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zhorton

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Posts posted by zhorton

  1. Posted

    Well, just in time for Halloween, I've finally announced OdysseyNow Game Pack 3 on AtariAge, even though only three copies are left...  Here's the thread:

     

     

    I also just posted a playthrough, with properly spooky lighting, of my revised version of Haunted House, the original Odyssey game.  It was included in Game Pack 3:

     

     

    Game Pack 3 is very Halloween themed, between this and The Haunting of '72.  Playing these should make for a decent quarantined Halloween, right?

     

  2. Posted · Edited by zhorton

    This was announced during the summer in the Odyssey Facebook group, but it never got announced on AtariAge, so I'm adding it now!  We actually have 3 copies of these games remaining...

     

    We have completed Game Pack 3 for the Magnavox Odyssey!  This is our most elaborate set of games to date, and includes the following:

     

    The Haunting of '72

     

    Haunting-overlay-forum.jpg.81188f659e71919c2cda4302d1fcb193.jpg

     

    Just in time for Halloween!  The first Odyssey game to include time travel, this game leads you on an inter-dimensional chase through a haunted house in two eras: 1972 and the present! It makes use of the overlay and cards from the original 1972 game Haunted House, as well as a new, matching overlay and set of cards. The gameplay involves traveling back and forth between 1972 and the present, tracking the changes to a dwelling that has seen nearly 50 years of dilapidation, but also some serious makeovers... but can they conceal the horrific events that happened at the dawn of the '70s?  Find out as you engage in a mad chase that leads you to jump from one time to another by swapping overlays mid-game. The Haunting of '72 involves a rather elaborate storyline that is filled in, mad-lib style, by the players at the beginning of the game. You can watch the video for the full intro, setup, and gameplay by my students. An alternate version of the game can be played by 4 players using two side-by-side screens (but only one Odyssey console). That version is also included in the video below!

     

     

     

    Et Tu, Brute

     

    1220200842_EtTuBrute-Overlay-forum.jpg.dc973920bf50de34e5e05180a28d2a54.jpg

     

    This game has been in development for almost 3 years in the Vibrant Media Lab at Pitt! It is finally complete, and I'm so proud of it. It's the first social deduction game for the Odyssey, and probably any console. It is set in ancient Rome, with the city on screen and information about public sentiment (including a brewing rebellion against Caesar) located on the tabletop. Players (4-6) take on roles including Caesar, Brutus, and others, traveling around the city to either incite rebellion or root it out. Using a physical device on top of the TV, players can attempt to assassinate each other. It's great, conspiratorial fun, and a real social-medial experiment! This game explores the Odyssey’s pioneering potential as a system that could incorporate players in an interactive environment of information exchange, including on-screen, on a tabletop, and physically within an enlarged space of play.

     

     

     

    Interplanetary Voyage (OdysseyNow Re-Creation)

     

    2145831369_interplanetaryvoyage-overlay-forum.jpg.a288ec6826756540ac664eca4f3fa5c4.jpg

     

    Introducing an OdysseyNow re-creation of one of the rarest and most amazing games released for the Odyssey. Interplanetary Voyage was released in 1973 as part of a 4-pack of games that would prove to be the final releases for the world's first game console. This sweeping science fiction game was amazing to behold, from its artwork to its unique gameplay. As a labor of love, the OdysseyNow team worked for a long time to re-create and update this game. The artwork for the overlay and cards were re-created from scratch by Brendan Valley, and the cardboard gameboard was recreated as a deluxe neoprene playmat. We re-worked the rules, clarifying and tweaking a number of things to make this a smoother play experience. Our most radical change was to incorporate elements of the trivia game originally included in this release ("University of the Solar System") into the main adventure game. In this video, four of my students introduce and play our updated version.

     

     

     

     

    Bonus Game: Deadly Haunted House

     

    The original Odyssey Game Haunted House (1972) was a masterpiece of visual design, but flawed in its gameplay. We have created a new game, in the spirit of the original, but re-written with more complex obstacles to avoid for the Detective (including secret, deadly objects), and a greatly expanded role for the Ghost. This game is designed to be played with Card 12 (included in this Game Pack).

