Garry Kitchen

Garry Kitchen (born August 18, 1955 in Washington, D.C., United States) is a video game designer, programmer, and executive best known for developing games for the Atari 2600, Commodore 64, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System, as well as co-founding Absolute Entertainment with ex-Activision developers. His port of Donkey Kong for the Atari 2600 was a major hit for Coleco, selling over a million copies. His other 2600 work includes Keystone Kapers and Pressure Cooker for Activision and Space Jockey for US Games. He also wrote Garry Kitchen's Gamemaker and The Designer's Pencil for the Commodore 64.

Garry Kitchen
Garry Kitchen in 2013
Born (1955-08-18) August 18, 1955
Washington, D.C., United States
NationalityAmerican
OccupationVideo game designer
EmployerActivision
Viacom Media Networks
Known forCo-founder of Absolute Entertainment and Skyworks Interactive
Notable work
Donkey Kong (Atari 2600)
Keystone Kapers
Garry Kitchen's GameMaker

Kitchen received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ (1980). Before his video game career, Kitchen developed electronic toys at Wickstead Design Associates, in Cedar Knolls, New Jersey. In 1979, Kitchen was an engineer on Wildfire, a handheld electronic game distributed by Parker Brothers. After Wildfire, in 1982, Kitchen co-invented the handheld electronic game Bank Shot, a pool simulation also distributed by Parker Brothers. Bank Shot was named one of the Ten Best Toys of 1980 by OMNI Magazine. Kitchen was awarded U.S. Patent #4,346,982 "Electronic Pool Game", for Bank Shot.

Kitchen was President/CEO of Absolute Entertainment from 1986-1995. In 1995, Kitchen and his longtime business partner David Crane founded Skyworks Technologies, an early Internet game company which created Candystand.com and pioneered the category of online advergames. Kitchen and Crane sold controlling interest in Skyworks in 2007, and left the company in September 2009.

From 2010-2012, Kitchen was the Vice President of Game Publishing for Viacom Media Networks, working in the Nickelodeon Kids and Family Games Group. In that role he was responsible for game content on AddictingGames.com and Shockwave.com, at the time two of the largest U.S.-based online game sites. In 2012, Kitchen and his team at Viacom launched the AddictingGames Mobile App for the Apple iPhone, which went to #1 in the Apple App store in 72 hours. The AddictingGames Mobile App was nominated for a 2012 Webby Award in the category of Games (Handheld Devices).

Garry Kitchen currently (2012–present) works as an independent technical expert in legal matters concerning video game and mobile app design and development, patent infringement & invalidity, copyright infringement, general software development, video game industry history and business issues. Kitchen has performed Expert Witness consulting for clients such as Nintendo, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Ubisoft.

Kitchen is on the Board of Advisors of the National Video Game Museum as well as Fairleigh Dickinson University's FDUArts Advisory Board.

Games

Atari 2600[1]

Commodore 64[2]

Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)[2]

Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)[2]

iOS (iPhone/iPad)
  • Arcade Hoops Basketball (2008, Skyworks Technologies)
  • Match 3 Poker (2009, Skyworks Technologies)
  • Skyscrapers (2009, Skyworks Technologies)[3]
  • Iron Horse (2010, AppStar Games), Design[4]
  • Fling Pong - The Planets (2010, AppStar Games)[5]
  • Addicting Games Mobile (2011, Viacom Media Networks), Executive Producer

References
  1. Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
  2. Garry Kitchen's profile at MobyGames
  3. "Apple App Store Preview - Skyscrapers".
  4. "The Iron Horse (iPhone/iPod touch) Review".
  5. "Fling Pong - The Planets (by AppStar Games)".
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