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Well, I figured before the last list hit three years old, I'd better replace it with a new one - clean out the completed projects, update existing ones, and add a few more. Latest updates are in red. Homebrews in development: Rip Off (was "Zombie Project (does not contain any actual zombies)")* Game graphics: In-progress. Development status: Early proof-of-concept build. 1-10-24: First pass at new graphics complete. 1-14-24: Added to to-do list. 2-11-24: Second pass at new graphics complete. (It feels more like the twenty-third pass by now. ) 2-24-24: "Zombie Project (etc)" revealed during ZPH's 6th Annual Homebrew Awards as the Champ Games port of Rip Off (originally started in 2006!). Tutankham Arcade (was "WIP It")* Game graphics: In-progress. Development status: Active development. 1-14-24: Added to to-do list. 1-28-24: First pass at graphics complete. 2-24-24: "WIP It" revealed during ZPH's 6th Annual Homebrew Awards as the Champ Games port of Tutankham. "Acrylic Sign Holders"* Game graphics: Early development. Development status: Early proof-of-concept builds. 11-2-23: Early proof-of-concept build. 11-10-23: Added to to-do list. "Space Mona Lisa"* Game graphics: In-progress. Development status: Early proof-of-concept builds. 2-16-23: Early proof-of-concept build. 11-10-23: Added to to-do list. 12-18-23: First pass at graphics complete. "Hoosegow"* Game graphics: In-progress. Development status: Early proof-of-concept builds. 2-20-23: Early proof-of-concept build. 11-10-23: Added to to-do list. 12-31-23: First pass at graphics complete. "Historical Documentary"* Game graphics: In-progress. Development status: Early proof-of-concept builds. 2-15-21: New homebrew project. 3-9-21: Graphics in progress. 3-5-22: Moved to "on hold". 2-15-23: Status changed to "Early development". 2-18-23: "Historical Documentary" is now one-half of "Two-fer". Future updates will be listed under that title. 1-14-24: "Historical Documentary" is now back to being its own entry. 2-5-24: First pass at graphics complete. "Two-fer"* Game graphics: On hold. Development status: On hold. 6-3-22: Added to to-do list. 2-18-23: Combined with "Historical Documentary". Status changed to "Early proof-of-concept builds". 1-14-24: "Two-fer" is now on-hold. It may return later. "Calidac's Revenge"* Game graphics: In-progress. Development status: Early Development. 2-11-23: Added to to-do list. "Champ Sports Shot Put"* Game graphics: Early development. Development status: Pre-development discussions. 3-5-22: Added to to-do list. Boom! (was "Black Squirrel")* Game graphics: In progress. Box, label, and manual artwork: Rough artwork approved. Development status: Active development. 3-3-17: New homebrew project. 3-3-17: First pass at title screen graphics and sprites finished. 7-13-18: "Black Squirrel" revealed to be Chris Walton's port of Bomberman titled "Boom". 2-25-22: Boom! is being rebooted as a CDFJ project. 6-3-22: Boom! on ZeroPage Homebrew. Demo version is available for download in the AtariAge forums. 2-3-23: Boom! nominated for Best WIP (2600 Port), for the 5th Annual Atari Homebrew Awards. 3-18-23: Rough artwork approved for label, box, etc. Zeviouz (was "Starts with a 'Z'")* Game graphics: In progress. Box, label, and manual artwork: Rough artwork approved. Development status: Active development. 5-9-20: New homebrew project. 5-23-20: First pass at graphics completed. 8-18-20: "Starts with a 'Z'" officially announced as Chris Walton's port of Xevious. 1-15-21: Zeviouz nominated for the 3rd Annual Atari Homebrew Awards: Best 2600 Work-in-Progress (Port). 2-6-21: Zeviouz won Best 2600 Work-in-Progress (Port) in the 3rd Annual Atari Homebrew Awards. 3-18-23: Rough artwork approved for label, box, etc. Frantic AtariVox voices: First pass complete. Development status: Active development. 8-18-20: Added to "Homebrews in development" list. First pass at AtariVox voices complete. 1-15-21: Frantic nominated for the 3rd Annual Atari Homebrew Awards: Best Work-in-Progress (Port). 10-15-23: Demo ROM from PRGE posted. Champ Sports Baseball (was "Trash Can")* Game graphics: In progress. AtariVox voices: Planning stages. Development status: Early development. 2-2-20: New homebrew project. 4-9-20: "Trash Can" officially announced as Champ Games' first sports title: Champ Sports Baseball. 1-18-21: Game graphics in progress. Completed Homebrews: Turbo Arcade (was "Not a SuperCharger Game")* Game graphics: In progress. Game audio: In progress. Box, label, and manual artwork: Rough artwork approved. Development status: Active development. 2-15-21: New homebrew project. 3-18-21: Graphics in progress. Early non-playable proof-of-concept build. 5-17-21: Most graphics are in place. Preliminary sounds being added. First "somewhat playable" build. 5-21-21: Revealed as Champ Games' Turbo Arcade on ZeroPage Homebrew. 1-20-22: Turbo nominated for the 4th Annual Atari Homebrew Awards: Best 2600 Homebrew Port (Work-in-Progress). 2-13-22: Turbo won Best 2600 Homebrew Port (Work-in-Progress) in the 4th Annual Atari Homebrew Awards. 3-18-23: Rough artwork approved for label, box, etc. 10-13-23: Turbo Arcade released at the 2023 Portland Retro Gaming Expo. Will be available soon at Champ.Games. 2-1-24: Turbo Arcade nominated for Best Graphics - 2600 Port, Best Music and Sound - 2600 Port, and Best Homebrew - 2600 Port for ZPH's 6th Annual Homebrew Awards. 2-24-24: Turbo Arcade won Best Graphics - 2600 Port, in ZPH's 6th Annual Homebrew Awards. Elevator Agent (was Elevator Action/"Otis")* Game graphics: In progress. Box, label, and manual artwork: Rough artwork approved. Development status: Active development. 11-18-15: New homebrew project. 1-27-17: First pass done on title screen graphics, character sprites are in progress. 3-15-17: Character sprites mostly finished. 11-2-18: "Otis" revealed to be John Champeau's port of Elevator Action. 2-25-22: Elevator Action is being rebooted as a CDFJ project. 6-5-22: First pass at label artwork is in-progress. 6-15-22: Elevator Action renamed to Elevator Agent. Thread added to Homebrew forum. 12-31-22: Elevator Agent demo ROM now available for download at Champ.Games. 2-3-23: Elevator Agent nominated for Best Work-In-Progress (2600 Port), for the 5th Annual Atari Homebrew Awards. 2-25-23: Elevator Agent won Best WIP (2600 Port), in the 5th Annual Atari Homebrew Awards. 3-18-23: Rough artwork approved for label, box, etc. 10-13-23: Elevator Agent released at the 2023 Portland Retro Gaming Expo. Will be available soon at Champ.Games. 2-1-24: Elevator Agent nominated for Best Graphics - 2600 Port, Best Music and Sound - 2600 Port, and Best Homebrew - 2600 Port for ZPH's 6th Annual Homebrew Awards. 2-24-24: Elevator Agent won Best Music and Sound - 2600 Port, in ZPH's 6th Annual Homebrew Awards. Congratulations to Pat Brady! 2-24-24: Elevator Agent won Best Homebrew - 2600 Port, in ZPH's 6th Annual Homebrew Awards. Congratulations to John Champeau! Gorf Arcade (was "Neville")* Game graphics: Completed. AtariVox voices: Completed. Box, label, and manual artwork: Completed. Development status: Completed. 4-2-19: New homebrew project. 9-16-19: "Neville" officially announced as a Champ Games port of Gorf! (And yes - it will have all five screens!) 10-30-19: First pass at graphics completed. 2-23-20: First pass at AtariVox voices completed. 1-15-21: Gorf Arcade nominated for the 3rd Annual Atari Homebrew Awards: Best Work-in-Progress (Port). 7-4-21: Label artwork in progress. 7-31-21: Label artwork concept approved. 5-21-22: Gorf Arcade packaging previewed during AtariAge Day on ZeroPage Homebrew. 1-13-23: Final Gorf Arcade ROM now available for purchase at Champ.Games. 1-23-23: Gorf Arcade now available in the AtariAge store. 2-3-23: Gorf Arcade nominated for Best Music + Sound, Graphics, and Homebrew (all for 2600 Port), for the 5th Annual Atari Homebrew Awards. 2-25-23: Gorf Arcade won Best Music + Sound (2600 Port), in the 5th Annual Atari Homebrew Awards. Congratulations to Bob Decrescenzo, who also won the Lifetime Achievement Award. Well-deserved! Qyx (was Qix) Game graphics: Completed. Development status: Completed. 7-19-20: Proof-of-concept Qix for the 2600 posted by Champ Games. 1-19-21: Added to to-do list. 1-20-22: Qix nominated for the 4th Annual Atari Homebrew Awards: Best 2600 Homebrew Port (Work-in-Progress). 5-21-22: Qyx label artwork (by David Exton) previewed during AtariAge Day on ZeroPage Homebrew. 1-13-23: Final Qyx ROM now available for purchase at Champ.Games. 1-23-23: Qyx now available in the AtariAge store. 2-3-23: Qyx nominated for Best Homebrew, Best Graphics and Best Music + Sound (all for 2600 Port), for the 5th Annual Atari Homebrew Awards. Galaxian (7800) Box, label, and manual artwork: Completed. 7-4-21: Label artwork in progress. 8-2-21: Label artwork concept approved. 12-29-21: Final box/label/manual artwork in progress. 1-14-22: Final box/label/manual artwork complete. Manual and box layout in progress. 5-21-22: Galaxian packaging previewed during AtariAge Day on ZeroPage Homebrew. 1-23-23: Galaxian now available in the AtariAge store. Pac-Man Collection 40th Anniversary Edition (7800) Box, label, and manual artwork: Completed. 7-4-21: Label artwork in progress. 8-2-21: Label artwork concept approved. 12-29-21: Final box/label/manual artwork in progress. 1-14-22: Final box/label/manual artwork complete. Manual and box layout in progress. 5-21-22: Pac-Man Collection packaging previewed during AtariAge Day on ZeroPage Homebrew. 1-23-23: Pac-Man Collection 40th Anniversary Edition now available in the AtariAge store. UniWarS (7800) Box, label, and manual artwork: Completed. 7-4-21: Label artwork in progress. 8-2-21: Label artwork concept approved. 12-31-21: Final box/label/manual artwork in progress. 1-14-22: Final box/label/manual artwork complete. Manual and box layout in progress. 5-21-22: UniWarS packaging previewed during AtariAge Day on ZeroPage Homebrew. 1-23-23: UniWarS now available in the AtariAge store. Lady Bug Arcade Game graphics: Completed. Box, label, and manual artwork: Completed. Development status: Completed. 1-12-21: Lady Bug Arcade for the 2600 announced by Champ Games. 1-19-21: Added to to-do list. Game graphics in progress. 2-12-21: Lady Bug Arcade debuted on ZeroPage Homebrew. 7-4-21: Label artwork in progress. 7-31-21: Label artwork concept approved. 12-26-21: Final box, label and manual artwork completed. Box artwork previewed in forums. 12-31-21: Lady Bug Arcade now available in the AtariAge Store. 1-20-22: Lady Bug Arcade nominated for the 4th Annual Atari Homebrew Awards: Best 2600 Homebrew (Port), Best 2600 Graphics (Port); Best 2600 Music and Sound (Port). RobotWar:2684 (was "Ambidextrous")* Game graphics: In progress. Development status: Completed. 3-23-20: New homebrew project. 4-14-20: First pass at graphics completed. 5-13-20: "Ambidextrous" officially announced as Champ Games' port of Robotron: 2084. 1-15-21: RobotWar:2684 for the 3rd Annual Atari Homebrew Awards: Best Work-in-Progress (Port). 12-31-21: RobotWar:2684 now available in the AtariAge Store. 1-20-22: RobotWar:2684 nominated for the 4th Annual Atari Homebrew Awards: Best Packaging; Best 2600 Homebrew (Port), Best 2600 Graphics (Port); Best 2600 Music and Sound (Port). 2-13-22: RobotWar:2684 won Best 2600 Homebrew (Port); Best 2600 Graphics (Port); Best 2600 Music and Sound (Port) in the 4th Annual Atari Homebrew Awards. Homebrews previously in development, but currently on hold: (none at the moment) Homebrews not currently in development, but not completely dead, either: 2600 Toolbox (tentative title) Description: At some point, I need to make a Stupid Game Ideas! entry for this. The idea is to vastly expand upon the idea of the Test Cart, including color calibration patterns, hardware tests, sound tests, and various patterns for checking color combinations, flickering, and so forth. The cart can be used to test consoles, set up TVs, and be used by homebrewers and artists while developing new games. Development status: I have a list of things I'd like to see in it, I just need to write it all up, then hope a developer finds it interesting enough to pursue. "Bruce"* Development status: Interest has resurfaced in this project. It's pretty far on the back burner, but may yet see the light-of-day. Miscellaneous projects: Blog Finish up "Homebrew Art" series. Blog More "Stupid Game Ideas". Blog More homebreviews. I need to start slogging through a huge backlog of games. ArcadeCinema.net Update old MacMAME.net video game movie reviews and redesign website. Cheeptech.com Update 2600 Mods Comparison Project. This is sorely overdue for an overhaul. 2600RM I want to build a custom, rack-mountable 2600. Could be expensive... could also be awesome. Tronty-Six Hundred An Atari 2600 Tron console mod. Yes - I want to make this happen for real. * As always, project names that are in quotes are code-names, and not the actual titles. Published Jan 20, 2021

