Atari Adventure Square

Although I share your wariness of modern reboots of old faves, LD, I was pretty much jazzed from the get-go with this one, since the premise is less dependent on its characters (like BSG, or the Apes series, for example) and more on a modern approach to the concept of a robot amusement park (of sorts).
 
Given this lends itself to both an adaptation of new tech ideas and the philosophical ponderings on the values of social etiquette when all bets are off and violence is condoned, the whole prject was intriguing enough to give it a free pass into my schedule.
 
And I was not disappointed!
 
Although I must say giving a weekly series a view then debating the theories about it lessen the results, cuz either fan theories are wildly wrong but offer more rewarding prospects, never-to-be-seen, or they're right and spoil the 'unboxing' of a limited run series by being ahead of the story and having the show catch up with known reveals.
 
Westworld is not the most surprising show, on that end, but ended up being one of the most satisfying I've seen, maybe for my love of the original movie.
 
I saw Westworld in theaters as a kid and its grand ideals presented in limited-scope format (multiple fantasy RPG worlds viewed through old Americana lifestyle) stuck with me to this day.
Also quite enjoyed Futureworld since it was a sequel to this great concept - although a poor sequel at the time.
The audience laughed at the silly attempt to jam an previous star into the new movie (and that dance scene is pretty ridiculous), but I was just glad to return to that place.
 
Have both on Blu-Ray and they are feel-good watches for me nowadays.
 
The whole sentient robot thing was big in the 70s, with WW, the SIx Million Dollar Man and Jaimie Summers facing off against such foes (the fembots were glorious!).
So, the idea of reviving this Crichton novel into a tv show was as exciting as having old buds reliving the glory days of our 70s childhood, in my mind.
 
Yeah, as a separate construct from my drippy nostalgia, the show lives or dies on one's appreciation of the concept more than the execution (which is fine).
As with the Spielberg/post-Kubrick film AI, I found it near impossible to give much weight to the simulated emotion of bots.
But the journey is still fascinating.
 
I would tentatively recommend an attempt at viewing the series for curiousity's sake, at least.
A pal of mine had to stick with the first half of the run to get to any story weight to keep watching.
Maybe that would be a common experience for most newcomers and even older fans of the original.

I just came across this on Facebook, what do you think?? I personally think it is pretty cool. You could hang out in any room in your house and take a collection of retro games with or take it to anyone's house. Thoughts?
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/retroengine-sigma-mini-console-media-player-cool#/

Spoiler Warning: Spolers ahead

HBO's new series Westworld just wrapped up its first season as one of the most promising shows on television. I really enjoyed the series and found it to be far deeper and more complex than I had expected. Is anybody else here watching Westworld? What are some of your favorite moments and theories?

Here's a few more VCS-based custom cabinets:

This was a cabinet I did for Free Play Florida for Todd.  Todd's a great friend of mine and the show and he loves kaboom too, so I figured what the heck i'll make a cabinet out of it for him.  Amazing how many corners of the interwebs this cabinet has made it's way to!

Yeah, watched the Nibbler doc last week and it was great fun!
 
Feels tailor-made for us.
 
And so does that cabinet.
Amazing work on it.

Space what!?
 
As for homebrews, I can understand low-amount production is costly, so can't complain.
But also over my price range (although to be fair, I'm not in the market much at all for anything these days).
 
One big selling point is the cart art and boxes, though.
Those look great!
 
And lastly, about that first title...
 
Space WHAT?!

Happy Birthday Justin!
 
Many happy returns to the Arcade!

Happy Birthday Justin!
 
Many happy returns to the Arcade!

Happy Birthday Justin!
 
Many happy returns to the Arcade!

Oh man, dig that castle design!
 
Reminds me of this mall toy store called Toy World which, in the late 60s, very early 70s, was the closest thing to child Nirvana I ever experienced, on every visit.
Nothing new to the kid inside every one of us, but I'm sure those visits there sparked my life-long love of malls.
 
I've been scouring old newspapers, ads, local libraries, just to find pics of the inside of that store, back then.
 
If I ever seek a monk on a mountaintop, it will surely be to phase out the planet and access those memories, that existence, those Letrasets and Big Jim displays.

