DOCSLIB.ORG

Atari and Amiga

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Atari and Amiga IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Three generations of animation machines: Atari and Amiga Joe Decuir, IEEE Fellow UW Engineering faculty IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Agenda Why are you here? How I got here: design three retro machines – Atari Video Computer System (2600) – Atari Personal Computer System (400/800) – Amiga computer (1000, etc) New hardware: – Atari 2600 in FPGA: Flashback 2.0, etc – Atari PCS: Eclaire 3.0, XEL 1088 – Amiga 500 MIST 2 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Why are you here? Many of you are fans of vintage computers: – Find and restore old machines – Run productivity applications – Play games Some people also write new applications – E.g. PlatoTerm on several retro computers More people write and play new games 3 How I got here IEEE Consumer Electronics Society My work is here: 5 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society First Video Games Ralph Baer was a pioneer, recognizing that it was possible to bring entertainment home. He imagined a machine which allowed electronic gaming on a “Brown Box” in a family home. Ralph was unlucky – he worked in defense Ralph Baer His employee licensed his in his basement design to Magnavox – as lab, 2014 the Odyssey, 1972 6 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Atari Video Computer concepts Atari was founded on arcade video games First big hit: Pong (derived from Odessy) Second hits: more complex arcade games – E.g. Tank, Breakout Third hit: Pong for home use Big question: what to do next? Choices: – Random logic games – Microprocessor-based games 7 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Pong arcade screen 8 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society TANK cabinet art 9 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society I got lucky: Atari Video Computer I was hired to finish debugging the first concept prototype of the Atari Video Computer System. – Most of you know it as the Atari 2600. I made several contributions to it. – We used to joke about paying to work on it. 10 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Program flow Horizontal Line – 228 color clocks Horizontal Blank – 68 cc Horizontal Display – 160 color clocks Vertical Blank processing: Vertical - Process user inputs Blank & Sync: - Detect and process collisions 54 lines - Compute new game state, including score Lines Vertical Display: 262 208 lines kernel processing: - compute game Frame graphics pointers, - load TIA registers Vertical - [option: poll potentiometer inputs] 11 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Atari VCS system diagram 12 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society 13 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Lessons learned We put the definition of the display in the hands of the game designers, who were smarter than we hardware designers expected. Our conclusion was that our second system should not simply be a bit map and a processor. We had created a platform for the art of others, and we planned to build on that for the next system. We thought we needed to move fast. The Atari PCS came out two years later, in 1979. 14 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Luckier: I got to do it again Continue advancing technology. We had a hard decision: is the next machine a better game console (Atari 400), a personal computer (Atari 800), or both? 15 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society For a better game player Support memory-mapped video display – We could afford at least 4-8K of DRAM Use that memory in various ways: – 4-color bit maps up to 160x192 pixels – Monochrome up to 320x192 pixels – Color and monochrome character modes More sprite engines, easy to reuse vertically Provisions for vertical and horizontal scrolling Add simple video co-processor (display list processor) which can change modes 16 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Star Raiders: best original game 17 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society For a personal computer Provide character display – TVs limited us to 40 characters/line Provide a keyboard Provide for peripheral expansion for: – Printers – Communications We wanted slots (like the Apple II and S-100 machines) but FCC rules would prevent that Necessity: design a serial bus (SIO) – Direct ancestor to USB 18 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Atari 800 computer w/peripherals 19 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Complete Atari system diagram: 800 CPU, 810 FDD, 850 I/O