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Screenshot of Skeleton+ for Atari 2600. :)

we will soon find out [...] that the in-game graphics are as bad as ET the Extra Terrestial on the Atari 2600!

I understand that Ultima and Larry are more well known, but if you were a serious PC gamer back in the early 90's, you had to have heard of poignant and riveting library of games from Mega-Tech!!! :)

Hell they don't even mention Custer's Revenge one of the granddaddies of video game "erotica"; term used very, very loosely

If you have a 2800, you could probably get some serious coin from it on eBay. If you mean a 2600, I don't know how a Lynx emulator would bring you any closer to text-based browsing. But reading any text on a 2600 would be quite painful. They're much more useful for playing four player Warlords.

That was a fun ass game.

For anyone who's all thumbs when it comes to electronics, there is a device already available called the Stelladaptor, which is basically a USB-to-Atari joystick adaptor. It works with joysticks, paddles, the Star Raiders keypad, and even the Indy 500 driving controller, letting you use them all in the 2600 emulator Z26.

Unfortunately, the device only provides one joystick port, so you're out of luck for 2-player games joystick games or 4-player paddle games.

Also of note is Rayman. Although the background music isn't that spectacular, the game does have some incredibly surreal music-oriented background scenery.

Another game worth mention is Zoop. This game's background music will get lodged in your head and you'll find yourself humming it for a week if you're not careful. This game is worth tracking down, even today. Although it's written for MS-DOS, it's run flawlessly under every DOS environment I've thrown at it (including several different releases of Windows and OS/2's DOS box.)

The purpose is that it is cool. Hackers recognize this instinctively. That's all that matters. There are homebrew hackers writing Atari VCS/2600 games here, and no one who follows the forums is saying it's too late. The fun is in the problem solving.

As part of my Ghosts of Slashdot project, I grabbed a copy of this article before it went "live". There was a Slashdot outage at about that time, so I don't know if CmdrTaco & co. decided to change the text, or if it was lost and had to be re-created.

Same submitter, same "dept."... just the title and story text has changed.

Play Those Classic Video Games Virtually Anywhere
Posted by CmdrTaco in The Mysterious Future!
from the emulating-the-classics dept.
Iphtashu Fitz writes "If you're like me your introduction to video games decades ago was something like the Atari 2600, and you also pumped untold hundreds of quarters into arcade games like Space Invaders, Defender, and Asteroids. Well according to a Wired News article you can now play these and many more of those classic games in their original format on your PC, Mac, Playstation, XBox, or Gamecube. X-Arcade has an emulator & arcade-style interface that they claim will let you play over 4000 of the classic games on any of these modern gaming systems. Or if you'd prefer to play the actual arcade games from the 1980's then it might be time for you to take a trip to New York where the American Museum of the Moving Image is holding an exhibition where you can play these classics. Game emulators can be found linked from the museums website as well as through Retrogames." Much easier than building your own Cabinet.

Custer's Revenge

the maker (Mystique) made several other games that used the same characters. the plot was always the same: make it across the screen, insert youself into the woman, and hit the buttons really really fast (humping).

A number of adult titles existed, initially from Mystique, then from Playaround

A number of adult titles existed, initially from Mystique, then from Playaround

Custer's Revenge

Oh, i see his point. The packaging is its own kind of history. Maybe it's the art-nut in me, but the package is just as interesting as the game, in some respects.

Let's be honest. Do you really play pac-man fFor the dynamic plot and rendering? duh, course not. You play it fFor the nostalgia value. It's a good game. It's nice to look at and play and on and on.

I wish i still had the boxes of all my 2600 games. Or maybe the original art, or something. Some of those were beautiful! Sure, many were horrid and boring. that's always been true of packaging. But often, we're talking about High art.

The article also mentions the manuals. In some cases, the manual has highly valuable information, in some cases not. Certainly anything with a map, or level guide should be preserved! (i can never remember what levels are good to play in space invaders, fFor example.)

2004 DW, for instance, must be named after an underworld diety because it is in a Pluto-like orbit.

I can't imagine that this "rule" could hold. If the Kuyper Belt contains more objects than the Asteroid Belt, I would think we'd run out of ancient gods of the underworld.

We might be able to extend the idea by naming trans-Plutonian objects after fallen angels and demons, but I'm afraid some of my fellow Christians -- the ones whose belief system depends on a demonic opponent -- would be seriously troubled by the idea.

