Robert J. Mical
Encyclopedia
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, co-invented the Atari Lynx and the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by...
with Dave Needle. He was a central developer of Amiga's Intuition
Intuition (Amiga)
Intuition is the windowing system and user interface engine of AmigaOS. It was developed almost entirely by RJ Mical. Intuition should not be confused with Workbench, the AmigaOS spatial file manager, which relies on Intuition for handling windows and input events.Users may remember the initial...
user interface and was well known at early Amiga gatherings. He was the Chief Architect of the Fathammer
Fathammer
Fathammer was a video game publisher and developer. They have developed game cell phones, the Tapwave Zodiac, and also the Gizmondo. Fathammer was acquired by Telcogames in June 2006, and X-Forge game development environment developed by Fathammer was sold to Acrodea.-Games:*Angelfish*Chronicles of...
mobile game engine. He recently left his position as a Senior Manager at Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
working on the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
product line.
Biography
According to Mical he built his first computer, a tic-tac-toeTic-tac-toe
Tic-tac-toe, also called wick wack woe and noughts and crosses , is a pencil-and-paper game for two players, X and O, who take turns marking the spaces in a 3×3 grid. The X player usually goes first...
player, when he was 14.
Robert J. Mical graduated from the University of Illinois with dual degrees in Computer Science and English in 1979, plus a minor in Philosophy.
From 1983 to 1984, Robert J. Mical is software engineer at Williams Electronics. He works on different projects, creating special effects, enemy intelligence, graphics, interface logic and documentation development. He was involved in the development of the game Sinistar
Sinistar
Sinistar is an arcade game released by Williams in 1982. It belongs to a class of video games from the 1980s called "twitch games". Other "twitch games" include Tempest, Defender, and Robotron: 2084. Sinistar was developed by Sam Dicker, Jack Haeger, Noah Falstein, RJ Mical and Richard Witt...
and notably coordinated the Star Rider
Star Rider
Star Rider is a laserdisc based arcade video game created by Computer Creations and Williams in 1984. The object of the game is to steer a motorcycle type vehicle in a race around a track in various surrealistic settings. The tracks themselves and the background graphics were actually video played...
project, a racing game on laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
.
From 1984 to 1986, Robert J. Mical works for Amiga Corporation
Amiga Corporation
Amiga Corporation was a United States computer company formed in the early 1980s as Hi-Toro. It is most famous for having developed the Amiga computer, code named Lorraine.-History:...
and then Commodore International
Commodore International
Commodore is the commonly used name for Commodore Business Machines , the U.S.-based home computer manufacturer and electronics manufacturer headquartered in West Chester, Pennsylvania, which also housed Commodore's corporate parent company, Commodore International Limited...
on the development of the Amiga 1000
Amiga 1000
The A1000, or Commodore Amiga 1000, was Commodore's initial Amiga personal computer, introduced on July 23, 1985 at the Lincoln Center in New York City....
. As software engineer, he creates the development tools and animation system software. He develops Intuition, the Amiga user interface system software. He also contributes to the Amiga hardware design and creates one of first software for the computer: the Amiga Boing Demo. At the peak of his responsibilities, he is appointed Director of Software. After leaving the company, he becomes a independent contractor, serving the Amiga community by creatinf development and support tools and games for a number of clients. He notably contributes to the development of 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....
(1986) from Cinemaware.
From 1987 to 1989, Robert J. Mical is vice-president of the technology branch of Epyx
Epyx
Epyx, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. The company was founded as Automated Simulations by Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman, originally using Epyx as a brand name for action-oriented games before renaming the company to match in 1983...
. He develops the first color handheld console, the Lynx
Lynx (console)
The Atari Lynx is a 16-bit handheld game console that was released by Atari Corporation in 1989. The Lynx holds the distinction of being the world's first handheld electronic game with a color LCD. The system is also notable for its forward-looking features, advanced graphics, and ambidextrous layout...
(known back then under the name Handy), that was later acquired by Atari Corporation
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...
. He is the co-designer of the hardware and put together a variety of software development tools including runtime libraries, a debugger, art and audio tools. He also produces the six Lynx launch titles, and co-designed several of them, like Blue Lightning
Blue Lightning
Blue Lightning is a pseudo-simulation computer game in which the player controls a military airplane. The game was one of the first games for the Atari Lynx, released in 1989 and was programmed by Epyx, headed by lead programmer, Brian Bowhay, .The game is considered by many to be one of the best...
(1989).
From 1990 to 1995, Robert J. Mical is one of the co-founder of the New Technologies Group (NTG), a company established to create a new game system. He is the co-creator of this new game system with Dave Needle (from Amiga Corp. and the Lynx) and Dave Morse
David Shannon Morse
David Shannon Morse was the cofounder of Amiga. In 1982, he left Tonka Toys and became the Chief Executive Officer at Hi Toro, Inc., which he co-founded and which later that year morphed into Amiga, Inc...
(co-founder of Amiga Computer and Crystal Dynamics
Crystal Dynamics
Crystal Dynamics is an American video game developer based in the San Francisco Bay Area and founded in 1992 by Judy Lang, Madaline Canepa and Dave Morris...
). He co-design the hardware and designs its multi-tasking operating system, Portfolio. The company later merge with The 3DO Company
The 3DO Company
The 3DO Company , also known as 3DO , was a video game company...
and the technology is the base of the 32-bit console 3DO Interactive Multiplayer
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by...
.
In 1996 and 1997, Robert J. Mical creates two societies, Prolific and Glassworks, specialized in the development of online games. In 1998 and 1999, he works as consultant in a new structure, Rjave. In 2000 and 2001, he is one of the vice president of software at Red Jade, and handheld console project by Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
, that would not see the light of day. In 2001 and 2002, he is the chief architect of Fathammer, a society who provides software development suits and other support for the creation of games on mobile phones. After various work as consultant in 2003, Robert J. Mical is the vice president of software at Global VR, a society who creates arcade version of popular PC or console games.
From 2005 to 2011, he is employed by Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
where he is managing a large number of software components for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
.
External links
- His personal web site
- 100 minute talk by RJ on the making of the Amiga
- Interviews with RJ with at 1up magazine and Digital Game Developer magazine