Category: Features

  • Worst Products And Services For Classic Gamers (circa 1982-1984): Final Roundup Of Even More Useless Products

    In the past two article (part 1 and part 2 ), I have tried to tell stories with insight into just how useless some of these products, services and offers were back in the day.  However, there are a bunch more products that, while not quite as shockingly bad, are still…

  • And the Man on the Hill said HTML5, build it and they will come…

    This really is just a “state of the union” for 8bitrocket (8bitsteve and 8bitjeff) to go over some of the events that have transpired over the first 9 months of the year.     We like to keep these brief (this one is anything but), and put them in the…

  • Katz/Kunkel/Worley : The History Of Video Games From Holy Trinity Of Game Journalism

    Bill Kunkel, Arnie, Katz and Joyce Worley were the pioneers of game journalism.   Here, in chronological order, are links to a good portion the writing they created in the golden age (and beyond) of video games. 1970-1980: Arcade Alley: Bill Kunkel And Arnie Katz suggested this column to the…

  • Who Killed Video Games?: Tim Rogers Knows

    In his latest, and possibly greatest piece of writing, Tim Rogers explores the mystery of “Who Killed Video Games:A Ghost Story“.  It’s an awesome read, even if you already know how it turns out in the end.  It’s hard to take just one quote, but here is a good one:…

  • A Tribute to the Child-Oriented Consumer Goods Company “New Media” Department Golden Era (2001 – 2006)

    Note: This is a true story that depicts real events from the perspective of the author.  Most real names of the people and the places involved have been changed or left out on purpose. Everyone involved will recognize the company and the events and might even have their own spin to…

  • Why Information Technology Director Is The Most Hated Job In America (An Anecdotal Account)

    CNBC ran a story on Friday about the 10 Most Hated Jobs In America.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that job I left in corporate America after 15 years was represented generously on the list.  In fact, technical jobs in generally made-up almost 1/2 the entries. However, today I’d…

  • Unboxing the iCup Atari Drinking Glasses From The Target Clearance Sale : A Photo Essay

    Today I purchased the iCup set of four classic Atari drinking glasses that were on clearance at Target.  Instead of telling you this story, and I’m going to show it to you with a web-only exclusive photo-essay of this exciting and monumental event.  Click the images for a larger picture.

  • Developing The Alarm.com: 1995-2011

    Developing The Alarm.com: 1995-2011

    Introduction I was web master for http://www.thealarm.com for over 15 years. The Alarm were an 80’s band with hits like 68 Guns, Strength, and Rain In The Summertime.  They broke-up in 1991, but soon afterward, lead vocalist Mike Peters embarked on a solo career, that led to the creation of…

  • Rest In Peace Bill Kunkel: Video Game Journalism Pioneer

    By Jeff Fulton Bill Kunkel, part of the duo of Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel who created Electronic Games the frst magazine about video games, Electronic Games, died on Sunday at the age of 61. We were big fans of Bill Kunkel.  One of the first stories I wrote for…

  • 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…

  • 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/]

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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,…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Retro Scan of the Week: Tengen’s Mostly Legal NES Games

    The Tengen NES games two-page advertisement scan from Video Games & Computer Entertainment Magazine April 1989. I say “Mostly” Legal because the history of Tengen is slighly confusing. They did release Gauntlet, Pac-Man and RBI Baseball for the NES while under a legal NES licensing agreement between 1987 and 1989.…

  • Something So Right: Flynn’s Arcade At Disney’s California Adventure

    Flynn’s Arcade. Usually, I would not write a story about a seemingly throw-away, stop-gap style Disney attraction created to take-up space and distract visitors while major construction is taking place elsewhere in an amusement park, but then I never thought Disney’s California Adventure could get something so right either. Disney’s California…

  • Atari Nerd: Lynx Garage Excavation

    Inspired by Jeff’s Atari excavation a couple weeks ago, I went into the garage this weekend trying to find the Atari Lynx we bought back when it was released in the USA in 1989.    Far back in the garage, I found a plastic box with the word “Handheld” scribbled…

  • Need A Death Panel? HMOs Already Got You Covered

    So my dad is very sick, lying in hospital bed at his house, unable to walk, speak,  eat or use the bathroom without help.  Over the past 18 months he has developed severe dementia.  We thought he was just slowly fading away. He has been to the doctor many times,…

