Greg Zumwalt
From Sega Retro
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| Gregory Lawrence Zumwalt |
|---|
| Place of birth: Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States[1] |
| Date of birth: 1956-02[2] (age 68) |
| Employment history: |
| Role(s): Programmer,[1] Executive[3] |
| Education: University of Tulsa (Business)[5] |
Gregory "Greg" Lawrence Zumwalt is an American avionics software engineer and former Tandy Corporation programmer.[1] First beginning his career as an aircraft simulation engineer, he soon branched out to establish ZCT Systems Group in 1982,[4] which would develop a string of popular home computer titles for clients like Atari Corporation, Nintendo of America, Electronic Arts, and Sega of America, among others.[1] Following his departure from the game industry, he spent a decade adapting his game engine software for usage in aircraft cockpit displays before eventually retiring.[2] Today, Zumwalt occupies himself with a passion for 3D printing and design, engineering small-scale automata from his home in Oklahoma[1] and maintaining a role in the Adafruit Industries community.[6]
Contents
Career
Born in 1956 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Zumwalt recalls growing up with a passion for math and science, and would eventually go on to attend the University of Tulsa. While working on his business degree, he was first exposed to video games, repairing local arcade games to supplement his rent money. Following his graduation, he went to work for an aircraft simulation company, designing aircraft training and simulation software. Five years into this role, he was contacted by the American computer company Tandy Corporation with the request of creating video games for their line of home computers[5] - Zumwalt's official introduction to the game industry.
ZCT Systems Group
Zumwalt established ZCT Systems Group in 1982[4] as the official face of his video game work (although he would not utilize the name for about half a decade). In the realm of computers, he almost exclusively contributed games to Tandy's TRS-80 Color Computer, with his first game being 1983's Star Blaze.[5] During his time working with the company, he programmed ports of NES titles like RoboCop and Predator, as well as creating Tandy's version of the popular Tetris. Zumwalt recalls using both IBM PC and Macintosh computers in the development of his games, but preferred the latter.[1]
Perhaps most notable was his work designing and programming Flightsim I, an original work considered a pioneering entry in game-integrated 3D graphics.[5] During this time, he accumulated a considerable experience in developing game engines, particularly in the realms of 3D programming and simulation. "If you wanted a graphic engine I had to write it myself. If I wanted to draw a line I had to write my own algorithm."[5] Following his work with Tandy, he would also develop Michael Jordan in Flight for Electronic Arts, a Michael Jordan-endorsed basketball game featuring a fully 3D court.
Sega VR
Zumwalt's ZCT Systems Group was one of four software developers contracted by Sega of America to develop launch games for the upcoming Sega VR headset. To this end, development began on a 3D adventure game by the name Matrix Runner sometime around 1992, producing an early version of the game that demonstrated animated enemies of various shapes and power. This prototype was the basis for footage appearing in Sega of America promotional videos.[3]
Development continued and the game reached about two-thirds completion before the Sega VR project was cancelled. ZCT was required by contract to destroy all code, video, test data, etc., and they did.[7]
Later career
Sometime around the mid 1990s, ZCT appears to have largely ceased their game development business, with Zumwalt leaving the game industry and officially retiring soon after. However, he was eventually contacted by aircraft technology company FlightSafety International around 2002[8] in the interests of adapting his game engine software for usage in aircraft cockpit displays. He also developed hardware as well, designing flight control systems for the military and commercial aircraft industries.[5] Zumwalt would remain in this role for another ten years before retiring again, this time permanently.[2]
| “ | The more mistakes I make, the more knowledge I gain. | „ |
— Greg Zumwalt[9] | ||
Currently, Zumwalt occupies himself with a passion for 3D printing and design, engineering small-scale automata from his home in Oklahoma[1] and maintaining a role in the Adafruit Industries community.[6]
Production history
- Matrix Runner (Mega Drive; unreleased) — Programmers
Interviews
- Interview: Greg Zumwalt (2014-10-02) by Adafruit Industries
- Interview: Greg Zumwalt (2019-03-13) by Hackaday
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Interview: Greg Zumwalt (2014-10-02) by Adafruit Industries
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://hackaday.io/gzumwalt (Wayback Machine: 2021-03-05 20:12)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 https://www.unseen64.net/2010/10/23/matrix-runner-sega-vr-genesis-cancelled/#comment-145942 (Wayback Machine: 2021-04-25 05:50)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 http://www.smallbusinessdb.com/zct-systems-group-inc-tulsa-ok-74136.htm
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Interview: Greg Zumwalt (2019-03-13) by Hackaday
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 https://blog.adafruit.com/2014/10/02/community-spotlight-greg-zumwalts-automata-mechanical-toys
- ↑ https://www.unseen64.net/2010/10/23/matrix-runner-sega-vr-genesis-cancelled/#comment-146339 (Wayback Machine: 2021-04-25 05:50)
- ↑ https://casetext.com/case/zct-systems-group (Ghostarchive)
- ↑ https://cults3d.com/en/users/gzumwalt/3d-models