Into The Vertical Blank : Generation Atari

There is new information regarding the whereabouts of one Charlie Chuck, the star of Atari's 1984 coin-op, Food Fight.  We will be revealing what we know and have a special interview in the next episode.  But for now, refresh your memories of the full mystery with a remastered version of the classic lead-off episode from Season 2 of "Into The Vertical Blank": The Disappearance Of Charlie Chuck. Recorded, Mixed, Edited and Produced by Steve And Jeff Fulton Branding By Daryl Litts Additional Music by Tony Longworth Theme by Brian TravisTitle: Into The Vertical Blank theme Words & music by Brian Travis (c)(p)2021 Taste This Moment Music ASCAPhttp://www.briantravisband.com/ Find us here: http://intotheverticalblank.com –Into the Vertical Blank: Generation Atari | Facebook –Into The Vertical Blank Pod Cast  

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 ephemera, the Pokey audio chip and how it was the cornerstone of much of the Atari "Into The Vertical Blank" experience. Features a remix by Tony Longworth. Written, edited, produced by Steve Fulton, Jeff Fulton  Branding by Daryl Litts Music "Pokey Remix" by Tony Longworth . Find Tony on Bandcamp Here:Tony Longworth (bandcamp.com) Theme by Brian TravisTitle: Into The Vertical Blank theme Words & music by Brian Travis (c)(p)2021 Taste This Moment Music ASCAPhttp://www.briantravisband.com/ Links: The Retro Hour UK Podcast Unfinished Atari Jaguar FMV Game American Hero Coming to Console – Push Square Ultima Forever  Press Reset Book by Jason Schreier and Ray Chase Music Video of New Theme by Brian Travis : Video by 8bitrock Studios Wikipedia Article Pokey Chip Our Pokey Sound Player Tool PokeyONE – Atari POKEY Chip Replacement for Atari Arcade Games Starting Line: A sound introduction (atarimagazines.com) Atarimania.com Mule Page Nothing Special – Pokey Tunes Video Atari Books and References noted:Atari Graphics and Arcade Game Design-Chapter 8 (atariarchives.org) Atari Program Exchange: Sound Editor (atariarchives.org) Mappi

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, produced by Steve Fulton, Jeff Fulton and Tony Longworth Branding by Daryl Litts Music "Star Raiders" by Tony Longworth Find us here: - http://intotheverticalblank.com -Into the Vertical Blank: Generation Atari | Facebook -Into The Vertical Blank Pod Cast

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 first few amazing games we played on it, and how it sparked dreams of being a computer programmer. The story in this episode was written and produced by Steve Fulton with music from Tony Longworth. Show Notes   Gamasutra “Atari 1971-1977” :Gamasutra - The History of Atari: 1971-1977 Gamasutra “Atari 1978-1981” :Gamasutra - Atari: The Golden Years -- A History, 1978-1981 Antic Pix Ten - 10 great games (atarimagazines.com) Miner 2049er History (archive.org) An interview with Bill Hogue from 1983 - Atari 8-Bit Computers - AtariAge Forums ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast: ANTIC Interview 94 - Bill Hogue, Miner 2049er (libsyn.com) Written,edited, Produced by Steve Fulton and Jeff Fulton Branding by Daryl Litts The song “Everything Changes But It All Stays The Same” by  Tony Longworth used by permission.  

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 Longwoth and of course a new Tony Tune and new from the Into The Vertical Blank Scene.  Notes: Atari 7800 Space Duel Home Brew: https://youtu.be/OWNI_6NKYiY Atari 8bit X:8 https://youtu.be/fPhSDJfayII Lotus Esprit Turbo STE: https://youtu.be/mtk23h5Hz2E   Tony Longworth All Lives Lost - Atari 400/800 Ghost Encounters https://youtu.be/YmwcMeA9z5M Tony Longworth Primal Serenity Album https://tonylongworth.bandcamp.com/album/primal-serenity   Written, Edited, Produced by Steve Fulton and Jeff Fulton Branding by Daryl Litts Additional music -Tony Longworth’s Fold Your Head" https://tonylongworth.com/   Don’t forget: http://www.intotheverticalblank.com

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 Kitchen - YouTube Produced by Jeff and Steve Fulton Branding By Daryl Litts Music " Dance With Me" by Tony Longworth  

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 Fulton Written edited, produced by Steve And Jeff Fulton Branding by Daryl Litts Music : Ether and Eyes Turned Skyward by Tony Longworth  

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.  Live Game Play and discussion video The video for this episode is: https://youtu.be/1Apns1Bq5IU Written, Edited, Produced by Steve Fulton and Jeff Fulton Branding by Daryl Litts Additional music -Tony Longworth’s Fold Your Head" https://tonylongworth.com/ Don’t forget: http://www.intotheverticalblank.com

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 good holiday in  2020 no matter what you celebrate or what your situation might be.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Into The Vertical Blank. Show Notes:   Written, Edited, Produced by Jeff Fulton and Steve Fulton Branding by Daryl Litts   Music in “Atari VCS Christmas” story is Crystalline by Tony Longworth from his album “Tinsel And Fire”. Tony’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tonylongworth XMAS 7800 playable Demo: JS7800: Atari 7800 Emulator (raz0red.github.io)   Top-10 VCS Games available for Xmas 1981   Steve’s List  Asteroids Space Invaders Missile Command Breakout/Super Breakout Tennis:  Skiing  Adventure Night Driver Video Pinball Outlaw   Jeff’s List Asteroids Breakout Tennis Laser Blast Missile Command Space Invaders Pele’s Soccer Video Pinball Night Driver Adventure Some Cool Atari Videos from 1981