Oh man, dig that castle design!
 
Reminds me of this mall toy store called Toy World which, in the late 60s, very early 70s, was the closest thing to child Nirvana I ever experienced, on every visit.
Nothing new to the kid inside every one of us, but I'm sure those visits there sparked my life-long love of malls.
 
I've been scouring old newspapers, ads, local libraries, just to find pics of the inside of that store, back then.
 
If I ever seek a monk on a mountaintop, it will surely be to phase out the planet and access those memories, that existence, those Letrasets and Big Jim displays.

Yeah, watched the Nibbler doc last week and it was great fun!
 
Feels tailor-made for us.
 
And so does that cabinet.
Amazing work on it.

A buddy sent this to me knowing that Kaboom is one of my all time favorite games. I am assuming it is a 1 off custom cab. Anyone know anything about it or even better, played one???? Thing looks awesome!
 

Just thought I would share a small/LARGE part of my childhood. Child World (the location pictured below in particular) was the main spot I got all my Star Wars, G.I. Joe and Atari items from. In fact I am almost sure that 90% of all my toys came from there. The place was HUGE! I miss going there, the building is still there and looks the same but is another retail store. The closed all doors in 1993 but I was able to make one more purchase there just before they closed, a Genesis game. (can't remember what title)
If you want to know more click on the link. I find it to be interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_World
YouTube has a few cool T.V. spots from them too.
 
Thanks all!

When it was announced, V seemed an exciting prospect as yet-another TV event (which were a cool thing back in the pre-VCR. fixed time-slot viewing days).
After part one aired, it more than lived up to its hype, it fully delivered a serious sci-fi concept, seemingly un-filtered for network broadcast, with cool characters, dark storylines, sex-appeal, nerd-appeal, nifty effects and a catchy theme tune.
 
Part two had to be open-ended, but while this was not entirely satisfying, it also delivered the goods by staying on-point.
Everytime I rewatch the original series, my appreciation for it increases.
 
The Final Battle was a no-brainer, production-wise. It had to happen.
And if I remember correctly, the hype was even higher for this return.
Again, it lived up to expectations.
Ironside kills it as a hero/scoundrel you root for (always wanted to see him be a good guy after his killer turn as an antagonist in Scanners).
 
As a retro experience, the production values belie their network origin and live up to any sci-fi cinematic outing of the era.
It's so cool you watched this series with your daughter, ataribc!
 
I'd be proud to show the entire run to any younger folks wondering what the older days of television had to offer to the masses (outside poignant real-life drama in movies-of-the-week).
(Well, I'd also point to the fine 70s TV horror that I'm pleased to say scarred me for life).
 
The follow-up V TV series was pretty cool, but serialized up to a point.
The requirement to stretch stories to a full season goes against the nature of a disaster-based invasion story like this one.
If I remember correctly, it actually had some sort of ending, but the whole thing was a bit exhausted at that point.
Still enjoyed the rewatch of it, a few years ago, when the DVD set came out.
 
The remake...eh...watched the first two eps, it didn't grab me, felt a bit sacri-religious, in some odd way.
Alien invasion is a cool, oft-told story.
Mebbe the V experience is why I enjoy ID4 as much, well beyond criticism I hear of it.
 
But any serialized show nowadays has less than half-a-chance of telling a full story before it's cancelled.
And I've been burned too often to care about anything before it's out on disc and an end is planned or has happened.
 
The actors in the remake are good and, given less of an investment on my part over any story resolution, I'd give in to watching whatever is out there.
(although the cancellation on a cliff-hanger mentioned above is a deal-breaker on this one)
 
Yeah, all-in-all...V: The Original series and The Final Battle are some of the best hours of television I ever had the pleasure to watch when it aired!

Thanks guys! That means a lot coming from everybody. I tried to do something creative and fun that would touch the hearts of anybody who grew up with those dino dudes. I'm sure there'll be more to come 

Looks terrific, Justin!
 
I like that the dino putting on glasses end up giving out an "ATARI I/O is cool. Deal with it!" vibe.

Looks terrific, Justin!
 
