Category: Into The Vertical Blank
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#166:The Mistress of the Dark on the Atari ST: ST Show
In the episode we cover three #Elvira Games on the #AtariST, one on the #Atari #Lynx and two other games :#HoundofShadow and #NightBreed the Interactive as a Halloween / Día de los Muertos Special Audio Version #166:The Mistress of the Dark on the Atari ST: ST Show Video Version Thanks…
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#164:ST Show: 25 Great Atari ST Games not on the Amiga
In this episode we look at 25 of our favorite #atarist and #atariste games that were not initially on the Amiga 500 in the 80s or 90s. The #Amiga has an incredible library of games, but if you only ever played the Amiga, you might have missed these. Youtube Audio…
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163: The A8 Show. Top 25 Atari 8bit Games not on the C64
For the premier episode of the A8 Show we decided to create a LIST!A Plain old top 25 game list would have many duplicates with the C64, so we decided to create a countdown of the top A8 games not on that system. 30+ games Video Version Audio Podcast Into…
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ST Show: You had it on the NES I had it on my Atari ST: Vol 1
Hi this is Jeff and welcome to The Latest Atari ST Show. Today we look at 9 games I had on my Atari ST and YOU most likely played on something else. Audio Podcast Version Castos INTV Ep 162 Website
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#161: Atari Now: Making Sense of Atari x Activision Packages
Atari has Licensed 39 games for physical release. We go through all of the confusing offerings and collections to make sense of what is on offer. Audio ONLY Version Video Version
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The First Communion: The Gospel According To Atari
When my brother and I start our 2nd year of Catholic CCD class in 1978, we receive an introduction into a world we could have never imagined prior, and it changes our lives forever. The First Communion The Gospel According To Atari The first time I play a home video…
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We Create Demakes / Remakes on the Atari 7800 and ST : Fill In The Blanks
“Fill In The Blanks” and “Into The Vertical Blank” are not anal retentive. We are not perfect. We are messy, and that’s the way we like it. We have opted to not strive for perfection, but instead, show the process, warts and all of “living” with a love for retro…
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Challenge: Make a Chip Tune on an Atari Machine: AtariST vs Atari7800 : YM vs Pokey
#atari #atari7800 #atarist #pokey #YM2149 #STOS #RMTTracker This season we are doing retro coding and retro creation challenges for every episode. We are calling this “Fill in the Blanks” as these are things we have always wanted to do, but have not accomplished yet. This time we were each tasked…
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The Art Of Vintage Computing (At VCF So. Cal. 2026)
My twin brother Jeff could not make it down the VCF So Cal 2026 this year, so I made the video above to show him what it was all about. This is an edited version of the video script with more detail and credits. (Hotel Ferra) I wish my…
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Atari Now Feb 2026
A lethargic, uninspired episode where you can tell we are over this.Will this be the last one? What will we do next? https://www.reddit.com/r/atarinow/ Notes:-Secret MallApartment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Mall_Apartment -Atari ST Mini:https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/atari-st-enthusiast-announces-the-minist-with-fpga-misterynano-core-and-black-tkl-case-priced-at-around-usd400-each-but-the-initial-run-is-a-mere-five-units -Strong Museum Acquire Curt Vendel Atari ArchiveThe Strong National Museum of Play Acquires Atari Home Computer and Console Division Collection –…
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153: ST Show #2: Atari History August 1989: ST Format 01 Cover + More
We begin our Tramiel era Atari history exploration in this episode by digging into the World of Atari News and the Cover Disk for August 1989, The Premier issue Number one or ST Format Magazine. This era of Atari History post Warner has not been covered in detail in too…
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Atari Now! January 2026 – News, Christmas, Predictions, Homebrews For All Atari Systems and More
Atari Now! January 2026 – News, Views & Homebrews For All Atari Systems and More plus Christmas & Predictions Notes: Zero Page Homebrew: https://www.twitch.tv/zeropagehomebrew Arcade1up : https://arcade1up.com/Basic Fun: https://www.basicfun.com/arcade-classics/PXE Engine: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/381582-pxe-pronounced-pixie-new-elf-based-bb-kernel/Phantom Logic: https://phantomlogicstudios.com/Rebecca Heinemen Memorial: https://www.rosehills.com/obituaries/whittier-ca/rebecca-heineman-12626858?utm_source=chatgpt.comGRS: controller: https://wagnerstechtalk.com/grs/#TRON_2022Silicon Underground: https://dfarq.homeip.net/tandy-1000-models/Commode Dore 64: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/251730-why-i-still-love-atari-8-bit-computers/Atari ST/STE -=Rogül=- demo/WIP – Silly Venture 2025…
