Coleco Chameleon .... hardware speculations?

[atm94404]

 

pffffft Randy Pitchford?

 

He's a confirmed con man, too.

 

Pitchford has had some success but also some colossal failures. If you use their most famous accomplishments, the pitch line would have to be "The people who brought you Daikatana, Alien:Colonial Marine and Duke Nuke'm Forever have combined their hyping abilities to bring you the biggest disappointment in FPS history!"

[Gentlegamer]

Pitchford stole Sega's money meant for developing Aliens: Colonial Marines and used it to fund development of Borderlands 2.

[StopDrop&Retro]

And it's been canceled 1 hour ago, after only 4 days! The link in the update below goes to a post titled "Pressing Pause for a Gameplay Demo" that is for backers only.

 

Whoa! That was quick!

 

These Kickstarter project creators are out of their minds. They really need to take a step back, imagine themselves as Joe Gamer and ask- would I back this project? Am I comfortable with pledging my money based on what's being shown here?

 

Shit. At least get a small focus group. But instead they live in their own bubble and think they can do no wrong, as if the check from Kickstarter is just waiting to clear.

 

This is why I have no patience for claims that criticizing (and even satirizing) people like Mike Kennedy and John Romero hurts their reputation or is somehow unfair. It's a moot point because there is nothing in our power we can do that would bring them more embarrassment than what they've already brought upon themselves. You need to start with a "good name" before claiming anyone has tarnished it.

[godslabrat]

 

Whoa! That was quick!

 

These Kickstarter project creators are out of their minds. They really need to take a step back, imagine themselves as Joe Gamer and ask- would I back this project? Am I comfortable with pledging my money based on what's being shown here?

 

Shit. At least get a small focus group. But instead they live in their own bubble and think they can do no wrong, as if the check from Kickstarter is just waiting to clear.

 

This is why I have no patience for claims that criticizing (and even satirizing) people like Mike Kennedy and John Romero hurts their reputation or is somehow unfair. It's a moot point because there is nothing in our power we can do that would bring them more embarrassment than what they've already brought upon themselves. You need to start with a "good name" before claiming anyone has tarnished it.

 

The sad thing is, Mike Kennedy actually did start with a good name, and the only person he has to blame for losing his reputation is himself. It really rings hollow when you try to reclaim your honor, and the evidence against you consists entirely of your own words and actions.

[toiletunes]

I suspect aliens transversed his brain a la Steve Dallas in Bloom County Circa 1988.

[kevtris]

Some of this seems eerily familiar...

 

I wonder if that is talking about my Zimba 3000 :-P ("Horton" is my last name)

[Newsdee]

I wonder if that is talking about my Zimba 3000 :-P ("Horton" is my last name)

I knew I heard the name somewhere! Reality Escaping Brick Zimba 3000 has a nice ring to it.

[MagnaRyuu]

Some of this seems eerily familiar...

 

What are they using for the "game system" in this video?

[Flojomojo]

Looks like a DVD player with some random electronics thing on top

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

Sounds like Horton heard a who and we know who it could be.

[EmOneGarand]

Ahem .... he was the President of the company, he does deserve all the shame it comes his way.

And in his own words:

 

To paraphrase, should I check and find the truth or should I feign ignorance and keep going? ....

let's see what he chose ..... yeahhhhh really the action of a worthy President no question about it ...

"the show must go on even if we are lying thru our teeth and I kind of suspect it already!!!"

 

This guy is still trying to place blame everywhere but himself ..... exactly like he did the last time around ... nothing new.

 

EDIT: and he does such a poor job at it that his own words incriminate him even more.

Cognitive Dissonance, he had probably sunk so much of his own resources and those of others into the project that he probably couldn't or wouldn't admit to himself that he was being scammed, probably also didn't want to admit he'd been so easily fooled, or admit that it wasn't possible to begin with. He handled it terribly but he did give the molds to somebody who could actually use them for something worthwhile.

