The Night Phantom
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Posts posted by The Night Phantom
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Originally posted by StanJr:..uummm....could you define "Golden Shower video..."
The only raunchy bit is the name. Golden Shower appears to be the name of a music band, in Brazil, I think. This is their awesome music video. Have patience: it may take quite a while to download...but it's quite worthwhile for any VCS fan.
Some Portuguese vocabulary that might enhance enjoyment of the video:
- jornal
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Originally posted by Scorpio:My father keeps saying "How can you like Atari? It's so old and out dated!"
If he gives you that argument again, you can say, “Well, so are you, but I still spend time with you!” (I don't know if that will win the argument; it probably won't win any favors!)
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Originally posted by Ze_ro:Milton Bradley (Spitfire Attack & Survival Run) is still around, but I don't think they've made video games since then.
Milton Bradley is also now part of Hasbro.
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Originally posted by atarinvader:...and Gameline bacame AOL!
Alas, the fall from grace.
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Originally posted by atarinvader:Parker Bros. (but not making videogames I dont think)
Parker Brothers came to be part of Hasbro, which until about a year ago also owned the remnants of Atari Corp. Hasbro's Atari assets were managed under Hasbro Interactive, which was sold to Infogrames; part of the deal was that Infogrames currently has an exclusive license to produce video games based on Hasbro (and therefore Parker Brothers) properties.
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His most recent post was made on January 5. That's only five days ago. How have we managed so long without him?!?!! -
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Originally posted by Atari Master:They need to have them in big cities like New York, New Orleans, Las Vegas.
Classic Gaming Expo is held in Las Vegas...
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Originally posted by liquid_sky:have you ever played the game? **** what sega says they are tryi to hype it up.. its like playing a cartoon where tyou tag grafitti all over stuff
No, I've never played it, but I looked at the screenshots, and your description doesn't make it sound abstract either. It looks like stylized representations of things that seem to belong in our physical reality.
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Originally posted by liquid_sky:You need to try out Jet Grind Radio. Thats as abstract as ive seen
We must have really crossed wires; for, as I look at Sega's official Jet Grind Radio page—with descriptions like “The 10 cartoon-style characters are pumped up with polygons so they come alive in 3D” and “High-res animations transport you into cutting-edge hip and trendy culture”—I don't see how this game would fit among those I was pining for...whatever its other merits.
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No, my system time is set to the current date, January 8. But I just performed an experiment: I quit my browser and restarted, and then the correct date popped up in the banner. I tend to keep the browser running for days at a time, and apparently the message board scripts use the date from my first visit during the browser session. So, probably this incorrect date has been displaying for days without my noticing.
It's a glitch, but evidently it's not significant. Thanks for the help, guys!
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To whom it may concern:
For some reason, the date displayed in the banner across the top of the message boards pages is five days behind. The date seems to display correctly on AtariAge pages beyond the message boards, and message posting dates seem to be correct as well.
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NE146's objections notwithstanding, I, too, vote for Space Invaders. I think even graphically it is an improvement, and certainly the game variations add value.
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Recently I was setting up the ol' VCS for a thirteen- and a nine-year-old I know, and as they started the game, they commented that the controls weren't responding as expected. I looked down and noticed they were holding the joysticks (stock CX40) with the fire button in the lower right corner, i.e. at a 180° rotation from the usual position! I instantly realized it was because they were used to controllers that place the directional control on the left and the fire buttons on the right. Fortunately, I was able to devise a compromise, for I had two controller cables that permit a 90° rotation (i.e., the fire button can be held at upper right). The cables were intended for use by lefties, but it turns out they're also effective for those raised on Nintendo and PlayStation, too!
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I like the comments posted so far. One aspect typical of the 2600 that is lamentably lacking from today's games is a high degree of abstraction.
Today's games take enthusiastic advantage of amazing technological advances to present an increasingly realistic graphics and sound experience. Now by “realistic”, I don't mean just literally realistic scenarios as in sports games; I also include science fiction and fantasy games that nonetheless present a world that a player can easily imagine himself inhabiting. Even cartoony games like the Mario series have a strong grounding in realism with their 3-D graphics and sophisticated detail.
Although I am capable of enjoying games with these characteristics, I tend to gravitate toward video games of a more abstract nature. Abstractness was forced upon the 2600 by technical constraints (though laudable efforts toward more literal graphic representations were made throughout the console's life), and the 2600 shines in creating a vibrant unreality. Brand-new efforts along the lines of Breakout, Beany Bopper, Quadrun are rare. (Thankfully, updates of games like Tetris and Tempest do pop up now and then.)
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How can you take your 2600 to college? Indeed, how can you not?!?
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Originally posted by pitfallaimee:I'm not leaving them all to the mercy of my parents!
