jhd

This raises a slightly-related question -- given the large number of abandoned/unfinished/canceled projects in the video game industry, is it considered a negative to have such things on ones resume? Do managers, HR, etc. generally understand that projects may be cancelled for reasons unrelated to ability or performance? I once spent most of a year working on a website redesign project that was ultimately never finished (I left that employer shortly before the project was cancelled), and it was a challenge at some subsequent interviews for me to explain why they could not actually see the website that I had developed. Like the unnamed fellow above, it was my first professional position, and so leaving it off the resume entirely was not an option.

I do not recall seeing any in-game advertisements. The game encourages a player to purchase upgrades, but that is not strictly necessary. I have "won" a few small items so far, but I have not noticed a significant change in gameplay. Some are just cosmetic (e.g. paint, rims), while others impact the vehicle's performance. Well, I can play the original 2600 Night Driver via the Atari Greatest Hits collection. While that collection is not free, all of the games/modes are unlocked at the outset.

Racing games are not really my forte, but it seems acceptable. It appears (based on my very limited playtime so far) that there is no need to pay actual money for the vehicle upgrades if you do not mind grinding a long time with the initial car/track. Whether that will continue to be fun, I do not yet know.

Thanks for this. I just installed the Android version last night. Most of the content (additional tracks, additional cars, various boots and upgrades) is unlockable, but I already earned one "loot crate" in my first or second playthrough. Obviously a more skillful player will make faster progress, but even I was able to make some progress in less than an hour of playtime. I find the controls a bit, well, loose, but I also tend to over-steer with most every other racing game. There is a "classic mode", but I am not even close to reaching it.

That game was so frustrating -- it started off difficult, and then quickly rose to utterly impossible! I don't think that I ever made it past the second screen. Of course the Coco joysticks did not help the experience any.

Good catch! Given that Radio Shack and Hanimex were selling in completely different markets (North America vs. Western Europe), it is entirely likely that both models may have come from the same original manufacturer, presumably located somewhere in Asia. For another example, look at how Emerson Electronics licensed (and rebranded) existing hardware into their Arcadia 2001 console. https://www.digitpress.com/faq/arc2001.htm#wallstreet

Agreed! The only problem that arises with older versions is file portability. If I bring something from work to home, I need to make sure that I save it in the correct (older) file format. Of course it is the very same issue with Open Office (that I use on my laptop). In about 1990, a failing small business in my neighbourhood held a "garage sale" to dispose of their assets shortly before their creditors arrived with a seizure order. I recall buying the then current version of Lotus 1-2-3 and probably some other business software (original disks and documentation) for $20. I was in Business School at the time, and it was great to finally have current software at home.

While they did no re-brand it as their own, here in Canada, for a few years in the early-1990s, Radio Shack sold the Turbo Graphics-16 console. I doubt that it was a big seller. For many years afterwards, some local stores were still trying to clearance piles of dusty accessories -- despite the consoles having long been discontinued. I am not certain if we received the Memorex VIS; I do not recall having seen it in stores, and I owned a Tandy PC at the time.

It is exciting to finally see one of those legendary devices. I wonder how many of these made it out of the warehouse after the lawsuit. Apparently none were officially sold. Is there any chance that it included a box or any type of documentation? There were supposedly nine games available with/for the Prom Blaster, but no source lists the titles. Are you located in/near Chicago?

That is an awesome looking machine! I love the orange monitor. Is it VGA resolution?

I cannot find a cover image (much less a complete scan) online for Gamer's Republic issue 21 (purportedly from February 2000). Was this issue actually published? I know that GameFan skipped several issues that is not reflected in the issue numbering, but I cannot find a definitive answer for this publication.

This story has been reprinted several times; most recently in an anthology of post-apocalypse SF stories. The illustration that you described would well fit this story; video games have nothing to do with the plot -- there is only a passing reference.

My first impression was Asteroids, too -- the brief description of the game does not withstand close scrutiny...

I have never used it, so I have no idea what resources are available/what we have access to, but my library apparently also has access to Dialog. As I understand it, the cost of a search is passed along to the requester, so make sure you inquire before starting lest you be surprised with a substantial bill. I think that the searches are done by an experienced staff member; there is no direct public access.

I never saw the XEGS at retail here in Canada, but I do remember seeing them sold on The Shopping Club -- at least briefly. I have no recollection of the price or other details.

I'm willing to make the rare, special exception -- e.g. I do not much like cabbage, either, but I do like raw red cabbage in my salad.

I think that the first such game I had was the electro-mechanical tennis game Blip. Shortly thereafter, I had some Sears-brand racing game, and then a really fun single player baseball game. Some of my classmates had (and loved) Mattel football, but I was never that interested in sports games.

Final Fantasy is the most obvious example of cross-platform series: NES -> SNES -> PSX -> PS 2 -> PS 3 + the various handheld games and a handful of Windows ports. There is also the Phantasy Star series: SMS -> Genesis -> multiple other platforms Development has apparently ceased, but there was a project underway: http://www.crpgdev.com

In the Orson Scott Card short-story "Salvage" (1986), an unspecified disaster has impacted (at least) the Southwestern United States -- Salt Lake City, Utah, is almost entirely submerged under water. The main character of the story makes a living salvaging old computers and other electronics. This includes an Atari 2600: "Lehi never took his eyes off the screen. He jabbed a a button on the black box and twisted on the stick that jutted up from it. A colored blob on the screen split into four smaller blobs. [...] It's an Atari. From the sixties or seventies or something. Eighties. Old. Can't do much with the pieces, it's only eight-bit stuff. All these years in somebody's attic in Logan, and it still runs."

Do you have any additional information (e.g. approximate date, which court)? I just checked Westlaw, and there are no reported State or Federal decisions with a party named "Zamga". I too would like to read this decision if it is available.

Thank-you for this honest assessment! The online requirement makes this a defiinte no-buy for me.

In terms of getting the data from the punch cards into a digital format, I suspect that the best method would be manual data entry. Even assuming that you could find card reader hardware compatible with a modern computer, I doubt that the archives would be willing to risk damage to the original cards. If (like most other punch cards I have seen) they are on very thin cardboard, they would be fairly brittle by now. I would ask for an enlarged photocopy (blow it up onto an 8.5x14/A4 sheet) or a really good quality JPEG image. Once you figure how the data is formatted on the card (e.g. in rows or columns), it is just a matter of manually recreating the file in a format that the emulator can read. Entering the data from just seven cards is not too onerous a task.

Exactly. Think of video games much like pulp fiction or even Harlequin romance novels. Most of this stuff is cheap, mass-market, popular entertainment of little enduring value. With perhaps a few exceptions, it has had no significant cultural impact, and so it is mostly ignored (rightly or wrongly) by the keepers of cultural heritage.

I understand the rationale for the decision, but making the difficulty switches significantly less obvious was not a great design decision. I once knew someone with less than perfect vision who was utterly unaware of the existence of the difficulty switches until I pointed them out to him. I know that this information is presented in the manual, but I wonder how many people overlooked it.

Filene's Basement was the discount/clearance part of the store -- there was one in Worcester, too, but I only remember it selling clothing.