R. Jones

Just tried the last build, and that's way more playable. I'm finding that even trying to snipe, I like the shooting a lot more. In the earlier build, I took guys out almost exclusively from behind, but I'm getting more gutsy now. Good luck on the power ups and sound

Thanks for the write up! I like how seriously they took this even though it was a clone.

I liked the idea of an Atari cartridge wallet, and the mint tin that I've been using for a few years is pretty beaten up. I peeled the label off a dead Video Olympics cartridge, opened it up, and took out the board and spring. I snipped out most of the interior plastic to make room for cards. I kept the cartridge protector and glued it into place, which make the whole thing look more like a real cart when closed. The interior surfaces were pretty scuffed up by this point, so I thought about covering them with something. I played with a few ideas like Video Olympics' over-the-top official artwork or some black foam/felt. Then I saw someone throwing out a keyboard, and asked if I could have it to pull out the key circuit. I attached a hinge to the top side, and it felt nearly done, but somewhat naked with the blank label area. I did a tribute label to Video Olympics kind of poking fun at the fact that yeah it is 50 games, but they're all kinda Pong. I'll probably tinker with this some more, but I'm mostly done. It's not something I'm planning to make more of, but still thought some folks might appreciate it.

Oh, that's awesome. Fast looks more fluid to me, but even the slow one is quite nice. Also, the new pieces are all much cleaner.

I think I wanted to start with this, because it's the only thing that really felt off to me. If the yo-yo drops down firing, it leaves a bunch of gaps. The way that it works, for example, in Turmoil feels much more natural. The other difficult things felt they would feel much more fair if the yo yo fired a stream of bullets. The fish made me feel like that scene in pulp fiction where the intern-level gangster tries to shoot Samuel Jackson and John Travolta from point blank and misses every single bullet. And some things I liked about it: very unique. I can't remember playing or seeing anything quite like this. I love all the animations. It feels really polished and alive There's a safe nook that you're diving into, but the fish (?) and scissors make this nook less and less safe Variety of enemies One last thought regarding multiplayer. Space Invaders (and probably some other games) offered bizarre 2-player modes where both players controlled the same cannon. These were really weird to be honest, but just something to think about regarding multiplayer modes that don't require a whole new kernel. Good luck and thanks for creating/sharing this, - Robert

I feel kind of envious that everything is all going to be new to you. Once you get your machine in, be sure to search the forums and ask around if you run into any problems. I remember being so confused about the RF > coaxial + finding the right channel. As far as recommendations go: Harmony: this isn't so much for old games as new stuff. There's loads of great original homebrew games (Oystron, Stay Frosty, Synthcart, Fall Down), great homebrew ports (Thrust, Medieval Mayhem, Juno First, Asteroids, Galaga), clever demakes (Super Mario Bros, Sonic the Hedgehog, Halo), demoscene demos, WIP projects, controller hacks (tank controls, two button controllers, trackball), graphical hacks, and rediscovered lost game prototypes (Saboteur, Turbo, Save Mary). Emulators are nice, but it's cool to try this stuff out on real hardware. River Raid: this might be my favorite single player game as far as original releases go Kaboom!: super addictive. It's single player, but it's a great "I've got next" kind of experience. I have neotokeo2001's "Fast Food Kaboom!" hack in its awesome lunchpail-type-thing box, although its collector value probably dropped after my brother ate the candy fries. Oystron: weird, hard, very fun. It's an original homebrew from the 90's still sold in the Atariage store. Warlords/Medieval Mayhem: amazing 4-player paddles games. Kind of a competitive 4-player breakout. Good luck!

^ And that would absolutely kill the suspension of disbelief, just ruin the realism ? It's always really dope to see strange visuals on the 2600. There's a kind of default hieroglyphic style that even a lot of nice-looking games will lapse into. I'm also thinking that my console's fuzzy output will probably blur those lines together somewhat, so I might not have to sit so far away to get the effect to click.

Yeah, cumulatively the posts come off cold blooded. So I need to say: I'm was just joking, I mean no ill will, and if I made any one sad: I apologize. For real: People sell their excess Ataris here so you'll be unlikely to find one for free. If you're patient you can get one for under $30. If you know someone who still has one in their attic, they'd be the only place to grab a free one. If you're looking for cheap games, check out the rarity list here. The "1" titles are almost worthless if they're not in good condition, so you can grab a bunch for just a few bucks. If you're looking for cheap (but new) controllers there's two options. Sega genesis controllers work with atari, and new ones can found for just a few bucks. The flashback 2(& ^) comes with two new cx-40 atari joysticks. Find one that is "broken" because the console has some defect, and you can buy it "for parts" for ten bucks or less. ( resell the console unit for a few bucks and just keep the controllers) Also, don't waste money on a switch box. Grab a coax adapter. They're cheaper, smaller, and more reliable.

If I pm you my address would you send me a Game Gear and a Sonic the Hedgehog game of your choice (but not spinball or anything for master system or 3d blast)? I've actually been looking for one.

Wow. Just . . . wow. *notices thread* ("bentley bear is kinda lame; why so many posts") *opens thread* ("Oh . . . wow.") You do realize this machine was designed for two people to play Centipede on? Props.