But if they were to name the t-p's after demons, I'd choose this one in honor of all the geeks out there:

Ornias
Assumes the shape of a Woman to appease Men
Plays with Men in their Sleep; Offspring of Uriel; Fears Iron

Or the Atari 7800.

I actually had one of these when I was a kid and it r0Xored! It was the first hand-held with a dot-matrix display that used cartridges and therefore wasn't limited to one game, so I don't have any idea why it's on this list other than journalistic myopia.

Also, the article is factually incorrect in one place. The snap-on cartridge/faceplates didn't have a whole set of controls in the cartridge - that would be stupid and expensive. Instead, the device had a touchpad matrix of FLAT calculator-style button "areas" (like a Sinclair ZX81 or an Atari 400 keyboard) above the paddle on the base unit. The cartridge faceplate, supplying a decorated film that fit over this area, just functioned as an overlay, masking off the buttons you didn't need and labeling the ones you did. I'm not sure why GameSpy editors don't know this because they *SHOULD* have actually inspected physical units before reporting these facts and it's a technique that's been used elsewhere.

The Lynx port of Xenophobe was quite good. I think it holds up favorably after -- eep! -- 14 years. I feel old now :)

Emulator can be found here, and a system BIOS here.

Further to my last post, check out these screenshots.

Arcade Zaxxon
ColecoVision Zaxxon
Atari 2600 Zaxxon

Because pac-man was remade for the Atari 2600 back in 1999. Here's yer link...

http://www.atariage.com/store/product_info.php?pro ducts_id=104&osCsid=7ab412d311e1bbc941d11e4ac1d284 54

Even back in the day, it was obvious to this youngster that if you wanted decent arcade conversions, you needed a ColecoVision. I mean, for arcade games that were brought to the two systems, compare the quality, e.g.

-Donkey Kong
-Frogger
-Q*Bert
-Burgertime.

These were all huge titles that looked and played great on Coleco. However, the 2600 renditions are a sad thing to behold. Check out these screen shots of 2600 Burgertime vs. Coleco Burgertime.

As an aside, I'm actually amazed they thought ANY games were good on the Atari 2600. You had to have a serious power of imagination to play ANY game on that thing... :-) Are those three green blocks a tree? Ah, yes...

Nah, some of the games were pretty visually impressive, all things considered. Just browse through the screenshots at...very few block based games...Adventure comes to mind, but that was such a good game in other ways. (And the dragons are ducks, not squares...)

Overall, my favorite arcade-to-2600 conversion, better than the original, is Battlezone...very pretty looking, they switched to a behind the tank view (the treads move realistically as you go and turn), and though they had to remove the random shapes littering the landscape, they made it so you fight two tanks at once. (Much better 3D model than Robot Tank...in Battlezone you can hear a shot fired offscreen, throw it into reverse, and watch the bullet pass harmlessly in front of you...)

As an aside, I'm actually amazed they thought ANY games were good on the Atari 2600. You had to have a serious power of imagination to play ANY game on that thing... :-) Are those three green blocks a tree? Ah, yes...

Nah, some of the games were pretty visually impressive, all things considered. Just browse through the screenshots at...very few block based games...Adventure comes to mind, but that was such a good game in other ways. (And the dragons are ducks, not squares...)

Overall, my favorite arcade-to-2600 conversion, better than the original, is Battlezone...very pretty looking, they switched to a behind the tank view (the treads move realistically as you go and turn), and though they had to remove the random shapes littering the landscape, they made it so you fight two tanks at once. (Much better 3D model than Robot Tank...in Battlezone you can hear a shot fired offscreen, throw it into reverse, and watch the bullet pass harmlessly in front of you...)

I am still waiting for an A-Team game

"Cottage industry" game production is perhaps best suited to retro and portable gaming, where the technical abilities are limited such that a large team and lots of money don't outweigh talent and a decent game concept.

Hah! Now you know why I hated it. Actually, I think you just rebooted. It's not like it was physically possible to spend more than 5 minutes entering a program. Anyway, here's a picture of the keypad for the curious. It doesn't show the printed overlays that you'd apply depending on which program you were using it for.

Texas Instrument 99/4A was my first computer. My father bought one so I could learn to use a computer except I learned to use it for games. I was into Atari 2600 games and arcades (e.g., Pac-Man).