So... it's been another two years since the last list. Stuff has been happening, I just haven't posted updates in awhile. So I thought this would be a good time to reboot the list again. Clean out the old stuff. Donate unused items to Goodwill. That sort of thing. Latest updates are in red. Homebrews in development: Zeviouz (was "Starts with a 'Z'")* Game graphics: In progress. Development status: Active development. 5-9-20: New homebrew project. 5-23-20: First pass at graphics completed. 8-18-20: "Starts with a 'Z'" officially announced as Chris Walton's port of Xevious. Frantic AtariVox voices: First pass complete. Development status: Active development. 8-18-20: Added to "Homebrews in development" list. First pass at AtariVox voices complete. Robotron: 2084 (was "Ambidextrous")* Game graphics: In progress. Development status: Active development. 3-23-20: New homebrew project. 4-14-20: First pass at graphics completed. 5-13-20: "Ambidextrous" officially announced as Champ Games' port of Robotron: 2084. Champ Sports Baseball (was "Trash Can")* Game graphics: Early development. Development status: Early development. 2-2-20: New homebrew project. 4-9-20: "Trash Can" officially announced as Champ Games' first sports title: Champ Sports Baseball. Gorf Arcade (was "Neville")* Game graphics: In progress. AtariVox voices: In progress. Development status: Early development. 4-2-19: New homebrew project. 9-16-19: "Neville" officially announced as a Champ Games port of Gorf! (And yes - it will have all five screens!) 10-30-19: First pass at graphics completed. 2-23-20: First pass at AtariVox voices completed. Completed homebrews: Zoo Keeper Game graphics: Mostly complete. Box, label and manual artwork: In progress. Development status: Release candidate. 11-29-18: New homebrew project. 9-27-19: Animated the sprites that run vertically up and down the sides of the zoo. 10-19-19: First public, playable demo shown at the 2019 Portland Retro Gaming Expo. 2-1-20: Zoo Keeper won the 2019 Atari Homebrew Award for Best Work-In-Progress. 6-17-20: Label concept and rough illustration completed. 8-18-20: Box artwork . Manual in-progress. 12-8-20: Zoo Keeper now available for sale in the . 1-15-21: Zoo Keeper for the 3rd Annual Atari Homebrew Awards: Best Homebrew Port, Best Graphics (Port), Best Music & Sound (Port) and Best Packaging. 2-6-21: Zoo Keeper won Best 2600 Homebrew (Port), Best graphics (Port), and Best Music + Sound (Port) in the 3rd Annual Atari Homebrew Awards. Venture Reloaded Label artwork: In progress. Development status: Release candidate. 2-27-20: New homebrew project. 5-31-20: Label concept and rough illustration completed. 8-18-20: Box artwork . Manual in-progress 12-8-20: Venture Reloaded now available for sale in the AtariAge store. Aardvark Game graphics: Finished. Box, label and manual artwork: Finished. Development status: Finished. 11-12-17: Added to homebrew list. 6-6-18: New aardvark animation in progress. 6-10-18: Insect sprites in progress. 7-4-18: Label sketches in progress. 10-8-18: Preliminary labels and banners completed for Aardvark's preview at PRGE. 4-2-19: Revised label artwork in progress. 6-12-19: Label, box and manual artwork are finished. 10-19-19: Aardvark released and available for sale at the 2019 Portland Retro Gaming Expo. 12-8-19: Aardvark now available in the AtariAge store. 2-1-20: Aardvark won the 2019 Atari Homebrew Award for Best Graphics. (I neglected to mention it won last year for best Work-In-Progress.) Amoeba Jump Box, label and manual artwork: Finished. Development status: Finished. 3-23-19: New homebrew project. 6-12-19: Label, box and manual artwork are finished. 10-19-19: Amoeba Jump released and available for sale at the 2019 Portland Retro Gaming Expo. 12-8-19: Amoeba Jump now available in the AtariAge store. 2-1-20: Amoeba Jump won the 2019 Atari Homebrew Award for Best Homebrew ≤4K. Galagon (was "Lightman")* Game graphics: Finished. Development status: Finished. 4-2-19: New homebrew project. 5-15-19: "Lightman" officially announced as a Champ Games port of Galaga. Game graphics are mostly complete. 7-4-19: Galaga renamed to Galagon. 10-19-19: Galagon released and available for sale at the 2019 Portland Retro Gaming Expo. 12-8-19: Galagon now available in the AtariAge store. 2-1-20: Galagon won the 2019 Atari Homebrew Award for Best Homebrew. Wizard of Wor Arcade (was "Linus and Lucy")* Game graphics: Finished. Development status: Finished. 3-2-18: Added to homebrew list. 3-16-18: Sprites and title screen completed. 6-25-18: Graphics added to WIP build. 9-13-18: "Linus and Lucy" officially announced as an all-new port of Wizard of Wor. 10-19-19: Wizard of Wor Arcade released and available for sale at the 2019 Portland Retro Gaming Expo. 12-8-19: Wizard of Wor Arcade now available in the AtariAge store. 2-1-20: Wizard of Wor Arcade won the 2019 Atari Homebrew Award for Best Music & Sound. Mappy Game graphics: Finished. Box, label and manual artwork: Finished. Development status: Finished. 10-31-17: New homebrew project. 12-1-17: "Dueling Banjos" officially announced as a port of the arcade game Mappy. 3-7-18: Sprites completed. 6-4-18: Label sketches in progress. 9-27-18: Final label and box artwork revealed leading up to PRGE release. 10-10-18: Manual completed. 11-4-18: Mappy is now available for sale in the AtariAge store. 2-23-19: Mappy won the 2018 Atari Awards for: Best Programming, Best Technical Achievement, Best Packaging, Best Graphics, Best Music and Sound, and Best Homebrew! Homebrews previously in development, but currently on hold: Elevator Action (was "Otis")* Game graphics: In progress. Development status: On hold due to issues with Bus Stuffing driver. 11-18-15: New homebrew project. 1-27-17: First pass done on title screen graphics, character sprites are in progress. 3-15-17: Character sprites mostly finished. 11-2-18: "Otis" revealed to be John Champeau's port of Elevator Action. Boom (was "Black Squirrel")* Game graphics: In progress. Development status: On hold due to issues with Bus Stuffing driver. 3-3-17: New homebrew project. 3-3-17: First pass at title screen graphics and sprites finished. 7-13-18: "Black Squirrel" revealed to be Chris Walton's port of Bomberman titled "Boom". Cosmic Avenger (was "YAUCG")* Game graphics: Early mockups. Development status: Early development. 1-30-15: New homebrew project. 11-2-18: "YAUCG" revealed to be John Champeau's port of Cosmic Avenger. Homebrews not currently in development, but not completely dead, either: 2600 Toolbox (tentative title) Description: At some point, I need to make a Stupid Game Ideas! entry for this. The idea is to vastly expand upon the idea of the Test Cart, including color calibration patterns, hardware tests, sound tests, and various patterns for checking color combinations, flickering, and so forth. The cart can be used to test consoles, set up TVs, and be used by homebrewers and artists while developing new games. Development status: I have a list of things I'd like to see in it, I just need to write it all up, then hope a developer finds it interesting enough to pursue. Inactive Homebrew projects: BurgerTime Arcade (was "Fun With Sawdust")* Game graphics: Early development. Development status: Early development. 3-2-18: Added to homebrew list. 10-19-18: Added to inactive list, due to Chaotic Grill being in active development. Miscellaneous projects: AtariAge Labels for Trak-Ball hacks. 10-31-15: Initial concepts 7-4-16: Re-design in progress 7-6-16: First pass of all labels complete 7-16-16: Final labels complete 8-7-16: Scans of original game manuals complete 10-9-16: Created banner for PRGE showcasing Trak-Ball hacks 9-30-18: Updated banner for PRGE showcasing Trak-Ball hacks 11-22-18: Created instruction sheets for Trak-Ball hacks Blog Finish up "Homebrew Art" series. 3-10-14: In progress Blog More "Stupid Game Ideas". Blog More homebreviews. I need to start slogging through a huge backlog of games. ArcadeCinema.net Update old MacMAME.net video game movie reviews and redesign website. Cheeptech.com Update 2600 Mods Comparison Project. This is sorely overdue for an overhaul. 2600RM I want to build a custom, rack-mountable 2600. Could be expensive... could also be awesome. Tronty-Six Hundred An Atari 2600 Tron console mod. Yes - I want to make this happen for real. * As always, project names that are in quotes are code-names, and not the actual titles.

