Intellivisionaries Episode 10 is Live!

[SoulBlazer]

Listened to the episode at work today, and it was great! Keep up the good work guys, awesome all around.

 

I admit to having my doubts about your game for next month, though -- QBert? I never liked the Intelivision version much, personaly thinking it was better on the Coleco and NES for classic gaming systems.

 

Rather you guys do Utopia.

[+intvsteve]

Another enjoyable episode.

[IntyPod Burgertime]

Listened to the episode at work today, and it was great! Keep up the good work guys, awesome all around.

 

I admit to having my doubts about your game for next month, though -- QBert? I never liked the Intelivision version much, personaly thinking it was better on the Coleco and NES for classic gaming systems.

 

Rather you guys do Utopia.

We're trying to mix things up. We'll certainly be getting to Utopia at some point, but it's just not set in stone yet like Shark Shark is

I'm going to be playing some different versions of the game, as well as the Intellivision version. Already plan on heading to Pinball Wizard Arcade to play some QBert on an actual cabinet instead of emulating it on MAME. Hey, you're in RI, come on up to the arcade.

[SoulBlazer]

We're trying to mix things up. We'll certainly be getting to Utopia at some point, but it's just not set in stone yet like Shark Shark is

I'm going to be playing some different versions of the game, as well as the Intellivision version. Already plan on heading to Pinball Wizard Arcade to play some QBert on an actual cabinet instead of emulating it on MAME. Hey, you're in RI, come on up to the arcade.

I never heard of Pinball Wizard Arcade....but I'm game for going to arcade at any time (pun not intended ) Where is at and when is the event planned? Feel free to send me a PM if you wish. I'll do my best to make it. I was just saying to someone I wished there was more things going on in Southern NE.

[IntyPod Burgertime]

Pinball Wizard is in Pelham NH, which is just over the NH border, and south of Salem NH. Not sure when we're going due to my wife's work schedule being flip/flopped around. If we get anything set in stone, I'll message you.

[SoulBlazer]

Pinball Wizard is in Pelham NH, which is just over the NH border, and south of Salem NH. Not sure when we're going due to my wife's work schedule being flip/flopped around. If we get anything set in stone, I'll message you.

Sounds good, thanks! That would be about a hour and half drive for me, depending on traffic, but doable.

[+cmart604]

I really enjoy the Inty version of Qbert, looking forward to that one.

[+Rick Reynolds]

When are you going to review Match 5? :-)

 

 

Willy gave me an idea for a new segment on the podcast.

 

The homebrew highlight.

 

Some kind of mini review/ highlight of a released homebrew.

 

Good ideas, both!

 

We're due to review something in the modern era (post-2000) in August. We haven't picked the title yet, (we usually pick next month's title at the time we record this month's show) but Match-5 is a real possibility. There are several very high quality homebrews waiting to be done. We're trying to keep things decently mixed up so we don't end up with a long string of shows that are all one kind of game, or all games from a specific time-window being lumped together.

 

As for the mini review/highlight, that might be a way to bring up more of the homebrew scene within the shows without waiting for the post-2000 era picks to come around (which we've scheduled to occur every 6 months or so). We'll definitely talk it up a bit. I think there is some value to putting more of a spotlight on the homebrew releases as compared to the original 125, in terms of keeping those titles in front of folks, etc.

Edited July 1, 2014 by Rick Reynolds

[+Rick Reynolds]

I'm going to be playing some different versions of the game, as well as the Intellivision version. Already plan on heading to Pinball Wizard Arcade to play some QBert on an actual cabinet instead of emulating it on MAME. Hey, you're in RI, come on up to the arcade.

 

Great ideas, Burgertime! I'm planning the same (sorta), as I'm playing in MAME on my cab, plus with Atari VCS and Colecovision versions to get a comparison.

[Intellfan]

My favorite podcast so far love the Interview with Tom Loughry . I think that YouTube video you told him about was mine . My brother and I would leave our stuff out in the hall ways . Great game . My 10 year old daughter loves to watch me play it . She has the manual and tells me what everything is .

[+intvsteve]

One of the most impressive things about the interviews with Tom Loughry is memory of the details! It's astonishing how quickly he recalls some of the minutia and design thoughts for the projects he worked on.

[+intvsteve]

My favorite podcast so far love the Interview with Tom Loughry . I think that YouTube video you told him about was mine . My brother and I would leave our stuff out in the hall ways . Great game . My 10 year old daughter loves to watch me play it . She has the manual and tells me what everything is .

