Player/Missile - An Atari 8-bit Retrospective
36 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 16 ratingsA retrospective of the Atari 8-bit home computer systems, the magazines that covered them, and a somewhat chronological review of games as they arrived on the platform.
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Episodes
Ep. 34: 8-bit vs 5200 Part 2: Q1 1983
April 29, 2022 20:45 - 1 hour - 53.7 MB5200 coverage in magazines from January through March 1983. Plus a special bonus look at a NY Times article about Warner's stunning December 1982 earnings shortfall caused by Atari's massive financial loss. 1983 Q1 1983 First Quarter P.O.P. (Point Of Purchase) Support Jan 1983 Video Games Vol 1, #4 Jan 1983 ANALOG Computing #9 Jan 1983 Joystik Magazine Jan 1983 Electronic Games Vol 1, #11 Jan/Feb 1983 Atari Age Magazine Vol 1, #5 Feb 1983 Video Games Vol 1, #5 Feb 1983 Creative Com...
Ep. 33: Dec 1982: Magazines, Part 3
March 31, 2022 18:43 - 1 hour - 41.1 MBCoverage of a few magazines I missed last time. Live plays of two games, tips to speed up disk drive I/O, and articles on how automation has changed TV and film production. Magazines Atari 8-bit magazines Softalk Softalk Vol 3, #4 Assembly Lines book Total Replay harddisk image Axlon RAMDISK 320k Passport auto-cracking tool Nibble Nibble Vol 3, #8 Nibble disk Production Notes Music: Stef Animal's Bandcamp page Episode page: Episode 33 Twitter: @atari8bitgames
Ep. 32: Dec 1982: Magazines, Part 2
December 10, 2021 18:22 - 1 hour - 53.7 MBCoverage of Atari Connection, APX, Byte, C&VG, Micro, Softside, Page 6 & Atari I/O for Dec 1982. Another Chris Crawford article on game design, a review of Steve Wozniak’s US Festival, and will Forth become the official language of the podcast? Magazines Atari 8-bit magazines Atari Connection Atari Connection Vol 2, #4 Mastering Rubik's Cube by Don Taylor Josh Malone’s USB CX-85 numeric keypad mod APX Catalog APX Catalog Winter 1982 Byte Byte Vol 7, #12 Rock, Paper, Scissors, Liz...
Ep. 31: Dec 1982: Magazines, Part 1
November 19, 2021 16:48 - 1 hour - 49.8 MBCoverage of Antic, Compute!, Creative Computing, Dec 1982. Chris Crawford on Legionnaire, first rumors of the IBM PCjr, and two articles predicting the future: Compute! does OK while Creative Computing gets a bunch of whammies. Also: Bullwinkle’s restaurant, sexism and mansplaining about whether educational software should ask kids their gender, and Bahrain doctors, video games & epilepsy. Magazines Atari 8-bit magazines Antic Antic Vol 1, #5 Stratos by Neil Larimer ANTIC Podcast inte...
Ep. 30: 8-bit vs 5200 Part 1: 1982
October 20, 2021 22:10 - 1 hour - 50.7 MBIn a special multi-part series comparing the 8-bit computers to the 5200 console, this first episode focuses on 1982. Scanning the regular magazines for mentions of the 5200, I also scour other magazines for both 8-bit and 5200 coverage. Only in this special series will you hear article summaries from these periodicals: Electronic Games, JoyStik, Video Games, Video Games Player and Atari Age Magazine. Introduction Atari 5200 Super Community Podcast The Atari 5200 Podcast Atari 3200 prot...
Ep. 30: 1982 Special: 8-bit vs 5200 Part 1: Video System X
October 20, 2021 22:10 - 1 hour - 50.7 MBIn a special 3-part series comparing the 8-bit computers to the 5200 console, this first episode focuses on 1982. Scanning the regular magazines for mentions of the 5200, I also scour other magazines for both 8-bit and 5200 coverage. Only in this special series will you hear article summaries from these periodicals: Electronic Games, JoyStik, Video Games, Video Games Player and Atari Age Magazine. Introduction Atari 5200 Super Community Podcast The Atari 5200 Podcast Atari 3200 prototyp...
Ep. 29: Nov 1982: Byte, CVG, CGW, Micro, Softline, Softside
June 02, 2021 19:30 - 1 hour - 40.8 MBCoverage of the remaining magazines for Nov 1982. Magazines Atari 8-bit magazines Byte Byte Vol 7, #11 Computer & Video Games C&VG Issue #13 Computer Gaming World CGW Vol 2, #6 AtariAge forum post on cheat codes Legionnaire gameplay video Micro 6502/6809 Journal Micro #54 Softline Softline #2.2 Kay Savetz interview with Jerry White Jerry White’s software Bill Williams Atari Sounds, part 3 SoftSide Softside #35 Feedback Dennis Debro’s Atari 2600 disassemblies Free ringt...
