Space Race (video game) first game. After leaving Nutting Associates and founding Atari in May 1972, Bushnell spent a few days designing "Asteroid", but soon had to drop the project to focus on running the company. After the release of "Pong", Atari's first game, development resumed on the title in Spring 1973. Dabney has claimed credit for the game's final design, though "Pong" designer Allan Alcorn has stated that he and Bushnell may have been involved as well. "Asteroid", codenamed VP-2, was designed to be a racing game that would be simple to create to fulfill an earlier contract with Bally Midway; Atari had
William C. Dabney William C. Dabney William Cecil Dabney (1894–1963) was an American industrialist and the first soldier from Louisville, Kentucky injured during World War I. Dabney co-founded the Jones-Dabney manufacturer of paints. Dabney was born to Samuel G. Dabney and Louise Higgins Allen Dabney in Louisville on November 20, 1894. After attending public schools in Louisville, Davney completed his high school education at the Morristown School (now Morristown-Beard School) in Morristown, New Jersey. He then studied at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia from 1912 to 1913. Dabney served as vice president and general manufacturer of the Jenkins Graphite Lubrication Company