MayDay

It's been a while since I've been very active on the boards, and over the last several years there have been a bunch of great homebrews. A common question I see in the forums is people asking what homebrews they should try. That's why I recently downloaded every homebrew ROM I could dig up and gave each and every one of them a try. Out of a little over 250 ROMs, I've selected my 10 favorites. I didn't sit down and score them in different categories or anything so scientific. This is merely a list of the 10 that I enjoyed playing the most. Still, there are several things that factor in such as graphics, sound, good controls, a general playability, the game concept, and how much it pushes the system. Several people may disagree with me, but I also think being able to play without instructions is important. Many of my games as a child were second-hand and/or borrowed, so you didn't always have an instruction book handy. From that experience I always though intuitive controls were important, and you can pick up on the gameplay as you go along. One other note, several of these have not been released as carts. I don't know if that technically means they are homebrews or not. At least one out of this list is also a hacked game. Perhaps a better title would have been The 10 Best AtariAge ROMs to date, but I think it still fits within the context of what I'm trying to do. Please feel free to voice your own opinions! 10.) SCSIside - Quite an original concept, right down to the original packaging of an anti-static bag. A catchy little game that would have done quite well if released back in the Atari's heyday, and the gameplay gets fast quickly. An updated version of SCSIside is available for purchase in the AtariAge Store. 9.) Strat-O-Gems - This game is well-polished and complete. With the surge in mobile gaming, these types of falling puzzle games are still very common almost a decade after the game's release. Everything flows smoothly, and I believe by utilizing the sprite trick there doesn't seem to be any flickering. Being an older game makes it that much impressive versus the competition on this list. Strat-o-gems is available for purchase in the AtariAge store. 8.) Halo 2600 - Having the unofficial blessing of Microsoft is never a bad thing, and neither is seeing Master Chief available on a 2600. While I'm too impatient to make it very far in the game, the controls are smooth, and the sprites are masterfully done. Several places on this website list it as probably being the top-selling Atari homebrew to date, and you can see from the pre-order page they've run through at least one batch already. Luckily, as of this writing Halo 2600 is once again available for purchase in the AtariAge store. 7.) Swoops! Swoops! is actually three games for the price of one. You can find the individual 1K ROMs in the forums, or plug in the official 4K cartridge and choose any of the three. Each is fun, but splatform has a certain appeal. If you're new to the homebrew scene, what better way to see what is being done that to get three games at the cost of one? Head over and pick up your copy at the AtariAge store. 6.) Seawolf - A fun shooter where you have to judiciously aim your shots instead of button mashing. Everything about this game is top notch. While it may not stretch the limits of the system, it makes the best out of visuals, sound, and gameplay. If you doubt the quality of this homebrew, simply read the reviews that are available when you go to purchase a copy at the AtariAge store. 5.) Edtris 2600 - There are a few Tetris clones for the 2600 now, but this is easily the best (and first?) of them. It's Tetris. On the 2600. Written by a guy named Ed. Edtris is available for purchase in the AtariAge Store. 4.) Go Fish! - Very simple game idea, very addicting game play. I've spent far longer playing this simple game than I'm willing to admit. It's a fish eat fish world, so only find the fish that are your size or smaller. Great controls and underwater physics. It also supports the AtariVox in order to save your high score from play to play. Go Fish! is available for purchase in the AtariAge store. 3.) Panky the Panda - Despite the controversy over Panky's full title, the game is stellar. It's a challenging platformer with fantastic controls and graphics. There are several puzzles and hidden passageways that need to be found. Written by Ben Larson, who also wrote Incoming which appears on my honorable mention list, I don't think this game has ever seen cartridge form. You can however find the ROM in the author's original thread. 2.) Toyshop Trouble - Bob Montgomery's second entry on this list, my only real gripe with this game is that it's holiday themed. It's fun enough and challenging enough that doesn't seem to matter, I'm happy to play it year round! You play an elf trying to get all the toys finished and sent off for Christmas. I wish I was good enough to complete this game, I'd love to see what happens if you made it all the way to Santa's big day! I believe this game has been on a few different cartridges, but you can pick it up now as a standalone cartridge in the AtariAge Store. 1.) Hack 'Em - I see a lot of people who talk about how good Pacman 4K is... and they're right. However, to me, the definitive Pac-Hack is actually the best game I've seen created for the 2600. Nukey Shay has taken Pacman to the extreme in this brilliant ROM. You can find a few different versions in this thread. Honorable Mentions: Boulderdash - At one point, it was announced the project was dead. By the time I started actively reading the forums, it had been completed and a limited number of carts sold due to licensing contracts. The demo is quite good, but has a lot of flickering due to the necessity of showing that many items. No ROM and no cartridge available kept this game of my list, but I think given wider availability it would end up somewhere in my top ten. Juno First - Solid effort, good graphics and fun to play. 1775 - Deserves a mention for completely original (and fun) concept, and gameplay is pretty good, graphics and audio lack the polished look of many others on this list. Incoming - Just narrowly missing the list. 1 Player version is great, but don't remember there being a two player version available. If the sprites moved as you aimed, the gameplay alone would have propelled this to be onto my list. Four Play - Fun way to kill a few minutes, and the AI is pretty good, but not unbeatable. Given the content though, it's a static screen. Mostly polished, nice title screen and sound effects, but I wish there was also music that went with the gameplay. Solid effort worth checking out.