ports Parallel Printer TV or Centronix- Atari 850 Port Monitor Compatible I/O Ports w/speakers Printer Serial Port video audio Phone cable Atari PCS SIO Atari 810 300/1200 bps CPU FDD Modem To PSTN 20 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society 21 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Lessons learned, and not learned As a game console: – We provided good self-development tools to attract developers – The founders of Activision and Imagic had not left yet, so Atari was not afraid of third-party developers – that happened later As a computer: – Massive cost reduction possible after FCC changed the rules, e.g. 800XL – The Commodore C64 passed Atari at this point – Atari should build a unit with integrated FDD – Atari could build an expansion unit with hardware slots 22 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Atari 800XL, cost reduction 23 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Last day at Atari: Proposal for a ‘stops out next generation machine 24 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Luckier: we build a 3rd system We reunited for a third system: Amiga It was a groundbreaking animation machine. 25 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Concepts for a third system As a game console: – Cartoon-level animation – Accelerate bit map manipulation in hardware – Synchronize with external video (genlock) As a computer: – 80 column character displays – Enough bit mapped memory for a Xerox Alto- like ‘window’ OS – Larger memory: 128KB or more – Built in 3.5” FDD; Expansion to HDD 26 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Simplified Amiga Core system diagram Bus control Genlock 68000 AGNUS Signals 8 16 Sync & timing 24 18 Video Sync DAPHNE RGB Video Ram or Addr DENISE 12 Mux Ports 18 Chip DRAM: Chip Audio 256K Register x 16 addr PORTIA Serial 16 bit or Data bus Disk PAULA Ports 27 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Line Draw & Area Fill 28 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Illustrate Bit-blitter Splicing a Sprite 29 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Lessons learned The collapse of the video game market in 1984 caused a pivot to a computer The 1985 Amiga was better than the Super NES in 1992, but it cost a lot more to make in 1985. Amiga OS was the first multimedia multitasking OS, 10 years before Windows 95 or MacOS Commodore was unable to exploit this market niche, which was too small vs IBM and Mac 30 Retro Machine Futures Software emulation Retro game development New hardware development IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Software emulation of hardware Atari 2600 emulators: – https://stella-emu.github.io/ – https://sourceforge.net/projects/stella/ – http://8bitworkshop.com/ (write new games) Atari 800 “8bit” emulators – https://atari800.github.io/ – https://sourceforge.net/projects/atari800/ Amiga computer emulators – http://www.winuae.net/ 32 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Modern Atari game development There is a development community devoted to generating new 2600 games. Visit http://www.atariage.com/ Example of modern video game design: Halo 2600 – Developed by Ed Fries, who lead original HALO game design at Microsoft – Vastly simplified graphics, but playable 33 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Modern Atari hardware: Flashback 34 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society The Flashback series Flashback 2.0 was developed by Curt Vendel – It is based on a Xilinx FPGA Later Flashback versions are based on emulation on a ARM processor 35 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Modern Atari computer hardware Two directions: FPGA and original chips Eclaire 3.0 – Mark Watson and Panos Santos, have prototyped and shipped a small number of FPGA-based Atari 800 XL implementations Atariage XEL 1088 – Alternative Motherboard project http://atariage.com/forums/topic/272817-1088xel-atari- itx-motherboard-diy-builders-thread/ 36 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Eclaire XL main PCB Differences: - VGA video output - SD card mass storage - USB for keyboard - Lots of RAM 37 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Eclaire XL IO board 38 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Eclaire XL FPGA resources Mark Watson has been posting design files on http://www.64kib.com/redmine Photos: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/263044- developerstesting-required-for-mini-itx-clone- system-eclairexl/ Nir Dary’s demonstration video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ordWyp8 HZZ8&t=626s 39 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society