Author: itvbadmin

  • We Use Xtra Normal To Make A Sub-Par Video About Flash Games And Intellectual Property

    [iframe width=”560″ height=”345″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/SkCIMxqATwI” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen] Here is our first attempt at using xtranormal to make a video.  This was obviously inspired by this video we posted a couple weeks ago.

  • Jamie Lendino Of PC Mag Admits To Loving The Atari 800

    Today, in an article named Steve Jobs: End of an Era Jamie Lendino uses the editorial good will created by Steve Job’s resignation to wax nostalgic about his days with his Atari 800.  It reads a bit like an 8bitrocket.com piece. “Needless to say, that Atari computer made a tremendous impression…

  • Taito is going after unlicensed Space Invaders re-makes

    The news has been filled recently with game companies using legal means to go after trademark and copyright offenders who infringe on classic and retro intellectual property. The latest to come across our news feed is that Taito (now part of Square Enix) has been “all up in Mochi’s grill”, asking…

  • Update: Atari is *not necessarily* Targeting Hobbyists

    Yesterday we posted a story about Atari targeting a German maker of 8-bit software, and the owner of atari2600.com.    The atari2600.com complaint was real, and the owner of the site has relinquished his rights to the name. However, the it looks like the comlaint against the German aoftware maker was…

  • Legend Of Grimrock : Dungeon Master For The 21st Century

    OK, here is a really promising upcoming RPG for the PC/Mac/iOs named Legend Of Grimrock.  It’s by a set of four Finnish game vets, and it looks like a must-play for fans of classic computer RPGs like Dungeon Master. [iframe width=”560″ height=”345″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/_HnTeQFBIq0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen/]

  • Amazing! Learn The Basics Of Programming With Codeacademy!

    I just saw this today. Codeacademy is fantastic!  It’s an interactive learning tool for non-developers, kids or anyone else to learn program using JavaScript. Using Codeacademy reminded me of using my Atari 800 back in 1984 and 1985.  Back then, people used to create all sorts of learning tools similar…

  • Atari Pulls Out The Lawyers And Threatens To Sue Hobbyists

    It can be argued (pretty heavily I might add) that Atari fandom is the only thing that has kept the Atari name from falling completely into obscurity.   Long before Infogrames changed their name to Atari back in 2003, it was sites like Atariage.com and AtariMuseum.com that kept the name afloat…

  • The 8bit Game: Digesting Bruce Lee By Datasoft Software (1984)

    Bruce Lee is an 8-bit computer platformer / beat-em-up that is fondly remembered by owners of almost any 8-bit computer system from the early 1980’s. The first version was programmed by Ron Fortier (with visuals by Kelly Day) in 1983 for the Atari 8-bit computer line (400, 800, XL and…

  • Video Fever: Classic News Report On Video Games

    This video on youtube.com is from the local ABC affilate where we grew-up, in Los Angeles California. I used to think that the local news was quite reactionary back then, but these reports are very even-handed, and really interesting. I have to say, the local news of 2011 could learn…

  • The 8bit Game: Digesting Zeppelin By Synapse Software

    Zeppelin was released for the Atari 400/800/XL computers in 1983 by Synapse Software. Synapse was a premier developer/publisher at the time for Atari Computers. Zeppelin was programmed by William Mataga, who was also responsible for such Atari 8-bit classics as Shamus, Shamus Case II, and Mindwheel. Synapse also released a version…

  • Do You Plan On Having Friends?

    [iframe width=”425″ height=”349″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/lGar7KC6Wiw” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen /]

  • The One Thing That Saved Video Games

    I was thinking about this today. The *one* thing that saved video games was *not* – better graphics *not* – faster processors *not* – hardware scrolling *not* – in game music The one thing that *did* save video games? continue Be it a 10 second countdown for another quarter, a…

  • The New Star Soccer 5 Beta Is Killing My Productivity

    In the history of all video / computer games that I have played, my list of “perfect 10” games is pretty slim. These are games that I could play for hours on end. If I play a game for what seems like 15 minutes, but really 5 hours have passed,…

