Why Should Anyone Care About the Atari 2600?

[NovaXpress]

What the hell are we doing with our lives? Are we all just a bunch of overgrown teenagers playing games? Are we all going through some kind of mid-life crisis nostalgia trip? Are we incompetent at modern games so we stick with a one-button joystick? Are we just a bunch of weird geeks wasting our lives?

 

I feel that we're all part of something very important. I'm in the camp that believes video games are a form of art. And as such, it's the only totally new form of art that the human race has seen in centuries. I believe that video games will one day be respected as a true art form and studied/admired in the same way that theatre, writing and such are.

 

Those of us in my age group happend to have grown up during the dawn of this new art form. It's like being there when a human first figured out how to sing. We are around for an important time period in human history, one which could have amazing effects on the future and in fact already has. I believe the PC era needed the video game to drive its success and acceptance. Without Atari, I don't think the Internet would be what it is today. Video games are not only art in and of themselves, they're the doorway to getting people comfortable with computers.

 

So fast forward 500 years when universities have Gaming History classes. We're all setting the foundation for that day right now. Us classic gamers are the ones who are making sure that the birth of this art form gets properly recorded. We're the first historians and it's our responsibility to get the facts straight so that future generations won't have to theorize about how it all began. How cool would it be to truly know what the first song was and who sang it, or how dancing first came about or who painted the first picture. We'll never know for sure because no one was recording such things. But when it comes to the art of video games we have a chance to get the story right.

 

It may seem like no big deal to get the story, considering how young the art form is. But look at how much we don't know. No one was recording history at the time so it's up to those of us who were children to now do the work. And it's not as easy as one might think.

 

AtariAge is, in my view, the single most important element to this goal. There are other forums for sure, but something about the AA crowd seems to get results. Old timers on this board should reflect back a few years and realize how little was really known about the hobby. Then many people somehow flocked to the same board and started to compare notes. It's incredible how much knowledge has been gained from discussions here which led to research which led to answers. AA members such as the Rom Hunter and Tempest focused their own websites on certain parts of the history and have provided invaluable work to preserving and expanding the knowledge of classic gaming. When the subject is discussed 500 years from now, you freaks will all get a mention.

 

There's a lot to get out of this "hobby" such as fun times and nostalgia, but I think the ultimate result of our interests is the valuable preservation of human culture.

 

So why is this board centered around the 2600? Because it's essentially the Gutenburg Bible of the art form. There were predecessors, but the 2600 broke gaming to the mass audience and set the stage for what was to come. As primitive as it looks today, that system had magic. If it had failed, who knows when video gaming might have finally taken off? The study of the 2600 is the core of the study of video games in general. And that's why we should feel good about participating in all this craziness and discussing release dates and all the other topics. In the long run, it will matter.

[Inky]

 

So why is this board centered around the 2600? Because it's essentially the Gutenburg Bible of the art form. There were predecessors, but the 2600 broke gaming to the mass audience and set the stage for what was to come.

 

 

Oooh, best anaolgy I've heard in a long time...

[NovaXpress]

If anyone actually managed to read that entire enourmous screed, congratulations and thank you.

[Inky]

I managed to read the whole thing the second time through, as I am more fully awake now ...

 

AA members such as the Rom Hunter and Tempest focused their own websites on certain parts of the history and have provided invaluable work to preserving and expanding the knowledge of classic gaming. When the subject is discussed 500 years from now, you freaks will all get a mention.

 

 

Indeed, they have acted as the chief historians around these parts.

 

BTW, Tempest, got any updates coming up?

[jboypacman]

Well said Nova.I feel that we are time travellers going into the past collecting bits of video game history to bring it and keeping alive in the present so others can know and have it for the future.

[Rom Hunter]

What the hell are we doing with our lives? Are we all just a bunch of overgrown teenagers playing games? Are we all going through some kind of mid-life crisis nostalgia trip? Are we incompetent at modern games so we stick with a one-button joystick? Are we just a bunch of weird geeks wasting our lives?

 

I feel that we're all part of something very important. I'm in the camp that believes video games are a form of art. And as such, it's the only totally new form of art that the human race has seen in centuries. I believe that video games will one day be respected as a true art form and studied/admired in the same way that theatre, writing and such are.

 

Those of us in my age group happend to have grown up during the dawn of this new art form. It's like being there when a human first figured out how to sing. We are around for an important time period in human history, one which could have amazing effects on the future and in fact already has. I believe the PC era needed the video game to drive its success and acceptance. Without Atari, I don't think the Internet would be what it is today. Video games are not only art in and of themselves, they're the doorway to getting people comfortable with computers.