XEL 1088 - original silicon - dual POKEY audio - IBM IO for mouse & kbd - video: RGM & composite 40 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society European Amiga redesign A Polish designer Przemyslaw Krawczyk (Lotharek”) has done a lot of interesting design work: http://www.lotharek.pl/ The MIST board uses modern hardware to implement classic 16 Bits computers like Amiga, Atari, and 8 Bits systems like C64, ZX-Spectrum, MSX, Atari XL/VCS, Apple II, Colecovision, Sega, NES, etc. The MIST is a re-implementation of the original hardware in a FPGA. 41 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Amiga 500 vs Amiga 500 MIST Lots of RAM Replace FD (floppy drive) or HD (hard drive) mass storage with SD slot Video out on VGA Keyboard input via USB – 4 USB ports on the back of the device 42 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Amiga 500 MIST device The front panel has: Reverse side: - 3 buttons - Power - 3 LEDs - VGA + audio - SD memory slot - 4 USB host 43 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Amiga 500 MIST PCB 44 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Amiga 500 MIST FPGA resources YouTube demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GrmaXeOTEA
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Res2k Gamelist ATARI 2600
    RES2k Gamelist ATARI 2600 Carnival 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe Casino 32 in 1 Game Cartridge Cat Trax (Proto) 2005 Minigame Multicart (Unl) Cathouse Blues A-VCS-tec Challenge (Unl) Cave In (Unl) Acid Drop Centipede Actionauts (Proto) Challenge Adventure Championship Soccer Adventures of TRON Chase the Chuckwagon Air Raid Checkers Air Raiders Cheese (Proto) Air-Sea Battle China Syndrome Airlock Chopper Command Alfred Challenge (Unl) Chuck Norris Superkicks Alien Greed (Unl) Circus Atari Alien Greed 2 (Unl) Climber 5 (Unl) Alien Greed 3 (Unl) Coco Nuts Alien Codebreaker Allia Quest (Unl) Colony 7 (Unl) Alpha Beam with Ernie Combat Two (Proto) Amidar Combat Aquaventure (Proto) Commando Raid Armor Ambush Commando Artillery Duel Communist Mutants from Space AStar (Unl) CompuMate Asterix Computer Chess (Proto) Asteroid Fire Condor Attack Asteroids Confrontation (Proto) Astroblast Congo Bongo Astrowar Conquest of Mars (Unl) Atari Video Cube Cookie Monster Munch Atlantis II Cosmic Ark Atlantis Cosmic Commuter Atom Smasher (Proto) Cosmic Creeps AVGN K.O. Boxing (Unl) Cosmic Invaders (Unl) Bachelor Party Cosmic Swarm Bachelorette Party Crack'ed (Proto) Backfire (Unl) Crackpots Backgammon Crash Dive Bank Heist Crazy Balloon (Unl) Barnstorming Crazy Climber Base Attack Crazy Valet (Unl) Basic Math Criminal Persuit BASIC Programming Cross Force Basketball Crossbow Battlezone Crypts of Chaos Beamrider Crystal Castles Beany Bopper Cubicolor (Proto) Beat 'Em & Eat 'Em Cubis (Unl) Bee-Ball (Unl) Custer's Revenge Berenstain Bears Dancing Plate Bermuda Triangle Dark
    [Show full text]
  • Harmony Cartridge Online Manual
    A new way to experience the Atari 2600. © Copyright 2009-2011 – AtariAge (atariage.com) Second printing Contents Introduction ____________________________________ 1 Getting Started with Harmony _______________________ 1 Harmony Firmware Upgrading ______________________ 3 Frequently Asked Questions ________________________ 5 Harmony File Extensions __________________________ 8 Harmony Technical Specifications ____________________ 9 Acknowledgments _______________________________ 9 Introduction The Harmony cartridge is a programmable add-on for the Atari 2600 console that allows you to load an entire library of games into a single cartridge and then select which title you want to play from a friendly, on-screen menu interface. It features an SD card interface, making it simple to access the large library of Atari 2600 software. The Harmony cartridge supports almost all of the titles that have been produced for the Atari 2600. It can also be used to run your own Atari 2600 game creations on a real console. The Harmony cartridge is flash-upgradeable, and will be updated to support future Atari 2600 developments. SD card slot Mini-B USB port Back edge of Harmony Cart This guide tells you how to make the most of your Harmony cartridge. It should be read thoroughly before the cartridge is used for the first time. Your Harmony cartridge will provide you with many years of Atari 2600 enjoyment. The following equipment is required to use the Harmony cartridge: 1) An Atari 2600, Atari 7800 or other Atari 2600-compatible console. 2) A Windows, Macintosh or Linux-based computer to transfer data onto the SD card. 3) An SD card adapter for your computer. 4) An SD or SDHC card up to 32GB capacity.
