Rob Zdybel, Atari (Part 2)

Hello, Atari fans, and welcome to another interview episode of Antic, The Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast.  My name is Randy Kindig.  This interview is a bit different in that it’s the second interview with someone that we’ve interviewed before - Mr. Rob Zdybel.  The reason for this is that Rob worked for Atari so long, and was involved in so many projects, that I felt like some information was left undiscovered in the first interview.  At the request of some listeners, I decided to do a follow-up interview and Rob was kind enough to agree.

Rob Zdybel was a very long-time employee at Atari, having worked there beginning in 1979 all the way to 1996, when the Tramiels left.  Rob has a long line of credits including Pigs in Space, Real Sports Football, Stellar Track and Star Trek for the Atari 400/800, SOS for the Atari 2600, Missile Command for the Atari 5200, and Bug Hunt for the Atari XE.  He also designed the system BIOS for the Atari 5200.

Please note that this interview does have some profanity, although I did beep out the most obvious instances.

This interview took place on July 10, 2016.

Links:

• list of Rob’s games at AtariMania
• PRGE 2013 - Bob Smith, Rob Zdybel, Joe Decuir - Portland Retro Gaming Expo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmqzybUe9m4
• “Once Upon Atari” - http://www.onceuponatari.com/
• Rob’s first interview with ANTIC