I’ve heard him recount the story of how he ended up at LucasFilm Games before, so I could tell that ”Mark” refers to Mark Ferrari. But it certainly feels a little unusual to tell a story like this using only his first name.

I started researching Skywalker Ranch recently and I've found it quite difficult to find floor plans or pictures of the interior of the building.

It's kind of odd. I wonder what Disney has in store for that place.

I hope that it is preserved due the historical role that it had in being the site of the genesis of so many of our cherished cultural artifacts.

Beautifully written and worth the read. And the screensaver nerd snipe is epic.

That was a great read!

The library at Skywalker Ranch looked like a wonderful place.

Anyone have a link to "Purcell’s million-dollar animation" of the grail scene? I'm really curious to see it now.

Mark was nice enough to invite me to his home studio when I was a new high school grad to talk working in games as an artist. He told me the story of the fight over dithering. I give him strong partial credit for ending up a game engine/art pipeline coder instead and got to thank him after his most excellent GDC presentation on the lost power of palettized textures https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aMcJ1Jvtef0

You can see that power in action here

http://www.effectgames.com/demos/canvascycle/ (Hit show options)

http://www.effectgames.com/effect/article-Old_School_Color_C...

BTW: Deluxe Paint has been remade in Python if you want to give it a try https://github.com/mriale/PyDPainter

Wonderful read, thanks for sharing!

I loved reading this! Not just because some of those games are deeply ingrained in my childhood, but also because the writing itself is exceptional. The structure is strong, there’s no fluff, and it’s still vivid and playful. I loved it.

I also read the author's thoughts on the writing process, and the way he described it closely mirrored how I approach working on music, which was illuminating.

I also loved the article about how software development is a form of knowledge building. Once again, excellent writing!