MikeMika

TTASR: 3 hours! A new record! TTASR = Time to Activision Sunset Request, Quohog! You now have a job to do. And great idea, @KevinMos3! That mock up looks great!

I've been testing it with some pretty funky keyboard controllers and the PC keyboard, so I've had some pretty shameful low scoring games. But I just cracked open a brand new factory sealed set of official Atari Keyboard Controllers and WOW. First game I got 444! This plays so great, and like Andrew said - This would have passed as an Activision game back in the day. From the personality to the cool sounds. I love the pacing and the difficulty adjusting after failures, too. This definitely gives that same zen/rush that Kaboom! provides, which feels rare to me. If you have two keyboard controllers, this is by far the best way to play. Slot them into one another and have some fun. Also, I liked it so much I starting trying to make a custom Atari cartridge shell in Tinker Cad for anyone with a 3D Printer. I know, it prevents it from stacking or slotting into a cartridge holder. Great work, Quohog!

If any of you guys are ever in the bay area, feel free to drop me a line and set up a visit to check it out.

Hey! JUST SAW THIS! We coded it in C++ using our internal studio library. We have a cheap little windows box inside. The power up and power down was never cleanly solved, although now we are porting the game to Raspberry PI4 to solve it once and for all. We're huge fans of Medieval Mayhem. HUGE fans. Did I mention big fans? It's always on the ready in the office. The biggest trouble for me was figuring out how to maintain the balance of power and fairness with six players. You really need to have that broadside battle that is at the heart of the game, so a lot of math and iteration went into solving that. The shapes of the bases were the result of all that work. THEN the physics were a pain. I leaned on my fellow engineer, Ian Sherman, to help there. Reflection with so many angles was a lot harder to deal with, because you get really weird shapes in the bricks and you could get bizarre reflection traps. So many little htings like that could fill an entire episode, but it would probably put most people in the audience to sleep (Save for people like all of us).

"Gentle nudge after 14 years" Mini, if I get that book done, it will be dedicated to you and I would have to put you on the cover. Sorry for the long wait and thanks for the (Albeit, awesome) reminder. Best - Mike

Oh man... I haven't been here in a bit and I miss out on this! Looks great, Salem! Lemmeno if you produce anymore.

I love that idea. We discovered that some trailers without doors could be entered. A simple human error. It Would be cool to add hidden teleporters in those trailers.

Definitely. At the end of the day, we needed to service the contest and that worked out well. Now we need to find the right time to make it a real game. I'm torn because both Kevin and I loved the experience, but would probably prefer making a new game from scratch. But since we are so close, it's tough to move on - people genuinely want it to evolve. Ugh. And then there is the pesky day job which turns into all consuming work. Which, BTW, we play Medieval Mayhem at the office at least three times a week.

... also, we were using an iPhone and the CuttleCart to check it on hardware, on a TV that made everything seem sort of fine. Only later after the first carts came in did we notice more issues. We joked about it, maybe to comfort ourselves.. "We're basically like a DataAge game, not as good as Activision or Imagic, but definitely not a Mythicon game!" Tears....

