Episode 61: William Volk Oral History Interview - Apple, Amiga, and PC Game Pioneer

The Icon Garden

Time for a surprise!

Joining Dan in the Garden today is game industry veteran William Volk. Volk started his career in late 1979 as a game tester for Avalon Hill and developed or spearheaded games across all generations of platforms. As a cofounder of Aegis Development, Volk was part of the first Macintosh game releases before the company pivoted to the Amiga. Volk joined Activision in 1988, serving on its executive team as VP of Technology. We talk Volk’s career past and present, including development in the early days of the Macintosh, the influence of gaming on education, his return to indie development with The Climate Trail, and how the Amiga keeps coming back.

Recorded March 7, 2021

Links

• William Volk - Wikipedia
• The Climate Trail
• Avalon Hill
• Conflict 2500 for Apple II
• Voyager 1 for TRS 80
• Controller
• Epson QX-10 - old-computers
• Valdocs
• Pyramid of Peril for Mac
• Mac-Challenger
• The Computer Chronicles - The Macintosh in 1985
• Inside Aegis Draw - Archive.org
• Ports of Call - Amiga
• An Unlikely Savior - The Digital Antiquarian
• The Manhole - The Digital Antiquarian
• FM Towns
• Compact Disc Interactive
• Return to Zork
• Return to Zork - The Digital Antiquarian
• Lightspan, Inc
• Apple Interactive Television Box
• Topps and The Wayans Bros. Take "Yo Mama" Insults To All-New Platform - Trading Card Central
• iWhack
• Kenny Rogers’ Gambler Mobile Blackjack
• MyNuMo is now Playscreen
• PlayScreen Bocce Ball
• Rufus Hound
• Ownerfy
• Gem Rush Board Game
• Gem Rush on the App Store
• Gem Rush on Steam

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Chapters

00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:06 - William Volk 00:04:00 - Avalon Hill and The 8-Bit Era 00:16:07 - Pyramid of Peril and Mac Challenger 00:20:33 - Aegis Development and the Amiga 00:28:23 - Activision and The Manhole 00:43:15 - Lightspan, Inc. Games 00:49:27 - Transitioning to Mobile Gaming 00:58:48 - Pioneering Games on the iPhone 01:08:35 - Ownerfy, The Amgia, and Warhol 01:12:41 - The Climate Trail And An Indie Resurgence 01:23:26 - Outtro and Credits