     

    This is the proper lighting for this game:

     

     

     

     

    Hardware

     

    In addition to all of the physical components for the individual games, this game pack includes an OdysseyNow re-creation of Game Card 12 (the rarest of all original game cards) and the OdysseyNow Ghost Controller.  The latter is a special accessory controller designed to plug into the Odyssey's ACC port.  It contains two large buttons: when the red button is pressed, it renders an onscreen element (either the ball or Player 2, depending on the current game card) invisible.  When the white button is pressed, it reappears.  This is used to assassinate players in Et Tu, Brute, and will also be used in future OdysseyNow games.

     

    1994361877_GameCard12-forum.jpg.f6fb0a79723ef80bcfae14222152bc3e.jpg

     

     

    581844540_ghost-top-forum.jpg.6f738c35b3fa9a9d79089be1d9463d77.jpg

     

     

    Game Pack 3 Full Contents

     

    Game Card 12
    Ghost Controller

    Ghost Controller Instructions
    Et Tu, Brute Overlay
    Et Tu, Brute Card decks
    Et Tu, Brute Board Strips (2)
    Et Tu, Brute playing pieces and die
    Et Tu, Brute Instructions
    The Haunting of ‘72 “Happy House” Overlay
    The Haunting of ‘72 Cards (30)
    The Haunting of ‘72 Card Strips (3)
    The Haunting of ‘72 Instructions
    Interplanetary Voyage Overlay (reproduction)
    Interplanetary Voyage Game Mat
    Interplanetary Voyage cards (72)
    Interplanetary Voyage Space Station Coin (wood)
    Interplanetary Voyage Updated Instructions
    Interplanetary Voyage pawns (4)
    Bonus: Deadly Haunted House Instructions

     

     

     

  4. Posted

    12 hours ago, slydc said:

     

    Great! Then i don't have to worry about scanning any overlays then as i have a small size scanner (an all-in-one printer/scanner/fax, etc).

    Once the overlays scans online, can i put a copy of them on my Archive account (for archival purpose) and i'll put a text note that these

    come from you guys at VML ? This way if anything happens to your website, they will be doubled backed-up.

     

    Oh and BTW, i have FINALLY received the Game Pack #2 two days ago after 6 weeks!!! I know that because of the pandemic all delivery are

    delayed but it's kinda ridiculous when it could take a 9 hour drive to get to Pittsburgh. And now, you just released Game Pack #3 and i think

    i'll wait 3-4 weeks before buying it since deliveries are still delayed. Haven't unpacked it yet but will do by the end of the week. ;)

     

    - Sly -

    Yes, absolutely--as long as you credit and link to the OdysseyNow site for the scans, feel free to mirror them on Archive.

    I'm glad your Pack #2 finally arrived!  6 weeks is a ridiculously long time for that to have been in the mail, especially given the short actual distance it traveled!  Shows how much difference a border, a pandemic, and bureaucracy can make!  I doubt that anything like that bad of a delay would happen now, but as another option, you could purchase Pack 3 now and I'd be happy to hold it for whatever ship date you prefer.  I just don't want them to sell out on you, if you want one.  There are only 7 left, and I haven't even announced this on AtariAge yet...

    • Like 1

  5. Posted

    On 6/1/2020 at 9:56 PM, Blazing Lazers said:

    Thank you so much for working hard at preserving the Odyssey, and especially for the overlay scans. That really will save wear and tear on my originals. Theoretically, if they're now vectorized, they can be resized and printed in much larger sizes to fit newer flatscreens, right?

    Thanks for your kind words!  Yes, theoretically they could be produced at any size, but practically, it's very hard to print them on the proper translucent film they were designed for at large sizes.  I'm trying to find a professional service that might be able to do it, though...

