Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

[IMBerzerk]

3 hours ago, jaybird3rd said:

... and if you don't know what he means, check out this epic Bi-Planes Tournament, recorded for posterity at Mattel Electronics on August 6, 1982:

 

 

Funny how he says "The Deathmatch"  in the very beginning... 20 years before games like Quake Arena, Doom and the like used in-house network Deathmatches as part of their games (MMP internet stuff was still not a thing yet). 

 

LOL.. yet ANOTHER Intellivisiion first.. Multi-player Deathmatches!! 

[IMBerzerk]

On 9/20/2019 at 6:29 PM, Blarneo said:

Very good rules to have. I'm glad the first one was changed. 

 

#1 I am the Lord, Thy Tommy! Thou shalt have no other Tommy before me... in line at Wendy's.

Hopefully the 10 Commandment selection at Intellivision Entertainment went nothing like the Old Testaments's version... 

 

 

[+GrudgeQ]

This is a question someone else brought up but it is a pretty good one - concerning Commandment #1. Is Intellivision going to try to stick to any other game rating standards or just measure everything by the ESRB and roll with it? In other words if a game is ESRB 10+ in the US but rates a PEGI 12+ in Europe will it be released 'as is' or maybe reworked to fit PEGI 7+ or some other standard?

Edited September 22, 2019 by GrudgeQ

[Papy]

2 hours ago, Alpha82 said:

I have never programmed anything

If you want to make your first step in programming, then I'm pretty sure plenty of people here can help you, particularly because I strongly encourage you to make those first steps on an old system. They were much simpler to program. If you learn by imitating, then programming using BASIC is a good choice. On the other hand, if you learn by understanding, then assembly is better for you (contrarily to what many people think, programming in assembly is actually quite easy with older systems).

 

Personally, I could help you learn programming on a C64 or an Amiga in assembly, although I strongly recommend the C64 for your first step as the OS of the Amiga was quite complicated. If you are interested, just PM me.

 

[Blarneo]

3 hours ago, IMBerzerk said:

Hopefully the 10 Commandment selection at Intellivision Entertainment went nothing like the Old Testaments's version... 

 

 

 

[+Tommy Tallarico]

11 hours ago, IntellivisionDude said:

Can games offer different difficulty modes? Easy for casuals and Hard for us who want a challenge? Some Intellivision games had that. 

So far we don't have that issue with any of the games at this point (needing different difficulty levels)... but I'm sure it will come up down the road.

I personally hate that in games so will try to avoid it as much as possible.  Just makes it more complicated for non-gamers in my opinion.  Would rather have awesome game design balance.  For example... the original Tetris, Mario Bros., Pac-Man & Frogger never had difficulty levels.  But I'm sure there will be instances where it will make sense to have difficulty levels.  I'm just personally not a fan as it relates to the entire world.

[+Tommy Tallarico]

9 hours ago, GrudgeQ said:

With Apple Arcade and the Playdate it seems that executives are figuring out some of the pain points for gamers and are targeting them. Curated libraries (both), exclusives (both kinda, mostly Playdate), fun over cutting edge (Playdate), low cost games (both, kinda - actually subscriptions which add up a lot over time and limit choice on how the money is spent), no in app purchases, loot boxes or ads (both) and new control schemes that games are custom designed for (Paydate). This seems to be good validation of the Amico slant on the video game industry - because they have all of that and much more with family friendly games, couch coop, even more specialized controllers, specialized hardware such as interactive lighting, cross family style games, fitness, etc. No one has really put *all* of these elements into one package before the Amico. The only element I can think of that Amico doesn't offer is mobile gaming of course.

 

On a side note: One question on Apple Arcade is how long are the games going to stay? I wonder if part of the whole 'low cost' thing is get people into Dodo Peak or something and then it gets removed in a month or two - prompting you to buy the game. Win win for Apple and I guess not too bad for the consumer if you consider it a trial but I wonder if this is part of strategy behind this move?

Yeah... I agree.  The fact that a company as smart as Apple is seeing some of the things we're seeing is a good thing. 

 

[+Tommy Tallarico]

9 hours ago, Blarneo said:

U-huh. Right. You have a Ferrari. I think you can take out a HELOC for a $150 AppleTV. 

 

Although I was a big Apple IIC owner and fan... Apple really lost me and pissed me off when they completely turned their backs on gaming and I found out how much Steve Jobs hated video games and the fact that people would use his machines to play.  Really turned me off to Apple.  I also don't personally like the way they do certain things.  I can appreciate that millions of people love them and I commend their massive success.  I'm just not a personal fan of their hardware and the way they do business.

