The Pop-Culture E-Zine
Mamma mia! Surely by now you should all know the great Charles Martinet. For those of you that don’t recognise him or the name, we bet you’ve definitely heard him.
Charles is the voice of our favourite video game plumber, Mario! He has voiced Mario since 1995 but that’s not the only Nintendo character he has lent his vocal chords too, he also voices, Baby Mario, Luigi, Baby Luigi, Wario, Waluigi and Toadsworth. Yahoo!
source: Great Big Story
If you are struggling to keep yourself and the kids entertained during the summer break, why not head on down to the free Screen Worlds Exhibition at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) at Fed Square (Melbourne).
There is plenty of interactive and immersive experiences at Screen Worlds, from playing video games such as Way Of The Exploding Fist, to checking out Minecraft in the Games Lab section. No matter your age, there is plenty to see and do at at Screen Worlds.
It is great to see a free exhibition such as Screen Worlds for all to enjoy. For retro gamers like us, we are absolutely delighted to check out the classic gaming area to get a history lesson on where games came from and Australia’s early involvement in the gaming industry.
Where: ACMI – Federation Square, Melbourne
Exhibition: Screen Worlds
Open: 10am to 5pm daily
Cost: FREE
photos: Ms ausretrogamer
We reckon Daniel Ibbertson from Slope’s Games Room must have a direct link to our gaming memories. Either that or we have identical tastes in video games – which is a great thing!
Daniel’s Double Dragon, Metal Slug and Splatterhouse complete history videos were absolutely brilliant, and now with his latest video, a complete history of our second fave beat’em up of all time, Capcom’s Final Fight, Daniel has nailed it yet again! From the game’s inspiration and franchise origins, to the game series and its many characters, Daniel leaves no stone unturned.
What’s this Street Fighter ’89? Daniel explains it all in his video
So head on down to Metro City, smash some telephone boxes, grab some meat rolls and swing a pipe at the complete history of Capcom’s awesome side scrolling brawler!
source: Slope’s Games Room
image source: VR Source
We live in a brave new world of virtual reality and ‘real’ 3D experiences. The race for full-immersion is on, with big money invested in tech to transport you into a virtual world. It seems some people won’t rest until every home has access to a Star Trek style holodeck. In these heady days of VR pioneering, it’s easy to forget that the seeds were planted long ago. This post looks at early appearances of VR in popular culture that inspired the current gold rush.
Simulated reality is a very powerful idea. It strikes at the heart of the human experience and touches on existential questions about our nature. I’m not suggesting Oculus Rift is going to shed new philosophical light on the writings of Descartes, but it certainly highlights a longstanding human desire to shape our own reality.
Early science fiction novels played with the idea of virtual reality from as early as 1941. Robert A Heinlen’s book ‘They’ tells of a man confined to a mental institution because he believes he is one of the only real people alive and that the rest of the universe has been created by a few others to deceive him. This solipsistic work sets the tone for many early virtual realities. Most are generally dystopian in nature and play heavily on people’s fears of being unable to trust their own senses and the people around them. This theme reoccurs frequently in popular culture.
Phillip K. Dick, took a slightly different tack. In his 1953 novel “The Trouble with Bubbles” we first see the idea of humans creating virtual worlds for others to experience. It is an interesting concept with relevance to the creators of today’s VR experiences. The book fully explores the morality of having total control over the lives of others.
image source: DailyTech
It’s not just books that play with virtual reality. TV and films explore the trope in great detail. One of the first references to VR on TV was, of course, Star Trek. In 1974, long before Captain Picard was flouncing around the holodeck, the crew of the Enterprise has an encounter with an unusual cloud that affects their computer. The ship starts to play practical jokes; including turning the recreation room into a dangerous virtual reality area that almost kills the unfortunates who get stuck there. A far cry from the holodeck’s mainly benign incarnation in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
image source: Front Effects
Tron (1982) is one of the first examples of close human computer interaction in film and of course borrows heavily from computer games for its action scenes. Again, it is a very twisted form of reality with the main character trapped in a computerized world, fighting against the very system he programmed. The VR on display is highly advanced, with full body immersion and the very real possibility of death.