Thanks, I was just curious... as a kid, I had an Atari where the left button didn't work (I've since learned how to repair that on the board and fixed it). This was one of my favorite games simply because you could drive without ever hitting the brake. My brother and I got really good and could complete the entire course without hitting a wall or a car and never hitting the brake. I believe there is more than one layout of cars on the Grand Prix section because sometimes we would get 63,210 and sometimes 63,260. It was always one or the other, so I just assumed 63,260 was the maximum score possible. Thanks for taking a look at it for me.

Just out of curiousity, is there a way to verify via the programming that 63,260 is the maximum possible score?

Ran across this, I didn't read through everything, but at a quick glance it doesn't look like anyone else has posted the link yet: http://readwrite.com/2014/04/28/atari-et-dig-alamogordo-game-list#awesm=~oCLooMcnZvZCst There is also a link to their flickr site with higher-res photos. EDIT- I don't see any consoles, but there is a video touch pad amongst the debris.

*gasp* I knew that... I thought I had it right, didn't realize I referenced it two different times in the article. Nice catch, thanks.

Still working on it, but yeah, all the "bad" info should be gone now.

Thomas is correct... Albert took a look and told me the same thing, it has since been updated. There were a couple of other mistakes, which have been updated as well. For example, I never realized AtariAge is properly used as a single name with no space! I put a link to this in my blog here before I posted it over at instructables, thanks to everyone who's taken a look. If there are other mistakes/things that need updated, feel free to get in touch.

A little over a year ago, I started frequenting the website instructables.com. Since that time, I've created a few "ibles" as they refer to them, and recently decided to add an Atari twist to my latest project. Two days after I began my latest and greatest instructable on "How to Make Your Own Atari Game" one of the other members there chronicled an Atari lamp which already introduced our two communities to one another. It was featured on instructables (meaning it spent a couple of days on their index page), and it also made the headlines here at Atari Age. You can find the Giant Atari Joystick Lamp here. So you ask, "What exactly is my instructable about?" Well, it's pretty simple really. The title is 'How to Make Your Own Atari Game', which is pretty self-explanatory. More than actually trying to explain the coding side of things (which I'm not really capable of), it really just a detailed list of resources available for someone interested in doing so. The vast majority of these resources point back to this website. For example, I linked to the Sorted Table of Contents which is the collection of Andrew Davie's tutorials. There are also several resources referenced that are outside of this site. In closing, I just want to say I know my reputation here may be a little shaky given the whole CiE game fiasco, and I hope this doesn't further my perceived separation from this community. Since I haven't made a game of my own, I considered that someone may think I'm taking ideas away from them by posting a set of instructions elsewhere. I think the benefits to this community are more important, and hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes. My hope is that by posting my instructable there it will bring in a fresh wave of nostalgic and devoted fans like myself to this website (and others like it). While you may not see any new games as a result of my posting, maybe it will inspire more Atari-related projects like the joystick lamp. Thoughts are welcome, and while my instructable is nearly complete, I haven't published it yet. I will gladly post a link to it when it's done in a few days. EDIT: Or, if I stay up till 2 in the morning to finish it. Here's the link.

Hey All, I came here to post this link (not my item, for the record): http://kansascity.craigslist.org/for/658553720.html I got distracted by the mystery cart in the thread below this and spent a couple hours figuring out what it was. By the time I was done I almost forgot to post the original link. -JD

