slapdash

I'm pretty sure that ain't a screenshot (of Space Invaders), so I don't think a ROM of it is ever going to turn up. Note how not only to the digits, invaders, gun look painted (not pixellated), but that the playfield doesn't really "wrap" to the shape of a TV screen (i.e. there weren't any flat screens in those days, but the playfield sure looks flat).

Is anyone else here a TI-99 fan/collector? Because that Q*Bert cart just doesn't "look right" to me, though I can't picture in my head what I THINK it's supposed to look like. Is that the normal style, or something odd??

Although I think Enduro might be my favorite racing game ("the best"), I've never had so much fun as playing Ice Tag on Indy 500 with my siblings. Also, Rasty says: quote: Bump'n'Jump is very well done, the scrolling is fluid and everything's flicker-free.. but I don't know if I really love its gameplay! I gotta tell you, BnJ sucks compared to the arcade version (which I love) because the jumps are not consistent -- if you take off from the same place with the same speed, you don't end up landing at the same place every time. That's just wrong. As such, the game becomes a little bit unplayable at higher levels. Definite disappointment for me...

Rhindle: thanks for the origin of "Caloo Calay". I've read Jabberwocky, but not in years. That part must not have stuck (would have remembered other parts for sure, like the opening lines). Andrew: Man, all those Qbs together look great. Especially with the label (nice work David!)...

I don't think this is right... Waterworld wasn't sold as an exclusive, it just turned out that the club was one of the few places you could get it from, right? I'm not sure about the others either... At least, Rubik's Cube was but AVC wasn't, or vice versa. Of course, I don't have my AAs in front of me, but...

GazP: what issue is that? I'd like a cover scan if possible...

Not only can the dragon be killed, but you can kill the bridge guard. He's even tougher than the dragon, and you won't have any henchman to help you fight.

Marco: did Video Life have a box? I know it was a sort of mail in deal, so I'm not sure it had one.

Infogrames is apparently starting to bully out the hobbyists. Look in the newsgroups (rec.games.video.classic I think) to see a post from Chris "Crackers" Cracknell about how he got a notice from Infogrames to stop selling his "My other computer is an Atari 2600" T-shirts.

Lemmi: you should reorder your post: quote: It was a Pizza Restaurant With Video Games, that took Tokens Now it can go in the haiku thread too! Nicely done...

Osmeroid says "Caloo-Calay!"... I've heard that on Simpsons twice now, or maybe once there and once somewhere else. Is it reference? What the hell does it mean?

I think CBS is another good choice, believe it or not. Or Sega.

I'm not sure about the silver thing, though it sounds familiar... But think of it this way: There are 5000 Gerfs in the world. Each one sells for $1 each. Total value? $5000. Now, you start buying Gerfs, because you know they're going to be collectable. Pretty soon you've spent $2000 and have 2000 Gerfs. But now others start to come into the picture, and the price goes up to $2 each. Okay, that's still good, so you drop another $2000 on Gerfs, only this time you only get 1000 of them for the money. Price goes up again. How much are those last few Gerfs going to cost? And how much have you spent in total? Sure, you've driven the price up, but you've been paying increasing prices the whole time. Now you want to sell them. You'll make peak price on the first 1000 or so that you sell, but then it becomes obvious that Gerfs aren't gone, so the price drops. And drops. You may profit, you may not. With luck you at least break even. But you no longer control the Gerfs. Every one you sell takes that control from you, but that's why you bought them in the first place, right?

Oo, Bolognaroids!

It takes time to make cartridges. So, make a Tempest, wrap it, label it. He's making us all carts! Thanks for ruining the surprise, Moycon...

Didn't someone else say haiku don't/shouldn't rhyme? Very nice! BTW, Sark, I hope I didn't sound too critical -- I'm just trying to get the facts right, and that wasn't meant to be a knock on your poeting skills, which are just fine. :-)

Oo, so it was done there too? Any issues?

Jess, I dig the idea about putting the game screen onto some object... I can picture being able to turn the thing into a kind of "Virtual Light Machine" or "Atari Video Music" but using the game screen as a basis. Like picture being able to wrap the screen onto a beating heart that beats in time to a CD you put in the drive. Then play the game. Does this give the 3D kids a little more incentive to buy the anthology? Maybe not, but the stoners will like it. :-) As to marketing, here's a descriptive conversation: M1: I'm sure hungry M2: Me too. But look, there's a sandwich over there. M1: I guess we could eat it. M2: It looks fresh and delicious, but I'm not sure it's fresh and delicious enough. M1: Maybe we should wait until we're sure. (hours pass -- the lettuce begins to wilt, the cheese begins to melt, the mayo begins to congeal, the meat begins to smell) M2: I don't know what we were thinking, that doesn't look fresh or delicious at all! M1: Yeah, let's go try to find a better sandwich.

But that's not accurate... The game was never cut from 4K to 2K! Tod wrote it in 4K, period. Later he asked to be allowed to bump it up to 8K and rewrite the kernel, but they wouldn't let him. Different thing altogether.

As to who wrote that letter... I know Joe and others have gotten letters from this guy, and I even got a couple. There's obviously some kind of odd cognition problem with the guy, I'm just not sure exactly what.

That's "snuff" the rooster, I believe. Great tune. How about "Muh-nuh Muh-nuh" for Dig Dug? God, I have the melody of the perfect tune for Dishaster but don't know the name of it. It's a fast peppy old tune they use for circus acts... Not quite classical, but older. Argh! Dut-dut-dut-dut-dut-dut dadiya dut-dut-dut da dada daya daya da BWa-ah (trombone). Oof...

There are only the two issues too, as far as I know or have heard. They seemed to be annual, heh.

I'm reminded of An ad asking "Have you played Atari today?"

Hey Marco, thanks for the info. Looks like I need to go over the guide a little more closely...

Rick: not too many at this point... Manuel: thanks for the link; I'll check it out.