Google Doodle honours video game cartridges inventor Gerald “Jerry” Lawson – Times of India

Google has created a special doodle to honour the memory of the lead inventor responsible for video game cartridges, Gerald “Jerry” Lawson. The tech giant is offering a collection of minigames on its homepage to mark his 82nd birthday today (December 1). Today’s Google Doodle features Jerry Lawson playing a video game-like sketch, which users can play on the homepage itself.
Google Doodle today: How were the mini games created
According to 9to5Google, Google collaborated with three artists and game designers—Davionne Gooden, Lauren Brown, and Momo Pixel—to create various games to showcase on the search engine’s homepage in order to best honour Gerald “Jerry” Lawson’s memory.
Google Doodle today: How to play the homepage game
A few missing blocks are simply added to a level so that an 8-bit Lawson can reach the goal flag in the Google homepage game. From there, a selection of additional games—appropriately represented as cartridges—become available for play and customization. In order to create the minigame, whether it be a platformer, a breakout-style game, or something else entirely, players can also begin with a level that is entirely empty.

Users can also share a link to their finished level by clicking the share button in the top-right corner after making the changes of their choice. Every time users click on the Gerald “Jerry” Lawson sketch, they can play a new game.
Gerald “Jerry” Lawson and video games
The Fairchild Channel F, introduced in 1976, was engineered and developed under the direction of Gerald “Jerry” Lawson. It was the first video game console ever created with the capability to switch software depending on the cartridge being used. The Jerry Lawson-designed 8-way joystick was another feature of the Fairchild Channel F, which was also the first home console to have a “pause” button.
Lawson founded his own company, VideoSoft, in 1980. It was one of the first Black-owned video game development companies.
Lawson was honoured as an industry trailblazer in 2011 by the International Game Developers Association for his contributions to gaming. The Gerald A. Lawson Fund was established by the University of Southern California to help under-represented students who want to pursue undergraduate or graduate degrees in computer science or game design. The World Video Game Hall of Fame in Rochester, New York, honours Lawson’s accomplishments.