Almost two years since the last list. Looks like the prediction of the great Homebrew Crash of 2016 was right! Hide the children! Run for the hills! Exit from the EU! Nah... there's plenty of stuff happening. Some of it just takes awhile to materialize, since this is all done in peoples' spare time and all that. Some of this is old. Some of it is new. Some of it is borrowed. Some of it is way overdue. Wait... that's not quite how it goes. Eh, close enough. Anyway... latest updates are in red. Homebrews in development: "Linus and Lucy"* Game graphics: In progress. Development status: Active development. 3-2-18: Added to homebrew list. "Fun With Sawdust"* Game graphics: Early development. Development status: Early development. 3-2-18: Added to homebrew list. Aardvark Game graphics: In progress. Development status: Active development. 11-12-17: Added to homebrew list. Mappy (was "Dueling Banjos")* Game graphics: Mostly complete. Development status: Active development. 10-31-17: New homebrew project. 12-1-17: "Dueling Banjos" officially announced as a port of the arcade game Mappy. Completed Homebrews: Draconian Game graphics: Completed. Box, label and manual artwork: Completed. Development status: Completed (restarted using CDF driver). 8-16-14: Moved to new To-Do list. 9-26-14: Completed first pass at rotating enemy sprites. 9-27-14: Created playfield font for score display, revised enemy sprites, updated damaged station graphics. 10-9-14: First pass at explosion graphics done. 10-13-14: Changed "station core opening" animations. Converting arcade level layouts over to Draconian. First 12 Midway levels are done. 10-18-14: Midway and Namco "new version" levels now converted over. Most layouts are shared between the two sets, except for seven unique layouts added to the Namco version. Both sets get to a certain point, then just repeat the last six levels. 5-17-17: Initial sketches and layout for label artwork started. 8-28-17: Revised label artwork in progress. Sketches for box and manual started. 9-21-17: Box artwork finished. 9-24-17: Label artwork finished. 10-4-17: Poster and banner finished. 10-10-17: Manual in-progress. Box artwork revealed ahead of PRGE release. 10-14-17: Manual finished! 11-12-17: Draconian is available in The AtariAge Store! Super Cobra Arcade (was "Huey")* Game graphics: Completed. Box, label and manual artwork: Completed. Development status: Completed. 12-10-15: New homebrew project. 7-13-16: Starting to convert arcade level layouts. 8-13-16: Conversion of arcade layouts completed (partially implemented in-game). 9-20-16: Thanks to some compression magic by Thomas, all levels are now in the game. Music is currently being added. 5-17-17: Initial sketches and layout for label artwork started. 8-28-17: Label artwork nearly finalized. Manual and box sketches in progress. 9-21-17: Box artwork finished. 9-24-17: Label artwork finished. 10-4-17: Poster and banner finished. 10-10-17: "Huey" revealed as Super Cobra Arcade. Manual nearly complete. Box artwork revealed ahead of PRGE release. 10-14-17: Manual finished! 11-12-17: Super Cobra Arcade is available in The AtariAge Store! Scramble Game graphics: Completed. Box, label and manual artwork: Completed. Development status: Completed. 9-23-15: New homebrew project. 10-9-15: Revealed as Scramble (demoed at PRGE). 7-1-16: Added box, label and manual artwork to list. 8-4-16: Initial sketches (by Dave Dries) submitted and design direction has been chosen. 9-9-16: Label artwork finished (by Dave Dries). 9-20-16: Converted arcade levels over, using same process as "Huey". 10-15-16: Box art revealed! 6-16-17: Scramble has been released, and is available in The AtariAge Store! Homebrews previously in development, but currently on hold: "Otis"* Game graphics: In progress. Development status: On hold. 11-18-15: New homebrew project. 1-27-17: First pass done on title screen graphics, character sprites are in progress. 3-15-17: Character sprites mostly finished. "Black Squirrel"* Game graphics: In progress. Development status: On hold. 3-3-17: New homebrew project. 3-3-17: First pass at title screen graphics and sprites finished. "YAUCG"* Game graphics: Early mockups. Development status: Early development. 1-30-15: New homebrew project. Homebrews not currently in development, but not completely dead, either: 2600 Toolbox (tentative title) Description: At some point, I need to make a Stupid Game Ideas! entry for this. The idea is to vastly expand upon the idea of the Test Cart, including color calibration patterns, hardware tests, sound tests, and various patterns for checking color combinations, flickering, and so forth. The cart can be used to test consoles, set up TVs, and be used by homebrewers and artists while developing new games. Development status: I have a list of things I'd like to see in it, I just need to write it all up, then hope a developer finds it interesting enough to pursue. "Project Retro" * Graphics: In-progress. Development status: On hold. A speculative project akin to "Bruce" (see below). In early development with some working code. "Gut Bomb" * Game graphics and level design: In progress. Development status: On hold. RPS Game graphics, label and manual: All in progress, to varying degrees. Development status: On hold. Probably dead. Would like to reboot it as "RPS the RPG". How could you go wrong with an RPS-based role-playing game? "Bruce" * Game graphics: In progress. Mostly mock-ups. Development status: Purely a speculative project. Some early coding done by a few programmers. May or may not ever materialize. Miscellaneous projects: Stella at 20 Unbelievably - this will see the light of day in one form or another very soon. 7-4-16: In progress 7-29-16: Awaiting feedback on test footage 9-24-16: Test footage approved, final processing begun 10-17-16: Stella at 20 is now online! All of the original camera tapes have been digitized, and are available for streaming or download at Archive.org. AtariAge Brochure for new homebrews. 10-13-15: Completed AtariAge Photoshop templates for homebrew images. 10-16-15: In progress AtariAge Banners for something called "Facebook". Yeah, I don't know what that means, either. 3-24-16: Initial concepts 7-4-16: Re-design in progress 7-5-16: Completed AtariAge Labels for Trak-Ball hacks. 10-31-15: Initial concepts 7-4-16: Re-design in progress 7-6-16: First pass of all labels complete 7-16-16: Final labels complete 8-7-16: Scans of original game manuals complete 10-9-16: Created banner for PRGE showcasing Trak-Ball hacks Blog Finish up "Homebrew Art" series. 3-10-14: In progress Blog More "Stupid Game Ideas". Blog More homebreviews. Games should be arriving soon. After that, I figure I should be caught up on my reviews in 6 or 7 years. ArcadeCinema.net Update old MacMAME.net video game movie reviews and redesign website. Cheeptech.com Update 2600 Mods Comparison Project. This is sorely overdue for an overhaul. 2600RM I want to build a custom, rack-mountable 2600. Could be expensive... could also be awesome. Tronty-Six Hundred An Atari 2600 Tron console mod. Yes - I want to make this happen for real. * As always, project names that are in quotes are code-names, and not the actual titles.

Another year, another To-Do list. This one's pretty late. Usually I write these early in the year, but this year there wasn't really much to update. I'd finished up most of the projects on my last To-Do list and decided I wasn't really interested in taking on anything new. This new To-Do list (half-written in January) originally wasn't going to contain any homebrew projects. Between Star Castle, Ixion and Stay Frosty 2, I pretty-much got burned out on working on homebrews last year. I ended up backing out of creating label artwork for one homebrew, and didn't even make an entry for the Star Castle Arcade label contest. That was the first contest I've skipped at AtariAge since 2005. At the time, I just didn't feel like taking on any more projects. And so my traditional To-Do list, was basically done. Then, Darrell decided to take on the challenge of creating one of my Stupid Game Ideas. Funny how something like someone creating a port of one of your all-time favorite games can rekindle your interest. I added Draconian to the previous To-Do list, and promptly put off finishing the new one. But I've recently taken on a new project (codename: "Not Turbo"), wrapped up a nifty "extra" for Star Castle Arcade, and it looks like there are a couple of other projects in the pipeline as well, so I thought this would be as good of a time as any to make the new list. And the old one was getting a bit messy. So I've updated the list, cleaned out old projects, added some new stuff, and shuffled things around a bit. Besides homebrew projects, I'm also planning to get back to the Homebrew Art series, update Stupid Game Ideas! with several new entries, and probably throw a few more episodes of Artie the Atari out there. Meanwhile, I'll continue to periodically update my avatar with new Artie one-shots (in case you haven't been paying attention ). So, onto the list... Homebrews/reproductions in development: Scramble (was "Over Easy" *) Game graphics: In progress. Development status: In progress. 9-23-15: New homebrew project. 10-9-15: Revealed as Scramble (will be demoed at PRGE) Draconian Game graphics: In progress. Development status: In progress. 8-16-14: Moved to new To-Do list. 9-26-14: Completed first pass at rotating enemy sprites. 9-27-14: Created playfield font for score display, revised enemy sprites, updated damaged station graphics. 10-9-14: First pass at explosion graphics done. 10-13-14: Changed "station core opening" animations. Converting arcade level layouts over to Draconian. First 12 Midway levels are done. 10-18-14: Midway and Namco "new version" levels now converted over. Most layouts are shared between the two sets, except for seven unique layouts added to the Namco version. Both sets get to a certain point, then just repeat the last six levels. Completed homebrews/reproductions: Lady Bug - Collector's Edition (was "Not Turbo" *) Label, box and manual: Finished. Development status: Finished. 8-16-14: New homebrew project. 9-25-14: Box artwork is nearly finished, except for some final touch-up. 10-1-14: Box artwork completed. 11-12-14: Started on title screen graphic. 12-7-14: Title screen graphic finished. 1-10-15: Work on manual started. 1-19-15: First pass on manual completed. 1-22-15: Manual completed. Work started on bonus item. 1-24-15: Bonus item completed. First pass at label completed. 5-28-15: Label completed. 10-9-15: Revealed as Lady Bug - Collector's Edition (will be released at PRGE) Star Castle Arcade Game graphics: Finished. Development status: Finished. 8-16-14: Moved to new To-Do list. Finished work on "extra" to be included with game. 10-12-15: "Extra" revealed as a papercraft arcade cabinet, to be included with the boxed edition of the game. The game will be released at PRGE. Stay Frosty 2 Game graphics: Finished. Level design: Finished. Development status: Finished. 8-16-14: Moved to new To-Do list. Awaiting release. Meanwhile, check out the demo version. 12-14-14: Stay Frosty 2 is now available in the AtariAge store! Omicron Label, box and manual: Finished. Development status: Finished. 6-21-14: Manual and box design complete. 8-16-14: Moved to new To-Do list. Awaiting release. 12-14-14: Omicron is now available in the AtariAge store! AtariVox+ (The "+" version adds Vectrex support) Manual and label: In progress. Development status: In progress. 8-16-14: Moved to new To-Do list. 11-10-14: Resuming work on manual. 12-7-14: Label finished. Manual expanded to four pages. 12-14-14: Manual finished. The AtariVox+ is now available in the AtariAge store! Homebrews/reproductions not currently in development, but not completely dead, either: 2600 Toolbox (tentative title) Description: This is something I've been meaning to add to my Stupid Game Ideas! series. But with the 2600 Toolbox, it's not so much a game, as a utility. The idea is to vastly expand upon the idea of the Test Cart, including color calibration patterns, hardware tests, sound tests, and various patterns for checking color combinations, flickering, and so forth. The cart can be used to test consoles, set up TVs, and be used by homebrewers and artists while developing new games. Development status: I have a list of things I'd like to see in it, I just need to write it all up, then hope a developer finds it interesting enough to pursue. 8-16-14: Moved to new To-Do list. "Project Retro" * Graphics: In-progress. Development status: A speculative project akin to "Bruce" (see below). In early development with some working code. 8-16-14: Moved to new To-Do list. "Gut Bomb" * Game graphics and level design: In progress. Development status: On hold. 8-16-14: Moved to new To-Do list. RPS Game graphics, label and manual: All in progress, to varying degrees. Development status: On hold. Probably indefinitely. 8-16-14: Moved to new To-Do list. "Bruce" * Game graphics: In progress. Development status: Purely a speculative project. Some early coding done by a few programmers. May or may not ever materialize. 8-16-14: Moved to new To-Do list. Miscellaneous projects: AtariAge store - working on Photoshop templates for homebrew images. Finish up "Homebrew Art" series. More "Stupid Game Ideas". Get my 2600 fixed. My original Sears six-switcher up and died in 2011, and I still haven't fixed it. 1-22-15: 2600 fixed! Actually, not so much "fixed", as I replaced the circuit boards with new ones from Best Electronics. I'll go back and properly fix my original boards later. More homebreviews. Got some catching up to do. Although I actually have to acquire the homebrews first. And of course, fix my 2600. Update old MacMAME.net video game movie reviews and redesign website. I'm paying for a domain name for it, after all. 2600 Mods Comparison Project - Another project I need to get back to. The 2600RM. A pet project I have in mind. Could be expensive... could also be awesome. 2600 Tron console mod. Yes - I want to make this happen for real. Stella at 20. More likely Stella at 20... at 20. * As always, project names that are in quotes are code-names, and not the actual titles.

