Comments on: The Birth of Habitat (with Many Digressions on the Early History of Lucasfilm Games and All That)

By: Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey — Mon, 09 Aug 2004 22:56:00 +0000

Mighty good reading, the more so because I fondly recall visiting you at Lucasfilm in ‘84, and your kindness in showing me around.
What was cool about Xanadu and Atari and Lucasfilm (Games, Graphics, movies, whatever) and Habitat was not so much the things in front of our eyes, but the way we could, squinting, see the shape of future games and films and information networks in them. We had a thirst for tomorrow.
(That reminds me, I need to go down to the Post Office and pick up a bunch of Bucky Fuller stamps.)
Recently Rolf Wilson reminded me that twenty years ago, as we sat waiting for the SIGGRAPH demo films to begin, I told him “We are sitting in the coolest room on the planet right now!”

By: allan

allan — Thu, 05 Aug 2004 11:23:00 +0000

Thanks so much for that informative post.
I have read quite a few books on the rise and fall of atari and such companies in the heady 80’s however to see an insite into lucasart sure was a fun ride.
The game world may have been a different place had the amiga become the platform of choice.
Personally i had an amiga 500 and it was the last real computer i ever owned :) and incentally ever wanted to own.
Currently i use a mongrel pc to use the internet and an xbox for my gaming pleasure
From all the way here in Australia thanks again for your insite :)

By: Brian 'Psychochild' Green

Brian 'Psychochild' Green — Wed, 04 Aug 2004 10:43:00 +0000

Great post, Chip. It’s funny, because Andrew Kirmse was one of the original programmers on Meridian 59 (http://www.meridian59.com/), considered the first modern 3D graphical online RPG; it’s the game I currently own and run. :)
I always enjoy reading about history, though. Thanks for the informative story.
Have fun,