 

[+Tommy Tallarico]

8 hours ago, Papy said:

Quick question : Once Amico is well established, let's say in 2022, is there a chance that Intellivision will open Amico and allow non-developers to make homebrew games on it? Who knows, I might have fun reliving my youth again!

We are working on something very amazing in this regards. 

Imagine if people can create their own games on Amico and pass them along to their friends FOR FREE!  Imagine if there were competitions split up by age groups and the winners received $$$ and the game would appear for sale in the store (with the creator getting royalties, etc.).

It's all in the drawing board stage right now in hopes to have it available on launch... but may be in 2021.
 

[+Tommy Tallarico]

7 hours ago, GrudgeQ said:

I recently had an interesting Twitter "debate" on if most Amico developers used Unity how could it the Amico be "optimized for 2d". Had to point out that 1) you can buy/make libraries for Unity to do specialized tasks like 2d (or RPG creation, etc. - there are thousands of them) and 2) the Amico having fixed hardware & and a focus on 2d/2.5d was the perfect example of when to build specialized libraries 3) horror beyond horror, Unity with it's 3d focus isn't the best optimized code for 2d (nor really any coding - Unity is never your most efficient code).

There are MANY ways to optimize Unity for 2D.  Most young developers just don't realize it as it's easy to just layer tons of scripts on top of each other and have the big processors work it out. 

And what about if we were partnered with Unity to create something special just for Amico?

Wouldn't that be something.



 

[+Tommy Tallarico]

4 hours ago, Papy said:

Making a good game is a lot more difficult than what people think. Having ideas and knowing how to program are not enough.

Truer words have not been spoken!

 

[+Tommy Tallarico]

2 hours ago, GrudgeQ said:

This is a question someone else brought up but it is a pretty good one - concerning Commandment #1. Is Intellivision going to try to stick to any other game rating standards or just measure everything by the ESRB and roll with it? In other words if a game is ESRB 10+ in the US but rates a PEGI 12+ in Europe will it be released 'as is' or maybe reworked to fit PEGI 7+ or some other standard?

PEGI 3 & PEGI 7

They are virtually the same as E & E10+ even though their is an age difference in their naming.

 

[+Tommy Tallarico]

I wanted to share some of the Apple Arcade impressions that my team had after playing it the past few days (and, as it relates to what we are doing).

If anyone here has it... I would love and appreciate your honest feedback as well.

 

 

1. It’s too overwhelming, to be honest... the store is basically like a huge advertising billboard... people might only select games that are highlighted unless they know specifically what they want. It’s very confusing.

 

2. No option to select the type of titles to play... what if i wanna play puzzle games? Or even educational?... no option to search for types.

 

3. Yes its very true, the only advantage is no ads in the game.

 

4. Playing on an iPhone, not fun at all. Waiting to try on Apple TV and IPad to see how it goes.

 

I have played 2 games that were highlighted in Apple Arcade, here’s my feedback:

 

1. The games run great, no doubt, but these are games i need to dedicate strong time to. Sorry, if I’m on a commute somewhere, i wont play any of these games.

 

2. The games look great and run smooth, but not built for the average Iphone gamer. People like simple, moms especially. 

 

3. Game controls are horrible... granted i could connect my xbox or Playstation controller, but who’s gonna bring their xbox or Playstation controller with them to play on a tiny screen....

 

4. No idea what the future holds on these games... do these games get free upgrades, sequels, etc.?

 

Edited September 22, 2019 by Tommy Tallarico

[IntellivisionDude]

27 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

So far we don't have that issue with any of the games at this point (needing different difficulty levels)... but I'm sure it will come up down the road.

I personally hate that in games so will try to avoid it as much as possible.  Just makes it more complicated for non-gamers in my opinion.  Would rather have awesome game design balance.  For example... the original Tetris, Mario Bros., Pac-Man & Frogger never had difficulty levels.  But I'm sure there will be instances where it will make sense to have difficulty levels.  I'm just personally not a fan as it relates to the entire world.

 

One of my examples is Burgertime. I have to start on the hardest difficulty (pressing the disc). If i am forced to play at a lower difficulty i'd pull my hair out since it's so slow. lol

[JeffVav]

2 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

For example... the original Tetris, Mario Bros., Pac-Man & Frogger never had difficulty levels.

