AUSRETROGAMER

The Pop-Culture E-Zine

You are here: Home / Archives for Retro Gaming Culture

Retro Gaming Culture

LEGO Ideas – Classic Two Player Arcade Racer

By

The LEGO Ideas keep marching on with more and more cool new ideas which we hope will garner enough support for them to become products we can purchase off store shelves.

This Classic Two Player Arcade Racer LEGO Ideas entrant by BricksDownUnder is another that piqued our interest. The 80s era classic arcade aesthetic and intricate attention to detail is pretty impressive, from the player steering wheels to move their racer left and right on the racing track, to the motorised track moving under the racers to simulate motion, this is pretty darn cool. Oh yeah, there is also a speed changing lever to really get your heartrate going in ludicrous mode – twice the speed for twice the excitement!

Impressed? If you are (and we reckon you should be), go and vote for this pretty cool LEGO Ideas entrant!

image source: LEGO Ideas

 

TAITO Arcade Classics Featured on AtGames Legends Arcade Family

By

We must say, the AtGames Legends Arcade Family suite of products have piqued our interest due to their versatility and now, the collaboration with TAITO Corporation, an arcade manufacturing powerhouse, bringing us some awesome classic arcade titles!

Current owners of the Legends Arcade Family products as well as those who have an interest (like us!) in classic arcade games are in luck! To compliment the AtGames’ already large selection of built-in video games, gamers can now add another 47 classic TAITO arcade games via a simple firmware update. This is the first time so many Taito arcade games have appeared at the same time on a single product! Check out the full list of games below which we guarantee will whet your nostalgic appetite!

The 47 TAITO arcade games are:

  • Alpine Ski
  • Battle Shark
  • Ben Bero Beh
  • Bonze Adventure
  • Bubble Bobble
  • Cadash
  • Cameltry
  • Chack ‘n Pop
  • Colony 7
  • Crazy Balloon
  • Don Doko Don
  • Elevator Action
  • Elevator Action Returns
  • Football Champ
  • Front Line
  • Growl
  • Gun & Frontier
  • Halley’s Comet
  • KiKi KaiKai
  • Kram
  • Kuri Kinton
  • Liquid Kids
  • Lunar Rescue
  • Metal Black
  • Nastar Warrior
  • Operation Thunderbolt
  • Operation Wolf
  • Pirate Pete
  • Plotting
  • Plump Pop
  • Qix
  • Raimais
  • Rastan
  • Space Gun
  • Space Invaders
  • Space Invaders DX
  • Syvalion
  • The Electric Yo-Yo
  • The Fairyland Story
  • The Legend of Kage
  • The New Zealand Story
  • The Ninja Kids
  • Thunder Fox
  • Violence Fight
  • Volfied
  • Wild Western
  • Zoo Keeper

These 47 TAITO arcade games are part of the growing number of built-in, licensed games on the Legends Arcade Family products like the Legends Ultimate and Legends Gamer series. Other current and future Legends Arcade Family products feature a similarly impressive mix of licensed arcade and console titles. We love the flexibility of adding games (legitimately!) to a home arcade system.

image source: AtGames Legends Family Arcade

What’s Up America! – Video Warriors Mini Documentary From 1980

By

We love finding obscure mini documentaries from the early 80s, just like this What’s Up America! mini documentary, titled Video Warriors, which provides an insight on the state of the arcade video games industry circa 1980.

This documentary features a fresh-faced Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, Lyle Rains (Atari VP of Engineering, Coin-Operated Games Division), and Roger Hector (Atari Manager of Advanced Products) to name a few. The focus is primarily on Atari Coin-Ops games, but arcade games from other manufacturers are also shown. We really love the part where Roget Hector discusses his co-creation, Atari’s (unreleased) Cosmos holographic handheld games system!

For those of you outside of North America, the What’s Up America! TV series ran on the Showtime channel from 1979-1981. Now go and enjoy this hit of nostalgia!


source: Scottith Games

 

2020 RESET64 C64 Craptastic 4KB Game Competition Results

By

Thanks to the competitors, judges, sponsors and everyone in between for making the Reset64 2020 4kb Craptastic Game Competition our most successful yet! Also, a special thank-you to Richard Bayliss for once again compiling the official compilation disk. It was an amazing competition with a record 38 entries making the deadline. Each of these games are an outstanding achievement and it was great to have both novice and experienced coders participating and exploring their ideas.

The expert judges this year are Rob Caporetto, Andrew Fisher, Raj Singh, Richard Tappenden, Paul Koller, Louie Dimovski and Andrew Hayes. We couldn’t have done it without the judges, who extensively played, critiqued and reviewed each of the 38 games. There was a lot of variation between scores from each judge, which illustrates just how different concepts appeal to different people! Overall, it was a very close competition and there wasn’t much separating each placing.

The Winner: Fall by Megastyle!

