1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:07,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey, Brainstuff, Lauren 2 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:12,120 Speaker 1: vogelbam here. If you're a gamer of a certain age, 3 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:15,040 Speaker 1: you've probably got fond memories of popping in a new 4 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:18,079 Speaker 1: cartridge and settling in for a rousing session of Super 5 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:21,639 Speaker 1: Mario or Sonic the Hedgehog, and you've got the late 6 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:26,639 Speaker 1: Gerald or Jerry Lawson to thank for that nostalgia. Jerry 7 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: Lawson was an engineer and game designer who helped develop 8 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 1: Fairchild Channel F, which was the first ever cartridge based 9 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:37,960 Speaker 1: video game console released for commercial sale, and in helping 10 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: create the Fairchild Channel F, Lawson helped lay the foundations 11 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 1: for the entire gaming industry as we know it. For 12 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:49,200 Speaker 1: the article this episode is based on How Stuff Works, 13 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: spoke via email with BENJ. Edwards, a journalist and the 14 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 1: editor in chief of Vintage Computing and Gaming. Edwards interviewed 15 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 1: Lawson back in two thousand and nine after stumbling across 16 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: the engineer's image in a nineteen eighty three computer magazine. 17 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 1: Edwards said Jerry was a big name in Silicon Valley 18 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 1: in the nineteen seventies because people came to him for 19 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:12,960 Speaker 1: semiconductor chips from Fairchild. It's neat to know there was 20 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: a black man in that position at the time, and 21 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: you know, his story must have been amazing to get 22 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:23,160 Speaker 1: him there, and he did have an amazing story. Lawson 23 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:26,319 Speaker 1: was born in Queens, New York, in December of nineteen forty. 24 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:29,200 Speaker 1: He grew up with a fierce mother who ensured that 25 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:32,520 Speaker 1: her son received the best schooling possible, and a longshoreman 26 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: father with an avid interest in science. It was under 27 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: these influences that Lawson was able to cultivate his natural 28 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:44,240 Speaker 1: interest in engineering, tinkering with various electronics and even creating 29 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:46,760 Speaker 1: his own amateur radio station at the age of thirteen. 30 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: He studied at Queen's College and City College of New York, 31 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: but Lawson's engineering skills were largely self taught. He made 32 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: his way to California's burgeoning Silicon Valley and eventually landed 33 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: in nineth teen seventy at Fairchild, a semiconductor company, where 34 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:05,559 Speaker 1: he worked as a field engineer. One of the few 35 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 1: black men in the industry at the time, Lawson also 36 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:12,240 Speaker 1: interacted through the home Brewing Computing Club with other people 37 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:15,760 Speaker 1: who would later become even more influential in the technology industry, 38 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:20,000 Speaker 1: such as Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, but it was 39 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: while working at Fairchild that he met engineer Alan or 40 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:27,080 Speaker 1: al Alcorn, the father of Pong, as Lawson called him 41 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 1: in a keynote speech at the Classic Gaming Expo in 42 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: two thousand and five. Alcorn designed and built the two 43 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:38,280 Speaker 1: dimensional tennis game Pong as employee number three for Atari Incorporated, 44 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:42,640 Speaker 1: a company that was a pioneer in arcade games. Released 45 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy two, as one of the first commercial 46 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 1: video games, Pong became a smash hit and catalyzed to industry. 47 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 1: Al Korn met with Lawson while scouting for electronic parts 48 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,840 Speaker 1: for Pong. A Houstuff Works spoke with Alcorn back in 49 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 1: twenty twenty. He explained, I had a question about a 50 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:03,639 Speaker 1: certain part that Fairchild made. They sent out a field 51 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 1: engineer to explain how their parts worked, and that was 52 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:09,600 Speaker 1: Jerry Lawson. Jerry helped me out and we became friends 53 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 1: at that point. In a sense, Lawson and Alcorn were 54 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,680 Speaker 1: both friends and competitors in the same space, or frenemies, 55 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:22,560 Speaker 1: as Alcorn pleasantly recalled with a laugh. Lawson told a 56 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:25,840 Speaker 1: story at that keynote event about how he remembered hearing 57 