JStella Atari 2600 Emulator Release 0.8
This release has arbitrarily been designated a beta release. Please report any bugs.
Changes:
-Support for FASC cartridges added
-Saved games are now smaller (they were about 1000k, now around 15k - 100k)
-Booster grip support
-A little more graphics optimization
Link: http://sourceforge.net/project/shownotes.php?release_id=541663
The Poultry That Changed Atari History Forever
The Atari 2600's hardware was designed with just a few games in mind - pong games, and combat type battles. Because the 2600 was only ever designed to support two moving objects on screen at a time, it took really clever programmers to expand the play abilities to the amazing point we've seen.
Fulop Rob Fulop was a 1981 Atari staffer who managed to shoehorn the game mechanic of Missile Command into the meager computing resources of the 2600. The game became a killer app, selling 2.5 million copies - shattering all previous sales records. Fulop hoped that his bosses would show their appreciation via a fat Christmas bonus envelope, or perhaps the keys to a new car. After all, his programming chops made Atari millions.
Fulop's Christmas bonus was the same as every other Atari employee received in that year of historic profits; a gift certificate for a free Armor Star turkey. After framing his turkey ticket (it hangs on his office wall to this day), he helped form Imagic; the second independent publisher of Atari games. Two of his games have become Atari classics; Cosmic Ark & Demon Attack. After a period of phenomenal growth, his company went down in the video game crash of the mid 80's and Activision picked up the rights to their 24 classic games.
Fulop went on to work on the notorious Night Trap, a 90's game featuring video clips of a scantilly clad Dana Plato that invited government scrutiny and helped "inspire" the games rating system. He's remained involved in interactive multimedia ever since. So let's thank Rob Fulop for his many industry milestones, but let's not forget the role that a Mister Tom Turkey played in all of this too.
Link: http://www.retrothing.com/2007/09/the-poultry-tha.html
In Deep: Atari's Star Raiders
So Gamasutra is started this series based on what some pundits call the most important games ever make. While the games on the list are of debatable import, it’s always interesting to get into the old school history of games, this one being Atari’s Star Raiders. While the three-page story is a little dry, the tale gleaned is compelling enough.
It’s fascinating to note how, even back then, TV and the movies influenced the making of games: “When designing Star Raiders, Neubauer was inspired by the hacker-created Star Trek text game that was played on university mainframes in the early seventies. ‘I remembered the old Star Trek games had star bases and charts, which I incorporated into the game,’ he said. ‘Also, the movie Star Wars and the TV show Battlestar Galactica had recently come out, which influenced some of the visuals.’”
Now, even though movies still inspire gamemakers, video games influence the movies, TV and even commercials. It’s all good.
Link: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1890/video_games_first_space_...
From: http://www.vh1gamebreak.com/2007/09/in-deep-ataris-.html
Atari 2600 is back
Three decades old, Atari 2600 is back, and it wants to play you.
It’s a busy Monday night in smoky hipster lounge Beulahland. Conversation ripples through the cavernous bar, and eyes are drawn to a projection screen in the main room.
The screen is a psychedelic ’80s flashback. Tron is playing in its neon-pastel glory. Layered atop the movie, Ms. Pac-Man is racing through a maze, gobbling pellets and chasing ghosts. In a corner of the room, Danny Norton and Phantom Hillbilly (a.k.a. Nicholas Wells) spin Pink Floyd records. Two guys sit on a couch, controlling the Pac-lady on an old Atari 2600. The match is displayed on TVs throughout the bar.
Since May, Hillbilly, 39, and Norton, 37—both freelance video editors—have hosted a weekly Atari tourney at the bar, a grudge match for glory—and cheap beer. The pair bring a stash of about 35 games to each tournament.
It’s a kick to see ancient games lapped up by the young crowd of twentysomethings. Frogger isn’t exactly cutting-edge in an era of Grand Theft Auto and Second Life . But, as Hillbilly suggests, old-school games and systems aren’t just nostalgia.
[New Games] have terrific graphics, but they’re not challenging,” he says. “With old games, there’s no ‘pause.’ If you do, you die.”
A cute blonde approaches Hillbilly and asks to play. He grins and tells her she needs a gaming handle. She looks confused. “It’s more fun if you have a name,” he says. Soon “Vixen Vivacious” is embroiled in a game with a girlfriend.
See? Games aren’t just for geeky dudes,” he laughs. “We just had two chicks going head-to-head. Chicks have always been into Ms. Pac-Man.”
Link: http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3346/9596/
The 12 POP Gizmos and Gadgets In The Past 30 Years
1977: ATARI 2600
Price $200
The first game system with plug-in cartridges had gaming aficionados salivating over the immediate proliferation of video games. More than 40 manufacturers created over 200 games for the system, including the future classics Pac-Man and Asteroids. Amid its success, however, Atari neglected game developers and many defected to rival game companies. Eventually, Nintendo picked up where Atari left off.
