Chris Crawford on Game Design

A More Serious Pratfall

My fame at Atari attracted a great deal of press attention, and my candor only enhanced my reputation with the press. I thought I had learned how to handle the press: Tell them the truth and don't ever try to manipulate them. I also learned that sometimes, the truth doesn't make much sense without knowing some of the underlying forces at work, forces that can't be published. In such cases, you tell the reporter, “This is background information and it is off the record,” at which point the reporter switches off the tape recorder and you speak freely, secure in the knowledge that such information will go no further.

That's how it's supposed to work, but there are unscrupulous reporters out there, and I had the bad luck to ...