Recently, I finally got TI99/4A to work in MESS emulator. The instructions can be found here in case anyone is interested. Some of those games still rule! :)

You can see my computer and console history here.

If we're speaking technically, my first computer was a Little Professor calculator. If we're talking something that could be used for programming, then we have to count the the Atari 2600 with its Basic Programming cartridge and controllers. If we're talking first, full-fledged machine, then mine was an Atari 800XL.

Texas Instrument 99/4A was my first computer. My father bought one so I could learn to use a computer except I learned to use it for games. I was into Atari 2600 games and arcades (e.g., Pac-Man).

Recently, I finally got TI99/4A to work in MESS emulator. The instructions can be found here in case anyone is interested. Some of those games still rule! :)

Notice this robot is 60cm tall ? Back when I was young I played a lot with Playmobil figures, and in fact I had never thought I could have *them* play with me... until now.

Sure I remember looking at cartoons on TV, and thinking I would like to play with them, at a time it was impossible (I am that old). Then videogames came along. In their time Pitfall and Keystone Kapers on the Atari 2600 were close enough to controlling a cartoon. Since then things have gotten better).

It's a good time to be alive, sit and watch.

Notice this robot is 60cm tall ? Back when I was young I played a lot with Playmobil figures, and in fact I had never thought I could have *them* play with me... until now.

Sure I remember looking at cartoons on TV, and thinking I would like to play with them, at a time it was impossible (I am that old). Then videogames came along. In their time Pitfall and Keystone Kapers on the Atari 2600 were close enough to controlling a cartoon. Since then things have gotten better).

It's a good time to be alive, sit and watch.

Atari and Intellivision had been going for a few years before Coleco got in the game. I believe Adventure for Atari VCS was out in 1978.

http://www.atariage.com/2600/history.html
has a bit more.

Also more
on Intellivision. Out in 1980, so Atari had 2+ years as the king, then about 2 years of sharing with Intellivision, then Coleco hit.
Atari VCS was out in 1977. Coleco entered the market in 1982.

BTW, I wish people would call it the Atari VCS, which is what it originally was. It wasn't referred to as a '2600' untill there was a '5200' to upgrade to.

Is it coincidence that Apple named the last two OS X releases Jaguar and Panther, or is Steve an old Atari fan?

Just send a space ship. Blast big rocks into smaller rocks. Collect smaller rocks. A good model can be found here.

Ummmm... "Pitfall!" was created by David Crane (the most legendary Atari 2600 programmer). Anybody who was ever a fan of that game should know that.

It simply amazes me the longevity, dominance, inovation, and popularity of the Game Boy / GBA. This thing has been viable and fun for more than ten years. Just as amazing is the fact that after overcoming a wave of early competitors (Remember the Lynx?) it has stood alone, virtually unchallenged, and generally loved, for a decade. The addition of wireless capability brings a smile to my face, but isn't really that surprising considering its history. I can't imagine anyone other than the Game Boy leading the pack, and amazingly this has probably bought them another few years.

Many games are based on others, there is nothing new here. Manuel Polik's Gunfight is derived from the 1975 Midway arcade game of the same name. Atari also produced a similar arcade game, called Outlaw, which they later ported to the 2600. The Sears title Gunslinger is simply Outlaw rebadged.

Gunfight is much improved over Atari's Outlaw for the 2600. You can see this by downloading the binary for each game (from the links provided above) and trying the two games in your favorite 2600 emulator. Other games in this competition have also been derived from other titles. These include Jammed, Warring Worms, JoustPong, and Climber 5. Even Space Treat Deluxe takes some cues from Frogger. But that shouldn't diminish the works of these authors, as each homebrew game brings something new to the 2600, whether it be an original game or an improvement on an existing title.

Many games are based on others, there is nothing new here. Manuel Polik's Gunfight is derived from the 1975 Midway arcade game of the same name. Atari also produced a similar arcade game, called Outlaw, which they later ported to the 2600. The Sears title Gunslinger is simply Outlaw rebadged.

Gunfight is much improved over Atari's Outlaw for the 2600. You can see this by downloading the binary for each game (from the links provided above) and trying the two games in your favorite 2600 emulator. Other games in this competition have also been derived from other titles. These include Jammed, Warring Worms, JoustPong, and Climber 5. Even Space Treat Deluxe takes some cues from Frogger. But that shouldn't diminish the works of these authors, as each homebrew game brings something new to the 2600, whether it be an original game or an improvement on an existing title.

