Carol Shaw was a software engineer at Atari from August 1978
though 1980. She programmed for the Atari 2600 and Atari 8-bit
computers. She programmed on 3-D Tic Tac Toe for the Atari 800 and
2600; and the math application Calculator. She worked on Video
Checkers, Othello, and Super Breakout for the 2600. She also
co-wrote the Atari BASIC Reference Manual. Carol joined Activision
in 1982, where she created the hit game River Raid, which she
programmed for the 2600 then ported to the Atari 8-bit computers,
and Happy Trails for the Intellivision.
This interview took place on June 29, 2017.
"Originally it was going to be a boat going up a river, but my
boat was kind of boring looking ... How about an airplane going up
a river? We'll have it kind of a canyon or something like
that."