Category: Features

  • Using A8bit #fujinet to play “Pet” Galaga from – Homesoft Game Disk 404

    Using A8bit #fujinet to play “Pet” Galaga from – Homesoft Game Disk 404

    By Jeff D. Fulton Today we are going load up Homesoft game Disk #404 and play the only version of Galaga available for Atari 8bit 400/800/XL/XE Machines. We Will play directly an Atari 130XL by loading it over the internet via WIFI with #Fujinet! Disk 404 Download #Fujinet Here is…

  • Fultonbot’s Atari VCS Quest: “I Never Got Into Atari, but…”

    Fultonbot’s Atari VCS Quest: “I Never Got Into Atari, but…”

    “I never got into Atari” I’ve heard this phrase so many times from the owners of used and retro video game stores, and fellow retrogamers,   that I’ve now come to expect it.  When I enter a game store, or make a friendly connection at work, I brace myself  to hear…

  • Controlled Chaos and The Meaning in Software Development

    Controlled Chaos and The Meaning in Software Development

    I believe that I was born to be a computer programmer. Somewhere, deep in my soul, there is a need to organize my thoughts in ways that are both new and interesting, but also foundational and reusable at the same time. I’ve always felt that there is something atypical about…

  • My Top 100 Games Of All Time

    I (sort of) keep this list running in my head all the time. It changes often, and usually one of the most recent games I’ve played moves up higher (see Torchlight 2). These games come from every platform I’ve ever owned or played (arcade, Atari 2600, Atari 800, Vectrex, Atari…

  • Atari 7800 In An Alternate Universe : Games I Would Have Loved To Play

    In an alternate universe, Atari released the 7800 in 1984 In an alternate universe, Warner Brothers did not sell the Atari consumer division in 1984, but stuck with it. In an alternate universe Atari battled with Nintendo throughout the 80’s and 90’s In that alternate universe, some amazing games were…

  • Strawberry Shortcake – Old Crap From My Attic

    8bitjeff (Jeff Fulton) This time I do mean CRAP. While other things from my attic have been true gaming or music treasures, this game, while being quite possibly the first interactive gaming experience for the Strawberry Short Cake brand, is awful to play. That doesn’t mean that hard work didn’t…

  • Applesoft BASIC JavaScript Emulator: My First Game (from 1979)

    I found this emulator the other day : Applesoft BASIC in JavaScript   last week while at GDC, and it got me thinking about the first games I wrote on my friend Eric’s Apple II back in the 70’s .  I was 9 years old when I first touched the keyboard…

  • Pennywise – Word From The Wise 33 1/3 7 inch Ep – Old Shit From My Attic

    By Jeff Fulton (8bitjeff) Penny Wise – Word From The Wise 33 1/3 7 inch Ep – Old Shit From My Attic. I remember picking this seminal, LA South Bay Suburb Punk Rock disc at the old Go Boy record store on PCH and Ave F.  This vinyl, 7 inch…

  • To Coin A phrase: “Flappy Birded”

    Phrase: Flappy Birded (Verb) Definition: Used when a the internet-at-large destroys an honest and earnest individual because said person had the audacity to become successful. Usually occurs when said person is not already famous  or is not deemed to be “legitimate” or “worthy” of success, and or when the product…

  • Atari 8-bit Computer Demon Attack (1982) – Full Boxed Edition (all the old crap in my attic)

    By Jeff Fulton Today we are going to take a look at one of a small handful of Atari 8-bit computer game cartridges that I have stowed in my attic. This time the game is Demon Attack, one of the most popular Atari 2600 games, but this version is for…

  • Minor Threat Salad Days 45 single with poster sleeve (all the stuff in my attic)

    Minor Threat “Salad Days” 45 RPM single with poster sleeve (all the stuff in my attic) This is a three song masterpiece of mid-80’s DC punk! Here is the next item I found in my attic.  This is the 1985 release of the Minor Threat (one of their final releases…

  • The Dead Milkmen – Big Lizard in My Backyard Cassette (old crap from my attic)

    The Dead Milkmen – Big Lizard in My Backyard Cassette (old crap from my attic) By Jeff Fulton In 1988 – 1989 I worked at one of the worst record / tape / CD and video stores in the South Bay. The Wherehouse on Sepulveda was across the street from…

  • 1978 Close Encounters Trading Cards Sealed Wax Pack (old stuff from my attic)