    [Show full text]
  • Programmed Moves: Race and Embodiment in Fighting and Dancing Videogames
    UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Programmed Moves: Race and Embodiment in Fighting and Dancing Videogames Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5pg3z8fg Author Chien, Irene Y. Publication Date 2015 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Programmed Moves: Race and Embodiment in Fighting and Dancing Videogames by Irene Yi-Jiun Chien A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Film and Media and the Designated Emphasis in New Media in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Linda Williams, Chair Professor Kristen Whissel Professor Greg Niemeyer Professor Abigail De Kosnik Spring 2015 Abstract Programmed Moves: Race and Embodiment in Fighting and Dancing Videogames by Irene Yi-Jiun Chien Doctor of Philosophy in Film and Media Designated Emphasis in New Media University of California, Berkeley Professor Linda Williams, Chair Programmed Moves examines the intertwined history and transnational circulation of two major videogame genres, martial arts fighting games and rhythm dancing games. Fighting and dancing games both emerge from Asia, and they both foreground the body. They strip down bodily movement into elemental actions like stepping, kicking, leaping, and tapping, and make these the form and content of the game. I argue that fighting and dancing games point to a key dynamic in videogame play: the programming of the body into the algorithmic logic of the game, a logic that increasingly organizes the informatic structure of everyday work and leisure in a globally interconnected information economy.
    [Show full text]
  • When High-Tech Was Low-Tech : a Retrospective Look at Forward-Thinking Technologies [Multiple Exhibits]
    University of South Florida Scholar Commons Library and Community-based Exhibits Library Outreach 9-1-2003 When High-Tech was Low-Tech : A Retrospective Look at Forward-Thinking Technologies [Multiple exhibits] James Anthony Schnur, Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/npml_outreach_exhibits Scholar Commons Citation Schnur,, James Anthony, "When High-Tech was Low-Tech : A Retrospective Look at Forward-Thinking Technologies [Multiple exhibits]" (2003). Library and Community-based Exhibits. 43. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/npml_outreach_exhibits/43 This Presentation is brought to you for free and open access by the Library Outreach at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Library and Community-based Exhibits by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. When High-Tech was Low-Tech A Retrospective Look at Forward-Thinking Technologies Nelson Poynter Memorial Library University of South Florida St. Petersburg When High-Tech was Low-Tech When High-Tech was Low-Tech When High-Tech was Low-Tech The development of transistors after By the late 1970s, early “personal Before the widespread use of “floppy” World War II allowed manufacturers to computers” and game systems began to disks (in both 5¼ and 8 inch formats), build smaller, more sophisticated, and appear in homes. One of the most many early personal computers used less expensive devices. No longer did popular games of this period came from tape drives. “Personal computer consumers have to worry about Atari. This Ultra-Pong console, cassettes” usually held about 64,000 purchasing expensive tubes for heavy, released by Atari in 1977, included bytes of data and could take up to 30 bulky radios and televisions.