Ha! Oh no, someone posted about it! Yeah, we were trying to make it and ship games at our day job, so it was very little time. We were wary of anyone bringing it up on AtariAge, actually. Not until we managed to fix it up. We view the current version as the "contest version". We worked by priority until hours before launch. Thomas nailed the feature set that remains: - randomize distribution of the puzzle pieces, burgers and floppies (maybe by following a certain pattern to avoid too much randomness. ** We planned on doing this but could not get to it. Weighing the bug testing versus time made us drop it. In reality, we were tagging rooms as "puzzle potential" and it would pick from like 20 of them. The idea was to be a little bit like Impossible Mission. - randomize the enemy movements (currently they all follow one single pattern each, more patterns would sure help) ** Agreed. The interiors went in last, and the enemies did not get the variety they really needed. They also have display problems - Sprite corruption when you are on the right hand side of the enemies, timing issues when entering and exiting, and some other issues. - add several stages (e.g. start with a smaller maze and increase after you beat the previous stage, add more speed and randomness at higher levels ** We originally had three stages, small , medium, large. The you could play front to back, or select the stage 1, 2, or 3. The only way to get the secret would be to complete and unveil the hidden message on level 3. An homage of sorts. - currently you can only jump over things, maybe add flying objects you have to duck ** I have the ducking sprites and planned to include it, with Dragonfire-like enemies planned. We just didn't get to it. - more and different enemies (discover them stage by stage, maybe mix them) ** I have a large variety of enemies planned, just didn't get to them. Some of them required specific timing, others were more reflex. They were all pretty abstract. I initially based them on Keystone Kapers. - maybe add a timer that runs down to force the player to hurry ** Originally, I planned on the score being a timer. For the contest, the game was really hard. So we made it a score that serves no real purpose. - less extra lives (burgers) ** Because of the challenge more casual playesr were encountering, we overused the burgers. - add some more sound ** Like my day job, audio got neglected until it was almost too late. I was literally looking at a text file (Slocum's) on my iphone and telling Kevin to "just try this value" over his shoulder. Other notes: 1. Fix all the timing issues... there are a lot. 2. Add black "holes" ala pitfall where the ladders are. 3. Fix display timing.. Those ladders were driving me crazy... I have a different plan for that that fell through, more to do with the platyfield than using missiles. 4. Add some musical stabs. 5. Require a certain score to unlock the master secret, OR go back to a timer. 6. The title screen was supposed to descend to the player on teh ground and you'd start outside of the stacks. Maybe return to that. 7. Optimize the code. It's so sloppy and hacked. I barely looked at the 6502 inst. set, I just tried to code it by memory... not smart. I misued insyructions, did things the long way, and forgot all the old tricks. It's code bloat of the worst kind. Anyhow, glad some people thought it was amusing.. It needs a lot of work. It was really fun to make, and I'm happy with the results in the short time we had. I could not have done it without Thomas' code samples, the programming forums here (Humbling), and Slocum's info. We couldn't talk about it, obviously, because it was related to a contest. So I couldn't actually engage folks here, which would have been the ideal way to make the game. Best, Mike

Count me in for a CIB!

... and say goodbye to the project when people start receiving cease and desist letters. Not that I'm a pessimist of course. Hehe.. Trust me, I am familiar with the cease and decist in my career. These guys no longer work for Lucas. I do understand the sensitivity here, but these guys endorse the Zak sequel being done in Germany, etc. The only thing that would happen here is that they would likely join up on Atari Age and encourage it. Now, if Lucas LEGAL even had a hint, yeah.. They are ruthless. They've lightened up in the last couple years, allowing fan-made things, but don't try selling anything. They have started a Heritage group within the organization, which did the Monkey Island re-make. The people in that division are fantastic. They're very supportive of homebrew efforts, and see it as a great fan service. But you never know. It's always healthy to be pessimistic. Even though this is a public forum, I'll respect this group and keep a lid on it.

I also wanted to add to the list of compliments. This game is looking amazing. I hope you get enough time to make some progress. I'm working with some of the founding alumni of Lucasfilm Games right now, and I plan to show them the progress you've made if you haven't already shared it with them. This is the sort of thing that will blow them away. It represents everything they themselves set out to do when they formed Lucasfilm Games - Blow past the limitations of the machine and create groundbreaking experiences. Well done.

