Ex-Activision Designers Launch Retro Game Publisher Audacity Games™

[hizzy]

Maybe the term homebrew is a misnomer? Perhaps "indy game" is more apt?

[Crazy Climber]

So inspired after the live twitch stream I seriously want to buy it twice. I'm super excited now This game looks amazing!! Haven't felt this way in awhile, it's like I'm a kid again...this is really cool. 

[+sramirez2008]

9 minutes ago, Crazy Climber said:

So inspired after the live twitch stream I seriously want to buy it twice. I'm super excited now This game looks amazing!! Haven't felt this way in awhile, it's like I'm a kid again...this is really cool. 

I'm not going to sleep tonight.  Christmas in March!

[fultonbot]

15 minutes ago, sramirez2008 said:

I'm not going to sleep tonight.  Christmas in March!

Yeah, I want that $140 version badly.

[insertclevernamehere]

I wish there was another package that included the digital download and a physical copy priced between the standard and collector's editions.  I have no interest in posters or serial numbers and don't want to pay an extra US$39 for the digital download.  I was expecting $20 extra but hoping it would be less.

 

[+CyranoJ]

2 hours ago, TwentySixHundred said:

Im sure they have passed through silently and maybe even benefited from tools created by the community.

According to them they wrote all their own because "there are no tools" - like we've been living in a void for 20 years, LOL.

 

I found that whole thing disingenuous to watch, especially saying nobody 'publishes' games professionaly when this very site does that.  Had to turn if off mid way through - so maybe they mellowed later on, but if they don't consider what they do "homebrew" then what are they doing on ZPH ?

 

The game looks good, but then again $140 buys you 2-4 much better looking ones from the AA store. 

 

I'd suggest 2600 homebrew authors legally change their name to "David Crane" just so they can add $70 to the retail price

[+TwentySixHundred]

38 minutes ago, CyranoJ said:

According to them they wrote all their own because "there are no tools" - like we've been living in a void for 20 years, LOL.

 

I found that whole thing disingenuous to watch, especially saying nobody 'publishes' games professionaly when this very site does that.  Had to turn if off mid way through - so maybe they mellowed later on, but if they don't consider what they do "homebrew" then what are they doing on ZPH ?

 

The game looks good, but then again $140 buys you 2-4 much better looking ones from the AA store. 

 

I'd suggest 2600 homebrew authors legally change their name to "David Crane" just so they can add $70 to the retail price

When i heard the answer to "homebrew or not" and they flat out said it wasn't homebrew at all then i was kind of thrown off. I completely disagree with that as it's like saying they have reinvented the wheel because they are going by a company name. Like you said many are selling games on a commercial level these days with third party company names attached. Was a very interesting answer that's for sure.

 

Also yes the game does look great and when asking how they pulled off the transparent fuel can effect i kind of chuckled. I mean i don't think they were expecting anyone to answer it and then after i answered in the chat Dan nodded his head and David said the same thing (i do this even in batari). These are tricks we all have been using for a long time now and in reality there isn't much that hasn't been discovered with the AA community. It's not 1980 anymore... To say all their own tools were written for development, well is a false statement as they openly said Stella and Javatari plays the game and those are community made tools.

 

I mean it's all exciting and i get it. I also want to support them in digital form anyway, as i don't really want a cart. I have to agree though there was many answers i didn't agree with and seems like they're playing the rockstar card a little. But i get it as i probably would too...

Edited March 13, 2021 by TwentySixHundred

[CPUWIZ]

I so badly want to chime in, but I am holding back, too old for internet drama.

[Crazy Climber]

1 hour ago, CyranoJ said:

 

 

The game looks good, but then again $140 buys you 2-4 much better looking ones from the AA store. 

 

 

The standard boxed game is $60, only a few bucks more than boxed AA store games ($45-$55) The $140 version comes with a ton of extras and in Gary’s own words was for people with “more money than sense” lol

[Jstick]

1 hour ago, CyranoJ said:

I found that whole thing disingenuous to watch, especially saying nobody 'publishes' games professionaly when this very site does that.

 

57 minutes ago, TwentySixHundred said:

When i heard the answer to "homebrew or not" and they flat out said it wasn't homebrew at all then i was kind of thrown off. I completely disagree with that as it's like saying they have reinvented the wheel because they are going by a company name.

