My
Life at Atari
This article is a preview of a longer one that will hopefully be released in our
outline special after easter. The author is still working on it and I am looking
forward to what secrets he might be able to tell us without getting sued...
Much has been said about life within Atari HQ in Sunnyvale California and the
Tramiel family. Much has been said, but unfortunately much of it untrue so the
aim of this article is to give a balanced insiders view and to blow away the
vaporous rumours on the winds of truth.
I flew out to California with a twofold mission, firstly to complete the Alien
Vs Predator project and secondly to join Atari. Up until that point the
development of the game was not a back-bedroom affair, but a kitchen table
affair. Mike Beaton and myself had commandeered my dining table at home, with
Mike staying with me to thrash out the game. I had decided that
a) I no longer wanted to officially be a "freelancer" but an official member
of Atari and
b) that I wanted to work from a more formal office setting with
appropriate equipment.
I was met at the airport by Purple Hampton, the producer of AvP who had the
unenviable task of all the production issues surrounding the game, from making
the posters to ordering cartridges to managing testers. Purple has been
mentioned much in Atari folklore but the part that the interviews, reviews and
Atari related articles fail to say is that despite being under extreme pressure
throughout the development cycle Purple really shone as a Producer. In addition
to being an outstanding Producer he is also an outstanding human being. We
became firm friends, a friendship that lasts to this day.
People also talk about the Tramiel family, which is usually centred on their
failings. During all the time I have known him Sam Tramiel has been a kindly
courteous man, with a passion for caring for people in his organisation along
with a passion for the company. Mistakes were made, but they were never made
maliciously or with a bad heart. During the development of AvP Sam decided that
I needed a week of vacation time. Not only did he secretly fly over my
girlfriend from the UK, but the surprise was heightened when I was also given a
few thousand dollars, the keys to Sam's brand new sports car (he hadn't even
driven it, it was the day of delivery!) and told to go and spend a week enjoying
the USA and not to come back with any money left!
Lunch at the Atari offices often involved the Tramiels, Jeff Minter, most of the
workforce and myself descending en-masse to a diner in Sunnyvale. My favourite
being Cals Burger Diner which is still there to this day! It was very obvious
that the Tramiels made an effort to mix with the workforce and to be team
players.
I have fond memories of sightseeing around York with Sam and his daughter Sarah
when they visited the UK and Sam's penchant for sharing a Newcastle Brown Ale
with my dad!
So yes, there were mistakes in handling the company, but we are all human and
the Tramiels do have failings but I really wished to redress the balance by
pointing out that as people they have always been very kind, genuinely caring
about the people who worked with them. I only wish that during a long career in
the games industry every employer I have worked for had the same values. It is
all to easy for those on forums to fall into the trap of being critical without
being fully aware of the situation or being personally acquainted and "Tramiel
bashing" has become something of a sport on Atari forums. I hope that in future
people consider their actions when taking a swipe at decent people they may not
have even met and remember that the family also brought us a great deal of
pleasure with both Commodore and Atari computer systems.
Jane Rachel Whittaker July 2004
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