Other films like Lawnmower Man (1992) and Johnny Mnemonic (1995) come closer to the current day experience with headsets and body suits that relay information between user and applications. The Matrix (1999) has a connection straight to the brain that delivers an almost fool-proof illusion of reality. The first two have technology that is either within our grasp or very close, while the direct brain plug of the Matrix is not as far away as you might think. Advances in direct neuro controls for things like prosthetic limbs shows our understanding of the brain is expanding at a rapid rate.
You can bet that the brains behind the current crop of VR are aware of the fiction behind the science. Science fiction has always influenced technology, inviting scientists and engineers to turn the imagination of writers into reality. With the amount of money being invested in the new generation of VR, it’s only a matter of time before more outlandish ideas become reality. At the current pace, we will likely see highly convincing virtual reality with haptic feedback and all senses engaged within our lifetimes.
It is strange that something that is clearly a great fantasy for many people is inspired by popular culture that generally warns of the dangers of the technology. Let’s just hope that science fiction has only predicted the emergence of the tech and not its dystopian themes.
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Andy Trowers is a game design consultant, freelance ne’er-do-well and staff writer for www.australia.for-sale.com
We take a closer look at the long forgotten Commodore computer, the MAX MACHINE. Step back in time and take a look at this pretty little thing in the below pics!
Before you do go wandering down below to check out the MAX, let’s just pause and reflect on this Japanese made Commodore computer that never really got any market traction. The Commodore MAX Machine (aka: Ultimax in the US and VC-10 in Germany) was a home micro computer designed and sold by Commodore International in Japan at the beginning of 1982. It was the C64’s predecessor, and hence it was swiftly discontinued when the Commodore 64 went gangbusters! Due to it’s low production run, it is now considered a rarity.
The MAX did share the same CPU (MOS 6510) and SID (sound) chip as the C64, but that is where the similarities stop. With only 2KB of RAM, the MAX Machine was severly handicapped when compared to it’s bigger and more successful brother. One saving grace of the MAX was its ROM cartridges – they worked on the C64, and it also paved the way to the ‘freezer’ carts (like the Action Replay) due to the MAX compatibility mode that was built into the C64.
For those technically minded, here are the specs to whet your MAX appetite:
Operating system: MAX BASIC (Cartridge), 2047 bytes to program in, LOAD/SAVE support
CPU: MOS Technology 6510 @ 1.02 MHz
Memory: 2.0 KB, 0.5 KB color RAM
Graphics: VIC-II 6566 (320 x 200, 16 colors, sprites, PETSCII keyset)
Sound: 3 / 4 channel 6581 “SID” chip
Ports: expansion port (cartridge), RF/TV port, audio port, cassette port, 2 joystick ports
The MAX♦Machine bundle!
Nothing too exciting on this side of the box!
The back of the box reveals something out of this world!
Not to be outdone, the sides are look lovely!
Not sure about those keys, but it’s still beautiful
Taking closer look at the membrane keyboard…
The MAX does have a few interfaces to insert bits into them!
Not matter which way you look at it, the MAX Machine has gorgeous curves
Aha, so the model reveals itself, it’s the MAX-04!
Even the MAX requires power! Oh, and it’s all RF baby!
No gaming computer is complete without a killer game! 
Hook us up to the MAX!
image source: eBay
Christmas is always a great time. We associate good times with family and friends, holidays, and obviously the gifts (giving and receiving!).
Let’s not pretend though, as kids, we loved Christmas for one thing, the presents! It was also around this time that retailers would bombard us with their catalogues, tempting us to load up our wish-lists with all matter of toys, electronic gadgets and video gaming items. We would pore over these catalogues, circling items and then leaving the catalogues in a prominent spot in the hope that our loved ones would notice.
If you loved (still love) looking at catalogues, then let us take you back to the 1992 Christmas Sears, Roebuck & Co. ‘The Great American Wish Book’ – yep, this catalogue is a 830+ page book!
Let’s see what is inside this hefty catalogue!
We wish for a Game Boy!
Or do we wish for a Sega Game gear?
Ah yeh, of course we wish for an Atari Lynx!
Which console to circle – the NES?
Or maybe the TurboGrafx-16 (aka: American PC-Engine)?
Maybe we should go for the 16-bit beasts, like the Sega Mega Drive?
Or the mighty Super Nintendo!
We also need games!