Yeah, it's bit nutso for the Atari. On consoles like Sega Genesis there's a clear dividing line between legit releases and homebrew. On the VCS, you have multiple examples of one or two folks tossing out a game just to make a buck and only selling a handful in the 80's. Then you have teams of professional designers and programmers crafting really great games and selling far more today. Of course there are games like Adventure, Pitfall, and Okie Dokie that clearly fall to one side of the line. Why the evil smiley? Is this a . . . can of worms?

Possibly. Kevtris mentioned a $250 portable system with no cartridge slot, that play the games of a multitude of systems. That's something that I feel a lot of people could get hyped about. I'm saving up for holiday atm, but otherwise I know I'd personally plonk down the electronic simulation of cash that carries the same value as cash but not the satisfying ability to be plonked down a counter. A $75 atari clone is a bit different. For $75 when I got into the Atari 2600, I got: a 6-switch, all the cables, encounter at L5, VideoSports, a set of paddles, golf, a pair of Generic gamepads, combat, Gravitar, Kaboom, and Football.

There's a lot of crazy fascinating posts about the technical biz on here, so don't let me throw a wet blanket on that, but . . . (I'm not sexist, but . . . ) Before we can make this new console we have to know what is we're making. Before we know what is we're making, we have to know why we're making it. It's not feasible to compete with Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, or Apple. They've got people, money, trademarks, back catalogs, distribution channels, and organization. This new "Atari" console would have to thrive on that mixture of retro, nostalgia, archeology, classic game play, and hipster aesthetics that makes things New Super Mario Bros and the Flashbacks successful. We also cannot make a pure 2600 clone. Used 2600's are cheaper than what we'd be making. The flashback survives because it's very cheap and very easy. The cost of a used 2600, plus controllers, plus a switch box, plus a VCR, plus thirty or so games, plus several rare prototypes, plus a tv mod, would put one in the hundreds of dollars range. The flashback also just works. You buy it, you plug it into the wall, you plug it into the TV, and you play. With no back catalog comparable to Atari we couldn't make something that would be as cheap or as easy. A new console has to do something that neither a used 2600, nor a Flashback can do. A few ideas: - fit in your pocket - be a wireless USB controller where the "stick" would connect to the wireless controllers, hold game files (ROM, cover art, manuals), and run the 2600 software - be a phone (this would also allow you to subsidize the cost, and provides a distribution channel for games) - have a button, on the controller labeled "Manual" or "Book". When you pressed this button, the game would pause, and you'd be able to browse through a hypertext manual that reuses the artwork from the original game. - play other consoles games (Commodore, Nes, Super Nes, Genesis; I'm from the Gulf Coast. We don't have Sinclairs or Turbo Grafx.) - or something no one has ever seen before - or some combination of the above

Whoever this hypothetical, retrogamer/burglar is that's robbing us but allowing us to keep our favorite system really isn't that bad of a guy. On top of letting us pick, once we all have one console, we'll have to go over to our friends and neighbours houses to play the others. It would really make our places of residence more of a community. And what if he's really just interested in cleaing up our clutter? Perhaps next week he'll slip in quietly and wake us with the cold steel of his shotgun pressed against our temple before whispering, "What are your top 10 movies?" And surely this guy isn't going to have much personal use for a hundred PS1's. He's probably donating them to the less fortunate. A gaming Robin Hood. He's probably down at the orphanage right now giving a down-on-her-luck girl some tips on how beat on her newish, slightly stolen Atari.

That actually makes a lot of sense. This whole thread has been really fascinating, fauxscot. I'll give you some props when my theater troupe dies in what appears to be an accident.

Same here. My family had an Atari 2600 when I was teensie, but they refused to let me play it as a three year old. "You'll break it. Wait till your older." They said, and then _they_ broke it before I had a chance. I got a Genesis and never really misssed the Atari. The age of the machine does have an appeal to me, but more of archaelogical appeal. I don't have fond memories of pitfall and demon attack like so many of the OG's on here. I remember the atari as massive, metal and wood, sitting imposing and forbidden next to the VCR. The few times I saw it being played, there were rainbow fireflies of incandesence zipping and fluttering across the screen to a nonmusical, machine-beat of space explosions. Perhaps that gives some type of mystique. It's just like being able to hop into a shoddy time machine and watch a play at the Parthenon, or watch some Criminals fight malnourished Lions with a trident down at the Colliseum.

Sorry to bump an old thread, but. . . http://hozervideo.ne...fteen/HALO4.jpg Maybe it should be a general thing when buying homebrews on Ebay, to compare the labels to the real deal first?

