Chris Oberth

Christian H. "Chris" Oberth (died July 16, 2012)[1] was a video game programmer who began writing games for the Apple II in the late 1970s. He also developed handheld electronic games for Milton Bradley, arcade video games for Stern Electronics and other companies, and ported games to home computers and consoles.

Though not a hit in arcades, Oberth's 1982 Anteater, developed for Stern, was an influential concept, cloned multiple times for home computers, including Oil's Well from Sierra On-Line and Diamond Mine. The following year he wrote his own home version as Ardy the Aardvark (Datamost, 1983). He also wrote the twin-stick shooter Rescue (1982) and maze game Armored Car (1981) for Stern.

Oberth's first commercial games, Phasor Zap (1978) and 3-D Docking Mission (1978) for the Apple II, were published by Programma International, a company which also published games from future arcade game designers Bob Flanagan and Gary Shannon as well as rejecting the first effort from Mark Turmell.[2] His next thirteen Apple II games, in addition to Phasor Zap and 3-D Docking Mission, were published by The Elektrik Keyboard, a musical instrument and computer store in Chicago where Oberth was head of the computer department.[2]