Ballblaɀer Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Greetings, all. I'm 35, and I've been into Atari gaming since one fateful Christmas in the mid-80s when Santa left a 4-port 5200 under the Christmas tree. These days I'm largely a PC gamer, but I've never been as enamored with other consoles as I've been with the 5200 and 2600. My grandparents had a 2600 at their place, only a few minutes' walk away from home, so my younger brother and I were able to enjoy the best of both worlds. I was also lucky enough to be taken to arcades by my parents at a very young age -- this is how I fell in love with Tempest and the general aesthetic of vector gaming; it's no coincidence that I'm recently a proud new Vectrex owner. These days I live with my wife in MD, relatively close to DC -- a retro gaming wasteland, it sometimes feels like. Finding anything interesting in the wild usually feels like it takes a miracle, but it does occasionally happen. Owning the 5200 and inheriting the 2600 from back in the day meant that I had a small head start on building collections, but I've really ramped up my efforts in the last year or so. As of now I'm 3 games away from a complete 5200 collection, and I'm making some serious headway on a 2600 Atari (all label styles), Activision (standard labels), and Sears (picture labels) collection. I told myself I wouldn't concern myself with other third-party games, but... you probably know how that kind of thing often ends up. I'm especially fascinated by the game artwork (and I really look forward to the upcoming book about it), so collecting the picture label variation 2600 games has lately been my top priority. Look for me to post a trade list and a wanted list in the near future! Anyway, nice to be here, and nice to see some familiar folks I've already traded with and/or bought from over at AA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamoAtari Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Welcome to the community! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo-Yo Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Welcome Ballblazer! It's cool you said you especially like the game artwork, I do too! There's a forum dedicated to Atari artwork here: http://forums.atari.io/index.php/forum/57-atari-artwork-industrial-design/ Enjoy yourself! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowsdower70 Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 My first AA trade was with Mr. Blazer! Pleasure to have you here, friend.Hope you get in on some trading here, maybe get in on our Junk Box madness, and maybe hang out in chat sometime. "For you - Rowsdower from the 70 - have been appointed Omnivisioner of the Game Grid." ~ Atari Adventure Square Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Welcome. And thanks for sharing your story. Very nicely written. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Yes, wonderful story Ballblazer. It was nice of you to share your memories with us, how awesome that you were able to grow up with the best of both Atari worlds Hope you get in on some trading here, maybe get in on our Junk Box madness, and maybe hang out in chat sometime. Great idea! We have an incredible community here. Trading, Retro Junk Box, and Atari Chat are all crown jewels of the forums! Welcome to Atari I/O Ballblazer!! It's fantastic to have you join us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowsdower70 Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Also curious as to what PC games you play these days. The Mrs. and I do some PC gaming. "For you - Rowsdower from the 70 - have been appointed Omnivisioner of the Game Grid." ~ Atari Adventure Square Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ballblaɀer Posted March 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Thanks for the warm welcome. @Yo-Yo -- there's just something about the artwork that's grabbed my attention, both as a kid, and now. Some of it is really phenomenal art, and some of it, well... it's still interesting art, haha. I cobbled together the image on the label in my avatar using two separate pieces of artwork I love from the 5200 Ballblazer instruction manual, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Somewhat randomly: someone on AA was working on the basic fundamentals of a 2600 version of Ballblazer that approximated the 5200/7800 releases. Pretty impressive stuff. Personally, I think a top-down Ballblazer that used a horizontal scrolling playfield like Jr. Pac-Man could be a really cool 2600 game. Picture something like... Tron light cycles, plus a ball and moving goalposts. I suppose some randomized power-ups (speed boosts, ball protection, etc) would need to be introduced to make it fun & competitive. I think I'd call it... Rocket League 2600. @Rowsdower70 -- you never forget your first! I'm so happy that my Mr. Do! found a loving home with... wait, I see he's been traded to someone else already? Sigh... love can be such a fickle thing. These days, the wife and I have been running through the Mass Effect trilogy a few times using different character approaches -- right now we're having fun being the most renegade-y jerk in the galaxy. We've also been enjoying the early access release of the survival game The Long Dark, which is supposed to have its first Story Mode release real soon now. Some other PC games I've enjoyed in recent years: Just Cause 2, Mirror's Edge. Back in college days I was an unstoppable force on Quake 2 and Unreal Tournament deathmatch and CTF servers, but... I think my FPS days are largely over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaximumRD Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Welcome ! Enjoy our humble community. I am Rob aka MaximumRD aka OldSchoolRetroGamer and THIS is my world http://about.me/maximumrd "For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday." - M. Bison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arenafoot Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Welcome Ballblazer!! Brian Matherne - owner/curator of "The MOST comprehensive list of Atari VCS/2600 homebrews ever compiled." http://tiny.cc/Atari2600Homebrew author of "The Atari 2600 Homebrew Companion" book series available on Amazon! www.amazon.com/author/brianmatherne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenween Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Welcome aboard Ballblazer! "Better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint Thompson Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 I landed in the same boat as you, multiple family members had a 2600 so I had access to them and the artwork always captivated my imagination. I remember Defender really sticking out for some reason... I would just kind of stare at it in awe and around the same time would watch Flight of the Navigator. Can't wait to get that book as well! =) 7800 - 130XE - XEGS - Lynx - Jaguar - ISO: Atari Falcon030 | STBook |STe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zontar Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 WELCOME Ballblaɀer!!! You're in for a real treat, this is a special place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ballblaɀer Posted March 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 I landed in the same boat as you, multiple family members had a 2600 so I had access to them and the artwork always captivated my imagination. I remember Defender really sticking out for some reason... I would just kind of stare at it in awe and around the same time would watch Flight of the Navigator. Can't wait to get that book as well! =) Defender is a good one for sure. I especially like the artwork for Berzerk, Slot Racers, Breakaway IV, Stellar Track, and Yars' Revenge. Oh -- and I can't forget about the kid playing Math Grand Prix, his face frozen in rapturous joy... that will never not get a big laugh out of me and my wife. I mean... that kid is having the time of his life... doing basic addition! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nosweargamer Posted March 12, 2016 Report Share Posted March 12, 2016 @Rowsdower70 -- you never forget your first! I'm so happy that my Mr. Do! found a loving home with... wait, I see he's been traded to someone else already? Sigh... love can be such a fickle thing. Welcome BB! I think you can forgive Rows. My Dig Dug really needed a good foot stool and the other guy fit the bill very nicely! The No Swear Gamer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChtJuo040EOCTVziObIgVcg Host of The Atari 7800 Game by Game Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and YouTube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormSurge Posted March 14, 2016 Report Share Posted March 14, 2016 Welcome aboard!And I find it hard to believe that DC is a bigger retro wasteland than Connecticut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowsdower70 Posted March 15, 2016 Report Share Posted March 15, 2016 Welcome BB! I think you can forgive Rows. My Dig Dug really needed a good foot stool and the other guy fit the bill very nicely! IMG_1091.JPG I trade games to NSG to see them get good reviews. Sometimes he trades em right back to me. "For you - Rowsdower from the 70 - have been appointed Omnivisioner of the Game Grid." ~ Atari Adventure Square Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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