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Over the next few months I'm going to be uploading to YouTube video art programs created on the Astrocade. I'll post all of the links to them in this thread; this is the first of them.

 

I have uploaded a ten minute video of the Viper Test Pattern by Alternative Engineering. This is a video art program for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade that was released in 1981. It requires a RAM Expansion and an extended BASIC, such as Vipersoft BASIC or Blue Ram BASIC.

 

 

I captured this video using my Framemeister setup, which is quite extensive and complicated. I plan to document it sometime in the next few months. For now, just know that this video was captured from an Astrocade with RF out. This video is one of about 60 video art programs that I've recorded over the last few weeks. The other video art programs were all written in Bally BASIC or "AstroBASIC." The extra colors of this Viper Test Pattern are neat to those who know the limitations of the original Astrocade BASIC cartridges. That's why I chose to upload this one to YouTube first.

According to The BASIC Express newsletter, "The program puts up a gorgeous ever-changing complex pattern on the screen. You would swear that 32 different colors are on screen at the same time." This is a neat program that uses some of the features of extended BASIC (such as the CIRCLE command) and the additional colors that are not available without using machine language from Bally BASIC or "AstroBASIC."

This video art program was released on a cassette tape with Viper 1 RAM Expansion. It also appeared in July/August 1981 The BASIC Express newsletter (Vol. 3, Pages 26-27) and the December 1981 Arcadian newsletter (Vol. 4, Page 19).


As I said, over the next few months I'll be uploading additional video art to YouTube. For now, enjoy one of the precious few videos that shows-off extended BASIC on the Astrocade.

 

Adam

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Passing of Stanley "Video Art Master" Kendall
By Adam Trionfo

April 11, 2018

 

Lately, I have been recording Astrocade video art by Stanley Kendall. He was a paint chemist who wrote programs that were published in the Arcadian newsletter, as well as programs that were passed around with members of the Astrocade community in the 1980s. He did some really great work (I've been admiring it for weeks now). Here is a screen grab from his M-III Plus program:

 

post-4925-0-02205800-1523495713_thumb.jpg

 

(Remember his video art is animated, so this screenshot of a simple "AstroBASIC" program doesn't do it any justice.)

 

I was wondering if I could find any information about him. Perhaps I could contact him for an interview, but alas (and not surprisingly), I'm too late.

Based on some help from Ken Lill and Michael White, who both told me a little bit about him (including his approximate age, confirmation of his job and more), I think that I have found Stan's obituary notice. Stanley lived to be 90 years old (1923 - 2014). That means he was burning-up the Astrocade's keyboard and learning BASIC when he was 60 years old! Stan's obituary notice can be read here:

 

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dailyherald/obituary.aspx?n=stanley-e-kendall&pid=172434908&fhid=15928

Here is the majority of the information that is at the above page (followed by notes from me):

STANLEY E. KENDALL
1923 - 2014 Obituary

WAUCONDA - Stanley E. Kendall, age 90, was a resident of Wauconda, IL for 19 years. Stanley was the beloved husband of the late Mary Jane; loving father of Catherine and Margaret (James) Madden; dear brother of the late Mary Lou Hasselmann; fond uncle of many. Stanley was born December 21, 1923 in Chicago and passed away Wednesday, September 10, 2014 at home.

Stanley was a Corporal in the United States Army Air Force during World War II. He was a paint chemist and VP of research and development for many years at Dupli-Color Paint Products, until his retirement in 1989. Stanley was also an avid photographer.

Published in Chicago Suburban Daily Herald on Sept. 12, 2014


I'll begin uploading Stanley's video art to YouTube in a month or two. I'm currently recording program "B-17" (Stan cataloged all of his programs by number). This program is a 16K Blue Ram BASIC program made up of 50 Line Art subroutines and a master program that allows you to go from one video art program to the next by pressing hand controller #1. "B-17" is quite lengthy, and some of the random art is damn good; Stan may very well have been the king of video art on the Astrocade!

In a letter, written in BASIC, to Ken Lill, Stan dismisses his work as not being good enough to sell-- he seemed bashful to sell it for even $5.00 at tape. That's too bad, as it has kept people from seeing his art. It may have been a long time coming, but eventually those of us who are interested in the Astrocade will get a chance to see it. Not only that, but the few early buffs of early computer video art will get a change to look at it too.

Sorry I missed you, Stanley!

Adam

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have uploaded J-3 3K Art by Stanley Kendall to YouTube. This is a video art program written for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade in Blue Ram BASIC. It requires at least a 4K Blue Ram expansion. According to comments in the program, it was written on May 28, 1984.

I start off this video with a nine-minute narration which includes an introduction to Stanley's program. It also provides some background material on Mr. Kendall. My narration is accompanied by screenshots from 3K Art. It is followed by about an hour of video from 3K Art running random art of various different kinds. Some of the art includes use of commands such as Circle that are only available in Blue Ram BASIC. The video ends with a listing of the BASIC program and is followed by brief credits.