A few things- First and foremost, can an admin lock this thread please? Trust me when I say that I'm sure I'm far more disappointed than anyone in the outcome of this, and as of right now I'm pretty sure this will never see the light of day. To continually bump the thread doesn't help matters. As for who's fault it is, it doesn't really matter. At the start, everything seemed to be going smoothly. There were many hours put into the project by both Bruce and myself. At a certain point, I became unhappy with the design I was told was in place (I've never seen any code either, for the record). There was also the discussion on whether it should be released as GPL which made me somewhat hesitant. The intent for this project was to actually be a series of games that would cover not just the Atari, but several gaming platforms. The sheer amount of time he had to spend looking at the information I sent him really makes me think that at least originally he was working on this. I think he also expected better design elements than what I had provided him, as he openly questioned a lot of my ideas (and rightly so, in retrospect). Finally, I was laid off in the middle of working on this project and subsequently took a new position where I had virtually no free time for the first year or so. I did talk in my blog about this to some degree at the time. I quit sending Bruce updates at some point around that time, and we've never really worked together since. I tried contacting him about a year later without much luck. I found the 1.0 release a little fishy like everyone else. I really hate to say that I don't think it happened since I spent so long working with him before. I really don't think it was someone just goading me, Bruce seemed like a great guy. However, if someone ever does decide to help me with the coding of this again (yeah, right) I don't think it will be him. I don't know if maybe he quit using his account and somebody just hacked it or what. What I do know is that I still haven't seen the code. If he really is working on his own game with the engine, I wish him the best of luck. And, if anyone is interested in helping me code this game, please feel free to PM me... we'll take Chris's advice and not announce anything until it's done and ready to release. -Jason

If it doesn't, then nothing does. That's the problem, yes. It's a very grey area. I'm not sure this meets the first qualification for fair use, and is also iffy on number three. Do I think it would lead to a lawsuit? No... nobody cares about products that are so outdated. If somebody did care, would you win a court case? No idea, but the people putting it together should at least know it's possible.

I'm not sure this qualifies under fair use laws. Even if it does, it would be settled under Civil law, where guilt doesn't have to be proven to get sued. You're using video of a 30 year old video game system... I doubt anything would happen if you use the video. Your end product will also determine a lot of how fair use laws would be applied to it. With any intellectual property, the more bases you cover legally the better off you would be.

Has someone done this before? Your answer is so specific that I would guess you have either watched someone do this or have firsthand experience yourself. This is starting to get out of my ability level, I just thought I'd have some fun soldering around on a Saturday and see what I could come up with. I didn't realize the same pins would have to end up being read different ways. So, I have a few questions: 1. Can an unmodified Genesis controller still be made to read at least the D-pad and two buttons? If so, I think that should be the standard for homebrews needing another button since it would be the most available option for the highest number of people. 2. If not, should supercat's suggestion be a standard? Do we need to have a standard? Does having another button ruin the integrity of the 2600, or are we just exploring it's full potential that way?

It all depends on who the intended audience is. If you read my post carefully, I didn't suggest that AA members would care to see this, I listed it as a topic that I thought would be good for a more general audience. Not at all, you were just expressing an opinion. No need to apologize, the world would be a better place if more people would take a stand and state their positions instead of riding a fence and worrying about who they are going to offend. It sounds like the majority of people who have expressed an opinion here would rather see it done for just the AA members anyway.

A good digital videocam in the right hands will produce far better results than a professional camera will in unqualified hands. At least on the video part, audio is an entirely different story. I do video for a living, have somewhat of a marketing background, have made lots of half-hour or longer programs, and am currently working on a feature film. My thoughts on this project- it has some potential. If you want to do it as a tribute to AA and it's members, you should do exactly what you're talking about. However, if you would like it to reach an outside audience, you're going to need a top notch production. You're also going to need to bring them something out of the ordinary to capture their attention. A couple of topics that come to mind right away are the landfill E.T. cart debate (people outside of the Atari world may know about this), and the lengths gone to for securing prototypes of long-lost games. The Meltdown proto comes to mind... I actually PMed Temptest at the time to see if he cared about me turning that into a script. Maybe it was all still too fresh though. So yeah... I would be happy to answer any questions about making a video/documentary that I can. Please feel free to contact me through PM or email if you like. -Jason

If Zelda is out, I would second Civilization.

a certain non-infringing green guy who likes golden triangles and is a master of swords, boomerangs, and of course blue potions (but only if the Princess isn't watching). PS- this would also be an excellent candidate for a custom homebrew controller, see my blog for details! EDIT #2- Doh! Sorry Emehr, totally missed that first time around.