Another year, another To-Do List. I actually started this list in February, but it didn't get done because I didn't add finishing it to my old To-Do list. (Is that a Moebius Loop or a Vicious Circle? ) Besides, formatting is still woefully broken in the blogs, and even though it looks good in the editor, once I post it, it becomes a mess. But since I'm not going to wait around forever for that to get fixed, I might as well post it now. As always, here's a link to last year's. Been there, done that. Or rather... done some of that. This time, I'm changing the formatting some, and how I handle updates. I'll keep all of the original entries intact, and just append them with colored text. Maybe mauve or puce. So, let's see where we are... Homebrews/reproductions in development: Draconian (was "P.I.E.S.") * Game graphics: In-progress. Development status: Just beginning, but stuff is already showing up on the screen! 3-20-14: Added to to-do list 3-28-14: Now revealed as Draconian (a port of Bosconian) VecMulti MenuMaker OS X port: Application icon 3-13-14: Added to to-do list 3-30-14: First pass done. Star Castle Arcade Game graphics: Revised graphics finished (smaller player ship, new explosions, sparks, mines). (w/Dave Dries) Label and manual: Preliminary concepts underway. Development status: Game in active development. 4-16-13: Label design now has a direction. We think. 8-5-13: Development is nearing final beta. Probably ought to start working on the label again... 9-6-13: Dave and I thought Star Castle Arcade would be a good fit for a label contest, so we're stepping back from doing the design. We might still enter the contest though. 12-6-13: The label contest has come and gone. Dave submitted a couple of designs, but I bowed out of this one. Congratulations to Jordi Cabo for his winning entry - it's a terrific painting! Very reminiscent of vintage sci-fi artwork. It's always great to see what kind of artwork others come up with. 1-23-14: Working on "extra" to be included with game. No release date yet, since the game is waiting for Harmony boards. Stay Frosty 2 (was "Chun-Li" *) Game graphics: Finished. Level design: Finished (I think...). Development status: Final testing, music. Currently on hold until... well, that would be telling. 4-16-13: Development has resumed. More testing, music tweaks, and... walls. 5-19-13: Development "continues". Get it? Ha! I kill me. Anyway, play-testing resumes. 8-5-13: Development has resumed in earnest. Adding a few new level layouts, but we're nearly there. 9-25-13: Development marches on! Final new levels have been added. Now it's testing, testing, and more testing. Very excited for people to see this at PRGE. 10-16-13: Finally revealed at PRGE as Stay Frosty 2. Even more optimizations have been done, possibly freeing up space for a few more levels. 12-6-13: Stay Frosty 2 has been officially declared finished (screenshots here). When it actually gets released is anyone's guess 12-25-13: Demo version available for download. Omicron Label and manual: Label finished, third pass on manual finished. Development status: Game in active development. Nearing completion? 7-25-13: Manual nearly complete, need to update some text and screenshots. 9-6-13: Created banner for PRGE. 1-23-14: Manual updates complete. Waiting for final approval. 2-24-14: More manual changes completed. First pass done on box design. Ixion (was "Unreleased prototype #2" *) Title screen bitmap: Done. (w/Dave Dries) Box, label and manual: First pass done on box artwork. Development status: Finished. Release tentatively slated for sometime in 2013. Maybe. Possibly. 7-25-13: Resuming work on box artwork. Originally, we'd considered starting over, but decided it wasn't necessary and are just tweaking the concept. 9-5-13: Box artwork is finished and at the printer. Banner artwork is finished and heading to the printer. Label and manual are up next. We're also tweaking a bonus game that's to be included on the cart. 9-13-13: Game title has been revealed - it's Sega's Ixion. Manual is in progress, boxes are printed and just need to be shipped. 9-22-13: Manual, poster, magnet and label art finished. Updated graphics for enhanced version finished. Title screen graphics finished. Basically, it's finished. 12-6-13: Ixion is available in the AtariAge store. Homebrews/reproductions not currently in development, but not completely dead, either: AtariVox+ Manual and label: In progress. Development status: The AtariVox finally seems to be making its way back to the store. The "+" version adds Vectrex support. 4-16-13: Label finished. Manual in progress (awaiting final text). 1-23-14: Project moved to inactive list. 2600 Toolbox (tentative title) Description: This is something I've been meaning to add to my Stupid Game Ideas! series. But with the 2600 Toolbox, it's not so much a game, as a utility. The idea is to vastly expand upon the idea of the Test Cart, including color calibration patterns, hardware tests, sound tests, and various patterns for checking color combinations, flickering, and so forth. The cart can be used to test consoles, set up TVs, and be used by homebrewers and artists while developing new games. Development status: I have a list of things I'd like to see in it, I just need to write it all up, then hope a developer finds it interesting enough to pursue. 8-15-13: Project added to list. 1-23-14: Project moved to inactive list. "Project Retro" * Graphics: In-progress. Development status: A speculative project akin to "Bruce" (see below). Currently in early development with some working code. Project was effectively dead until recently... we'll see what happens next. 1-23-14: Project moved to inactive list. "Gut Bomb" * Game graphics and level design: In progress. Development status: On hold. May return in 2013. 7-25-13: Game is back in development again. 1-23-14: Project appears to be on hiatus. RPS Game graphics, label and manual: All in progress, to varying degrees. Development status: On hold. Maybe someday... "Bruce" * Game graphics: In progress. Several rounds of mockups completed. Development status: Purely a speculative project, but some early coding done by a couple of programmers. May or may not ever materialize. "Cat Food" * Game graphics, concepts, play-testing: Not started. Development status: Basic kernel working, but project is on hold. May return as a different project. 9-26-13: "Cat Food" was revealed as a Jumpman clone originally being developed for ThinkGeek starring their mascot Timmy. That project ended up getting shelved, but the kernel may live on as something else. So, why "Cat Food"? Simple. Because he isn't dog food. Miscellaneous projects: New classic gaming related art project. Preliminary sketches in progress. 5-31-13: Concept sketches and color rough finished, awaiting approval to move forward. 7-25-13: Revised design approved. Working on final artwork. 8-1-13: Final artwork (hopefully) finished. 8-5-13: Yep. Finished. 8-30-13: Revealed to be Bill Loguidice's upcoming book: Vintage Game Consoles: An Inside Look at Apple, Atari, Commodore, Nintendo, and the Greatest Gaming Platforms of All Time. Post "Lost Episodes" of Artie the Atari. (Not so much "lost" as "never finished".) 7-25-13: Done and dusted. More "Stupid Game Ideas". Get my 2600 fixed. My original Sears six-switcher up and died nearly two years ago, and I still haven't fixed it. More homebreviews. Got some catching up to do. Although I actually have to acquire the homebrews first. And of course, fix my 2600. Update old MacMAME.net video game movie reviews and redesign website. I'd really like to get this off the ground this year. I'm paying for a domain name for it, after all. 2600 Mods Comparison Project - Another project I need to get back to. If this summer isn't insane at work again, just maybe... The 2600RM. A pet project I have in mind. Could be expensive... could also be awesome. 2600 Tron console mod. Yes - I want to make this happen for real. Stella at 20. More likely Stella at 20... at 20. * As always, project names that are in quotes are code-names, and not the actual titles.

Sounds like a Don Martin sound effect*, doesn't it? To-doing!! But actually, this is yet another To-Do List. However, since some of it is already in progress, that makes it a "To-doing" list. If the blog tags weren't still broken, you would be able to click on a handy link, and look at my previous To-Do List entries. But it's just as well you can't, since even I don't particularly like looking back on lists of things that I never got finished. That said, I'll continue with the tradition of posting a link to the last To-Do List entry that I wrote up, for the curious or seriously bored amongst you. From that list, I've carried over projects that were in-progress at the time. So let's see where we're at today, shall we? Titles in "quotes" are code-names for as-yet unannounced projects. Items in bold are the parts of the projects I'm involved with. Where known, I've listed the status of the game's development. Homebrews/reproductions still in development from previous "To-Do List": "Chun-Li"** - Game graphics: Finished; Level design: Finished. Game development: Final testing, music. Currently on hold. Chetiry - Title screens (including "Gameboy" variation), various graphics, label and manual artwork: Finished! Game development: Finished. Omicron - Label and manual: Label finished, second pass on manual finished. Game development: Release candidate. "Gut Bomb" - Game graphics and level design: In progress. Game development: On hold. RPS - Game graphics, label and manual: All in progress, to varying degrees. Game development: On hold. "Bruce" - Game graphics: In progress. A speculative project, but a couple of programmers have been working on it from time to time. You never know... Good Luck Charlie Brown (formerly "Weifang" - unreleased prototype) - Game graphics, gameplay feedback for enhanced version: Preliminary work started. Enhanced game development: On hold. Original version of prototype released. "Unreleased prototype #2" - Title screen bitmap: Done; (w/Dave Dries) Box, label and manual: First pass done on box artwork - will resume in the spring. Game development finished, release slated for sometime in 2013. New projects since the last "To-Do List": "Cat Food" - Game graphics, concepts, play-testing. Game development: display kernel working. Project is on hold. Space Rocks - Game graphics: Finished. Entries for label contest: Finished (runner-up). Game development: Finished. "Project Retro" - Demo graphics: Finished. Another speculative project akin to "Bruce", but now appears to be a dead-end. I'll probably post a blog entry about this in a couple of months. Halo 2600 - Manual layout: Finished. Star Castle - Game graphics: Revising and enhancing graphics; (w/Dave Dries) Label and manual: Preliminary work underway. Game in active development. Boulder Dash - (Using André Bolfing's contest-winning artwork) Box, label and manual layout: Done. Game development: Finished. Miscellaneous unfinished projects: AtariVox+ - Manual and label. I have no idea what the status of the AtariVox+ is. Hopefully production will be able to resume at some point. I'm still not even sure I'm slated to work on it anymore. Stella at 20 - I finally bought a new Mac, so I could begin working on it again. However, now I need to sort out whether I'll be moving to Final Cut Pro X, or Avid Media Composer 6. So, don't expect this anytime soon. Think "Boulder Dash" if you're looking for a similar timeline. Update MacMAME.net movie reviews - Someday. Maybe this year. Maybe next. MacMAME.net doesn't exist anymore, but I have registered a new domain name for the reviews to reside at. 2600 Mods Comparison Project - Would really like to update this during the summer - especially since the site is coming up on ten years old. My last two summers I've been so completely buried at work that I haven't had the time for it. Plus, my 2600 is dead right now, so I need to revive that before I even think about testing video mods again. So, there you have it. Some of this should be wrapped up "fairly soon". Some... well... maybe never. But such is the world of hobbyist projects. You work on them when (or if) you have the time, interest, and resources to do so. Some homebrew projects have been all-but-abandoned by their programmers for all manner of reasons (health, other real-life issues), and as such I no longer include them in my lists. But I'm hoping someday we can see some of them completed... I've also been meaning to post some more "behind the scenes" of some of the labels I've created, but again, haven't had the time or inclination. I suppose at the least I should set up some sort of gallery here of them with a little info about each one. That shouldn't be too painful to sort out. Finally, I've got some more Artie the Atari strips written, so I should get back to that sometime as well. Hopefully soon. And by "soon", I mean before August. *As an aside - try playing "Sound Effects Scrabble" sometime. It's just like regular Scrabble, except with the house rule that you can make up any word, as long as you can justify it as a sound effect. **Chun-Li's actual title was revealed at the Houston Arcade Expo last year, and here, but not "officially" announced as far as I know.

