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Prototype Boulder Dash Micro Fun Game Hopeful Homebrew Project


RelliK111

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I wanted to show everyone a test box and cart that I made with the help of some fellow AA members! I made this prototype to see how close I could get to making it look like a official Micro Fun release and I think it turned out great! I have always loved Boulder Dash for the Colecovision and I have always hated Telegames. Boulder Dash is one of those games that is really good and extremely rare. Do to that combination, the price for the game is around $500+ That's a lot of money for a "in my opinion" ugly Telegames box & cart. I have been wanting to make a near perfect copy of Boulder Dash that looks just like Micro Fun would have made it back in the day. I have talked to Collectorvision and if there is enough interest Collectorvision would be willing to make a official homebrew release of "The Micro Fun Boulder Dash" that will look just like my Prototype. This is not a preorder as Collectorvision will take care of that. This is just to gauge interest to get the green light on the project. My question to you is "would you want one?" I'm not sure of the price of the homebrew release as it depends on how many people would want one. The more people interested the lower the price will be. I don't think it should cost much more then a normal homebrew release but that would be up to Collectorvision to make that call.

 

Here is my video showing off the game: http://youtu.be/-NQCfD_ZJXc

 

 

As a bonus to all my Canadian Colecovision fans I also incuded in the video a special Beer Review of the best Canadian Beer I have ever had!!!!

 

 

Let me know what you guys think!

Edited by RelliK111
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Looks good RelliK111 - and I would certainly be interested in a CollectorVision release. In your next video you need to be more careful with your sunglasses - I definitely saw your eyes a few times in this video :-D I'm in Canada and will also be looking out for that beer - I love a good stout.

 

It looks like you have used in your cart the prototype rom that is on the internet rather than the Telegames rom (which is a hacked version of the prototype to change the title screens but with over 50 bytes of other differences). Do you happen to know the story behind the unofficial release of the prototype rom? Or any insight into the difference between the prototype and Telegames roms (other than the title screens)?

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I think I will tape my sunglasses to my head next time LOL ;)

Ikrananka, on 29 May 2014 - 8:27 PM, said:Ikrananka, on 29 May 2014 - 8:27 PM, said:

Looks good RelliK111 - and I would certainly be interested in a CollectorVision release. In your next video you need to be more careful with your sunglasses - I definitely saw your eyes a few times in this video :-D I'm in Canada and will also be looking out for that beer - I love a good stout.

 

It looks like you have used in your cart the prototype rom that is on the internet rather than the Telegames rom (which is a hacked version of the prototype to change the title screens but with over 50 bytes of other differences). Do you happen to know the story behind the unofficial release of the prototype rom? Or any insight into the difference between the prototype and Telegames roms (other than the title screens)?

 

Its one of the best stouts I have ever had! & that's saying something because I drink a lot :P LOL

 

No I'm not sure the story behind the different roms, maybe Jim can chime in if he knows. Its interesting though thanks for the info.

Edited by RelliK111
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While I love to see any and all Homebrew endeavors taken on and come to fruition, you could end up fighting an uphill and losing battle concerning making a Homebrew reproduction release of Boulder Dash for the ColecoVision for numerous reasons unless you keep it completely under the radar... which will be a lot harder now with this thread and the YouTube video.

 

Before I share my concerns for you in this endeavor, I would like to say that the reproduction/replica MicroFun cart looks incredible and you and your friends did a tremendous job making the MicroFun style label and fitting the PCB into the MicroFun cart shell. The authenticity of the cartridge's look far outshines other reproduction creations made over the years which used the Homebrew cart shell and the French/Canadian style MicroFun label. Even tough I own one of these Homebrew reproductions, I would definitely buy your version.

 

Onto my concerns:

 

- Obviously First Star Software or the current rights holder of their games is still around as can be seen with the Atari 2600 release of Boulder Dash that was made last year. Something tells me that they wouldn't take news of your potential release very lightly and would assume that they are more aware of Homebrew efforts now after last year's 2600 release.

 

- TeleGames is still around and they must obviously still own the rights to the game in one way, shape or form for the ColecoVision or they paid First Star Software for the license to make a re-release of Boulder Dash for the CV last year... that was not very well received by almost everyone on here. I'm sure you saw it like I did with the low quality box, copied instruction manual and the over inflated retail price tag. For all those reasons, I passed on buying one and passed on working with TeleGames UK to distribute it in North America for them. On the good side, they gave PkK some business in purchasing a quantity of his mini-cart shells and DIY cart PCBs, although I would have preferred to see a standard sized cart shell used... but that ended up not mattering since I didn't buy one anyway.

 

- Collectors may not be very happy to see a reproduction made that could affect the value of the original 1986 TeleGames release, especially those that paid top dollar for their copy. If you recall, there was a discussion about a possible Comic Bakery release by CollectorVision and the concerns that it would affect the value of the Opcode prototype Comic Bakery. I personally own this original TeleGame Boulder Dash CIB release, thankfully did not have to break the bank to acquire it and would not mind in the least if you were able to release your version.