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Atari ST SHOW #1: Did Atari Knowingly Give Away Pirate Software? + ST News
In 1989 Atari Distributed a 4 disc game collection with new STs called “2- Great PD Games” that notoriously include some non-pd content. The Atari ST Show #1 we deep dive into the contents of these 4 disks and answer the question “Did Atari Knowingly do this?” We also look…
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PC-Man and The Spark Of Childhood Wonder
Teenager Greg Kuperberg wrote three fast-action arcade games for the IBM-PC in 1982 and 1983 (an almost impossible of feat at the time) and then took another path. In this rare examination of his work, we look at the legacy and inspiration of this “would-be” game programming auteur, who…
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Atari Now! November 2025
Audio Version Notes:NEWS Oct 22 (upcoming) — Audacity Games’ Rescue From Poseidon’s Gate (2600) on sale Intellivision Sprint – Atari® Three More Toaplan Games Are Coming To The Atari 2600+, Atari 7800, & 7800+ | Time Extension4 Visiting The Portland Retro Game Expo 2025 – Alan-1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r9DJ-8xPE8 Atari PRGE Booth…
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Atari ST Archeology Games Published By Storm / Sales Curve
We are starting to do things a little different here at Into the Vertical Blank Towers. To comb6at AI slop, and are going to be trying to record and publish live videos as much as possible. We will still create and edit canned videos, but we want to bring a…
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#148 Atari Now! October 2025 News and Home brew for all Atari systems
September 2–5, 2025 At Gamescom 2025, Atari’s CEO Wade Rosen declares the company’s ambition to become the “best in the world at retro games”, emphasizing support for retro revival studios like Nightdive, Digital Eclipse, and M2, now under Atari’s umbrella.Wade Rosen said :“”We still make sure that we appeal to…
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Atari Now! September 2025
New monthly show about everything Atari is doing in the modern era, plus new homebrew for all Atari platforms. Monthly update about the world of Atari.Atari Now! News and Homebrews, September 2025 https://www.reddit.com/r/atarinow/
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What The Heck Is “The Vertical Blank” Anyway?
In this video we play the long versions of our two songs, mixed with a segment from our movie “The Best *#@! Christmas Ever: An Atari 8-bit Journey Into The Vertical Blank” To lay out just what The Vertical blank means to us and why we use it as the…
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How Well Did We Predict Atari’s Future In 2008?
In October 2008 almost 16 years ago, we embarked on quest to “save Atari”. The Atari IP was languishing under Infogrames at the time, and they seemed to have no idea what to do with it. Since we had a semi-successful indie-game blog at the time named “8bitrocket.com”. we decided…
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The Worst Game Ever For The Atari 2600
To get the game, source code, assets visit our itch.io page: Worst Game by Into The Vertical Blank
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#134 Atari ST Special: SSI on the ST and a STOS STE game engine
Welcome to episode 134 of the Into The Vertical Blank Podcast. Today we have a special treat. It’s the 40th anniversary of the Atari ST this year, so we will be confusing most of the audio and video channels on the Atari computers and especially the ST. First up we…
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131: The First Atari 2600 Homebrew Cartridge? Ed Federmeyer And The Story of Sound-X and Edtris
This one was a labor of love of sorts. About 4 weeks ago, I did not even know Ed Federmeyer existed. But after a I did a deep dive into Atari 2600 Action Pack For Windows and found out he had found a way to use it for his own…
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130 : The Curious Case Of Atari 2600 Action Pack For Windows 3.1
What started as simple “crack the seal” to open and play a 30 year old Windows game, became journey to discover, what might be, the origins of retro gaming itself. Many Thanks to Eclectic Lee for creating the archive page used in this story. See Video Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_Sge_pELco&feature=youtu.be Music: All…
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127: The Essential: Atari ST Michtron’s Time Bandit from 1986.
