2600 CONNECTION: 2023

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

PICK AXE SANTA! for the Odyssey2 / Videopac

NOW AVAILABLE!

IT'S A TYPICAL DAY AT THE NORTH POLE

Santa Claus is a “buff” guy.

Have you ever wondered what makes him so fit?

Outside Santa’s castle, in his Christmas tree farm,

he has created a regimen of physical fitness activity

that keeps him in shape!

The elves hurl magical coal balls at Santa.

He grabs his pick axe and must destroy or avoid the coal.

Santa can jump and climb the branches of a Christmas tree.

For extra gain, he can ascend up, up, up the Christmas tree

and top it with a star!

The object of PICK AXE SANTA is to place a star on the top of the tree, avoid coal balls, and beat Kris Kringle's personal high score in the process ( 1225 points ). Get it? 12-25 is December 25. Christmas!

Help Santa Claus stay in shape and stay healthy

by taking part in this PICK AXE PETE-style workout.

PICK AXE SANTA is a "new game" for the Odyssey2 and Videopac.

It is a hack of the 1982 classic PICK AXE PETE

Programming modifications by: SELECT GAMES

game manual and loose cartridge:

Each game will include a 4-page color printed Odyssey2-style manual

These cartridges are brand new 3-D printed casings that do not have the traditional handle

The internal printed circuit boards and memory chips are brand new

HOW TO ORDER:

PICK AXE SANTA game cartridge and printed game instruction manual

IF YOU LIVE IN THE USA: $30 and $4 shipping

Click BUY NOW:

PICK AXE SANTA owner list - updated: Wednesday, November 13, 2024

1. T. Duarte

2. B. Leahy

3. M. Verreas

4. T. Beck

5. M. Norgaard

6. J. Allamagny

7. A. Hibbs

8. A. Levin

9. J. Harrison

10. D. Harshbarger

11. D. Laura

12. T. Kadish

13. A. Lehmann

14. S. Efici Jr.

15. S. Drake

16. M. Dougherty

17. A. Lehmann

18. B. Silvestri

19. M. Tryon

20. A. Allison

21. J. Collins

22. J. Johnson

23. J. Deboer

24. T. Urban

25. K. Diry

26. C. Nydahl

27. M. Norgaard

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

GRIM REAPER PETE for the Odyssey2

NOW AVAILABLE!

It has taken forty-some-odd years,

but Pick Axe Pete has mined all the gold out of the Misty Mountain Mine!

The miners are so dumb; they keep looking for gold. There’s not much to find.

The Grim Reaper has appeared to collect the souls of the miners!

The miners are now panicking, colliding into each other, and falling off the ledge to their death.

The Grim Reaper must collect their soul BEFORE they die!

If he misses, the miner dies, makes a bloody mess,

and there’s a lot of required paperwork that the Grim Reaper must fill out due to the

fatal incident. And he has to clean up the remains of the deceased!

This is not what the Grim Reaper has signed up for!

He’s taking a vacation, and he’s asked Pick Axe Pete to fill in for him in collecting souls!

If you miss a falling miner, your run as GRIM REAPER PETE ends

unless you can get a soul exchange.

If, within a few seconds of his death, GRIM REAPER PETE's body is touched by a miner,

Pete will be reanimated with the soul of that miner and your run as GRIM REAPER PETE continues

from where you left off! This is how the real Grim Reaper has lived for tens of thousands of years.

A YouTube video of the GRIM REAPER PETE videogame in action

GRIM REAPER PETE is a "new game" for the Odyssey2 and Videopac.

