In this episode we discuss the affect the movie Westworld had on us as kids, and try to figure out why its' "anti-technology" message did not resonate.  This episode also includes a remastered version of "Sharpshooter", the Westworld themed story from way back in Season 1.

PS: We will soon have new branding by professional graphic designer and podcast listener Daryl Litts.   Watch this space 

Into the Vertical Blank Generation Atari

Season 3 Episode 7: Discussion with Curt Vendel about the Atari 7800 XM Module

In this Episode we dive deep into the 7800 Expansion Module with Curt Vendel. We also discuss some history of the 7800, the original development and why it took Atari Corp so long to put it out into the market. 

   Subscribe Links

Show Notes

Tony Longworth

https://tonylongworth.bandcamp.com/

http://www.atarimuseum.com/

Buy Atari Business is Fun (not an affiliate link):

https://www.amazon.com/Atari-Inc-Business-Curt-Vendel/dp/0985597402/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Atari+Business+is+fun&qid=1587507833&sr=8-1

The Atari Bytes Podcast

https://ataribytes.libsyn.com/

The Atari 5200 Podcast

https://theatari5200superpodcast.libsyn.com/

The XEGS Cartby  Cart  Podcast

https://xegs8bit.com/

The Atari 5200 Super Community Podcast

http://theatari5200supercommunity.blogspot.com/

Antic the Atari 8bit Podcast

https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/

Follow or contact us

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/intotheverticalblank/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Atari_VB_Pod

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPnyVqBr2glJ-vAcDYDUYYw

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/into_the_vertical_blank/

Into the Vertical Blank. Generation Atari

Season 3, Episode 6. 

I Want Candy. Atari's Biggest Mistake Part 3: A Discussion with Curt Vendel

In this episode we go into a deep discussion with Atarimuseum.com’s Curt Vendel about what Atari could have been if the Atari 400 was actually released as “Game Player non expandable” instead of as the Atari 400 computer. 

Tony Longworth

https://tonylongworth.bandcamp.com/

http://www.atarimuseum.com/

Buy Atari Business is Fun (not an affiliate link):

https://www.amazon.com/Atari-Inc-Business-Curt-Vendel/dp/0985597402/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Atari+Business+is+fun&qid=1587507833&sr=8-1

Follow or contact us

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/intotheverticalblank/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Atari_VB_Pod

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPnyVqBr2glJ-vAcDYDUYYw

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/into_the_vertical_blank/

The Vertical Blank: Generation Atari. Season 3 Episode 5: Monthly News and Notes for those who grew up Atari, Or Atari News and HomeBrew Update for Q1 of 2020: Apocalypse Edition.
In this episode we cover news from the Official Atari as well as other new hardware projects that have sparked our interest. We also attempt to cover homebrew games for all of Atari Systems including the 2600, 5200, 7800, 8bit Computers, ST, Lynx and Jaguar. 

8bitrocket Pong Returns Post Mortem Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoEDKq2PAPg

Pong Quest
https://www.atari.com/games/pong-quest/

Zero Page homebrew reports:
Atari 2600 Homebrew Completed/WIP in 2020

 https://atariage.com/forums/topic/301348-atari-2600-homebrew-completedwip-in-2020/

Atari 7800 Homebrew Completed/WIP in 2020

Zero Page homebrew reports:

https://atariage.com/forums/topic/301937-atari-7800-homebrew-completedwip-in-2020/

Atari 8-Bit/5200 Homebrew Completed/WIP in 2020

Zero Page Homebrew

 https://atariage.com/forums/topic/304311-atari-8-bit5200-homebrew-completedwip-in-2020/

Below is a list of all the Atari 8-Bit/5200 homebrew games that have either been completed in 2020 or have released an updated WIP in 2020. Please let me know if there are any missing or inaccurate entries.

Atari Lynx - from atarigamer.com
https://atarigamer.com/explore/new-releases

Atari ST/E. TT. Falcon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmlqMEdeQTY&t=868s

Fun game, reminds me of Plutos. 

Follow or contact us

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/intotheverticalblank/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Atari_VB_Pod

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPnyVqBr2glJ-vAcDYDUYYw

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In part 2 of “Atari’s Biggest Mistake” we explore the core reasons  why Atari blundered in 1982 with their biggest releases and explore a “what if” scenario right out of The Vertical Blank.   

What really was Atari’s biggest mistake? Was it ET for the 2600, was it Pac-Man for the 2600? Was it over confidence and inexperience? Or was it some else entirely?  In this 2nd part of our brand new investigative series on the real failure of Atari, we delve deep into the exact moments that we feel turned Atari from, the fastest growing company in the world, to a failure 3 years later. 

This podcast includes never before heard interviews with Nolan Bushnell, Chris Crawford and Curt Vendel. 

