[And you didn't have to pay Apple $9.99 to read it]

Outstanding!

[The Sixer-Fixer-upper: Revisited]

Did you land a new gig? Speaking of gigs, is your old email address still valid? Lemme know sometime and we can catch up. 

[The Sixer-Fixer-upper: Revisited]

Welcome home! Aside from the missing Blockbuster Videos, is it all you remember?

[The Day After Tomorrow - Spoiler-free review]

The Lost Worlds collection was on Netflix (or Prime?) and I watched it a few months ago. I enjoyed the Day After Tomorrow for what it was. Not great but not terrible. I enjoyed the Space Police segment they had on there too.

 

Along these same lines, a few years ago I discovered the obscure Canadian '70s sci-fi TV series Starlost was on Youtube. I found that mostly enjoyable too. Good, not great, but lots of nostalgiac '70s low-budget sci-fi vibe. 

[Adaptability]

Love seeing all the styles. I'm partial to "Enemy", "Two", and "Porridge Story". Lots of heart in all those. 

[And yet still another small diversion]

Love the lineup! All you need now is a tiny crane game and token machine.

[Jason of Star Command - Chapter 01 - Attack of the Dragonship]

If I recall correctly, the Ark II was repurposed as the shuttle in Space Academy.

 

Fun facts, Jason, Craig Littler, was in a Gray Poupon commercial and is the current Gorton's fisherman.

[Maze Generation in Dragon's Descent]

Interesting read. I’m no programmer but I get the gist of what you’re describing. I’ve always been fascinated with mazes and I love a good maze game. Looking forward to taking a closer look at your game. Thanks!

[GTA V]

All valid points. The older I get the less willing I am to invest the time and energy into these huge games. If I have an hour to dedicate to gaming I'd much rather play 20 games of Pac-Man 256 trying to rack up points and items instead of sitting through 2 cutscenes, 10 minutes of gaming, and 10 minutes of wandering around aimlessly trying to figure out controls.

 

Having said that, it is a beautiful game with a huge and interesting environment. I keep it around since I like watching friends play it.

 

I wish it had a straightforward "collect the packages" mission similar to GTA: Vice City had. Another game I never finished but still had fun wandering the streets and listening to the soundtrack.

 

[Edit] Actually I understand GTA V has tons of similar Easter eggs to find but I'm unaware of a way to find them without playing through and "earning" the missions.

[What...? Did something else happen?]

I wouldn't. But my employer would. Mine's on order and should be here soon. Whee!

[ATari Flashback Portable review]

So I finally got the SD card loaded up and the video out connected to the TV. I must admit the coolness factor, and usefulness, has gone up dramatically. The tiny screen on the unit is really a bummer for me. But holding 700+ games in your hand and connecting them to the big screen is awesome. The Flashback Portable really takes on a whole new personality when used this way. Highly recommended!

[ATari Flashback Portable review]

 

As a side note, I'm considering getting a Flashback 7 for the family Christmas gift exchange this year.

 

So much for that. BB&B looks like they've sold out around here. Target still has it but they want $50 for it. Definitely not worth that kind of money.

[ATari Flashback Portable review]

Yeah, I'm not sure why I bought mine either. I already have a real 2600 and carts. I also have the Atari's Greatest Hits collection for my iPad so I have portability covered off. I guess I'm still a sucker for the Atari name and the thought of getting an Atari at Christmas again sounded like fun.

 

Thanks for the SD card info, especially as it relates to Mac. I haven't tried an SD card yet but I intend to. I want to try the video out as well. I appreciate both those features and they may very well turn this into a useful device at some point.

 

As a side note, I'm considering getting a Flashback 7 for the family Christmas gift exchange this year. I'm not sure it would be appreciated by everyone but I know my brothers would dig it if they got it. And it's so hard to actually find a useful gift at the price that everyone would appreciate. We're all of the age that would fondly remember the Atari so I think it's as good a choice as any. Certainly better than the Shirley Temple DVD collection someone ended up with one year. (Insert roll eyes emoticon here.)

[One step forward, two steps back]

I'm not really impressed with the idea.

 

So it looks like a master device with a screen plugs into an endless variety of peripherals you can purchase. You can plug it into a big screen to power a traditional gaming experience. Then take it with you to the john to continue your gaming. In the meantime the rest of the family stares at an empty big screen holding useless controllers.

 

The obvious solution to that dilemma is everyone buys their own Switch and can plug theirs into the empty big screen. So that means everyone has to carry a Switch, phone, laptop, fitness tracker, etc, etc, etc?

 

Not impressed.

[Zootopia - Spoiler-free movie review]

DVD came out last week(?) and I finally saw it. Great film. Your review is spot on. Interesting characters you care about, a good story, and a richly detailed environment that begs to be watched again to catch all the goodies. Well done, Disney!

[It's how the game industry works today]

Agreed.

 

It's not just games either. Most software is this way now. Try navigating your way around newer versions of Photoshop, Cinema 4D, After Effects, or anything these days. New features will be introduced but if they're not readily apparent they can go unnoticed for years. The only thing that really does get noticed is when they take familiar items and rearrange them. It's like a game trying to figure out what was changed and what hasn't.

[Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Spoiler-free movie review]

"spiraling downward faster than the debris from a collapsing building in Metropolis"

 

That's literary gold right there.

 

This page is likely the closest I'll ever get to the film as I have zero interest in the subject matter. But any film that can spawn the above entertainment is okay with me!

[Leveraging the Jaguar's design aesthetic]

Always a popular spot.

[Deep Color]

My monitor at work actually comes up as 32-bit color. I think that means I can see ghosts and invisible stuff.

[And Fairchild was too expensive]

I think you're being a little to harsh on the Ultravision. I mean look at the graphics the thing was capable of. Way ahead of its time. Even today 3D renderers are struggling to achieve this level of realism in simulating markers and other natural media.

[Twisted Metal 3]

I remember renting TM1 and spent way too many hours playing TM2 but somehow I don't recall anything about TM3.

[The Martian - Spoiler-free movie review]

I just watched this this weekend. I think I need to give it another watch sometime when I can devote my full attention to it but from what I saw I wasn't really impressed.

 

I'm a huge fan of the...what would you call it...Castaway genre? One against the world or universe against all odds and manages to survive in their own way and on their own terms. Life of Pi, All is Lost, Silent Running, Robinson Crusoe on Mars, Red Dwarf, etc. And even to an extent Black Hole, Master of the World and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea fit the bill as these characters cast themselves off from society and live on their own terms.

 

For whatever reason I never really felt that sense of isolation or loneliness that makes these films. Yes, he had some considerable setbacks but I always had the feeling that a solution was right around the corner. And while it was by no means an ideal form of communicating, once they figured out a way to contact him it kind of killed it for me. It just felt like he was locked up in a basement someplace talking over the internet.

[Real Arcade Play: Achieved!]

Sweet! I've enjoyed the emulated games in the Vectrex ipad app. With the help of an 8-bitty controller I can get pretty far in Scramble but always lose it at the deep dive in the square caverns.

[Two hundred episodes!]

Happy 200th, Artie!

 

Nice iPad screenshot. :-)

[You can't have everything]

Or even a PDF compilation. If for no other reason to see for yourself what an accomplishment it's been so far.