Lyle Rains, Tank. His 1974 multi-joystick game rolled out several sequels. His new target: Angry Birds.
(4 of 4)
So, Innovative Leisure: old farts or Jedi Council? "It's not a nostalgia play," says Rae, who as head of the AIAS has a bird's-eye view of the industry. "If anyone can make it, these guys can." However, Rae cautions, as with any creative business, "no one knows anything until the games ship." The games, the first of which are expected to be released this fall, could flop. Or they could go viral.
"I hope Seamus makes me rich," says Dennis Koble, 63, reflecting on the fact that when he designed Sprint 2 for Atari, his only reward was a small bonus on top of his small salary. Some of his former colleagues ended up wealthy after moving on to other tech ventures; others stayed in the game industry and never left the middle class. Yet everybody says getting back together isn't about the money. The real pleasure, they say, is in spending their golden years furiously building a time machine that is taking them back to their halcyon days.
"It's this unimaginable last chance to pretend that we know the great truths," says Merritt, his voice cracking with emotion. "The Return of the Son of Atari," he says, riffing on the game world's penchant for making endless sequels. And in private, a good portion of the Innovative Leisure crew confided in this reporter as Lyle Rains, 60, did: "Don't tell Seamus," the Tank creator whispered, "but I would have done this for free."