Into The Vertical Blank

This week we are inspired by  one of our all-time a favorite podcasts This American Life.  Taking a cue from Ira Glass’s often copied, but never duplicated style, we have collected three new stories on single topic: Going Going, Gone. Our first “Going” story from myself, Steve, called “Surprise Box” is about a seaside arcade that is destined to close forever.   Our next “going” story S from Jeff c...

This week, 8bitjeff gets into a some awesome listener feedback and provides some of his own for the Atari 5200 Podcast.  First up some questions and answers for Tony Longworth, who’s Into The Vertical Blank song gets its own full length airing in the episode. Next up is an incredible story by Bill Lange about his father, his childhood, Christmas and Lionel Trains.  To finish off the episode, Jeff...

In this first episode of season 2 the Fulton’s dive into a mystery: Why hasn’t Atari’s magnificent 1983 game “Food Fight” appeared any of their retro game collections? Where has it is gone?   Episode features an in-depth interview with the fabulous Jonathan Hurd, creator on the Food Fight arcade game for GCC and Atari. Atari 2015 IP Catalog: http://news.calyptus.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Atar...

In this Bonus podcast between Season 1 and Season 2, Steve takes his family to the Retro City Festival in Pomona, CA . Mild, family friendly hijinks ensue.

In this season 1 finale, the Fulton brothers discuss the early years of Atari and Christmas, culminating in a Christmas story that ties a bow on a few of the previous stories and themes from this season. There are also some surprises, weird occurances, and awkwardness. Lots and lots of awkwardness. What were you expecting?  Some Images To Illustrate The Podcast Probably the first ad we ever saw in...

S1:E9: The Weird Family Thanksgiving In the Vertical Blank In the penultimate episode of season one of Into The Vertical Blank, travel back to Thanksgiving holidays of the past to find out how pop culture,  games and Atari fit into The Vertical Blank.    This episode features a story by Steve Fulton named "The Weird Family" and Story by Jeff Fulton named "4 Days In November" Notes: See images ment...

S1:E8:  The Bronze Age  of Arcade Video Games In this episode Steve and Jeff discuss their favorite games and memories of the Bronze Age of arcade video games, a period that spans 1971 (pong) to 1978 (Space Invaders).  The pair talk about what was special about those games, and why they matter today. Also included: new music by Jeff, Atari Haiku, a remix by Jeff, and brand-new story by Steve named...

This episode takes a slightly more personal turn as twin brother hosts Jeff and Steve Fulton tell stories and relive memories of playing together in both analog and digital ways  in the 1970’s. The episode includes an original non-fiction story by Steve Fulton titled “Big Mouse And Little Mouse 1.0”.  (Remaster adds a section to this story).  This episode also features an interview with Jamie Lend...

The only thing from the 80's that could rival our love for Atari was our love for punk rock and new wave, and especially, our favorite band: The Alarm.  In 1987 those two things combined in an unexpected way. So unexpected in fact, that we were only able to fully understand impact of those two world's clashing more than 30 years later.  This episode documents that journey to understanding. In 1987...

I nto the Vertical Blank - Generation Atari: Season 1, Episode 5.  All Appointments Life (Asteroids Part 2 ) This is the second episode where we will be covering the game Asteroids in story and discussion form. We have a story from 8bitjeff, and also very nice contributions Shinto, and Jim Fullerton. The discussion dives into versions of Asteroids (and clones) after the arcade 2600, 5200 and Vectr...

Into The Vertical Blank: Generation Atari Season 1, Episode 4: Escape To The Asteroids Zone Part 1. In Part One of our two-part extravaganza,  we delve into the that game forms the backdrop of The Vertical Blank: Asteroids. We discuss our experiences with  Atari’s best selling coin-op and discover why this game, in particular, means so much to us. This episode includes a story written by Steve Ful...

Into The Vertical Blank: Generation Atari Season 1, Episode 3:  Atari Nerd In this episode we dig up one of our first podcasts from December 2008, which is one of the first Atari dedicated podcasts ever recorded.  This low-fi descent into the aughties, complete with bad mics, driving noise, and half-baked ideas is where we began. It’s also a bit prophetic about Atari in 2018.   We also have a coup...

Into the Vertical Blank: Growing Up Atari. Season 1 Episode 2: “A hole burned In my Pocket: Toys R Us And The Atari 7800". What was the “game cage”? What does it mean to “disconnect” while being “connected”? “Can a hole really be burned in your pocket?” In this episode, the brothers focus on the now closing Toys R Us, not with a history, but with some personal stories, a visit to a closing store,...

Into The Vertical Blank: Growing Up Atari Season 1 Episode 1 – All The Scan Lines Have Been Written In this, the real premiere episode, the boys pull out all the production stops to bring some much needed levity and interludes to a game playing session and discussion on modern releases for the Atari 8-bit computers.  Games discussed and Played: Stunt Car Racer, Bosconian, Time Pilot, X:8, Crazy ca...

8bitrocket’s Into The Vertical Blank, Growing Up Atari  Ep: 0 This is the test episode of the Into The Vertical Blank, Growing Up Atari. In it, 8bit Jeff (Jeff Fulton from 8bitrocket.com) tries out and reviews 5 Atari XL/XE Cartridges (probably won’t work on a 400 or 800) that he recently purchased from Video 61. This is a very extended version of what was originally going to be a short user submi...