Link: http://www.health-sky.com/html/the-12-pop-gizmos-and-gadgets-in-the...
The most difficult games
On the Atari 2600 nothing made my teeth grate faster than Swordquest: Earthworld. This was part one of a four part series, integral to reviving the aging console. The fourth game was never finished, but you can play the other three in various Atari compilations.
In Earthworld you faced different challenges as you went from room to room. These were incredibly frustrating, none more so than the waterfall room. You had to run through gaps in rainbow waterfalls, each progressively smaller. That last gap was tight.
Still, the game was pretty unique for the Atari, and I still can't help but play it from time to time to relive the nightmare.
Link: http://videogameblog.tuscaloosanews.com/default.asp?item=681608
New ColecoVision Homebrew: Terra Attack!
You've got issues. You are the commander of the Defense Unit for the Terra Community with four Towers and three Defense Cannons under your watch. The Terra Community is the first outpost on this planet so usually things are pretty quiet. You're just about to call it a night when the warning sirens scream out the approach of invading alien ships. If the aliens can destroy Terra, the entire planet is theirs and it's the end of your cushy government job, not to mention the lives of the inhabitants of the Four Towers.
Quickly manning the remote controls of the three Defense Cannons your fire at wave after wave of swarming aliens. It's a balancing act trying to switch cannons an eye on your ammunition while the aliens switch tactics with each wave. Your Shields are limited too but stay alive long enough and you'll have to face "The Boss." He's aptly named and capable of destroying the whole Terra Community in a matter of seconds. It is going to take a lot of ammo and a lot of skill to destroy "The Boss", but the rewards are great too.
The improbable task awaits you... how long can YOU be the Hero of Terra?
Terra Attack is Scott Huggins' third ColecoVision homebrew game, following the widely acclaimed Astro Invader and Spectar arcade ports. Terra Attack is a uniquely original game in concept and execution! To purchase Terra Attack please visit the AtariAge Store. We also have copies of Harvey deKleine's recent ColecoVision release Squares! available for purchase!
Link: http://www.atariage.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPat...
From: http://www.atariage.com/
Litchi 1.0c available
Pierre Ton-That reports on usenet that he has released a small update of his FTP-client, Litchi. Since it is a minor upgrade he encourages users that don't have problems with current versions of Litchi to wait for the 1.1 release.
Link: http://rajah.atari.org/files/litchi10c_uk.zip
From: http://www.atari-users.net/
Atari Punk Console - weekend electronics project
The Atari Punk Console is a simple electronic music circuit that you can easily put together in a weekend. The original concept was created by Forrest M. Mims III, writer of Getting Started in Electronics. At it's simplest it's just a 556 dual timer IC, a couple potentiometers, and a few capacitors and resistors. Hack together a slick enclosure, though, and you've got a beautiful little gizmo that pumps out sick square wave goodness.
GetLoFi has a few good links to schematics, sample audio, and enclosure ideas. Forrest himself even checked in and commented that you can use things like photoresistors or other sensors in place of the potentiometers to have the audio output controlled by the device's environment.
What are you waiting for? Go make an APC and send me a link to your project.
Link: http://www.getlofi.com/?p=518
From: http://www.hackszine.com/blog/archive/2007/09/atari_punk_console_fu...
Rob Fulop's Last 2600 Game: Actionauts
If you've spent any time playing classic Atari 2600 games, then you're likely familiar with Rob Fulop's work. While working for Atari, he created Night Driver and Missile Command. Later at Imagic he crafted Demon Attack, Cosmic Ark, and Fathom. After leaving Imagic in early 1984, Rob Fulop set out to independently create a new 2600 game featuring robots, which were a big craze in popular culture at the time. The game, Actionauts, allowed you to program an on-screen robot with a linear series of commands. Your goal as the player was to get the robot to achieve various objectives using these programming commands.
In June 1984 when it became obvious there was no longer a market for 2600 games, Rob Fulop abandoned Actionauts to leave it in its current state. While the basic gameplay mechanics were developed, not all the elements were in place. Additional levels beyond the nine in the game were planned, and a fair bit of polish remained to be done. Rob has recently decided to sell the only known physical prototype of the game and after the sale of the prototype he plans to produce a limited run of 250 Actionauts cartridges. You can learn more about Actionauts over at Rob Fulop's Blog and sign up here to receive information about the upcoming release of the game.
Link: http://robfulop.com/blog/2007/10/01/actionauts-my-last-atari-2600-g...
From: http://www.atariage.com/