Well, it's been just about 100,000 views since this blog entry. Time flies. No, really it does. Einstein proved it. Or maybe he only speculated about it and never actually succeeded in formulating a viable theory about it, and then Stephen Hawking actually proved it decades later but then changed his mind about it and decided that time actually goes backwards, and we're only perceiving it as going forwards. Or something. I think they're all making all that stuff up anyway, just because they like to laugh at the rest of us when we're not looking. Buncha jerks. Where was I? Oh, right. So... 200,000 views. It brings up a bit of a problem. Should I post a special blog entry commemorating what is essentially a completely arbitrary milestone now? Or, should I wait 50,000 more views until I get to the more widely-recognized completely arbitrary milestone of a quarter-of-a-million? Decisions, decisions. Well, I guess what I could do is give you an idea of some of the stuff I'm planning to put together for this blog and adjunct projects in the coming months, but probably won't actually ever get around to. But hey... it's nice to have goals. So keep an eye out (or not) for: The "Weird Al" Curse. You've heard of the "Superman" Curse, and the "Diff'rent Strokes" Curse, and the "Poltergeist" Curse, right? Well if you're a pop-music celebrity personality, and "Weird Al" does a parody of you... be afraid. Be very afraid... Homebreviews Revisionist History. I plan to go back through my Homebreview ratings, and re-rate them all (note: this will not involve re-writing the reviews). After living with the games for awhile, and seeing what has come along since I started reviewing them, some games have held up really well. Some... not so much. Artie Reviews. Yep - Artie the Atari is going to start reviewing Atari 2600 games. Specifically - mine (excluding homebrews). Reviews of 2600 games, from the point-of-view of a 2600! With, of course, occasional guest-reviews by some of his cohorts. More label art. I have yet to post anything about the artwork that I did for K.O. Cruiser or Duck Attack!, and there are some more labels that are in-progress. At some point, I'd like to go through and update or re-do my old Photoshop tutorials, too. I've learned some new tricks since then. The return of MacMAME.net (sort-of). Not the whole site, but just the videogame movie reviews, which are being moved to a whole new site. Tron, WarGames, Midnight Madness and more, plus reviews of related games, soundtracks, and... well, I guess that's about it. But that's pretty-good. Plus updates for Blu-Ray and DVD releases that have happened since that site went away. The 2600 Mods Comparison Page. Yeah... this needs some serious updating. I'm looking to do that this summer. First though, I'm hoping to convince/bribe/cajole a willing homebrew author into developing a specific test cart for it, to make the process easier and the results more consistent. Plus more of the same stuff like recaps of The Clone Wars, WRC results, random ramblings, and maybe... just maybe... something occasionally useful. Yeah... right!! (Insert stupid Blog name here) - your source for minor diversions to read while eating lunch at work since 2005!

Well, for whatever reason, my blog is the first one here at AtariAge to hit the 100,000 views mark. (Although I'm a little disappointed that the score didn't roll over.) The rather astonishing thing about this, is that only about 97,532 of those are me either clicking "reload", or going back into my old posts and correcting spelling and grammar mistakes (although regular viewers know full well those almost never happen ). I figure another couple of thousand views are due to various web-bots auto-clicking their way through the site; another few hundred are probably Albert just checking up on me to make sure I don't spill the beans on any top-secret homebrew projects (like the forthcoming "Howard the Duck" Book Cart); and the rest are people either clicking on my blog by mistake, or you - faithful readers! And for that, I say "thank you." The check is in the mail. However it happened, I can't help but think that if I had a dime for every view, it would probably take me forever to roll them all up so I could cash them in at the bank. On a serious note, I do appreciate everyone who reads this blog, and has helped it to acheive this milestone (or millstone). And so it only seems appropriate to post some sort of a re-cap of the blog to this point, as well as an updated To-Do List of projects (one or two of which may actually get done by the time this blog gets to 200,000 views). That, and it's been nearly 11 months since the last To-Do list, and at the moment I can't think of anything else to post about. As kind of an "extra" of sorts, I'll throw in a couple of tips I've figured out during this whole blogging thing, that's made the process of creating blog entries a little easier. Blogging Tip #1: Pre-compose in a text editor. One big problem with composing a blog entry in a web browser, is that if the browser crashes or your connection goes offline, you can lose everything you typed. By composing in a text editor instead, you can save as you go, then just copy/paste everything into the browser window when you're ready to post. So, what's been up? Well, I've now posted 53 episodes of the world-acclaimed* Artie the Atari. And if I ever come up with more ideas, someday I may even make it to 55 or dare I say it... 60! *Several people from other countries around the world have commented positively on the strip, so I'm counting that as "world-acclaimed". I've also written 19 movie reviews (some of which can be found in my Animation section, where I also have posted musings about the animation industry and a little bit about my job in CalArts' animation program). The best movie so far: The Dark Knight. The worst: Chicken Little. Oddly enough, I have yet to see The Dark Knight a second time. (I really need to get a Blu-Ray player some day month year.) There are about eight CD reviews (depending on how you're counting), although at some point I'd like to dip back into my collection and start reviewing more of my favorite CDs (and some not-so-favorites). I've posted a handful of Photoshop tutorials, which is something I'd like to do more of, but they're quite time-consuming to put together. I'd really like to write up some more Stupid Game Ideas!, but again, it's all a matter of having enough time. Mostly though, this blog has inadvertently turned into a giant repository for homebrew reviews (or Homebreviews™). So far, I've written 87 reviews, spread over 27 entries, covering nearly every Atari 2600 and 7800 game that the AtariAge store carries (and several other things as well). Number 88 should be showing up sometime in August, and it's the one review that nobody thought would ever happen! Watch for it! I hadn't really planned on reviewing all of those games. In fact, it was some 42 blog entries before the first Homebreview ever showed up. But something unexpected happened: I started working on more and more homebrews. A lot of them. And as payment for working on them - I got a free copy of each game I worked on, plus some store credit. Add to that the store credit and games from the label contests I've won, and well, it added up to a whole lot of games. So I figured the least I could do was go through and write reviews of them (since in a number of cases, there weren't any reviews at all). Now then, before you say, "Hey - wait a minute! You got all of those games for FREE?!", just keep in mind that every label, manual, or set of sprites that I - or anyone else - creates for a game, takes a lot of hours. Some projects have taken dozens of hours (which still pales in comparison to the amount of time the programmers put into them), so I'm essentially doing it because I enjoy doing it - not because I get something for it (just don't tell Albert that ). Besides, it's a real kick being involved in the homebrew scene, and the games and store credit do make for a nice bonus. Besides that, I actually paid for Star Fire, Marble Craze and Qb long before I figured out this whole "artwork" scam. Blogging Tip #2: Select all and copy, before submitting. This goes back to the whole "browser crashing" problem. If you are composing in the browser (or adding finishing touches like formatting and links), select everything and copy it to the clipboard (or better yet - a text editor) before hitting either "submit" or "preview". This will give you a backup copy of what you typed, in case things go bad. Anyway, since this blog was mostly started to keep track of Atari-related projects and the like (and since I hadn't yet started a paragraph in this entry with the word "anyway"), I thought I'd post a list of the various projects I've been involved with. I did this once before, but that was a few projects ago... Finished Homebrews/Reproductions: 2005 Holiday Cart: Reindeer Rescue - Game graphics 2005 MiniGame MultiCart - Label and manual 2006 Holiday Cart: Toyshop Trouble - Various game graphics 2007 Holiday Cart: Stella's Stocking - Various game graphics and title screens; Stay Frosty game concept Actionauts - Additional manual and label formatting AtariVox Speech Synthesizer (hardware) - Label and manual AtariVox USB Interface (hardware) - Label Bee•Ball - Manual (layout only) Colony 7 - Various game graphics, title screen Conquest of Mars - Title screen logo, reserve ship sprite, label and manual Elevators Amiss - Label and manual Encaved - Label (based on sketch by Simon Quernhorst) and manual Fall Down - Running man sprite Four-Play - Title screen, label and manual Gingerbread Man - Label and manual Juno First - Game graphics; with Dave Dries: label and manual Krokodile Cartridge (hardware) - Label, OS X icon Lady Bug - Graphics, label and manual Lead - Manual (based on concepts by Hernán Callo) Phantom II/Pirate - With Dave Dries: Label and manual Rainbow Invaders - Various game graphics, label, additional manual formatting Raster Fahndung - Additional manual formatting Solar Plexus - Coloring on label art Space Battle - With Dave Dries: Label and manual Squish 'Em - With Dave Dries: Label and manual Sync - Label and manual Ultra SCSIcide - Label, additional manual artwork Warring Worms: The Worm (Re)turns - Label Other projects: The Atari 2600 Video Mods Comparison Project "Artie the Atari" Magnets for the AtariAge store Various AtariAge flyers Miscellaneous other work for AtariAge (laying out label sheets, creating Photoshop scripts, etc.) batariBasic logo AtariVox logo Stella at 20 (ah yes... more on that in a minute) I've also tested various homebrew games and hardware (including a recent marathon session with the Harmony cart), and there are also a handful of games I contributed work to which never got used, but such is life. Blogging Tip #3: When publishing a draft, copy it to a new entry before posting. The AtariAge blog software puts a time and date on an entry based on when it was first saved, even if it was just saved as a draft. If you later publish that draft, it will still have the original time and date attached to it - not when it was actually published. To get around this, when you're ready to publish, just copy and paste the text from the draft into a completely new entry, and publish that one. Then delete the old draft. So... on to the inevitable To-Do List, which like all previous ones, will rapidly become obsolete and yet probably won't be replaced with another list until 10 or 12 months from now. Miscellaneous projects: Layout die for AtariAge label sheet - finished AtariVox+ manual and label(s) - awaiting text Logo for Melody carts - finished Artwork for Harmony/Melody carts - Harmony logo, pre-production and final cart labels, application icon, SD card label and manual - finished New magnets for the AtariAge store - still not sure what form these will take, or if Albert will just go another route Video Game Movie Reviews (formerly at my old MacMAME site) - Update Joysticks review for DVD, update WarGames review for new DVD release, review Intrada release of WarGames soundtrack, review The Wizard; move all reviews to a new website Stella at 20 - Ah yes. Well, I may take up working on this again in the fall. Another AtariAger has been slated to work on it, and although he hasn't expressed any desire to not work on Stella, neither has the project been moving forward for many months now. I'll have a new editing system at work which can easily handle all of the footage at broadcast quality (ironic, since broadcasts ceased on June 12th ), but as always, the issue is time. Still, it's a project I'd definitely like to see finished, whether I'm the editor or not, since I think it's something a lot of Atari fans would enjoy. Stay tuned... The Atari 2600 Video Mods Comparison Project - This website needs a complete overhaul. Many mods have come and gone since the last round of testing, and with a couple of new CyberTech mods on the horizon, plus the ones from Longhorn Engineer, the time is quickly approaching to gut the whole site and start everything over from scratch. A huge project, to be sure. But the whole point was to be a resource for people searching for the best video mods, and right now, it isn't. Create a GarageBand sample set of 2600 sounds - Eric Ball sent me a set of samples! All I need to do is get them into GarageBand. Homebrews/Reproductions in active development: Duck Attack! (game in development) - Label and manual finished K.O. Cruiser (game finished) - Label and manual finished Homebrews/Reproductions on hiatus (development may or may not resume on these): Lawyer* (hack) - Game graphics, manual, label, etc. Zombie* - Title screen graphics Space Zombie* - Game graphics Marie Antoinette* (development stopped) - Game graphics Bruce* (speculative project) - Game graphics (second round of mockups done, starting on third) Chetiry (on hiatus) - Title screen graphics Man Goes Down (on hiatus?) - Label and manual; (Albert may have a lead on author Alex Herbert, so keep your fingers crossed) Moon Cresta (on hiatus) - Game graphics (in progress); (game is only about 10% coded, but shows great promise) Rip-Off (on hiatus) - Game graphics (done), probably label and manual; (John Champeau has a very nice start on this, so I hope to see this finished someday) RPS (development stopped) - Game graphics, label and manual; (some recent developments may yet cause this game to see the light of day... ) Stellar Fortress (in development?) - Player's ship sprite (done); (still hoping to see Trogdor finish this - or any - game ) Street Pizza* (in development?) - Game graphics (one of these days I really need to get back to this...) SuperBug (on hiatus) - Player's VW sprite (done); (may resume development when the Harmony/Melody carts are finished?) Thomas' bouncing-happy-face-game (in development?) - Enemy sprite (I've done some work, but nothing that's clicked yet) Unreleased prototype #1* (on hiatus) - Box (mostly done), label and manual (started), possibly some graphics tweaks Unreleased prototype #2* (in progress) - Title screen bitmap (done); With Dave Dries: Box, label (done) and manual Wizard of Wor Arcade (on hiatus) - Graphics (mostly done), probably label and manual; (John Champeau also has a very nice start on this, so I hope to see this finished someday, too) * indicates code name for unannounced project Plus, there are a few more projects waiting in the wings, too. But I decided to only list ones that I've actually done some work on.

