May 12, 2016
Randy Glover, Jumpman
Randy Glover is the creator of one of the best games for the Atari computers, Jumpman, which was published by EPYX. He also created the sequel, Jumpman Junior, and programmed the swimming competition portion of Summer Games. Randy ported Jumpman to the Commodore 64 and created another C64 game, Lunar Outpost.
This interview took place on May 7, 2016. I am joined on this interview by Rob McMullen, host of the Player/Missile Podcast, who has been working to reverse engineer Jumpman using the Omnivore binary editor that he created.
For more background on EPYX, you might enjoy Antic’s interviews with Jon Freeman, co-founder of EPYX; and Michael Katz, the CEO of EPYX — he oversaw the development of Jumpman, Pitstop, and Summer Games.
Teaser quote:
"My guy ran around in this environment purely based on his collision with the environment. I like to think that made him more interesting, more spontaneous. He wasn't pretty -- he was just a little stick man -- but he ran around with a certain flair and he reacted to the environment."
The Digital Antiquarian - From Automated Simulations to Epyx: http://www.filfre.net/2013/08/from-automated-simulations-to-epyx/
Jon Freeman interview: http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-70-jon-freeman-freefall-associates
Michael Katz interview: http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-24-the-atari-8-bit-podcast-michael-katz
Player/Missile podcast: http://www.playermissile.com
Omnivore, the Atari 8-bit Binary Editor: http://playermissile.com/omnivore/
AtariMania's list of Randy's games: http://www.atarimania.com/list_games_atari-400-800-xl-xe-glover-randy_team_472_8_G.html
Jumpman hacking thread on AtariAge: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/252267-jumpman-hacking/
Worth pointing out: there is a Lunar Outpost for the Atari that you can found about the 'net, but this is a sort of advanced version of Scramble (or Flappy Bird!). They all claim this is from Epyx, but the game itself has no branding of any sort. It is entirely different from the version of Lunar Outpost that Glover describes in this podcast.
As creator of JUC (Jumpman Under construction) was really great to listen to your interview with somebody who inspired me to get into programing and games. Was great working with Randy all those years ago and your interview was very insightful. Good Job
Just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed your interview with Randy Glover. I was an Apple guy growing up, never had an Atari, and never played Jumpman, but your podcast was so interesting that now I want to find an emulator and play the Atari version. If you do end up getting more info from Randy, or you collaborate on some new levels, be sure to do a followup interview with the details. Keep up the great work!