Wed, 7 February 2024
Hello, once again I apologize for the episode being late. Sarah came up with a new way for me to try doing the podcast that I think will be better, I talk about it in this episode. Which is all about Alpha Beam with Ernie, an Atari and Children's Computer Workshop joint. Thank you once again to Preston Stuart for answering a few questions that I had about this game. Coming up next will be Dragonstomper by Starpath, so if you have any thoughts about this game, please sned them to me at 2600gamebygame@gmail.com by February 13th. Thank you all for being such lovely and supportive friends, and extra special thanks to Sarah, truly without whom this podcast would have been done a long time ago. And as always, thank you for listening. CCW game series announced in Atari Age magazine Preston Stuart interview, Electronic Fun March 1983 Sesame Street episode 1, November 1969 Into The Vertical Blank tests Alpha Beam on a 2600+ |
Wed, 10 January 2024
Happy New Year! Thank you so much for welcoming me back to the podcasting world so warmly, I am very grateful to all of you. The first game for 2024 is Frogger II - Threedeep! by Parker Brothers. What does this game have to do with a barn in Maine? oh, you are gonna find out, believe me. Next up on the show will be Alpha Beam with Ernie by Atari and CTW. If you have any feedback for this game, please send it to 2600gamebygame@gmail.com by January 22nd, to be included in the show. Thank you for listening! Interview with Mark Lesser by Scott Stilphen Article on early handheld games by Glenn Derene NHL '94 article by Eddie Makuch
Direct download: Frogger_II_-_Threedeep_by_Parker_Brothers.mp3
Category:Video Games -- posted at: 9:09pm EDT |
Wed, 13 December 2023
Hi. I know, it's been awhile. How have you been? Anyway, I hope you are amenable to a new episode of my podcast. It's all about the Gammation game Gamma Attack. Lots of interesting goings-on with this game, I hope you'll give it a chance and enjoy. I am taking submissions for the Christmas episode! I know it's kind of late, I'm sorry about that. In the episode the deadline for submissions is December 16. Right now Sarah is very sick and I have no idea when the actual episode is going to come out. Let's say the 20th is the deadline. If Sarah and I are able to record together or not, I'll do my best to get everyone in the show. Thanks so much everyone, I am grateful to you and your patience, and for sticking around. I love you. Gammation web site on Wayback Machine from 2008 Gamma Attack discovery thread on Atari Age Gamma Attack eBay Auction article on Joystiq by Griffin McElroy Gamma Attack eBay Auction article on MTV by Jason Cipriano Gamma Attack overview on Racketboy |
Sun, 29 January 2023
AB-035, Pitfall II: The Lost Caverns! 1 Happy New Year! If I can still say that when it's almost Groundhog Day. I hit a snag right out of the gate, which seems to be typical now. But, Pitfall II by Activision is finally available, and it's a doozy. The part about the game and its history etc. is twice as long as it usually is, I had a lot of fun researching this game. And of course, playing it. It's one of my favorites. I hope that you enjoy the episode. Coming up next is the super rare game Gamma Attack, by a tiny company called Gammation. Not as much history on this one, but what I've seen so far is very interesting. if you have any thoughts on this game, or even if you have a copy, I would love to hear about it. Please send them to me at 2600gamebygame@gmail.com by February 7th. Thanks so much for your patience, and thank you as always for listening. David Crane interview by Scott Stilphen Explanation of DPC chip by David Crane on Atari Compendium Atari Compendium article about "Super Chips," including the DPC chip UK Activision Fun Club Newsletter Summer 1984 from Atari Compendium Pitfall 2 patch accompanying letter Get MattBuc's repro Pitfall 2 patch here! Pitfall! Raiders of the Lost Shark Pitfall 2 The Lost Caverns on KLOV Pitfall 2 Arcade playthrough by Old Classic Retrogaming |
Sun, 8 January 2023
Boy oh boy, it's been a rough year. This episode featuring Mean Santa by Tim Duarte and John K. Harvey almost didn't come out for Christmas. I am truly very sorry about how this year has gone, I need to change a lot of behaviors in the coming year. Regardless of what holiday (if any) you celebrate, I hope it is was a joyous and peaceful time. I am grateful to and for all of you and I do not deserve you. I will see you in 2023 where we will start the year with Pitfall II by Activision. Thank you for listening. The Mean Santa Journey on Experienca Odyssey ROM and Source Code for Free on Atari Age 2600 Connection Issue 100 thread 2600 Connection Mean Santa Sales Announcement on the Wayback Machine Original YouTube video of game footage, posted August 10 2009 John K. Harvey's web page via Wayback Machine
Direct download: Mean_Santa_by_Tim_Duarte_and_John_K_Harvey.mp3
Category:Video Games -- posted at: 7:39am EDT |
Wed, 16 November 2022