Thanks again to the compo sponsors – Bitmap Books, Protovision, Fusion Retro Books, Freeze64, K&A Plus, Puddlesoft, Megastyle, and Ready64. Please visit and support the competition sponsors. A big mega special thank-you to Ausretrogamer for hosting and publishing the compo updates and continued support!

Judges’ comments and more information about each game will be published in the near future. Until then, enjoy the games (which can be downloaded from the 2020 Craptastic page) and congratulations again to all of the entrants and winners.

PLACINGS

1. Fall – Megastyle (28.71)

2. Dots – James (28.57)

3. Jumpin Jalopies – Megastyle (27.71)

4. RodMän Jr – Misfit (27.43)

5. Bring Back My Bones – Commocore, Hose It Out – Oziphantom (27.29)

6. Orcapult – Puddlesoft (26.86)

7. Avoid – James (26.71)

8. Star Lair – Malcontent (26.43)

9. SWYD – Megastyle (26.29)

10. Blockheads – Carleton Handley (26.14)

11. Rainbow Edge Run – Geir Straume (25.29)

12. Makealevel – Monsters Go Boom (24.57)

13. Jump4k – Megastyle, Kung Poo Fighter – Megastyle (24.43)

14. Al-Bert – Derek (23.86)

15. Ewe Woz Ere – DESIGN/chaos, WYR – Malcontent (23.57)

16. Mini Danmaku 64 – Cogitare Computing  (23.43)

17. Stacks – Derek (23.29)

18. A Day in the Life of a Teleporter (BASIC 10 Liner version) – Roman Werner, Flappy Space – Megastyle (22.86)

19. Spunk v.s. The Rest – Twain Pain Games (22.57)

20. Plazzle – Goerp (22.29)

21. Dodonuts – DESIGN/chaos (21.71)

22. Make Them Jump 2K – map/Plush (21.57)

23. Snout About – Nick Sherman (21.29)

24. Fight – Megastyle (21)

25. MeteorMath – fancollector1980 (20.57)

26. Parking Ticket – Ruerob (20.29)

27. A Day in the Life of a Teleporter – ZeHa (19.71)

28. Customs – Vk4mx (19.29)

29. Zzaped in the Butt! – TND (18.71)

30. Kugelblitz – Haplo (17.43)

31. Cover Fire! – Jammer (17.29)

32. Country Pop – Tomaes (16.17)

33. 1991 USSR deep space probe control centre janitor – Goerp (15.71)

34. Rescue64 – Syed (12.43)

Dots

Jumpin Jalopies

RodMän Jr

Bring Back My Bones

Hose It Out

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Unkle K / Reset C64
Father, husband, teacher and retro gaming/computer enthusiast! Editor of Reset64 C64 magazine.

Follow Reset C64 on Twitter

Commodore 64 Beige Spray Paint

By

Well, well, well, wonders never cease to amaze us! If you are yearning for your stuff to look more like they did in the mid 80s, then this Commodore 64C beige spray paint is for you!

The clever peeps at Retrohax are behind this nostalgia inducing spray paint, so if you want to get all artistic and go nuts on painting stuff all beige, then hit their store (~the spray paint is approx. AU$36.25).

Oh yeah, with this ongoing COVID-19 situation, spray paints are flight restricted items so they won’t get past the origin border, so unless you are situated in Poland, you may have to wait a bit to get some.

Just in case the C64C beige paint isn’t your thing, Retrohax also has Amiga 500 Beige and Atari XE/ST Grey spray paints to ensure you get creative! Now, if only they had a C64 breadbin brown spray paint 😉

image source: Retrohax

 

Check Out This Awesomely Cool Mini Virtual Pinball Machine!

By

We love stumbling upon awesomely cool DIY projects, just like David Schwab’s Mini Virtual Pinball machine creation! What makes David’s construction even more amazingly cool, is that it was his first attempt – wish we were that clever! Oh yeah, David has also created a Space Invaders themed tabletop, but we’ll tell you about that cool creation in another feature in the not too distant future.

Scrolling through all of the photos of the build and final product, it is hard not to be impressed. We asked David to provide his thoughts and inspiration behind his Mini Virtual Pinball machine, so we hope this gives you all an insight on how to go about embarking on such a project.

David Schwab’s thoughts on gaming nostalgia and on his Mini Virtual Pinball build: 

You can break it all down to 3 areas of competency; Software, hardware and construction. You need to be able to converse across all three disciplines. I think the attraction to this hobby is in the building and tinkering. To be able to assemble all parts, select hardware and build to a final and satisfactory presentation.

This is a work in progress as there are improvements I want to make. I don’t think anyone who sets to build one of these gets it right the first time, and that’s part of the fun.

In my design, I was going for pure nostalgia and very 0ld school. I would not say I was a big pinball player back in the day, as I was more the type of kid who nagged his mum for 20 cents to play Space invaders or Galaga. Those endless family holidays at caravan parks where there were tabletop arcade games demanded a feed of coins every day. I also majored in the Atari 2600, which was a great source of fun for both my brother Matt and I.

