Allan Alcorn was born on January 1, 1948. He is an American computer scientist and video game designer. He is best known for creating Pong, which was one of the first video games. In 2009, he was named by IGN as one of the top 100 video game creators of all time.
Atari andPong
Alcorn was born in San Francisco, California, and studied at the University of California, Berkeley. He earned a degree in electrical engineering and computer sciences in 1971.
He worked for Ampex, an early video company, where he met Ted Dabney and others who later worked at Atari, Inc., Apple, Cyan Engineering, and Pizza Time Theater (now called Chuck E. Cheese's).
Alcorn designed the video arcade game Pong, which he created under the guidance of Nolan Bushnell and Dabney. Pong became very popular in the 1970s.
In addition to helping develop key Atari products, such as the Atari 2600, Alcorn was present during important meetings where Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs (who was an Atari employee at the time) showed an early version of the Apple I computer.
Alcorn hired Steve Jobs when he applied for a job at Atari in 1974. Jobs saw an advertisement in the San Jose Mercury newspaper that said, "Have fun, make money." He arrived at Atari's office wearing sandals and with messy hair, and told the personnel director he would not leave until he was hired.
Alcorn, who was the chief engineer at Atari, was asked, "We have a young man in the lobby who says he won’t leave unless we hire him. Should we call the police or let him in?" Alcorn replied, "Let him in." Jobs was hired despite his unusual appearance. Alcorn later said, "He walked in and looked like a young person who didn’t follow typical rules. He wanted a job, and I asked where he went to school. He said 'Reed,' which is not an engineering school. But he showed great interest in technology and had a strong energy. He was young, so I hired him."
Nolan Bushnell, a co-founder of Atari, described Jobs as "brilliant, curious, and aggressive." However, Jobs was also difficult to work with, often making fun of others and creating conflicts. He had a strong body odor because he followed a fruitarian diet and believed (but was wrong) that it prevented body odor. He did not shower or use deodorant regularly. Alcorn solved the problem by having Jobs work only during nighttime hours.
Alcorn's work onCosmosleaving Atari
When Ray Kassar became president of Atari, the company focused more on selling products than creating new technologies. Previous leaders had taken risks and started new projects. Kassar, however, preferred to improve existing ideas rather than develop new ones. Alcorn wanted to design the next version of home video-game hardware, but Kassar refused to consider alternatives to the Atari VCS.
In late 1978, Alcorn gathered engineers to create a new game console called Cosmos. Unlike the VCS, Cosmos did not connect to a television. It used an LED screen instead. Both systems played games stored on cartridges, but Cosmos’s cartridges were smaller and used thin plastic sheets instead of electronics. These cartridges were inexpensive to make, allowing them to be sold for as little as $10.
Alcorn’s team included two new engineers: Harry Jenkins, who had recently graduated from Stanford University, and Roger Hector, a designer with experience in the coin-operated game division. Both worked directly under Alcorn on the project.
Inspired by the Odyssey console, Cosmos used overlays to enhance the visual appearance of its games. These overlays were among the most advanced technologies developed by Atari engineers.
Atari made a deal with a bank to access patents from Holosonics, a company that owned many hologram patents. Holograms use lasers to create 3D images. Alcorn brought in specialists, Steve McGrew and Ken Haynes, to develop a way to mass-produce holograms for use in games. McGrew created a method to produce holograms on mylar, a type of plastic. Later, Haynes adapted the technology for other uses, such as adding 3D images to credit cards. Alcorn used this mylar technology to create 3D holographic overlays for Cosmos. One early game for the system was a space battle similar to Spacewar, where two small ships fought in empty space. The holographic overlay added detailed 3D asteroids to the background, though the game itself did not interact with the visual effects.
Before starting the project, Alcorn asked Kassar for permission to create a new stand-alone game system. Kassar did not object but showed no interest. By mid-1980, Alcorn and his team had built a working prototype. When they showed it to the marketing department, they were told the department only wanted to sell the VCS.
Alcorn, Jenkins, and Hector had invested significant time in Cosmos and refused to abandon it. Other engineers advised them to stop the project, but Alcorn decided to market the console himself. He requested space to display Cosmos at Atari’s booth during the 1980 Winter Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Surprisingly, the marketing department agreed.
At the time, Mattel and Bally had released newer, more powerful consoles, but the VCS remained popular due to its large number of games and widespread use. Many buyers from toy stores and department stores visited the Atari booth. Some stopped by the Cosmos display, where Alcorn, Hector, and Jenkins demonstrated the console. The holographic overlays attracted attention.
A few months later, Alcorn, Hector, and Jenkins displayed Cosmos again at the Toy Fair in New York City. Alcorn set up private meeting rooms to avoid repeating past mistakes. Among the visitors was Al Nilsen, a new toy buyer for J. C. Penney.
Although interest in Cosmos was much lower than the VCS, some buyers placed orders for the system. Alcorn returned to California with orders for 250,000 units. When he asked Kassar to begin manufacturing, Kassar refused. Despite the orders, Kassar did not want to produce a system that would compete with the VCS. Cosmos was never made.
Alcorn and Hector claimed Kassar stopped the project because it would compete with the VCS. Others who tried the console questioned the value of its games. Kassar’s decision to abandon Cosmos angered Alcorn, who left the company. He hoped to receive the same retirement benefits as former leaders like Bushnell, Williams, and Keenan. According to Alcorn, being "put on the beach" meant receiving an expense account, a monthly payment, and a company car.
However, Warner Communications, Atari’s parent company, said Alcorn was not entitled to the same retirement package. Legal experts argued Alcorn had negotiated a different severance agreement. The case went to court, and Warner agreed to settle. Alcorn, Atari’s first full-time engineer, retired and moved "to the beach." At the time, Atari controlled 75% of the home video-game market, and VCS sales were close to $2 billion annually. The bonuses Bushnell and Keenan received were a major part of their income.
After Atari
In 1976, Atari was sold to Warner Communications. At that time, Alcorn was paid not to work. Alcorn left Atari in 1981 and worked with many new companies in Silicon Valley, especially those involved in starting Catalyst Technologies, one of the first companies that helped new technology businesses grow. Nolan Bushnell and other former Atari leaders helped create Catalyst Technologies.
Alcorn worked directly with several of these new companies, including Cumma, which made a video game cartridge and kiosk system that could be reprogrammed. This system was similar to the Neo Geo system. He also advised Etak, one of the first in-car navigation systems.
Later, Alcorn became an Apple Fellow and worked with many startups during the technology boom.
In 1993, Alcorn helped start Silicon Gaming, a company that used video game and computer technology to create products like slot machines. In 1998, he co-founded Zowie Entertainment, which was started from Interval Research. At Zowie, he created a toy set that let a computer respond to how a child played. In 2000, Zowie Entertainment was bought by Lego.
During the 1990s and early 2000s, some media wrongly called Alcorn a "co-founder" of Atari. Ted Dabney, who was one of Atari's co-founders, said Alcorn was very important to Atari's early development and was one of its first employees, but he was not a co-founder.
In the 2013 movie Jobs, which is about someone's life, Alcorn was played by David Denman.