    By Jeff D. Fulton The old stuff from my attic is a new blog here on 8bitrocket.com where I rummage through all of the various boxes of crap I have in the garage, attic, closets, etc and find things I never knew I had. Today I found a sealed wax…

  • My “Lost Age Of The The Pizza Parlour” Gets An Honorable Mention in 43rd Annual Easy Reader Essay Contest

    A re-written version of my old 8bitrocket.com Eassy “The Lost Age Of The Pizza Parlour” was chosen as one of several “Honorbale Mentions” in the 43rd Annual Easy Reader Essay contest.   Now titled  “Pleasures Of The Pizza Parlour“, you can read the new version here : http://www.easyreadernews.com/73558/pleasures-of-the-pizza-parlor-el-porto/ -8bitsteve

  • Video: Chris Crawford On the “Good Old Days Of Games” From GDC 2011.

    We are finally back with something interesting.  Here is a link to a video Gamasutra just posted of a talk by Chris Crawford from GDC 2011 entitled “The Good Old Days Of Games”   We will have more updates here soon.  

  • ATASCII Tile Sheets

    ATASCII Tile Sheets So, I have been knocking around the idea of making some games that mimic the old Atari computer aesthetic in both graphics and sounds.  These games will just be for fun and they will probably be just game starters – single level game to demonstrate or duplicate a game…

  • The Run Cycle – Boston Thoughts

    I was thinking about this while driving in this morning (I just saw that Colbert said something similar last night, but not exactly, so I’ll say it now). I am a runner, and I am constantly injuring myself just because I love the joy and freedom of sport. But, no…

  • Comprehensive List of Lucas Arts Titles Released for Classic Atari Machines

    By Jeff Fulton (@8bitrocket on twitter) To the majority of the public, Atari died in 1983 and is relegated to hipster t-shirts and trucker hats with ironic joysticks on them.  While 90% of the USA and 70% of the UK gamers were playing with their C-64’s, Nintendo’s, Spectrums, Amigas, and…

  • The Run Cycle – Running Sick After Christmas

    The Literal Run Cycle – Running Sick After Christmas The Day After Christmas Run is never an easy one. This year it was especially difficult because I have been battling a nasty sinus infection over the last week or so and I have not run for 10 days (and only 2 times…

  • The Literal Run Cycle #1

    Jeff Fulton (8bitjeff) This is a blog that usually deals with game design / programming, retro-gaming and other nostalgia.   It is not a fitness blog by any means, but since running and overall fitness is a big part of what keeps me going on a daily basis, I wanted…

  • Back on the re-hab trail…literally.

    By Jeff D. Fulton Back on the re-hab trail…literally. From June through July of 2012 I was cooking through a training plan that would have had me doing a personal record time for a 1/2 Marathon. The race was the Rock N Roll LA 1/2 and I was really looking…

  • A young Chris Crawford teaches the Magic of Atari 8-bit computer graphics (3 videos)

    By Jeff Fulton (8bitjeff) Way back when Atari was trying to capture home computer market share from the Apples and Commodores of the world, they created the first ever Evangelist Position in consumer software development. Chris Crawford was tasked with informing the world about the magical capabilities of the Atari…

  • What Was I thinking? The Existential Cognitive Dissonance Of Updating Old Code

    My new blog on Gamasutra: What Was I thinking? The Existential Cognitive Dissonance Of Updating Old Code “Updating old code, especially code I have not touched in nearly a decade is like a ride in a time machine.  A really crappy time machine that only highlights my mistakes makes me feel…

  • A Completely Anecdotal Account Of Why The Wii U Might Not Matter To The Next Generation

    Another Gamasutra blog went up today : A Completely Anecdotal Account Of Why The Wii U Might Not Matter To The Next Generation Usually when I write Nintendo stuff, fan boys get enraged…. -8bitsteve    

  • One Of The Masters “Speaks” On Game Design : Dan(i) Bunten (Berry)’s Archived Web Site

    It’s no secret that we here at 8bitrocket.com have a few very distinct heroes, and Dan(i) Bunten (Berry) is one of them.  Bunten was the designers/programmer of the classic, unparalleled games M.U.L.E. and Seven Cities Of Gold. An archived web site of Bunten’s exists and it contains some of the only known…

  • Pong Returns : Postmortem For The Atari Pong Indie Developer Challenge

    Atari announced the finalists for their Pong Developer Challenge on June 26th, and we were not included on this.   Thus, our time as part of the Atari Pong Indie Developer Challenge comes to a close.   In this post-mortem we look back at what we think we did wrong,…