Funny... it feels like only about 100 blog entries since the last time I did this, but here we are... at #200! It's been about 15 months since #100, and somehow my blog managed to creep back up to being the most-read blog at AtariAge again... I'm still trying to formulate a reasonable theory for this, and the best one I can come up with is that numerous people are under the mistaken impression that this is still going on, and they've been repeatedly submitting examples from my blog for consideration. At any rate, it's nice that people are either interested in what I've been writing, or are so bored during their lunch break that they'll read any-old-blog to kill time and mine has just about as many words in it as any other. (The 80+ Homebreviews alone should keep you busy through a week of tuna-fish sandwiches. ) Of course, my blog not only has words, but pictures! Some 41 of the last 100 entries have been episodes of the now world-famous* comic strip: Artie the Atari. I was rather surprised to find out I had done that many, and I've already got the next few strips written. If I'm not completely bereft of ideas by that point, I may even get to #50. *Hey... he's got his own line of refrigerator magnets. You can't get much more famous than that. The current cast of Artie the Atari Anyway, since it's been awhile, I thought I'd use this as an excuse to catch you, faithful reader, up on the various projects I've been working on, or not... Stella at 20 Well, nothing has happened with this since the last update. The footage is sitting on a couple of hard drives, nicely backed-up, and ready to go. The thing is, Stella at 20 is basically like a homebrew project. I'll work on it when 1) I have the time, and 2) I have the interest. It will get done, but when is anybody's guess. I have had an offer from someone to help out on it, and if I put off working on it much longer, I may just take him up on it. Also, while not necessarily complicating things, but certainly changing them from a logistical standpoint, Glenn has moved to Boston. I still have all of his master tapes however, so if any additional digitizing is needed, I can do that. As an aside, one of the things which may get me working on this again is Apple's ProRes codec. I plan to do some direct comparisons with that and 10-bit uncompressed, and if it looks as good as claimed, I may end up going that route for final mastering instead. The reasons being: ProRes is also 10-bit; I will (in all likelihood) be getting a ProRes I/O for my editing system in my office at work; and it's much more space/hardware friendly than uncompressed is, which makes keeping a full-quality digital copy of the footage (or at least the final masters) far more feasible. To-Do List stuff Sprites - Champ Games John Champeau is on hiatus from 2600 programming for awhile, so the sprites for his games are on hold as well. That said, I'll probably just go ahead and finish the ones for Wizard of Wor and Moon Cresta, since I had a good start on those. John's listed several games publicly that I'd given code names to before, so now I can just refer to them by their real names. I'll repeat his status list here, with my comments added in italics: Championship Hockey - About 30% done, although if I ever finish it I'll probably start from scratch as I have some new ideas for it. This is the one I code-named "Stick Fight". Activision's Ice Hockey is one of my favorite 2600 titles, and John is well on his way to making an even better game. There are some graphics in place, but John asked me to design new ones when he resumes work on it. I don't have the specs for them yet, but I did tape a couple of hockey games off TV for reference. Dark Tower - Game is in the design phase - only a small part has been coded as a proof of concept. This and Championship Hockey were mentioned in a previous To-Do list in the "On-hold" category as un-named homebrews. No graphics work has been done yet. Lunar Lander (NR) - Complete, but can't release it due to copyright reasons (originally slated for release on an update to the FlashBack 2). I've played John's version, and it's far and away better than the original Flashback 2 version. I made some suggestions for additional enhancements and graphics for it. It's doubtful those changes will ever happen given the questionable future of the Flashback 2, but I may post the mockups here for interested spectators. This one I code-named "Not Asteroids" since Lunar Lander cabinets were converted over to Asteroids when the latter became a huge hit. Rip Off (NC) - About 50% complete Graphics are complete. The game already rocks, even though the AI and collision detection are absent. Wizard of Wor (NC) - About 50% complete Graphics are mostly complete - I just need to animate them. John's kernel for this version is amazing. Moon Cresta - About 10% complete - mostly just proof of concept stuff. Graphics have been started, but there's quite a ways to go. All of the sprites have been ripped from the arcade game though for reference. What John has working looks really, really cool. Mountain Raider - Original game I designed back in 1982 (submitted to and rejected by Atari ). Proof of concept stage. I have the design docs for this from John, and it looks like it will be a cool game. I code-named this one "Calidac" since that was the name he'd put on the copyright in the original proposal. No work has been started on the graphics yet, but we've had some discussions regarding the game. Other sprites ...include the following which I've done nothing with yet, either. Of course, if I had, then I guess it technically wouldn't be a "To-Do" list, would it? Enemy sprite for Thomas - Should get back to this. Street Pizza - Yeah... really need to do this one, too. Tank sprite for Manuel's Tron demo - Likewise. Just to have it done. SuperBug - If other cars, tracks or power-ups are needed when development resumes. Chetiry - When development resumes. Graphics for the inevitable(?) 2008 Holiday Cart Other AtariAge stuff Artwork for Incoming! contest - Done! Artwork for Lead contest - Done! Artwork for unreleased prototype - On hold until 2009 - The box art (yes, box) is done. Just need to write the manual. Started writing the manual. Here's a sneak-peek at the artwork: Artwork for other unreleased prototype - On hold until 2009 - The box art (yes, another box) is basically done. I've been working with Dave Dries on this one, who has been doing some awesome work. I still have to write the manual, and come up with a layout for it. First pass at writing the manual is now done. Here's a sneak-peek at the artwork: Label artwork for Juno First - Done! Dave Dries did this one (I helped a little bit ). Chris sent me the manual text, so I need to write a short backstory, lay it out, and see about getting Dave to do a few illustrations for it. - Manual is done! AA Store project - I don't even remember what this was now. So much for being cryptic. Finish new artwork and manual for RPS - If game resumes development. Finish manual for Man Goes Down - If game resumes development. Nobody seems to be able to contact Alex. More magnets... but what to do this time? Maybe something... wacky. Other stuff Even more homebrew reviews - Done! Well, almost. I can't review the remaining three games (Mental Kombat, Sea Battle, Sword Fight) without a second player. Mac OS X folder with Atari logo - Probably should do this. I've got the icon-creating software for it now. Done. Download the icon here. Move MacMAME.net movie reviews to Cinemarcade - Some year. Whenever. Update "Joysticks" and "WarGames movie reviews for new DVD releases - Ditto. Someday. Although I should point out the new WarGames DVD looks great! Finish "The Wizard" movie review - Whenever. Create GarageBand sample set of 2600 sounds - Sometime. Update the 2600 Video Mods page - Probably 2009. I need to get a donor 2600 or two, and maybe a 7800. I don't want to hack up my own systems anymore. "How-To" tutorial for creating sprites - Maybe. Someday. Even more Stupid Game Ideas - As time permits. It's sure not for a lack of stupid ideas though.