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:28,360 Speaker 1: about a coin operated pong game being placed in a 58 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:32,200 Speaker 1: beer hall or pizza parlor in Sunnyvale, California, which local 59 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 1: kids would shock with a wire, leading the game to 60 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: drop all its coins for the kids to steal. This 61 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:42,320 Speaker 1: helped inspire the engineering behind Lawson's own coin operated video game, 62 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 1: Demolition Derby, which possessed a coin defeat mode to prevent 63 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 1: local kids from stealing coins from the game. Although al 64 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: Korn didn't recall this specific story, he did remember Lawson 65 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: mysteriously retreating into his work before re emerging with the 66 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 1: fair Child Channel F home video game system. What happened 67 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: is this, Lawson's superiors at Fairchild got wind of his 68 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: side work on games, and they decided to secretly enlist 69 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:13,040 Speaker 1: his skills for their semiconductor company, which wanted to get 70 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 1: into the game industry. How Stuff Works also spoke with 71 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 1: one Jeremy Saucier via email in twenty twenty. He's the 72 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 1: assistant and vice president for Electronic Games and Interpretation at 73 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 1: the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester, New York. He 74 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 1: said in early nineteen seventy six, following Lawson's valuation and recommendation, 75 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 1: his employer Fairchild licensed prototype video game technology from Alpex 76 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: Computer Corporation and tasked Lawson, one of the few black 77 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:43,400 Speaker 1: engineers working in Silicon Valley at the time, with developing 78 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:48,080 Speaker 1: it into a commercial product. The company wanted Lawson and 79 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 1: the other Fairchild team members to quickly develop a console 80 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: using their specific F eight microprocessor, and not just any console. 81 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:00,919 Speaker 1: The first commercial cartridge based home video game console the 82 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:05,040 Speaker 1: Fairchild Channel F, which debuted at the Chicago Consumer Electronics 83 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:10,000 Speaker 1: Show in June of nineteen seventy six. Lawson particularly contributed 84 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 1: to the project by developing a prototype for the console's 85 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:16,919 Speaker 1: handheld controller, an eight way digital joystick that represented a 86 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:21,840 Speaker 1: major innovation in putting that microprocessor to use. Edwards said, 87 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:25,320 Speaker 1: Jerry Lawson didn't create the Channel F by himself, but 88 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:28,680 Speaker 1: he was instrumental in its creation. He was a project 89 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:32,400 Speaker 1: leader of sorts, pulling it together and also championing its development. 90 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:35,440 Speaker 1: He was one of a team of engineers that designed it. 91 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 1: He worked on the electronic circuit design and played a 92 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: big part in the mechanics of the hand controller design. 93 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: Lawson was able to put his quick thinking skills to 94 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: use to bypass significant engineering problems in the creation of 95 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:53,679 Speaker 1: the console. In that classic gaming Expo keynote, Lawson recalled 96 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:56,200 Speaker 1: having an epiphany in the middle of the night about 97 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:58,719 Speaker 1: a radiation signal issue that they were trying to fix. 98 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:02,280 Speaker 1: Called his team member. In the wi hours, they went 99 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:05,800 Speaker 1: back to the office working on a calculation. They wound 100 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:08,159 Speaker 1: up shortening the cord from the console to the hand 101 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: controller by just a couple inches, which fixed the signal 102 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,280 Speaker 1: issue and allowed them to bypass the FCC, which had 103 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:19,039 Speaker 1: been blocking the approval of their product. Lawson was also tenacious. 