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Carol Shaw: Atari Superstar
The first woman game developer
By Allison Murray Allison Murray Tech News Reporter Southern Illinois University Allison reports on all things tech. She's a news junky that keeps her eye on the latest trends. Allison is a writer working out of Chicago, IL, with her only coworker: her cat Norbert. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on February 3, 2021 04:54PM EST Fact checked by Rich Scherr Fact checked by Rich Scherr University of Maryland Baltimore County Rich Scherr is a seasoned technology and financial journalist who spent nearly two decades as the editor of Potomac and Bay Area Tech Wire. lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Gaming Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming Key Takeaways
Carol Shaw is best known as the first female game designer.Shaw’s groundbreaking game, River Raid, helped smooth the way for women game developers that followed her.Women in the gaming industry are doing big things to make gaming inclusive for everyone. While women make up 46% of all gamers, there’s still an overall lack of women in the gaming industry. But back when women like Carol Shaw started, there were even fewer women making games. Experts recognize Shaw, creator of side-scrolling arcade title River Raid, for her influence on the gaming industry during a time when men dominated the business (even more so than now). "I think she really helped paved the way for [the] female game designers that came later," Julia Novakovic, archivist at The Strong National Museum of Play, told Lifewire in a phone interview. "She proved that women were not only exceptional programmers, but that they also deserved recognition for their work." Level One
Before she entered the gaming industry, Shaw played arcade games growing up in Palo Alto, California. Her interest in games and experience working with computers got her her first job out of college at Atari, the company now known for arcade games and vintage home video game consoles. According to The Strong Museum, Shaw worked at Atari for two years and was the only woman in her division. There, she created games like Video Checkers and 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe (which took her six months to create). Robee Shepherd / Getty Images Shaw’s co-worker, Mike Albaugh, who worked in Atari's coin-op division, told Lifewire in a phone interview that Shaw was one of the women making waves at Atari in the late ‘70s. "There were many interesting women who worked at Atari at the time, including Carol Shaw," he told Lifewire. "Carol was amazing at what she did." Novakovic said the Strong Museum has some of Shaw’s work in its archives, and that it gives a peek inside Shaw’s mind and how she did her work at Atari. "It’s really cool because you get to see how she drew graphics on graph paper and then later hand-coded it," Novakovic said. "She also hand wrote her code on paper and then later typed it in." Level Two
After her time at Atari, Shaw did a quick stint at Tandem Computers before her former Atari co-workers recruited her for their new company, Activision (Pitfall!, Zork). That’s where she would develop River Raid, which Novakovic said sold 1 million copies upon its release in 1982. The game is a simple shooter game where players have to fly a jet over the "River of No Return" in enemy territory. Shaw made the game so that when you move left and right, you also accelerate to move through tighter spaces. It’s really cool because you get to see how she drew graphics on graph paper and then later hand-coded it. One of the game's standout features, according to Novakovic, was that the background landscape would speed up or slow down along with the players' acceleration, a groundbreaking design at the time. And, of course, perhaps one of the most significant achievements of River Raid was that Shaw's name appeared on the game box, making her the first woman to achieve that level of recognition. "It’s really great to see some of the game boxes we have at the museum say, 'Carol Shaw’s River Raid,'" Novakovic said. Level Three
Shaw officially was recognized as a trailblazer in the gaming industry in 2017 when she received the Industry Icon Award at the Game Awards, solidifying her impact in the gaming world. Also in 2017, Shaw donated a ton of her Atari work to The Strong Museum for its archives. Novakovic told Lifewire that Shaw’s collection includes source-code printouts, game-design documents, notes, sketches, memos, reference materials, and more that Shaw, herself, used during her time at Atari. gremlin / Getty Images Nowadays, there are more than just one woman making a name for themselves in the gaming industry—take Brianna Wu or Jay-Ann Lopez, for example. But, statistics still show women are outnumbered in the industry. According to a 2017 report by the International Game Developers Association, people who identify as women only make up about 21% of the gaming industry. Within the top 14 gaming companies, there is only one woman CEO: Ann Sarnoff of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc, according to Forbes’ 2020 Global Gaming Gender Balance Scorecard. The report also shows that out of 144 executives in these companies, 121 are men, and only 23 are women (about 16%). I think she really helped paved the way for [the] female game designers that came later. It’s clear there’s still a long way to go for women in the gaming industry, but Novakovic said learning about women like Shaw shines a light on the important names of women in gaming. "The fact that people are really interested in [Shaw] and her story is great," Novakovic said. "We want to continue to let people know about the history of women and what they did in video games." Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire The Most Important Women in the History of Video Games No Degree? No Problem. Non-Traditional Paths Lead to Great Tech Careers Best Shows on HBO Max Right Now (September 2022) The Biggest CES Flops of All Time Mobile Game Programming and Development How-to Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper: The Mother of Cobol The 10 Best Products from CES 1967 - Present A History of the Atari 2600: The Beginning of the End Pong: The First Video Game Megahit The History of Nintendo Video Games The History of ColecoVision Game System The History of Classic Video Games Fusajiro Yamauchi, Founder of Nintendo History of PlayStation 1, From Release Date Until 2006 The 11 Weirdest Atari 2600 Games Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Easter Eggs Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies