[AQUARIUS] Dusting off the old Aquarius ...

[catsfolly]

 

 

I have heard the plastic for a 3d printer is around 50 dollars.....even at 10 dollars, not really what I would consider cost effective for game shells. For a prototype shell, sure.....but not for general use.

Someone claimed that the Aquarius was 'low priced'.....I seem to recall that it was cheaper, than the C64 and Atari, but that it was still fairly expensive on release, until it totally, utterly flopped.....I recall it being in the store for 3 or 4 months, and I was in awe of its crappiness, and then it disappeared having been 'recalled' by Mattel.

That being said, I am interested in seeing the new box design. Hopefully, we can print it before labour day.

It's easy in hindsight to laugh at the Aquarius and wonder why Mattel released such a lame machine.

But, in January 1982, when Mattel conceived of the project, it made sense.

At that time, there were two home computers on the market for less than 300 dollars.

The Timex/Sinclair 1000 for $100, with 2k ram, black and white video, and a flat keyboard.
The Vic 20, for $239, with 5k of ram, color graphics, and a full travel keyboard.

So, Mattel thought the Radofin designed Aquarius would fit neatly into the gap between the 2 machines -

The Timex/Sinclair 1000 for $100, with 2k ram, black and white video, and a flat keyboard.
The Aquarius for $150, with 4k of ram, color video, and a rubber keyboard.
The Vic 20, for $239, with 5k of ram, color graphics, and a full travel keyboard.

Ti planned a similar machine, the TI 99/2, and Radio shack started designing the "Micro Color Computer" for the same market.

Unfortunately, Mattel didn't start shipping Aquarius computers in January 1982. At the time, since the world wide web hadn't been invented yet,
people were unclear as to why they might want or need a home computer. So Mattel thought it should have a complete eco-system of games, applications, accessories, etc in place before it shipped the computers. This took time...

In the meantime, TI got tired of missing out on the sales in the low end of the market, so it came out with a $100 rebate for the TI 99/4a, effectively reducing the price to $199. Commodore responded by lowering the price of the Vic-20, and the price wars began.

By January 1983, the Vic 20 was selling for $125 dollars, and the Ti 99/4a followed suit, even though Ti lost money on the machines at that price.
By the time the Aquarius came out, better machines were out for the same or less money, so it didn't have a chance...

[jaybird3rd]

It's easy in hindsight to laugh at the Aquarius and wonder why Mattel released such a lame machine.

 

But, in January 1982, when Mattel conceived of the project, it made sense.

Thanks very much for that overview.

 

I have a special fondness for the entry-level home computers of the early 80s, because these were the ones that I got my start with: the TI 99/4A was my very first, and I also had a T/S 1000. I view the Aquarius as historically significant because, as I've said before, it was one of the last computers which specifically targeted that entry-level market. But, as you point out, better machines were being aggressively discounted by mid-1983, or were being given away by those upgrading to high-end machines. This left no room for the Aquarius, which had been delayed because Mattel wanted a much more elaborate instruction manual in addition to a good starting library of software.

 

It's too bad, too, because the Aquarius could have found an audience if it had been released earlier. Unlike the T/S 1000, the Aquarius offered color character graphics—with no limits on the number of colors that could be combined per scanline, it had (a little) more RAM, and it had Microsoft BASIC (which, contrary to some bad information that is often repeated on the Web, was fully capable of doing FOR/NEXT loops). The Aquarius is a much less interesting system without the Mini Expander and hand controllers, so those would have been nice to have as standard components, but in those days that probably would have defeated any possible price advantage.

[Shinju]

I'm impressed at the build quality of the Aquarius, too, especially considering the original price point. It was one of the last home computers designed specifically for the low-budget entry-level market, but it's a much nicer machine than the others I've seen in that category, such as the Sinclair ZX81 (or the Timex Sinclair 1000, as we knew it here in the US). I probably own a dozen new or used Aquarius systems by now, but even though some of them have been very harshly treated over the years, they've all held up pretty well; only one or two of them have some sort of hardware problem.

 

Well, if you decide to go for it, you'll be the first to get one based on the new cartridge design pictured here! I still need to design a good label for it, though, along with the "multi-purpose" gatefold boxes we've been talking about.