Edited April 30, 2016 by EmOneGarand

[Cernex]

The last Kickstarter Romero was involved in didn't go too well either, canceled after 20 days: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lootdrop/an-old-school-rpg-by-brenda-brathwaite-and-tom-hal

 

Let's not forget his other failed FPS venture before that, Singularity, a game he never knew what was going on, the company said it was happening, WE NEVER SAW A LICK OF GAMEPLAY, and then "died" because no distributr wanted to touch it, surely because it was never a thing to begin with.

[jaybird3rd]

I know this is WAY late, but between acquiring the parts and finding the time to tinker with it, I wasn't able to finish this before tonight. But as crazy as it is to try to replicate an artistic masterpiece, here it is at last ... my very own Coleco Chameleon "prototype"!



I thought I'd provide some assembly instructions in case anyone with the right materials wants to build a "prototype" of their own. Here's what you'll need:

1) Two Atari Jaguar console shells: one original shell, and one Mike Kennedy Special Edition transparent shell. Pair up the transparent top with the original bottom,

2) A HICAP50B DVR capture card, with the expansion slot bracket removed,



3) A throwaway set of USB connectors,



4) A CR2032 coin battery and a red LED,

5) A hot glue gun with plenty of glue, and of course ...

6) Lots of electrical tape! No Coleco Chameleon prototype would be complete without it!

The first step is to heat up your hot glue gun and glue the backs of the USB ports to the HICAP50B card at these approximate locations:



Next, drop the board inside the Jaguar case, lining up the USB connectors with the Jaguar's original controller ports. Here's how it will look from the front:



Next, unplug the red and black wire from the HICAP50B DVR capture card. Notice that there is a different connector on each end:



Plug the red LED into the white connector, then remove the plastic from the black connector and tape the wires to the CR2032 battery so that the LED is permanently ON:



Tape the LED to the battery and hotglue the whole wad to the board at this approximate location:



Cut a long strip of electrical tape and fold it over the gold PCI card edge so it isn't so obviously visible through the top of the console shell. Finally, close the console shell (the I/O ports of the HICAP50B should be almost flush with the original Jaguar cartridge port). Here are my results, alongside the masterful original by "The Mysterious Mr. Lee":



Congratulations! You now have a "console" that's made of junk and does absolutely nothing! As the original artist himself allegedly said, "this is what we can do when given the proper time" (which, for the record, added up to about 45 minutes):

[H]e told me that during the Toy Fair he was preparing the next "prototype" board so I gave him the clear shells with explicit instructions from me to show "our" PCB inside the shell. This was going to be used to show the "real" prototype.

Then in a move to extract more money from me he indicated that for $3,000 paid now (2/29/16), and $3,000 paid in 60 days he could wrap this up and have a production ready prototype completed. So, again, I wrote him out a check he promptly cashed with me at my bank. Soon after this he emailed me the images of the clear unit with the PC DVR capture card in it. But, when he first emailed me the images, he indicated this was our prototype 100%. I made a comment that it looked great (in the photos) and he responded by saying something like "this is what we can do when given the proper time." Keep in mind, these pictures were to combat the criticism of the "fake" Toy Fair prototype and were given to me by him to post on Facebook to show people the real "prototype". Sean even joked about how people online were trying to identify the board in our shell, laughing and telling me they won't find it because it's our original work. He even made these comments through my car Blue Tooth speaker with my wife in the car and she heard everything. Again, I believed him.

I still need to fine-tune this build, and take some pictures which more closely match "The Mysterious Mr. Lee's" subtle use of lighting and concealing shadows. A gigantic watermark would be nice, too, although it will be a major challenge to match the exact blandness of the original font.

 

[Keatah]

Too many videogame related projects state they are done by industry veterans that have been around the block. Once too much IMHO!

[sh3-rg]

I still need to fine-tune this build

Yeah, your USB sockets are far too nicely aligned for a start, you need to get shoddier!

[+GoldLeader]

jaybird3rd,

 

That's Awesome!

