Robert Woodhead on co-creating Wizardry and being part of computer gaming industry of the 80s (PCGI)
40This interview was taken as part of my research for PC Gaming Chronicles - my new documentary series about the early days of computer gaming. First episode is available now, be sure to check it out!
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00:00 0. Intro - why you should watch this interview
01:30 1. PLATO - a forgotten chapter of computer gaming history
07:25 2. Robert's first steps in game development
11:35 3. TRS-80, and its infamous "Trash-80" nickname
13:48 4. Using cassettes as data storage for early home computers
17:03 5. Why Wizardry was written on Pascal instead of BASIC programming language
21:02 6. The reason why Apple II was the first computer to have Wizardry
25:12 7. Royalties from Wizardry, and how Robert almost made the first-ever MMO, but ended up starting AnimEigo instead
28:11 8. Computer software piracy in the 80s, and the amazing disk controller of Apple II
33:34 9. Communication between game developers of that era, and Robert's reflection on Wizardry's influence on JRPG genre
40:24 10. Why Wizardry 2 and 3 required character import from an original game in order to play them
42:43 11. Pioneering windowed graphical interface in Wizardry
46:32 12. Working on other projects in Sir-Tech
48:16 13. What went wrong with Wizardry 4 - perhaps, the first ever computer game that went through development hell
51:14 14. The adventures of Robert in Japan
55:09 15. Gaming on Japanese home computers of the 80s
58:11 16. Have Robert ever thought back then about localizing Japanese computer games in English
01:00:24 17. Eve Online, and other Robert's gaming interests and recommendations
01:03:55 18. Robert's current projects - AnimEigo and mentoring at First Robotics
01:05:55 19. Is there a chance that Robert will return to gamedev industry?
01:07:50 20. Outro + excellent motivational speech from Robert
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