next up previous
Next: Jan 221997 Jon Shapiro, Up: Stanford University Computer Previous: Jan 81997 Lee Felsenstein,

Jan 15,1997
Allan Alcorn, Silicon Gaming,
The Design of the Odyssey Slot Machine

Speaker: Allan Alcorn, Senior VP and Chief Technology Officer, Silicon Gaming

Title: Design of the Odyssey Slot Machine

Abstract:

Casinos used to be in the gambling business; now they realize they are in the entertainment business. The primary source of revenue for casinos is the slot machine, which has not changed much in the last 100 years. Silicon Gaming was started three years ago to develop a modern gaming platform that will maintain the wagering proposition while significantly advancing the entertainment aspect of slot machines. The Silicon Gaming platform is a significant departure from previous video games. This presentation will describe the development process and the tradeoffs made during the development of the Odyssey slot machine.

Bio:

Allan Alcorn graduated from UC Berkeley in 1971 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and began working for Ampex to design early video recording and filing equipment. In 1972 he founded Atari Corporation with Nolan Bushnell, at which he was responsible for designing both the first coin-operated video game (Pong) and the first home video console.

From 1986 to 1991 Mr. Alcorn worked as a Fellow for Apple Computer in the Advanced Technology group. He was Vice President of Engineering at Digital F/X, an innovator in video authoring tools. He is a founder and Chief Technology Officer for Silicon Gaming.

Contact Information:

Allan Alcorn
Senior VP and Chief Technology Officer
Silicon Gaming
al@ubet.com

[submit summary] Submit a summary of this lecture to the EE380 mailbot.



Dennis Allison
Tue Mar 11 11:06:48 PST 1997