Marco1019

Hello again! Here's the latest on my end:

All of the non-gaming stuff in my life ramped up significantly to where I postponed my Twitch show on a few occasions.

While work was rather hectic, it was still going well. However, it remained hectic throughout these summer months; I had to do a double-take when I realized it was the 2nd half of August.

Unrelated, but no less important: I went for a Wellness Visit (Physical) for the first time in far too long. I went for the proverbial full tune-up including a tetanus shot. (Wow, that part really sucked. I'm not going to sugarcoat it at all. You feel it for 2-3 days, and my body sure felt it.) The good news is that all of my vitals are normal and test results were negative. So let this serve as a reminder: Be sure to get a check-up especially if you're getting up there in age like I am.

I was hoping to stream an episode before an upcoming trip but that won't happen, unfortunately. I realized that I really hadn't kept up on any retro gaming news and world records, and I'd rather get back into the swing of things before getting back on Twitch. I had to put the MGL aside (I started off well but would have likely faded given the list of games chosen for this quarter, but I was having a lot of fun).

I'm glad to see that atari.io is still up and running smoothly and that the community here remains positive. I look forward to joining a Wednesday night chat in the near future.

Marco

MGL Update: I'm hanging in there given that Game #3 is Bubbles - A game I never played in arcades. I find the game very frustrating.

Anyway, here's a fun :07 game play clip of Mr. Do! This is titled "I CALLED BANK"

2nd earthquake in as many days. They're comparing it to the Northridge earthquake (1994).

So after a lot of nudging, I've taken the plunge and starting competing in the latest installment of the MGL (MAME Gaming League). It's a fun tournament that is free and open to all gamers worldwide. You can enter at any time.

This is from Paul Hornitzky (OOO), who runs the MGL:

"There will be 9 games played over 8 weeks, competing world wide on the most challenging and toughest video games of all time. 2 games will be released at the start, then 1 game each week, with the final 2 games released at the same time for the finale. Games are only open for 17 days each, so gamers must play their best in that time and post their scores before the game is closed. At the end of each MGL, points will be accumulated for each gamer toward the World Championship of eSports Scoreboard."

The first two games for this quarter are Space Invaders and Mr. Do!

Fellow gamer IllSeaBass finished 3rd in the 39th installment and had been urging me to participate. I finally caved in & figured it was worth a shot. I don't expect to win - I'm sure there will be some games that I've either never played or were never good at playing - so my goal is to not embarrass myself lol.

At least I'll always have this One Shining Moment (TM)...

It's only a :44 clip but I hope you check it out.

I spent most of the weekend sleeping & rest. I understand we're in July now hahaha. I spent most of this evening editing and preparing for tomorrow night's show. Episode 16 of Retro With Marco will air tomorrow night at 9pm ET / 6pm PT! I'll have some shoutouts including:

1. Which speedrunner had 2 WRs beaten within a 3-day span
2. Which gamers broke WRs set back in 2010
3. Which speedrunner broke 2 WR ties by a grand total of 2.1 seconds

All that, plus a quick look at Polymega as well as the return of the MGL and Yolympics.

https://twitch.tv/retrowithmarco

See you then!

I'm so sorry for missing the weekend pizza party. The irony is that we ordered pizza for dinner on Friday night, but I was so fatigued that I not only forgot to take pics of the pie (it was a small 'special', fully loaded), but I played MAME instead of Atari! Oops!

A new night & a new time as we close in on Episode 15 of Retro With Marco! Some of the shoutouts will feature:

• Who beat a world record that stood for nearly 18 years
• Which gamer went from 1st to 20th in 3 weeks
• Who broke a world record by a full 6 minutes

I will also take a look at Darkula: A new platformer with an old school look.

Plus, Mr. Do!...for the ZX Spectrum!

This Tuesday night, June 18 at 9pm ET / 6pm PT:

https://twitch.tv/retrowithmarco

See you then!

It's official: Retro With Marco is moving to a new day & earlier time! The show will air on Tuesdays at 9pm ET / 6pm PT starting June 18!

https://twitch.tv/retrowithmarco

See you then!

A looming programming change:

I will be moving Retro With Marco to every other Tuesday at 9pm ET / 6pm PT. This is for non-gaming reasons as my Wednesdays won't be providing as much flexibility as my Tuesdays. I'm also hoping that starting an hour earlier will also draw a few more viewers.

As of now, Episode 15 is slated for June 19. I'll make an announcement once my programming change is official.

Back from vacation, back into the groove, and back for Episode 14 of Retro With Marco!

Tonight's episode will include:

• A few speedrun and high score shoutouts
• News and notes, including NASA (not that one)
• A look at 1NVADER for the C64

Tune in tonight at 10pm ET / 7pm PT following tonight's weekly chat:

https://twitch.tv/retrowithmarco

See you then!

I'm taking this week off for some R&R. I'll be back just in time to figure out what in the heck I will line up for my show lol.

Hint: I'll probably just shoot the breeze for 25 mins.

There's plenty of good streaming on Twitch this weekend, including the Gala Gala tournament from Australia, and Competithon which is a 100% speedrunning marathon event. Check them out & show your support!

Busy weekend & lots of work = It's almost Tuesday!

It's a good thing I had last week off from streaming lol. Nonetheless, Retro With Marco returns this Wednesday night at 10pm ET / 7pm PT!

Episode 13 will reveal the following:

• Who set 4 new WRs in a span of 22 days
• Who beat a long-standing WR set back in 1986
• Which speedrunner emerged from a flurry of runs to set a new standard

All this, plus a look at the upcoming Gala Gala tournament.

https://twitch.tv/retrowithmarco

See you then!

I managed to get PlayStation running on OpenEmu and I'm going to play Wipeout XL for the 1st time in about 20 years. This should be fun lol.

It's always when you least expect it / don't plan for it...

I got in some MAME Punch-Out before I had to step out for dinner. I ended up with a new PB of 1.4MM. I reached Fight #50, something I hadn't accomplished in 3 decades. Go figure.

Long work week is over and I've finally - FINALLY - installed MAME on my iMac. I played Punch-Out for the first time in about two years & had a lot of fun. It'd be nice to break 1MM. I reached 850K before I had to put gaming on the back burner for a long stretch last year.

Work has ramped up since the beginning of May and my gaming/streaming has slowed. However, I'm back to playing Raid on Bungeling Bay for the C64. What do you think of the cover art?

Episode 12 of Retro With Marco this Wednesday at 10pm ET / 7pm PT!

Some of last week's shoutouts included new records from @Garrett Holland , @linuxriverrat , and @fredb999 , along with a trio of GTA; San Andreas speedruns by lelreset. This week's shoutouts will include:

• Another trio of WRs by a total of 35 seconds
• A decade-old WR beaten by 350K
• A Nintendo Switch WR that is a feather in the cap for one particular gamer

https://twitch.tv/retrowithmarco

See you on Wednesday night!

I took apart one of my Atari 2600 joysticks and discovered that the up and down buttons still "click", but the left and right ones do not. It may explain why I wasn't able to turn corners in Ms. Pac-Man. 😂🤣

(Maybe.)