Lots of games!
Whoa, a new computer!
A new computer will need some software and a few peripherals!
See, we told you the NES isn’t just a games machine! We can learn to play the piano!
Pfft, who needs smartwatches!
Whoa, arcade pinball action!
Oh wow, you could save $200 on the Philips CD-i! What a bargain!
The only way to listen to music while on the move!
If we buy a console, we need a CRT TV to play it on! Circle that too!
For those that want to video record their play!
Lego should be on the list, always!
Reading material is good for Christams
Yeh, why not!
A certain Mr Panek would love this TMNT madness!
Please Santa, I want a Jet Wave too!
Thinking back to the 1999 Christmas season, we were still playing our Nintendo 64 quite a lot, but we were saving up frantically for a Sega Dreamcast. Star Wars games featured prominently in December 1999, but after the massive disappointment of The Phantom Menace prequel released earlier that same year, we steered clear of these games as a matter of protest. It was our loss, as some of these new Star Wars games on the 32-bit and 64-bit platforms were absolute crackers! Other notable games that we loved playing around that time were Driver and Soul Reaver on the Playstation.
Casting an eye over the top 5 December 1999 games charts for each platform, we were mostly looking forward to slicing and dicing in SoulCalibur and shooting zombies in House Of The Dead 2 on Sega’s Dreamcast!
What were your gaming memories from the 1999 Christmas season – tell us now on Twitter or Facebook!
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1) Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace (LucasArts) |
| 2) Driver (Acclaim) | |
| 3) Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (Activision) | |
| 4) South Park (Acclaim) | |
| 5) Soul Reaver (Eidos) |
 |
1) Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (Nintendo) |
| 2) Star Wars: Episode 1 – Racer (Nintendo) | |
| 3) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time (Nintendo) | |
| 4) F-1 Grand Prix II (Video System) | |
| 5) Quake II (Activision) |
 |
1) SoulCalibur (Namco) |
| 2) Sonic Adventure (Sega) | |
| 3) Sega Worldwide Soccer 2000 (Sega) | |
| 4) Ready 2 Rumble (Midway) | |
| 5) House Of The Dead 2 (Sega) |
Do you know how many games are in the Metal Slug series? Would you believe there are over 30 ‘Slug’ games? Yeah, we are in disbelief too.
Luckily for us all, Daniel Ibbertson from Slope’s Games Room has collated all the information and produced another great ‘Complete History’ video on one of our favourite SNK gaming franchises.
Which Metal Slug game is your fave? Tell us now on Twitter or Facebook.
source: Slope’s Games Room
Good Game’s Goose Mangus did an awesome story on the history of Blizzard Entertainment on this week’s show to celebrate the company’s 25th anniversary (25 years – can you believe it?!). Check it out below:
The games
Source: Good Game on YouTube
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Ms. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.
Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter
With the Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR well and truly on the way to our living rooms, virtual reality (VR) is the biggest news in gaming right now. But let’s rewind the clock some two and a half decades, back when Sony was working on the Nintendo Play Station and the inventor of the Oculus Rift, Palmer Luckey, was still in his diapers.
image source: Gizmodo
In 1991, SEGA announced its SEGA VR virtual reality headset for arcade games, promising immersive gaming via its head-mounted display (HMD) unit with inertial sensors tracking and reacting to a user’s head movements.
While SEGA was talking about VR, the Virtuality Group went one better by launching its stand up Virtuality pod enclosure system (the 1000 series) – the first mass-produced, networked, multiplayer location-based VR entertainment system – all powered by Amiga 3000 computers. These Virtuality pods featured a stereoscopic head-mounted display (the “Visette”), an exoskeleton touch glove to ‘feel’ objects in the virtual world, and a ‘fast track’ magnetic source built into the waist-high ring with a receiver which tracked the player’s movement in real time within the enclosure – a truly immersive VR experience. Virtuality later introduced joysticks, steering wheels, and an aircraft yoke for control.
image source: DVD Fever
With the VR craze gaining mass consumer attention, it was inevitable that the technology would find its way into the lucrative home video games market. In 1993, SEGA was working hard to port its SEGA VR arcade HMD to its hit Mega Drive/Genesis console, but due to development difficulties, the console SEGA VR headset remained only a prototype, and was never released to the gaming public.
