Tempest Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 I figured a good first topic for this forum would be to list all the 'MIA' protoypes that are rumored to exist in some form or another but have yet to be dumped. I'll start us off with a small list of games that I can think of off the top of my head and fill in the details later when I have access to my lists. Tempest 2600 ------ Pink Panther - Apperently Russ has been in contact with the owner, but there are copyright issues. Good Luck Charlie Brown - Anyone know who owns this prototype now? Keystone Kapers II - Dan Kitchen may still own this Leavy Game (Dam Game) - Dan Kitchen owns this Submarine Game - A Sea Wolf style game Dan Kitchen did at one point. Motorcycle Game - David Crane said he created this game during his time at Activision but never released it. Could he still have it? Zookeeper - The sound programmer for this game confirmed its existance. So where did it go? Airworld - Tod said he started work on it. Was a prototype ever made? Cycle Count - Not a game, but some kind of cycle counting demo created by a programmer. I believe John Hardie still owns this one. Bird Game (what was the real name?) - A former Parker Brother employee said this game was done. It sounds like a Dactyl Joust type game. Impossible Game - Telesys displayed this game at one of the CES shows Turbo - Atari licensed it from Coleco after they went under, so it had to have been done or close to it. Adventures of Max - Nolan Vushnell mentioned this title when he did an interview about Axlon (also mentioned Save Mary). It involved climbing out of pits or something like that. Snow Plow - Shown at a CES show. Underworld - Rumor has it that some DP members found this game on a development tape when they acquired Commavid's inventory. Mission Omega - Supposedly was finished, but was being redone due to poor testing. What happened to it? Look Ahead - Programmer Mark Klein (of Entity and Pick Up fame) provided a prototype of this game to some DP members. The game was supposedly complete, so this might be a future CGE release. Sky Blazer - Apperently Broderbund displayed this at one of the CES shows Solo - Was this shown at any CES show? Meltdown - More than one TCF employee swears they saw this. Snark - John Dunn (Superman) says he did this game for Atari, but they refused to release it because of the fast color cycling (it may have made people sick). It's out there somewhere. These games may exist, but no evidence has surfaced yet James Bond Ocotpussy - There seems to be alot of evidence that this game was actually started. Could it exist? Increadible Hulk - Most likely exists, but no evidence has surfaced. Circus Charlie - May have been displayed at one of the CES shows Wings - Most likely exists in one form or another KickMan - It's out there All M-Network protos are dumped but unreleased due to Intellivision Productions owning the copyrights so I wont list them here. 5200 ------ Elevator Action - Supposedly exists. Programmer confirmed it was started and fairly far along. Tumbleweeds - A Puffer game. John Hardie owns the only known prototype. Jungle River Cruise - Another Puffer game. Whereabouts are unknown. 400/800/XE --------------- Sinistar - An ex-Atari programmer confirmed that this game was almost complete. Jinks - Does the stripped down Atari version still exist? Mat Mania Challenge - B&C is rumored to have a proto Xenophobe - B&C is rumored to have a proto RS Soccer - The programmer has told me this exists. Same as the 5200 version Gremlins - Exists somewhere. Same the 5200 version. 7800 ------ Moon Patrol - Apperently completed but not released Electrocop - Shown at one of the CES shows Rampart - According to the DP guide this game was almost complete Steel Talons - According to the DP guide this game was almost complete Road Riot 4WD - According to the DP guide this game was complete but unreleased Rescue on Fractalus - A simple movement demo may exist Skyfox - A demo supposedly exists Sirius - May have been shown at PC3 Plutos - May have been shown at PC3 Missing in Action - Demoed at PC3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 What about Hulk? Is someone sitting on that one and its known to those in the know, but not to the general public? And did anyone ever reach a verdict on the other Star Wars ROTJ game that featured the sarlacc pit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 I am SO hoping that 7800 Rampart is found! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 8, 2004 Author Share Posted January 8, 2004 What about Hulk? Is someone sitting on that one and its known to those in the know, but not to the general public? And did anyone ever reach a verdict on the other Star Wars ROTJ game that featured the sarlacc pit? There actually isn't any hard evidence that The Hulk exists. It's very probably it does, but no one has claimed to have seen it (not even other PB programmers). There was never a sarlacc pit game. Larry Gelberg (programmer of the Ewok game) said it became Deathstar Battle. The sarlacc pit box was just a marketing concept. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 So what was the verdict on the "screenshot" for Hulk that appeared in the PB catalog? Mock-up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 8, 2004 Author Share Posted January 8, 2004 So what was the verdict on the "screenshot" for Hulk that appeared in the PB catalog? Mock-up? Definetly a mock-up. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 5200 ------ Elevator Action - Supposedly exists. Programmer confirmed it was started and fairly far along. What about Tempest final version? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad2600 Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 Well it is a new year and because of this, anything can and will happen. You might just get lucky and find some of the protos on the list. Just think of it this way: With the new forums added on, more people may be tempted to come over here and post about their protos and so forth. I was thinking that AtariAge needed a Prototype forum after seeing the one over at Digital Press. Glad to see that someone else had this in mind as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 8, 2004 Author Share Posted January 8, 2004 What about Tempest final version? These is no 'final' version of Tempest. There's a slightly later WIP that was found on some disks, but it was still incomplete. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamemaster_ca_2003 Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 5200 ------ Elevator Action - Supposedly exists. Programmer confirmed it was started and fairly far along. What about Tempest final version? I am hoping for the 5200 version of several games I do want Elevator Action but I am also hoping for. Tutankham Major Havoc Space Duel Omega Race Galaga and others Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 ...and let's not forget that Project Tempest is completing the conversion of Tempest for the 5200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fellow Atari Man Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 First of all, nice new forum, and a good complement to Tempest's site, plus he can put up stuff here all that he wants in hopes of getting questions answered that inquiring minds want to know without having to update his site with forums 2600 ------ Keystone Kapers II - Gary Kitchen may still own this Whoa! Any idea what the gameplay would be like or anything, or exactly the same as the original, just in a different building or something? 7800 ------ Moon Patrol - Apperently completed but not released WAAAAAH! That would've kicked some major ass on the 7800 To Gamemaster: I think Major Havoc only had a prototype for the Atari 400/800 computers, but it might not have even gotten that far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 9, 2004 Author Share Posted January 9, 2004 I am hoping for the 5200 version of several games I do want Elevator Action but I am also hoping for. Major Havoc I think Major Havoc only had a prototype for the Atari 400/800 computers, but it might not have even gotten that far. Sorry to dash your hopes, but Major Havoc no longer exists. Only some very preliminary screens were done (using character set graphics apperently), but the programmer said he no longer has the code. This game was being programmed on the 400/800 first. Keystone Kapers II - Gary Kitchen may still own this Whoa! Any idea what the gameplay would be like or anything, or exactly the same as the original, just in a different building or something? Apperently it took place on a train this time. I don't have any more info on it though. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 Keystone Kapers II - Gary Kitchen may still own this Whoa! Any idea what the gameplay would be like or anything, or exactly the same as the original, just in a different building or something? Apperently it took place on a train this time. I don't have any more info on it though. Tempest Oh my dear lord, this one MUST be found! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numan Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 Anybody know how to get in touch with Mr. Kitchen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 9, 2004 Author Share Posted January 9, 2004 Ok update time. It wasn't Garry Kitchen but Dan Kitchen. Here's a blurb from an interview he did a year or two ago. DK: I actually have lost prototypes of games I had designed for the Atari 2600. I had designed two games at Activision that didn't make it out. It would've been called in the lab, "The Levy Game", and he looked like the cop from Keystone Kapers with a yellow slicker standing against a dam like Hoover Dam. With three or four levels of play the dam would shake, the lights would go off and water would sprout and begin to fill up and pour onto the screen. The whole screen would begin to fill up blue. You had to run around and clean the little holes and cement them. And obviously as the game ensued water began to fill up, you had to go underwater and you had a little life meter. That was one game I had done. I had also done a sequel to Keystone Kapers, which was the Keystone cop on a train. And that was actually a neat thing because I was able to pull off some interesting software kernels where I had eight rotating wheels on the bottom of a train where you could normally only have two or six. It was a very cute game. From screen to screen, from boxcar to boxcar fighting and trying to defeat the character from Keystone Kapers, who was the runaway criminal. That was a very huge game as it had non-symmetrical play and had a really nice, large engine at the front of the game and a very large caboose at the bottom of the game, and I'm sure somewhere I have those roms. Probably worth something out on the open market! Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 Both of those sound like they would be a lot of fun to play. I'm hoping that some day soon they will be available. I remember as a kid always wanting a sequel to Keystone Kapers. I even drew up my own version of the game in an old sketch book I used to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveW Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 I'm still trying to imagine what Steel Talons would look like on the 7800. It didn't move too quickly on the Lynx, a far more powerful machine. On a machine that wasn't ever designed or equipped to handle polygons, it must have been painfully slow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangest Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 "The Levy Game" probably means "levee game". though if he wanted to make a game where eugene levy saves the hoover dam, i'd have no problem with that either... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 9, 2004 Author Share Posted January 9, 2004 probably means "levee game". though if he wanted to make a game where eugene levy saves the hoover dam, i'd have no problem with that either... Damn that Dam Game... Both of those games sound like real winners. You've got to wonder why they were never released. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad2600 Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 Ok update time. It wasn't Garry Kitchen but Dan Kitchen. Here's a blurb from an interview he did a year or two ago. DK: I actually have lost prototypes of games I had designed for the Atari 2600. I had designed two games at Activision that didn't make it out. It would've been called in the lab, "The Levy Game", and he looked like the cop from Keystone Kapers with a yellow slicker standing against a dam like Hoover Dam. With three or four levels of play the dam would shake, the lights would go off and water would sprout and begin to fill up and pour onto the screen. The whole screen would begin to fill up blue. You had to run around and clean the little holes and cement them. And obviously as the game ensued water began to fill up, you had to go underwater and you had a little life meter. That was one game I had done. I had also done a sequel to Keystone Kapers, which was the Keystone cop on a train. And that was actually a neat thing because I was able to pull off some interesting software kernels where I had eight rotating wheels on the bottom of a train where you could normally only have two or six. It was a very cute game. From screen to screen, from boxcar to boxcar fighting and trying to defeat the character from Keystone Kapers, who was the runaway criminal. That was a very huge game as it had non-symmetrical play and had a really nice, large engine at the front of the game and a very large caboose at the bottom of the game, and I'm sure somewhere I have those roms. Probably worth something out on the open market! Tempest So have you attempted to contact Dan Kitchen or has anyone else attempted to? Maybe he's just waiting for the right time to release the protos to the public but who knows? I am excited at the prospect of a sequel to Keystone Kapers and the Levee game as well. That's 2 more Activision protos to add to the others on your site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 I thought Ken Love had actually contacted Dan about those two protos as Activision had hoped to add them to the Anthologies? I would think if anyone had any pull or could get Dan to find those games it would be Activision themselves? I could be wrong, but I really seem to remember reading somewhere when the first notices of the Anthologies being put together went out. Was I dreaming and just delusional? *Wait!* Don't answer that last question... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapdash Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 2600 ------ Pink Panther - Apperently Russ has been in contact with the owner, but there are copyright issues. Good Luck Charlie Brown - Anyone know who owns this prototype now? I'm pretty sure GLCB is still owned by the guy who found it, but I've had little success in contacting him. probably means "levee game". though if he wanted to make a game where eugene levy saves the hoover dam, i'd have no problem with that either... Actually, I believe it's a pun of "levee" on Jim Levy, the CEO of Activision... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 I am SO hoping that 7800 Rampart is found! Hmmmmm, ehhh could be ..... Curt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 10, 2004 Author Share Posted January 10, 2004 Oh another one to add to the list: 2600: Adventures of Max According to some interview with Nolan this game invovled climbing out of pits or something. I believe it was an Axlon game. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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