You can watch the video here:



Please leave comments/feedback on the commentary that I created for this video. I wasn't sure if I should provide any commentary at all, but the video felt kind of naked when there was none included at the beginning.

 

Adam

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I have uploaded J-3 3K Art by Stanley Kendall to YouTube. This is a video art program written for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade in Blue Ram BASIC. It requires at least a 4K Blue Ram expansion. According to comments in the program, it was written on May 28, 1984.

 

I start off this video with a nine-minute narration which includes an introduction to Stanley's program. It also provides some background material on Mr. Kendall. My narration is accompanied by screenshots from 3K Art. It is followed by about an hour of video from 3K Art running random art of various different kinds. Some of the art includes use of commands such as Circle that are only available in Blue Ram BASIC. The video ends with a listing of the BASIC program and is followed by brief credits.

 

You can watch the video here:

 

 

Please leave comments/feedback on the commentary that I created for this video. I wasn't sure if I should provide any commentary at all, but the video felt kind of naked when there was none included at the beginning.

 

Adam

 

Man, this is some trippy stuff! Just er, imagine, being back in the 70's or even now and being in a state of mind to really get entranced by watching these. On a woodgrain TV. With a lava lamp on next to it. This is just like the Video Music that Atari put out.

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  • 1 month later...

I have created a 2:07 video of "Self-Portrait: A Graphics Demo" by Guy McLimore, Jr. This was written April 10, 1979. This programm was typed from a hand-written BASIC listing from an unpublished ARCADIAN submission. This program draws a simple Bally Arcade unit. This is a 2000 baud BASIC program for use with a Bally Astrocade and "AstroBASIC."

 

This program isn't exactly "video art" (there's no animation), but it's an early example of still art on the Astrocade.

Here is the video on YouTube:



Here is a link to the video on Archive.org:

https://archive.org/details/Self-PortraitAGraphicsDemobyGuyMcLimoreAstrocade

The video is split into four main parts:

0:00 - Narration and overview of Self-Portrait
0:50 - Self-Portrait (Program Running)
1:15 - Self-Portrait (BASIC Listing)
1:44 - End Credits

Enjoy this short video!

Adam
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  • 1 month later...

I have created a video overview for "Arcadian Logo" by Guy McLimore from Arcadian 2, no. 1 (Nov. 29, 1979): 3. This video art program is written in Bally BASIC.

 

Here are is a brief overview of this program from the Arcadian: "Logo shown at the head of page one is based on an idea by Guy McLimore, and embellished by myself. If you'd like to see it in action (literally) and in living color, the program is included."

 

Here is a still of the program:

 

post-4925-0-06569000-1534448582_thumb.jpg

 

The video can be watched on YouTube, here:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC9LWapQrfc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC9LWapQrfc

 

You can also download or stream the video from the Internet Archive, here:

 

https://archive.org/details/ArcadianColorLogoRasterVideo10Mbps720p

 

This short, four minute video is broken down into a few parts:

 

0:00 - Overview of Arcadian Logo

2:51 - Arcadian Logo Running

3:26 - BASIC Listing

3:50 - End Credits

 

Enjoy!

 

Adam

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I have added a semi-video art program called "Ring" by Albert Paul. It appeared in CURSOR, 1, no. 4 (April/May 1980): 31. The program looks like this:

 

post-4925-0-70865100-1534455908_thumb.png

 

The Cursor says:

 

Many thanks to Albert Paul of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada for the following program. Note: to make the ring sticker or thinner, change the value of "N" (line 2). To make the ring larger or smaller, change the value of "M" (line 20). "M" must always be larger than "N."

 

The video can be watched on YouTube, here:

 

 

You can also download or stream the video from the Internet Archive, here:

 

https://archive.org/details/RingbyAlbertPaulBallyArcadeAstrocade

 

The BALLY BASIC and "AstroBASIC" versions of RING were typed in from the CURSOR newsletter using various program archiving tools such as PRG2TXT, TXT2PRG and KCS.

This short, three minute video is broken down into a few parts:

 

0:00 - Overview of Ring

1:26 - Ring Running

2:28 - BASIC Listing

2:40 - End Credits

 

This program isn't really video art, but it points the way for other programs: use BASIC's graphics to make cool-looking stuff!

 

Have fun!

 

Adam

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  • 5 weeks later...

I have created a video overview of Chicago Loop by Mike Peace, which appeared first as a Bally BASIC program in the Cursor newsletter in March 1980 on page 21. This program was slightly revised and re-printed in 1981 for "AstroBASIC" in the on page 88 of the "AstroBASIC" Manual

This program incorporates the use of three loops to provide a unique display of graphics looking very much like a city on a lake, complete with reflections, traffic and sound effects.