 

So fast forward 500 years when universities have Gaming History classes. We're all setting the foundation for that day right now. Us classic gamers are the ones who are making sure that the birth of this art form gets properly recorded. We're the first historians and it's our responsibility to get the facts straight so that future generations won't have to theorize about how it all began. How cool would it be to truly know what the first song was and who sang it, or how dancing first came about or who painted the first picture. We'll never know for sure because no one was recording such things. But when it comes to the art of video games we have a chance to get the story right.

 

It may seem like no big deal to get the story, considering how young the art form is. But look at how much we don't know. No one was recording history at the time so it's up to those of us who were children to now do the work. And it's not as easy as one might think.

 

AtariAge is, in my view, the single most important element to this goal. There are other forums for sure, but something about the AA crowd seems to get results. Old timers on this board should reflect back a few years and realize how little was really known about the hobby. Then many people somehow flocked to the same board and started to compare notes. It's incredible how much knowledge has been gained from discussions here which led to research which led to answers. AA members such as the Rom Hunter and Tempest focused their own websites on certain parts of the history and have provided invaluable work to preserving and expanding the knowledge of classic gaming. When the subject is discussed 500 years from now, you freaks will all get a mention.

 

There's a lot to get out of this "hobby" such as fun times and nostalgia, but I think the ultimate result of our interests is the valuable preservation of human culture.

 

So why is this board centered around the 2600? Because it's essentially the Gutenburg Bible of the art form. There were predecessors, but the 2600 broke gaming to the mass audience and set the stage for what was to come. As primitive as it looks today, that system had magic. If it had failed, who knows when video gaming might have finally taken off? The study of the 2600 is the core of the study of video games in general. And that's why we should feel good about participating in all this craziness and discussing release dates and all the other topics. In the long run, it will matter.

NovaXpress, you have just Xpressed my thoughts about video gaming in the most impressive way.

 

I have nothing to add to your excellent text.

 

[Student Driver]

A few things I wonder:

 

How much of the information currently amassed will be set down in a permanent form? Websites about protos or Brazilian releases or something are neat, but in the hypothetical future college classes, ould students have access to this information? Or will there be statements such as what is common for students studying Western Civ: "Though well-known in its time, this material has not survived, and is known to us only through reference in another work which has survived." We assume somehow that putting information onto the Internet is tantamount to preserving information for the future-- I wonder if that's true, or if it's the equivalent of the library of Alexandria. We assume all of this information will be archived for all time, transferred to new HDs when they fail, transferred to new servers, transferred to new networks. Will it?

 

How much of the information that does survive will be correct? I still come across references in conventionally "reputable" sources that state things like Atari releasing the arcade Space Invaders, or Nolan Bushnell inventing video games, despite correct informationg having been available since... well... the original events, despite being a member of the generation that lived through the events, and despite the main players in the events all still living. Something tells me that 30 years from now, I'll still read in most places that Adventure had the first easter egg, the N64 had the first analog stick, et al. Incorrect information about Nintendo game mappers, and releases for more modern systems than the 2600, still get passed around as "truth" by rom traders, and thus it becomes "truth" for people who turn to the Internet for research (I want a nickel every time I see someone say that Mappy was a US NES release). We have a generation of people who insist that the correct name for Pleiades is "PLEIADS" rather than admitting there's a misspelling on the title screen. When those of us who know/care about correcting these errors leave the hobby (boredom, death, whatever), who'll research and correct them in the future?

 

We still don't know the longevity of most current media. Books still remain the safest and most permanent method of record-keeping, and most of what is being learned isn't being printed. Outside of Leonard Herman (and Rolenta Press releases in general), the stuff that is being printed tends to be inaccurate, subjective, biased, etc. Likely, this stuff is what's going to be sitting around in libraries a few decades hence, covered in dust and "rediscovered" by some kid writing a graduate thesis. He won't have a forum of contemporaneous 2600 players to steer him...

[Inky]

Student Driver.... Perhaps the community should get together and create a definitive gaming textbook?

[NovaXpress]

True, the info has to be collected somewhere. Websites are the books of the future so that'll do for now but it's not the end of the line.

 

Sites like atarimania and atariproto are doing the job of archiving the factual results of all these discussions and investigations, but yes, there eventually needs to be a proper book written. I see it as a mass group project: start with a certain subject such as the technical origins of the 2600. Someone lays down information then the community can debate the facts, add or subtract to the info and make sure it's as accurate as possible. Then set it in stone and move to the next subject. In the end, we'd have the best history book that video gamers have ever seen, something that would need to be kept in every library.