The feeling I got was that they were really focusing on how much investment they had made in physical production capabilities, specifically large quantities of new injection molded carts.  Albert does an amazing job, but he is still buying old carts and refurbishing them, and there is still a lot of delay in the game release schedule because he can only handle so much. 

 

Dave said he felt homebrew was someone at home making a game, whereas they have apparently invested a lot in this venture as a company, to the point where it's possible they wont fully see a return on that.

 

If they can leverage this (as well as their new dev tools) to bring aboard and publish other devs from back in the day as they mentioned in the stream, then I think it's a fair viewpoint.

Edited March 13, 2021 by Jstick

[+CyranoJ]

21 minutes ago, Jstick said:

The feeling I got was that they were really focusing on how much investment they had made in physical production capabilities, specifically large quantities of new injection molded carts.  Albert does an amazing job, but he is still buying old carts and refurbishing them, and there is still a lot of delay in the game release schedule because he can only handle so much.

We in the Jaguar community have seen first hand what happens when you design a box and cart shell before a game.

[+Andrew Davie]

1 hour ago, TwentySixHundred said:

To say all their own tools were written for development, well is a false statement as they openly said Stella and Javatari plays the game and those are community made tools.

I haven't watched it, and this is one ZPH show I'm not going to watch. It all felt like too much hype a week ago and only got worse. Yes, they're industry veterans, but seeing people almost falling over themselves salivating for copies of the games... is off-putting to say the least. The games look great, what little I've seen. Don't get me wrong. But there are plenty of recent releases which are great games, too, even better games, but which will not see the same sort of adulation. Just feels all wrong to me.

 

I suspect (and again, take this with a grain of salt as I'm only responding to the comment above) that when they were saying they wrote their own tools for development, they were probably referring to things like sprite and graphics and sound editors/animation tools. That's totally believable. But if they're claiming they didn't use dasm, or a similar already-written assembler, and by implication that they wrote their own emulator or tested exclusively on hardware... then I simply don't believe that. That scenario has a plausibility of close to zero. When you are part of (or want to be part of) a community, acknowledging the contributions of others in the community is important. Even more so, actually contributing to that community is important, too. I don't have a sense that Audacity want to be seen that way; it seems they are doing this from a commercial viewpoint and have no intention of sharing anything; and that is, of course, their prerogative. I like to see things that are good for the community.

 

As to homebrew or not; this is pretty much something that in my view is based on what the developer thinks it is. If they say it's not homebrew, but a commercial release - well, that's what it is... a commercial release. I suspect they're trying to distance themselves from any association with "amateur", which is what "homebrew" suggests to some.

 

 

[AAA177]

I'm starting to go through the interview...some very interesting stuff. Just wanted to quickly mention one thing: whoever suggested (in a comment) making a commercial for MeTV is a genius. Never occurred to me. I also wonder if MeTV would be interested in selling the games, plus merchandise like tee shirts, on its shop. And although I am not an expert on television-commercial prices, from what I understand, on a smaller digital-network such as MeTV, prices, especially late-night, might not take up that much capital. Perhaps the team could get themselves on that channel's collector's show for exposure, as well (I'm not sure in my area I can watch that because it might be interrupted by news, but nevertheless, would love to hear that they were on it). 

Edited March 13, 2021 by AAA177

[Jstick]

4 minutes ago, Andrew Davie said:

when they were saying they wrote their own tools for development, they were probably referring to things like sprite and graphics and sound editors/animation tools. That's totally believable. But if they're claiming they didn't use dasm, or a similar already-written assembler, and by implication that they wrote their own emulator or tested exclusively on hardware... then I simply don't believe that.

Dave specifically discussed writing a new graphics editor to handle some of the detailed graphics they are using. There was another reference to "tools" generically, but I don't believe there were any claims made with regards to a custom assembler, emulator, etc.  Dave just mentioned he was still fluent in 6502 (well, 6507 I guess).

[Supergun]

Wow, I certainly didn’t mean to open  Pandora’s box, but it seems like the word “Homebrew” has become “uncomplimentary” to programmers.

[+Andrew Davie]

Just now, Supergun said:

Wow, I certainly didn’t mean to open  Pandora’s box, but it seems like the word “Homebrew” has become “uncomplimentary” to programmers.

