Atari game question?

[ILA2600]

Is it possible to make a cart adaptor with extra memory in it, So Atari game made on a large scale ( Example Dragons Lair ) can be played on the Atari 2600?

[CDS Games]

Plenty of extra memory carts were made, even back in the day, and memory is basically not much of a limitation anymore. What are we up to now...512k?

 

But all the memory in the world isn't going to change the basic limitations of the console. You still are stuck with 2 sprites, 2 missiles, and a ball--one color per line, very little free cycle time, etc. I'm not going to say Dragon's Lair is impossible, but it would take a pretty amazing programmer to squeeze even a stripped down version of it out of a 1977 glorified Pong console.

 

If you mean can the Atari computer versions of the game be played on the 2600, then no--different hardware, so they would have to be reprogrammed from scratch.

[+FujiSkunk]

Short answer: Yes and no.

 

Something like Dragon's Lair would require a lot more than extra memory. It would also require extra CPU and extra graphical horsepower. Thanks to the Melody cartridge we have plenty of extra memory and CPU now. Graphical horsepower is another matter. As CDS mentioned, you're still going to be stuck with a limited number of sprites and colors per scanline, and those aren't nearly enough for something as epically detailed as Dragon's Lair. Spiceware and other homebrewers are working on a process called bus stuffing that eventually could enable the 2600 to do games like The Legend of Zelda with pretty good graphics, but I think even then Dragon's Lair will be a bit out of reach. That's talking about the arcade game with its laserdisc-sourced animation, of course. You could possibly port something like the Commodore 64 version to the 2600, but likely that wouldn't look like Dragon's Lair enough for most players.

[ILA2600]

Thank you guy's for the response, I was not familiar with all of the Atari's limitations, and a lot of what you posted helped clear a lot of things up! :-)