Dan Gorlin
Encyclopedia
Dan Gorlin is a computer game programmer
, designer and founder of Dan Gorlin Productions. He is best known for his 1982
Apple II game Choplifter
.
. While living in Los Angeles
working for the Rand Corporation researching artificial intelligence
, he borrowed an Apple II from his grandfather. While trying to sell his house and sitting at home for six months, he started writing his seminal game Choplifter out of his affinity for helicopter
s, and due to sheer boredom. A local kid doing odd jobs for Gorlin suggested he should add men to pick up, like in Defender
. Gorlin completed the game in six months.
Gorlin's next game, Airheart
, also for the Apple II, took three years to complete. The following game, Typhoon Thompson
, took about two years, but Gorlin admits that the development of these games overlapped somewhat. The development for these games took so long because Gorlin started other games in between—a black hole
game and a seaplane
game—which proved too ambitious and which he ended up abandoning. During this time, however, he built a lot of tools
whose descendants he still uses today.
During this time, Gorlin was an independent developer with an informal relationship with Brøderbund
, who published
his first game. Being his own boss, Gorlin never felt pressure to finish anything, so a lot of concepts he abandoned, though he thought they would make good games. He just got bored with developing them and said that if he had the modern equivalent of a game producer
pressuring him, he might have actually finished them. But he concedes that with a corporate structure, he probably never would have had the freedom to develop his fledgling "experiments" in the first place.
Airheart was the realization of Gorlin's dream of making a 3D game
, what Choplifter was originally intended to be. Typhoon Thompson was an even further pursuit of this goal, but his full dream was too ambitious for production milestones and current technology.
Once the Apple II became outdated, Gorlin says he couldn't figure out what its successor was going to be. He says that he was hoping the Macintosh or Amiga
would emerge as the new dominant system, but was disappointed that neither did. He investigated DOS
, but was disgusted with the horrible hardware limitations. He says he decided to "wait it out" and went back to teaching African music and culture, which he had been doing since 1972.
Gorlin became interested in game development
again about 1995
, with the existence of Windows 95
, DirectX
, C++
and other advanced technology. He became the Director of Software Development for Gravity, Inc. in San Francisco, California
. He then pursued putting together a development team with Victor Mercieca, but is unknown what became of that venture.
Gorlin currently resides in Philadelphia, where his interests include real estate. He also teaches and performs West African music with the Alokli community.
Gorlin was brought on as a consultant for Choplifter HD in 2011. He is also apparently exploring the idea of developing games for the Android platform.
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"...
, designer and founder of Dan Gorlin Productions. He is best known for his 1982
1982 in video gaming
-Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console....
Apple II game Choplifter
Choplifter
Choplifter is a 1982 Apple II game developed by Dan Gorlin and published by Brøderbund. It was ported to other home computers and, in 1985, Sega released a coin-operated arcade game remake, which in turn received several home ports of its own...
.
Career
Gorlin accidentally got into game developmentGame development
Game development is the software development process by which a video game is developed. Development is undertaken by a game developer, which may range from a single person to a large business. Mainstream games are normally funded by a publisher and take several years to develop. Indie games can...
. While living in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
working for the Rand Corporation researching artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, he borrowed an Apple II from his grandfather. While trying to sell his house and sitting at home for six months, he started writing his seminal game Choplifter out of his affinity for helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s, and due to sheer boredom. A local kid doing odd jobs for Gorlin suggested he should add men to pick up, like in Defender
Defender (game)
Defender is an arcade video game developed released by Williams Electronics in 1980. A shooting game featuring two-dimensional graphics, the game is set on a fictional planet where the player must defeat waves of invading aliens while protecting astronauts...
. Gorlin completed the game in six months.
Gorlin's next game, Airheart
Airheart
Airheart is a 1986 video game for the Apple II. It was designed and programmed by Dan Gorlin and published by Brøderbund. It requires an Apple IIe enhanced game to run, as it uses double hi-res graphics.-Development:...
, also for the Apple II, took three years to complete. The following game, Typhoon Thompson
Typhoon Thompson
Typhoon Thompson in Search for the Sea Child is a 1988 computer game created by Dan Gorlin. It was published by Brøderbund for the Atari ST and later for Amiga .-History:...
, took about two years, but Gorlin admits that the development of these games overlapped somewhat. The development for these games took so long because Gorlin started other games in between—a black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
game and a seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
game—which proved too ambitious and which he ended up abandoning. During this time, however, he built a lot of tools
Game development tool
A game development tool is a specialized software application that assists or facilitates the making of a computer or video game. Some tasks handled by tools include the conversion of assets into formats required by the game, level editing and script compilation.Almost all game development tools...
whose descendants he still uses today.
During this time, Gorlin was an independent developer with an informal relationship with Brøderbund
Brøderbund
Brøderbund Software, Inc. was an American maker of computer games, educational software and The Print Shop productivity tools. It was best known as the original creator and publisher of the popular Carmen Sandiego games. The company was founded in Eugene, Oregon, but moved to San Rafael,...
, who published
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
his first game. Being his own boss, Gorlin never felt pressure to finish anything, so a lot of concepts he abandoned, though he thought they would make good games. He just got bored with developing them and said that if he had the modern equivalent of a game producer
Game producer
A video game producer is the person in charge of overseeing development of a video game.The earliest documented use of the term producer in games was by Trip Hawkins, who established the position when he founded Electronic Arts in 1982...
pressuring him, he might have actually finished them. But he concedes that with a corporate structure, he probably never would have had the freedom to develop his fledgling "experiments" in the first place.
Airheart was the realization of Gorlin's dream of making a 3D game
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
, what Choplifter was originally intended to be. Typhoon Thompson was an even further pursuit of this goal, but his full dream was too ambitious for production milestones and current technology.
Once the Apple II became outdated, Gorlin says he couldn't figure out what its successor was going to be. He says that he was hoping the Macintosh or Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
would emerge as the new dominant system, but was disappointed that neither did. He investigated DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
, but was disgusted with the horrible hardware limitations. He says he decided to "wait it out" and went back to teaching African music and culture, which he had been doing since 1972.
Gorlin became interested in game development
Game development
Game development is the software development process by which a video game is developed. Development is undertaken by a game developer, which may range from a single person to a large business. Mainstream games are normally funded by a publisher and take several years to develop. Indie games can...
again about 1995
1995 in video gaming
-Events:*May 11 – Introduction of trade magazine GameWeek *May 11-16 — The 1st annual Electronic Entertainment Expo is held in Los Angeles, California...
, with the existence of Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
, DirectX
DirectX
Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with Direct, such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay,...
, C++
C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
and other advanced technology. He became the Director of Software Development for Gravity, Inc. in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. He then pursued putting together a development team with Victor Mercieca, but is unknown what became of that venture.
Gorlin currently resides in Philadelphia, where his interests include real estate. He also teaches and performs West African music with the Alokli community.
Gorlin was brought on as a consultant for Choplifter HD in 2011. He is also apparently exploring the idea of developing games for the Android platform.