You can watch this video on YouTube, here:



You can watch or download this video from Archive.org, here:

https://archive.org/details/ChicagoLoopbyMikePeaceAstrocade

The video is broken in different parts:

0:00 - Chicago Loop Titles
0:05 - Overview of Chicago Loop
5:41 - Chicago Loop Running
8:15 - Chicago Loop BASIC Listing
8:34 - End Credits

This is a great example of a very short program that takes advantage of Bally BASIC's graphic commands.

Have fun!

Adam
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I added Lace Curtain by Fred Cornett, which appeared as a Bally BASIC program in the Cursor newsletter in March 1980 on page 21. This video art program will also run in "AstroBASIC," but there is some screen corruption on the screen.

Here is a link to the YouTube video:



You can also watch or download the video from Archive.org:

https://archive.org/details/LaceCurtainFredCornettAstrocade

This program puts up four colors at the same time. By changing the values using of the ports using POKE command then you can get five colors. This program accompanied a short article called "Screen Format Output Ports." It begins "If you wish to put more than 2 colors onscreen simultaneously (while using TINY BASIC) without resorting to machine language, it can only be done by formatting the screen. Port '&(9)' is the "Horizontal Blanking Register." By setting this port to various values, it will do a number of things: vertically split the screen and put up screen borders." Lace Curtain is an example of using these techniques to make random video art made up of various patterns of dots.

0:00 - Lace Curtain Titles
0:05 - Overview of Lace Curtain
2:45 - Lace Curtain Running while overview continues
4:52 - Lace Curtain BASIC Listing
5:25 - End Credits

This program is only four lines long, yet it's one of my favorite simple video art programs for the Astrocade!

Enjoy!

Adam
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  • 2 weeks later...
I've added another overview of an astrocade video art program called MOD 2. This one was written by Dan Sandin in about 1980. Here's a link to the video on YouTube:
The video can also be viewed or downloaded from Archive.org:
MOD 2, a Bally BASIC video art program, that appeared in an article called Pix-Art by Frank Dietrich and Zsuzsanna Molnar. This article, which appeared in Computer Graphics and Art, 1980-1981 Yearbook 5, covers the Bally Arcade as a low-cost solution to create graphics using Bally BASIC and the ZGrass language. It specifically talks about several pieces of art that were written using the two languages. Some of the video art pictures are included in the article, as well as some source code for a few programs.

 

0:00 - MOD 2 Titles
0:08 - Overview of MOD 2
12:55 - MOD 2, Program Loads
13:18 - MOD 2 Running, Picture Drawing Begins
15:40 - MOD 2 Running, Picture 1/4 Finished
18:25 - MOD 2 Running, Picture 1/2 Finished
21:10 - MOD 2 Running, Picture 3/4 Finished
23:56 - MOD 2 Running, Picture Drawing Complete
24:10 - MOD 2 Bally BASIC Listing
24:24 - End Credits

Here are the program and its accompanying notes, as they appeared in the Pix-Art article:

Dan Sandin's program needs about 15 minutes to finish a single one of these MOD images, consisting of circles which seem to be mapped onto globes.

Some of the important aspects of this compact 10 line program are:

1. Only two nested loops create the basic structure which scans the whole screen.

2. The computation of X and Y squared for each pixel and the RM command which returns the remainder of a division, makes it possible to generate circles even in an integer basic.

3. The size of the circles depends on the value of the division factor-- D. Their growth is controlled by incrementing D after one vertical line is scanned, thus also generating the 3-D effect. Without incrementing D the result would be a regular pattern of circles of the same size.
If you'd like to read the article Pix-Art by Frank Dietrich and Zsuzsanna Molnar, I then it's available on BallyAlley.com. This version of the article is from the Bob Fabris collection. It's not a photocopy of the Computer Graphics and Art article. Given that Bob was the editor of the Arcadian newsletter and had ties to the Bally Arcade community, perhaps this version was what was submitted to the magazine that eventually printed it. Pic-Art is certainly worth a read if you're interested video art:

http://www.ballyalley.com/documentation/zgrass/zgrass-uv-1_articles/Pix-Art/Pix-Art%20(1980)(Frank%20Dietrich%20and%20Zsuzsanna%20Molnar).pdf
If you're at all interested in video art, that you have probably bumped into Dan Sandin's name before now. Sandin's history with video art predates the microcomputer era. Here is a video of him from 1973 using his "Sandin Analogue Image Processor."

Dan Sandin's own homepage is here:
I'm glad that I came across MOD 2 and typed it into "AstroBASIC." I feel as though I've in some way resurrected a small piece of video art that was lurking in a hard-to-find article. Well, now... it's alive!

Enjoy!