Ep. 28: Nov 1982: ANALOG, Compute!, Creative Computing
May 07, 2021 20:48 - 1 hour - 33.5 MBFormat experiment: splitting magazine coverage across two episodes and separating game reviews to their own episodes. Magazines Atari 8-bit magazines ANALOG ANALOG Computing #8 Inverse ATASCII S4E07: Money Manager Compute! Compute #30 Atari 1000 project info from Atari Museum Jeepers Creepers at Atarimania VisiCalc @ Inverse ATASCII Effectus, modern cross compiler for Action! Creative Computing Creative Computing Vol 8, #11 Video Invaders book by Steve Bloom at the Internet Ar...
Ep. 27: Oct 1982: Worm War I
April 17, 2021 13:01 - 1 hour - 54.8 MBA friend gets his first game published in Computers & Video Games! 6 other magazines this episode, and I try to dissect my first kernel game, Worm War I. Or is it 1? It’s a super important distinction. Magazines Atari 8-bit magazines Antic Antic Vol 1, #4 Compute! Compute #29 Paperclip by Batteries Included, reviewed by Wade on Inverse ATASCII Creative Computing Creative Computing Vol 8, #10 Ted Nelson Mail Project Byte Byte Vol 7, #10 Computer & Video Games C&VG Issue #12 Wi...
Ep. 26: Sep 1982: Deluxe Invaders
February 20, 2021 23:40 - 2 hours - 70.6 MBStrap yourselves in for coverage of 11 magazine issues including a tiny bit on the large magazine Byte -- there’s an article on Star Raiders strategies that I can’t pass up. Game review is of Deluxe Invaders, which is a high quality Space Invaders clone. Oh, and there’s a discussion of a game called Hazard Run and its ties to a bad TV show and a worse flag. Introduction Bally Astrocade website Bally Astrocade podcast: Bally Alley Astrocast Source of Bally Artillery game Demo of Bally A...
Ep. 25: Aug 1982: Rear Guard
November 10, 2020 04:13 - 2 hours - 72.3 MBAdding a new magazine to the coverage: Softline, a games-focused magazine published by the people responsible for Softalk. Also a review of Rear Guard, a game that’s appeared in full-page color ads for many months in magazines. Introduction AtariAge discussion on the term IRG Magazines Atari 8-bit magazines Antic Antic Vol 1, #3 Compute! Compute #27 Atari Jaguar injection molded cases used for dental equipment Creative Computing Creative Computing Vol 8, #8 57 games by SSI for t...
Ep. 24: Jul 1982: Typo Attack
October 20, 2020 17:59 - 1 hour - 34.2 MBJust a regular ol’ episode talking about magazines, learning typing during the pandemic, and if we’ve finally seen the end of creepy William Shatner ads for the VIC-20. Magazines Atari 8-bit magazines iCompute! Compute #26 Fred D’Ignazio interview on the ANTIC Podcast Inverse ATASCII review of LJK’s Data Perfect Creative Computing Creative Computing Vol 8, #7 APX Catalog APX Summer 1982 Carol Shaw’s Calculator source code hardcopy OCR text of calculator source ANTIC, the Atari ...
Ep. 23: Jun 1982: Quarxon
December 08, 2019 20:01 - 1 hour - 49.4 MBPhase 2 begins with the usual magazine coverage and a review of Quarxon, a two-player shoot-each-other game with prominent use of Display List Interrupts. In the tech section, I use Omnivore to discover how these DLIs work. Introduction Stef Animal's Bandcamp page Stef Animal's Pico-8 game: The Spooky House Pico-8 virtual machine (a "fantasy video game console") XLXE Podcast Magazines Atari 8-bit magazines ANTIC Antic Vol 1, #2 Atari Connection Atari Connection Vol 2, #2 Byte B...
Ep. 22: Special Episode: Phase 2
March 14, 2019 19:10 - 5 minutes - 5.3 MBIntroducing Phase 2 of the Player/Missile extended podcastimatic universe. The magazine coverage will stay the same, but instead of a typical game review, I will focus on reverse engineering to discover interesting game programming techniques used by the authors of these classic games. I intend it to be a tutorial on the use of Omnivore, the desktop application I've designed that includes many reverse engineering tools, including a built-in emulator and debugger. Tech Section Omnivore, my...