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.    Written, Edited, Produced by Steve Fulton and Jeff Fulton Branding by Daryl Litts Additional music - “Outside The Universe” By Tony Longworth Mentioned: Read the full story of Zamboozal Poker Dice here: https://intotheverticalblank.com/2020/11/20/zamboozal-poker-dice-atari-st-1991/   Atarimania.com Page for the Original Zamboozal Poker Dice: http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-st-zamboozal-poker-dice_37004.html   Atarimania.com Page for the Updated 2020 1.2 version of Zamboozal Poker dice:http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-st-zamboozal-poker-dice_37016.html   STOS Tutorials on Intotheverticalblank.com https://intotheverticalblank.com/2020/11/13/stos-tutorial-1-setup-stos-on-hatari-and-the-first-blitter-operations/   https://intotheverticalblank.com/2020/11/16/stos-tutorial-2-brute-force-blitter-sprites-joysticks-and-more/   Orphaned Games Marauder Review https://orphanedgames.com/articles/Marauder_Review/Marauder_Review%20(Atari%202600).html

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/Haunted_House/   Credits Written, Edited, Produced by Steve Fulton and Jeff Fulton Branding by Daryl Litts Tony Longworth:  Primal Serenity E.P.  : Ostero and Light Of Day.    https://tonylongworth.bandcamp.com/album/primal-serenity Tony Longworth: Repercussion : https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-music-39166514 Tony Longworth: Repercussion : https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-music-39166514 Stay In Touch http://www.intotheverticalblank.com https://twitter.com/Atari_VB_Pod https://www.facebook.com/intotheverticalblank/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPnyVqBr2glJ-vAcDYDUYYw

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 1977 Sears Wishbook (plus some extras)  You can follow along in the links below: Wishbook Pages To Follow-along: 60-http://www.wishbookweb.com/FB/1977_Sears_Wishbook/files/assets/basic-html/page-212.html# 59-http://www.wishbookweb.com/FB/1977_Sears_Wishbook/files/assets/basic-html/page-181.html 58-http://www.wishbookweb.com/FB/1977_Sears_Wishbook/files/assets/basic-html/page-198.html# 57- Oops.  56-https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n_PeDI7eu0mTv1T6BVFwyowA-ZFspwJP9Yio-HV-uLk/edit 55-http://www.wishbookweb.com/FB/1977_Sears_Wishbook/files/assets/basic-html/page-562.html# 54-http://www.wishbookweb.com/FB/1977_Sears_Wishbook/files/assets/basic-html/page-604.html# 53-http://www.wishbookweb.com/FB/1977_Sears_Wishbook/files/assets/basic-html/page-599.html# 52-http://www.wishbookweb.com/FB/1977_Sears_Wishbook/files/assets/basic-html/page-479.html 51.http://www.wishbookweb.com/FB/1977_Sears_Wishbook/files/assets/basic-html/page-530.html# http://www.wishbookweb.com/FB/1977_Sears_Wishbook/files/assets/basic-html/page-338.html#   50-http://www.wishbookweb.com/FB/1977_Sears_Wishbook/files/assets/basic-html/page-575.html# 49-

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 brand new: We recap an entire episode of the TV show CHiPs.  Season 6, episode 13 of the show CHiPs was filmed at Castle Park (and the surrounding area) and it lives as pop culture document to an era that now lives only in The Vertical Blank. Written, Edited, Produced by Steve Fulton and Jeff Fulton Branding by Daryl Litts Tony Longworth:  Primal Serenity E.P.  : Ostero and Light Of Day.   https://tonylongworth.bandcamp.com/album/primal-serenityTony Longworth: Repercussion : https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-music-39166514   Chips Episode 13, Season 6:  Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B07C44MNWC/ref=atv_dp_season_select_s6 Google: https://play.google.com/store/tv/show?id=oaYQrsu582A&cdid=tvseason-Ae3k0_6-HVwHu_lnwGi-AQ&gdid=tvepisode-FLKh8eC4V3w Apple:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/tv-season/chips-season-6/id1071116240  Don’t forget: http://www.intotheverticalblank.com https://twitter.com/Atari_VB_Pod https://www.facebook.com/intotheverticalblank/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPnyVqBr2glJ-vAcDYDUYYw

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 device built for all home computers.  Thomas started out by building IrataOnline, a version of the Plato Learning system and drivers for every popular computer system.  He then built the ultimate SIO device for Atari 8bit home computer to allow them to go on the internet, explore IrataOnline and much much more. Note: Be sure to check out the companion video(s) here so you can see Fuji.Net in Action:  https://intotheverticalblank.com/2020/09/24/s3e19-interview-with-thomas-cherryhomes-how-fujinet-and-irataonline-give-plato-new-life/ Fijunet: https://fujinet.online/ Irata Online: https://irata.online/ Written, Edited, Produced by Steve Fulton and Jeff Fulton Branding by Daryl Litts Additional music -Tony Longworth’s “Dance Me This" https://tonylongworth.com/ Don’t forget: http://www.intotheverticalblank.com