved to be a stunning financial coup for Atari, who secured the exclusive Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
home license. The title drew criticism, however; players complained that although the design passively resembled its arcade counterpart, it lacked in both quality control and craftsmanship. The game sold many units, making a huge a profit for Atari, but many detractors consider that the quality of the port was one of the factors responsible for triggering the North American video game crash of 1983.
Unprecedented success
The Pac-Man port was started in May of 1981, and was the most anticipated release for 1982, so marketing pressed Frye to produce the game on a very strict timetable (in the early 1980's lead times on the cartridge ROMs was several months, so the code needed to be completed in September 1981 to get the product into stores in Q1 1982). Atari corporate management demanded Frye complete the game in the standard 4K ROM, despite his repeated requests that 8K of ROMRead-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
be allocated. Atari would manufacture 12 million Pac-Man cartridges, making Frye a millionaire in the process.
Public discontent
One Atari employee decided to write "Why Frye?" on the Pac-Man machine contained in Atari's in-office arcade room. In response, Frye drew a horizontal line over the "Why", as if to say "Why not Frye" in logic notation.Notable contributions
LCD Breakout Atari handheld, Asteroids (Atari 400/800), SwordquestSwordquest
Swordquest is an unfinished series of video games produced by Atari in the 1980s as part of a contest. Each of the games came with a comic book that explained the plot, as well as containing part of the puzzle that had to be solved to win the contest...
series Earthworld, Fireworld, Waterworld, Airworld (uncompleted).
Unreleased titles include Save Mary and Shooting Arcade and Xevious
Xevious
is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game by Namco, released in 1982. It was designed by Masanobu Endō. In the U.S., the game was manufactured and distributed by Atari. Xevious runs on Namco Galaga hardware. In Brazil the arcade cabinet was printed with the name 'COLUMBIA' for the game, while 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...
) .
Frye also developed the Red-vs-Blue kernel vertical sprite re-use technology used in RealSports Football and several other Atari 2600 products.
After parting ways with Atari, Frye later worked for Axlon (one of the many companies founded by Atari Pioneer Nolan Bushnell
Nolan Bushnell
Nolan K. Bushnell is an American engineer and entrepreneur who founded both Atari, Inc and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza-Time Theaters chain...
) and was hired as a programmer alongside fellow Atari employees Rob Zydbel, Bob Smith, and Howard Scott Warshaw
Howard Scott Warshaw
Howard Scott Warshaw is an American former game designer who worked for Atari in the early 1980s, where he designed and programmed the games Yars' Revenge, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and infamously, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial...
at The 3DO Company
The 3DO Company
The 3DO Company , also known as 3DO , was a video game company...
. Frye remains active in video games, making technical contributions to classic compilations such as Midway Arcade Treasures
Midway Arcade Treasures
Midway Arcade Treasures is a collection of 24 arcade games developed by Digital Eclipse and released by Midway for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC....
.