Welcome to the show! In this episode I will tell you what I know about Gauntlet by Answer Software. Other than how to play, it's not much; although I am very confident in telling you that this is NOT a port of the Atari arcade game Gauntlet. I can also tell you that despite what you read on the internet, the arcade Gauntlet was partially inspired by the 8 bit computer game Dandy, written by John Palevich. It was not inspired by Atari's console game Dark Chambers, which came out 3 years after Gauntlet. Dark Chambers was also inspired by Dandy. With that pedantry out of the way, I do hope you enjoy the episode. Coming up next is the last game for the year, Mean Santa, a homebrew game designed by Tim Duarte (founder of the 2600 Connection newsletter), and programmed by John K Harvey. The rom has been released for free, and you can get it here if you'd like to try it out. If you'd like to send feedback containing your thoughts on the game and not how to play it, which I cover every episode, please send them to me at 2600gamebygame@gmail.com by November 28th. I will post an updated list of upcoming games to your right (if you're not on a phone) very soon. To all who celebrate American Thanksgiving, I wish you a safe and healthy-ish holiday. I am very thankful for all of you, and I thank you for listening. You can donate to my Extra Life campaign until December 31st! Answer Software catalog on Atarimania April 1983 Video Game Update newsletter on Atari Compendium |
Wed, 2 November 2022
I am back this week to discuss a Spectravideo game, after 7 years! This game is called Master Builder, and I really hope you enjoy the episode. Coming up next will be Gauntlet by Answer Software. If you have thoughts on Gauntlet, you can send them to me at 2600gamebygame@gmail.com. Please just tell me your thoughts, I'll take care of the rest. The last game for the year is Mean Santa by John Harvey and Tim Duarte. If you have feedback for Mean Santa, I'll need it by November 28th. Finally, if you have any video game Christmas memories (it doesn't need to be Atari 2600, but please keep it to video games), I will be doing another Christmas show this year, provided I get enough submissions. Please get those to me by December 16th. Tune in to YouTube this weekend at 8 pm on November 4 and 5 to watch me play games badly for Extra Life. I don't know why you would want to watch that, but I'm glad you do. Thank you as always for your kindness, and for listening. Donate to my Extra Life campaign here! Master Builder on Random Terrain Columbia Video Game Club thread on Atari Age |
Thu, 20 October 2022
Long time no see! Today's episode is about the Atari and Children's Computer Workshop collaboration, Cookie Monster Munch. I loved Cookie Monster when I was a kid (I still do), and I also love cookies, but most cookies actually stay in my mouth, unlike some other monsters I could name. I hope that you enjoy the episode and that it was worth waiting for. Next up will be the very rare Master Builder by Spectravideo. Apparently my episodes covering Spectravideo games are also pretty rare. If you have feedback for Master Builder that does not include its history or how to play it, please send it along to 2600gamebygame@gmail.com by October 31st. On November 4th and 5th, I will once again be participating in Extra Life, to benefit the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Hopefully I will have my streaming ability together by then. If you would like to donate to the kids, please see the link below. Thank you once again for your patience, and for listening. Donate to my Extra Life campaign Cookie Monster Munch on Atari Protos Cookie Monster Munch on Random Terrain UPI article on CMM by Kenneth Clark, Feb 1983 Joystick conversions of Cookie Monster Munch and Big Bird's Egg Catch by Omegamatrix |
Sun, 7 August 2022
I say this too much, but I thank you for being patient with me as I navigate through my lovely depression. This long overdue episode features the homebrew game AVCStec Challenge by Simon Quernhorst and Paul Slocum. It's based on the very difficult (to me) Aztec Challenge by Paul Norman, for the Commodore 64. I hope that you enjoy the episode. Next up is Cookie Monster Munch by Atari and the Children's Computer Workshop. Please send any feedback on this or any previous game to 2600gamebygame@gmail.com by August 16th. Tell me your thoughts and/or memories of Cookie Monster Munch, I'll take care of the history and gameplay. Take care of yourselves and I thank you so much for listening. A-VCS-tec Challenge development page Announcement thread on Atari Age AA Title in Development page on Wayback Machine AA Project of the Month thread Simon Quernhorst interview on Good Deal Games Buy the game on Packrat Video Games Atari 50th: The Anniversary Celebration Limited Run Adventure and Missile Command (both sold out) New Howard Scott Warshaw interview by W. Amirul Adlan
Direct download: AVCStec_Challenge_by_Simon_Quernhorst_and_Paul_Slocum.mp3
Category:Video Games -- posted at: 4:27am EDT |
Wed, 18 May 2022
On this episode we take a look at the M Network game Frogs and Flies, which was based on the Intellivision game Frog Bog. We also cover programmer extraordinaire Dave Rolfe for the first time, and we even read one of his interesting essays. I hope you enjoy it! Coming up next is A-VCS-tec Challenge, by Simon Quernhorst with music by Paul Slocum. If you would like to try this game out, you can get the rom at Simon's web page. Please send me your feedback for A-VCS-tec Challenge by May 30th, to 2600gamebygame@gmail.com. Thanks so much for listening! Van Mai story on Video Game History Foundation Frogs and Flies on Random Terrain Frogs and Flies on Blue Sky Rangers Intellivision Frog Bog on Blue Sky Rangers Willie! plays Frogs on Arcade USA Dave Rolfe's website on Wayback Machine Dave Rolfe interview by Valter Prette Dave Rolfe interview by Scott Stilphen |