It is a hack of the 1982 classic PICK AXE PETE

Programming modifications by: SELECT GAMES

loose cartridge and game manual

Each game will include a 4-page color Odyssey2-style manual

HOW TO ORDER:

GRIM REAPER PETE game cartridge and printed game instruction manual

IF YOU LIVE IN THE USA: $30 and $4 shipping

Click BUY NOW:

IF YOU LIVE OUTSIDE THE USA:

GRIM REAPER PETE game cartridge and printed game instruction manual

price: $30 and $19 shipping

US Mail International First Class with tracking number

Click BUY NOW:

GRIM REAPER PETE owner list:

1. T. Duarte

2. B. Leahy

3. S. Drake

4. C. Herr

5. M. Norgaard

6. R. Porter

7. M. Verreas

8. T. Beck

9. M. Norgaard

10. J. Allamagny

11. P. Boland

12. A. Levin

13. D. Laura

14. D. Harshbarger

15. T. Kadish

16. A. Hibbs

17. M. Clark

18. K. Diry

19. P. Caimano

20. I. Reid

21. A. Howald

22. M. Dougherty

23. T. Urban

24. J. Collins

25. K. Diry

26. W. Wolf

27. C. Nydahl

updated: Friday, November 8, 2024

COMING SOON:

to an Odyssey2 near you

PICK AXE SANTA

Release date: November 15, 2023

Friday, May 5, 2023

ROBOT RON for the Odyssey2

NOW AVAILABLE!

At first, it was a technological breakthrough. An earthling engineer created a species of enemy fighters so advanced they no longer needed their humans to program them how to think and act. The enemy species have turned on us human beings. They are set out to destroy everything in this world. Fortunately, we are lucky to have ROBOT RON, an artificial intelligent robot equipped with an Intel 8048 microprocessor and a high-powered anti-enemy blaster. With ROBOT RON’s help, we stand an excellent chance in fighting the enemies.

ROBOT RON is a new game for the Odyssey2 and Videopac. It was programmed by Chris Read. The game pays homage to the dual-stick shooter ROBOTRON 2084.

At the ROBOT RON title screen, you will need to make a determination if you are right-handed or left-handed when controlling ROBOT RON’s movements. Press the ACTION button on the right joystick to move ROBOT RON with that controller. Or, you may Press the ACTION button on the left joystick to move ROBOT RON with that controller. Moving the opposite controller will fire ROBOT RON’s high-powered anti-enemy blaster in the direction that you move it. The high-powered anti-enemy blaster has an automatic fire setting. It is on by default. Fire away! Utilizing the optional controller coupler at this point positions the left controller and right controller next to each other. It is not a requirement, but it may be of aid in your mission and in the heat of the battle. Press the Action button again and you and ROBOT RON will be transported to the battlefield to begin the mission.

ROBOT RON is our first game to be offered in a brand new 3-D printed cartridge casing that does not have a "traditional Odyssey2 / Videopac" handle on the end! This case was created by Caleb Garner.

Each game will include a 4-page color Odyssey2-style manual.

A durable black plastic storage box with a color printed insert is available as an option.

ROBOT RON comes with a 3-D printed controller coupler. ( far right ) Caleb also created this.

HOW TO ORDER:

ROBOT RON game cartridge and printed game instruction manual only

IF YOU LIVE IN THE USA: $30 and $4 shipping

Click BUY NOW:

If you have any questions, please send me an email at timdu @ hotmail.com

updated: July 16, 2023

Sunday, April 2, 2023

SPACE INVASION

SPACE INVASION for the Colecovision

This game was originally programmed by John Dondzila in 1998.

A few years ago I contacted John and he gave me the OK and his blessing

to re-release the game on cartridge.

I created a label similar to the Coleco style from the 1980's

and a small printed instruction card.

Here is a review of the game:

"As the name and appearance both clearly imply, this is a game that is very similar to the 1978 arcade smash, Space Invaders. The object of the game is simple: you are a small laser base at the bottom of the screen, shooting at a block of 55 invaders, who march across the screen, getting lower and lower each time they reach one of the sides. You must avoid their laser bombs and prevent them from reaching the bottom of the screen by destroying them one at a time. Periodically, a UFO flies by at the top of the screen; shooting it yielded extra points. The game was followed in 1980 by the sequel, Space Invaders Deluxe.