Well, it's time once again to completely re-write my To-Do list, as the last one was originally written last April, and is now a hopelessly jumbled mess. In order to keep this stuff straight, unannounced games are getting code-names (which will be in italics). I'm putting these in approximate order of priority. If you're a programmer and don't see your project here, it's probably been given a code name. I don't think I've left anything off. So, game sprites: Calidac - Early development Enemy sprite for Thomas - I've sent him some ideas, but nothing has "clicked" yet. Street Pizza - In progress Tank sprite for Manuel's Tron demo - I really should do this. It'd take about 10 minutes. Revised fighting sprite for Bob - On hold SuperBug - possibly other cars, power-ups, track designs Rip Off - Graphics finished, development on hold Chetiry - On hold Moon Cresta - On hold Wizard of Wor Arcade - On hold Not Asteroids - On hold Stick fight - On hold Other stuff: New - Label artwork for unreleased prototype - 2008 New - Label artwork for unreleased prototype - 2008 New - Label artwork for Juno First - In progress New - Even more homebrew reviews - Summer New artwork for RPS label and manual - In progress Stella at 20 30 - Summer AA Store project - Summer Mac OS X folder with Atari logo - which folder style? 10.4 or 10.5? Move MacMAME.net movie reviews to Cinemarcade - Summer Update "Joysticks" movie review - Summer Update "WarGames movie review for new DVD release - Summer Finish and "The Wizard" movie review - Summer Create GarageBand sample set of 2600 sounds - Spring Update the 2600 Video Mods page - 2008 (this is going to be a huge update, plus I need money for the mods, so this may not happen for some time) Finish manual for RPS - When game resumes development Finish manual for Man Goes Down - When game resumes development "How-To" tutorial for creating sprites - Eventually Even more Stupid Game Ideas - As time permits More Artie the Atari comic strips - As time permits I also want to play around more with the AtariVox - As time and software permit Done: AA logo and NWCGE title screen bitmap Layout Actionauts label sheet, minor tweaks to manual Coupon for AA store Label for AtariVox USB interface Logo for redesigned batariBasic site And finally, some stuff that never made it onto the list: Tweaks to AtariAge version of Raster Fahndung label and manual. Layout Bee•Ball manual, plus play-testing. (The excellent artwork is by Ivan Machado, who also programmed the game.) Label and manual for Squish 'Em. Dave Dries and I collaborated on this one, and I think it's our best work so far. Fantastic port of the original by Bob, too. Label and manual for Sync (plus lots of play-testing). This was a lot of work, but the game turned out great, so it was worth the effort. The AtariVox sounds are especially fun. New label sheet dies for Albert. Layout labels on new sheets (33 pages worth, so far). Create seven new magnets for AA store. (The first three can be seen here.) New promo sheet for AA store. Various work on 2007 Holiday Cart - "Stella's Stocking". Graphics for menus and several games, gameplay feedback, and in the case of Stay Frosty - game concept. (This is my first game design ever brought to life - thanks Darrell!) Play-testing for Colony 7. And finally - made a "To-Do List" category for my blog. (I do wish you could assign more than one category to a blog entry though...)

Well, it's time to consolidate my To-Do list, so I can actually update the thing without getting hopelessly confused. Homebrew stuff: Manual and label for another 2600 homebrew - In progress Sprites for Moon Cresta homebrew - In progress Sprites for still-yet-another-arcade-port - In progress Sprites for yet-another-arcade-port - In progress Atari logo on a Mac folder icon - Starting soon Sprites for Wizard of Wor Arcade - In progress Revised sprite for Thomas - In progress Tank sprites for Manuel's version of Tron - Shouldn't take long to do this one Additional (revised) illustrations for the RPS manual - In progress Major projects: Stella at 20 30 - In Progress Update the 2600 Video Mods page - 2008 (this is going to be a huge update, which is why it keeps getting pushed back) Move MacMAME.net movie reviews to new website - Winter Update "Joysticks" movie review - Winter (pushed back from MacMAME.net's anniversary) Finish and add new movie review - Winter (pushed back from MacMAME.net's anniversary) Finished: Create entries for b*nQ contest - Done Review yet more homebrew games - Done! Manual for Gingerbread Man - Done! Label for Gingerbread Man - Done, and debuted at NWCGE Review another big pile of homebrew games - Done! Encaved manual and label - finished, and in the store Elevators Amiss manual and label - finished, and in the store On-hold: Revised bitmap for Bob - On hold (I really should wrap this one up) Create GarageBand sample set of 2600 sounds - Someday (one of the previously mentioned overly-ambitious projects) Finish manual for RPS - When game resumes development Finish manual for Man Goes Down - When game resumes development "How-To" tutorial for creating sprites - Eventually In-game art for Chetiry - Game development on hold Even more Stupid Game Ideas - As time permits Sprites for 2600 sports game - When game resumes development Sprites for yet another unannounced 2600 homebrew - When game resumes development Canceled: Game-related project mentioned in other thread's comments - canceled Special art for the MacMAME.net's 9th anniversary - ran out of time* Maid sprite for Bob's Elevators Amiss - not needed *For the 9th anniversary art, I'd planned an update of something I'd done in the past. For my 2nd anniversary, I'd created a "2" MacMAME cabinet: For the 4th anniversary, I made a more elaborate "4" cabinet, with the "TH" made out of arcade flyers: So for the 9th year, I was going to make a row of cabinets, with the one on the far right looking like a "9" (the others being a "6, "7", and "8"). But I simply ran out of time to do all the modeling and textures required for it. This was as far as I got with it: Oh well, the best laid plans and such... One thing I did manage to do recently, was make a fake box and label and a manual for UFO Patrol. This was to earn some extra points in the 2600 High Score Club, and I had some fun making "authentic" badly-translated, low-budget pirate game artwork.

Well, it's January. Barely, but it's still January. So it's time to dust off the old "To Do" list, and see what I have left to do in the upcoming year. First, let's check the previous list(s)... From February, 2006: Make "To-Do" List - This one never ends. Finish Colony 7 Sprites - Done! (game in progress) Finish Lady Bug sprites - Done! (and in the store) Make label for Four-Play - Done! (and in the store) Make Juno First sprites - Done! (game in progress) Make list of what sprite artists need to know from programmers for the 2600 - Done! Create OS X icon for KrokCom- Done! Wrap up manual for RPS - About 75% done. Waiting for game to be finished Create manual for Man Goes Down - About 75% done. Waiting for game to be finished Design sprites for homebrew sports game - Game development on hold Stella at 20 30 - Still haven't worked on this, due to my schedule at work. But I intend to get going on it this Summer. Update the 2600 Video Mods page - Summer. Maybe. Hopefully. I've got about four or five mods to build and test. Convert sprites for PoP - These are (or were) being worked on by le geek "How-To" tutorial for creating sprites - Someday... Finish XBox 360 vs. PS3 blog entry - Done! Although this could stand to have an update, since all of the systems have now hit the market. - Update added! Write up some Stupid Game Ideas - Started, with more to come. Then, from later that month... Extra-large bitmap for Zach - Done! (This became the title screen for Four-Play) Start on other label designs - Done! Four-Play was one of these, the other may have been early work on a Rainbow Invaders contest entry (which I won). Tape Olympic ice hockey game - Done! But now I don't know where the tape went. Anyway, that project is on hold now. Watch "This Old House" - Done! Every week. Or at least, every week they don't pre-empt it with a pledge drive. Which brings up the question, why should I give PBS money, when they always pre-empt the only show I ever watch on their channel? Purchase and consume Round Table "All Meat Marvel" pizza - Done! (And more times than I can count.) From March... Design new ghost sprites for Dennis' PacMan - Done! (Although in the end, Dennis used ZylonBane's sprites) Design some new sprites for Rainbow Invaders - Done! (and in the store) Design some tiles for Bob - Done! April brought... Additional (revised) illustrations for the RPS manual - Stalled. I still want to get back to this though, since after reading the R.O.D manga (as well as the R.O.D manga), I want to re-draw the whole thing. Colony 7 title screen - Done! (now appearing in the WIP binary) Juno First title screen - Done! Just got this to Chris a few days ago. Finish and animate Medieval Mayhem dragon - David Vazquez ended up doing a fantastic job on this (and it's in the store, too) Create illustration for AtariAge store - Done! (Although I was supposed to do a gift-certificate, too, and never got around to it. ) Revise 2600 Bosconian mockups - Updated! And May... Create label and manual for AtariVox - Done! (and in the store, although the manual isn't pictured) Create label and manual for Conquest of Mars - Done! (also in the store) June... Create label and manual for Lady Bug - Done! (And currently #6 in the store) Update - now #5 #4 in the store! Create manual for Four-Play - Done! (I did mention this is in the store, right?) Skipping ahead to August... Bitmap for Bob - In progress (made the first pass at it, now revising it) Sprites for another new homebrew - These are for Rip Off! - Done! Not mentioned on a list, but "To-Do" nonetheless were: Create label for Medieval Mayhem contest - Done! Create sprite for Thomas - In progress (made a few versions, now revising it) Manual and label for Phantom II/Pirate - Done! (yep, it's in the store) Manual and label for Space Battle - Done! (also in the store) Sprites for Toyshop Trouble, the 2006 AtariAge Holiday Cart - Done! (no longer in the store) So, that brings me up to my current "To-Do" list! Leftovers: Stella at 20 30 - Summer Update the 2600 Video Mods page - Summer (maybe) "How-To" tutorial for creating sprites - Eventually Additional (revised) illustrations for the RPS manual - Spring/Summer Revised bitmap for Bob - In progress Revised sprite for Thomas - In progress Finish manual for RPS - When game resumes development Finish manual for Man Goes Down - When game resumes development Create sprites for sports game - When game resumes development Create sprites for Rip Off! - Done! And new stuff: Additional color scheme for Juno First sprites - Done! Testing unannounced homebrew game - Done! (At least for now) Sprites for unannounced homebrew project - Game development on hold In-game art for Chetiry - Game development on hold Even more Stupid Game Ideas - As time permits Review another big pile of homebrew games - In progress Keyboard Controller overlays for Synthcart - Done! (not the same as the ones for the Video Touchpad) Overly-ambitious project that I'm not naming, since it's unlikely I'll actually work on it* Man... 2006 was a busy year! I don't know if 2007 will be as busy or not, but with all of the homebrew games already in development, it looks to be a good one! Lastly, I added a couple more categories to my blog: Video Game Reviews, to make them easier to find, and Stupid Game Ideas, to make them easier to ignore. * There were actually two of these, but now Bob has gone and done one of them! Thanks Bob!

Did you miss me? Funny thing about going on vacation and still having internet access - nobody knows when you're "gone". Anyway, I'm back. Here's my current to-do list: Artwork, label and manual for Lady Bug - In progress Manual for Four-Play - Soon Juno First title screen Label and manual for the AtariVox Bitmap for Bob - Soon-ish Finish RPS manual - Waiting for game to be finished Finish MGD manual - Waiting for game to be finished Start editing "Stella at 20" Sprites for a new homebrew - ? So I'm gradually chipping away at it, which is a good thing. I'm going to be buried in work very shortly, so the more of this I can wrap up, the better. The project that may get pushed back awhile is "Stella at 20", since I wasn't (and won't be) able to work on it this Summer. But I'm still determined to do it. On a completely other note, "Weird Al's" new album has a name and release date now. "Straight Outta Lynwood" goes on sale September 26th. Also, Maynard Ferguson recently finished recording a new studio album which is also slated for a possible late September release. Between those and Lego Star Wars II, it looks like I'll be spending a good chunk of money next month.

Why yes, I am running out of "To Do" titles for my blog entries. Thanks for asking. Well, I'm gradually chipping away at my "To-Do" list. Although there are two more projects added to it now: Label and manual for Lady Bug - In progress. John has approved a couple of design ideas for me to take to the next step. Manual for Four-Play - The label is already done, so the cover for the manual is basically done, too. Incidentally, I'm still working on new illustrations for RPS. Not sure what the status of the game is, but recently, Bob and his brother came up with some super-cool title screen music for it. I don't know when the 2600 version will be done, but A&E TV is running a special on the RPS Championships next week. $50,000 to the winner. No, I am not making this up. Just don't expect that to happen with the 2600 version. You might win, like, a nickel or something. Maybe. But don't go askin' me for it. Ain't gonna happen.

