Johnathon Harris

Developer BIO

John Harris is best known for Frogger, the famous Atari game. He also achieved many firsts in the gaming industry using the Atari platform including:

• He created first copy-protection system for the Atari not duplicable with standard equipment.
• He was the first to include continuous music score during gameplay, and included 10 different themes.
• He was the first to multiplex hardware sprites by using interrupts.
• He significantly surpassed the number of simultaneous on-screen colors with over 50 true, non-dithered colors.
• He created advanced AI with pathing, prediction, LOS, and communication between enemies in 1983.

He created a 3D system for the Atari Jaguar that kept scalable 2D objects that didn't need to be re-rendered, amounting to a ten-fold increase in rendering speed. He created PDA games with multiple detailed worlds, animated characters, and digital sound in less than 100K. He also developed advanced techniques in Assembly language for enhancing the limited capabilities of the Game Boy Color platform, with its 2MHz Z80 CPU. Some of these techniques were:

• He created his own multi-threaded kernel. Anything that can be called as a function can also be spawned as a separate process with all arguments intact.
• He implemented the equivalent of object-oriented virtual functions.
• He created the most advanced interrupt color generation, capable of moving sprite objects with interrupt colors through a background which also has interrupt colors, with minimal CPU time requirements. Overall, hundreds or even thousands of colors are possible on screen, without crippling the CPU time available for other tasks.

John is an expert in Assembly, C, and C++ programming as well as in advanced techniques of computer artificial intelligence and user interface design.

Game development experience

• Gobbler (Amiga DE)
• Solitaire (Palm OS, Amiga DE)
• Video Poker Palm OS
• The Incredible Machine (Game Boy Color)
• Hoyle Casino (Game Boy Color)
• Professional Bull Rider (Demo, Game Boy Color)
• Smash TV, part of the Arcade Party Pak (PSX)
• Quest for Glory V: Artificial Intelligence and Systems (PC, Macintosh)
• Manage This! (IBM Corporate Training)
• Frankenstein PSX
• MechWarrior 2 (Demo, PSX)
• Treasure MathStorm!: Win 95 upgrade and Macintosh conversion
• Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing (Macintosh conversion)

Sole Designer and Programmer

• Games: Frogger, JawBreaker, Mousekattack, JawBreaker (VCS), Maneuvering, and Bankster


• Educational: Briar Rose and Hansel and Gretal


• Information Display: Info/Gen, Info/Soft 3000 - 5000 - 7000, FIDS (Flight Information Display System), Pro/Guide, and Channel Plus.

Employment

• Pulsar Interactive Corp.
• Tachyon Studios, Inc.
• Atari
• Synapse
• Sierra On-Line

Also Known As

• John Harris

Websites

• Halycon Days -- Interview with John Harris.

Games Credited

Wipeout Fusion (2002), SCEE
BattleSphere (2000), 4Play/ScatoLogic
Shogun: Total War (2000), Electronic Arts, Inc.
Arcade Party Pak (1999), Midway Games, Inc.
Heavy Gear II (1999), Activision, Inc.
Interstate '82 (1999), Activision Deutschland GmbH
Tellurian Defense (1999), Psygnosis Limited
Battlezone (1998), Activision, Inc.
Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire (1998), Sierra On-Line, Inc.
Wipeout 64 (1998), Midway
Dark Reign: The Future of War (1997), Activision, Inc.
Heavy Gear (1997), Activision, Inc.
Interstate '76 (1997), Activision, Inc.
SCARAB (1997), Electronic Arts, Inc.
Shanghai: Dynasty (1997), Activision, Inc.
Blast Chamber (1996), Activision, Inc.
Santa Fe Mysteries: The Elk Moon Murder (1996), Activision, Inc.
Spycraft: The Great Game (1996), Activision, Inc.
Lemmings (1993), Psygnosis Limited
Microcosm (1993), Psygnosis Limited
Scorched Tanks (1993), Dark Unicorn Productions
Stunt Island (1992), Walt Disney Computer Software, Inc.
Awesome (1990), Psygnosis Limited
Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe (1990), LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC
Their Finest Hour: The Battle of Britain (1989), LucasArts
Conflict in Vietnam (1986), MicroProse Software, Inc.
Gunship (1986), MicroProse Software, Inc.
Rendezvous with Rama (1984), Trillium Corp.
Frogger (1983), Sierra On-Line, Inc.
Jawbreaker (1982), Tigervision