Into The Vertical Blank

In the 80's we sold all of our Atari 800 discs and lost all of our youthful programs BASIC programs and creative output forever.  Or so we thought. A few weeks ago we discovered a lost "treasure":   an audio tape from 1984 that we never remembered recording of us using one of our programs.  With the help of musician Tony Longworth, we embarked on quest to plumbs the depths of this computer audio e...

In this episode we have a great story about the Atari 8 bit computers from Tony Longworth (and also his song "Star Raiders"...we should have just called this the Tony Longworth episode!), some Atari retro news, and a discussion about the Atari 8bit computers games we feel are ripe to be re-released and/or remade for Atari's new VCS, which had finally seen general release this week. Written, edited...

The Atari 400 was a games machine masked as an entry-level computer computer.  When it was released in 1979, it could play Atari’s killer-app “Star Raiders” just as well as it’s more serious, older brother the Atari 800.   At the same time, the Atari 400 acted as a gateway for many kids to the world of programming.  In this episode we explore how we were first introduced to the Atari 400, the firs...

This is not a regular episode.   Today we talk about our sister Mari (Marz) who passed away at her home in early April.   Marz was our older sister, teacher and protector and also our game playing companion. We talk about grief and how sometimes memories of life events are intertwined with games in ways we just don't fully understand.   We also have a very nice story contribution from Tony Longwot...

Last week we caught up with David Crane, Garry Kitchen and Dan Kitchen from Audacity Games to chat about the old Atari days, Activision, Absolute, Skyworks, the tragedy of digital obsolescence, their new venture Audacity games and their spectacular new Atari VCS game, Circus Convoy. See full video version of the interview here: (1) Audacity Games Interview: David Crane, Dan Kitchen and Garry Kitch...

An episode  jampacked with Atari VCS goodness! First a story about the allure (and danger) of Atari VCS programming in modern times. Then a playthrough and history of the original 9 VCS  1977 launch titles. Also memories of Combat! from Tony Longworth. and a discussion and reaction of the brand new VCS game Circus Convoy from Audacity games. Features "The Atari VCS Almost Killed Me" by Steve Fulto...

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