 

It's a hell of a project, but it'll have to happen sometime.

[Student Driver]

True, the info has to be collected somewhere. Websites are the books of the future so that'll do for now but it's not the end of the line.

 

Sites like atarimania and atariproto are doing the job of archiving the factual results of all these discussions and investigations, but yes, there eventually needs to be a proper book written. I see it as a mass group project: start with a certain subject such as the technical origins of the 2600. Someone lays down information then the community can debate the facts, add or subtract to the info and make sure it's as accurate as possible. Then set it in stone and move to the next subject. In the end, we'd have the best history book that video gamers have ever seen, something that would need to be kept in every library.

 

It's a hell of a project, but it'll have to happen sometime.

 

I think a primary difficulty is that the information known continues to be fairly dynamic; while there could be release candidates for volumes of historical information, it'd be impossible to ever "close the books" on any given field of research. If this information were to be published in book form, I see two approaches that could work to accomodate the need to preserve information, and the need to keep it updated: an encyclopedic approach (in the sense of mimicking the methods of Diderot, et al.), or an academic journal approach.

 

Encyclopedic approach: Instead of a single-volume compendium (or a modern encyclopedia with all volumes published simultaneously), have individual print releases when information is deemed "good enough," and have occasional Errata releases-- annual (or so) volumes that update and correct previously published information. Articles wouldn't necessarily be in alphabetical order, but in thematic order. A 2600 programming volume, a 2600 programmers volume, a volume on marketing campaigns, one on protos, etc. A researcher would then consult a given volume, and having noted its year of release, cross-reference each Errata annual published thereafter.

 

Academic journal approach: Either as a single publication (Video Game Historical Journal) or group (publications focusing on individual systems or topics). Each publication contains academic-level articles, published as submitted, perhaps in a quarterly or biannual journal. Changes in scholarship or research are noted by publishing new articles on previously-covered topics; each year or so of journals is considered a "volume" with consistent page-numbering through the issues, and an index is published at the end of each "volume" for articles, perhaps cross-referenced with prior years. A researcher would then consult the master index, and gather all articles on a subject from multiple volumes.

 

Both approaches lend themselves well to online research as well; a paper version for posterity, and electronic versions for normal research. Either way, a uniform resource would be nice, and would be taken a lot more seriously by even present-day academics. ("Well, Mr. Graves, I checked your sources for this article that you wrote, and I didn't find the information you cited on AtariAge.com. I did find, however, 500 threads on whether or not Battlezone was better than Robot Tank.")

 

Anyway. Historical research in the future depends on what is done now. Academic research of any sort requires either reference citation or first-hand research; we're in the unique position of being able to do the latter-- interviewing the people responsible, writing autobiographies like Mr. Baer, setting down our experiences with the systems and games in their original contexts. In the future, researchers will not be able to do such first-hand research, and will be limited to citing historical sources. They could end up citing our theoretical academic writings, or they could cite the incorrect stuff that currently makes us chuckle over the writers' stupidity.

[PressureCooker2600]

i'm always game for anything to be written down for the sake of humanity....any of ya'll ever need any help or anything....i'll be here to help

 

p.s. video games ARE art

[NovaXpress]

A suggestion for us insane historical types to ponder, nothing to necessarily jump on right away. . .

 

Suppose there was one more forum around here, dedicated to creating THE history book. Volunteers could take on the task of writing just a small section to start each post. Then the others could look it over and analyze and find backup/contradicting info. By the end of the discussion, we'd have the most accurate section possible. Then go on to a new topic to analyze. As it all adds up over a couple years, we'd be developing the best video game history ever assembled. The final versions could then be compiled into the big book. There's also be opportunities to re-visit old topics if new info should arise.

 

The result would be available online for everyone, perhaps print a book as well with the profits going to some valuable cause since there would be no one author to claim the money. It would have to totally be like a public works project.

 

Food for thought.

Edited December 10, 2006 by NovaXpress

[keilbaca]

Hmmm, this thread has made me think a lot...

 

and Nova, I think that's a great idea.

[Albert]

A suggestion for us insane historical types to ponder, nothing to necessarily jump on right away. . .