Adam
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I added a video overview of Design, a video art program for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade.

 

Here is a screenshot from the video:

 

post-4925-0-38990900-1538584865.jpg

 

Design, by Mark Ream, appeared as a Bally BASIC program in the Cursor newsletter in September 1980 on page 60. This video art program will also run without modification in "AstroBASIC." This is a video overview of the original version of the Design art program and two suggested modifications that change the art that the program creates.

 

Here is a link to the Design video on YouTube:

 

 

Here is a link to the video on Archive.org. From here, the video can be viewed or downloaded to watch later.

 

https://archive.org/details/DesignbyMarkReamVideoArtBallyArcadeAstrocade

 

Fred Cornett, the editor of Cursor wrote, "This delightful little program puts up some very nice designs. When "PRESS DESIRED CHARACTER" is printed on-screen, select the character you would like to see as the central theme of the design and merely press that key. We have added a couple modifications to the program that make some interesting changes. Press "GO" for new character." [...] "The above program as-stands, does a horizontal sweep which changes the characters, add line 80, which will add a vertical sweep." [...] "Make the following line changes to automatically run through all the special characters that are available on the Bally, one character at a time, pausing for a few seconds in between displays."

 

0:00 - Design Titles and Overview

3:26 - Design Running (Original Version. Horizontal Sweep Only)

5:15 - Design "AstroBASIC" Listing (Original Version)

5:27 - Design Running (Mod. 1, with Horizontal and Vertical Sweep)

7:55 - Design "AstroBASIC" Listing (Mod. 1 Version)

8:12 - Design Running (Mod. 2, All Special Characters, w/ Hor. and Vert. Sweep)

21:24 - Design "AstroBASIC" Listing (Mod. 2 Version)

21:27 - End Credits

 

This program was typed in by me from the Cursor newsletter on August 31, 2016. It was archived using the 300-baud utilities TXT2PRG and KCSWIN. It was then converted to "AstroBASIC" using the 300 BAUD TO 2000 BAUD TAPE CONVERSION PROGRAM by Jay Fenton printed in the "ASTROBASIC" MANUAL on pages 104-107.

 

Design makes some really neat patterns using a simple method to change the characters that are displayed on the screen.

 

Enjoy!

 

Adam

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Spirals II, by Matt Giwer, is a video art program written for Bally BASIC. It also works without modification for "AstroBASIC." Spirals, the original version of this program appeared in ARCADIAN 2, no. 8 (Jun. 23, 1980): 69. This updated version of the program was published in ARCADIAN 2, no. 10 (Sep. 17, 1980): 95.

Spirals II creates randomly-sized, diamond-shaped patterns in B&W using the LINE command. Spirals II is one of six programs submitted to the Arcadian on May 29, 1980. The other five programs were Boxes (printed as Diminishing Boxes), I Ching, Life IV, Morse Code, and Spiral (printed as Spirals). Two of the six programs (I Ching and Morse Code) were never printed in the Arcadian.

Here is a screen capture from the video:

post-4925-0-26583700-1538753833_thumb.png

Here is a link to the video on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2nmPq0JOes]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2nmPq0JOes

0:00 - Spirals II Titles and Overview
2:31 - Spirals II Running
8:19 - Spirals II "AstroBASIC" Listing
8:42 - End Credits

The program can also be viewed or downloaded from Archive.org:

https://archive.org/details/SpiralsIIMattGiwerVideoArtBallyAstrocade

A spiral is a "winding in a continuous and gradually widening (or tightening) curve, either around a central point on a flat plane or about an axis so as to form a cone." Since this art has no curves, it isn't a spiral; therefore, Spirals II is misnamed, as it only uses straight lines. This insignificant naming issue doesn't diminish the neat art that is created from this short program.

Rock on, Bally video art!

Adam

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Spider Web, by Albert Paul, is a video art program written for Bally BASIC. It also works without modification for "AstroBASIC." Spider Web appeared as a type-in program in Cursor 2, no. 2 (September 1980): 58.

 

This program creates an unlimited amount of randomly generated iterations of a pattern that resembles a spider's web.

 

Here is a screen capture from the video:

 

post-4925-0-69958700-1538763635_thumb.png

 

This is the original editor's note from September 1980: "The programs of Albert Paul constitute a classic example of 'good things come in small packages!' See Albert's last program, Ring, on page 31 of the April/May issue of Cursor."

 

Here is a link to the video on Youtube:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSpeZd44R2A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSpeZd44R2A

 

0:00 - Spider Web Titles and Overview

1:31 - Spider Web Running

2:43 - Spider Web "AstroBASIC" Listing

3:00 - End Credits

 

The program can also be viewed or downloaded from Archive.org:

 

https://archive.org/details/SpiderWebbyAlbertPaulVideoArtBallyAstrocade

 

This program was typed in from the Cursor newsletter on August 31, 2016. It was archived using the 300-baud utilities TXT2PRG and KCSWIN. It was then converted to "AstroBASIC" using the 300 BAUD TO 2000 BAUD TAPE CONVERSION PROGRAM by Jay Fenton printed in the "ASTROBASIC" MANUAL on pages 104-107.

