GDC to honor Missile Command creator and EMA lawyers

Game Developer Conference (GDC) organizers have picked Missile Command father Dave Theurer and lawyers Ken Doroshow and Paul M. Smith to receive the group's Special Awards during the 12th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards.

This March, Theurer will receive GDC's Pioneer Award in honor of his landmark contributions to gaming; specifically, his creation of the classic games Missile Command, Tempest, and I, Robot in the 1980s, which have long been credited with ushering in a new age of 3D graphics and revolutionary controls.

"It's very difficult to find a game developer who doesn't have a single memory of Missile Command or his other classic, Tempest," said Meggan Scavio, general manager of the Game Developers Conference, in this week's announcement. "We're delighted to honor Dave Theurer for his work as a designer which resulted in shaping so many developers' creative drive in the genre."

As for GDC's second Special Award, the Ambassador Award, those honors are set to fall to lawyers Ken Doroshow and Paul M. Smith, who successfully defended developers' First Amendment rights during the Brown v. Electronic Merchants Association US Supreme Court case.

"The dedication that both Doroshow and Smith brought to the Brown v. EMA case will forever make them heroes to anyone who understands the value of this industry," said Scavio, noting, "With their legal teams, these two lawyers advanced the games industry in such a way that developers' livelihoods and intellectual properties are protected."

Theurer, Doroshow, and Smith will receive their awards during the 12th Annual Game Developers Choice Award event on Wednesday, March 7, at San Francisco's Moscone Center.