Into The Vertical Blank

To start off the 4th season, we chose four games to play and discuss : Early Atari Coin-ops, Avalanche, Fire Truck, Super Bug, and Dominos. We also discuss a very early Electronic games magazine article on “Games we hope we’ll never see”. They were mostly wrong. Starting with this episode we will also have a companion video with us live discussing the games and items that need more visual evidence...

S3:E25;  1981 - Atari VCS Christmas   For the 2020 Christmas episode we go back 39 years to 1981 and talk about how it felt to want, and ultimately, get, an Atari VCS that year.   We have a story from Steve about our twin scheming and planning to get a VCS, and then we have a discussion about our top-10 VCS games available at the end of 1981.   We hope these memories and stories help you have a go...

As we we prepare for the 2020 Chirstmas episode of Into The Vertical Blank, here is a supercut of three Christmas stories from past seasons told for the first tiem, in Chronological order:  -The Best  @*#! Christmas Ever (1983) -Atari 7800 Christmas (1986) -The Christmas Train (1982-2011)  

S3: E23. Why we are Thankful for STOS: The Game Creator In this episode the brothers talk about the creation of their one and only completed Atari ST game (“Zamboozal Poker Dice”) and the tools that helped them complete it:  the Mandarin / JawX Software products under the STOS banner.  Come along for the ride as they discuss the old days of making games on their favorite 16 bit computer.    Writte...

In this episode Steve and Jeff cover the Wii Haunted House port from 2010, and also make their list of the top 27 things that scare Atari Fans (or at least scare Steve and Jeff).  They also feature an Easter egg from their past and a fantastic Tony Longworth tune.  Listen here or on all major podcast platforms, including Spotify.  Steam Store Haunted House: https://store.steampowered.com/app/9960/...

Right before the Atari VCS, Star Wars toys, and Lego hit big in the 70's there was the 1977 Sears Wish Book. It's like an archive of everything "cool" before things got real. Every year in September or October, the Sears Wish Book would arrive in the mail, and our job was to circle the things we wanted for Christmas.  In this episode we dive into the top-50 weird and wonderful products from the 19...

In this episodes we take you back to an era when arcades in the shape of rockets and castles ruled the land, and TV shows like CHiPs ruled the airwaves. Most every kid who grew-up in the Golden Age of video games had a favorite place to play games.  For us, it was Castle Park in Redondo Beach, CA.   In this episode we have a story about Castle Park named "Ode To Castle Park", and we do something b...

Into The Vertical Blank: Generation Atari S3:E19 Interview with Thomas Cherryhomes. How Fujinet and Irata-Online Give Plato New Life Fujinet is an exciting new creation for Atari 8bit computers that, among other things, allows them to connect up to the internet and load disk images straight off of FTP sites. It is the brainchild of the genius Thomas Cherryhomes who would like to have this type of...

In this episode we have updates on news from around the world of Atari, including the very sad and depressing passing of Curt Vendel, who we only just interviewed this season.  We also have a discussion about the game "Karateka" along with a book review of Jordan Mechner's "The Making Of Karateka" Recorded, Engineered and Produced by Steve And Jeff Fulton Branding by Daryl Litts Additional Music :...

Into the Vertical Blank: Generation Atari - Episode 50!  In this Episode we both ranked out top 50 games released by Atari across all platforms and came up with our combined top 50 + about 30 honorable mentions. Systems - Atari 2600, 5200, 400/800/XL/XE, ST, Lynx Jaguar and even more. Written, Edited, Produced by Steve Fulton and Jeff Fulton Branding by Daryl Litts Additional music - “8 Bit Wonder...

In part 2 of our discussion with Steve Golson, we cover the glory of the Ms. Pac-Man, arcade game, and fate the lay ahead for GCC as Atari's silent but productive game  and hardware producing secret weapon. Betty Ryan bio:  http://www.atariwomen.org/stories/betty-ryan-tylko/ Electronic Games June 1982 : http://www.digitpress.com/library/magazines/electronic_games/electronic_games_jun82.pdf Electro...

In this episode we talk to Steve Golson, hacker/engineer for GCC and creator of the hardware that converted Pac-Man into Ms. Pac Man.   In part one of a two part conversation, we chat about the era of coin-op “speed-up kits” and how GCC's revolutionary ideas for converting "Missile Command " into “Super Missile Attack” led to the upstart company becoming  Atari’s Secret Weapon.    Don't miss this...

  S3:E14 Tempest, Yars’ Revenge And The Advent Of Hardcore Games In this episode Steve and I discuss the games Tempest and Yars' Revenge and how they represented a change, at least to us, in the home and arcade gaming experience. We also have some home brew news, and a new song from Tony Longworth Written, Edited, Produced by Steve Fulton and Jeff Fulton Branding by Daryl Litts Additional music -...

A father's day story about being the "right-kind" of obsolete. Written, Recorded, Edited, Produced by Jeff And Steve Fulton Branding by Daryl Little Some music created with 8-bit Weapon Loop Library

Into the Vertical Blank: Generation Atari: S3:E12 :Atari News In A time When You Probably Shouldn;t Care About Such Things In this episode we cover news from around the internet and the globe about all things Atari, New and old.  Written, Edited, Produced by Steve Fulton and Jeff Fulton Branding by Daryl Litts Additional music - “Beyond The Realms Of Possibility” By Tony Longworth   Interviews Men...

An Interview with Jon Williams a Gamer Developer for the Atari 8bit computers, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Commodore C16, Amiga and many other platforms.  We discuss some technical details about developing for the Atari 8bits, Commodore C16 and C64, and well as dive into his game development history and what he is working on now.    Jon Williams Game Video https://intotheverticalblank.com/2020/05/27/t...

In this episode we cover Evercade Lynx 2, Pong Quest, Atari 2600 Game By Game Podcast, Atari Bytes Podcast, Antic The Atari Podcast, Atari Party East, Champ Games VCS Robotron, Atari 7800 Dragon's Havoc, and more! -Written, edited, produced by Steve Fulton and Jeff Fulton  -Additional Music - "Sense Delete" by Tony Longworth -  -Branding By Tony Litts

A story about the day in 1981 when our mom made a split decision that helped us discover Atari computers. Written, engineeerd, and produced by Steve Fulton and Jeff Fulton Additional music from Tony Longworth Branding by Daryl Litts

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 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...