Not sure arcade games are the best example. (a) most arcade games did have difficulty settings... the operators would adjust them to try to keep the average play times to 2-3 minutes to keep the quarters coming in. (b) beyond that baseline, the games ramped in difficulty pretty quickly. "Easy to learn, difficult to master" is a mantra that has its roots in the arcade. A casual/inexperienced gamer rarely lasted more than 30 seconds. The goal of an arcade game was to keep people just frustrated enough that they'd furiously pay for replays. (Some offered bonus points to bribe players into voluntarily ramping up their own difficulty, to keep the quarters coming faster.) It was the primitive forerunner of the compulsion loop. 

Edited September 22, 2019 by JeffVav
Autocorrect.

[mr_me]

Arcade machine operator settings were typically about the number of lives and when an extra life is awarded.  Defender is one rare example that has a switch to select between three difficulties and another to set the difficulty ramping;  factory default is medium.  I think most operators left the factory defaults.

 

Otherwise, the old arcade machines did have difficulty levels but the user was forced to start at the lowest and work their way up.  Tempest is one rare example where the user could select the starting difficulty level themselves.  The Tetris I played in the 1980s on my computer let me select the starting level as well; the Tetris on my phone today does the same.  I didn't spend that much time in the arcades back in the 1980s but my understanding is that those that did got bored with most machines quickly.  For this reason machines had a high turnover rate or the rare few got converted with increased difficulty upgrade kits.  I don't think most arcade games work well for home as they result in one of two outcomes depending on the player: boredom or frustration.  Allowing the player to select the starting level does help.  But games designed for home should have a different experience than trying to extract quarters.

 

My underdtanding is that Amico games will have automatic levelling of difficulty per player in multiplayer mode.  Does it do anything in single player mode?  Can it be manually set?  Myself, I would be offended by a game that automatically made it easier for me because I was losing.

 

 

Edited September 22, 2019 by mr_me

[IMBerzerk]

9 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

So far we don't have that issue with any of the games at this point (needing different difficulty levels)... but I'm sure it will come up down the road.

I personally hate that in games so will try to avoid it as much as possible.  Just makes it more complicated for non-gamers in my opinion.  Would rather have awesome game design balance.  For example... the original Tetris, Mario Bros., Pac-Man & Frogger never had difficulty levels.  But I'm sure there will be instances where it will make sense to have difficulty levels.  I'm just personally not a fan as it relates to the entire world.

I think you're on point with this.  As I had recently read in an article about the NES Super Mario Bros game, the game difficulty slowly progressed throughout the game.  They designed it so you learned the game as you played...and the game learned you.  However, it's was designed to be seemless, so your skills and playing ability grew as the game progressed through the worlds.

 

Like the old arcade games were with levels and such, I believe that's the best way to play as it builds confidence in the game play, sets achievements and challenges you to play further in. How many boards can you clear in Galaxian, or even moreso Pac-Man.  The problem with these methods is it all patterned.  Once you learned the pattern, all that matters was speed and not making any mistakes.  The game itself wasn't challenging, you against you're skillset was the challenge.   Like a F1 driver on a track by himself. 

 

As we're all familiar with, may of the original TV console units had difficulty levels, but all it did was speed up the game and really didnt add anything to it.  Some games did, by changing the look, the variations, etc.. but thats almost offering you a whole new game.

 

So the NES method of game design is really the most challenging and creates the best chance for longevity.  

 

Oh yeah... And puullleeese DON'T forget to add Easter Eggs and secret levels... We all LOVE those.  😆

Edited September 22, 2019 by IMBerzerk

[+Tommy Tallarico]

9 hours ago, JeffVav said:

Not sure arcade games are the best example. (a) most arcade games did have difficulty settings... the operators would adjust them to try to keep the average play times to 2-3 minutes to keep the quarters coming in. (b) beyond that baseline, the games ramped in difficulty pretty quickly. "Easy to learn, difficult to master" is a mantra that has its roots in the arcade. A casual/inexperienced gamer rarely lasted more than 30 seconds. The goal of an arcade game was to keep people just frustrated enough that they'd furiously pay for replays. (Some offered bonus points to bribe players into voluntarily ramping up their own difficulty, to keep the quarters coming faster.) It was the primitive forerunner of the compulsion loop. 

 
Those were the first to come to my mind, but Super Mario Bros., Super Mario World, any Zelda game, any Pokemon game, Roblox, Minecraft, Wii Bowling, Candy Crush, etc.  I could name hundreds of the most popular home console and casual games of all time... and they don't have difficulty modes.