I like that the dino putting on glasses end up giving out an "ATARI I/O is cool. Deal with it!" vibe.

I love this movie so much!
It re-ignited modern-day chats about the arcade days, for sure.
 
Yeah, on first viewing that Billy Mitchell was quite the antagonist.
Then, on rewatch, it's more obvious Weibe the contender is actually more offensive in the shown* disregard to anyone in his surrounding as he focuses on that score.
 
(*it's obvious doc edits manipulate actual real-life, but even in the un-snipped bits, Weibe seems more self-centered than Mitchell, by the end of it)
 
Also, Billy Mitchell shows up in other arcade docs and proves himself a fan and proponent of 80s arcade-life appreciation.
 
And about the country ban: I'm in Canada here and this message also pops up on my tubes!

I love this movie so much!
It re-ignited modern-day chats about the arcade days, for sure.
 
Yeah, on first viewing that Billy Mitchell was quite the antagonist.
Then, on rewatch, it's more obvious Weibe the contender is actually more offensive in the shown* disregard to anyone in his surrounding as he focuses on that score.
 
(*it's obvious doc edits manipulate actual real-life, but even in the un-snipped bits, Weibe seems more self-centered than Mitchell, by the end of it)
 
Also, Billy Mitchell shows up in other arcade docs and proves himself a fan and proponent of 80s arcade-life appreciation.
 
And about the country ban: I'm in Canada here and this message also pops up on my tubes!

Our new Atari I/O YouTube Intro is an homage to one of the most loved Nickelodeon bumpers from the ‘80s and ‘90s! Do you remember Nick’s Doo Wop Dinosaurs?
 
 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvgg2TIdaOk
 
Atari I/O Doo Wop Dinosaurs Intro  
 
 
 
Some Atari 2600 gamers may have aged out of Nickelodeon by the late '80s, so this intro will be used in YouTube videos pertaining to a later generation (circa 1989) including the Atari 7800, Lynx, NES, and TurboGrafx-16. I think these doo-wop dinos will really hit a soft spot with people who were kids during that time in gaming.
 
These 10 seconds of video were made with love by hand. I went through the original animation, breaking it down frame-by-frame and recreated each image with our Atari I/O logo in place of the Nickelodeon logo. Then I reassembled the frames in Photoshop, exported the video and added the music. Being that this is just meant to be a quick YouTube intro I think it came out really well. I thought I'd share it with everybody here, in the creative spirit of the forums!
 
And if 1980s Nickelodeon isn't your thing, I'll get around to 1970s PBS again pretty soon.
 
Hat tip to The Professor, as his post on Double Dare's 30th Anniversary inspired this idea a few weeks back. You can view his original post here: http://forums.atari.io/index.php/topic/2526-double-dare-30th-anniversary/

Mine is qbert's qubes.

I love this movie so much!
It re-ignited modern-day chats about the arcade days, for sure.
 
Yeah, on first viewing that Billy Mitchell was quite the antagonist.
Then, on rewatch, it's more obvious Weibe the contender is actually more offensive in the shown* disregard to anyone in his surrounding as he focuses on that score.
 
(*it's obvious doc edits manipulate actual real-life, but even in the un-snipped bits, Weibe seems more self-centered than Mitchell, by the end of it)
 
Also, Billy Mitchell shows up in other arcade docs and proves himself a fan and proponent of 80s arcade-life appreciation.
 
And about the country ban: I'm in Canada here and this message also pops up on my tubes!

I love this movie so much!
It re-ignited modern-day chats about the arcade days, for sure.
 
Yeah, on first viewing that Billy Mitchell was quite the antagonist.
Then, on rewatch, it's more obvious Weibe the contender is actually more offensive in the shown* disregard to anyone in his surrounding as he focuses on that score.
 
(*it's obvious doc edits manipulate actual real-life, but even in the un-snipped bits, Weibe seems more self-centered than Mitchell, by the end of it)
 
Also, Billy Mitchell shows up in other arcade docs and proves himself a fan and proponent of 80s arcade-life appreciation.
 
And about the country ban: I'm in Canada here and this message also pops up on my tubes!