  • 2010-2011 Prediction Results: Plus 2011-2012 Predictions

    Usually we do this in September, but I feel like moving this up a bit, so we are doing it now. First off, here are the predictions from last year, and how we fared: 10.  Flash Games Everywhere! Google TV, the Google Web App Store, Flash games on Android, Flash…

  • 8bitrocket teams up with Producto Studios

    8bitrocket has teamed up with Producto Studios to create a single, super-charged, one-stop-shop for everything cool, interactive, and fun. When we combined the retro / indie gaming sensibilities of 8bitrocket  with the design genius of Producto, we created a partnership of epic gaming and graphic design proportions. Check out the…

  • Yoyo Games Game Maker will have HTML5 version in Q4

    I was just visiting theYoyo Games Game Maker site to look into using the software to teach my 6 year old son game development concepts without worrying about too much coding. Game Maker has a back-end language as well as front-end complex data structures build-in, so eventually I planned to…

  • Does Anyone Want a Hardcore top-down, Scrolling Shooter On a Mobile Device?

    I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately: Will anyone play (buy) a hardcore, top-down shooter on a mobile device?  What will it take to get someone to buy it, play it, and tell their friends about it?  Should it be free, with weapon upgrades as in-app transactions? The type…

  • Help me pick a new smart Verizon mobile phone

    I need to get a new Verizon phone but have absolutely no idea what to get. I am pretty sure I am not inside any discount renewal period, so I need to consider the full cost of a new device in my choice. I had an iPhone recently, but had…

  • 8bitrocket Reunion 2011! The original lost 1/3 of 8bitrocket Returns For One Night Only

    A couple weeks back Eric Barth (center), the original “lost” 1/3 of 8bitrocket, returned to his origins by visiting Jeff and I back in California. Eric is a Professor Of Engineering at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Instead of building games, he builds all kind of robots and devices that use…

  • HTML5 Canvas Progressive Breakout Style Game Tutorial coming…

    I just wanted to add a short update about the HTML5 progressive breakout game tutorial I promised a while back.  I was working on the game and had stable and ready to write about, when my dad passed away.  It pretty much halted my development on anything the was not…

  • Google Swiffy? Not Yet.

    Google Labs released Swiffy last week, their attempt to allow people to easily convert .swfs to HTML5.   However, instead of being a revolutionary technology, rather, it shows just how far HTML5 needs to go before it can match Flash. Swiffy attempts to open a .swf and convert the content…

  • Two more Good Reviews Of Our HTML5 Canvas Book

    Here are couple more good reviews of out HTML5 Canvas book. From Wonderoile “…overall I can recommend this book to every developer who wants to be creative with the web. This book provides a solid path for developing Canvas games/ applications with a solid performance.” From All Things Mat: “…I felt…

  • Video Game History Museum: Help Make It Happen

    The guys behind Digital Press and the CGE have created Kickstarter.com project to help create permanent Video Game History museum in Silicon Valley.  We think this is an awesome idea.  Pledge something if you can: [iframe frameborder=”0″ height=”380px” src=”http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1760848975/the-videogame-history-museum/widget/card.html” width=”220px”]      

  • Midcore Gamer Manifesto, 3.5 Years Later

    Back in 2008, Jeff wrote a story named “I Am A Midcore Gamer” and I followed-it-up with a story named “The Midcore Gamer Manifesto“.  Both stories travelled the interbaun far and wide and caused a bit of a stir for a couple weeks. Many people wrote us about the idea…

  • Management Sucks 002: A Profile In Courage

    When my boss at “Monolith” Corporation told me that he thought I lacked “courage”, I had to speak-up.  I had already sat through most of what was a shocking performance review, and tried to bite my tongue.   This guy had spent, at most, an hour during the previous entire…

  • 8bitrocket’s Asynchronous News Round-Up : Mochi Achievements, Pepsi+Atari, Mindjolt News

    Welcome to our “Asynchronous” news round-up.  It’s the Daily Interweb Mash-Up, but not daily, and also not really a mash-up, and, well, who knows what it is, but welcome to it. Mochi Achievements API Launched Something we’ve been waiting for a long time, a  distributed “achievements” API.  Here are the…