It was different mainly in that the UFO could appear and disappear as well as drop down reinforcements, and a number of invaders, when shot, would split into two smaller invaders.

Space Invasion has two gaming options: a "normal" and a "deluxe" option.

Both games are one-player only. Both the normal and deluxe versions play pretty much like the arcade versions, but with several significant differences. For one thing, the UFO values really are randomly determined. In the arcade version, in each new screen, if you hit the UFO with your 23rd shot, and then every 15th shot thereafter, it would yield the maximum value of 300 points. Since this isn't the case here, don't bother counting your shots. Another, even more important, difference, is the fact that the "death row" trick does not work here. In the arcade version, when an invader was one row up from the bottom, right above you, its shots could not harm you. This fact allowed professional players to use a system that could make a game last for many hours. In Space Invasion, you are always vulnerable. Also, in the deluxe version of Space Invasion, the UFO does not reinforce the invaders; rather, from the second screen on, it drops a fast, indestructible bomb that bursts upon hitting the ground.

The only way to describe both versions of Space Invasion is "utterly professional." It is obvious that John Dondzila really understands how to program a Colecovision, and his skill probably exceeds all but that of the very best Colecovision programmers in the 1980s (it equals those).

The normal version of Space Invasion is well done, but is not overly challenging. Unlike the arcade, in which only the lowest invaders in a column could drop a bomb, in this version ANY invader can do this. Obviously, the higher the invader, the more time you have to react to the bomb. Since the invaders never start any lower than right above the shelters, you can usually get to the right side of the screen and, from the comparative safety of the rightmost shelter, pick off all but a few of the invaders. As a result, even though the "death row" trick does not work here, the game just isn't really that challenging. It isn't so much easy, just not hard enough.

The deluxe version, on the other hand, is an altogether different story! In this version, from the second screen on, certain invaders can split into two green ones. The "new" invader always appears in the space to the right of the original one, even if that space is already occupied. This means that, no matter how you shoot the invaders, you will need a good deal more than 55 shots to destroy the entire force. By the 4th screen, almost all of the invaders in the lower 3 rows can split, making your work much more difficult! What's more, the UFO can now drop bombs which, while not hard to dodge by themselves, can easily get you if you are in a corner or pinned down by the invaders' bombs. And, when the UFO flashes on and off, it is somewhat harder to hit. The deluxe version only looks easy. No matter what strategy you try to use, it always has a weakness somewhere. Thus, this game is very challenging, and requires a little luck.

50,000 points is a pretty good score in this version.

An interesting aspect to Space Invasion is the fact that this is the first home version of any "Space Invaders" game I've ever played in which your shots and the enemy bombs can affect each other. If they hit each other your shot is always destroyed, but one of three things can happen to the enemy bomb: nothing; it can be deflected a bit to the left; or it can disappear and reappear over the rightmost shelter.

The graphics in Space Invasion are true to their arcade inspiration- from 1978 and 1980. This and this alone is why the graphics did not get a higher rating. In the regular version the screen is black, green, and white, resembling the color-overlay look of the arcade machine. The deluxe version uses more colors, and they are very well-chosen; the game looks especially good here, right down to the red dotted line at the bottom of the screen. When you shoot a UFO, the number of points you have just earned appear in its place. On the right side of the screen is an information bar, well-placed and well-done.

Sound is good, although different from the arcade version. It works nicely here.

There are some extras in this game that elevate it above most third-party efforts from the 1980s. There are VERY impressive title and information screens, and, when you shoot one of the two bottom invaders in the leftmost column in the deluxe version, laser shots fan out and up from that point, and you earn 500 or 1000 bonus points (depending on which of the two you shot last)- the number of points appears on the information bar. Also, in the deluxe version, between screens, a UFO carries an invader to the top of the screen,

while S.O.S.!! appears on the right.