So my plans for evil Atari world domination have hit a small hitch. I have several Atari controllers laying around and decided at some point to create a controller with six or more inputs that could be utilized for one player homebrew games. I think I remember seeing this mentioned in one or more places, but to the best of my knowledge, no one has actually tried it yet. Then, I cleared a few of the cobwebs out of my head, and realized it would be much simpler to take advantage of an already existing controller (enter Sega Genesis which is already compatible) with more than the five inputs and combine it with a cord from an Atari controller to plug into the second port. So... using 2 player Ice Hockey as my test, I have a Genesis controller that plugs into both ports and controls the D-pad and the B and C buttons (six inputs instead of five). I have literally cut and tested all nine colored wires from the Genesis controller, but none seem to control the A button or the start button. Here's the list I've come up with: Sega Genesis controller: (from controller out) Black = some sort of power or verification- controller goes dead without this cord. Blue = B button (player 0 fire button) White = C button (which I used as player 1 fire button) Yellow = right Green = ?? (didn't seem to have any effect) Gray = not really sure... doesn't control the buttons, but buttons won't work without it. Red = down Brown = up Orange = left Attached Atari cord for port 2: Black = power Orange = fire White = up Blue = down Brown = right Green = left I bought this Genesis controller strictly to test on, anyone have any idea why I can't get the A button and start button to work? Anyone else actually made a controller like this? If we can come up with something good, we should make a standard so that all homebrewers could take advantage of the custom controller if they like. It works right now, but hopefully you guys can make it better. Thoughts, anyone?

Sorry if someone has already posted this, but I thought it was pretty cool. http://homepage.mac.com/qubedstudios/metroidcubed.htm -Jason

wow... I didn't know Bruce still frequented the forums. Please drop me an email, or if you don't have my address anymore feel free to send me a PM. -JD

Here's the deal: In the commercial, a guy is playing a game in his cubicle and switching back and forth to a spreadsheet so he won't get caught. He leaves his desk, a co-worker turns up the volume on his computer, and when he gets back the music begins blaring and he gets caught. I'm looking for someone who would like to see their game featured in the commercial. I'm also going to insert my own "level up" sequences on the screen and make it look like it is part of your game, FYI. My only real requirements are that your game is visually stimulating (I'm thinking action game here) and has music/sound effects to go along with it (unless you can find someone else with original 2600 music for me to put in the background). For that matter, the game doesn't even need to be complete- just complete enough to appear playable. If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] To have your game considered, simply send me the ROM. Since the client technically has the copyright on the finished version, I won't be able to use a video hosting service for everyone to see it, but I will send you a Windows Media version of the finished commercial if your game is chosen (which you are free to share, just not post on youtube or myspace, etc.). Thanks, Jason

What I found most interesting was when they showed several pages of the hand-written coding before he typed it all in... it's impossible to tell, given the compression of the video, but did they show most/all of the code, and if so, could it be recreated at least in part if an original copy of this video were found? Thanks for the links, had not seen this.

First of all, after reading back through this thread, I want to thank everyone again for helping me get up and running with these programming tools. It's been about two years since I first posted this, and I spent the first year of that (2005) coding and studying around 4-5 hours a night. As you may or may not know, I had virtually no free time all of last year (due to new job) but would still check in on the site occasionally. Things have kind of settled things down at work and I've started to pick this up again. The dream is still alive. I've learned a lot of things in those two years... I can mostly understand source code when I read through other authors work who are kind enough to share it, I've learned ettiquette is a far bigger part of the homebrew scene than the actual coding itself, and I've learned that while there are no stupid questions, there are dumb people like myself who can't seem to refrain from trying to make people think otherwise. As for coding something myself, I've sort of hit a block. I can make any of the objects appear on the screen, move around, draw pictures with the playfield and all that jazz. What I can't seem to do for the life of me is to make more than one object appear on the screen at a time (except like P0 and P1). In other words, how do you essentially tell it to draw "playfield, player, and ball" all at the same time? I have an example kernel that displays playfield, 6 sprites, ball, and both missiles, but I think it's too specific for what I'm trying to do. Anyway... what I'm ultimately trying to achieve is a static mirrored playfield using all three PF registers, and having the "ball" go down the middle of the screen to be the center line for the court. Then, each player would start with two sprites, seperated vertically, and the two missiles would be the two dodgeballs. I'm not asking anyone to code it for me (however simple this concept may seem ) but am looking for some guidance in the best way to proceed from here. Please keep in mind that I'm virtually programming illiterate and can therefore only understand what you will tell me. Thanks in advance for any help... Thomas, vdub, nukey, batari, and everyone else- thanks for getting me started, I've had a blast learning what I know so far. -Jason

wow... that's crazy... glad to see you are okay. Hopefully the insurance will still cover it, since it was arson?

1. Pole Position 2. Warlords 3. Kung Fu Master (even on Atari) 4. Frogger 5. Popeye 6. Kangaroo 7. Dig Dug 8. Activision Unknown Game #2 9. Vanguard 10. Phoenix Honorable Mentions: Pac-Man (yes, that one) Ice Hockey Football (running backwards is sweet) Fast Food LOTR Journey to Rivendell And while I don't really care for volleyball, Realsports Volleyball is in my opinion the best representation of any of the sports games, which many of you guys don't care for. I'm also very curious to see Zach's version of chess, it may shoot right towards the top of my list.