NOTE: Please do not ask me for assistance in locating specific games mentioned on the list. Almost always my answer to "Where can I find game X?" is "I have no idea."

About the Giant List Site

This site is dedicated to the designers and programmers of the 8-bit era of computer and video games. "Classic," in the electronic gaming sense, means "systems released before the U.S. launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985." The Atari 2600, Intellivision, Atari 800, C64, Apple II, Vectrex, Spectrum, etc., plus coin-op arcade and handheld games from that era. The "8-bit" label is frequently used, even though a few systems were 16-bit, like the TI-99/4A, and even though some 8-bit systems were released in the 1990s, like the Game Gear.

What sets classic era games apart from later games is that they were most often created by individuals--or sometimes small teams. They have a strong "one person, one vision" flavor which makes them closer to other traditional forms of artistic expression. And that's the point of this site: to comprehensively chronicle the games of the classic era and peer into the minds of the people who created them.

To me, this information is just as important as preserving the games themselves. It bugs me that people spent years working on fantastic--or not so fantastic--games, only to have both their names and games largely forgotten in less than a decade.

The information on the Giant List originally came from memory and romps through old magazines. These days, most of it comes from straight from the game designers themselves--I could put together an impressive list of people throughout the game industry who follow the list--and from people all over the net. New information is always welcome.

About me:

  • Game-oriented writing I have done.
  • The 8-bit games I wrote.
  • An interview with me. And another one.


    Back to the main page