 

 

hit me up in a PM with details

Edited May 16, 2013 by Shinju

[jaybird3rd]

I'll try to have some preliminary box designs finished by the end of this week.

Heh ... well, better late than never, I guess!

 

Coming up with a design for a nice-looking gatefold box has been more challenging than I anticipated! I've spent the last few weeks experimenting with different ideas, most of which involved taking Mattel's original Aquarius box design and scaling it to the dimensions of their Intellivision boxes. They're two totally different boxes, however, and what works with one doesn't work so well with the other, so I wasn't happy with what I was coming up with. But then, I had an epiphany: don't bother trying to make it look like an old Mattel box. My releases will be, in effect, third-party Aquarius titles, so my box should look like a third-party box, with a distinctive design of its own.

 

My Aquarius games will likely be produced in very small runs, so printing custom boxes for every title isn't economically feasible. What I need instead is a "generic" box that I can customize later by adding labels, and a design that will help to "hide" the label edges as much as possible. I ultimately decided to take my inspiration from one prominent third-party publisher, whose characteristic "look" I've always liked, and add my own modifications. Anyone who knows classic video games should be able to guess whose package design I started with:

 

 

This is scaled to a third of the original size and shows only the front, back, and side faces of the box (the back of the box is on the left, the front is on the right, and the side is in the middle). The white areas, and the gold bands toward the top, are placeholders for game-specific titles and artwork, which I will apply later using labels. I'd still like to make a few "tweaks" here and there, but this will at least give you an idea of where I'm going with it.

 

(By the way, in case anyone is curious about the name: "Synapse Technologies" is the name that I chose for an IT business that I planned to start about twelve years ago. I decided to take my career in a different direction, but I held on to the name, and now I've decided to resurrect it as an "umbrella" for my exploration of classic video games and computers. I didn't intend it as a reference to Synapse Software, another great third-party game publisher from the early 80s, but I hope that my work will live up to their high standards.)

 

Let me know what you think!

[Intymike]

I****C

 

[+cmart604]

Very cool Jay, I can't wait to buy both Aquarius and Intellivision releases from Synapse Technologies. (and in gatefold boxes no less!!!! ) I also like the homage paid to a certain third party company which Mike may or may not have alluded to.

[Games For Your Intellivision]

I suggest making the spine black where there is white now........the title I assume will be put on a sticker and applied to the spine, correct?

 

You don't want the white bleeding on the front and back of the box when it is folded.

 

Also, the white area is going to be covered with a custom sticker right?

 

Why does it have to be so obviously 'blank'? I think making it black would allow you to add a custom sticker but still have the box look 'complete' and not unfinished 'as is'.

 

I also suggest that you use the inside of the box too.

 

When assembling the boxes, my 'waves' help me square up the boxes when gluing them together.

[jaybird3rd]

I suggest making the spine black where there is white now........the title I assume will be put on a sticker and applied to the spine, correct?

 

You don't want the white bleeding on the front and back of the box when it is folded.

 

Also, the white area is going to be covered with a custom sticker right?

 

Why does it have to be so obviously 'blank'? I think making it black would allow you to add a custom sticker but still have the box look 'complete' and not unfinished 'as is'.

Yes, I'll be applying labels onto the spine and on the front and back, where the white squares are now. I put the squares in as placeholders as I was laying out the other elements, but once I've finalized the layout, I think I'll do as you suggest and take them out. In addition to making an unadorned box look "unfinished", they would also show around the edges of the labels if the labels are not perfectly aligned.

 

I also suggest that you use the inside of the box too.

 

When assembling the boxes, my 'waves' help me square up the boxes when gluing them together.

That's a good idea. I think I'll continue the colored stripes through the inside; that way, squaring the boxes should be as easy as aligning the stripes end-to-end.

[OutlawTorn71]

That is awesome Jay ! Man I might have to get a second job for all of the cool stuff that keeps rolling out !!

[jaybird3rd]

Here's my revised box design, with the inside panels included and the placeholders removed:

 

[Games For Your Intellivision]

Cool....don't forget to keep the white areas on the same area where my box is. It allows you to have something to glue the front cover to, as it won't stick to the glossy cardboard.