On the Into The Vertical Blank’s The Essential Atari ST, we investigate, discuss and evaluate Atari ST Computers games and try to uncover titles worthy of play by all who are interested in the platform. We are also looking for gems in 80’s computer libraries that bridge or fill the…
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#124: 10 Mid-80’s “Euro” Action Platformers on the Atari ST (and other 80’s computers) Audio Version
Audio cut version of the video #atari #atarst #actionplatformer #amiga #msx #c64 #speccy #amstradcpc #dos The Euro Platformer. Today the term is used with much derision, mostly by console game fans but even by some many 80’s computer games, and well now, now even by me, and we all probably…
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10 Good “Euro” Action Platformers for the Atari ST Including Sun Su Si and Switchblade 2
Last time I took a look at 10 early Action Platformers for the ST and other 80s computers that were mostly of poor to acceptable quality. This time I have found 10 that I find fun to technically good excellent specimens that show off the ST’s capabilities in the right…
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S3:E9: One Left Turn: An Atari Mother’s Day Story
A story about the day in 1981 when our mom made a split decision that helped us discover Atari computers. Written, engineered, and produced by Steve Fulton and Jeff Fulton Additional music from Tony Longworth Branding by Daryl Litts Subscribe Links Tunes Google Play Player FM Spotify
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S3:E8 Westworld Redux 1976: Our First Venture In An Arcade
In this episode we discuss the affect the movie Westworld on us as kids, and try to figure out why its’ “anti-technology” message did not resonate. This episode also includes a remastered version of “Sharpshooter”, the Westworld themed story from way back in Season 1. PS: We will soon have…
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S3:E7 Discussion with Curt Vendel about the Atari 7800 XM Module
Into the Vertical Blank Generation Atari Season 3 Episode 7: Discussion with Curt Vendel about the Atari 7800 XM Module In this Episode we dive deep into the 7800 Expansion Module with Curt Vendel. We also discuss some history of the 7800, the original development and why it took Atari…
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S3:E6: I Want Candy. Atari’s Biggest Mistake Part 3: A Discussion with Curt Vendel
Subscribe Links Tunes Google Play Player FM Spotify Show Notes Into the Vertical Blank. Generation Atari Season 3, Episode 6. I Want Candy. A Discussion with Curt Vendel : Part 1 In this episode we go into a deep discussion with Atarimuseum.com’s Curt Vendel about what Atari could have been…
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S3:E5: Monthly News and Notes for those who grew up Atari.