Smart move. When I went off to college, I had to sort through all my things. You see, my mother would soon be moving across the country, and I had to designate not just what I would take but also what she would take to keep for me.
I think I did a good job of paring down my childhood belongings (though I do occasionally wince in regret of some of the things I got rid of). Even so, I couldn't take everything left to my dorm. So, I asked my mother to hold onto my video games. This modest collection of a couple of consoles and a few dozen games was the bulk of what I asked her to drag 2000 miles with her. And she complied.
But for some reason she later threw it all out anyway, without the merest thought of consulting me.
When I found this out (upon “establishing” myself after school and asking for the games back), she pointed out with pride that she had dragged my piano across the 2000 miles and kept it. Even though I'd stopped playing years before college and never showed any interest in resuming (just as I'd never shown any talent).
So, take it from me, young pitfall-lady. Do find a way to take those treasures along. Even if you can't play with them for the meantime. You don't want to have to rebuild your collection...nor be incited to parricide.
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Recently, when I first hook up my VCS or 7800 to the TV, I sometimes get a lot of static, even though everything seems to be hooked up properly. I have found that changing the channel and then changing it back clears up the problem immediately. Maybe that would work for you?
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Originally posted by AtariDude:By the way, the post office has a stamp with 2 kids playing on an Atari 2600 and the game that they are playing is Defender. I think it is part of the 80s collection of stamps.
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Originally posted by Lemmi:Really? humm i wonder if they still have some, i want one for my tiny little stamp collection
The USPS' online Postal Store does show the Defender stamp in its catalog, albeit not all by itself. Unfortunately I'm not sure I can provide direct links to the specific products, but here's how to find them. You should see a series of links on the left-hand side; some will be grouped under “Browse Store”. Under “Stamps by Subject”, look for “Celebrate the Century”. This should lead you to the first of three pages of Celebrate the Century products. On page 2 you should find the stamps you want. For $4.95 you can have a pane of fifteen 1980s stamps (item #554840), which includes the video games stamp featuring Defender; or if you really want to go all out, shell out $34.95 for the 1980s heirloom book (item #554872), which will come with the aforementioned pane.
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Originally posted by Lemmi:didnt Cougar have something to do with the jaguar? like it was supposed to be the name of it before it was changed or something.
It changed back to the “Mellencamp”.
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Originally posted by Bill Lange:Isn't there a way to check who owns a website?
You can check “whois” information for the .biz, .com, .edu., .info, .int, .museum, .net, and .org domains via InterNIC's Whois Search page. Doing so won't tell you who has the domain, but it will give you information about the domain's registrar, including some URLs that you can visit to perform a second domain search that should reveal the registrant's identity.
quoteAnd is the U.S. Trademark Office online?quote:
Originally posted by Jack-Ass Tramiel:"Kee Games" could be interesting though. I feel that the next stage in the evolution of the 2600 homebrew programming scene is to create an open-source style community that supports the development of new 2600 games. "Kee Games" could be a good name for such a communal "open" game development company/scene.
Excellent idea.
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Contrary to the logo's claim, Atari's age is not 2002!!
Seriously, the “New Year” logo looks great. In fact, I wouldn't mind seeing something similar year-round, replacing the “2002” with our familiar fuji. (As it is, the word “Age” seems to fade a tad too soon as I read left-to-right; maybe the starfield could be extended a tad.)
Happy new year, everyone! May the Age of Atari continue to blossom!
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I just want to add (since it may not be obvious from the descriptions above) that the Astérix & Obélix comics are humorous and cartoony. They're not some Gaulish X-Men or Dark Knight Returns...
[ 01-01-2002: Message edited by: The Night Phantom ]
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“Have you played Atari this year?” -
Of all the hacks, A Better Pac-Man goes the furthest in righting the wrong of a lousy conversion. (Indeed, it goes so far, it's actually a hack of a different game from the one it attempts to simulate!)
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Pac-Man on the 2600
in Atari 2600
Posted
I still had birthday money burning a hole in my pocket when I spotted Pac-Man for sale in a local drugstore. Despite my long anticipation of the game, I didn't cave in immediately; I did some budgeting and soul-searching before forking over the $41 and change on a subsequent visit. I was very nervous and excited: not only was I getting Pac-Man for the home, but I was buying a video game with my own money for the first time ever!
When I got it home, I played it and played it...I tried really hard to like it. I couldn't bring myself to face my disappointment. I wonder how many people went into psychotherapy because of that benighted cartridge.
Years later, I got back into classical videogaming and discovered my mother had thrown out everything she had pledged to keep for me. So, I had to reacquire consoles and games. Despite the bad taste in my mouth VCS Pac-Man leaves, I had to re-acquire it, too. I never play it for fun; I play it to remind myself of those bad feelings of long ago and let out the sorrow and the anger.