- review by Bruce Consolazio, digitalpress.com

HOW TO ORDER:

PAYPAL payment is accepted and preferred.

If you live in the USA:

Price: $25 (and $4 shipping)

click Buy Now to purchase

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

SPACEMAN SPLORF: PLANET OF DOOM for the Odyssey2

SPACEMAN SPLORF: PLANET OF DOOM

NOW AVAILABLE!

The Story So Far

You are Splorf, Space Corp Sanitation Engineer 5th Class, Lavatorial Division. A small yet vital cog in the corporate machine. You are good at your job. Another 20 years, and you could possibly make 4th Class Engineer. But today your mind is on other things than work.

The rumours have reached even the lowest levels of Methane Station; the harvest ships have
returned from their latest run to the
Doom system with more than just gas -
they brought disastrous news
concerning the defensive system
protecting Space Corp's interests
from space pirates and fierce
competitors!

"You there", a middle manager shouts
at you, "Commander Splix needs a volunteer!
Get your lazy plarp up to level 17 immediately!"

As you step into the turbolift, you nervously repeat the creed to yourself: "This is my spanner. There are many like it, but this one is mine..."

The rumours were true! Exploding gasteroids have damaged the disintegration fence above planet doom, and Commander Splix wants you to fix it! Repairman Splorf to the rescue...

Working quickly to fix the damaged shield generator before evil space pirates steal the precious gas resources from the planet below, you suddenly see your company issued spanner drifting off towards the planet.

Misplacing company property would result in your pay being docked, or being sent to work in the splort mines! Not a tempting prospect.

Using your jetpack you desperately follow the spanner into a particularly pungent gasteroid field - just as the now fully operational disintegration fence above you turns itself back on...

Programmed by: Andreas Gustafsson

Graphics and music by: Vanja Utne

Press the Action button on the right joystick to begin the game.

Pressing the Action button will make Splorf move upwards, away from the planet surface.

Releasing the Action button will make Splorf drop towards the planet surface.

Avoid collisions. Your score is displayed at the end of the game.

On March 11, 2023, Andreas Gustafsson died in a tragic accident.

He was walking on some ice and he fell into the water.

Ambulance and rescue services were called to the scene

( Bala Gård in Simlångsdalen outside Halmstad, Sweden).

Unfortunately, Andreas did not survive.

This game is the sole program he created for the Odyssey2 / Videopac console.

In our small gaming community, we will honor and remember Andreas with his contribution: SPACEMAN SPLORF

HOW TO ORDER:

loose game cartridge and 4-page color printed game instruction manual

IF YOU LIVE IN THE USA: $28 and $5 shipping

Click BUY NOW:

box, 4-page color printed game instruction manual, and game cartridge

IF YOU LIVE IN THE USA: $33 and $5 shipping

Click BUY NOW:

If you live outside of the USA, please send me an email to me at:

timdu@hotmail.com

and I will provide a shipping quote

but there is a European / Videopac version of SPACEMAN SPLORF

please send me an email to:

videopac.is@live.be

for more information

Friday, February 24, 2023

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK for the Odyssey2

NOW AVAILABLE!

Poor Jack. It’s hard being a fairy tale character.

It’s not as easy as you think it may be.

First, your mom yells at you for trading your cow for a few magical beans.

Then, she throws the beans out the window.

The next day, a big, huge, tall beanstalk appears...and that’s just the beginning!

You can control Jack in this adventure game by moving the joystick controller.

Climb the beanstalk, avoid the bats, and ascend to find the giant’s castle.

“Fee-fi-fo-fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman!”

Uh oh! The giant is aware of your prescence!

You must outwit the giant. Dodge the boulders he is throwing at you.

Make your way through the giant’s castle and retrieve the enchanted goose that lays golden eggs

and the magical harp

It’s not over yet though. Jack must then make his way back down the beanstalk,

and make it safely back on to the ground. Good luck!

