"They had the power to keep my name off the box, but I had the power to put my name on the screen." Man, you can feel the power of these words.
@patsk8872 Жыл бұрын
But he didn't have the power to get paid for his work. RIP
@andymanaus1077Ай бұрын
@@patsk8872 Warren Robinett isn't dead.
@p0gue23 Жыл бұрын
Bleeding edge tech in 1980. The idea you could explore a virtual world full of treasures and dragons on your TV was new and super exciting. The best was when you'd get eaten by a dragon but still kill it and then the bat would pick you up and fly you diagonally over all the walls.
@retro_escape29692 жыл бұрын
"They had the power to keep my name off the box..... but I had the power to put my name on the screen." That's effing right! Lets go baby!!!!
@andymanaus1077Ай бұрын
Hiding his name used up vital memory, something like 15% of it. Imagine what else he could have used that memory on in the game, if only Atari has simply said, "Sure Warren, we'll put your name on the box."
@Savitor2 жыл бұрын
Warren, you changed my life with Adventure, Seriously. I am 54 and still play Adventure to this day... and always will as long as I am able. Thank you sir.
@Fuzzy-Beans2 жыл бұрын
Wow
@AllOuttaBubblegum123 Жыл бұрын
Yep, same with me. I'm 50 this year, still gaming. Adventure started it all.
@everyone_knows_itsbutterst7808 Жыл бұрын
Fun game
@KoryMJohnson5 ай бұрын
58 😀
@chriscorsello2 жыл бұрын
The first video game easter egg!!! It was great added value, I remember as a kid after having moved on from Adventure after beating all the levels multiple times reading about this (maybe in Atari Age?) and going back to the game to get into the "signature room" myself. I even dusted off an Atari in the 90s when I was in college. I had made the claim that Adventure had the first easter egg to some friends and one of my friends wanted me to prove it. Actually did it again after all those years. Way to go Warren!!! Thanks for the surprise.
@thedillestweed2644 Жыл бұрын
The first video game "easter egg" was in a Fairchild Channel F game.
@maztr_0n81 Жыл бұрын
@thedillestweed2644 nope it was in a 1974 moon game where you could go to McDonald's, I'd still count this as the first mainstream easter egg
@bepyn4ik4 ай бұрын
@@maztr_0n81It was actually in 1973 which makes it more impressive!
@Jolt7800 Жыл бұрын
Great story. Well worth the 3 minutes to watch.
@timothyvandenberg2905 Жыл бұрын
I remember being about 7 years old and discovering that very secret all on my own. I dreamed countless dreams of what else lay hidden in that game. As a 6th grade school teacher, I often show this "Easter Egg" to my class on the Big Screen of our classroom projector, playing via one of those compendium Plug & Play Atari game systems. The kids even today STILL love Atari Adventure! Thank you, Warren!! You ARE amazing!!
@sandal_thong8631 Жыл бұрын
I read the manual (but was sad to lose it in a move) which stated the evil wizard stole the chalice. So I was always looking for a room with a wizard, like maybe from that opening in the white castle that's inaccessible unless you have the bridge. It's too bad he didn't create another inaccessible room that you can only see when you're dead in a dragon and the bat takes the dragon for a flight, but you could still get stuff from by pushing the magnet above the ceiling of another room.
@Hologhoul Жыл бұрын
Warren managed to create an experience with real atmosphere even on the humble VCS, great game!
@viperjay110 ай бұрын
Ha ha and now this story is on the Atari youtube channel. Thanks Warren for the game!
@LaurenGlenn10 ай бұрын
I love that Atari is showing it because as I recall, Activision was founded because of this thing too where they didn't get credit for their work.... these types of stories are absolutely amazing.
@sandal_thong86313 ай бұрын
Apparently they had real contempt for programmers who were making games for the Atari VCS, compared to those making arcade games. Someone at my previous job asked for a transfer and she said the boss said, 'I don't like you, but I don't want to lose you." I think that was part of Atari's attitude. Also, what my grandfather said was a corporate attitude: "If you were worth a damn, you wouldn't be working for me," which highlights their respect for independent contractors over employees.