[Games For Your Intellivision]

Have you tried putting the actual Aquarius logo on that box? It might look good.

 

In the front bottomr right corner of my cover, I have 'For use with the Intellivison'

[jaybird3rd]

I've been thinking about the box design some more. The version I started with used a similar layout and color scheme as Imagic's boxes for their more "obscure" platforms (the Odyssey², etc.). I think it was a start in the right direction, but it wasn't sufficiently "Aquarius-like" to differentiate it from other systems.

 

Here is my attempt to create more of an Aquarius-specific theme, and it even includes the logo! I'm still working on it, of course, but I'm glad it's starting to evolve into something more distinctive than an outright clone of Imagic's design:

 

[Games For Your Intellivision]

I like it!

[+cmart604]

Jay I like that a lot better with the larger blue stripe and the Aquarius logo added. I'd say you're definitely on the right track.

[+JasonlikesINTV]

Pretty!

[jaybird3rd]

Another update to the preliminary box design. On this one, I've tried a few different shades of blue for the stripes on the bottom front (I wasn't happy with the earlier colors), and I enlarged the label area on the back of the box to better accommodate the precut labels I'll be using.

 

 

I've experimented with different ways to fit a smaller Aquarius logo into the bottom area on the back, where the Synapse logo and the other text is now, but I haven't found one yet that doesn't make that area look too "cluttered". I'll be traveling over the next week (a mini-vacation with the family), so hopefully I'll be able to return to it with a fresh perspective after I get back.

[pimpmaul69]

i love it just like that

[jaybird3rd]

I thought it might be easier to see how this design works if I created a quick mockup of what a completed box would look like, so here's a very hastily-executed one for Aquarius Chess:

 

 

(I'd put a lot more work into the back side in particular if this were a real box, but this at least illustrates where all the elements are and how they'd look when fully populated. Depending on the game, the back of a real box would probably use the empty space under the text to list system requirements, supported controllers, etc.)

 

Notice that the picture area on the front is the same proportions as the instruction manual, only an inch narrower. On a real box, only the picture would be there, without the Aquarius logo and the other text that you see on top of the Chess artwork shown here. Since my manuals will follow the original Aquarius manual design, this will allow me to use the same artwork in both places. The manuals should fit nicely into the pouch inside the box, too.

[+cmart604]

Wow! That blue on black looks soooo good! Nicely done. As an aside, Chess was actually released on the Aquarius right? I have Zero in, Space Speller and Melody Chase, but I don't have Chess?!?!

[+cmart604]

I seriously can't wait to see these as a gatefold. So Jay, will there be five stickers applied? 3 for "Chess" and then the text on the back and the pic on the front?

[jaybird3rd]

Wow! That blue on black looks soooo good! Nicely done. As an aside, Chess was actually released on the Aquarius right? I have Zero in, Space Speller and Melody Chase, but I don't have Chess?!?!

Thanks! And yes, Chess was definitely released for the Aquarius (by Radofin), albeit in very limited quantities; the front picture is from a scan that I made of one of the original manuals.

[pimpmaul69]

yup still looks good. i love the whole retro look with a newer style use of black. my only dislike about old games is most of the time they never properly utilized black boxes. and always mixed some other color like gold or silver on half the box. this is a very clean look.

 

cmart: yes they did make chess.he took that pic from the manual. and if you used/owned an aquaricart you would have known that. (shameless sales plugin for jaybirds multi-cart)

[+cmart604]

cmart: yes they did make chess.he took that pic from the manual. and if you used/owned an aquaricart you would have known that. (shameless sales plugin for jaybirds multi-cart)

 

I actually bought one of the very first but my Aquarius is currently packed away and I haven't spent much time on it at all.

[jaybird3rd]

I seriously can't wait to see these as a gatefold. So Jay, will there be five stickers applied? 3 for "Chess" and then the text on the back and the pic on the front?

Yes, there will be a total of five stickers on each box: two blue title stickers for the front and back, one on the spine, one for the front picture, and one for the description on the back. Since the sticker areas are sharply separated from one another in this design, it should be possible to apply them in a way that hides the label edges as much as possible. I think they'll be almost invisible if the box is placed inside a transparent Intellivision box protector.