Into The Vertical Blank

If you were a teen,  pre-teen, or even a curious adult with an 8-bit computer in the 80’s, you most likely started your journey as a computer enthusiast by playing with the basic language included with your machine.  Some typed in a few programs, then moved to games and never looked back, while many of us were so engrossed in the power to control the computer and especially create games,  that it...

A lost tape from 2023. Jeff and I sit down to talk about our friend Brandon, the day we found out he passed away. Brandon was with us on our gaming adventures from 1982 to 2023.

In 2008, when quite literally, NO ONE CARED we published a multi-part series called "Project Save Atari" with ideas and predictions for Atari's future. In 2024 we sat down to revisit it, and see how we did. These are the lost tapes from 2024 and 2008. These were predictions and suggestions to help save the then struggling Atari/Infogrames. In this lost tape from 2024,w e went back to look at the 1...

In the final episode of "Worse Than E.T. ?" we attempt to, once and for all, find the "worst Atari 2600 game", even if we have to make it ourselves...so we do. Here is the itch.io page for the game when you can download it, get the code, see the box-art, etc. All free, of course. https://intotheverticalblank.itch.io/worst-game #worst #atari #atari2600 #humor Late night fuel support appreciated but...

What Does It Mean To Finish A Game? Atari 2600, 400/800, 520/1040 ST A lost tape from 2022, finally released. Inspired by an episode of The Retro Hour, We discuss all the games we "finished" for Atari platforms. With gobs of new video for each game. #atari #atari2600 #atari800 #atari400 #atarist Late night fuel support appreciated but not demanded : https://www.buymeacoffee.com/intotheverticalblan...

We get together live and in person to talk about the state of Atari and play victim to the C64, NES, and the Amiga. Whoa is us, as Atari fans. Late night fuel support appreciated but not demanded : https://www.buymeacoffee.com/intotheverticalblank Thanks for support from: BCB, Atari Legend, Atari Crypt, ED Possible, Tony Longworth Daniel Beasley, Barry Burkey David Schmidt, Jolt7800 Dave theVeloci...

#134 Atari ST Special: SSI on the ST and a STOS STE game engine Welcome to episode 134 of the Into The Vertical Blank Podcast. Today we have a special treat. It’s the 40th anniversary of the Atari ST this year, so we will be confusing most of the audio and video channels on the Atari computers and especially the ST.    First up we have a segment focusing on the Magic of SSI games on the ST. Follow...

Beautiful Disaster: An Ode to Fry's Electronics A story about technology change from generation to generation and the importance of feeling useful with DIY See video version here: https://youtu.be/r78tcGiIzP4 #diy #atari #motorcycles #pcgames #fryselectronics #southbay #memoir Music licenses: Soundstripe Full Throttle: Code: UKYZGYCBOZ5E6MSB 1 Up: Code: FPQITALX8O3ERBZV Written and Created By Stev...

  There were as many stories as there were people at Vintage Computer Fest So. Cal. 2025. This is Ours Video version of the main story here: Finding Our Story at Vintage Computer Fest So. Cal. 2025 #retrogaming #vintacomouting Links, etc. Panel Attendees: → David from Usagi Electric - youtube.com/@UsagiElectric → Jeri from Tilt Five - tiltfive.com → Sean from Advent of Computing - adventofcomputin...

In the 1994, when retro gaming wasn't even really a thing yet, Ed Federmeyer decided he wanted to make his own Atari 2600 software. His drive to actually bring this dream to fruition may have sparked the modern are of retro games. Includes a new 2025 interview with Ed Federmeyer. Late night fuel support appreciated but not demanded : https://www.buymeacoffee.com/intotheverticalblank Thanks for sup...

What started as simple "crack the seal" to open and play a 30 year old Windows game, became journey to discover, what might be, the origins of retro gaming itself. Many Thanks to Eclectic Lee for creating the archive page used in this story. See Video Version:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_Sge_pELco&feature=youtu.be Music: All Systems Go by used on Cyberlink Power Director license: Code:...

The final, definitive version of the story we've been trying to tell for the past 6 years. Christmas 1983, the Atari 8-bit computer Christmas was, for many reasons, the best *#@! Christmas ever. This new version gives a rounder picture, explains The Vertical Blank, obsesses over Star Wars, and tries to explain the actual result of Christmas 1983, once and for all. #atari #atari8bit #atari800 #star...

There is a new Atari related limited podcast out there that blew us away! The Legend Of SwordQuest from iHeartRadio Atariage Thread: Legend of Swordquest podcast - Atari 2600 - AtariAge Forums iHeartRadio Podcast Page: The Legend of SwordQuest | iHeart Jamie Loftus Page: Jamie Loftus School Of Humans: The Legend of SwordQuest — School of Humans Late night fuel support appreciated but not demanded...