  6. Posted

    On 5/19/2020 at 7:24 PM, slydc said:

     

    Another game ?! OOOOhhh....smells like a Game Pack #3 will be released soon! :P

     

    Like the name of the game in Latin which translate to "Are you Brutus ?" in English. Sorry but since i'm a Quebecian (French-Canadian),

    French comes from Latin so it was easy to translate. ;)

     

    Can't wait to see the whole content of Game Pack #3. :)

     

    Thanks everyone for the positive feedback!  The video captures some of the game, but since it is so much about hidden information (that the camera doesn't see) and subtle deduction, playing it in person is the only way to truly understand it.  I'll just say this: this is, personally, my favorite game on the Odyssey.

     

    Overlay scans:  We actually scanned every original Odyssey overlay (including the '73 games and Soccer) at 400 dpi using an overhead large format scanner.  When we launch the OdysseyNow website, which is an archive of information about every game, it will include each scan, as well as a vector version for print.  The website was supposed to launch this spring, but COVID-19 shut down the university and delayed those plans.

    • Like 3

  8. Posted · Edited by zhorton

    I have announced our latest Odyssey game, "The Haunting of '72" on Facebook!  I think most of you are members of that group, but I mention it here for the record and for a couple of folks who don't use FB.  For this release my students produced a full gameplay video, which I posted there.  You can also find it on Youtube even if you don't use FB (you might want to subscribe to OdysseyNow on YouTube if you don't already).

     

    @ManCaveArcade, fantastic work on the Space War box!  I'll PM you about that.

     

    @slydc, it's great that you are uploading high-res scans or these historical materials to Archive.org.  Thanks!

     

    @Dastari Creel, besides this new announcement, one small request for your first post for your next edit: Trumpocalypse was released (as a bonus game for OdysseyNow Game Pack 1).  It makes use of the original overlay from States and the Damocles Controller included in that game pack.

    • Like 1

  9. Posted

    I'll take one, too!  We considered producing this in the past, but once you have a full set of game cards, it's a lot faster and easier to swap them out than to decipher and switch DIP switches to create the correct pattern.  That's the reason that Magnavox engineers created the card system in the first place.  The prototype Brown Box had all of the switches available on the console, so you could program it for a particular game.  The Magnavox multiple card system was a huge advance.

     

    However, I highly recommend this to anyone who does not have a full set of cards, as it will allow you to fill in any of the missing ones (assuming that you have the other game elements), and perhaps even better, will allow you to experiment with other possibilities.

     

    Slydc's idea of adding extra headers to potentially solder on components later is a good one, and would theoretically allow someone to modify this to act as OdysseyNow Card 13.

     

    Even folks who already have the original cards might want one just for the fun of it.  That includes myself!

    • Like 1

  13. Posted

    On 11/27/2019 at 5:54 PM, Flojomojo said:

    What an amazing labor of love. I won't be buying, but reading about these achievements is really great. 

    Thank you Flojomojo!  It is indeed a labor of love.  A team of five people worked on this for a year to make it possible.  It was so much more difficult than we imagined at the beginning... but worth it in the end to understand the Odyssey controllers as a system and be able to interface with that system to dramatically upgrade the console.  A crazy project, for sure!

    • Like 1

  16. Posted

    OdysseyNow Game Pack 2 is now available to pre-order!  It includes 3 games, an Odyssey system upgrade, and a set of major new peripherals: Left and Right English Splitters.

     

    We've set up a simple Paypal webstore for this, here.  

     

    1733550502_GamePack2label.thumb.png.b9036d7e6dc8194f3d3d0078f2218f9d.png

     

    We are only producing 15 copies ever of this set.  Paypal is keeping track of inventory.  It will only take your money if copies are still available!  I'll update this post once they are sold out.

     

    Read about Game Pack 2 in this thread.  For more discussion on this, and early announcements, please consider joining our Facebook group devoted to Odyssey and early video games.

     

    We are have produced everything included with this set except for the scoreboard listed below; we are waiting for those to be produced.  When we receive them, all orders will ship.  It could be in December, or at the latest, early January.  All proceeds from these sales go toward funding the OdysseyNow project, to research and develop more hardware and games for the system!

