Video Game Pioneer, Psychotherapist, and Author - Howard Scott Warshaw

Video Game Pioneer, Psychotherapist, and Author

Once Upon Atari: How I made history by killing an industry
By Howard Scott Warshaw (December 14, 2020)

How much fun can you have inventing video games in a creative paradise? What behind-the-scenes intrigue went on while launching a new medium? What really caused the video game crash of 1983?

ONCE UPON ATARI [By Scott West Productions ISBN: 0986218669 Paperback $14.99 eBook: $9.99] is an intimate view into the dramatic rise and fall of the early video game industry, and how it shaped the life of one of its key players. This book offers eye-opening details and insights, delivered in a creative style that mirrors the industry it reveals. This is an innovative work from one of the industry's original innovators. This is a detailed look behind the scenes of the early days of video games, with particular attention to the causative factors leading up to the video game crash of the early 1980s. It is also the journey of one industry pioneer, and how his experience creating some of the world's most noted pieces of interactive entertainment reverberates throughout his life. It is a compelling tale of innocence, joy, greed, devastation and ultimately redemption told in a fresh voice and unorthodox style.

We'll talk about:

The future of video games and what's next for Atari as the 50th Anniversary approaches
Video game culture and how it has evolved over time
The intrigue of video game studios and the games that are created within the walls of one of the first
The constant bouts of scorekeeping by the programmers trying to outdo one another
The 1980's economic crash in the video game industry
Insights into corporate dynamics/politics within Atari that are relevant today
Insight for non-nerds: Technology simplified and techies/geeks demystified
Your audience reinventing themselves personally and professionally