    [Show full text]
  • How to Know If It Is Art ? the Case of Video Games
    How to know if it is art ? / P Krajewski – Juin 2018 How to know if it is art ? The case of video games Pascal Krajewski Context : Proposal for : Pascal Krajewski et Jorge Martins Rosa, Convocarte N°6-7: Ars Ludens, l'art, le jeu et le ludique, 1st trimester 2019. Index Table of contents: Prolegomena to the question Enrolment in an institutional artistic context Analogy with reputed concomitant arts Integration into an extended fine arts system Identification of universal art markers Election of (Ur) masterpieces Highlighting art compatible principles Conclusion: “to do as if” 1 / 17 How to know if it is art ? / P Krajewski – Juin 2018 How to know if it is art ? The case of video games What good would it be to demonstrate that video game is an art ? Or is not ? Why trying to link it to a discipline is not even eyeing ? Do we wonder if sport is art ? No, sport is sport, and that sounds OK to anyone. Yet, even sport do use occasionally some artistic terms : this player is an artist; that gesture was almost art; such game will stay as a masterpiece of great game; such a sport, played at this level of skills, is reaching art (fencing, skying); and eventually some sports do deserve the adjective of “artistic” since they aim at the beauty of a sequence and not the efficiency of a gesture (figure skating, synchronized swimming). Sport could – by chance, temporarily or specifically – produce “artistic” results, when they prove a perfect mastery allied to a gracious beauty. And even then, they remain sports, because, by vocation, they don't aim at being art.
    [Show full text]
  • Vintage Game Consoles: an INSIDE LOOK at APPLE, ATARI
    Vintage Game Consoles Bound to Create You are a creator. Whatever your form of expression — photography, filmmaking, animation, games, audio, media communication, web design, or theatre — you simply want to create without limitation. Bound by nothing except your own creativity and determination. Focal Press can help. For over 75 years Focal has published books that support your creative goals. Our founder, Andor Kraszna-Krausz, established Focal in 1938 so you could have access to leading-edge expert knowledge, techniques, and tools that allow you to create without constraint. We strive to create exceptional, engaging, and practical content that helps you master your passion. Focal Press and you. Bound to create. We’d love to hear how we’ve helped you create. Share your experience: www.focalpress.com/boundtocreate Vintage Game Consoles AN INSIDE LOOK AT APPLE, ATARI, COMMODORE, NINTENDO, AND THE GREATEST GAMING PLATFORMS OF ALL TIME Bill Loguidice and Matt Barton First published 2014 by Focal Press 70 Blanchard Road, Suite 402, Burlington, MA 01803 and by Focal Press 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Focal Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 Taylor & Francis The right of Bill Loguidice and Matt Barton to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
    [Show full text]
  • Parasites — Excavating the Spectravideo Compumate
    ghosts ; replicants ; parasites — Excavating the Spectravideo CompuMate These are the notes I used for my final presentation in the summer Media Archaeology Class, alongside images I used as slides. As such, they’re quite provisional, and once I have some time to hammer them into more coherent thoughts, I’ll update this post accordingly! So this presentation is about articulating and beginning the work of theorizing what I’m provisionally calling “computational parasites.” This is provisional because I don’t particularly like the term myself but I figured it would be good to give it a shorthand so I don’t have to be overvague or verbose about these objects and practices throughout this presentation. As most of you know, I came to this class with a set of research questions about a particular hack of the SNES game Super Mario World, wherein a YouTube personality was able to basically terraform the console original into playing, at least in form although we can talk about content, the iPhone game Flappy Bird. This video playing behind me is that hack. This hack is evocative for me for the way it’s 1) really fucking weird, in terms of pushing hardware and software to their limits, and 2) begins to help me think through ideas of the lifecycle of software objects, to pilfer a phrase from a Ted Chiang novella, and how these lifecycles are caught up in infrastructures of nostalgia, supply chains, and different kinds of materiality. But as fate would have it, I haven’t spent that much time with this hack this week because I got entranced by a different, just as weird object: the Spectravideo CompuMate.
    [Show full text]
  • What Factors Led to the Collapse of the North American Video Games Industry in 1983?