 

The re-release of Bally BASIC in 1981 with Astrovision Inc.'s Astrocade spurs more programmers and artists to explore the console. I like Spider Web, but the addition of color would have greatly improved it. Then again, I've never seen a colored spider web. Why improve on nature?

 

Adam

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This 27-minute video uses both versions of Spiral as a springboard to show how video art on the Astrocade began on this system.

 

Spiral 1 and Spiral 2 are two video art programs by Dick Ainsworth, co-writer of the Bally BASIC instruction manual. These programs are written for the Bally Arcade game system, more commonly called by its 1981 re-release name of Astrocade. Both programs are included in the 1978 original Bally BASIC manual and its 1981 "AstroBASIC" re-release. The video art is created using a few program loops and LINE command statements to fill the screen with a random, semi-controlled, pattern.

 

Here is a screenshot from Spiral 1:

 

post-4925-0-25670800-1539280551_thumb.jpg

Spiral 1 appears in the appendix of programs at the back of both BASIC manuals (page 103 of the Bally BASIC manual and on page 75 of the "AstroBASIC" manual). Spiral 2 is built-up from smaller BASIC pieces in Chapter 8: Video Art (pages 93-96 of the Bally BASIC manual pages 62-64 of the "AstroBASIC" manual). The chapter explains how the program works.

The video can be watched on YouTube, here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o-SHp68-dI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o-SHp68-dI

This video can also be viewed or downloaded from Archive.org

https://archive.org/details/SpiralbyDickAinsworthVideoArtHistoryBallyArcadeAstrocade

This video overview is broken into various sections:

0:00 - Spiral 1 and 2 - Titles and Overview
19:44 - Spiral 2, Loads and Runs
22:53 - Spiral 2, "AstroBASIC" Program Listing
23:12 - Spiral 1, Loads and Runs
26:26 - Spiral 1, "AstroBASIC" Program Listing
26:42 - End Credits

The eight-page Video Art chapter in the Bally BASIC manual gives users new to programming a chance to try their newly acquired skills to create art. Spiral 1 and Spiral 2, simple programs that could be easily modified, inspired many Bally Arcade users. Judging from the printed content of the two main Astrocade newsletters (Arcadian and Cursor/BASIC Express), video games and video art became the two most popular ways that amateur programmers on the Astrocade platforms used their systems. Perhaps without the video art chapter and these two simple BASIC example programs, there would not have been as much video art created on the Bally system. That would have been a shame, as the art that clever programmers created on the Astrocade platform over the next seven to eight years is quite impressive given the limited 1.8KB of RAM and 160x88 resolution of the console.

Enjoy this look at Spiral and the general look into video art on the Astrocade.

Adam

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Electric Doily, written by Dick Ainsworth, is a video art program released by Bally Manufacturing Corp. in 1978 on the 300-BAUD Bally BASIC Sampler that was included with the 300-baud tape interface. The tape's official title is "Software No. 1 (APC-7001)." This is the only Bally BASIC tape released by Bally.

 

Here is a screenshot of the program:

 

post-4925-0-40385300-1539711676_thumb.jpg

 

Electric Doily places a random square on the screen and reflects it eight times to create a symmetrical pattern. Start the program by selecting program one from the menu. When the program begins, a continuous pattern is generated with music notes. Pressing zero returns to menu.

 

The version on the tape runs from a menu of five different programs and it has changing colors and sound. The printed version, on page 118 of the Bally BASIC manual, is B&W-only and doesn't have any sound effects. Only the color version of the video art is shown in this video.

 

The 300-BAUD Bally BASIC Sampler contains the following programs on a two-sided tape:

 

Side 1:

1. Electric Doily (Graphics)

2. Line Graph

3. Monthly Records

4. Electronic Music

5. Number Match (Guessing Game)

 

Side 2:

1. Lunar Lander

2. Gravity Game

3. Newtonia '500'

 

Here is a 30-minute video overview running Electric Doily eleven times. Each time the program is running, you'll see different art.