 

Seeing it so much, I think I might just want a regular Jaguar now...Never had one.

 

On a side note someone should sell COLECO CHAMELEON stickers don't you think?

[TheClassyGamer]

jaybird3rd,

 

That's Awesome!

 

Seeing it so much, I think I might just want a regular Jaguar now...Never had one.

 

On a side note someone should sell COLECO CHAMELEON stickers don't you think?

 

 

Coleco should cash in on that. They should make shirts and stickers. Put some slogan on them like, "Remember when. Never Again!" Do their own meme and make a bit of fun at their own expense. I think the community would spend some money on stuff like that. Little Coleco Chameleon key rings, stuff that says "SNEZ" on it, or "Easy as that." and cash in on the nonsense for a little while. Maybe a picture of the console and the word Debuffed.

[godslabrat]

I think the Coleco Chameleon has been around long enough that it needs its own Flashback console. All the games ever released for it, built right in. It'll be a solid plastic block with nothing inside it, just like the original.

[Gabriel]

I know this is WAY late, but between acquiring the parts and finding the time to tinker with it, I wasn't able to finish this before tonight. But as crazy as it is to try to replicate an artistic masterpiece, here it is at last ... my very own Coleco Chameleon "prototype"

 

I think you should put this on ebay as "Third Party Coleco Chameleon Clone/Compatible System"

[toiletunes]

I'm still baffled why Kennedy would charge $10 shipping when there are faster, less expensive options. It seems like such a boneheaded thing to do. First, I took it as evidence that he's a bonehead, but now I wonder. He could just be trying to look stupid on purpose so we'll believe he was dumb enough to fall for Mr. Lee. Could this be a dumb as a fox move to salvage something of a reputation? Is it better to be thought of as a fool or a crook? Should I get more sleep? Yes, that's probably it.

[Osgeld]

he was probably unaware of other shipping options, its just what his shipping guy told him was best, and why would the shipping guy lie, mike paid him multiple times totaling 7,000 dollars though out the entire project

 

(see how much of a load of bullshit that sounds like mike?)

[Tickled_Pink]

Too many videogame related projects state they are done by industry veterans that have been around the block. Once too much IMHO!

 

Sure you've had enough? Coming to a crowdfunding site near you.

 

http://www.specnext.com/

[Inky]

I think the Coleco Chameleon has been around long enough that it needs its own Flashback console. All the games ever released for it, built right in. It'll be a solid plastic block with nothing inside it, just like the original.

 

Open the box when you get it, and inside you find a brick with a USB port...

[Shawn]

Chameleon Compatible ®©℗™

[Keatah]

Sure you've had enough? Coming to a crowdfunding site near you.

http://www.specnext.com/

 

Some (too many) of these crowdfunded things are introduced with artsy-fartsy 3D renders. And like the RetroVGS, they're designing the outside shell before the insides. Seems to be a common theme for some time now. Contrast to when Apple made the Apple I and II back in the 1970's they totally focused on making the circuit board operational. Housings and cases were an afterthought, almost a necessary evil, considering the amount of attention given to them. And the IBM PC was non-descript beige box with minimal styling in the front. So we got a good product built from the inside up.

 

Today it seems as if crowdfunding sites are places where 1st year design students barf up their latest meal shoved down their throats by "trendy" and "edgy" artist-instructors whom have lost touch with the real world.

 

For all I care, give me a beige box and let me decorate my way!

 

Don't like what I say? That's ok. Everyone can go and watch the next circus act while real gamers play on real existing hardware today, or in my case emulation which has been set up and working for years now.

 

Another downfall is the time-disconnect between a product announcement and when it becomes available at retail. All the excitement and fury and ohhs and ahhs happen now, before anything is done. Then if and when the product is made available a year later, it's outdated or gets "wrapped up in itself" and goes through another delay inducing iteration. You are smart enough to wait for these things to be finished and tested, right?

Edited April 30, 2016 by Keatah