 

Suppose there was one more forum around here, dedicated to creating THE history book. Volunteers could take on the task of writing just a small section to start each post. Then the others could look it over and analyze and find backup/contradicting info. By the end of the discussion, we'd have the most accurate section possible. Then go on to a new topic to analyze. As it all adds up over a couple years, we'd be developing the best video game history ever assembled. The final versions could then be compiled into the big book. There's also be opportunities to re-visit old topics if new info should arise.

Sounds like this would be a good use for a Wiki. I could add one here relatively easily.

 

..Al

[NovaXpress]

Are you thinking one big wiki or multiple ones. I think it would be best to tackle each segment of the history separately then put it together at the end.

 

Like I could volunteer to write the story of Activision for example, then the kids can pick it apart and think of things to add or subtract until we get something everyone likes. Meanwhile someone else writes up some technical info and another person writes about release dates. Quite a job, but we'd probably have fun doing it.

[PressureCooker2600]

Are you thinking one big wiki or multiple ones. I think it would be best to tackle each segment of the history separately then put it together at the end.

 

Like I could volunteer to write the story of Activision for example, then the kids can pick it apart and think of things to add or subtract until we get something everyone likes. Meanwhile someone else writes up some technical info and another person writes about release dates. Quite a job, but we'd probably have fun doing it.

 

i'm game....that sounds like an awesome idea.....pretty much everyone here on AA knows their atari history, so why have anybody else write it....i'll help with activision and imagic, as well as others.....but the thing is, i'd be using a wealth of knowledge i've already learned here on AA...unless someone wants me to list all my wildest experiences with Pressure Cooker

[Madcap]

Best idea ever. There is way to much rubbish info around.

[moycon]

I'll be in charge of the E.T. Landfill chapter.

[Student Driver]

Yeah. After watching all the erroneous information that cropped up in the discussion on video game lawsuits, it's apparent that there needs to be a centralized, "official" source for information. Plus, there's been so much good trivia discovered over the years (the sleuthing on "Tax Avoiders" is one such example), and lots of ongoing research (trying to figure out what "Air Raid" is and where it came from), and a lot of it seems to disappear into forum depths.

 

I don't see a need for multiple wikis-- a single wiki entry on Activision would have/need multiple sections added as needed (corporate history, release lists, info on Activision-specific programming tricks, marketing campaigns like patches and newsletters, whatever). Eventually entries could be made to conform to a template, but that's an job for editors-- the crucial thing is getting the stuff down to begin with.

 

I do wonder if this'd be stepping on the toes of the great researchers we've got right now?

[PressureCooker2600]

i did notice on wikipedia, that on the Don't Stop Believing entry, they didnt even mention it was the main theme in Journey Escape for the VCS.... we need our own wikipedia in AA so no one outside of AA can mess with it and we know who is going to edit it and not just fuck with the articles....

i also thought that the lawsuits needed to be typed into article format for research because that stuff was very intriguing

[Albert]

Are you thinking one big wiki or multiple ones. I think it would be best to tackle each segment of the history separately then put it together at the end.

One Wiki with pages for each topic, and there can be some "central" pages with a table of contents to keep things relatively organized. There is a nice Wiki mod for the forum software, however the Invision mod site is presently down so I can't grab it to look at it. Will have to do so when it comes back online.

 

..Al

[jaybird3rd]

Some interesting ideas here! I think it would be great to put together a definitive repository of historical video game knowledge, especially if the people who were there (the Atari/Activision/Imagic alumni, etc) could get involved and provide their input and ensure accuracy. The only similar endeavor I can think of was Don Thomas's work on ICWhen, and I think that material should be included too (if we could get permission to do so).

[Albert]

Looks like there's a nice Wiki-like product for Invision called "Ineo". Integrates pretty tightly with the forums, and you use bbcode instead of Wiki's syntax for editing articles.

 

http://www.veriea.com/products/ineo

 

I could setup categories, each article can be linked to a thread in the forum for discussion, you can setup articles you want to "watch" for changes, and it keeps a history of revisions. It does cost $45 though.

 

..Al

[boek]

Well said, all. We need to keep the legacy of Atari alive for future/younger generations, such as mine. Without the 2600, video gaming most likely wouldn't have been as advanced, or even exist, today.

[mos6507]

I think the biggest detriment to presenting game history is emulation.

 

Emulation persists on the bits and none of the metadata. What there really needs to be is a direct hookup between the MD5 hash of a bin and the metadata information related to that game. The filename is completely meaningless. It has to be done via hashing.

 

What there really needs to be is a definitive CDDB/IMDB type thing. The AA database is great for the 2600 but just look how long it's taking for them to consider the Atari 8-bit section finished. It's an enormous task.