Nov 12, 2015
Keithen Hayenga, 5200 Tempest
Keithen Hayenga worked for both Apple and Atari and was an Apple II and Atari software programmer. While at Atari, Keithen worked on RealSports Baseball and several other unpublished projects such as Tempest for the Atari 5200, which he later completed and is currently available on AtariAge.
Teaser Quote
“Their answer was of course ‘well we had Keithen, the best in the business’. So, it’s like, I was ALMOST in a movie!”
Links
Information on the Unfinished 5200 Tempest Prototype at AtariProtos.com
Great interview, most of which I had not heard from Keithen. The interview we did on GoodDealGames 12 years ago focused on the 5200 Tempest. I guess that interview sparked Keithen's interest in finishing the game. I designed the box and manual layout, Dave Exton made the whole thing look gorgeous. Keithen sent me an autographed Tempest from AtariAge. A bit of untold credit goes to Charles Guinn (red hat in the interview pic) for burning the EPROM that I showed to Keithen at 2004 CGE in San Jose. The rest is history!
Best Regards,
Geo Reese
2 corrections: 1. I said Dan Thompson invited me to the Davis Atari Party, but the real Dan was Dan Kramer of trackball fame. 2. I couldn't remember what the name of the movie that i was supposed to be building the game for. I now found the treatment and the actual name was Foxbat Strategy.