Jeff Johannigman - Part 1 - Atari PE, Synapse, Epyx, Electronic Arts, Origin, GDC

Apr 29, 2025

From a bedroom coder to Game Developer's Conference OG to the creator of one of the greatest one-on-one action strategy games of the 8 bit era, Jeff Johannigman worked for some of the most legendary companies of the 80s, Epyx, Electronic Arts, and Origin.  

In Part 1, we talk about those early days, including the making of games such as G.I. Joe and Savage Empire and working with important figures like Ihor Wolosenko, Dani Bunten, Chris Crawford, Warren Spector, and Richard Garriot.
Jeff's insight and storytelling skill make this a wonderful chat.

Recorded: September 2024

Video version:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/jeff-johannigman-125624209

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Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannigman/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_Program_Exchange
https://www.mobygames.com/person/2821/jeff-johannigman/credits/
https://www.mobygames.com/company/14/br%C3%B8derbund-software-inc/
Jerry Wolosenko - Synapse - https://www.patreon.com/posts/42014024
The Video Game Crash 40th Anniversary - Part 2: Everyone Else - https://www.patreon.com/posts/video-game-crash-76259421
The Video Game Crash 40th Anniversary - Part 1: Atari - https://www.patreon.com/posts/video-game-crash-75643983
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relax_(video_game)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epyx
Michael Katz Part 1 - Coleco - Epyx - Mattel - https://www.patreon.com/posts/35169258
https://www.mobygames.com/game/10151/gi-joe-a-real-american-hero/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie_(1984_video_game)
https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/2013/07/g-i-joe-c64-early-glimpse/
https://www.mobygames.com/person/962/dennis-caswell/
https://www.mobygames.com/game/115/starflight/
Don Daglow Part 1 - PDP - Mattel - Intellivision - EA https://www.patreon.com/posts/38445119
https://www.mobygames.com/game/1353/demon-stalkers/
https://www.mobygames.com/person/8515/danielle-berry/
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/182619/mule-the-board-game
https://www.reddit.com/r/amiga/comments/pbj1qp/why_electronic_arts_is_committed_to_the_amiga_1985/?rdt=32890
https://www.mobygames.com/game/company:2/platform:genesis/sort:-date/page:1/
https://www.mobygames.com/game/1837/gauntlet/screenshots/macintosh/
https://www.mobygames.com/game/1837/gauntlet/screenshots/macintosh/586818/
https://www.mobygames.com/person/127/warren-spector/
https://www.wcnews.com/wcpedia/Blueprints
https://www.mobygames.com/game/823/wing-commander-ii-vengeance-of-the-kilrathi/
https://wiki.ultimacodex.com/wiki/File:Savage_empire_large.jpg
https://gdconf.com/about-gdc

 Recommended Links:

The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/

Gaming Alexandria: https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/

They Create Worlds: https://tcwpodcast.podbean.com/

Digital Antiquarian: https://www.filfre.net/

The Arcade Blogger: https://arcadeblogger.com/

Retro Asylum: http://retroasylum.com/category/all-posts/

Retro Game Squad: http://retrogamesquad.libsyn.com/

Playthrough Podcast: https://playthroughpod.com/

Retromags.com: https://www.retromags.com/

Games That Weren't - https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/

Copyright Karl Kuras