Jerry Lawson - the first video game Black ...

At a time when the industry with computer and video game was mostly filled with white men and Jerry Lawson, a pioneer. Established the device first video game based on the cartridge (Channel Fairchild F), and developed one of the first arcade games coin-op (Demolition Derby) and was president of the Video Soft, manufacturer-independent early Atari 2600, and the first African American in the to achieve video game industry, these successes.

Name: Jerry Lawson
Born: 1940
Sign in gaming history: The first black-engineer a video game designer, led the Console Fairchild Channel F video game, developed and manufactured arcade game Demolition Derby, president of game developer Video Soft.

Early years of life:

I grow a low-income family housing project in Jamaica, New York has never been a young Jerry Lawson. His mother was determined to ensure that his son went to great schools available and received the best education and is at the forefront of PTA. His father, a long tank top, and apatite gluttonous for science and technology, which was handed over to his son.

In young Jerry techhead already was incurable and witty, and get amateur radio license and use it to build their own amateur radio station in his room, as well as the manufacture and sale of walkie-talkie.

Technical processes Fairchild him:

After attending Queens College and the City College of New York, he began a career as an engineer Lawson, and work in the field of new technologies with companies such as Federal Electric, Grumman aircraft electronics and AAA. Finally, at Fairchild Semiconductor, he landed in 1970 in collaboration with the semiconductor processors and complete online.

During his years in early with Fairchild, Jerry began to become more with computer technology, his interest grew, he joined the Computer Club beer and a friend of the founder of Atari, Nolan Bushnell and Ted dbna and engineer behind Pong, Alan Alcorn.

Fairchild Channel F - from a video game TrailBlazer:

Did Ted Nolan and Jerry created room computer, the first coin-op arcade game available in stores, and then began to Jerry tinkering at home, designing and building his machine specifically for tracks which coin, demolition derby, with Fairchild processors.

When managers at Fairchild learned from its inception streets and responsible for the video game console of their project, which would be set to the Fairchild Channel F, the first unit of video game cartridge ROM.

TV prisoners:

In addition to being the project manager Fairchild Channel F and the design of many of the components of the model that worked for Lawson and his team also extend the capabilities of systems via game cartridge.

It is one of the most unique variables of F-channel technology Lawson and his TV Pow, played the first and only video game from the TV show.

As an option to the children cartoons between the local host must look at the players in the TV Pow, the space shooter appeared to run Channel F to participate with a wide selection of the target in the middle. As the enemy ships flying in front of the scope of the player shouts "prisoners" to shoot and hit their target.

After the Fairchild Channel F:

After leaving Fairchild, Lawson developers to create his video game, Video Soft with intentions, games and tools of high technology and the Atari 2600. Ended Video Soft to the creation of a cartridge, "color bar generator", which is designed to calibrate the color of the TV, make the wait for vertical and horizontal.

Today, Lawson enjoys a well-earned retirement and takes care of exhibitions and conferences, retro games as guest speaker.

In an industry that has seen little of minority professionals, while it is still too early, it can be quite Lawson first video game designer black, his producer and engineer in the industry. Since the beginning of his career so far, he amused when he met a lot of people who have heard of it but will meet him personally by the fact that he is black shocked. As in an interview in 2009 with Benj Edwards vintage computing and gaming site, said: "Well, I'm not going to tell everyone I'm black, and I do my job, you know?"