Carla Meninsky
Encyclopedia
Carla Meninsky was a video game designer during the early years of the Atari 2600
video game console.
Along with Carol Shaw
(creator of 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe and River Raid
), Meninsky was one of two female engineers at Atari
to develop video game cartridges released in the early 1980s.
Meninsky's Atari 2600 credits include the award-winning 1980 racing game Dodge 'Em
(also sold as Dodger Cars by Sears) and 1981's Warlords, a port of Atari's 1980 coin-op of the same name. Meninsky also worked on the 2600 port of Star Raiders
(originally designed by Doug Neubauer and released in 1979 for the Atari 8-bit family
of computers) and an unreleased prototype of Tempest.
Meninsky graduated from George Washington University Law School and now practices intellectual property law.As an EPIC Public Interest Opportunities Program Fellow, Meninsky testified before the U.S. Senate in 2002.
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
video game console.
Along with Carol Shaw
Carol Shaw (video game designer)
Originally an Atari employee, Carol Shaw is said to be the first female video game designer . Later she joined Activision, where she programmed her best known game, River Raid...
(creator of 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe and River Raid
River Raid
River Raid is a scrolling shooter videogame and was released in 1982 by Activision for the Atari 2600, and later the Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit, C64, ColecoVision, IBM PCjr, Intellivision, ZX Spectrum, and MSX...
), Meninsky was one of two female engineers at 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...
to develop video game cartridges released in the early 1980s.
Meninsky's Atari 2600 credits include the award-winning 1980 racing game Dodge 'Em
Dodge 'Em
Dodge 'Em is a 1980 Atari 2600 video game, a driving game based on a single screen of four concentric roadways. The player controls one car and has to drive counter-clockwise, avoiding computer-controlled cars whose sole aim is to produce a head-on collision...
(also sold as Dodger Cars by Sears) and 1981's Warlords, a port of Atari's 1980 coin-op of the same name. Meninsky also worked on the 2600 port of Star Raiders
Star Raiders
Star Raiders is a video game for the Atari 8-bit family of computers, released in 1979 and programmed by Doug Neubauer. It was also later ported to other Atari computer and game platforms...
(originally designed by Doug Neubauer and released in 1979 for the Atari 8-bit family
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips...
of computers) and an unreleased prototype of Tempest.
Meninsky graduated from George Washington University Law School and now practices intellectual property law.As an EPIC Public Interest Opportunities Program Fellow, Meninsky testified before the U.S. Senate in 2002.