Back on topic then? I think this idea is brilliant. I stopped lurking to say that. I can't imagine anyone better to take over the atari brand than Curt and Marty. A few questions that I (and I suspect other folks are going to have) are: what are the contributors to this fund going to get back? Stock, the money they put in, some physical atari toys, or a good conscience? There are a lot of nifty things that could be and should be done with Atari . . . Atari apparel. If you ever go into hot topic, spencer's, etc check out the awesome nintendo gear. No one does it as well as nintendo, so that's a little unfair but Atari could totally sell some simple Atari Tees, button downs with asteroid buttons, and plush centipede spiders. Yoshi, a second tier character behind Mario, Peach, Bowser, and DK has multiple crazy wallets while neither yar nor centipede have even one. l'm not sure how difficult this would be to implement, but a lot of shirts, magazines, and toys have random, trashy augmented reality apps. Atari could deliver apps that people would actually want with the product. Say you bought a hypothetical Yar's Revenge wallet, wouldn't it be awesome if it came with cards inside that could be scanned on smartphone to download the original games as app? The games and consoles may be the most exciting, but I think this is an opportunity that's always been there for Atari and never tapped. Atari phones. Let them run android. It'd be too costly to create a platform from the base up. But tailor them to run games. Use a button layout similar to Sony's Xperia. Maybe set them up so that by default they'd be able to buy apps from an Atari Store. Use the motifs and styles that people will recognize as Atari: black plastic, "A" button in red, Atari fonts. No one has really established themselves as the gaming phone folks. Sony's physical phones are okay, but it feels like the company isn't nearly so behind them as they are their PSVita and their more normal phones. Android will continue to grow, once the gaming market for it matures it'll be massive, and none of the major console makers can truly take advantage of it. Sony seems unwilling to make the PSPhone, Microsoft is so invested in Windows phones that they're forcing its interface onto desktops, and it'll snow on Cinnabar Island before Nintendo drops a Pokemon RPG on some one else's handheld. Hardware. When I talk to people about hardware they mentally divide into 3 categories: 1st party, Logitech, and the cheap junk. So yeah, there's totally an opportunity for "Atari" to step in. There's already a bit of brand recognition there, and if the early "Atari" hardware is nice, it'll only strengthen the brand. Flashback. Curt's Flashback projects are amazing. If he steers the Atari ship, I'm officially excited about their future. New Games. Reimagined is the biggest euphemism. The initial idea in the game designer's imagination is the very first, the most base element of the game. Saying that you "reimagined" a game, means that you discarded literally everything that was the original game and released a totally unrelated game with the same title. I'm getting wordy, and I've gotta shave and eat a burrito before I leave to play Munchkin, so: I would love it if we could rebuild Atari. (not reimagine it.)

Hi, First, thanks for the game. I've been playing a few rounds after work recently. A lot of random thoughts and feedback: The reason it caught my eye in the first place is because of how outspoken you are with gaming opinions. Your pages on ET explaining the high points and strategy of the game convinced me to have another go at that game. The ET pages and your posts on randomness made me curious about what type of game you'd make from scratch. I remember a post where you compared ET favorably to Pitfall! It seemed like hyperbole, but after playing Seaweed Assault I can definitely see you really meaning it. Pitfall! makes an amazing first impression, but over time its lack of depth shows. ET, I now realize, does almost the opposite. ET gives a very jarring first impression, but over time its depth slowly surfaces. Seaweed Assault makes a much better first impression than ET, but it still has a muted first impression. The graphics seem utilitarian. We need seaweed to grow randomly and the only way to make that possible is for the seaweed to be composed of simple rectangles. The ship, the canisters, and (to a lesser extent) the Wrothopods seem also to be drawn with a purpose. The canisters don't have a pixel art kind of visual appeal, but when a damaged canister starts to rotate in the peripheral: an electric startle jolts up the spine. There's _a lot_ of negative reactions in the game. That was my immediate first impression when I played the game with no context. After I've read the manual, browsed the threads, and played a little deeper, I still feel it. The percentage of actions in the game that result in something bad happening give the game a kind of Operation type of frustration. It's stylistic, and probably inherent to the game's core idea, but it definitely makes me play less than say Oystron or (to be unfair) Metal Slug 3. The sound effects are very effective. The bring the ET pages to mind again. All of the sound effects sound pleasant on their own, but what makes them significant is the way they're used to convey things about the game. It's almost the opposite of Pitfall Harry's tarzan yell that sounds awesome on its own, but exists solely to sound awesome. You'll forgive if I couldn't get into the game more. I guess I'm a Pitfall kind of guy, -R. Jones

>:-) O.O 0.o !

. . . The plot sphere is only GRP0 . . . I feel impressed . . .

They're one bit graphics. The TIA can only remember one horizontal line at a time. Each line consists of the background colour and a symmetrical playfield composed of twenty blocks (They're drawn as four pixels wide.) Each line also five movable objects: two players, two missiles, and the ball. The players are 8 bit graphical objects(pitfall harry and the treasure) and the ball/missiles are one bit pixels that can turned on or off and set at different widths (vines in Pitfall!). AD's tutorial explains it better than me.

Sounds like the beginning of a fascinating discussion. Sorry I don't have more to add.

Its quite nice.

There is an aquatic sprite theme from post 151 in this thread :- http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/169238-free-sprites-for-the-taking/page__view__findpost__p__2186590 Be sure to credit PAC-MAN-RED if you use them in your game. Oops. I take it back. That is a very interesting thread. I like PAC-MAN-RED's pumpkin face: http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/169238-free-sprites-for-the-taking/page__view__findpost__p__2114060