Ep. 21: May 1982: Fujirun
September 29, 2017 19:54 - 1 hour - 40.9 MBThe hiatus is over. With my new slimmed-down post-production, I now plan to get back to regular episodes. For this one, it's the usual magazine coverage and some talk about the retro-computing projects I've been doing in the last year. Introduction KansasFest! Richard Broadhurst's Programs Astroblaster Carnival Frogger Phoenix Emulated hardware arcade port of Circus Tech Section Omnivore, the Atari 8-bit Binary Editor Magazines Atari 8-bit magazines ANALOG Analog #6 Antic Pod...
Ep. 20: Apr 1982: Jumpman
October 14, 2016 21:30 - 1 hour - 47.4 MBThe culmination of the first "season" of the Player/Missile podcast is a review of my favorite game and the announcement of the project undertaken by Kevin Savetz and myself to reverse engineer the game. We're sponsoring a level design contest, and there's still time to enter! Oh, and I'm taking a hiatus until I can collect the physical magazines. You can help out with your contributions! Introduction KansasFest! Chris Torrence's Softalk Apple (video) Podcast I'm a guest on Antic Episod...
Ep. 19: Mar 1982: Getaway!
March 31, 2016 21:30 - 2 hours - 67.2 MBGame review of Getaway! and interview with the author Mark Reid. The program won the Atari Star Award and the $25,000 prize in 1983. I also introduce Omnivore, the 8-bit binary editor that I've been working on during the hiatus. Kevin Savetz has a guest review of the APX Spring Catalog, and we add a new section to the podcast, the countdown to the Tramiel takeover. Introduction Omnivore, the Atari 8-bit Binary Editor Player/Missile Blog AtariAge forum post announcing Omnivore AtariAge ...
Ep. 18: Feb 1982: Flight Simulators, Part 2b
December 09, 2015 18:34 - 2 hours - 60.6 MBPart 2b of the flight simulator roundup with Chris Olson, reviewing helicopter sims and the all-time classic F-15 Strike Eagle. Plus: an update on speeding up Star Raiders. Introduction Dan Carlin's Hardcore History Pictures from the AtariAge booth at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo XEGS Cart-by-Cart Podcast They Create Worlds Podcast They Create Worlds Blog Feedback Interview with Dona Bailey, Centipede co-creator Hidden Maze from Compute!'s First Book of Atari Games Wikipedia art...
Ep. 17: Jan 1982: Shamus
October 19, 2015 21:05 - 2 hours - 63 MBThe universe of games really begins to expand in 1982. From here on out we'll have a huge selection of choices to talk about, and Shamus by Cathryn Mataga leads us off. Also, an interview with Michael Portuesi who is both a published author in Compute!'s books and a listener to the podcast. Introduction Ten Pence Arcade podcast San Leandro Computer Club Feedback Interview with Dona Bailey, Centipede co-creator MAME Cabinet MAME cabinet progress (AtariAge forum thread) More details o...
Ep. 16: Dec 1981: Flight Simulators, Part 2a
September 01, 2015 19:43 - 2 hours - 73.2 MBThe first half of the military flight simulator roundup with Chris Olson. I've included a bonus tech section at the end discussing a clever display list technique used by the MicroProse sims. Guest reviews: Michael Glaser of the XEGS Cart-by-Cart podcast covers SoftSide and Kevin Savetz summarizes the APX Winter 1981 Catalog. Introduction Thanks to Wade from Inverse ATASCII for the ANALOGs & Flight Simulator II AtariAge forum thread: 2 worthy video game podcasts Internet History Podcast...
Ep. 15: Nov 1981: Reversi II
July 31, 2015 21:02 - 1 hour - 50.5 MBTwo new magazines for the coverage: Computer Gaming World and my first magazine from the UK: Computer & Video Games, and two guest reviewers of magazines. An overview of KansasFest from the Atari point of view, and a review of the APX game Reversi II. Introduction California Extreme Arcade/Pinball show July 18 & 19 2015 CA Extreme twitter Pictures from CA Extreme KansasFest KansasFest More from Rebecca Heineman: Antic Interview #64 Steve Mayer: Antic Interview #65 Mark Pilgrim's Di...