@mgabrysSF2 жыл бұрын
He's been hinting at a book - still waiting.
@ioloavatar84302 жыл бұрын
Yup , I remember finding this when I was a kid. Family , friends and others thought I was lying kid or nuts . Until I showed them . Great times back in the 80's .
@MelancoliaI Жыл бұрын
Alright this is one video that needs more views, seriously. Legendary content here
@jonkaminsky8382 Жыл бұрын
I played this game as an eight-year old kid in 1982 on the ATARI and it was mesmerizing. I still remember it today after all these years. It was like crack in a box .. the more you played it, the more you wanted to play it!
@Wasabialt2 жыл бұрын
It's still fun to this day.
@ericpastoralАй бұрын
spent hours... days! weeks! playing this game. First thing you would do was kill the dragons and lock up the bat so you were free to explore unmolested. Loved it, and really enjoyed hearing the background of the creator. Very cool
@GamingTheSystems12 жыл бұрын
I loved the game back then, especially variation 3. Somehow my older brother found out about the secret, and showed me how to get the "microdot" as he called it. BTW, you know there is something in that room because things blink when you bring another item into it. This was much more than adding a signature to the game; it was adding an additional quest, so to speak.
@neuromancer9k2 жыл бұрын
I never get tired of hearing this story. Seeing this game for the first time 100 or so years back was mind-blowing. I can't fathom how creative one had to be to develop for the 2600, and I hope that this one finds a new life as part of the Recharged series. ⚔🐲🍻🕹
@AllOuttaBubblegum123 Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much Warren. Adventure was the first video game I played on my cousins 2600 many years ago. The impact and impression it had on me was so amazing. Me and my friends would make our own little adventures in the playground. Pretending to be characters from the game while one was the "adventurer" the others would be dragons or bats lol.
@ConsolasEight Жыл бұрын
I played this on my Atari 2600. I remember playing the increased difficulty ... which brought in the bat. The bat would randomly flap through the game and if it saw you it would steal what you were carrying and fly off with it. And if it happened to be carrying something already it would leave whatever it had behind. So the bat came in, saw me, took my sword, and left me a DRAGON. After a spirited chase through the catacombs, the Dragon ate me. The bat was like the first chaotic enemy in a game which caused panic. Always thought this game deserved an embellished remake in the spirit of the cover art.
@sandal_thong8631 Жыл бұрын
I remember being fascinated by the cover art. I didn't keep the first boxes, and was sad I lost the manual that had the cover picture too. I had a plastic cartridge holder with room for 8 and the skinny manuals, but somehow Adventure's manual and a couple others got separated.
@candjim2 жыл бұрын
This the game that sparked my interest in the adventure and action genre.
@zabagar5 ай бұрын
My favorite Atari game as a kid. Finding the dot was magical! I still have my original 2600 and all the cartridges. I can also replay via emulator.
@cyradus Жыл бұрын
Absolute Legend.
@garypranzo9334 Жыл бұрын
My friends Atari had a wonky power switch and if you fiddled with it that room would open. So while I knew about the room it was not until I started collecting in the late 90's that I found out you can open the room with the dot.
@ace9422 жыл бұрын
The first Easter egg in a video game. Thanks for the video.
@PatJones82 Жыл бұрын
Still my favorite game of ALL TIME! :)
@AllOuttaBubblegum123 Жыл бұрын
Watch out for that red dragon lol 🐉
@Daracdor7 күн бұрын
Thank you Warren Robinett for hours of fun in my first actual adventure game .
@leosusana86808 ай бұрын
Well done brotha
@jdboyce Жыл бұрын
Just read an article about this and I can’t believe how awful Atari was to the devs, major props to Warren for this legendary move!!!
@sandal_thong8631 Жыл бұрын
If Mattel had licensed Space Invaders, then Intellivision would have been the big seller in 1980 for that must-have game. Atari might not have become a hit, and tried a new system in 1981 (instead of 1982), or just became known for its home computers. Atari didn't deserve its great home-console programmers who gave it a new lease on life with bigger and better-looking games in 1981-2 (both in-house and as 3rd-parties) than those in their catalog for 1977-9.
@JimmyCall2 жыл бұрын
Great story.
