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Carol Shaw

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and probably one of the best programmers period....in particular, did the kernels, the tricky bit that actually gets the picture on the screen for a number of games that she didn't fully do the games for. She was the go-to gal for that sort of
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The Carol Shaw papers are a compilation of game design documentation, notes, sketches, source code printouts, advertisements, and other ephemera relating to the career of video game designer Carol Shaw.
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They had a manual for Atari BASIC and somebody wrote sort of a cutesy manual that was supposed to be very humorous, but it had a lot of technical errors in it. I ended up rewriting the manual
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In 1984 Shaw returned to Tandem. She took early retirement in 1990 and subsequently did some voluntary work including a position at the
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Shaw first used a computer in high school and discovered she could play text-based games on the system. Shaw attended the
1654: 165:(1980), both for the Atari VCS before it was renamed to the 2600. She left game development in 1984 and retired in 1990. 791: 193: 52: 1144: 1674: 1204: 424: 1172: 396: 759: 865: 1472: 1301: 890: 924: 1427: 1260: 30: 1158: 941: 490: 344: 1392: 1112: 1088: 907: 1599: 1137: 185:. In a 2011 interview, she said she did not like playing with dolls as a child but learned about 1639: 1218: 197: 178: 1634: 1492: 1253: 1179: 813: 357: 335: 282: 174: 1018:
Carol Shaw, Keith Brewster. BASIC REFERENCE MANUAL. draft, Atari, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA (1979)
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to work on games for the Atari VCS (later called the 2600) with the title of Microprocessor
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in 1977. She later completed a master's degree in computer science at Berkeley.
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I would have to include Carol Shaw, who was simply the best programmer of the
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from playing with her brother's set, a hobby she continued until college.
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Immediately after earning her Master's degree in 1978, Shaw was hired at
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programmer, then joining Activision in 1982. Her first game was
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later put her on a list of Atari's "less publicized superstars":
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as being a significant factor in enabling her to retire early.
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from 1978 to 1980, where she designed multiple games including
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cartridge, awarded June 27, 1983, for sales of 1,000,000 units
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Atari BASIC and PET Microsoft BASIC. A BASIC Comparison
665: 663: 661: 659: 657: 655: 653: 651: 649: 541: 646: 383:In 2017, Shaw received the Industry Icon Award at 580:"Finding Aid to the Carol Shaw Papers, 1960-2017" 407:Shaw lives in California and has been married to 1621: 746:by Joretta Klepfer cites the draft as a source. 1089: 707:"The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers" 600: 834: 754: 752: 626: 387:. In the same year, she donated her gaming 246:for the Atari 2600 in 1978. She also wrote 168: 1096: 1082: 784:Women in Gaming: 100 Professionals of Play 237:stage, but Atari chose not to publish it. 29: 1670:University of California, Berkeley alumni 863: 806: 749: 698: 682: 680: 306: 281:Shaw worked on several projects for the 173:Shaw was born in 1955 and was raised in 977: 123:(born 1955) is one of the first female 1622: 719: 713: 629:"Saluting the Women Behind the Screen" 1077: 781: 677: 627:Suellentrop, Chris (19 August 2014). 419:, since 1983. They are signed up for 285:. With Keith Brewster, she wrote the 135:. She is best known for creating the 957: 777: 775: 773: 509:(Atari, 1979-1981) technical writing 319:Shaw left Atari in 1980 to work for 608:(draft). Sunnyvale, CA: Atari, Inc. 295:application, published by Atari on 13: 964:Atari BASIC BNF - Backus–Naur Form 807:Alexander, Jem (8 December 2017). 786:. Dorling Kindersley. p. 27. 376:. She has credited the success of 194:University of California, Berkeley 183:Stanford Linear Accelerator Center 139:vertically scrolling shooter game 53:University of California, Berkeley 14: 1686: 1051: 978:Edwards, Benj (12 October 2011). 770: 720:Spicer, Dag (November 12, 2012). 704: 291:. She developed the programmable 1004:"Compute!'s First Book of Atari" 558: 544: 402: 240:Shaw's first published game was 1650:American video game programmers 1023: 996: 971: 951: 934: 917: 900: 883: 857: 828: 572: 425:Alcor Life Extension Foundation 364:. She left Activision in 1984. 229:, a promotional tie-in for the 108: 1103: 800: 735: 620: 471:(Atari, 1981) with Nick Turner 397:Strong National Museum of Play 367: 233:cologne. The game reached the 212: 1: 1645:American video game designers 613: 302: 196:and graduated with a B.S. in 1660:Women video game programmers 1473:Television Interface Adaptor 1302:American Multiple Industries 1064:Center for Computing History 891:"Atari 2600 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe" 288:Atari BASIC Reference Manual 16:American video game designer 7: 1069:Carol Shaw Papers 1960-2017 967:(Inter-office memo). Atari. 925:"Atari 2600 Video Checkers" 866:"Notable Women in Cryonics" 44:1955 (age 68–69) 10: 1691: 1655:Women video game designers 604:; Brewster, Keith (1979). 538:, Atari 2600 (Atari, 1978) 391:, including games, boxes, 1608: 1573: 1526: 1460: 1380: 1284: 1196: 1120: 1111: 207: 93: 76: 68: 58: 48: 40: 28: 21: 722:"Mike Albaugh Interview" 430: 225:. Her first project was 169:Early life and education 1675:The Game Awards winners 1600:Atari video game burial 942:"Atari 2600 River Raid" 729:Computer History Museum 782:Marie, Meagan (2018). 606:BASIC REFERENCE MANUAL 395:, and designs, to the 316: 279: 198:Electrical Engineering 1493:Starpath Supercharger 1008:www.atariarchives.org 852:My wife is Carol Shaw 499:Atari 8-bit computers 358:Atari 8-bit computers 310: 283:Atari 8-bit computers 270: 256:with Nick Turner and 175:Palo Alto, California 1443:Howard Scott Warshaw 908:"Atari 2600 Othello" 1552:Atari Greatest Hits 1527:Emulation and ports 1478:Atari joystick port 1468:Atari 2600 hardware 479:(Activision, 1982) 452:(Atari, 1978) with 374:Foresight Institute 179:mechanical engineer 177:. Her father was a 133:video game industry 64:Video game designer 62:Computer programmer 1058:Carol Shaw's games 864:Taya Maki (2022). 633:The New York Times 566:Video games portal 517:(Atari, 1979-1981) 494:(Activision, 1983) 411:, a researcher in 317: 264:(1981). Co-worker 181:and worked at the 1617: 1616: 1456: 1455: 961:(18 April 1980). 835:Ralph C. Merkle. 587:Carol Shaw Papers 325:assembly language 223:Software Engineer 187:model railroading 149:. 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Index


University of California, Berkeley
River Raid
Atari 2600
Ralph Merkle
game designers
programmers
video game industry
Atari 2600
River Raid
Activision
Atari, Inc.
3-D Tic-Tac-Toe
Video Checkers
Palo Alto, California
mechanical engineer
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
model railroading
University of California, Berkeley
Electrical Engineering
Computer Science
Atari, Inc.
Software Engineer
Ralph Lauren
prototype
3-D Tic-Tac-Toe
Super Breakout
Ed Logg
Mike Albaugh
6502

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