I went for the music and the ‘feel’ of some of the pinball tables, not necessarily staying with a purist collection of games. Everything I placed in this cab evokes emotion. The music, the aesthetic and the visualisation of the games. I have a Blues Brothers pinball table. This classic movie invokes great memories and a lot of fun. There are other pinball tables that others like – Doom, Crysis and Half-Life, although modern recreations bring a sense of nostalgia from the 90s and early 2000s.

This mini virtual pinball uses an Intel NUC 8i5 for the necessity of space and has an onboard 655 graphics processor, 250GB storage and 8GB of RAM. The 8i5 plays VP10 tables well, with no perceivable lag that I could notice. The back-glass is running a 1024 x 768 display which may also help the graphics processor. The playfield is a 1920 x 1080 IPS screen which holds a great resolution for a rig this size. 4K should never be considered with a small PC like a NUC and in any case you won’t need 4K unless you increase the size of your CAB past 32”!

So how did David get started on this project?

I did a lot of research online and asked questions. The best way to start is by typing ‘Virtual Pinball’ in Google and then head over to VPForums – which has a wealth of resources.

You can spend anywhere from $500 to $1500 depending on what you already have lying around, and how perfect you want it to look when finished. Some just plonk a couple of monitors in a box, others, just a couple of desktop screens to an existing PC while others want the full ‘this has got to look’’ fair dinkum.

The build process in (very droolworthy) photos:

images used by permission from David Schwab

We really really love this mini virtual pinball machine by David. If he took orders, we’d be getting in line 🙂

 

Discovering Fall Guys’ Chaos

By

By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

I love the chaos of the new game “Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout,” developed by Mediatonic. I discovered Fall Guys, a platformer battle royale game, by hearing someone on the radio talking about it. Since its release on August 4, the game has become a unique alternative for Fortnite. The game is sort of a mix mash of Mario Party and Fortnite, but with funnier, and just as original looking players.

The jellybean-like figures manoeuvre through a three-dimensional playing field. The figures can jump, grab, and dive to help with gameplay. The aim is to qualify for rounds by completing each of the random mini-games. At times, you have to work as a team to make it to the end of the mini-game. The obstacles that randomly change throughout the game can be difficult to navigate even for an experienced gamer.

Players gain Kudos, an in-game currency, by completing matches. You get “Crowns” by winning; they are the ultimate currency. I’m not a fan of getting pink slime on me. When it first happened, I didn’t know what had happened to my dinosaur avatar.

Manoeuvring around the sliding walls in early rounds is easy. But the disappearing levels of plates and the turntable-like obstacles are sometimes difficult to master. The ability to dive becomes vital on those obstacles. Being able to grab other players helps as well.

My strategy is to always hang back behind the group or cluster of players as I move around the outskirts of the mapped obstacles. I think it’s oddly enjoyable to manoeuvre around giant fruit flying at you as you run with a herd of other players. I got taken out by a watermelon in one round.

I haven’t played a game this original and entertaining in years. I’m still discovering the various rounds. Sometimes, it’s not easy; but the game gets its hooks in you and it’s difficult to put down the controls.

 

Seiko 5 Sports STREET FIGHTER V Limited Edition Watches

By

Yeah, you read that title right, one of the world’s great watch makers, SEIKO is releasing a number of limited edition watches under their Seiko 5 Sports range based on iconic Street Fighter V characters – Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Guile, Blanka and Zangief.


source: SEIKO Watch Global

So which Seiko Street Fighter watch will you choose*?

*we want them all!!!

source: Seiko Watch Corp.

 

A DIY Real Life Tetris Game!

By

What do you do if you don’t have a Game Boy with Tetris? You build a real life Tetris game from some solid cardboard, that’s what!

This creation made us smile, which is exactly what we all needed for the start of the working week.

 

The Great Classic Gaming Magnets Giveaway!

By

**** GIVEAWAY ****

** GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED! **

Whoa, our friends at Magnetism Creations have given us some of their awesome video games and pinball related magnets to giveaway to our readers! Yep, this is a giveaway!

So what do you have to do to be in the running for 1 of the 3 mystery magnet packs? Relax, you don’t have to do anything stressful like run a marathon under 2 hours – all you have to do is ensure you like Magnetism Creations and Ausretrogamer on Facebook (and don’t forget to like and share the post for more chances!). For an extra chance to win, make sure you follow us in Twitter! See, that wasn’t too painful now, was it?!

The giveaway will finish at 6:00pm on Friday September 18, 2020! Winners will be notified by us shortly after the conclusion of the giveaway, so stay tuned and good luck!

PS: To get you motivated for this easy giveaway, check out a few of Magnetism Creations’ awesome magnets below…