David Crane

Video Game designer, programmer, and game industry pioneer. Creator of Pitfall!™ by Activision. Designer and programmer of nearly 100 console and casual games.

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

Only one more day for the Holiday Bonus Offer at Audacity Games (https://t.co/kG8ee2Uo1t), featuring brand new games for your Atari 2600 and new Collectible Cards.

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

@Robertbail80153 Sorry but no plans to be in the UK.

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

I found it to be like riding a bike (another thing I haven't done in 40 years)😉 In my career I have published around 100 games on two dozen different systems and platforms in two dozen different programming languages. Returning to the Atari 2600 and 6502 was a fond homecoming.

[Fernando Romo @fromobal]

@PitfallCreator Hi David, How difficult was for you come back (after some years) and coding again in assembly on Atari 2600?, or you never lost the touch?

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

@Seven_of_7 Congrats on your score. Sadly, since I left Activision in 1987 I can't send you a patch. But some old-school buddies and I recently created Audacity Games, making brand new games for the Atari 2600. AND EVERY GAME HAS A PATCH YOU CAN EARN. https://t.co/IlJD9ZOCLv

[Seven of 7 (Atari Jesus) @Seven_of_7_]

Back in the day, @Activision used to send special Patches if you achieved certain goals in most of their @atari 2600 games. I was attempting the "patch score" on the game Freeway (by @PitfallCreator). 20 points on game 3 or 7. I got a little too excited.

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

No matter how widely I spread the news, it amazes me when retro game fans tell me they had no idea we were making brand new games for the Atari. If you no longer have your Atari 2600, check out the Collector Editions that include a second digital copy to play on any emulator.

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

I had as much fun making games like Pitfall!™ as you had playing them - especially on the Atari 2600. Which is why I am doing it again. If you haven't already done so, check out Audacity Games https://t.co/IlJD9ZOCLv.

[A RETRO GAMES Look @RGamesLook]

@PitfallCreator You are welcome David, thanks and thank you more for creating Pitfall!

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

Very nice work. Thanks for sharing.

[A RETRO GAMES Look @RGamesLook]

@PitfallCreator hi David, this is for you! https://t.co/OhzR16CemF

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

@mpawlo, Yes, I am here on X. And @GenXGrownUp, Who are you calling ‘old’? 😏 That said, thanks for the kind words you have for our work. The fact that people enjoy playing our games keeps us going.

[GenXGrownUp @GenXGrownUp]

Those old Activision guys have still GOT IT! 😁🕹️
▶️ WATCH: https://t.co/kudplcNaCP ◀️

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

I will be at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo this weekend, Sept. 27-29, along with game industry OGs Garry and Dan Kitchen. (https://t.co/7zlEbHSh8L) Bring your classic games by to be autographed!

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

Coming to mailboxes all over the world!

[Garry Kitchen @kitchengarry]

Audacity Games’ latest Atari 2600 cartridge has shipped – Alien Abduction!

Coming to a mailbox near you.

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

Sales of Alien Abduction went live today at Noon Pacific. Low serial numbers are selling out fast. https://t.co/IlJD9ZOCLv

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

Big news! Log in to https://t.co/M4eefRpHma at Noon Pacific on June 15th!

[Garry Kitchen @kitchengarry]

Audacity Games™ is excited to announce the upcoming release of our newest Atari 2600 game cartridge. John Van Ryzin (H.E.R.O.™) revisits the rescue genre with Alien Abduction!, available for sale on June 15th at 12:00 PDT at https://t.co/eUP9DZaX0C.

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

Circus Convoy is sold as a cartridge intended to run on the original Atari 2600 consoles, complete in box with manual and extras. To run the Standard Edition you will need a 2600 console. There is a Collector Edition that includes an extra digital copy to run on an emulator.

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

I have always enjoyed this story, regretting only that I wasn’t there to see the guy’s face 🤯. When Garry and I made a brand new game for the Atari 2600 (Circus Convoy) I wrote a title theme using marked keys on an old Casio keyboard. I am no composer, but it came out OK.

[Garry Kitchen @kitchengarry]

A short story about the Atari 2600 Pressure Cooker music for your reading enjoyment - https://t.co/2JxkuMbVWE

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

Unlike Pitfall II, Circus Convoy DOES NOT use special circuitry in the cartridge. We challenged ourselves to make a great game using only 1980s technology. Almost 40 years after Pitfall II you can own a CIB Crane / Kitchen game, available from https://t.co/M4eefRpHma.

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

For me on the 2600 it is Pressure Cooker by @kitchengarry hands down!

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

Making games in that era we innovated every day, adding features that now seem trivial. But every new idea was a tug of war over resources. An added enemy might cost 10 game screens. Pitfall would not have been the game it was if I added music. I like the way it turned out.

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

I certainly considered it, but it would have meant making a lesser game. The beloved Atari VCS was a favorite system but severely limited in ROM, RAM, and CPU cycles. All graphics, game play code, animations, SFX, and the definition for 255 screens had to fit into 4096 bytes.

[Paul Marzagalli @phimseto]

@TimOfLegend @MikeJMika I've always meant to ask @PitfallCreator if he'd ever considered adding in a score for Pitfall. The music for the second one is so ingrained in my head that it's somehow always a surprise when I put on the original and there's no music beyond the Tarzan swing and doom snippets.

[David Crane @PitfallCreator]

For the music I started with the theme song composed for the cartoon series and arranged a repeating base line plus both major and minor key stingers. I am proud to say that Pitfall II was one of the first games to convey emotion through music.