Subscribe Links Tunes Google Play Player FM Spotify Show Notes The Vertical Blank: Generation Atari. Season 3 Episode 5: Monthly News and Notes for those who grew up Atari. Or Atari News and HomeBrew Update for Q1 of 2020. Apocalypse Edition.In this episode we cover news from the Official Atari…
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S3:E4: Atari’s Biggest Mistake Part 2: Game Player Non Expandable
Subscribe Links Tunes Google Play Player FM Spotify Show Notes In part 2 of “Atari’s Biggest Mistake” we explore the core reasons why Atari blundered in 1982 with their biggest releases and explore a “what if” scenario right out of The Vertical Blank. What really was Atari’s biggest mistake? Was…
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S3:E3: Dan Kitchen Interview Part 2: The First “Pro Brew” Game Developer
In the 2nd part of our Dan Kitchen interview, we discuss the ground-breaking title “Garry Kitchen’s Game Maker”, Dan’s new game “Gold Rush” and try to figure out what to call new games that are made by original developers for vintage systems. Http://www.dankitchen.com http://www.garrykitchen.com/ Subscribe Links Tunes Google Play …
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S3:E2 Dan Kitchen Interview Part One: The Rise Of The Kitchen Brothers
Summary In our quest to discover the secrets of programming 8 and 16 bit computers this season, we caught up with Dan Kitchen, a true survivor of the 80’s video game crash, still making games today. In fact, he’s on a quest to build and publish a brand new set…
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S3:E1: Atari’s Biggest Mistake (part 1)
Atari’s Biggest Mistake (part 1): The Day Atari Lost The Video Game War Summary What was Atari’s biggest mistake? To truly be inside The Vertical Blank is to ruminate on “what could have been.” For Atari, there are many “what could have been” moments. What if they produced The Amiga…
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S2:E19 : It’s A Clip Show! “Best Of” moments From Season 1 and Season 3 Preview
Remember back in the 70’s, after May sweeps, when in the TV Guide it would say Happy Days had a (New) episode, but when you watched, it was just Fonzie, Ritchie and Laurie Beth reminiscing about what-not or whatever, as an excuse to play old clips and save money on…
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s2:18 Bonus #2: Pork Chops And Retro Games Sizzle At CES 2020
In this season 2 bonus episode, Steve makes a visit to CES 2020 and looks in all corners for signs of retro games. Subscribe Here Tunes Google Play Player FM Spotify Photos Below
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S2:E17: Bonus – Book Review Of Galaga From Boss Fight Books And More!
This episode is a quick apology for mixing an episode of The Alarm podcast into the Into The Vertical Blank Feed. This episode contains content that never made it into season 2 including book reviews for Galaga from Boss Fight Books and American Nerd, The Story Of My People, as…
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S2:E16 Finale: The Best Atari Christmas Ever
The Season 2 finale of Into The Vertical Blank. In this episode we pull out all the stops and explain exactly why Atari means so much to us. This honest, naked, all-cards-on-the-table, frank episode includes an Eponymous Story named “The Best #*@! Christmas Ever” that tells all. There is also…
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Season 2: Episode 15: The Atari 7800 and ST. Our Next Gen Super Systems
Notes: Season 2: Episode 15: The Atari 7800 and ST. Our Next Gen Super Systems In this episode we dig into American Thanksgiving 1986 and discuss our transition from the Atari 800 to the Atari ST with the Atari 7800 squeezed in between. Tony Longworth: https://patreon.com/tonylongworth Some of the music…
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S2:E14 – Asteroids 40th Anniversary
We salute Asteroids 40th anniversary with a discussion of how things have changed since 1979, and with a rebroadcast of the story “Escape To The Asteroids Zone” Please Subscribe And/Or Give Us A Review Tunes Google Play Player FM Spotify
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S2:E13: The Haunting of the Vertical Blank
Into the vertical Blank: Generation Atari Season 2 Episode 13: The Haunting of the Vertical Blank This time the guys discuss “scary” Atari games (mostly *not* scary all), some real-word experiences that beg the question “Was Jeff and Steve’s 520 Atari ST haunted?”, a story about a creepy pen and…
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S2:E12: Star Wars and Atari In The Vertical Blank : Part 2
Tunes Google Play Player FM Spotify S2:E12: Star Wars and Atari In The Vertical Blank : Part 2 In the follow-up episode to the Season 2, Episode 12, Steve and Jeff continue their discussion of the impact that Star Wars on their video game experience and video games in general.…
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S2:E11: Star Wars and Atari In The Vertical Blank : Part 1
Tunes Google Play Player FM Spotify Read Show Notes Here Watch Video Of The Star Wars “A Nerd Is Born” story below: See the photos from Sunday Sept 25th, 1977 below. A Nerd Was Born By Steve Fulton Some time in September 1977 there was an advertisement in the local…
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S2:E10: Playing Outside in Generation X
To salute the end of summer, w e are re-running a story from last season named “Big Mouse And Little Mouse” that has been updated, expanded and remastered. This is a story about the type of imaginative play that occurs when kids are trying to discover the world. This was…
