Centipede was one of the first titles we got with my Atari... and honestly.. for the time... it was shockingly good. The action js fast paced, the controls were really responsive, and it was emminently replayable. I sfill play it. 😊

My first guess would be that GCC build Millipede because it wasn't hard after already having build Centipede, and then offered it to Atari. But Atari saw the same flaws you noticed, and went with their own in-house version instead. Alternatively, they did commission GCC to make it, but already were building it themselves, and published the one that was better.

I remember playing this game with my friends in the early 80s. And to be honest, we didn't care about the graphics back then, we just played it and were attracted to these games because it was something new on every level back then. When the C64 and Amiga came along, we started caring about graphics and we started being picky about what was good and what was not. The early home computer days were different :).

@kennethraymondmoore

Жыл бұрын

The graphics wars came later. In the beginning we were just amazed any of this was possible. The fact they could sell something like Pong for serious cash tells you something. 😂

@josephkissel6062

Жыл бұрын

My same evolution as well ... We had Atari 400 (really its only GREAT title was Star Raisers but honorable mention to tape-based DK clone Canyon Climber) between 2600 and C64 ... Of course, Amiga was the last glorious thing in the somewhat boring multi era of PC vs Mac unless you were a rich NeoGeo fan ...

E.T.s title screen is actually impressive and it has music. Neither of those features were common back in those days.

So, you’re telling me that Ms. Pac Man was basically an officially adopted ROM hack?

@rustymixer2886

Жыл бұрын

Yes then they even asked that company make thier 7800

@Lollero200q

Жыл бұрын

Yes

@orderofmagnitude-TPATP

Жыл бұрын

Crazy otto

I love the fact that there are still people who greatly enjoy retro video games and its history. The level of technical detail that you go into clearly demonstrates your love for retro tech. I could sit here and talk about this for hours. Like how smart it was for GCC to add the intro screen into centipede. Immediately invoking a feeling of the arcade game. How it shows that their work was clearly a labor of love. Or i could sit here and talk about how the video game industry has changed. (Bring a lunch right? lol) Or just my experiences as a lifelong video game enthusiasts/hobbyists and designer. Thank you for the videos that you make. I enjoy them greatly

GCC were a technical powerhouse - Atari struck gold when they partnered with them after their own best devs went to Activision. The better 2600 games didn't always look the greatest but they felt like the arcade games when you played them - and that's what matters - what keeps you playing.

1) Millipede on the 2600 - GCC's title screen and Atari's actual game. That's what the game should've been... 2) A prototype of "Atari Rubik's Cube" was found which actually emulates a Rubik's cube! 3) Just wanted to say hi... :)

Jeepers that's some resume of Atari 2600 games! So many of the how the hell did they get that to work games from the Atari catalogue.

That pacman with the legs all walking around looked WAY messed up!

Love seeing how people were able to push the limits of the 2600. I had both that and the 5200 as a kid so we got used to having really good home versions of arcade games. The home brew of PacMan is mind blowing. Love that these guys paid for college with missile command.

Thats my fave version just because of that title screen

I never thought Christopher Walken would narrate these types of videos!

Well GCC did criminally impressive work.

Unbelievable yet it was also another childhood slap in the face.

@DanJackson1977

Жыл бұрын

Dude, what are you talking about? This game was amazing for the 2600. One of the best conversions on the console.

@Lightblue2222

Жыл бұрын

Centipede is as good as anyone could hope for, and the Millipede port is even better with tighter control. As long as you don't mind rectangles instead of mushrooms, there's not much to complain about. Imo it actually runs better than the Sega Genesis version, as the Genesis and Game Gear version are plagued with slowdown. 2600 stays fast and furious.

Your videos are really well put together, thanks for putting the time and effort into things like this, any chance on making a video about the 7800?

Very interesting story. I’ve always wondered that myself. Thanks?

I neither knew about GCC nor that they made so many of my favorite games on the ATARI 2600. In my opinion the ports from MoonPatrol, Centipede, Vanguard etc. are even better than the originals!! especially considering the technical specifications. ATARI F O R E V E R!!👾❤️

your video content is amazing man.

I knew about GCC back story as a video gamer since then 70s and 80s and not only they had done arcade ports on the 2600 but also made half the games on the 5200 and even had designed the 7800 console itself and was going to be sold in 84 but Atari shelved it till 86 for money reasons.