Thanks for checking, Al. I got all excited a while ago after seeing Man Goes Down (I think that's the game) - it was slick and got me inspired, so I started fixing up Kickman finally. I wanted to get the Pac-Man balloons in, but I got slogged down in re-writing the kernal. I'll give another look this weekend. I've probably consolidated drives and machines a few times since then. Just gotta get the search engine rolling. I need to find it to convince myself I'm not crazy. Last look was fruitful! I did find my Gunsmoke GBC rom (Digital Eclipse/Capcom), my Euro Klax Rom (2600 Adventure hidden in it and a proposal to my wife , and some other odd bits and bobs. I think I also found the prototype Atari ST Ballblazer that Tim Mensch and Dan Filner did for LucasArts. That's a keeper! I need to dig more often! Mike

@stephana: Yeah, it wasn't cleaned up at all on my part. Stella works great, it's just the way I assembled this version of the ROM. I'm trying to find a later version because a lot of that was fixed.

Alright. Attached is my old old old Kickman ROM. If I had to rate this on the completion scale, it's 1%. I had big plans but then my day job just got in the way. Classic story. This does not seem to run fine in Stella, and on Z26 it has the wrong palette. Runs fine on my real 2600 though. I make games pretty iteratively, so this was my sketching out of at least one way to approach the game. Note: I stole the font straight from Gorf from CBS because I was originally going to "leak the proto" around April first a few years ago. I figured if I followed the CBS game structure, it would make it harder to judge as a hoax. You are warned, it is REALLY ugly. I was planning on upping the resolution of the sprites. And please, I know it is rubbish - no need to tell me. The sound is atrocious, it was barely a first pass. Hopefully this gives some closure to at least my branch of the Kickman lore! Oh! Controls: reset to start, I think I had some kind of difficulty ramping already started for game type (Select). Button kicks. This might not be the last version, because I did fix the balloons to drop from teh correct position and retain their bitmap image instead of switching to a missile. Hmm.... Ugh. kickman.bin

Atari/Inforgrames owns it. They know they own it. When we discussed doing a project for them, it was on their IP holdings list. David Sullivan (Previously Backbone, now OnLive) made the game. It was concocted inside Atari marketing, who gave Blue Sky a list of things they thought were "hot." The list was essentially two items, Golf and Fighting Games. So David mashed the two together. He has a playable XE version in his possession, and very early 2600 version. While David doesn't seem to have much affection for the game, I sure do. I'd love to see more done with it. It was actually quite fun while being a totally ludicrous concept.

The Genesis had a steering wheel that works quite well with the Atari 2600 for Enduro and other Joystick based racers. I got a couple at a place called Weird Stuff Warehouse brand new for a buck each. It took some re-wiring for the buttons to map to up and down IIRC, but it worked nicely. In fact, I had an Atari Pole Position sticker that fit perfectly on the "horn," making it look as if it were made for the Atari.

Addam's Family? Did you talk to Tim or Jeff? We had the ROMs emulated and audio happening, I believe. And the playfield was rendering with a ball bouncing around - it was a fantastic 3D re-creation down to every detail. We had an Addam's Family machine in the office for reference (We scanned the bare playfield with a giant scanner, too, IIRC). Yes, we played almost too much of the pinball. BUT - It was intended to be included in the Midway Collection that eventually was released for N64. I *might* have a flash rom of it. I can't promise, but I remember holding onto it or the rom image for quite some time. I can't promise anything. It was turning out nice, with broken physics but working.

DJPubba! We are connected by Sonic Rivals and Capcom Classics. small world.