 

You can watch the video on YouTube, here:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JCBmZJNJGk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JCBmZJNJGk

 

You can watch or download the video from Archive.org, here:

 

https://archive.org/details/ElectricDoilyDickAinsworthVideoArtBallyArcadeAstrocade

 

This video overview only runs Electric Doily. It is broken into various sections:

 

0:00 - Electric Doily, Titles and Overview

9:37 - Electric Doily, Run 1: Bally BASIC (2 Minutes)

11:41 - Electric Doily, Run 2: "AstroBASIC" (1 Minute)

12:45 - Electric Doily, Run 3: "AstroBASIC" (1 Minute)

13:51 - Electric Doily, Run 4: "AstroBASIC" (1 Minute)

14:56 - Electric Doily, Run 5: "AstroBASIC" (1 Minute)

16:04 - Electric Doily, Run 6: "AstroBASIC" (1 Minute)

17:12 - Electric Doily, Run 7: "AstroBASIC" (2 Minutes)

19:21 - Electric Doily, Run 8: "AstroBASIC" (2 Minutes)

21:28 - Electric Doily, Run 9: "AstroBASIC" (2 Minutes)

23:35 - Electric Doily, Run 10: "AstroBASIC" (2 Minutes)

26:42 - Electric Doily, Run 11: "AstroBASIC" (3 Minutes)

29:50 - Electric Doily, "AstroBASIC" Program Listing

31:44 - End Credits

 

Electric Doily is a simple, fascinating program to watch. I'd prefer if the program cleared the screen every once in a while, but when the program is running, the user can always decide to exit the program by pressing zero and then running the program again. This video includes the program running eleven different times: once under Bally BASIC and ten times under "AstroBASIC."

 

Adam

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  • 3 weeks later...

Random Art, by Ernie Sams, is a video art program for the Bally Arcade. It appeared as a Bally BASIC program in the May 1979 issue of the Arcadian newsletter on page 44. It will run fine under the re-release of Bally BASIC, referred to as "AstroBASIC." This is the first video art program published in the Arcadian. This video overview uses the Bally BASIC version of Random Art, which runs just a little slower than it would run in "AstroBASIC."

 

The program's description from the newsletter is quite short, "Random Art is a quick little moving box program." Note how the program isn't even referred to as video art yet. What is a "moving box program," anyway? Random Art creates a single-color, random art pattern based upon width and height increments which are input by the user.

 

Ernie Sams was an earlier contributor to the Arcadian. The Arcadian published four other programs by Ernie; they are: Bangman, Bingo, Convert Hex to Decimal (the third full BASIC program published in the Arcadian), and Slot Machine.

 

Here is a screenshot of the Random Art program:

 

post-4925-0-62714000-1541459832_thumb.jpg

 

Here is an 18 minute video overview running Random Art five times. Each time the program is running, you'll see different art.

 

You can watch the video on YouTube, here:

 

 

You can watch or download the video from Archive.org, here:

 

https://archive.org/details/RandomArtErnieSamsVideoArtBallyAstrocade1979

 

It is broken into various sections:

 

0:00 - Random Art Titles and Overview

2:31 - Loading Random Art

2:40 - Random Art, Run 1 - Width = 3, Height = 4

5:33 - Random Art, Run 2 - Width = 6, Height = 9

6:54 - Random Art, Run 3 - Width = 3, Height = 3

13:58 - Random Art, Run 4 - Width = 7, Height = 11

15:33 - Random Art, Run 5 - Width = 5, Height = 7

18:05 - Random Art BASIC Listing

18:20 - End Credits

 

Random Art is thirteen short lines of BASIC code. For such a simple program, it creates some very elaborate patterns. In this video I have run the program five different times giving different width and height increments each time. If you like this program, then I suggest that you run the program on an Astrocade and try some different parameters. Even small changes to the input can make significant differences to the patterns that the program creates.

 

Adam

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Perspective Box, by Rickey Spiece, is from page 115 of the Bally BASIC Manual from 1978. This program was not included in the "AstroBASIC" version of the manual.

Perspective Box draws a "box" which is meant to have a pseudo 3D perspective in a corner of the screen. The program changes the color of the box and then "shrinks" it. The program is simple enough that it wasn't included in the manual for the re-release of Bally BASIC, but it probably helped early purchasers and users of the Bally Arcade go on to create video art.

Here is a screenshot of the Perspective Box program:

post-4925-0-48092700-1541607260.jpg

Here is a four minute video overview running Perspective Box several times. Unlike most of these other video art programs I've captured so far, each time the program is run, you'll see the same "art."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lAmbLJowqE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lAmbLJowqE

You can watch or download the video from Archive.org, here:

https://archive.org/details/PerspectiveBoxRickeySpieceVideoArtBallyAstrocade1978

Rickey Spiece worked on the original Bally Arcade back in the 1970s at Dave Nutting and Associates. According to the "Bally/Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ," Rickey Spiece also programmed, or helped to program, numerous cartridges for the Bally Arcade, including:

  • Black Jack/Poker/Acey-Deucey - Written by Mason and finished by Rickey Spiece
  • Football - Written by Bob Ogden and Rickey Spiece
  • Grand Prix/Demolition Derby - Written by Bob Ogden, Rickey Spiece, and Scot L. Norris.
  • Panzer Attack/Red Baron - Written by Rickey Spiece.
  • Sea Wolf/Bombardier - Written by Rickey Spiece.