Ep. 14: Special Episode: Game Draft #1
June 25, 2015 19:22 - 1 hour - 43.3 MBJack Nutting of the Retro Computing Roundtable, Victor Marland of Ten Pence Arcade, Wade Ripkowski of Inverse Atascii and Kevin Savetz of ANTIC join me for a 5 round draft of Atari 8-bit games. Participants Jack Nutting of Retro Computing Roundtable Victor Marland of Ten Pence Arcade Wade Ripkowski of Inverse Atascii Kevin Savetz of ANTIC Jack's Picks Star Raiders my Star Raiders speedup hack (in progress) M.U.L.E. Realm of Impossibility Wizard of Wor Dog Daze Deluxe Victor's P...
Ep. 13: Oct 1981: Missile Command
June 03, 2015 04:31 - 1 hour - 49.3 MBSummary of Bill Kendrick's Atari Party 2015 and review of the excellent port of Missile Command. In magazine coverage, I've added MICRO: The 6502/6809 Journal, and new contributor Michael Glaser takes over SoftSide Magazine. Introduction Atari Party in Davis, CA, May 2, 2015 Atari Party photos! California Extreme Arcade/Pinball show July 18 & 19 2015 Feedback ANTIC Podcast Interview #40: Doug Carlston of Br0derdund Software BBC Micro magazine: Acorn User ANTIC Magazine preview of t...
Ep. 12: Sep 1981: Flight Simulators, Part 1
May 04, 2015 18:20 - 2 hours - 59.7 MBFlight simulator roundup where Chris Olson and I review 5 noteworthy civilian aircraft sims on the 8-bits (military sims will be the subject of part 2). Also added Byte to the magazine to the coverage due to the serializiaton of De Re Atari. Introduction Atari Party in Davis, CA, May 2, 2015 RetroPie Raspberry Pi game emulation distro Stella, the 2600 emulator Atari800 emulator Atari podcast interviews thread Interview with David Fox Floppy Days Episode 36 with all the Atari 8-bit p...
Ep. 11: Aug 1981: Interview with James Hague
April 11, 2015 06:57 - 1 hour - 50.2 MBInterview episode with game developer James Hague who was published in ANALOG and Antic magazines, is the author of Halcyon Days & maintainer of the Giant List of Classic Video Game Programmers. Atari Party 2015 is just around the corner! Introduction Atari Party in Davis, CA, May 2, 2015 No Quarter is back with new co-host Rob O'Hara! WICO Joystick review Feedback Inverse ATASCII Podcast Rescue on Fractalis writeup by Trevor Briscoe Listener Written Programs Paul Nurminen's BASIC ...
Ep. 10: Jul 1981: Interview with Chuck Bueche
March 21, 2015 05:21 - 1 hour - 41.2 MBInterview episode with Chuck Bueche, tech section on Star Raiders and the Atari 8-bit executable format, guest magazine coverage of Softalk, and the Atari Party: Davis CA, May 2, 2015! Introduction The Atari 5200 Super Podcast Atari Party in Davis, CA, May 2, 2015 KansasFest July 14-19 2015 California Extreme classic arcade games expo July 18-19 2015 AtariAge 8-bit High Score Club Season 12 Feedback Computer Gaming World MAME Cabinet MAME cabinet progress (AtariAge forum thread) ...
Ep. 9: Jun 1981: Interview with Michael Current
March 03, 2015 20:12 - 1 hour - 45.2 MBInterview episode with Michael Current, maintainer of the Atari 8-bit FAQ and the Atari History Timeline; also covering the magazines from June 1981. Tech section on building Star Raiders, MAME cabinet update, and the Atari Party: Davis CA, May 2, 2015! Introduction Atari Party in Davis, CA, May 2, 2015 RetroLink DB9 Joystick to USB cables My original linux driver Improved linux driver Raspberry Pi Model B KansasFest July 14-19 2015 California Extreme classic arcade games expo Atar...
Ep. 8: May 1981: Eastern Front (1941)
February 14, 2015 22:43 - 1 hour - 27.6 MBMagazines from May 1981 and a review of Eastern Front (1941) by Chris Crawford, and the triumphant reinstatement of the tech section of the podcast because I've found a manageable topic. Also, info about the Atari Party 2015 which I will attend and give away a Raspberry Pi. Introduction Ringtones and notifications from Atari 8-bit games Thread about building my MAME cabinet Comparing the RPi to the Cray X-MP Raspberry Pi 2 announcement Raspberry Pi 2 specs Atari Party in Davis, CA, M...
Ep. 7: Apr 1981: Gem Drop (Homebrew)
January 09, 2015 04:18 - 1 hour - 38.9 MBMagazine coverage for April 1981 but jump ahead in time to cover our first homebrew game, Gem Drop by Bill Kendrick. Bill also invented one of the first software-driven graphics modes, called Super IRG, and we have an interview with him to talk about it. Introduction Ferg's review of BASIC Programming River Raid Linear Feedback Shift Registers Elite II: 100 billion solar systems on 2 floppy disks Ten Pence Arcade podcast, Episode 25: Space Invaders Feedback Cross-platform Apple ][ e...