Wow, I'm old... On Moby they say I've worked on these: Rayman 10th Anniversary (2005), Ubisoft, Inc. Grand Theft Auto Advance (2004), Rockstar Games, Inc. Disney's 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure (2003), Disney Interactive, Inc., Eidos, Inc. Midway Arcade Treasures (2003), Midway Home Entertainment, Inc. Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs (2003), Universal Interactive Inc. Atari Anniversary Advance (2002), Infogrames, Inc. Disney's Kim Possible: Revenge of Monkey Fist (2002), Disney Interactive, Inc. Disney's Lilo & Stitch (2002), Disney Interactive, Inc. Muppet Pinball Mayhem (2002), NewKidCo Phantasy Star Collection (2002), SEGA of America, Inc., THQ Inc. Spyro 2: Season of Flame (2002), Universal Interactive Inc. Alienators: Evolution Continues (2001), Activision Publishing, Inc. Dragon's Lair (2001), Capcom Entertainment, Inc. Rayman (2001), Ubi Soft Entertainment Software Scooby-Doo! Classic Creep Capers (2001), THQ Inc., THQ International Ltd. Spyro: Season of Ice (2001), Universal Interactive Inc. X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse (2001), Activision Publishing, Inc. X-Men: Wolverine's Rage (2001), Activision Publishing, Inc. Army Men (2000), 3DO Company, The Army Men II (2000), 3DO Company, The Disney's 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue (2000), Activision Publishing, Inc. Toobin' (2000), Midway Home Entertainment, Inc. Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland (2000), Nintendo of America Inc. Disney's Tarzan (1999), Activision, Inc. Knockout Kings 2000 (1999), Electronic Arts, Inc. Rampage 2: Universal Tour (1999), Midway Games, Inc. NFL Blitz (1998), Midway Games, Inc. The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008), Sierra Entertainment, Inc. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (2007), Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. Sonic the Hedgehog (2007), SEGA Corporation Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2007), SEGA Corporation Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (2007), Capcom Entertainment, Inc. Capcom Classics Collection: Volume 2 (2006), SEGA of America, Inc. Charlotte's Web (2006), SEGA of America, Inc. Death Jr. II: Root of Evil (2006), Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. MechAssault: Phantom War (2006), Majesco Entertainment Company SEGA Genesis Collection (2006), SEGA of America, Inc. Capcom Classics Collection (2005), Capcom Entertainment, Inc. Capcom Classics Collection Remixed (2005), Capcom Entertainment, Inc. Death Jr. (2005), Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. Death Jr. (Limited Edition) (2005), Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. Prince of Persia: Revelations (2005), Ubisoft, Inc. Midway Arcade Treasures 2 (2004), Midway Home Entertainment, Inc. Atari: 80 Classic Games in One (2003), Atari, Inc. Midway Arcade Treasures (2003), Midway Home Entertainment, Inc. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 (2003), Electronic Arts, Inc. Atari Anniversary Edition (2002), Infogrames Disney's Tarzan: Return to the Jungle (2002), Activision Publishing, Inc. Dr. Muto (2002), Midway Games, Inc. Monster Force (2002), Universal Interactive Inc. Batman: Chaos in Gotham (2001), Ubi Soft Entertainment Software Atari Arcade Hits: Volume 2 (2000), Hasbro Interactive, Inc. Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits Volume I (2000), Midway Games, Inc. Atari Arcade Hits: Volume 1 (1999), Hasbro Interactive, Inc. Klax (1999), Midway Games, Inc. It's missing quite a few. I'm listed on a vairety of these as engineer, artist, animator, designer, producer, creative director and studio head. Disney's Tarzan for Game Boy color was my first Million seller. Made me very happy. I've worked on just about every platform now. Lately I've been looking for a new challenge, and a new interface.. so now I'm doing iPhone games. Takes me back to the classic days. You can make a big difference and see a game through in just a matter of months.

The answer to the mystery is right there under our noses! Actually, Ken is right. This is legit - It's a copy of Thrill Kill used to demonstrate the engine to Activision for use in the Wu Tang Clan game. This and other copies were circulated at Activision to help make the decision to go with the developer. I was working on a project for Activision at the time and our Producer told us about Thrill Kill and raved about the game. A little while earlier, I was working for NextGen magazine and got a copy of Thrill Kill with a Press Kit and an embroidered hat (Still have 'em!) for the game. When I heard Activision was looking at it, I was pretty glad to see the game was potentially finding a home. Then I found out that Activision was going to use the fighting engine for Wu Tang. Oh well, good for the dev. At one point, this engine was also being considered for a Kill Bill game.