Having someone be able to skip to a more difficult part of the game from the beginning (like the original Star Wars arcade) is different.  I don't mind that at all.  IntellivisionDude mentioned... Burgertime.  That would be cool.  A game like Astrosmash is another.

I would rather give the option to skip ahead as opposed to forcing someone to figure out what skill level is best for them.  Also a lot more programming and tweaking involved.  And will turn off casual gamers as they will get the feeling they are not as good as others. 

 

[+Tommy Tallarico]

3 hours ago, IMBerzerk said:

Oh yeah... And puullleeese DON'T forget to add Easter Eggs and secret levels... We all LOVE those.  😆

I was literally going to make this one of the 10 Commandments as well!  Yes!  100%!!  Everyone loves them and it's rarely thought of or done in games these days.

 

I'm taking it to an entirely new level though!  There are going to be a ton of Easter Eggs in the actual console itself!!  Not only the games... but the hardware and OS as well! 

 

[+Tommy Tallarico]

8 hours ago, mr_me said:

My underdtanding is that Amico games will have automatic levelling of difficulty per player in multiplayer mode.  Does it do anything in single player mode?  Can it be manually set?  Myself, I would be offended by a game that automatically made it easier for me because I was losing.

 

 

It really does depend on the game.  It's a tough question to answer overall.  Each game is different and for a different audience.   The approach to Shark! Shark! is different than Moon Patrol because Shark! Shark! is a more casual experience for a larger group of people.

I don't think anyone will be disappointed about the way we handle difficulty.  The last thing I want to do is just make a "kiddy" machine for casuals.  It will the best for both worlds!  In the last trailer (which was geared more towards gamers) I showed off more of the gamer stuff as opposed to the casual stuff.  Different trailers marketed towards different people will show and say different things.

We're excited that we have the ability to speak to both.

 

[MonsterSky]

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

It really does depend on the game.  It's a tough question to answer overall.  Each game is different and for a different audience.   The approach to Shark! Shark! is different than Moon Patrol because Shark! Shark! is a more casual experience for a larger group of people.

I don't think anyone will be disappointed about the way we handle difficulty.  The last thing I want to do is just make a "kiddy" machine for casuals.  It will the best for both worlds!  In the last trailer (which was geared more towards gamers) I showed off more of the gamer stuff as opposed to the casual stuff.  Different trailers marketed towards different people will show and say different things.

We're excited that we have the ability to speak to both.

 

I may suppose that the Karma Engine can act in autonomy giving little "helps" to the player (not necessarily lowering the overall difficulty) and perhaps we could setup the Karma Engine options on each game in order to act in specific ways or also never. 

 

Just my thinking.

[Blarneo]

I just hope this Karma Engine isn't supernatural. What if I rage quit and the next day I end up in a car wreck?

[ColdCoffee]

Is there any aim on the average length of time it will take to beat a single player story mode on the Amico? Something like every game has to have enough content for 45min? or will there be Amico games that have over 2 hours of content/story? Will there be something like seamless save states on each of the games were we can swap between the games without actually closing them?

[Papy]

9 hours ago, ColdCoffee said:

Is there any aim on the average length of time it will take to beat a single player story mode on the Amico?

What do you mean with story?

 

Personally, apart from RPG, adventure games and some "artsy" video games, I always viewed stories as nothing but a cheap way to make someone play a boring game. If a game is fun, I don't want to beat it, I want to play it again and again, until I master the game or reach the limits of my natural skills (that is until there is no more things I can learn). If a game is fun, I don't need to be fed elements of a story to reward my efforts, playing the game is a reward in itself. I have nothing against very short cut scenes to relax for a few seconds, I have nothing against a background scenario that is part of the description of the game, but if there's one thing I hate, it's wasting my time with a pointless story in a video game.

 

Yes, I know, I'm an anachronism.

[vprette]

On 9/21/2019 at 6:13 PM, Tommy Tallarico said:

I'm surprised no one here grabbed a shot of the Master Component IN THE BOX!!!

Me & Steve Roney believe there are only 2 in existence... and we have them both at Intellivision!

Not sure though.  Wondering if anyone else has seen or heard of someone having a Master Component in a box?

I must say, that was an interesting SmashJT video.  I'm glad he likes the console after playing it.  He could have hated it.  He's not the type of person who would just carry water for us because he got a car ride.  Remember... he was totally against it when he first heard about it.  It was only after watching my unlisted response video and heard me invite them to my place that he reached out.   I'm glad folks are paying attention and the truth of the matter is getting out there.

 

you post the picture! thanks