This video overview is broken into various sections:

0:00 - Perspective Box - Titles and Overview
2:11 - Perspective Box - Running
3:31 - Perspective Box - Program Listing
3:51 - End Credits

Perspective Box is very simple, but like all of the BASIC program included in the Bally BASIC manual, it helped to inspire programmers and fans to write their own programs, or to expand upon this program to learn about how Bally BASIC worked and could be used to make games, computer art, sound effects and music.

Adam

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Random Box, by Scott Walpole, is a video art program that appeared in the December 1979 issue of the Arcadian newsletter along with three other short programs by Scott: a game called Number Match and two music programs, Hello, Dolly and Popeye the Sailor. The Arcadian has no instructions or comments for Random Box. The program simply draws random-sized boxes on the screen and the colors periodically change.

Here is a screenshot of the Random Box program:

post-4925-0-63208600-1541696466.jpg

Here is a four minute video overview running Random Box several times:



You can watch or download the video from Archive.org, here:

https://archive.org/details/RandomBoxScottWalpoleVideoArtBallyAstrocade1979

The video is broken into these four parts:

0:00 - Random Box Titles and Overview
1:20 - Random Box Running
4:09 - Random Box BASIC Listing
4:21 - End Credits

Random Box is eight lines of BASIC code. These are the types of programs that any BASIC fan could type into the computer in just a few minutes and get results very quickly. The beauty of BASIC on the Astrocade is that it had built-in graphic commands, such a LINE and BOX. These commands were not available in other common BASIC languages of the era, such as Microsoft BASIC. These graphic commands allowed programmers, and non-programmers alike, to experiment and create images on the screen that would be more difficult to do on other computers, let alone on other game consoles! You don't see programs like this one on the Atari VCS or the Intellivision.

Adam
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Scroll One, Scroll Two and Scroll Three, by Larry Cuba, are three short video art programs for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. These programs run in both Bally BASIC and "AstroBASIC." The programs were originally published in the 1978 version of the Bally BASIC manual page pages 116-117. The "AstroBASIC" version of the manual from 1981 reprinted the programs on pages 83-84.

Here is a screenshot of the Scroll Three program:

 

post-4925-0-18735300-1542080484.jpg

Here is an eight minute video overview running the three versions of different Scroll programs:



You can watch or download the video from Archive.org, here

https://archive.org/details/ScrollOneTwoandThreeLarryCubaVideoArtBallyAstrocade1978

 

The description from the BASIC manuals says:

"These three programs are like paintings. The images evolve slowly and the visual experience changes over time."

To me, this summary is a great definition of video art in general.

Larry Cuba is an early computer artist. His most famous work from the 1970s is the animation of the Death Star Trench used in the 1977 film Star Wars.

The video is broken into these four parts:

0:00 - Scroll 1-3, Titles and Overview
1:47 - Scroll One - BASIC Listing and Program Running
3:41 - Scroll Two - BASIC Listing and Program Running
5:34 - Scroll Three - BASIC Listing and Program Running
8:07 - End Credits

These "scroll" programs contain between 9-16 lines of BASIC code.

Scroll One draws, line by line, boxes of random widths that eventually fill the screen.

Scroll Two draws, line by line, small boxes of random widths and heights that eventually fill the screen.

Scroll Three draws, line by line, small box of random widths and heights which create small patterns that eventually fill the screen.

 

This is probably the last of the earliest Astrocade video art programs. The next one I'll post is from 1980 and is a collaboration with Dan Sanden, an early video art pioneer.

 

Adam

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Electronic Visualization Center, by Dan Sandin and Phil Morton, was published in the January 1980 issue of the Arcadian newsletter for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. This program was written for Bally BASIC, but also runs without any changes for "AstroBASIC."

Only the last few minutes of this video is dedicated to the Electronic Visualization Center BASIC overview. The majority of this video contains a general history of video art and how it relates to the Bally Arcade.

Here is a screenshot of the Electronic Visualization Center and Bally Arcade/Astrocade Video Art Overview:

post-4925-0-61419900-1542300880.jpg

Here is a 33-minute video of the Electronic Visualization Center and Bally Arcade/Astrocade Video Art Overview on YouTube:



You can watch or download the video from Archive.org, here:

 

https://archive.org/details/ElectronicVisualizationCenterDanSandinPhilMortonVideoArtBallyAstrocade1980

The video is linked from BallyAlley.com, here:

 

http://www.ballyalley.com/astrocade_videos/Astrocade_Video_Art/Astrocade_Video_Art.html#ElectronicVisualizationCenterAstrocadeVideo

 

This is the description for the program from the Arcadian:

"Enlarged letters have cropped up again. This time they are done graphically, as opposed to previous POKE'd versions. In the program, I used BIG LETTERS for the items to be printed where Phil used ARCADIAN HOT SHOT. Lines 129-240 clean up the screen and add the buckshot. Phil has an AXIOM EX-850 video printer which can 'photograph' the screen and provide a reproducible image. Co-Author Phil Morton will be vanning to Alaska this summer and would like to contact Northerners."