Luck Sent. Trust me, the amount of luck finding cool Atari stuff doesn't quite balance out the cost of living in the Bay Area. It's a hefty price for the luck! But those Gamers guys do sound like chumps. When I lived in Michigan, the best luck I had finding the fun stuff was at Gibraltor Trade Center, a big indoor flea market, garage sales, and computer trade shows. I'd say Towering Inferno was also my best find in those days! One of the sad things about living out here, though, especially since I work in games now, is running across people from the old days who think they still have their old unfinished games and get you all excited. The numbers of times I've gone to someone's house to find out they threw out their old stuff, or it was lost in a fire, or their children sold their old games. A popular arcade distributor passed away about five years ago, and he had one of the only two player computer space games in existence, as well as a healthy number of original Pong arcade machines, serial numbers 13-19. He also had a Death Race, and a room full of vintage pinball and arcade glass, floor to ceiling. When he died, his kids decided to move their flavored ice business into the warehouse, and took every game on one side to ther other with a forklift, and just dropped them on top of the other games. When I got their with one of his old business partners, we wanted to cry. All these beautiful games that this guy had kept and restored were crushed, smashed, destroyed. The computer space was unrecoverable. The death race survived, but the glass room - All shattered, completely destroyed. There were custom shelves built to hold over the one thousand pieces of glass, all crushed. I did salvage serial#19 of Pong, though! Also, the kids did manage to sell a lot of his better games before the destruction, so I hope they went to good homes. Sad stuff. Someone also called me with "RealSports Golf." I argued that the game never was in production, but the guy swore up and down that it was. I got pretty excited - it didn't make sense, but I am in Atari country, afterall. When I got there, it was an unlabelled cart - good so far, I brought an Atari and we fired it up. It wasn't RealSports golf at all, but a copy of My Golf. What a let down. Mike

#73 for me, thank you.

It's true about California. I moved out here about 11 years ago from Michigan. In the last few years, I've gone with my wife to a monthly Antique Faire, which will have the occasional Atari system or Odyssey. I never expect much going in - I mostly find cool classic toys. But a couple months ago I was browsing a table and a small box caught my eye. It was full of Atari games. Unlike the typical run of games, it looked like a few of them had all of their labels removed and replcaed by hand written or typed stickers. Turns out, they were protos! I got a handful of Activision (Plaque Attack, Crackpot, Private Eye) and Atari protos (Donald Duck, Pigs in Space, Dukes of Hazzard). All for 8 bucks! I left some games there for the guy who obviously noticed them after me and was desperate for me to leave him something. I left him Ram It Gray label, River Patrol, Stargunner, Crazy Climber, and a handful of randoms. I knew he wanted the protos pretty bad but he seemed to really appreciate me leaving him a gold mine of production games (Trust me, I already had those otherwise I would not have been so nice!). I have some regret, because I think he got all those games for the same price I paid by haggling. Come on! Give the lady her asking price! I've also stumbled on a lot of Atari proto hardware and software at local bay area electronic flea markets and salvage shops. Before it closed a couple years ago, I found a car load of Atari Home Computer stuff at Mike Quinn's. For $100 bucks I got about a dozen Atari 800s, six 400s, 2 600s, 8 floppy drives, 12 ram expanders, about a hundred floppies of games, monitors, etc. My wife wasn;t very happy to see me drive up with my find. However, after digging in, it became obvious this equipment belonged to an ex-atari employee. I had xerox manuals of programming guides, floppies full of source code, etc. (Nothing of great revelation). Even better, the computers themselves were hacked up with all kinds of extras and goodies. All of this stuff was in Mike Quin's back room, and the only way I found out about it was that I walked in wearing an Atari T-Shirt and the guy at the counter asked,"Are you looking for Atari stuff?" Someone had dropped it all off earlier that day. So if for nothing else, the move to California has been amazing for proto finds.