Well, I'm buried at work for the next few weeks, so I'm not going to be getting anywhere on any projects for awhile. But before the sky fell in, I did manage to make some progress on a few things: The MGD manual is about 75% done. I just need to do the back page (assuming Alex approves the overall design... that is). I need to revise the label a little bit to better match the manual, too. Started some additional illustrations for the RPS manual. Also lined up someone to help me design better costumes for the characters. While neither is strictly needed, I tend to revise things right up until the minute they have to be done. So I'll keep trying to improve this until the game gets released. Revised the RPS sprites and sent them off to Billy, and he said he'll be working on the game again soon. I may go back in and re-work them a little more, but they're pretty much done. Also, there's some music being created for the game, so that's pretty cool! (Still no source code yet though, Bob.) Created a rough dragon for Medieval Mayhem. And it's very rough. But I think it's going to work. It uses double-width pixels, and each line of the sprite can be single-pixel-shifted to make it seem higher-resolution than it is. (The same trick is used in Dolphin.) Silvio put the sprites I did for Rainbow Invaders in the game, and I've been doing some testing of the binaries for it. I think this game is going to give Space Invaders fans some cool new challenges. At its hardest level, I don't think anyone will ever complain about it being "too easy". The Four-Play label is basically done. Only minor tweaking remains. Stuff to do after the mayhem at work subsides: Colony 7 title screen (if Manuel still needs it by then) Juno First title screen (need the specs from Chris, first) Finish the new RPS illustrations. Finish (and animate) the Medieval Mayhem dragon. Create an illustration for the AtariAge store. Finish the MGD manual. Finish the RPS manual. Revise my 2600 Bosconian mockups, based on Bob's feedback. Start editing "Stella at 20". ...and it seems to me there are a couple of label contests on the horizon, too. Actually, after looking back a bit, I'm really quite surprised at how much I've been involved with the homebrew community, especially considering the fact that I have no programming abilities whatsoever. It's really cool to be able to contribute to new homebrew games in one way or another, and it really speaks to the AtariAge community and the character of the people who are a part of it. Everyone I've worked with has been exceptionally nice, and always open to suggestions and feedback. So, thanks! I appreciate the opportunities to contribute. It's something I only dreamed about doing as a kid, sitting in front of my parents' old TV, playing my 2600. Being able to do all of this is really an Atari 2600 fan's dream-come-true. Here's what I've been involved with so far. The list surprised me when I put it all together... Krokodile Cartridge - label, icon for OS X software UltraSCSIcide - label, additional manual artwork Man Goes Down (in development) - label and manual Warring Worms: The Worm (Re)Turns - label RPS (in development) - label, manual, game graphics Fall Down - running man sprite Reindeer Rescue - game graphics (lots of game graphics) 2005 MiniGame MultiCart - label and manual Solar Plexus - label artwork (coloring) Colony 7 (in development) - game graphics (spaceships and explosions) LadyBug (in development) - game graphics Juno First (in development) - game graphics Four Play (in development) - label, title screen Rainbow Invaders (in development) - game graphics (revised some invaders and power-up icons) Stellar Fortress (in development) - player's ship sprite SuperBug (in development) - player's VW sprite PacMan (in development) - revised ghost sprites, title screen logo Strat-O-Gems Deluxe - AtariVox logo (well... at least it was something) Medieval Mayhem (in development) - dragon sprite Plus, there are a few more projects waiting in the wings, too. What's really amazing about the homebrew scene, is the sheer number of new games being developed now. I'm really glad I stumbled across AtariAge a few years ago. Is this a great time to be an Atari 2600 fan, or what?

Well, just when I get a bunch of stuff checked off my To-Do list, more stuff gets added to it. So, new to the list are: New ghost sprites for Dennis' PacMan (not Pac-Man) (Some) new sprites for Rainbow Invaders Tiles for Bob (maybe he's redecorating his bathroom or something) Plus I still have to clean up the Four-Play title screen a bit, finish the label art for it, finish the manuals for RPS and MGD, and I may take a crack at the power-ups for SuperBug. Plus, I need to write up some store reviews for my latest haul from the AA store: And of course, I need to spend some quality time with my 2600, too.

So, with other people posting their to-do lists, I thought I'd post mine: 1) Make to-do list This is going to be harder than I thought... I'll start over. 1) Finish Colony 7 sprites. - Done! At least I think so. Manuel hasn't told me otherwise. Yet. 2) Finish sprites for LadyBug. The bugs are done, except for some tweaking. They turned out pretty well, I think, plus John really likes them. They capture the feel of the originals, which is what I was after. Up next I have to make the veggie sprites, the death sequence, and probably a few other things. I should be able to wrap them up by the end of this weekend. Although the Seahawks are playing in the SuperBowl, so I'm going to lose a few hours there. I don't watch football much, but I'm originally from Seattle, and we're only allowed to be in the SuperBowl once every 30 years (it's an NFL contractual thing - look it up sometime, they have all sorts of weird stipulations like that), so I figured I should watch. Something odd about working on other peoples' games though... I never know if I should post the sprites I'm working on in my blog or not. I kind of hate to spoil the "reveal" when the next WIP binary gets released... 3) Make label for Four-Play. First I've got to throw some rough ideas together, and get them to Zach. I've got new software on the way I want to try some ideas with. 4) Make sprites for Juno First. I need to find out what Chris is going to need for that. Which reminds me: 4a) Make a list of what sprite artists need to know from programmers, in order to make 2600 sprites. 5) Create OS X icon for KrokCom. This is the OS X software for the Krokodile Cart. I completely forgot about doing this (sorry Darrell). But I've got a Krokodile Cart coming in the next batch, so there's my motivation to finish it. 6) Wrap up the RPS manual. Of course, the game has to be wrapped up first, so I can't do much until then. The manual is probably 90% done. (BTW - I did new "hand" sprites for RPS, too. I don't know if they've made it into the game or not. On one hand, I hope so. On the other hand, I may want to go in and revise them some more.) 7) Create a manual for Man Goes Down. I need the text from Alex and Albert, but then I can start in on that. I don't know when the game will be finished, but at least I can get the manual underway. I've got a concept for it, but I don't know if Albert wants to do that much folding. 8 ) More homebrew sprites - for a sports game. This should be quite a challenge, since I'll have to do some research on the sport. I'm not all that familiar with Curling. What? It's not Curling? It's what? Oh... well I was pretty close. 9) Stella at 20 (or 30). I need to go through the source tapes and start logging shots. This is the process of basically writing down everything that happens, and when it happens, so I can start figuring out which shots will go where. Basically, Stella at 30 is going to become my Summer project, since I should have the time to really dive into it then. 10) Update the 2600 video mods page. I've got a mod from povlok1 that I need to test, plus I want to build Ben Heck's revised mod, try building a 2600 jr mod (someone loaned me one to try it on), and 8bitdomain is supposed to be sending me a mod (or mods) to test as well. Plus I want to try Keilbaca's video mod, if I can get/build one. Seems to me there might have been one or two other mod designs buried in the forums, but I'd have to dig for 'em. For 'em. Forum. Get it? Hey, it's late. And actually, my entire CheepTech site needs a ground-up re-design. So that will happen about the same time. 11) Sprites for PoP. Not sure if I'll be needed on this or not, since there's always the chance Juston may come back and finish them up. I hope so - he's got a good start on it. 12) Sprite "How-To" Tutorial. I may use the sports game for part of this one. I'd like to cover how to make people walk or run, how to rotate sprites (like in LadyBug), how to convert arcade sprites (like in Colony 7), and how to make huge bitmaps for title screens and the like. 13) Finish writing XBox 360 vs. PS3 blog entry. I actually started writing this before Christmas, and it's turned into a monster. Probably the longest blog entry I've written. Hopefully I'll finish it up before the PS3 gets released and proves everything I've written to be completely wrong. 14) Post stupid game ideas. No, these aren't stupid game ideas that others have already posted... these are my own stupid game ideas that haven't been posted at all. Like everyone else, I have ideas for games I'd like to make someday - one of which has been festering in the back of my brain for 25 years. So it's time to foist it on the rest of the world. I think that's it for now... I don't recall having any other projects in the pipeline right now, but it's entirely likely I'm forgetting something. (Which is the whole reason I'm putting this list here - so I can remember what it is I'm supposed to be doing.) One other note... as of OS X 10.4.4 (or perhaps Safari 2.0.3), the built-in spell checker (which I use on pretty much every post and blog entry) is now smart enough to ignore BB Code tags. So if I italicize something, it doesn't show the word as misspelled, due to the tags. Nice.

Three-day weekend! Monday is President's Day, where we combine the birthdays of Washington and Lincoln, and use it as an excuse to go shopping. I mean... reflect on our nation's history. Okay. Shopping. Or, lazily sit on our butts and enjoy the day off. Which is what I plan to do. More or less. Actually, this weekend is a good chance to knock some stuff off my "to-do" list: I'm working on the Juno First sprites, and should have the first pass wrapped up today (I posted a sneak peek here). I have a little work left to do on Ladybug, revising a couple of sprites. Man... that game is seriously looking good. John's doing some fantastic work on it. I want to get pretty far on the label for Four-Play. I have a rough 3-D version of it, but I think I may end up just using that as a template for creating a 2-D label. The 3-D looks a bit sterile. But sometimes you have to try something before you know it's not going to work. So it was time well spent. Create extra-large bitmap graphic for Zach. Make up an OS X icon for KrokCom. Maybe start on the Man Goes Down manual, if I can get the text from Albert (time for a PM, it seems). Start on some other label designs. Watch (or tape) an Olympic ice hockey game. Not that I'm a big fan of the sport, but I'll need it later. (Unless John decides to make a Curling game instead.) Watch "This Old House". Purchase and consume one Round Table "All Meat Marvel" pizza (while watching "This Old House"). Well, those last two don't have much to do with Atari projects, but I assure you - they're absolutely essential to the creative process. No, really! I tend to get very focused when I'm working on projects, and can sit at the Mac for hours without stopping for a break. This tends to lead to headaches, backaches, and all sorts of other aches. So, I make sure to build-in break times when I know I'm going to be working for a long time. Plus... it's pizza. C'mon. You gotta have pizza. And if you haven't checked out batari's port of Atari's Super Bug yet, he just posted an updated version with new bug graphics that I created for it in his blog. Cool game. But, man... what's up with all the bug games lately?

A few quick things (well... quick to type them up anyway): The RPS label is done! Billy really liked the final artwork, and plans to get back to working on the game soon. As a side note, Billy also had me create some new sprites for the game. So I'm anxious to see how they work out. Speaking of sprites, the next 2600 project I need to work on are some sprites for Manuel's port of Colony 7. (Thought I forgot, didn't you Manuel?) After that, I'll be coloring Jess Ragan's artwork for his 2600 game Solar Plexus. And for that project... I have something a little different planned. Stay tuned.