@dad72752 жыл бұрын
Credit to him. Thank you.
@jeffrey23152 жыл бұрын
Love your content on You Tube (and your recent games!) Atari…..keep up the great work!
@RegalPixelKing Жыл бұрын
Great video! This my seem pretty minor in the grand scheme of things, but having video game's first ever easter egg is undeniably a neat legacy. I my have never experience this myself because I am much younger than the Atari, but that does not change how good this story is.
@Xiy11411 ай бұрын
Thats sooooo awesome!!!! I fidnt know that ATARI Sctewed their designers over so badly, that REALLY SUCKS BIG TIME!!!! Now easter eggs are common and ciol thanks to MR. WARREN ROBINETTE! Thank you SIR! YOURE THE BEST!
@Mr._Bassman973 ай бұрын
I played it a few months back. Still get chills when the dragon comes. Genius game sir.
@emb1902 жыл бұрын
I have the game and my light sixer still. They both work.
@AllOuttaBubblegum123 Жыл бұрын
I still have my wood effect 2600 original too
@ZataMachi Жыл бұрын
And boy did he do the right thing! 🎉
@gonzchi9 ай бұрын
First Easter egg. And one of the best games of all times, even today.
@sandal_thong86313 ай бұрын
I think someone said there were a couple previous ones on other systems. But this one was the first called an "Easter egg," and the first widely known.
@Phar2Rekliss Жыл бұрын
I wonder if Warren knew about the other game.designers who had already did this before him or was the same feeling he conceived was the same reason the other programmers put them in too.
@tenminutetokyo26432 жыл бұрын
And I bought a copy the day it came out.
@canalcompanhiadosjogos2 жыл бұрын
Esse game foi um marco! Garantiu horas de diversão!
@urltonАй бұрын
Respect to Atari for posting this
@Omegajunior26584 ай бұрын
I remember playing Adventure on Sony PS2 as Atari Anthology when I was a teenager. Now I have it on Microsoft Xbox One (also playable on Microsoft Xbox Series XS but I actually don't have an Xbox Series XS yet) as Atari 50: The Anniversary Collection so I got it for Christmas in 2022. It's a great game. It's really fun but the black bat can be a real nuisance. Sometimes it won't stop bugging me like attempting to steal my items such as keys and chalice. Also sometimes it drives me mad. Greetings from Ireland 🇮🇪.
@frankcortes6852 Жыл бұрын
It’s best to say that this game was made in 1979 and not 1980 since Warren already left Atari by 1980.
@sandal_thong8631 Жыл бұрын
Released in 1980.
@frankcortes6852 Жыл бұрын
@@sandal_thong8631 exactly! 👍
@jasonreardon84774 ай бұрын
Loved that game!
@Msjonsnow-ug2su21 күн бұрын
Atari should consider finally releasing the Atari cosmos in some form I'd buy multiple I love Atari
@hedraun9289 Жыл бұрын
This makes me very sad hearing this stuff went on at Atari. We truly missed out of some very good games because of his quitting because of poor treatment.
@sandal_thong8631 Жыл бұрын
Same with the programmer for Space Invaders. The story goes that people at Atari wasn't even looking at that arcade game except for the guy working on it (for fun?). Then someone at Warner told the head of Atari to license the game (though they hadn't done that before, they just ported their own arcades or stole them), they did, the programmer finished it, it was a huge success but the programmer went his separate way.
@ZlothZloth5 ай бұрын
That's actually very common. Who wrote Chrome? Who wrote Notepad? Who wrote Task Manager? (He's got a channel here on KZbin!) I've written lots of programs for multiple businesses. My name is in none of them.
@johnthefreeguy8 ай бұрын
Who's here from the movie "Ready Player One"?
@mimimicoregamertube2 жыл бұрын
It could have a premium subscription service, for example, the person who, in addition to paying the subscription, has a channel to play online by the hour or finish game, is having a coop mode once each, one versus the winner remains and goes on a round until losing. And at a lower price than others.
