Mabel Addis
Born
Mabel Holmes

21 May 1912
Mount Vernon, New York, U.S
DiedAugust 13, 2004(2004-08-13) (aged 92)
Purdys, New York, U.S.
EducationBarnard College
Columbia University
Notable workThe Sumerian Game

Mabel Addis Mergardt (21 May 1912 – 13 August 2004) was an American writer, teacher and the first video game writer. She designed The Sumerian Game, programmed by William McKay, for the IBM 7090 in 1964. It inspired similarly-styled kingdom management games such as Hamurabi from the early 1970s.

Early life and education

Mabel Holmes was born on 21 May 1912 to James Holmes and Mabel Wood. She grew up in Mount Vernon and excelled in school, graduating valedictorian from Brewster High School in 1929. After graduating, she attended Barnard College. At Barnard, she obtained a degree in ancient history and a minor in psychology by 1933. She attended Columbia University for her graduate schooling, and obtained a masters degree in education.[1][2]

Career

Upon obtaining her master’s degree in education, Addis worked in a rural one-room school. In 1937, she moved to the Hyatt Avenue School. She worked there for thirteen years before finally moving to Katonah-Lewisboro School District in 1950. She taught in this district until 1976.[3]

Addis was very active in her community during this period of time. She used her knowledge of history to contribute to both history and book committees in the school district. She wrote and published historical articles, started an oral history collection, and co-authored a book titled Katonah: a History of a New York Village and Brewster Through the Years.[4]

However, her most notable work occurred in the 1960s. Addis was elected to work with IBM and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services to create the first text-based computer game.[1][2][3] The game was titled The Sumerian Game. It allowed the players to act as rulers of the Sumerian city of Lagash. This was effectively the first video game established on a fully electronic computer. Subsequently, this made Addis the first writer for computer video games, as well as the first person to design a video game.[1][5]

Personal life and legacy

She married Alexander L. Addis in 1942, officially becoming Mabel Addis. Alexander died in 1981. Addis remarried in 1991 to Gerard Mergardt. Mergardt died in 1995.

Addis passed away in 2004.[1][6] She was posthumously awarded the Pioneer Award during the 2023 edition of Game Developers Conference on 23 February 2023.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 March 2020, Stacey Henley 08 (8 March 2020). "Remembering Mabel Addis, the first video game writer, on International Women's Day". gamesradar. Retrieved 4 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 "The Sumerian Game: The Most Important Video Game You've Never Heard Of – A Critical Hit!". A Critical Hit!. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Three Women Who Shaped Modern Gaming". Extra Life. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  4. ↑ "NYGenWeb: Katonah, NY Genealogical Resources". sites.rootsweb.com. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  5. ↑ Chan, Khee Hoon (8 March 2022). "Mabel Addis Was The First Video Games Writer You've Never Heard Of". TheGamer. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  6. ↑ "MABEL MERGARDT Obituary (2004) - The Journal News". obits.lohud.com. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  7. ↑ "Legendary Game Designers John Romero and Mabel Addis Honored at GDCA 2023". Game Developers Conference. 23 February 2023. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023.
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