Many games are based on others, there is nothing new here. Manuel Polik's Gunfight is derived from the 1975 Midway arcade game of the same name. Atari also produced a similar arcade game, called Outlaw, which they later ported to the 2600. The Sears title Gunslinger is simply Outlaw rebadged.

Gunfight is much improved over Atari's Outlaw for the 2600. You can see this by downloading the binary for each game (from the links provided above) and trying the two games in your favorite 2600 emulator. Other games in this competition have also been derived from other titles. These include Jammed, Warring Worms, JoustPong, and Climber 5. Even Space Treat Deluxe takes some cues from Frogger. But that shouldn't diminish the works of these authors, as each homebrew game brings something new to the 2600, whether it be an original game or an improvement on an existing title.

I believe this is the first year that 2600 games have been allowed in the competition, and since most 2600 games are 4K, this is why you see many 2600 homebrew authors submitting their games. The following list contains more information about each of the entries, including some that have not yet appeared on the Minigame Competition page:

Climber 5
Jammed
JoustPong
Gunfight
Qb
SCSIcide
Skeleton+
Space Treat Deluxe
Warring Worms

Additionally, many authors have released the source code to their games, which is invaluable if you're trying to learn how to program the 2600. Some examples relevant to the competition: Gunfight, Qb, SCSIcide, and Space Treat Deluxe.

And finally, some other links people may find useful:

Atari 2600 Emulators
List of Released 2600 Homebrews
Games in Development

Enjoy!

I believe this is the first year that 2600 games have been allowed in the competition, and since most 2600 games are 4K, this is why you see many 2600 homebrew authors submitting their games. The following list contains more information about each of the entries, including some that have not yet appeared on the Minigame Competition page:

Climber 5
Jammed
JoustPong
Gunfight
Qb
SCSIcide
Skeleton+
Space Treat Deluxe
Warring Worms

Additionally, many authors have released the source code to their games, which is invaluable if you're trying to learn how to program the 2600. Some examples relevant to the competition: Gunfight, Qb, SCSIcide, and Space Treat Deluxe.

And finally, some other links people may find useful:

Atari 2600 Emulators
List of Released 2600 Homebrews
Games in Development

Enjoy!

I believe this is the first year that 2600 games have been allowed in the competition, and since most 2600 games are 4K, this is why you see many 2600 homebrew authors submitting their games. The following list contains more information about each of the entries, including some that have not yet appeared on the Minigame Competition page:

Climber 5
Jammed
JoustPong
Gunfight
Qb
SCSIcide
Skeleton+
Space Treat Deluxe
Warring Worms

Additionally, many authors have released the source code to their games, which is invaluable if you're trying to learn how to program the 2600. Some examples relevant to the competition: Gunfight, Qb, SCSIcide, and Space Treat Deluxe.

And finally, some other links people may find useful:

Atari 2600 Emulators
List of Released 2600 Homebrews
Games in Development

Enjoy!

I believe this is the first year that 2600 games have been allowed in the competition, and since most 2600 games are 4K, this is why you see many 2600 homebrew authors submitting their games. The following list contains more information about each of the entries, including some that have not yet appeared on the Minigame Competition page:

Climber 5
Jammed
JoustPong
Gunfight
Qb
SCSIcide
Skeleton+
Space Treat Deluxe
Warring Worms

Additionally, many authors have released the source code to their games, which is invaluable if you're trying to learn how to program the 2600. Some examples relevant to the competition: Gunfight, Qb, SCSIcide, and Space Treat Deluxe.

And finally, some other links people may find useful:

Atari 2600 Emulators
List of Released 2600 Homebrews
Games in Development

Enjoy!

I believe this is the first year that 2600 games have been allowed in the competition, and since most 2600 games are 4K, this is why you see many 2600 homebrew authors submitting their games. The following list contains more information about each of the entries, including some that have not yet appeared on the Minigame Competition page:

Climber 5
Jammed
JoustPong
Gunfight
Qb
SCSIcide
Skeleton+
Space Treat Deluxe
Warring Worms

Additionally, many authors have released the source code to their games, which is invaluable if you're trying to learn how to program the 2600. Some examples relevant to the competition: Gunfight, Qb, SCSIcide, and Space Treat Deluxe.

And finally, some other links people may find useful:

Atari 2600 Emulators
List of Released 2600 Homebrews
Games in Development

Enjoy!