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Into the vertical blank: Generation Atari: Season 2, Episode 9 DragonStomper
In the episode, Steve and Jeff take a deep look at the Atari 2600 game Dragon Stomper, what it meant to them in the grand scheme of gaming, and also how it had an effect on early 80’s video and computer games as a whole. AtariProtos.com Dragon Stomper Page http://www.atariprotos.com/2600/software/dragonstomper/dragonstomper.htm…
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S2:E8 The Exact Moment Nintendo Won the Video Game War
The Exact Moment Nintendo Won The Video game War (A Short, Left Handed Episode) In this short summer bonus episode, Steve explores what he thinks is the exact moment Nintendo beat everyone and and won the video game war. I imagine, it’s not exactly what you expect. The Into The…
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S2:E7 Emits a shower of Sparks: Pele’s Soccer
Into the Vertical Blank: Generation Atari – Season 2 Episode 7 : Emits a shower of sparks: How we stopped playing soccer and started playing Atari (along with Pele) In this episode, Steve and Jeff cover Pele’s Soccer for the Atari 2600, and the cultural as well as business atmosphere…
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S2:E6: Why We Collect Atari
In this episode, Steve and Jeff have a frank discussion about what they collect and why they collect Atari. Also includes a couple segments from Steve’s “Fultonbot’s Atari Quest” blog series, as well as an impromptu live remote visit to their favorite retro game store. Stories from the podcast:
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S2: E5 Electronic Games Magazine
In this episode of Into The Vertical Blank: Generation Atari, Steve and Jeff celebrate the magazine that started it all. The first publication in the USA that was strictly devoted to video and electronic games, Electronic Games Magazine. The brothers bring you two stories of thos glories magazine, each featuring…
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The Top-10 (or so) Worst Real-Life Products For Video Gamers (circa 1982) Part 2: Your Future Career In Video Games
By Steve Fulton Last week I posted a story named The Worst Real-Life Products For Video Gamers (circa 1982-1983) . However, that was not the end of the story. You see, you survived that Halloween in your Asteroids costume, Bat Mitts and Gobbler hat, and while you were not fooled by…
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S2:E3 We always wanted to work for Atari
iTunes Google Play Player FM Spotify Into the Vertical Blank: Generation Atari. Season 2: Episode 3. We always wanted to work for Atari Steve and Jeff provide two new stories about wanting to work for, with, or somehow adjacent to classic Atari. The boys also answer feedback, to explain recent…
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S2:E2: Going, Going, Gone
iTunes Google Play Player FM Spotify 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…
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Bonus #2 Friday Display List: Feedback and response
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…
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S2:E1: The Disappearance Of Charlie Chuck : Atari Food Fight
iTunes Google Play Player FM Spotify S2:E1: The Disappearance Of Charlie Chuck : Atari’s Food Fight 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…
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Bonus Podcast: A Trip To The Retro City Festival In Pomona, CA
Summary: 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.
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S1:E10 Christmas In The Vertical Blank
S1:E10 Christmas In The Vertical Blank S1:E10: Christmas In The Vertical Blank n 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…
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s1:e9: The Weird Family Thanksgiving In the Vertical Blank
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…
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Into The Vertical Blank S1:E8: The Bronze Age Of Arcade Games
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…
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Into The Vertical Blank: Generation Atari S1:E7 – Playing Together, Side By Side
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”.…
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Into The Vertical Blank: Generation Atari S1:E6 – Interfaces are where two worlds collide
Into The Vertical Blank: Generation Atari S1:E6 – Interfaces are where to worlds collide 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…
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S1:E5: All Appointments Life (Asteroids Part 2 )
Into 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.…
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S1:E4: Escape To The Asteroids Zone :Part 1
Into The Vertical Blank: Generation Atari Season 1, Episode 4: Escape To The Asteroids Zone : Part 1 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…
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S1:E3: Atari Nerd
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…
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S1: E2: “A Hole Burned In my Pocket: Toys R Us And The Atari 7800″.
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,…
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S1:E1: All The Scan Lines Have Been Written
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…
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S1:E0: Into The Vertical Blank Podcast: Newbie
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…
