Wild (and likely stupid) idea

[godslabrat]

So, just running my brain in strange directions.

 

Atari games are not big. We know this. In fact, the largest 2600 game is considerably smaller than the data that could be held in a QR code.

 

What if someone made a QR-capable Atari cart? Kind of like a supercharger, only with fewer components.

[BassGuitari]

You mean like if the cartridge itself had a QR scanner that you hold a code up to to change games?

[+SpiceWare]

No that wild of an idea, I used to have the e-Reader for a Gameboy Advance and could play games I scanned in off cards.

[Keatah]

Then we could trade games like baseball cards. And VCS games and baseball cards are nearly of the same era. Not only that, but cereal boxes could have games printed on them and god knows what else!

[alex_79]

Atari games are not big. We know this. In fact, the largest 2600 game is considerably smaller than the data that could be held in a QR code.

If the Wikipedia article is correct, the maximum storage capacity is less than 3KB in binary mode. The vast majority of 2600 games are 4K or more.

So you'd need several QR codes per game.

 

[groundtrooper]

If the Wikipedia article is correct, the maximum storage capacity is less than 3KB in binary mode. The vast majority of 2600 games are 4K or more.

So you'd need several QR codes per game.

 

 

So we would be looking at another Super Charger Multi load situation. No thanks. I'll stick with my Harmony and Concerto carts.

[+Swami]

 

So we would be looking at another Super Charger Multi load situation. No thanks. I'll stick with my Harmony and Concerto carts.

It sounds like your concerto ended up working. Did it work on your A1 or A3 serial 7800? Did POKEY work?

[+KaeruYojimbo]

Some of the e-Reader games for the GBA required scanning multiple cards.

 

It could be a fun way to distribute homebrews. Professionally printed cards with box art on one side and the QR code on the other. I'm not sure how much luck you'd have convincing people to go that route over the Harmony though. People who just want to play the games will be happy to stick with that, collectors would still rather buy boxed cartridges.

Edited January 16, 2018 by KaeruYojimbo

[+KaeruYojimbo]

Then we could trade games like baseball cards. And VCS games and baseball cards are nearly of the same era.

 

Ah, the 80's baseball card boom. When I could stop at 3 different card shops on my 7 block walk home from school.

Edited January 16, 2018 by KaeruYojimbo

[Coolcrab]

Smartcards go up to 245 kB. Then you could save Atari games on plastic cards and tap them onto the reader. (Like amibos)

[pacman000]

http://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/15/science/personal-computers-supermarket-bar-codes-are-applied-to-software.html

 

Not an original idea; it was done briefly with computers. Cool tho.

[groundtrooper]

It sounds like your concerto ended up working. Did it work on your A1 or A3 serial 7800? Did POKEY work?

 

Not to derail this thread but it is an A3 that is AV-SVid modded. Everything I have thrown at it works other than B*nQ. from what I have read in the thread that is a trouble maker for everyone.

I wanted to report to the SD Cart thread my findings but I have just been to busy to type up my findings. But I am very excited that is works and all the Pokey games work fine with the Pokey installed.

[SethRobinson]

Hey, I had the same idea about QR codes. It does work pretty well, had to use a "side B" for the larger 4 kb games like Pitfall!, but it does work!

[+Swami]

Isnt there some advanced QR protocol to write/read more data in a QR code? Its hard d to believe nobody uses larger similar types of coding.

[SethRobinson]

Isnt there some advanced QR protocol to write/read more data in a QR code? Its hard d to believe nobody uses larger similar types of coding.

 

If you don't mind not being officially compatible with real QR code readers (not that your iPhone's vanilla reader knows what to do with the binary data anyway) you CAN just change the max "code size" in the QR writer/reader source code (I used zbar) for a special custom version that can go bigger.

 

Would depend on the QR size, lighting, and camera quality for how finicky it would be to read more complex codes, so it's kind of a tradeoff. I probably could have gotten it to fit on one QR code if I really wanted, didn't try it though.

[Osgeld]

not like games HAVE to be 4k or larger, like the gameboy e-reader they were not full blast maxing the system out affairs, just little mini games

 

that being said there was a system in the 80's where you would buy a scanner and swipe strips of 2d barcode info from magazines so its not a crazy idea, it was a good idea back then outside of the cost of buying a scanner for (lets say) an apple II just to avoid typing in a 3 page basic program

[+Karl G]

Even the idea of loading a 2K game from a standard QR code is super cool.