This is a comment from the program:

"2 TEXT LINES SCALED BIGGER VIA 'L' VARIABLE..."

The following information about the two programs authors is from "Chicago Biographies of an Interactive Life," Walter Phillips Gallery, February 22 - March 17, 1985.

About Dan Sandin

"Inventor and designer of electronic instruments for visual performance and personal growth; developer of educational facilities and programs related to electronic visualization; degrees in nuclear physics; inventor of Image Processor, which has been copied more than 20 times (plans furnished if you send a self-addressed envelope capable of holding 100 pages); engaged in development of a new video synthesizer, the "digital image processor" (DIP); involved in three dimensional computer imaging utilizing integral holography and integral photography; co-developer of Circle Graphics Habitat, a short order educational media house."

Dan's webpage can be visited here:

https://www.evl.uic.edu/dan/

About Phil Morton

"A neuroelectronic artist with digital computer language literacy in ZGRASS and BASIC; patch-programming literacy with analog computers; does real time performance; television program maker; philosopher; recreational vehicle designer; former Associate Professor at the Art Institute of Chicago; builder of high-speed, general purpose analog video computer; desires deep space travel opportunity; currently researching interactive neuroelectronic A/V instruments; sole owner of Video Research Consultants (dedicated to real time aural and visual performance, yearly contract with SIGGRAPH conference); lives with and through the medium conversationally."

This video is broken into several parts, to make viewing it easier for those interested in only certain portions of this video history.

0:00 - Electronic Visualization Center, Overview of Program
1:30 - Electronic Visualization Center, Overview of Authors
6:01 - Electronic Visualization Center, Program Submission Background
11:49 - Electronic Visualization Center, Axiom EX-850 Screen Printouts
24:54 - Electronic Visualization Center - Run 1 with program Loading
26:53 - Electronic Visualization Center - Run 2
28:42 - Electronic Visualization Center - Run 3
30:16 - Electronic Visualization Center - Run 4
31:22 - Electronic Visualization Center - Run 5
33:13 - End Credits

Electronic Visualization Center contains about twenty lines of executable BASIC code. This program is run five times and each run is slightly different. Sometimes the text displayed is different, and sometimes the size is different.

 

Adam

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Explorer I Demo, by Craig J. Anderson, was published in an article/tutorial called "DMA Graphics" in the April/May 1980 of the Cursor newsletter. It was also released on the "Graphics Demo" tape by ARD. This is video art, of a sort, for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade with Bally BASIC. This program will not work with "AstroBASIC."

 

Here is a screenshot of the Explorer I Demo overview:

 

post-4925-0-16651900-1543541359.jpg

 

Here is a 12-minute video overview of Explorer I Demo on YouTube:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQWCdanP0n0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQWCdanP0n0

 

You can watch or download the video from Archive.org, here

 

https://archive.org/details/ExplorerIDemoCraigAndersonBallyAstrocade1980

 

The video is linked from BallyAlley.com, here:

 

http://www.ballyalley.com/astrocade_videos/Astrocade_Video_Art/Astrocade_Video_Art.html

 

Here is an excerpt from the article:

 

"The spaceship you just drew has been animated as follows: the umbilical cord drops away from the nose of the rocket, then the walkways retract into the gantry. The entire gantry then rolls away from the rocket, off the right-hand side of the screen. A countdown begins. At zero, smoke and flames rise from the launch platform and the rocket majestically rises and disappears off the top of the screen. (In another version the rocket rises only half-way up the screen, then slowly sinks back down and crumbles into a pile of rubble at the bottom of the screen. We call that one VANGUARD ONE!) Go ahead and try your hand at animating the rocket; it's a good practice subject. You'll need graph paper and a pocket calculator as you move the pixels around. Your work may seem slow, but the computer will process the movement of the pixels so rapidly that the eye will perceive it as a smooth movement. In some cases you may have to slow things down to make them appear more realistic (we made the umbilical cord bounce several times against the side of the gantry for added realism.)"

 

This video is broken into several parts, to make viewing it easier for those interested in only certain portions of this video history.

 

0:00 - Explorer I Demo, Overview of Program

7:02 - Explorer I Demo - Loading and Running

10:49 - Explorer I Demo - Bally BASIC Program Listing

11:23 - End Credits

 

If you find this program interesting, then be sure to read the article and look at some of the other programs that are on the "Graphics Demo" tape.

 

Adam

Edited by ballyalley
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