Ep. 6: Mar 1981: Sabotage
November 23, 2014 15:57 - 1 hour - 43.6 MBIn addition to the usual magazine coverage for March 1981, we look at the Apple ][ game Sabotage, converted to run on the Atari. I talk with Paul Hagstrom to get background knowledge on the Apple hardware, and get the inside story on the Sabotage conversion by the guy who did it, AtariAge user Shamus. Introduction Sound explained in De Re Atari, Chapter 7 cc65 started on the Atari 8-bits! Feedback Christmas Vacation sled scene ANALOG 400/800 Magazine #2, Mar/Apr 1981 Atari News Atar...
Ep. 5: Feb 1981: Jawbreaker
November 08, 2014 05:24 - 1 hour - 30.4 MBThis episode reviews the game Jawbreaker by John Harris and covers the February 1981 magazines Compute #9, Creative Computing Vol 7 #2, and introduces coverage of SoftSide Magazine. Anacronisticly included is coverage of my trip to the Portland Retro Gaming Expo 2014. Feedback Sound Finder Special Section: Portland Retro Gaming Expo 2014 Walkthrough of the arcade Ms. Pac-Man FAQ Howard Scott Warshaw's panel David Crane, Gary Kitchen, Bob Smith from 2013 PRGE Intellivision Produciton...
Ep. 4: Jan 1981: Caverns of Mars
October 13, 2014 04:56 - 1 hour - 48.2 MBWelcome to January, 1981! Finally going month-by-month, Episode 4 includes the first ANALOG issue, Compute #8 and Creative Computing Vol 7 #1 and a review the game Caverns of Mars published first by APX then by Atari itself. And in my first interview, I talk with with Mike DesChenes, the co-founder of ANALOG Computing! Introduction Ten Pence Arcade McCoyCast episode on Real Genius Feedback Intellivisionaries Ep. #13 Atari Bit Byter User Club cc65 cross compiler Interview with Mike D...
Ep. 3: 1980, Part 2: Space Invaders
September 18, 2014 05:27 - 1 hour - 29.4 MBFinishing off 1980, Episode 3 includes coverage of the remaining 6 months of Creative Computing and Compute magazines, and a review of the game Space Invaders published by Atari. Introduction Martin Gardiner Corrections Digital Press Interview with Larry Kaplan 2600 Game by Game Podcast #3: Ferg's review of Air-Sea Battle Source code for all operating system revisions 2600 Game by Game Podcast #41: Ferg's review of Kaboom Feedback Manual for 400/800 version of the Super Breakout I...
Ep. 2: 1980, Part 1: Super Breakout
August 28, 2014 03:30 - 45 minutes - 20.7 MBWelcome to 1980! Episode 2 includes coverage of the Creative Computing and Compute! magazines through the first half of 1980 and a review of the game Super Breakout by Atari. Introduction Racing the Beam Drawing kernels for the Atari 8-bits Check out Ferg's 2600 Game-by-Game podcast for the contest I'm sponsoring! Feedback Rick Keene's artwork Superplot by Michael Portuesi blubalu's Star Raiders unboxing! Magazines Compute #2, Jan/Feb 1980 Creative Computing v6, #1 Jan 1980 Crea...
Ep. 1: 1979: Star Raiders
August 03, 2014 23:48 - 1 hour - 30.1 MBWelcome to 1979! Episode 1 includes a brief summary of the technical specifications of the Atari 400 & 800 that were first released at the end of the year, discussion of Creative Computing issues starting from April and the very first Compute! magazine, and a review of a game original to the Atari 8- bits and destined to become an all-time classic game: Star Raiders. Introduction Douglas Adams Collected Works Feedback Drop /// Inches with Mike Maginnis and Paul Hagstrom, a fairly techni...
Ep. 0: Introduction
July 15, 2014 16:50 - 29 minutes - 13.3 MBIn the inaugural episode of Player/Missile, I introduce myself, talk about my background with the Atari 8-bit systems, what the podcast will be about and what it won't be about, and describe the format of the subsequent episodes. Podcasts ANTIC, The Atari 8-bit Podcast with Randy Kindig, Kevin Savetz and Brad Arnold, all about Atari 8-bit computers No Quarter with Carrington Vanston and Mike Maginnes, the classic arcade podcast You Don't Know Flack with Rob O'Hara, a retro-technology th...