  • From Track Mod To Spin City To Fashion Frenzy: A Study In Game Design Evolution

    This is one of the case-studies I wanted to talk about for a long time, but I could not because one of the games was locked behind an MMO and could be accessed without an account.  However, now that (sadly) the BarbieGirls.com MMO is no more,  the game has been…

  • 8bitrocket Diatribe: Fathers’ Day 2011: The Adventure Freak and his Little Atari Freaks

    It has been a little over two weeks since our dad passed away. I have found it difficult to focus on any one thing for an extended amount of time since, and while  the fog is certainly lifting a little, I have not found the motivation to dig deep into…

  • HTML5 Canvas C64 Yourself App Is Awesome!

    Here is a really cool use of the HTML5 Canvas: C64 Yourself! The app converts a 6×4 image into a an awesome pixelated C64 image!   Here are a couple I just created:  

  • How My Dad’s Love Of Games Helped Foster My Game Development Career

    Please excuse me, just one more time, so I can write some final thoughts about my dad, and how he helped me in my career.   Last weekend we had had his memorial at my house, and so I’m trying to put some final thoughts together, to give him a…

  • Quick Tip For Vizio Theater 3D TV Owners : Cheap 3D Glasses From The Movie Theater Work Just Fine

    Vizio has a new line of 3D TVs that are cheap and powerful.  They use a technology they have branded “Theater 3D”, which is really just the same polarized 3D that is used in movie theaters (i.e. Reel D 3D).   While Vizio will sell you glasses for about $20 each (an…

  • Wii U? More Like P.U.

    Through some great contacts we were able to jump the line and look at the Wii U up close and personal today at E3. Wow.  What A dud! Honestly, I love (or at least once “loved”) the Wii.   I think it solved a very unique problem with games (the…

  • Great HTML Canvas Book Review!

    David Hayden has given our new book a very nice review. You can read it here.   My favorite part of the review the fact that Hayden is developing games with his daughter: “My daughter and I have been developing a lot of HTML5 Games to improve our skills at…

  • OSX Lion Will Include Hardware Acceleration for the HTML5 Canvas

    I was looking through the 250+ new features and improvements for Lion (available for $29.99 as an upgrade in July) and found this little gem in the Safari Improvements: Improved graphics performance Web pages that use the HTML5 Canvas element can tap into the graphics processing unit on your Mac…

  • AppMobi Cloud-Based HTML5 Game Development Looks Promising

    I have heard a little about AppMobi over the past few months and have wanted to take a look at their game platform but just have not had the chance until now. I plan to demo my Centipede game with the platform when it is complete, but for now, let’s…

  • Windows 8 Will Make Heavy Use of HTML5

    The All Things D web site has put up an exclusive look at Windows 8, an operating system that is at least a year away from being released. Essentially, aside from the normal Windows’ 7 style applications we see now, a second, full-screen IE 10 style of application will make…

  • R.I.P. Dad : My Last Conversation With My Father

    I visited my dad last Sunday. He’s 85 years old, and he has onset dementia, so he can’t express himself clearly, nor can he come-up with many nouns, so he can’t describe anything that he wants or needs without a ton of trouble. It is very difficult to have a…

  • HTML5 Canvas Game Development Diary: Bug Off! No. 1

    Steve and I have been getting our fill of commercial Flash Game development at our new day (and night and weekend) jobs a Zynga, so we have decided to start honing our HTML5 Canvas development skills even more by creating some fun game demos to post on the site. We…

  • HTML5 Canvas Book Notes

    O’Reilly Forums For HTML5 Canvas We’ve been answering questions about the book over at the O’Reilly forums.   Come on over and visit. : http://forums.oreilly.com/forum/110-html5-canvas/ Firefox 4 “loop” Missing Firefox 4 has been giving me fits in the past week as I try to finish my HTML5 Canvas demo game, Brickbasher…

  • HTML5 Canvas Book Spotted in the Wild Plus Chart Positions (#1 in Game Programming)

    Its always fun to discover the first sighting of something you have created, “In The Wild”.  Just about every Friday night I take a trip over to the local Barnes and Noble to look for the latest Retro Gamer or Wired. Today was a double success because aside from the…