To fill the void, VictorMaxx entered the market with the world’s first consumer VR HMD, the StuntMaster (VM1000) – the technology being developed under license from Future Vision Technologies. The StuntMaster was released in 1993 for USD$219.95 and came with assemblies to connect to both the Mega Drive/Genesis and the Super Nintendo consoles. The StuntMaster sported a tracking stem on the head unit which had fast response times and accurate positioning, but the low resolution, lack of VR specific games, and prolonged use causing motion sickness meant that the StuntMaster never caught on with gamers.
By 1994, home consoles became exponentially more powerful than the previous generation, meaning that VR could finally realise its full potential in the home. That year, Atari jumped on the VR bandwagon by signing a deal with Virtuality to design, develop, and produce a VR HMD for its 64-bit Jaguar home console. The Jaguar VR HMD was slated for a Christmas 1995 release, but financial woes at Atari caused the program to be abandoned, resulting in the Jaguar VR HMD being thrown on the already full failed VR scrapheap. To recoup its losses, Virtuality sold the Jaguar VR HMD technology to prolific Japanese toy manufacturer Takara and the huge electronics giant Philips.
In 1996, both companies raced to have a VR HMD on the market, with Takara producing and releasing the TAK-8510 Dynovisor HMD and Philips its Scuba Visor. These units sported the Pupil Projection System, which had a (then) ground-breaking 120-degree field of view (FOV) display using Sony’s TFT LCD (thin film transistor LCD) screens. Coupled with the display was stereo sound and Inter Pupil Distance (IPD) focus adjustment – perfect for any user personalisation. The Dynovisor and Scuba could be used with any console that had composite video and red/white analogue audio ports (the PC version of the Dynovisor also came with a custom VGA PC interface). Neither units had motion tracking, hence their relatively low retail price (¥38,800 / USD$320). Like their contemporaries, they failed due to a lack of VR specific software and causing many a headaches after prolonged use.
Having recently experienced 1990s VR via Takara’s Dynovisor HMD, we can vouch that it won’t make you sick like the Virtual Boy, but that may be down to the unit having no motion tracking. After playing countless platform, driving, shoot-’em-up, and fighting games, we reckon that racing games are best suited for playing on an old VR HMD – but not for too long! These units came with a warning to rest your eyes after 30 minutes of play, and this is all for good reason.
Playing on these old-school VR HMDs is like having an IMAX screen two inches away from your eyeballs – there is a lot to take in – which works well, thanks to the 120-degree FOV. But after 30 minutes, your eyes will be begging you for a rest from the visual onslaught. Of course, none of the old games played on the unit were designed to take advantage of virtual reality, so the experience lacked the full VR immersion – a shame.
image source: eBay
On the PC front, it was VictorMaxx’s CyberMaxx model 2.0 HMD that provided the VR ‘hit’ PC gamers had been craving for. With higher resolution and improved optics than its previous 120 model (released in November 1994 for USD$499), the CyberMaxx 2.0 model also had dynamic stereo sound, focus adjustment for each eye, and real time yaw, pitch, and roll head-tracking, providing 3D stereoscopic images via compatible software. Released in August 1995 with a suggested retail price of USD$889, the CyberMaxx 2.0 didn’t take off, with management concluding that its headset was not likely to gain widespread consumer acceptance at its suggested retail price. By the end of 1996, VictorMaxx exited the consumer electronics business, thus ending the future of the CyberMaxx VR product line. However, there is hope that the legacy of the CyberMaxx will lead the current (promised) VR products to good stead.
Walking through the 1990s VR product graveyard, a common headstone could summarise the reason for their failure: “Here rests a product which caused severe headaches, induced motion sickness, lacked great software, and was a concept ahead of the technology available at the time.” Fast forward to 2016 and we have our fingers crossed for the imminent VR products to hit the market, and hope that they will deliver on the promises of their predecessors. Viva la VR!
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Alex Boz, Editor-In-Chief / Video Game Historian
Alex is a collector, arcade extraordinaire, pinball tragic, an Atarian and a C64 lover. Alex has been gaming since the early 80s when the weapon of choice was a joystick with a single fire button.
Follow Alex Boz on Twitter
This post originally published on Push Square February 17 2016.