104 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:22,040 Speaker 1: He sat in the FCC's lobby for three days until 105 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:26,560 Speaker 1: someone finally gave him approval for his product. Although the 106 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:29,240 Speaker 1: Channel F garnered some interest when it launched on the 107 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:31,960 Speaker 1: consumer market in the fall of nineteen seventy six, it 108 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:36,359 Speaker 1: wasn't exactly a smashing success, especially since the Atari Video 109 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:39,560 Speaker 1: computer system console also known as the Atari twenty six hundred, 110 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 1: quickly dominated the industry when it hit shelves following year. 111 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:48,000 Speaker 1: It was developed by Alcorn and others at Atari. Alcorn 112 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:50,600 Speaker 1: said that the lack of commercial success for the Fairchild 113 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:54,400 Speaker 1: Channel F was due more to the semiconductor company's inexperience 114 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 1: with video games, whereas Atari's bread and butter was games 115 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: so they were better equipped to tackle the games market, 116 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:05,119 Speaker 1: but that innovative joystick lived on as a third party 117 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:10,040 Speaker 1: controller for the Atari. The Fairchild Channel F also introduced 118 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:13,000 Speaker 1: for the first time the pause mechanism to the video 119 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:17,840 Speaker 1: game world. Sascier said its most significant achievement was its 120 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:22,240 Speaker 1: use of interchangeable cartridges, which proved revolutionary the potential of 121 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:25,160 Speaker 1: playing dozens or even hundreds of individual games on a 122 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: platform unlocked the possibility of selling tens of millions of games. 123 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 1: After leaving Fairchild, Lawson continued to work as an engineer, 124 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 1: even working with Alcorn from time to time. A Lawson 125 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:42,840 Speaker 1: founded the first black owned video game developing company, Videosoft Incorporated. 126 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: He also fostered support for the next generation of black engineers. 127 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:51,240 Speaker 1: In his interview with Edwards, Lawson recalled a moving story 128 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:53,520 Speaker 1: in which a child recognized him on the Las Vegas 129 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:57,680 Speaker 1: Strip and shook his hand and thanked him. Edwards said, 130 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 1: Jerry mentored engineering students Stanford in his older age, even 131 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 1: when he was in relatively poor health. I think that 132 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 1: he wanted to inspire the next generation to be great engineers. 133 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 1: In twenty eleven, the International Game Developers Association honored Lawson 134 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: for his work in moving the video game industry forward. 135 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: He would pass away not long after, at the age 136 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:25,280 Speaker 1: of seventy from complications due to diabetes. However, his legacy 137 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:27,600 Speaker 1: lives on in the memories of those who knew him 138 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:32,720 Speaker 1: and the thriving gaming industry. Since twenty thirteen, the Strong 139 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:35,760 Speaker 1: Museum of Plays International Center for the History of Electronic 140 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 1: Games has housed and displayed some of Lawson's personal papers 141 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:44,240 Speaker 1: and professional artifacts. He posthumously received the id at Xbox 142 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:47,200 Speaker 1: Gaming Heroes Award at the Game Developer's Choice Awards in 143 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:50,680 Speaker 1: twenty nineteen, and Google celebrated what would have been Lawson's 144 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:53,800 Speaker 1: eighty second birthday on December first of twenty twenty two 145 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:56,960 Speaker 1: by featuring him as the day's Google Doodle and heralding 146 00:08:57,040 --> 00:09:01,360 Speaker 1: him as one of the fathers of modern gaming. How 147 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 1: Stuffworks also spoke with Renee Gittens via email in twenty twenty, 148 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:08,000 Speaker 1: who was then the executive director of the International Game 149 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:13,520 Speaker 1: Developers Association. She said, Jerry Lawson was undoubtedly one of 150 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 1: the influential forces within our industry from the time he 151 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:20,520 Speaker 1: developed Demolition Derby onward, including his leadership of the Fairchild Channel. 152 00:09:20,559 --> 00:09:24,640 Speaker 1: F's development. The invention of these cartridges influenced not only 153 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:28,280 Speaker 1: the console technology, but also the marketing, sales, and bred 154 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:32,480 Speaker 1: the video games made available. Without cartridges, the progress of 155 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:35,199 Speaker 1: the games industry would have been far slower and more limited. 156 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 1: We are proud to recognize Jerry Lawson's accomplishments and influence, 157 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:42,840 Speaker 1: and it is uplifting that he remains an inspiration to 158 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:50,480 Speaker 1: this day. Today's episode is based on the article Jerry 159 00:09:50,559 --> 00:09:54,120 Speaker 1: Lawson Forever Changed the Video Game Industry on HowStuffWorks dot Com, 160 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 1: written by Tara Yarlagatta. A brain Stuff is production of 161 00:09:57,240 --> 00:09:59,719 Speaker 1: by Heart Radio in partnership with HowStuffWorks dot Com and 162 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:03,240 Speaker 1: produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts on my heart Radio, 163 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:06,640 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 164 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:07,679 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.