Gerald “Jerry” Lawson: Google pays tribute to him with an interactive doodle

Google pays tribute with an incredible interactive doodle to Gerald “Jerry” Lawson, one of the fathers of modern video games, on his 82nd birthday.

Jerry Lawson led the team that developed the first home video game system with interchangeable game cartridges. For this reason, in today’s doodle, you will not only be able to learn about part of his biography in a video game, but also play others and even create them.

He was born in Brooklyn, New York on this day in 1940. He attended Queens College and City College of New York before leaving early to begin his career in Palo Alto, California. At the time, the city and the surrounding region were known as “Silicon Valley” due to the explosion of new and innovative technology companies that were setting up shop in the area.

Upon arriving in California, Lawson joined Fairchild Semiconductor as an engineering consultant. A few years later, he was promoted to Director of Engineering and Marketing for Fairchild’s video game department, where he led the development of the Fairchild Channel F system, the first home video game system console to feature interchangeable game cartridges, a digital joystick 8-way and a pause menu. Channel F paved the way for future gaming systems like Atari, SNES, Dreamcast, and more.

In 1980, Lawson left Fairchild to start his own company, VideoSoft, one of the first African-American-owned video game development companies. The company created software for the Atari 2600, which popularized the cartridge developed by Lawson and his team. Although they closed five years later, Lawson cemented himself as a pioneer in the industry and continued to consult multiple engineering and video game companies for the remainder of his career.

In 2011, the International Game Developers Association recognized Lawson as an industry pioneer for his contributions to gaming. The University of Southern California also created the Gerald A. Lawson Fund to support students pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees in game design or computer science.

His achievements are commemorated at the World Video Game Hall of Fame in Rochester, New York.

Source: Elcomercio

Callum

I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have a vast amount of experience in writing and reporting. I have also worked as an author for a number of years, writing about technology and other topics.

I am a highly skilled and experienced journalist, with a keen eye for detail. I am also an excellent communicator, with superb writing skills. I am passionate about technology and its impact on our world. I am also very interested in current affairs and the latest news stories.

I am a hardworking and dedicated professional, who always strives to produce the best possible work. I am also a team player, who is always willing to help out others.