 

- If you follow thru and make a CIB release in quantity (say 50-75 and maybe even 100), that would be a lot of MicroFun carts to sacrifice if you wanted to keep the release authentic looking. This could get pretty expensive buying up Heist and Miner 2049er carts to reuse (One on One would be out of the question due to the higher rarity and value of this cart) unless you just decided to use the Homebrew cart shell or only supplied the PCB and cart label and then left it up to the purchaser to acquire a MicroFun game for the cart shell.

Edited by NIAD
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No I'm not sure the story behind the different roms, maybe Jim can chime in if he knows. Its interesting though thanks for the info.

Ikrananka and I have had a lengthy discussion about this and really, it is all guess work on our part. As far as I recall, the MicroFun prototype/release candidate spread throughout the ADAM User Group community as a rom image in CP/M format just before or a little after TeleGames made their release on cartridge as well as ADAM disk and data pack formats. Until Ikrananka did a rom study of the MicroFun and TeleGames versions, the only difference I was aware of is in the title screen text.

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Whatever may happen, with this game, I just want to say that the box and label look really awesome, I'd totally love a copy of this! Since there's probably no chance that i'd be able to accuire an original copy, i'd love to have this version if it make its out.. Some very good points raised above though, I never would have thought about that right off the bat but its always good to cover your arse if an issue ever were to come up..

I also happen have an extra Miner2049er cart with a damaged pcb, so it would be a perfect canidate for the label anyway and the box is a really great match with their other releases which i do not own just yet in cib form. Looking forward to this project and wishing you all the best, Relik! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :grin:

 

Edit: Oh, and that beer sure looks TASTEY! Gots to get me some of that asap.. I know what im drinking this weekend! :P

Edited by SiLic0ne t0aD85
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NIAD, on 30 May 2014 - 01:31 AM, said:NIAD, on 30 May 2014 - 01:31 AM, said:

While I love to see any and all Homebrew endeavors taken on and come to fruition, you could end up fighting an uphill and losing battle concerning making a Homebrew reproduction release of Boulder Dash for the ColecoVision for numerous reasons unless you keep it completely under the radar... which will be a lot harder now with this thread and the YouTube video.

 

Before I share my concerns for you in this endeavor, I would like to say that the reproduction/replica MicroFun cart looks incredible and you and your friends did a tremendous job making the MicroFun style label and fitting the PCB into the MicroFun cart shell. The authenticity of the cartridge's look far outshines other reproduction creations made over the years which used the Homebrew cart shell and the French/Canadian style MicroFun label. Even tough I own one of these Homebrew reproductions, I would definitely buy your version.

 

Onto my concerns:

 

- Obviously First Star Software or the current rights holder of their games is still around as can be seen with the Atari 2600 release of Boulder Dash that was made last year. Something tells me that they wouldn't take news of your potential release very lightly and would assume that they are more aware of Homebrew efforts now after last year's 2600 release.

 

- TeleGames is still around and they must obviously still own the rights to the game in one way, shape or form for the ColecoVision or they paid First Star Software for the license to make a re-release of Boulder Dash for the CV last year... that was not very well received by almost everyone on here. I'm sure you saw it like I did with the low quality box, copied instruction manual and the over inflated retail price tag. For all those reasons, I passed on buying one and passed on working with TeleGames UK to distribute it in North America for them. On the good side, they gave PkK some business in purchasing a quantity of his mini-cart shells and DIY cart PCBs, although I would have preferred to see a standard sized cart shell used... but that ended up not mattering since I didn't buy one anyway.

 

- Collectors may not be very happy to see a reproduction made that could affect the value of the original 1986 TeleGames release, especially those that paid top dollar for their copy. If you recall, there was a discussion about a possible Comic Bakery release by CollectorVision and the concerns that it would affect the value of the Opcode prototype Comic Bakery. I personally own this original TeleGame Boulder Dash CIB release, thankfully did not have to break the bank to acquire it and would not mind in the least if you were able to release your version.

 

- If you follow thru and make a CIB release in quantity (say 50-75 and maybe even 100), that would be a lot of MicroFun carts to sacrifice if you wanted to keep the release authentic looking. This could get pretty expensive buying up Heist and Miner 2049er carts to reuse (One on One would be out of the question due to the higher rarity and value of this cart) unless you just decided to use the Homebrew cart shell or only supplied the PCB and cart label and then left it up to the purchaser to acquire a MicroFun game for the cart shell.

I do agree with you NIAD and you bring up a lot of very good points. The rights stuff hangs over the head of every homebrew community and projects like a dark cloud. There no way of getting around it when your talking about old games like this.

 

I did think about the cost of the Heist and Miner 2049 carts and at a avg of $10 to $15 on the high side I don't think it would be that bad. The gold labels and the carts would be a big part of the cost though. Its kind of like which comes first though the chicken or the egg. I couldn't get anyone to make it without showing first hand that there is a demand for it.

 

LOL I totally forgot about that horrible joke of a release that Telegames tried a while back. I agree I would have rather just bought the original then what they released. As far as collectors go I don't think it lowers the value of the original as long as there is something different about it so you can know right away which is which. Now if it looks exactly the same that's a total different story. That's just my opinion and that's kind of what this is about. Too see if people would want this and if it would upset anyone before any huge money was spent to make this become a reality. The thing is if a lot of people want this I'm sure it could happen, but if its just a so so reaction..... It most likely wouldn't be worth the trouble.