  • R.I.P. : Commodore Legend Jack Tramiel

    According to Forbes, Jack Tramiel has died at the age of 83.   Most Atari fans know Jack as the founder of Commodore who skillfully outwitted the first video game company in the early 80’s by beating the pants off the Atari computer division  with the low-priced Vic-20 and C-64.…

  • Emergent Game Play In Classic Games

    A few weeks ago on one of the forums I frequent, a fellow retro game fan (Rimbo) talked about playing “Time Pilot:Pacifist”.  This was not a new game, but rather, a different way of playing an old game.  In his version of Time Pilot, he chose to never fire a…

  • Distellamaps : Ben Fry Visualizes Atari 2600 Code : Suitable For Blowing Your Mind (And Framing)

    Sometime it seems like we miss some pretty good stuff because we are busy working and not trying to scour the interbaun for really cool things (any more).  One of those things that  appears to have passed us by are Ben Fry’s Distellamaps.   These were made almost two years…

  • When Social Media Fails

    This week I found out that someone I know is in a very bad situation.  Actually, the situation is dire, really horrible, and honestly, unimaginable.    I went to school with this person, and for a couple of years we spent a good amount of time together.  This person is…

  • Corporate Development Work Almost Killed Me

    (Jeff Fulton) Corporate Development Work Almost Killed Me First the good news.  I no longer work for a large corporation and I am am doing very well health-wise.  Except for a few minor exercise related injuries,  I am the healthiest I have been since 2006. From 1997 – 2006 I loved…

  • Where is the Point Blank Remake?

    (Jeff Fulton) Point Blank and Point Blank 2 were 2 of the best party style games for the original Playstation. You needed a “gun controller” that oddly hooked up to the video “in” on your TV and to the controller port to make it work. I have both still on an old…

  • What the hell are you running from?

    When I was in 5th grade I started to run. I ran with a friend named Richie and we would circle the play ground of our Manhattan Beach  grammar school 20 or 30 times per recess. I was never interested in running as a competition, just as something to do.…

  • The People You Will Meet At Your Garage Sale

    Garage Sale People (originally written in 2004) What better way to meet the neighbors than to have a garage sale. Actually we called it a “yard sale”, and by neighbors I mean the cheapest freaks I’ve ever had the displeasure to meet. To be honest, the immediate people to the…

  • Old Web Game Designer Friend Gets Published: Author Kevin Bloomfield

    Back in the glory days of Mattel online, we worked on numerous Flash games and web sites with Kevin Bloomfield.   He has since moved to  MGA where he is a toy designer.  Even back 10 years ago, Kevin talked about his dream to write children’s books.    He has…

  • R.I.P. Gary Garcia of “Pac Man Fever” Fame : Now It’s time For Hollywood To Make A Movie About “Pac Man Fever”

    By Jeff Fulton “To create a song that has mass appeal is among the most difficult things you’ll ever do.” –Jerry Buckner   According to Gamasutra, Gary Garcia, 1/2 of Buckner and Garcia died yesterday.   Back in February we contacted Jerry Buckner about he 30th Anniversary of  Pac-Man and…

  • The Psychological Incentives Of Social Games Are Oddly Familiar. Hmm…I wonder where I’ve seen this before?

    Here Are Some Psychological Incentives Of Social Games That We have Observed Money is converted to “credits”, tokens, or chips for playing. This abstraction makes it harder to keep track of how much money has actually been lost. Once real money has been converted to play money, it takes significant…

  • Cracked.com’s 4 Worst Things About Writing For The Internet Can Be Applied To Games Too

    Cracked.com, one of my favirote site right now, published a story last week named “The 4 Worst Thing About Writing For The Internet” .  It’s a great read, and a the same time, you could apply all of the four things to making games, and it would be just as…

  • Through The Looking Glass? : 6 Weeks Into My New Gig

    So I’m now 6 weeks into my new gig working as a contractor for a game and technology company.  At this point, at my last gig, I was drowning in minutiae and had almost no options but to soldier on into oblivion.   No fault from either side, but the job…

  • Just So You Know Who You Are Dealing With Here: A Note From 1985

    Just in case you had no idea who you are dealing with when you come to this site, here is note we wrote our mom in 1985.  She saved it.  That has to mean something.