Hehe yeah... We left stuff in the hallways, figured out the trick to take damage and heal up, et. al. I can't remember if we figured out those things on our own, or if they were in one of the game rags back in the day or what, but it's fun to find out that others found the same approaches.

[+nurmix]

One of the most impressive things about the interviews with Tom Loughry is memory of the details! It's astonishing how quickly he recalls some of the minutia and design thoughts for the projects he worked on.

Yeah, Tom is great. I love talking to him. I just wish he had a better phone connection...

[Intellfan]

I finished this way to fast, now I have a longggggg wait for the net one. Thanks for all you guys do.

[IntellivisionDude]

I have said numerous times that Q-Bert controls great on the Intellivision. Maybe better than other ports.

[JoeM_Intellivision]

Just wanted to quickly say how AWESOME Episode #10 was!! I honestly believe it was the best one yet and can't believe how AWESOME Tom is - what a GREAT 6 games he made - yes I liked boxing and had lots of fun with it as a kid. Just an outstanding job and a really thorough job on reviewing Tarmin - Nicely done as it didn't get voted #1 game for nothing. And to reiterate, Please tell Tom thank you from me personally as I love all 6 of his games and would LOVE to see him do that 3rd AD&D Game if his health allowed! Thanks again for a GREAT episode!!

[+Rick Reynolds]

Thanks so much Joe!

[+cmart604]

Ashamedly, I still haven't finished listening to this episode, which will give you some insight into how crazy real life has been for me lately, but I must point out a couple of highlights so far:

 

While Scott may be a reluctant Inty programmer, I sure hope Willy is able to convince him to do more on the Inty as he seems like he certainly knows what he's doing and I loved his confidence around how he could definitely do things.

Once again, Willy should be applauded for his conviction around producing high quality releases for our favourite system.

 

I am embarrassed to admit that I haven't given Tarmin anywhere near the time I have devoted to Cloudy Mountain, in part, like Rick, because I didn't have it as a kid, and once I became aware of it, it just looked so bloody complex.

I most certainly will be exploring more after I've finished listening to this podcast. I'm especially looking forward to finding the Easy Bake Oven.

[+Rick Reynolds]

I'm especially looking forward to finding the Easy Bake Oven.

 

It's pretty hard to find!

[+intvsteve]

 

It's pretty hard to find!

I think I found it once, but the bomb guarding the chest killed me. It flickered on the screen for just an instant before the tombstone appeared. Mmm. Pizza. Now I finally get it!

Edited July 5, 2014 by intvsteve

[Special Teams]

Very much enjoying these. Really appreciated all the effort put in.

[+nurmix]

Thanks guys! Tom is great. And I'm doing my best each time I talk to him to convince him to do another game. Hopefully I'm not pestering him too much...

 

And yeah, the Easy Bake oven is the REAL hidden 'treasure of Tarmin". The delicious treats you can bake while exploring the dungeons is practically unlimited once you acquire THAT!

 

And added bonus: You should see the look on the 'varmints' faces when you throw them a jumbo-sized slice of carrot cake! Priceless!

[The Eyeball Mural]

Fabulous episode! Thank you very much for putting on the show, and especially for talking to Tom Loughry. I was in heaven listening to that interview. I've been wringing secrets out of Treasure of Tarmin since 1984 and count it among my most favorite games ever. Unfortunately I missed out on submitting questions for the show. Since you might be having Mr. Loughry as a guest again, I'm putting my Tarmin "follow up" questions here. Maybe you can squeeze them in if he's on the show once more. If not, thanks anyway and keep up the good work!

 

 

► Is the "multiple minotaur" occurrence (on levels past the selected game's designated "ultimate" level) a bug or a feature? It sometimes seems as if the game is trying to make winning easier by spawning so many minotaurs, like the game is weary and wants to quit. (More than once I've found myself in a 4x4 room where three minotaurs and I occupied all available space!)

 

► What exactly is the eyeball mural, in the context of the game world? Is it drawn or painted on the dungeon floor, like a sigil? Or is it intended to be a sort of crystal or metallic ball set into the floor? And what about the name? My theory is that the eyeball mural is not like a painted mural, but is in fact a mural instrument akin to those used in observatories. Mural instruments are fixed to meridians and enable precise celestial observations; the eyeball mural marks "meridians" across the maze layout and enables precise navigation to maze entrances and level exits. If the eyeball mural term uses the word "mural" as a post-positive adjective (like time immemorial, death eternal, or the body electric) then this could lend credence to my theory. But only Mr. Loughry knows for sure. How does he conceive of the eyeball mural in terms of what sort of object it represents? Did he come up with the name, or did the instruction manual creators do so? And what is the nature of the name?