I believe this is the first year that 2600 games have been allowed in the competition, and since most 2600 games are 4K, this is why you see many 2600 homebrew authors submitting their games. The following list contains more information about each of the entries, including some that have not yet appeared on the Minigame Competition page:

Climber 5
Jammed
JoustPong
Gunfight
Qb
SCSIcide
Skeleton+
Space Treat Deluxe
Warring Worms

Additionally, many authors have released the source code to their games, which is invaluable if you're trying to learn how to program the 2600. Some examples relevant to the competition: Gunfight, Qb, SCSIcide, and Space Treat Deluxe.

And finally, some other links people may find useful:

Atari 2600 Emulators
List of Released 2600 Homebrews
Games in Development

Enjoy!

I believe this is the first year that 2600 games have been allowed in the competition, and since most 2600 games are 4K, this is why you see many 2600 homebrew authors submitting their games. The following list contains more information about each of the entries, including some that have not yet appeared on the Minigame Competition page:

Climber 5
Jammed
JoustPong
Gunfight
Qb
SCSIcide
Skeleton+
Space Treat Deluxe
Warring Worms

Additionally, many authors have released the source code to their games, which is invaluable if you're trying to learn how to program the 2600. Some examples relevant to the competition: Gunfight, Qb, SCSIcide, and Space Treat Deluxe.

And finally, some other links people may find useful:

Atari 2600 Emulators
List of Released 2600 Homebrews
Games in Development

Enjoy!

I believe this is the first year that 2600 games have been allowed in the competition, and since most 2600 games are 4K, this is why you see many 2600 homebrew authors submitting their games. The following list contains more information about each of the entries, including some that have not yet appeared on the Minigame Competition page:

Climber 5
Jammed
JoustPong
Gunfight
Qb
SCSIcide
Skeleton+
Space Treat Deluxe
Warring Worms

Additionally, many authors have released the source code to their games, which is invaluable if you're trying to learn how to program the 2600. Some examples relevant to the competition: Gunfight, Qb, SCSIcide, and Space Treat Deluxe.

And finally, some other links people may find useful:

Atari 2600 Emulators
List of Released 2600 Homebrews
Games in Development

Enjoy!

I believe this is the first year that 2600 games have been allowed in the competition, and since most 2600 games are 4K, this is why you see many 2600 homebrew authors submitting their games. The following list contains more information about each of the entries, including some that have not yet appeared on the Minigame Competition page:

Climber 5
Jammed
JoustPong
Gunfight
Qb
SCSIcide
Skeleton+
Space Treat Deluxe
Warring Worms

Additionally, many authors have released the source code to their games, which is invaluable if you're trying to learn how to program the 2600. Some examples relevant to the competition: Gunfight, Qb, SCSIcide, and Space Treat Deluxe.

And finally, some other links people may find useful:

Atari 2600 Emulators
List of Released 2600 Homebrews
Games in Development

Enjoy!

I believe this is the first year that 2600 games have been allowed in the competition, and since most 2600 games are 4K, this is why you see many 2600 homebrew authors submitting their games. The following list contains more information about each of the entries, including some that have not yet appeared on the Minigame Competition page:

Climber 5
Jammed
JoustPong
Gunfight
Qb
SCSIcide
Skeleton+
Space Treat Deluxe
Warring Worms

Additionally, many authors have released the source code to their games, which is invaluable if you're trying to learn how to program the 2600. Some examples relevant to the competition: Gunfight, Qb, SCSIcide, and Space Treat Deluxe.

And finally, some other links people may find useful:

Atari 2600 Emulators
List of Released 2600 Homebrews
Games in Development

Enjoy!

I believe this is the first year that 2600 games have been allowed in the competition, and since most 2600 games are 4K, this is why you see many 2600 homebrew authors submitting their games. The following list contains more information about each of the entries, including some that have not yet appeared on the Minigame Competition page:

Climber 5
Jammed
JoustPong
Gunfight
Qb
SCSIcide
Skeleton+
Space Treat Deluxe
Warring Worms

Additionally, many authors have released the source code to their games, which is invaluable if you're trying to learn how to program the 2600. Some examples relevant to the competition: Gunfight, Qb, SCSIcide, and Space Treat Deluxe.

And finally, some other links people may find useful:

Atari 2600 Emulators
List of Released 2600 Homebrews
Games in Development

Enjoy!