Liked the part where you talked about the rainbow effect of the atari logo.

For obvious reasons, I prefer the 7800 version. Not to mention, I have a 7800 and it is my favorite retro console. I also dev for it. But before I developed for it, I developed for 2600, and every now and then do. Thanks for sharing this peice of hardware trickery!

Awesome content.

Nice video.. We love retro !

Thats interesting Millipede wasnt made by GCC, to me its obviously using GCC's Centipede engine. I suppose Atari owned the rights to GCCs work so they just made some tweeks and called it their own.

Very interesting - thank you

I didn't know that my favorite 2600 games were made by GCC.

Great video

It's OK... Over 40 years later, developers are still giving us amazing Trailers and in game cutscenes while the actual graphics are crap in comparison.

@pojr

Жыл бұрын

Some things never change. 😂

You deserve to be SO much bigger than you are! Your passion for these subjects is obvious - and I love listening to people talk about things they’re passionate about. You present the information in a very clear, understandable, and interesting format! Hopefully the almighty algorithm smiles down upon you soon. Atari games definitely don’t get a lot of appreciation these days, partially because they’re older than most of the people on KZread - but it’s always really cool to see what some developers were able to accomplish on such primitive tech. That first person tank battle game looks like something from two generations later.

Awesome video, man! I learned a lot in this one. I knew GCC's involvement with Ms. Pac-Man, but not the other titles. I think this is my new favorite POJR video.

@rustymixer2886

Жыл бұрын

And 7800 itself

@pojr

Жыл бұрын

Thanks! That is quite an honor. I'll keep pushing for more.

10:34 so thsoe squarea (mushrooms) can have shading/gradient (more colors)!

Great explanation! And I will say, 9:52 Battle Zone has the coolest death scene of almost all video games... for sure the best in the 80's!

@pojr

Жыл бұрын

Pretty impressive what they did with Battlezone. Almost passes as a 3D type game...on the 2600. Not bad at all.

@f.k.b.16

Жыл бұрын

@@pojr that's no doubt! Hope you have a joyful day

Awesome thanks

And don't forget to smile at the end of your intro....

Any idea what happened to GCC after the Video Game crash?

today with an arduino or raspberry pi and software a conversion kit could be made and sold and the software had to be sourced from some sketchy sources.

Somethings been bugging me, I heard a rumor that the Donkey Kong ports were botched intentionally. Is this true?

@robertskitch

10 ай бұрын

No, it's not. The simple truth is that Coleco just didn't have any incentive to shell out more money on a longer development time and more cartridge memory for the game when it was already guaranteed to sell well given it was the port of an already popular arcade title. Yes, the Colecovision port of the game is more immediately impressive, but it's also a game that was made for a system that was brand-new whilst that Atari 2600 was around five years old at that point. Better homebrew versions of Donkey Kong have come out for the 2600 since then, but they had no development deadlines and are 32K in size, which is something that was nowhere near plausible at the time. Garry Kitchen programmed the original Atari 2600 Donkey Kong port on a 4K cart in three months. I don't think there's anything overly unreasonable there... Compare that to Atari themselves who thought that E.T. could be pushed out the door in five weeks. The reason that people say that the Donkey Kong ports were sabotaged is just because it makes for a good story. Kitchen seems pretty proud of the job that he did programming the 2600 version, and he's someone who would later go on to work at Activision - a company that was bringing out some of the best games on the system.

Great Video. I was also amazed at that Centipede Intro screen. To me, at the time, it seemed like something that was equivalent to what could have been done on a C64. I was completely taken aback, in fact. 1977 technology doing what more modern hardware could do... GCC is not to be confused with GCE (General Computer Entertainment) the developers of quite possibly the most underrated video game console of the early 80's, the VECTREX. Came with it's own Vector CRT monitor and actually qualified as a 'portable' because of the ability to snap in the controller on the front as well as a built-in handle on the back side. I own a working VECTREX with the Multicart and I love it! It's one of my most prized possessions and I have actual memories playing it at a friend's house back then when I would sleepover there.

Noice!

Linus Tech Tips seems to be stepping down. Odd stuff?

7:32 is the answer

its because it was programmed that way duh

a shame the game wasn't good

I'm trying to like and it won't let me Update: it took forever but it finally updated.

Hi.