Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Abstract:
- Barbara Michalec was a video game programmer who contributed to the development for 16-bit video games during the 1980’s and 1990’s. She is one of the very few women to work as a video game programmer during that time and is a pioneer for women in programming. She is known for her work at BlueSky Software, a California based game developer that operated from 1988 to 2001. Michalec played a pivotal role in adopting popular cartoon and film franchises into video games for the Sega Genesis. While she is most known for her work on Astro Blaster, Desert Demolition, and Ariel the Little Mermaid, she also worked on the games Hare Raising Havoc, The Ren and Stimpy Show: Stimpy’s Invention, and Major League Baseball '96.
- Extent:
- 5 boxes, 3.1 cu. ft.
- Language:
- Preferred citation:
-
Barbara Michalec Sega-Genesis Collection. San Diego Public Library
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection contains game design documents from several of the games Michalec worked on throughout her career. The documents include workflows, schedules, brainstorming notes, technical specs, maps, and guides for working with Engine software. The collection had been separated by project and organized chronologically by project start date, staying as close to her original organization as possible. Within each project the original order of documents was preserved.
- Acquisition information:
- Barbara Michalec, 2024
- Processing information:
-
Kayla Beard, 2025
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
San Diego Public Library can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying any claims of the copyright holder. Permission to copy or publish any portion of San Diego Public Library's collection must be given by the San Diego Public Library.
- Preferred citation:
-
Barbara Michalec Sega-Genesis Collection. San Diego Public Library
- Location of this collection:
-
330 Park Blvd.San Diego, CA 92101, US
- Contact:
- (619) 238-6668