 

 

Thanks again!

 

[+nurmix]

Thanks, The Eyeball Mural! Interesting questions. I will certainly askTom the next time I speak to him.

[King_Salamon]

I thought I would chime in here with my thoughts on the podcast...

 

It's funny... I was an Atari kid and never really got into the Intellivision so I thought I would listen to the first Episode and make a choice: continue listening or not. It struck me during the first episode that you guys nailed the difference between the Atari VCS and the Intellivision. The Intellivision was slower paced and more of a thinking man's system. I believe one of you termed it more like a computer versus the twitch gaming style of a console. It makes sense and I agree. The amount of rules in the manuals was too much for me to try to understand when visiting a friend as a child as you wanted to play and have fun during the short time you had at the friend's place. At that point I thought, that's why I didn't really get into the Intellivision in the early 80's and that's why I will not continue listening to the podcast. I just never had that much fun with the system in the 80's.

 

Time for a flashback...

 

I should clarify, in the 80's I would look through Electronic Games magazine and drool at the screen shots of games I've never played or even heard of (haven't we all? lol). And among the pics were games for the Intellivision. Imagic seems to come to mind with thoughts of Dracula, Truckin and Demon Attack. Never played two of them and when I did play Demon Attack, I thought it was the best version as the Mother Ship was simply awesome and just what I thought and hoped it would be. Other times, I would finally get to play a game like Microsurgeon (again Imagic strikes again!) and after dreaming of the game... I was very disappointed... I had no clue how to play and my friend wasn't a huge help... he simply thought it was second nature on what to do. lol I didn't want to read the manual and he thought he could simply show me how to play... not so much. I wanted a pick up and play game I guess... remember, I only had an hour or so of time to play at my friend's place so time was of the essence!!

 

Fast forward to the PlayStation 2 era and Intellivision lives on the system... I picked up the game and thought it would be fun to try out some of the games that I never played.. or played all to briefly. I enjoyed the games a bit but the terrible keypad control was next to impossible to use with accuracy (Utopia was ruined in my opinion because of this). I did finally get to play some NHL Hockey (Slap Shot hockey for one player and the regular to play some two player games). It was fun, slow, but fun and again the game was hampered by the keypad 'control' (or lack thereof). Overall, it scratched an itch but never hooked me.

 

A few years later , the DS game seemed like heaven... I never saw it in stores in Canada (could have been a US only release? I'm not sure). Again, seems like I wasn't to play it.. I suppose I could have ordered a copy off of Ebay or the Blue Sky Rangers but I digress. I did hear that this is a great way to enjoy the old system... maybe I will track down one of these copies one day.

 

End of flashback... or just the beginning??

 

Oh yeah, back to the podcast and why I went in my history and experience with the system... it was the PS2 game that tied into your podcast... I think it was the Astrosmash episode that I had already downloaded along with the intro episode. At the time I did remember Astrosmash on my friends console and I did have fun playing it... hey it wasn't all bad news guys! As a result, I said that the Astrosmash (or Astroblast as I really played it as on my VCS ) episode would be the determining factor for making a subscription decision. Then during one of the musical interludes (which I absolutely love by the way!) I heard a familiar tune.. and the song of someone pining for their Intellivision was playing. It didn't take me back to the 80's but rather the early 2000's and trying to have fun with the PS2 version. I LOVED that song along with the rest of the soundtrack... we would play games with those songs playing and hearing it on the podcast gave me a 'retro' feeling from only 10 or so years ago. I guess RETRO is a personal feeling.

 

Anyway, that song got me. Combine that with the production values of the show (which are off the charts!!) and I'm hooked. I do enjoy a lot of podcasts (which include both old school and new school gaming) and I think the Intellivisionaries really get you into the system. The sound bites for the episodes games that are used along with the tunes are a great touch and mixed in wonderfully! I'm looking forward now to learning about this system in a lot more depth. Learning Fun III - Intellivision history!

 

As a result, I'm looking forward to this latest episode.. making my way through from the beginning and currently on Bomb Squad. Overall, I need to get caught up but at the same time, I'll take my time and enjoy and learn! Great stuff guys! Keep up the high level of podcasting!

 

Oh and my mentioning of flashbacks... I'll definitely be picking up the Intellivision Flashback this fall so I can enjoy Spikers and other games that I would never own due to their rarity and cost. I have also started looking locally for an original system and some of the old games to enjoy... one thing I know I will do differently now... I'll be reading the manuals before playing!