@sandal_thong8631 Жыл бұрын
He made a mistake and that's the gold/yellow key can start inside the gold/yellow castle making the game impossible to win 3.4% of the time (1/29). I read online it was room 18 and at the start of game 3 it could be in rooms 1-29. If it had been numbered 1 (or 29) then the randomizer would pick 2-29 (or 1-28). However, this does add some "charm" to the game, in that it usually takes awhile to realize the game is unwinnable and you need to hit the select switch to start a new game. There's also a 1.7% chance the keys will be mutually locked, which is OK, for the reason given above. Sadly, the black key is never in the white castle in game 3 because of how he did the number-layout in order to put the chalice in the black castle maze (rooms 19-22) or the white castle (rooms 23-26) by randomly picking 19-26. Then it picks rooms 1-18 for the black key to prevent it from being self-locked and 1-22 for the white key to avoid being self-locked. Had half the 19 rooms outside the castles been given numbers higher than the white castle then he could have picked rooms 1-15 for the white key (with room 1 being in gold and 11-15 being inside the black castle) and 16-29 for the black key (with no chance of being in gold castle and 16-19 being in the white castle). There'd still be a chance they'd be mutually locked. There's also a slight chance the bat with the bridge is inside the gold castle, while the gold key is in the white castle's room that's inaccessible without them. However it's 1/(29^3) or 1/24389 or 0.000041, so very improbable it will ever happen to you. And since there's a 3% chance the gold key is in the gold castle, how would you ever know?
@Phar2Rekliss Жыл бұрын
Amazing breakdown.
@unknownfilmmaker7774 ай бұрын
OK hear me out. First of all, there should be a screen where designers get credit. There's no reason not to do that and I love that he did this. Having said that, the brutal logic behind not putting different names on the boxes is because it would dilute the brand. You have the company name, then you have the title. The focus is the specific game, not who designed it. Adding more information confuses consumers. I am not saying this is good, just that it is what it is. In a way, this apparently bad situation, along with other dubious things happening, was a blessing because it caused designers to see their own value and go on to better things.
@sandal_thong86313 ай бұрын
No. It was twofold: they didn't want to give credit to programmers, and they didn't want other companies stealing them away from them. It was like my former boss's attitude to an employee: "I don't like you, but I don't want to lose you."
@dsimental62 жыл бұрын
I would do the same, have secrets nobody knows unless they unlock or find by accident.
@tonybarnes29202 жыл бұрын
Modern game publishers will sue you for that. They learn from the past and make quick changes to ensure THEY are secure.
@michaelricketson13652 жыл бұрын
@@tonybarnes2920 That’s why it’s best to make your own games. 🙂
@tonybarnes29202 жыл бұрын
@@michaelricketson1365 I'll keep that top-tip in mind. I mean, how the hell did I have a 40 year and counting career without such a thought popping into my head? 🤔
@michaelricketson13652 жыл бұрын
@@tonybarnes2920 Glad to be of service.
@district51982 жыл бұрын
Another of Atari’s firsts. Epic! Now please come out with a second generation Atari VCS….. Your fan base is waiting.
@carywise6291 Жыл бұрын
How do you feel about atari releasing new atari made exclusive games for a hypothetical Atari vcs 2 in the future? I feel as though it would be great and would give people more of a incentive to buy atari hardware also id be happy with just 4 or 5 new atari made exclusive games so im not asking for 20 or 30 exclusives or anything like that I'd just like to play new exclusive atari asteroids missile command centipede pong defender exclusives on atari again
@carywise6291 Жыл бұрын
I totally agree we need a atari vcs 2
@carywise6291 Жыл бұрын
it would be awesome if atari made new atari games exclusively for atari hardware and it would boost atari hardware sales and make big atari fans like me and others happy
@sandal_thong8631 Жыл бұрын
They did the Atari Lynx and Jaguar. But the latter had some problems. And since they had ruined their reputation with consumers, retailers and investors it was largely D.O.A.
