Into The Vertical Blank

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 Tunes Google Play   Player FM   Spotify Show Not...

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://tonylongwort...

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...

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 inves...

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...

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 A...

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...

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/

This episode is a quick apology for mixing an episode of The Alarm podcast into the Into The Vertical Blank Feed.   This episode contains content that never made it into season 2 including book reviews for Galaga from Boss Fight Books and American Nerd, The Story Of My People, as well as a remote collecting excusrion and a lost intro for S2:E15.   Again, sorry about the mix-up. 

Republished Decamber 24th 2023 From 2019: The best @#$! Chrustmas Ever! The Season 2 finale of Into The Vertical Blank. In this episode we pull out all the stops and explain exactly why Atari means so much to us. This honest, naked, all-cards-on-the-table, frank episode includes an Eponymous Story named "The Best #*@! Christmas Ever" that tells all. There is also discussion and a remix that incorp...

In this episode we dig into American Thanksgiving 1986 and discuss our transition from the Atari 800 to the Atari ST with the Atari 7800 squeezed in between. Tony Longworth: https://patreon.com/tonylongworth Some of the music in this Episode was created using an 8bitweapon Loop Library: https://8bitweapon.com/ The original Atari playfield From 8bitrocket.com http://www.8bitrocket.com/2018/07/28/at...

We salute Asteroids 40th anniversary with a discussion of how things have changed since 1979, and with a rebroadcast of the story "Escape To The Asteroids Zone"

Into the vertical Blank: Generation Atari Season 2 Episode 13 : The Haunting of the Vertical Blank See some photos of the actual ESP tests here: http://www.8bitrocket.com/2019/10/20/s2e13-the-haunting-of-the-vertical-blank/ This time the guys discuss “scary” Atari games (mostly *not* scary all), some real-world experiences that beg the question “Was Jeff and Steve’s 520 Atari ST haunted?”, a story...

In the follow-up episode to the Season 2, Episode 12, Steve and Jeff continue their discussion of the impact that Star Wars on their video game experience and video games in general.   They also add in a story by Steve and have a game play session of the Arcade, Atari 2600, and Atari 400/800/XL/XE version(s) of Star Wars Death Star Battle. Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Atari_VB_Pod FaceBook:   htt...

In this two-part series we delve deep into Star Wars (or Star Wars:A New Hope for those who didn’t see the movie in the summer of 1977).  We examine the movie’s affect on us as 70’s kids and how Atari’s 1983 coin-operated “Star Wars: The Arcade Game” finally gave us the chance to be Luke Skywalker. See the photos from Sept. 26th, 1977 here: http://www.8bitrocket.com/2019/09/22/s22es2e11-star-wars-...

To salute the end of summer, w e are re-running a story from last season named "Big Mouse And Little Mouse" that has been updated, expanded and remastered.   This is a story about the type of imaginative play that occurs when kids are trying to discover the world.   This was play in world of the mid 70's, without screens (except the wood console one on the living room).  The events in this story a...

Into the vertical blank: Generation Atari: Season 2, Episode 9 DragonStomper In the episode, Steve and Jeff take a deep look at the Atari 2600 game Dragon Stomper, what it meant to them in the grand scheme of gaming, and also how it had an effect on early 80’s video and computer games as a whole.  AtariProtos.com Dragon Stomper Page http://www.atariprotos.com/2600/software/dragonstomper/dragonstom...

In this short summer bonus episode, Steve explores what he thinks is the exact moment Nintendo beat everyone and and won the video game war.  I imagine, it's not exactly what you expect.

Into the Vertical Blank: Generation Atari - Season 2 Episode 7 : Emits a shower of sparks: How we stopped playing  soccer and started playing Atari (along with Pele) In this episode, Steve and Jeff cover Pele’s Soccer for the Atari 2600, and the cultural as well as business atmosphere surrounding the game. This game fit perfectly into the summer episode slot as Soccer in the USA is mostly a summer...

This is a rebroadcast of the the story 'Claw Hammer' from season 1, episode 2. specially for father's day.

In this episode, Steve and Jeff have a frank discussion about what they collect and why they collect Atari.  Also includes a couple segments from Steve's "Fultonbot's Atari Quest" blog series, as well as an impromptu live remote visit to their favorite retro game store. 

In this epiosde of Into The Vertical Blank: Generation Atari, Steve and Jeff celebrate the magazine that started it all. The first publicaion in the USA that was strictly devoted to video and electronic games.  The brothers bring you two stories of thos glories magazine, each featuring a different issue of that impacted their childhood in a remarkable way.  Digital Press Landing pages for Electoni...

What were some of hidden factors that led to the fall of Atari and the  golden age of classic video game consoles?  Did the world at large really understand video games at all?  In this episode we set out to prove, through the lens of some truly awful products and ideas, that the industry might have killed itself. The back pages and new products sections of Electronic Games magazine in 1982 and 19...

Steve and Jeff provide two new stories about wanting to work for, with, or somehow adjacent to classic Atari. The pair also answer feedback, to explain recent Irata, and give some responses to their favorite podcasts.   Tony Longworth’s incredibly melodic industrial grunge track “Into the Vertical Blank” again accompanies this episode, along with original music and audio  productions from the Fult...