     

    Here's the complete list of contents:

     

    Left English Splitter set (Splitter Base + English Controller)

    Right English Splitter set (Splitter Base + English Controller)

    English Splitter Instructions

    Wall Adjustment Upgrade kit

    Danceoff overlay

    Danceoff plastic dancer pieces (6 red and 6 blue) in velveteen bag

    Dice X2 (black and red)

    Danceoff Instructions

    Team Volleyball Overlay

    Team Volleyball Instructions

    Soccer overlay (recreation)

    Soccer Instructions (reproduction)

    Soccer dual-wheel scoreboard (85% scale reproduction)

     

     

    • Like 2

  17. Posted

    Here's the first production prototype of our reproduction Soccer scoreboard.  It works great, with spinning wheels for both players.  We learned that we need to score the fold lines for cleaner edges, but otherwise this is final.  I'm really pleased how well this turned out, as it is a key component of the 1973 Soccer experience!  

     

    1036081535_Soccerscoreboardprototype-web.thumb.jpg.29973049421c3642f87e72c7bc0c45c2.jpg

    • Like 2

  20. Posted

    18 hours ago, slydc said:

    And Zack, i asked to reserve me a copy of "OdysseyNow Game Pack 2" on Facebook, did you revered one ?

    While we're not doing "official" reservations, for this and any future releases, I'll make sure that any members of the FB group who have expressed interest are able to receive one before opening up any remaining copies beyond that community (to these forums, etc.).  So you'll definitely get your copy! 😀

  21. Posted · Edited by zhorton

    18 hours ago, atari2600land said:

    Presenting the world's first one-player Odyssey homebrew! (there is also an option for a two player game if you want to be nostalgic.)

    it's called six²

    I'll be getting copies made next week and if there isn't a snowstorm (which actually happened in December once recently), I want to release it next month.

    This has been in the "almost ready" stages for a few years now, but I want this stuff gone, so I need to do a few more things before I release it.

    That's great, Chris!  We'll definitely be interested in one.  I'm pretty sure you're a member of the OdysseyNow facebook group.  Feel free to post your announcement there when the game is ready, for more eyeballs.

  22. Posted

    On 11/10/2019 at 4:15 AM, Mikebloke said:

    Thanks for the response Zhorton! I got my Odyssey mostly working now (just a slight issue with the ball slowing down on the right hand side of the screen? 😕 ), and I've written a rule book and now need to test it out with some maps.

     

    I'm guessing the overlay production is the most troublesome part of making any of this physical, but I've found that using OBS or similar program can be used to make the overlay digital without the use of anything physical.

     

    Unfortunately, I'm not on facebook, so I don't get to take advantage of any retro groups on there :( 

     

    The offer for bundling with OdysseyNow however is very interesting :)  and possibly really helpful for it being sold abroad, where tax and shipping might be too prohibitive for anyone outside Europe. I'll probably give you a PM if that's ok when I've got something more concrete, but my plan is still to release the basic parts for free download by the end of the year.

     

    I'm hoping to maybe have something to offer other people to try out by the end of the month, then I'll try and adjust it in december for a formal release.

    Absolutely!  Good luck with the development, and please do reach out if I can help with anything, especially the possibility of a physical release when you're finished.  Either way, I look forward to trying out the game once you post it!

    As for our upcoming game pack, though the Facebook group members get top priority, I will post info in these forums as well, so if you are interested you'll probably be able to get a copy!

  23. Posted

    On 8/29/2019 at 10:39 AM, BuckeyeFan_4eva said:

    Hey guys, i recently collected all the extra games for the odyssey (except soccer lol) and I’m interested in homebrews, can anyone help me out possibly let me know who I can contact to buy some copies? Much appreciated thank you!

    We just announced our second set of new hardware and games for the Odyssey, the OdysseyNow Game Pack 2.  It actually includes a reproduction of Soccer!  We will make 15 copies, and it will go on sale in a couple of weeks.

    • Like 1
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