When Definitive Software was busy developing interactive
computer adventure games, We started one game that was a mammoth undertaking. We
planned to make a game based on the War of 1812 between Canada and the USA. At
the time, most computer's supported only 16 colors at best. My son Kevin, developed
a very sophisticated game engine that allowed us to produce 256 color animations a full
2 and a half years before Paramount Pictures caught up with us. With proper financing we
would have stayed a way out front in the industry. Kevin was only 13 years old when he
started to develop that engine. I taught him to program from the time he was 8 years old, and by 13
years of age he could outstrip me in any of a number of computer languages, even though I
am still no slouch.
Such an undertaking requires tons of research in many areas. The
photo-essay in this section is a spin-off from a small portion of that research. I took the photo on
this page for use in the game.