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK , a 8K-sized game for the Odyssey2 / Videopac, has been programmed by Chris Read AKA "atari2600land"

This is Chris' 12th game for the Odyssey2 game system!

Game design conceived by Chris Read.

Tim Duarte is handling production cartridges, manuals, labels, and order fulfillment.

Artwork for the label and manual was created and designed by Robbert AKA Janzll at videopac.nl

Each game will include a 8-page color Odyssey2-style manual.

A durable black plastic storage box with a color printed insert is available as an option.

First, Jack must climb the beanstalk. Avoid the bats on your way!

Next, make your way through the rooms of the giant's castle.

Here, Jack must duck and avoid the boulders that the
giant is throwing at him! Climb the ladders! Hurry, Jack!

Collect the golden goose and magical harp!
Here, Jack is making his way out of the rooms of the giant's castle

Descend the beanstalk. Jack must make it safely back to the ground.

box, game instruction manual, and game cartridge

HOW TO ORDER:

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK game cartridge and printed game instruction manual only

IF YOU LIVE IN THE USA: $30 and $4 shipping

Click BUY NOW:

Sunday, January 15, 2023

GOSUB for the Mattel Intellivision : LAST CALL

In 2016, I co-published the game GOSUB for the Mattel Intellivision, complete in box, and it first appeared at the PRGE ( Portland Retro Game Exposition ) show in October 2016.

300 cartridges were made.

These are the last remaining physical game cartridges, complete in box, and they are available for sale!

IF YOU LIVE IN THE USA:

Intellivision game cartridge and printed game instruction and 2 overlays and box

price: $55 and $5 shipping

US Mail Ground Advantage Mail with tracking number

Click BUY NOW:

IF YOU LIVE OUTSIDE THE USA:

Intellivision game cartridge and printed game instruction and 2 overlays and box

price: $55 and $17 shipping

US Mail International First Class with tracking number

Click BUY NOW:

This is the LAST CALL for physical copies of GOSUB. Once these sell, no more will be made!

Want to give it a try? You can - FOR FREE! You can download the game from INTELLIVISION.US and try it out on your LTO FLASH or jzINTV or your favorite MATTEL INTELLIVISION emulator.

The download site is:

https://www.intellivision.us/roms.php#revolution_free

Until all the physical games are sold and expenses are recovered, I have agreed to donate a certain amount of funds to a cause that is, in a way, linked to this game:

an Octopus aquaculture research facility in Hawaii... ( Seriously, I am not kidding... )

This is not a gag. here is the web site:

https://www.kanaloaoctopus.com/

This organization accepts donations. You will see a DONATE button on the left hand side.

It is not a requirement, but if you download GOSUB for the Intellivision, would you also please consider making a donation ( whatever you wish... an amount as even as low as $1 ) to the Kanaloa Octopus research facility?

The exact donation web page is:

https://donorbox.org/covid-19-70

Again, a donation is not required...

But just think about all the happy octopus / cephalopods that you will be helping and providing funds for food and sea water, etc.

If you want to learn more, Read the FAQ on their web site at:

https://www.kanaloaoctopus.com/blank-2

At a future date and time, Jon H. from INTELLIVISION REVOLUTION and I will provide an update with the status of the C.I.B. sales and the amount that we donated to the research center.

ENJOY THE GAME!

-Tim D.

Blog Archive

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

PICK AXE SANTA! for the Odyssey2 / Videopac

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

GRIM REAPER PETE for the Odyssey2

Friday, May 5, 2023

ROBOT RON for the Odyssey2

Sunday, April 2, 2023

SPACE INVASION

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

SPACEMAN SPLORF: PLANET OF DOOM for the Odyssey2

Friday, February 24, 2023

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK for the Odyssey2

Sunday, January 15, 2023

GOSUB for the Mattel Intellivision : LAST CALL