Atari Business is Fun

by Marty Goldberg (Author), Curt Vendel (Author)

https://www.amazon.com/Atari-Inc-Business-Complete-History-ebook/dp/B00CELBAJS/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=atari+business+is+fun&qid=1586136981&sr=8-2

Arcade Perfect

by David L. Craddock  (Author), Milan Jaram (Illustrator)

https://www.amazon.com/Arcade-Perfect-Pac-Man-Coin-Op-Classics-ebook/dp/B07XCDZZ12/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=arcade+perfect&qid=1586137006&sr=8-1

Chris Crawford Interview : http://www.8bitrocket.com/2017/06/16/in-depth-interview-with-game-philosopher-king-chris-crawford/

History Of Atari Part 1 (with Nolan Bushnell Quotes): https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/2000/the_history_of_atari_19711977.php?page=1

History Of Atari Part 2 (with Nolan Bushnell Quotes): https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3766/atari_the_golden_years__a_.php?page=1

Antic ET Story: https://www.atarimagazines.com/v2n4/etgame.html

Antic Podcast with Dave Comstock, programmer for E.T. Phone Home: https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-316-dave-comstock-et-phone-home-superman-iii-cloak-dagger?fbclid=IwAR1PKHuEKcKRV6LhMBE6GxaMmElFu5s_eE-d1t6rZnuPt7Hx4BOCK2tj7yk

The Atari 5200 FAQ

http://www.atarihq.com/5200/5200faq/5200faq.txt

Atariprotos.com Atari 5200 Pac-Man

http://www.atariprotos.com/5200/software/pacman/pacman.htm

Atarimania.com Atari 8bit Et Phone Hone

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-et-phone-home_1881.html

Atarimania.com Atari 8bit Pac-Man

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-pac-man_3857.html

AtariMuseum.com Atari 400 “Candy”
http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/8BITS/400800/400/400.html

Antic Magazine December 1982

https://archive.org/details/anticdecember1982vol1no5

Electronic Games Magazine October 1982

https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Games_Volume_01_Number_08_1982-10_Reese_Communications_US/mode/2up

Electronic Games Magazine May 1984

https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Games_Volume_02_Number_12_1984-05_Reese_Communications_US/mode/2up

Antic Magazine July 1983

https://archive.org/details/1983-07-anticmagazine/mode/2up

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In the 2nd part of our Dan Kitchen interview, we discuss the ground-breaking title "Garry Kitchen's Game Maker", Dan's new game "Gold Rush" and try to figure out what to call  new games that are made by original developers for vintage systems.

Http://www.dankitchen.com 

http://www.garrykitchen.com/

In our quest to discover the secrets of programming 8 and 16 bit computers this season, we caught up with Dan Kitchen, a true survivor of the 80's video game crash, still making games today. 

 In fact, he's on a quest to build and publish a brand new set of games for the Atari VCS  n the spirit of Activision, the company he and his brothers Garry and Steve once worked for and ran the east coast branch

We Catch Steve and Dan Talking about Dan’s new game and then start to dig into the History of the Kitchen Brothers

In part 2 we get into deeper topics including Gary Kitchen’s game Maker,which Dan ported to the Apple II and created all of the demo games for the Commodore 64 version. Its a piece of software that as an Atari 800 user we were very jealous of not having on our own machine. 

Http://www.dankitchen.com 

What was Atari's biggest mistake? To truly be inside The Vertical Blank is to ruminate on "what could have been." For Atari, there are many "what could have been" moments. What if they produced The Amiga computer? What if they released the NES? In this two-part season opener we delve into, what we believe, was the biggest mistake Atari ever made. Any mention of the games Pac-Man and E.T. for the Atari VCS elicit groans from Atari fans because they have heard the arguments before: they are "the worst ever", they "caused the crash". But what if those games were only a small part of much bigger and more fundamental mistake that Atari made in the 80's, that still has repercussions today?

Show Note Links

Atari Age Issue 1 - Pac Man Interview: https://www.atariage.com/magazines/magazine_page.php?MagazineID=1&CurrentPage=2

Atari Age Issue 1 - Word Find : https://www.atariage.com/magazines/magazine_page.php?MagazineID=1&CurrentPage=10

Atari Pac Man Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FHkMqHx5xM

Remember back in the 70's, after May sweeps, when   in the TV Guide it would say Happy Days had a (New) episode, but when you watched, it was just Fonzie, Ritchie and Laurie Beth reminiscing about what-not or whatever, as an excuse to play old clips and save money on production.  This is that, but oh so much worse.  Enjoy!
Includes:
- A new discussion with updates on past episodes
- Clips from all season 1 episodes
- An "emily" supercut
-A new "season 3" opening we are testing out

In this season 2 bonus episode, Steve makes a  visit to CES 2020 and looks in all corners for signs of retro games.  

Some photos here:
http://www.8bitrocket.com/2020/01/15/s218-bonus-2-porch-cjops-and-retro-games-sizzle-at-ces-2020/