    IB History Internal Assessment – Sample from the IST via www.activehistory.co.uk What factors led to the collapse of the North American video games industry in 1983? Image from http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/atari-sq.jpg “Atari was one of the great rides…it was one of the greatest business educations in the history of the universe.”1 Manny Gerard (former Vice-President of Warner) International Baccalaureate History Internal Assessment Word count: 1,999 International School of Toulouse 1 Kent, Steven L., (2001). The Ultimate History of Video Games. Roseville, Calif.: Prima, (ISBN: 0761536434), pp. 102 Niall Rutherford Page 1 IB History Internal Assessment – Sample from the IST via www.activehistory.co.uk Contents 3 Plan of the Investigation 4 Summary of Evidence 6 Evaluation of Sources 8 Analysis 10 Conclusion 11 List of Sources 12 Appendices Niall Rutherford Page 2 IB History Internal Assessment – Sample from the IST via www.activehistory.co.uk Plan of the Investigation This investigation will assess the factors that led to the North American video game industry crash in 1983. I chose this topic due to my personal enthusiasm for video games and the immense importance of the crash in video game history: without Atari’s downfall, Nintendo would never have been successful worldwide and gaming may never have recovered. In addition, the mistakes of the biggest contemporary competitors (especially Atari) are relevant today when discussing the future avoidance of such a disaster. I have evaluated the two key interpretations of the crash in my analysis: namely, the notion that Atari and Warner were almost entirely to blame for the crash and the counterargument that external factors such as Activision and Commodore had the bigger impact.
    [Show full text]
  • A Page 1 CART TITLE MANUFACTURER LABEL RARITY Atari Text
    A CART TITLE MANUFACTURER LABEL RARITY 3D Tic-Tac Toe Atari Text 2 3D Tic-Tac Toe Sears Text 3 Action Pak Atari 6 Adventure Sears Text 3 Adventure Sears Picture 4 Adventures of Tron INTV White 3 Adventures of Tron M Network Black 3 Air Raid MenAvision 10 Air Raiders INTV White 3 Air Raiders M Network Black 2 Air Wolf Unknown Taiwan Cooper ? Air-Sea Battle Atari Text #02 3 Air-Sea Battle Atari Picture 2 Airlock Data Age Standard 3 Alien 20th Century Fox Standard 4 Alien Xante 10 Alpha Beam with Ernie Atari Children's 4 Arcade Golf Sears Text 3 Arcade Pinball Sears Text 3 Arcade Pinball Sears Picture 3 Armor Ambush INTV White 4 Armor Ambush M Network Black 3 Artillery Duel Xonox Standard 5 Artillery Duel/Chuck Norris Superkicks Xonox Double Ender 5 Artillery Duel/Ghost Master Xonox Double Ender 5 Artillery Duel/Spike's Peak Xonox Double Ender 6 Assault Bomb Standard 9 Asterix Atari 10 Asteroids Atari Silver 3 Asteroids Sears Text “66 Games” 2 Asteroids Sears Picture 2 Astro War Unknown Taiwan Cooper ? Astroblast Telegames Silver 3 Atari Video Cube Atari Silver 7 Atlantis Imagic Text 2 Atlantis Imagic Picture – Day Scene 2 Atlantis Imagic Blue 4 Atlantis II Imagic Picture – Night Scene 10 Page 1 B CART TITLE MANUFACTURER LABEL RARITY Bachelor Party Mystique Standard 5 Bachelor Party/Gigolo Playaround Standard 5 Bachelorette Party/Burning Desire Playaround Standard 5 Back to School Pak Atari 6 Backgammon Atari Text 2 Backgammon Sears Text 3 Bank Heist 20th Century Fox Standard 5 Barnstorming Activision Standard 2 Baseball Sears Text 49-75108
    [Show full text]
  • RUSQ Vol. 58, No. 4
    THE ALERT COLLECTOR Mark Shores, Editor Kristen Nyitray began her immersion in video games with an Atari 2600 and ColecoVision console and checking out Game On to games from her local public library. Later in life, she had the opportunity to start building a video game studies col- lection in her professional career as an archivist and special Game After collections librarian. While that project has since ended, you get the benefit of her expansive knowledge of video game sources in “Game On to Game After: Sources for Video Game Sources for Video History.” There is much in this column to help librarians wanting to support research in this important entertainment Game History form. Ready player one?—Editor ideo games have emerged as a ubiquitous and dominant form of entertainment as evidenced by statistics compiled in the United States and pub- lished by the Entertainment Software Association: V60 percent of Americans play video and/or computer games daily; 70 percent of gamers are 18 and older; the average age of a player is 34; adult women constitute 33 percent of play- ers; and sales in the United States were estimated in 2017 at $36 billion.1 What constitutes a video game? This seemingly simple question has spurred much technical and philosophical debate. To this point, in 2010 I founded with Raiford Guins (professor of cinema and media studies, the Media School, Kristen J. Nyitray Indiana University) the William A. Higinbotham Game Studies Collection (2010–2016), named in honor of physi- Kristen J. Nyitray is Director of Special Collections cist Higinbotham, developer of the analog computer game and University Archives, and University Archivist at Tennis for Two (as it is most commonly known).2 This game Stony Brook University, State University of New York.