@district5198 Жыл бұрын
@@sandal_thong8631 Not gonna argue that fair point. I own all that you mentioned. Personally I think it is absolutely necessary for Atari to collaborate with Nvidia on a second generation VCS to show some serious competition
@RaquelFosterАй бұрын
So cool. I’m impressed Atari reposted this. Every company was screwing developers. Most of them still are. But whatever. Nobody holds back more developers than the other developers they work with who don’t respect them. That’s why there are so few female senior developers. Even if you do something they thought was impossible, the only recognition you’ll get is, “Oh, I guess it wasn’t as complicated as we thought.” And senior devs are the only ones who even have any idea what devs actually do. I suppose a lot of technical fields have that weird thing going on where your VP doesn’t actually understand what you do! It makes things interesting. 😂
@dennistaylor9835 ай бұрын
I still play this often. Level 3 w diff switch making dragons run from sword. Must kill all. Get all objects in 1st castle. 100% w dead dragons n bat.
@Xiy11411 ай бұрын
Young er your still young!
@greg55666Күн бұрын
I'm really not comprehending what he was angry about. He had a job. They paid him for it. The hilarious thing about this story is he's bad he didn't get credit for doing a good job stealing someone else's game.
@sotrab2 жыл бұрын
who made this video?
@njdrummer7120 Жыл бұрын
Omg some of these comments make me laugh. Nerdville. Yes it was cool to find a name but life changing lol
@busterwise42742 жыл бұрын
On the next Atari system in the future the next Atari system in the future should have exclusive games.
@octa-pie Жыл бұрын
W warren robinett
@tonybarnes29202 жыл бұрын
Yeah, well nowadays they have the power to keep your name out of everything, no matter what you've done and where you hid it.
@sandal_thong8631 Жыл бұрын
They said they didn't want to reward the makers of Atari VCS games (they were lower than arcade programmers), but they didn't want their competitors to know who they were to lure them away so didn't give them credit. They lost a bunch to third-party companies anyway.
@JoeBlow-fp5ngАй бұрын
Mr. Eyebrows.
@randalgelking73292 жыл бұрын
His eyebrows look like the bat's wings now 😃
@andymanaus10775 ай бұрын
I feel sad about the programmers being treated so badly at Atari. They were magicians just being able to produce anything better than pong on the Atari which was notoriously difficult to program. I suspect the attitude towards them was exacerbated when Warner bought the company. Corporations generally only care about the bottom line. On the other hand, Warner's hubris resulted in the creation of Activision, one of the biggest video game makers of the 1980s. Without the executives' dismal treatment of the Atari programmers, we would never have gotten dozens of classic Atari titles such as Pitfall and River Raid.
@fahey6797Ай бұрын
They were getting paid to make games. They had the freedom to make what they wanted. They agreed to the terms of their employer when they accepted the job. I don't get the crime done against them.
@andymanaus1077Ай бұрын
@@fahey6797 There was no crime. I didn't say there was. Consider this: if you started at a company as a data entry clerk and then improved yourself with training, education and experience and were made supervisor and then manager of the department, would you be annoyed if you were still getting paid as a data entry clerk? That's basically what Atari was doing to them.
@busterwise4274 Жыл бұрын
Atari for the next system you make after the VCS please make some exclusive games for it I'd love it if you did.
@realkingofantarctica Жыл бұрын
Warrin Bawitz
@busterwise4274 Жыл бұрын
Atari I beg of you don't give up on making hardware I beg of you make a VCS 2
@busterwise4274 Жыл бұрын
I love you Atari do you have a VCS in the works?
@busterwise4274 Жыл бұрын
Atari are you working on a VCS 2?
@Smithy88888Ай бұрын
Those aquinobrows tho
@rpgcinema79169 ай бұрын
the funny part is activision became just as bad as atari
@Samantha-q9g Жыл бұрын
those brows are loud!
@deancoronado4898 Жыл бұрын
In the 3rd grade, a friend loaned me a guide which explained this secret dot for a hidden message (this was earth shattering in 1984.) I did it...and sat there in awe, looking at the screen with my cousin. We had been hammering on the 2600 for 4 years straight, and never before had we seen THIS. Because of that secret screen, and because my friend also lent me Pitfall II, I finally became a true gaming fan that day. Fast forward almost 15 years later and after some programming courses, I became a software tester (my first tech job) for The Learning Company in Fremont, CA. Which was: C b o y f . o . u . n . d . e . d . W . a . r . r R e o n b . i . n . e . t . t What a nerd!! 😂