Late night fuel support appreciated but not demanded : https://www.buymeacoffee.com/intotheverticalblank   On the Into The Vertical Blank’s The Essential #atari ST, we investigate, discuss and evaluate #atarist Computers games and try to uncover titles worthy of play by all who are interested in the platform. I will be giving you a history of #timebandit , a personal review and I will also be inse...

In this 20 minute rant, we loudly discuss an incident we recently had at a retro game store, and then talk about how the retro game store experience could be improved for all. https://retrogamesplus.com/ Late night fuel support appreciated but not demanded : https://www.buymeacoffee.com/intotheverticalblank Thanks for support from: BCB, Atari Legend, Atari Crypt, ED Possible, Tony Longworth Daniel...

(Including Sun Su Si and First Samurai)   Join us as we take a look at 10 good #actionplatformer games for the #atarist we also briefly discuss them for the #amiga and otjer 80s computers such as the #c64 and #pc I have chosen the #Atari ST as my platform because it was what I had from 1987 until 1992 and also because these games have most likely been explored in detail for other systems multiple...

#atari #atarst #actionplatformer #amiga #msx #c64 #speccy #amstradcpc #dos The Euro Platformer. Today the term is used with much derision, mostly by console game fans but even by some many 80’s computer games, and well now, now even by me, and we all probably should know better, or should we? Yes, these games had very high difficulty, cheap deaths, a lot of jumping to unknown places and mostly “ba...

#123: Atari I.P List Found! 23 Atari ST Games They Own! We scour Atari's 2024 IP list (we were altered to it last week by BCB Coffee Boy last week) and discover 23 Atari ST games Atari (probably) owns that could be put into a game pack, DLC for Atari 50, an Atari ST mini, etc. We played (almost) all of them (game play video included). Note: list was first published by PowerDubs on atariage.com who...

Is Atari 2600 Pac-Man worse than E.T. for The Atari 2600? Or does it go deeper than that? Did the timing, release, and quality of the 2600 Pac-Man game combine together to make it worse than the sum of its parts? We explore that in this video. Late night fuel support appreciated but not demanded : https://www.buymeacoffee.com/intotheverticalblank Thanks for support from: BCB, Atari Legend, Atari C...

Why do people subjectively choose one game or another to top their "worst" list? It's rarely actually the "worst" game objectively. In this episode I explore why one particular game has topped my own "worst" list for 4 decades, and if that is still the case in 2024. See Video Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWIc1R8Fg24&feature=youtu.be Late night fuel support appreciated but not deman...

Mr. Postman is another game from Bit Corp., the people who brought us Bobby Is Going Home. It's a doozy of game for the 2600, but is it worse than E.T.? Video Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toxJOrAOklw&feature=youtu.be Dr. Spuds Game Reviews: https://doctorspudsreviewsthings.wordpress.com/2018/12/12/mr-postman-bit-corp-atari-2600-game-review/ Ric Pryor on Old School Gamer Magazine: h...

Overscan: Cracking Seals and Proving Life In this over scan we discuss a few new home brew games we have obtained for the #Atari2600 and #NES. #ChampGames https://champ.games/ #AtariAgeStore https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1045 #MurderintheMaze https://t1lt.itch.io/mitm #mrrunandjump https://atari.com/products/mr-run-and-jump-2600 Late night fuel support appreciated but...

Worserer than E.T.? : The Games Of Mythicon In our continuing quest to find games that are "Worse Than E.T?" we have arrived at the bottom of the stinkiest barrel imaginable, and there rests the games of Mythicon. Enjoy! Video version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufSlqW9MjU4 Links: DP Royal Archives - The Worst of the Atari 2600 (digitpress.com) https://www.digitpress.com/archives/arc00135.htm...

Airlock A game that takes "worse Than E.T." to a whole new level. Did Data Age make games worse than the supposed worst game ever, E.T. for the Atari VCS? Were they also one of the culprits responsible for the North American Video Game Crash? Have we found the worst Atari VCS game ever made? Watch and find out. Plus: Embarrassed by my poor play of Airlock, I went back and tried to figure out what...

In our 2nd installment we play the notorious Atari 2600 game "Bobby Is Going Home" and decide: Is it worse than E.T.? Video Version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjtcqOVvPA0&feature=youtu.be Ambient music in this video is "GUL-ee-SUCK-uh" by Tony Longworth "Bobby Is Going Home" By Flanders '72: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc517DXJiSo Flanders 72 on Band Camp https://flanders72.band...