Brad Fregger
Encyclopedia
Brad Fregger is an American
entrepreneur
, author
and former game producer
publisher
, and book publisher.
Fregger was involved in the computer and video game industry at its inception. He was the producer of Activision
's Ghostbusters, the game Hacker
, the Atari and Commodore 64
versions of Pitfall II and Shanghai
(the first commercial version of Brodie Lockard's Mahjong solitaire
), and he designed and produced the first commercial version of computer solitaire
(Solitaire Royale
, published by Spectrum Holobyte
). His book Lucky That Way describes his years in the industry, including the history of Shanghai (Mahjong solitaire), Computer Card Solitaire
, Tetris
, Pitfall II
, and the crash of Atari
.
Fregger is President
and CEO of Groundbreaking Press (book publishing) and a lecturer (professor
) at Texas State University-San Marcos. He founded three corporate-training departments (at Mervyns Department Stores
, Atari
and Activision
), and was featured in Tom Peters
' book Liberation Management. He is the author of four books: Lucky That Way (computer and video games
), Get Things Done (leadership), One Shovel Full (storytelling), and Why Publish? (book publishing), and is currently writing the fifth one, Winning with Innovation, with Susan Gilbertson as a coauthor.
Fregger holds a Master's Degree
in Futuristics from San Jose State University
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and former game producer
Game producer
A video game producer is the person in charge of overseeing development of a video game.The earliest documented use of the term producer in games was by Trip Hawkins, who established the position when he founded Electronic Arts in 1982...
publisher
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
, and book publisher.
Fregger was involved in the computer and video game industry at its inception. He was the producer of Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
's Ghostbusters, the game Hacker
Hacker (computer game)
Hacker is a 1985 computer game by Activision. It was designed by Steve Cartwright, produced by Brad Fregger and was released for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari XL/XE, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Macintosh, MS-DOS, MSX and ZX Spectrum...
, the Atari and Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
versions of Pitfall II and Shanghai
Shanghai (video game)
Shanghai is a computer game developed by Activision in 1986 for the Amiga, MacIntosh and Apple IIgs and also the Sega Master System.-Gameplay:Shanghai is a computerized version of mahjong solitaire...
(the first commercial version of Brodie Lockard's Mahjong solitaire
Mahjong solitaire
Mahjong solitaire is a solitaire matching game that uses a set of Mahjong tiles rather than cards. It is also known as Shanghai solitaire, electronic or computerized mahjong, MahJong solitaire, solitaire Mahjong and, erroneously, as Mahjong...
), and he designed and produced the first commercial version of computer solitaire
Solitaire
Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself or with other people. The solitaire card game Klondike is often known as simply Solitaire....
(Solitaire Royale
Solitaire Royale
Solitaire Royale is a computer game developed by Spectrum HoloByte in 1987 for the Apple IIGS, DOS, Macintosh and Amiga.-Gameplay:Solitaire Royale is a computer solitaire card-game simulation...
, published by Spectrum Holobyte
Spectrum HoloByte
Spectrum HoloByte, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher originally based in Alameda, California.The company was founded in 1983 and was most famous for its simulation games, notably the Falcon series of flight simulators and Vette!, a driving simulator from 1989...
). His book Lucky That Way describes his years in the industry, including the history of Shanghai (Mahjong solitaire), Computer Card Solitaire
Solitaire
Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself or with other people. The solitaire card game Klondike is often known as simply Solitaire....
, Tetris
Tetris
Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
, Pitfall II
Pitfall II: Lost Caverns
Pitfall II: Lost Caverns is a platforming video game originally released for the Atari 2600 video game console in 1984. It is the sequel to the popular Pitfall!. Both games were designed and written by David Crane and published by Activision...
, and the crash of Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
.
Fregger is President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
and CEO of Groundbreaking Press (book publishing) and a lecturer (professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
) at Texas State University-San Marcos. He founded three corporate-training departments (at Mervyns Department Stores
Mervyns
Mervyns was an American middle scale department store chain based in Hayward, California. It carried national brands of clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, and housewares. Many of the company's stores were in shopping malls...
, Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
and Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
), and was featured in Tom Peters
Tom Peters
Thomas J. "Tom" Peters is an American writer on business management practices, best-known for In Search of Excellence .-Life and career:Peters was born in Baltimore, Maryland...
' book Liberation Management. He is the author of four books: Lucky That Way (computer and video games
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
), Get Things Done (leadership), One Shovel Full (storytelling), and Why Publish? (book publishing), and is currently writing the fifth one, Winning with Innovation, with Susan Gilbertson as a coauthor.
Fregger holds a Master's Degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in Futuristics from San Jose State University
San José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...
.