THE MAKING OF Skull & Crossbones

IN THE KNOW

» PUBLISHER: ATARI GAMES

» DEVELOPER: ATARI GAMES

» RELEASED: 1989

» PLATFORM: ARCADE, VARIOUS

» GENRE: SCROLLING BEAT-’EM-UP

Bob Flanagan felt like he was walking the plank. After a year of working on Skull & Crossbones, his ambitious homage to the pirate movies he had grown up with, he was looking through a two-way mirror at a focus group, gathered to give their opinion on his game before it was officially launched in arcades. And some of their feedback was less than positive.

“I felt I could fix some of the issues they had with the game,” says Bob. “I should’ve known better. Before the next group was due in, I changed some things in the software to try and address their points… and I broke the thing. I was in such a state, mentally, that I walked out and started crying in the hall. I felt so disappointed in myself. It was my first time leading a project and I felt responsible for everything and everyone. There was a lot of weight on my