I'm a programmer. I love the term "homebrew". But if another programmer doesn't, then accept their view on what their creation is.

That's all I'm saying.

[Jstick]

1 minute ago, Supergun said:

Wow, I certainly didn’t mean to open  Pandora’s box, but it seems like the word “Homebrew” has become “uncomplimentary” to programmers.

I don't think so, I'm sure it's really just a personal point of view thing; how you want to see yourself.  Some people identify with the role of the underdog, the small craftsman, the lone wolf, etc.  Others like these guys who started professionally in the industry under very different circumstances (Atari and later Activision were really on top of the world)  probably see things larger, more organized, more communally.

[Jstick]

20 minutes ago, CyranoJ said:

We in the Jaguar community have seen first hand what happens when you design a box and cart shell before a game.

Well, to be fair they started on the game long before the physical stuff, and it does look like a pretty good one from what they've shown.

[Supergun]

I understand. But I think maybe I should have been more clear with my words or at least have made the distinction clearer. (It also doesn’t help that I have been known to make what seem as anti-Homebrew comments over the years)

 

So again, I wasn’t discounting Homebrews as “unworthy” games. Quite the opposite in fact, they are usually incredibly amazing and impressive most of the time. Rather, I was disqualifying them as being considered “official” releases; as part of a consoles complete collection.

[AAA177]

If I read between the lines of some of the things Crane et al. said about this new business venture, I almost get the impression they might look to scale higher and bring on other colleagues and even new designers from the homebrew community. In this way, they could ramp up output and generate cash flow and significant cuts from other works submitted. I also have to assume they may port some of these games to other consoles (Intellivision, Colecovision, et cetera). Haven't gone through the entire interview yet, so maybe some of this is contradicted, but it would seem a safe bet. (By the way, I would have to assume the statement that they need to sell one million units to justify the investment was a joke; am I wrong? Only reason I mention this is it makes me feel safe in terms of not buying right away, as money just isn't there for it at the moment - unfortunately, collector's edition is out of the question, although even if I had the cash, I doubt I would have been fast enough, I'm just one who never is at that game.)

 

Did they get to many questions from the thread? My impression was they did not, which is understandable. Great job on the interview from what I've seen so far...

[+Andrew Davie]

7 minutes ago, Supergun said:

So again, I wasn’t discounting Homebrews as “unworthy” games. Quite the opposite in fact, they are usually incredibly amazing and impressive most of the time. Rather, I was disqualifying them as being considered “official” releases; as part of a consoles complete collection.

I substitute your "official list" with mine, and re-qualify them. There.

[Supergun]

One other thing that hasn’t really been touched on here is something that bothered me from the very first time I heard the “Audacity” announcement.

 

Anyone else see the irony here? One of the main key reasons that David left Atari and formed Activision, was because of not being credited for their work and not having artistic freedom.

 

So Dan goes and starts working hard on making a game. (Keystone Cannonball being the foundation which slowly becomes Gold Rush) and then all of a sudden, Dan as the programmer and Tikivision as the company isn’t being credited with the game, but rather all 3 of them are credited, and under the new  “Audacity” name!

 

What?! It’s like Atari all over again! Whose doing the work? Who’s getting the credit? How will the revenues be divided? This has the potential for a disaster!

[chad5200]

I am most impressed by the fact that there is no additional hardware on the carts. It’s only using the standard 128 bytes of RAM. The only special thing about it is that it’s using 128K ROM size. No extra RAM, no DPC, nothing else!

[Jstick]

13 minutes ago, AAA177 said:

Did they get to many questions from the thread? My impression was they did not, which is understandable. Great job on the interview from what I've seen so far...

 

They did address a decent number of questions I believe, if not directly then incidentally during conversation.

 

It should also be noted that Dan did explicitly say that they were thankful to the homebrew community for keeping the 2600 alive all this time, and acknowledged that they wouldn't be able to do what they are attempting now without that foundation.

 

Ok, perhaps I should stop responding here for the evening, as I seem to have somehow given myself the completely unnecessary role of "Defender of Audacity"

Edited March 13, 2021 by Jstick

[+Andrew Davie]

How did the internet thing work? A QR code or something else?