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Draft:Martin Webb (Video game engineer)

Martin Webb

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Martin Dennis Webb (born May 2, 1968, in Cuxton, Kent, United Kingdom) is a British entrepreneur and former video game developer known for his work on the Commodore 64 version of Out Run. He is also recognized for his entrepreneurial ventures in the tech industry.


Early Life and Education

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Martin Webb was born in Cuxton, Kent, United Kingdom. He attended Marsh Green School in Edenbridge, where he was diagnosed with learning difficulties, and later attended Homewood Comprehensive School in Tenterden. Despite his challenges, he overcame his learning difficulties after being selected to be one of 15 boys to spearhead a new computer studies course added to the UK curriculum in 1984. He became proficient as a self-taught programmer and released numerous game titles, the first being Adventuremania in 1984. Noting his keen computer skills, the headmaster, Mr. Duncan, asked him to sit the O-level exam after completing the GCSE course, and Martin passed with an A. For his coursework, Martin submitted the code for his TI-99/4a game Lionel and the Ladders.

Career

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Video Game Development

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After leaving school in 1984, Martin and his father started Intrigue Software, where they published several games for the TI-99/4A. In 1985, Martin taught himself 6502 machine code and wrote several titles for the Commodore 64, the first being Max Torque, a motorbike racing game inspired by Sega's Hang-On. After publishing several games with Bubblebus Software, in 1987 Martin took a demo of a Porsche racing game to U.S. Gold and was offered a contract to convert Out Run to the CBM64 by Geoff Brown. Out Run on the CBM64 went on to sell 250,000 copies worldwide. Martin visited Mindscape in Chicago, where he worked with Chris Oberth and Howie Haehn on the US version. In 1988, after completing Out Run, Martin converted Atari's RoadBlasters for the C64.

Entrepreneurial Ventures

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After leaving the gaming industry, Webb embarked on a successful entrepreneurial journey.

Tudodesk

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Webb founded Tudodesk, a SaaS work orders app, which was sold for an undisclosed sum by a private equity company in 2023.

Personal Life

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Webb moved to Brazil in 2008, where he established and sold multiple SaaS ventures. He has five children: Thomas Webb, Billy Webb, Leo Souza Webb, Martin (Jnr) Souza Webb, and Amy Souza Webb. His son, Tom Webb, is the founder of Web.Game, a well-known crypto metaverse game, and appeared on America's Got Talent in 2017 as Tom London.

Publications

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Webb authored a book titled 64 Pixel Dreams, named after the CBM64, detailing his journey through the gaming and entrepreneurial worlds.

Media Coverage

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References

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