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Greg Easter (born ca. 1946, died September 2022)[1] was a chef, author, YouTuber and former video game developer, best known to Residents fans for developing the unfinished Mark of the Mole Atari game in 1983.
After leaving Atari in 1984, Easter spent many years working as a restaurant chef. In his later years he began a YouTube channel, "CookingInRussia"; he operated a restaurant, Laava, in Helsinki,[2] at which point his YouTube channel became "CookingInFinland".
Easter passed away in September 2022, aged 76. He was survived by his wife, and his son Max.[3][1]
History[]
Early work for Atari[]
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves Atari 2600 prototype, programmed by Greg Easter; limited edition cartridge sold at the 2002 Classic Gaming Expo
Greg Easter began working for Atari in early 1982. By that point in the company's history, it had already established itself as an iconic and influential games studio. Due to the near-instant commercial failure of their second console, the Atari 5200, a number of the company's employees continued to develop games for their initial console, the Atari 2600.
In November 1982, Easter created a prototype for Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, an adaptation of the Disney film of the same name, with designer Mimi Nyden. In February 1983, a different Snow White prototype was produced by Atari; although it features no credits, it is speculated that Easter was also involved with it.
Mark of the Mole video game[]
While programming the ill-fated Snow White, Easter listened to The Residents' 1981 concept album, Mark of the Mole, and began to conceive a game based on the album's plot and characters.[4] Soon thereafter (possibly following the cancellation of Snow White), Easter (again with the assistance of Mimi Nyden) began developing the Mole game for the Atari 2600, with the blessing of The Cryptic Corporation.
Easter sent a prototype of the game to The Residents on March 25th 1983, but despite some further development, the Mole game was permanently abandoned following the infamous video game industry recession which began later that year. Had it been released, Mark of the Mole would have been one of the first video games based on the work of a musical artist (preceded only by Journey Escape, released in 1982).
Easter left Atari in 1984; none of the games he created for the company ever saw official release, although a half-finished prototype of his 1982 Snow White game was sold in limited numbers (complete with cartridge, box and manual) at the 2002 Classic Gaming Expo; it has circulated widely among the Atari internet community in the years since.
After Atari[]
In 1989, Easter graduated from the University of California in Los Angeles, with a Ph.D. in Science.[5] In the 2000s, Easter began selling game development material through eBay, starting with Snow White in 2000 and Mark of the Mole in 2008. In January 2008, he published his first book, Ceramic-to-Metal Joints and Seals.
In 2012, Easter began a YouTube channel, "CookingInRussia" (later renamed "CookingInFinland" when he opened a restaurant, Laava, in Helsinki),[6][2] producing over three hundred videos (mostly cooking tutorials), based on his years of experience as a restaurant chef.[5] Easter also maintained an account on Quora, and sold books of recipes through Amazon.
Greg Easter passed away unexpectedly in September 2022 at the age of 76, after having suffered a number of health issues in his final year. His death was announced by his wife in a YouTube comment in December,[3] followed by a short YouTube video uploaded by his son Max in January 2023.[1]
Games developed by Greg Easter[]
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarves for Atari 2600 (1982)
- Mark of the Mole for Atari 2600 (1983)
See also[]
- Mark of the Mole (video game)
- Mimi Nyden
- Jim Ludtke
External links and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Update", CookingInFinland (via YouTube), January 17th 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Laava Restaurant, Helsinki, Finland", CookinginFinland (via YouTube), October 1st 2019
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "ElitistDaily", "A vanguard of the online cooking world has allegedly passed away: Greg, of CookingInRussia/CookingInFinland fame, died a couple months ago according to his second wife", r/Cooking (via Reddit), December 3rd 2022
- ↑ Mark of the Mole at AtariProtos.com
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "What's New", It's Dinner Time with Loraine & Earl, ca. 2020 (archived September 18th 2020 via archive.org)
- ↑ "macross city flaneur", "Cooking in Russia", MetaFilter, December 6th 2016
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Mark of the Mole Part One of The Mole Trilogy (1981) Side A: Hole-Workers at the Mercy of Nature |