    [Show full text]
  • Atari 5200 Free Download Atari 5200 Free Download
    atari 5200 free download Atari 5200 free download. The Atari 5200 SuperSystem , or simply the Atari 5200 , is a video game console that was introduced in 1982 by Atari as a replacement for the famous Atari 2600. The 5200 was created to compete with the Mattel Intellivision, but wound up more directly competing with the ColecoVision shortly after its release. A number of design flaws had a serious impact on usability, and the system is generally considered a failure. The 5200 was heavily based on Atari's existing 400/800 computers and the internal hardware was almost identical. However, a number of issues (aside from the lack of a keyboard) meant that software was not directly compatible between the two systems. Atari 5200 ROMs. Welcome to the Atari 5200 ROMs section of the ROM Database. Please scroll down for more sections and remember to share this page. You can also vote for your favourite system. The Atari 5200 SuperSystem, commonly known as the Atari 5200, is a home video game console that was introduced in 1982 by Atari Inc. as a higher-end complementary console for the popular Atari 2600. The 5200 was created to compete with the Intellivision, but wound up more directly competing with the ColecoVision shortly after its release. The 5200 was based on Atari Inc.'s existing 400/800 computers and the internal hardware was almost identical, although software was not directly compatible between the two systems. The 5200's controllers have an analog joystick and a numeric keypad along with start, pause and reset buttons.
    [Show full text]
  • Atari Game Systems and Atari Computers for the Index Page / Site Listing
    Best Electronics Specializing in Replacement Parts and Accessories for all Consumer Based Atari Game Systems and Atari Computers for the Index page / Site listing One of the more common Atari Questions / E-Mails we get, do you really have that Atari part or Atari item in stock. I have checked the world wide Internet and you are the only one that lists it? I noticed that your that your Atari web page(s) have not been updated (bottom of each Best Web page has a last updated date) for weeks, months or years? When we cleared out the local Atari Sunnyvale Warehouses here over a 10 to 15 year period, we hauled in thousands and thousands of Pallets of Atari Goods. Some Atari items we have a lifetime supply of (hence why the Best Atari web page for that product never gets updated) and other Atari items have sold out fast to the world wide Atari users and collectors. Bests Atari Hall of fame A little background into why Best Electronics was started 35 years ago and a short list of Best Exclusive made Atari Products, Atari Upgrade kits, Replacement and Upgraded Atari parts Best has developed / produced in the last 35 years in the Atari business. See why some of the Best made exclusive Atari items and stock Atari products we carry, even show up on E- Bay after they are purchased direct from Best Electronics and resold with a big mark up by E-bay Atari sellers! All Atari World Wide Atari CX78 JoyPad Owners! On June 17, 2019 after 16+ months work, Best has released a CX78 Upgrade Gold Kit that will fix / cure the known Atari CX78 JoyPad problems that causes them to fail early and it also Enhances / Upgrades the stock Atari made CX78 JoyPad features / functions! On June 17, 2019 Best released another Upgraded Atari replacement part.
    [Show full text]