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Chris Oberth

{{Short description|Video game programmer (died 2012)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Chris Oberth

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| birth_date = 1953

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| death_date = July 16, 2012{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/chicagotribune/obituary.aspx?pid=158587481 |title=Christian H. Oberth Obituary: View Christian Oberth's Obituary by Chicago Tribune |publisher=Legacy.com |date=2012-07-16 |accessdate=2012-12-06}}

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| occupation = Video game programmer

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| notable_works = Anteater
Ardy the Aardvark
Rescue

}}

Christian H. "Chris" Oberth (died July 16, 2012) was a video game programmer who began writing games for the Apple II in the late 1970s. He developed handheld electronic games for Milton Bradley, arcade video games for Stern Electronics and other companies, and ported games to home computers and consoles.

Though not a hit in arcades, Oberth's 1982 Anteater, developed for Stern, was an influential concept that was cloned multiple times for home computers, including Oil's Well from Sierra On-Line and Diamond Mine. The following year, he created his own home version titled Ardy the Aardvark (Datamost, 1983). He also developed the twin-stick shooter Rescue (1982) and the maze game Armored Car (1981) for Stern.

Oberth's first commercial games, Phasor Zap (1978) and 3-D Docking Mission (1978) for the Apple II, were published by Programma International, a company that also published games from future arcade game designers Bob Flanagan and Gary Shannon, and rejected the first effort from Mark Turmell.{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=Keith|title=Programma International - Coin-Op Breeding Ground|url=http://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.com/2014_09_01_archive.html|website=The Golden Age Arcade Historian}} His next thirteen Apple II games, in addition to Phasor Zap and 3-D Docking Mission, were published by The Elektrik Keyboard, a musical instrument and computer store in Chicago where Oberth was head of the computer department.

Games

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Programma International {{cite web|url=http://www.dadgum.com/giantlist/ |title=The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers |last1=Hague|first1=James |date=2012-07-16 |accessdate=2012-12-06}}{{cite magazine |url=http://www.retrogamingtimes.com/rtm27/#Oberth_Interview |magazine=Retrogaming Times Monthly |issue=27 |publisher=My.stratos.net |accessdate=2012-12-06 |title=Interview with Programmer Christian Oberth (Part 3) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523083214/http://www.retrogamingtimes.com/rtm27/#Oberth_Interview |archive-date=2013-05-23 |url-status=dead }}

The Elektrik Keyboard 1978-79

Milton Bradley 1979-80

  • Light Fight
  • Finger Bowl
  • Sky-Writer
  • Alfie

Stern Electronics 1981-83

Datamost 1983

Microlab 1984

  • Boulder Dash (ColecoVision port) {{cite magazine |url=http://www.retrogamingtimes.com/rtm24/#Oberth_Interview |magazine=Retrogaming Times Monthly |issue=24 |publisher=My.stratos.net |title=Interview with Programmer Christian Oberth (Part 2) |accessdate=2012-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523110605/http://www.retrogamingtimes.com/rtm24/#Oberth_Interview |archive-date=2013-05-23 |url-status=dead }}
  • Dr. J and Larry Bird Go One on One (ColecoVision port)

Epyx 1985

Mindscape 1987-88, 1990

Gametek 1992

Incredible Technologies 1995-1997

Electronic Arts 2001

Unreleased

  • Crypt (Stern, 1983) {{cite web|title=Crypt|url=http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=crypt&page=detail&id=4803|website=Gaming History}}
  • Days of Thunder (unpublished version){{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/2020/6/1/21276759/video-game-preservation-days-of-thunder-chris-oberth-nes | title = Video game preservationists reconstruct decades-lost, never-released NES game | first= Nicole | last = Carpenter | date = June 1, 2020 |accessdate = June 1, 2020 | work = Polygon }}
  • Power-Up Baseball (Incredible Technologies, Midway, 1996) {{cite web|title=Baseball's Lost 'NBA Jam' Revealed|url=https://gamehistory.org/powerupbaseball/|website=Video Game History Foundation|date=29 January 2021 }}

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References

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Category:Video game programmers

Category:2012 deaths

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