Edited by RelliK111
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As much as I like this box and cart reproduction

I would NOT make reproduction of Boulder Dash

 

When I first started CollectorVision, this's basically what we were doing, reproductions

One of them was indeed Boulder Dash , wich they were sold on ebay by my friend

He quickly received a C&D letter from First Star asking us to stop or they will take actions against us

We, of course stop selling them and never ever made one after then

 

So I will make it clear once for all......

 

CollectorVision is NOT going to make reproduction of Boulder Dash

We are NOT the one who made this reproduction that Rellik own

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Maybe I can ask Five Star for authorization...

But frankly, it will be a long shot

If you are going to get authorization from them I would rather have it be for one of the bolder dash sequels or some other game.

Also just because they said it was ok, since it is the same coleco game and you are just changing the packaging you would need authorization from telegames because they own that version. Of course they would say no because they are trying to sell the crappy packaging they just made.

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If you are going to get authorization from them I would rather have it be for one of the bolder dash sequels or some other game.

Also just because they said it was ok, since it is the same coleco game and you are just changing the packaging you would need authorization from telegames because they own that version. Of course they would say no because they are trying to sell the crappy packaging they just made.

Yeah, I think I would also want a totally new Boulder Dash as well

 

I think Telegames only have the publishing rights

The game was not made by Telegames, it was made by First Star

Maybe I'm wrong too....

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Yeah, I think I would also want a totally new Boulder Dash as well

 

I think Telegames only have the publishing rights

The game was not made by Telegames, it was made by First Star

Maybe I'm wrong too....

I think it is more they probably have exclusive publishing rights to that verison and since you are really using the same version not your own that they would have a say in it. Otherwise yeah they don't own the game you could make your own version.

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I think it is more they probably have exclusive publishing rights to that verison and since you are really using the same version not your own that they would have a say in it. Otherwise yeah they don't own the game you could make your own version.

Looks like I better spend my time on other projects (and there's plenty to choose)

And to be honest, I'm not a fan of Boulder Dash

 

I don't know who made Rellik's repro , but I think those who are interested could contact him so they can be in touch with the guy who made those repros

Just saying....

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retroillucid, on 30 May 2014 - 12:29 PM, said:

Looks like I better spend my time on other projects (and there's plenty to choose)

And to be honest, I'm not a fan of Boulder Dash

 

I don't know who made Rellik's repro , but I think those who are interested could contact him so they can be in touch with the guy who made those repros

Just saying....

:_( :_( :_( :_(

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I do agree with you NIAD and you bring up a lot of very good points. The rights stuff hangs over the head of every homebrew community and projects like a dark cloud. There no way of getting around it when your talking about old games like this.

Yeah, it's all a double-edged sword as you are trying to do something fun and interesting and share it with the community, but then you have the aura of Big Brother hanging over your head that will play a huge part in your decision. I would recommend keeping a very detailed list of all those that are interested in your version and then if you decide to press on with production, contact everyone directly by email or PM with all the details. Basically put, don't post about it anymore and leave it up to everyone to share there interest here in this thread... or better yet with a PM sent directly to you.

 

I did think about the cost of the Heist and Miner 2049 carts and at a avg of $10 to $15 on the high side I don't think it would be that bad. The gold labels and the carts would be a big part of the cost though. Its kind of like which comes first though the chicken or the egg. I couldn't get anyone to make it without showing first hand that there is a demand for it.

As I mentioned, I am interested and would want the MicroFun cart shell now that you have shown us how great it looks with that gold foil label.

 

As far as collectors go I don't think it lowers the value of the original as long as there is something different about it so you can know right away which is which. Now if it looks exactly the same that's a total different story.

As I mentioned, I don't mind one bit and say press on! But in a way, it will lesson the demand for the original 1986 TeleGames CIB version seeing as people who just want a cart version with the added benefit of a nice box could buy your version and then would never bother to attempt to acquire the original version when one shows up for sale or auction. So in affect, people who might sell their original version would have a smaller pool of potential buyers that could drive the price up in an auction setting.

 

 

As much as I like this box and cart reproduction. I would NOT make reproduction of Boulder Dash.

You got enough games to produce for multiple systems to keep busy with anyway!!! :D

 

 

Maybe I can ask Five Star for authorization...

But frankly, it will be a long shot

It couldn't hurt and if they say "No", then see my suggestion above to RelliK.

 

 

The game was not made by Telegames, it was made by First Star. Maybe I'm wrong too....

Yeah, TeleGames only acquired the rights to mass produce and distribute the finished/unreleased CV version of Boulder Dash from MicroFun/MicroLab who had acquired the rights to make the CV version from First Star Software.

 

And to end this post, here is a very nice French/Canadian style repro made by some crazy French Canadian guys. Absolutely love it and would like to have a U.S. style release in my collection as well:

post-25956-0-32178800-1401496749_thumb.jpg

post-25956-0-60583300-1401496754_thumb.jpg

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