Carol Shaw

Updated: 09/15/2017 by Computer Hope
Carol Shaw

Name: Carol Shaw

Born: 1955 in Palo Alto, California, USA

Computer-related contributions

  • Purported to be the first female computer video game creator.
  • Best known for her game River Raid that she programmed while working for Activision.
  • Former Microprocessor Software Engineer at Atari Company.

Significant publications

  • River Raid computer game (1982).
  • 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe game (1979).
  • Polo game (1978).

Honors and awards

  • First Female Video Game Designer (1978).


  • "In those days, one person would do the entire game. The design, programming, graphics and the sound were all done by one person. Then you'd get feedback from the other designers, but basically one person did the whole thing."