  • The Literal DOS Box – Classic DOS game gold vein

    I have been going through old boxes of retro gaming gear over the last few weeks and today I came across a set of 3 1/2 inch floppy disks that I knew existed, but was had been unable find. In 1992, Steve and I shed our beloved Atari 1040ST for…

  • 8bits in the Attic – Atari (and Intellivision) Treasure Trove

    About 12 years ago I realized that I wanted to play my original 1986 Atari 7800, but had no idea where it was. After searching the garage at my parents house, I found the original system in its original box, but no games. This set me out on a mission…

  • Our First “Game” Hack, Circa 1981

    Last week I pulled out I found an old Choose Your Own Adventure book to read to my girls.   This was one of the original books Jeff and I got from the Scholastic Book club in elementary school.  This particular book was from 1981.  I recall, that Jeff and…

  • Retro Scan Of The Week: Romox Games (1983)

    This week’s scan is a Romox microcomputer games advertisement from Analog magazine’s Sept/Oct 1983 issue. The two games featured in the ad are Anteater and Typo (available in cartridge form for the Atari 8-bit, Commodore Vic-20 / 64, and TI 99/4A). Romox started business in Campbell California in 1982 and…

  • This week’s retro scan and discussion: Killer Rigs – CGW March 2001

    Computer Gaming World is now defunct, but during the golden age of PC gaming it was my favorite gaming publication. I consider the golden age of PC games to have started with Wolfenstein 3D (about 1992) and ended just about the time Half Life was repackaged for the 10th time…

  • Management Sucks 001: No, It’s Not “Just Business”

    While working as a developer and then later as a manager for  “The Monolith” for 15 years, I learned a lot about how old-style corporations feel about their regular employees.    This new series, Management sucks, explores some of the experiences I had while trying to manage a team of…

  • An Inspirational Story For Dreamers Everywhere

    We apologize for being very quiet lately.  Yes, we have a couple things to announce that will forever  change the content and direction of this site, however for now we have to stay focused and mum. However, I’d like to relay to you and inspirational story. Here goes: There is…

  • How Great Is AtariMania.com? Find out for yourself…

    There are two Atari sites that I visit every day. The first is one that all Atari fans know about, the awesome Atariage.com. The other is just as good, but for some reason not quite as popular. Atarimania.com is a wonderful site, completely dedicated to being what Lemon64 and LemonAmiga.com…

  • Microsoft Kinect Day 4: Lightsaber Dreams

    So I have to admit, one of the reasons I bought a Wii on release day was the because I thought it would be a perfect platform to finally play a Star Wars game with a lightsaber. Ever since I flailed aimlessly with my mouse trying to play the PC…

  • Kinect Day 3 : 5:00 AM Workout, plus Detecting All sizes

    So I’m on to day #3 of my Microsoft Kinect adventure (not to be confused with Microsoft’s Kinect Adventures, the pack-in game).    I got up at 5:00 AM this morning to test out my ability to make use of “Fitness Evolved” before the rest of the family woke-up.  …

  • Microsoft Kinect Day 2: Punching And Kicking My Way to 180 lbs With No Excuses.

    Day 2 of Microsoft Kinect has been spent playing Ubi Soft’s “Your Shape Fitness Evolved” which would be the most metrosexual game imaginable if it was not for all concentration on hitting stuff.  There might be all kinds of workouts and training classes in this thing, but I would not…

  • Microsoft Kinect: It Sees My Feet!!!

    I’ve had my microsoft Kinect for excatly 1 hour now, and i’m totally hooked.  All of the things that frusted me about the Wii have been fixed.  Sports games are amazing on this thing, mostly because it can see your feet.   I can now kick balls.  I know that…

  • Porting a DOS Game To Windows: A Development Story

    I thought this story might be of interest to some of the visitors to our site. Steve and I spent a lot of time playing DOS games in the 90’s and also our share of time writing a few of our own. In this article (originally in he April 2010…

  • Going Solo #7: The bright spots

    It has been a little over two full months since I left my cushy corporate job and decided to make my own schedule, manage my own projects and “make my own shit”. The schedule and project part is going great. I have two good projects in the can with two…