James D. Sachs
Encyclopedia
James D. Sachs is a retired United States Air Force
veteran
, game artist
and game programmer
.
Sachs was the lead artist on the groundbreaking Amiga
computer game Defender of the Crown
from Cinemaware
(first published in 1986
). He is also the author of the Commodore 64
game Saucer Attack
, which was heavily pirated
. He called it "the Commodore 64 game everyone had, but no one purchased". He is also the author of the marine aquarium
simulation screensaver
SereneScreen Aquarium, and of the start-up animation of the Amiga CD32
.
Some time after finishing development of Defender of the Crown, Sachs began working on a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea game. Unable to secure the rights for a game based on the Disney film
, Sachs instead based his game on the original book
by Jules Verne
. He said this was fortuitous since some things in the novel made more sense than in the Disney portrayal. His game used a custom boot-up routine, as many games of the era did. His work, however, was destroyed by a usually innocuous virus
which installed itself in the boot sector
of floppy disk
s. The virus remained hidden until about the fifth soft reboot of the computer, when it revealed itself with a harmless message. However, because of Sach's custom boot routine, the virus destroyed his work on his development disks. After this, Sachs apparently abandoned development of the game.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
, game artist
Game artist
A game artist is an artist who creates art for one or more types of games. Game artists are responsible for all of the aspects of game development that call for visual art...
and game programmer
Game programmer
A game programmer is a software engineer, programmer, or computer scientist who primarily develops codebase for video games or related software, such as game development tools. Game programming has many specialized disciplines all of which fall under the umbrella term of "game programmer"...
.
Sachs was the lead artist on the groundbreaking Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
computer game Defender of the Crown
Defender of the Crown
Defender of the Crown is a strategy computer game designed by Kellyn Beck. It was Cinemaware's first game, and was originally released for the Commodore Amiga in 1986, setting a new standard for graphic quality in home computer games....
from Cinemaware
Cinemaware
Cinemaware was a computer game developer and publisher that released several popular titles in the 1980s based on various movie themes. The company was resurrected in 2000, before being acquired by eGames in 2005.-Cinemaware Corp...
(first published in 1986
1986 in video gaming
-Events:-Notable releases:*Namco releases Sky Kid Deluxe, Hopping Mappy, Toy Pop, The Return of Ishtar, which is the sequel to Tower of Druaga, Genpei Tōma Den, and Rolling Thunder....
). He is also the author of the 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...
game Saucer Attack
Saucer Attack
Saucer Attack is a computer game for the Commodore 64, created by James D. Sachs.-Summary:The game is a shoot 'em up where the player's job is to protect Washington, D.C. from invading flying saucers. The game screen presents a beautifully drawn backdrop of Washington, with various landmarks such...
, which was heavily pirated
Copyright infringement of software
Copyright infringement of software=The copyright infringement of software refers to several practices which involve the unauthorized copying of computer software. Copyright infringement of this kind varies globally...
. He called it "the Commodore 64 game everyone had, but no one purchased". He is also the author of the marine aquarium
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
simulation screensaver
Screensaver
A screensaver is a type of computer program initially designed to prevent phosphor burn-in on CRT and plasma computer monitors by blanking the screen or filling it with moving images or patterns when the computer is not in use...
SereneScreen Aquarium, and of the start-up animation of the Amiga CD32
Amiga CD32
The Amiga CD32, styled "CD32" , was the first 32-bit CD-ROM based video game console released in western Europe, Australia, Canada and Brazil. It was first announced at the Science Museum in London, United Kingdom on 16 July 1993, and was released in September of the same year...
.
Some time after finishing development of Defender of the Crown, Sachs began working on a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea game. Unable to secure the rights for a game based on the Disney film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Sachs instead based his game on the original book
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is a classic science fiction novel by French writer Jules Verne published in 1870. It tells the story of Captain Nemo and his submarine Nautilus as seen from the perspective of Professor Pierre Aronnax...
by Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
. He said this was fortuitous since some things in the novel made more sense than in the Disney portrayal. His game used a custom boot-up routine, as many games of the era did. His work, however, was destroyed by a usually innocuous virus
Computer virus
A computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability...
which installed itself in the boot sector
Boot sector
A boot sector or boot block is a region of a hard disk, floppy disk, optical disc, or other data storage device that contains machine code to be loaded into random-access memory by a computer system's built-in firmware...
of floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
s. The virus remained hidden until about the fifth soft reboot of the computer, when it revealed itself with a harmless message. However, because of Sach's custom boot routine, the virus destroyed his work on his development disks. After this, Sachs apparently abandoned development of the game.
External links
- James D. Sachs home page
- James D. Sachs page on MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
- Interview with James D. Sachs
- The same interview in French on Obligement
- The Art of James D. Sachs on Yo Ho Video