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Panels to Watch at PAX Online

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From the plethora of diverse and amazing panels that will take place during this year’s PAX Online, we thought we’d curate a few panels that we reckon you’ll all enjoy, especially the ones with a tinge of classic gaming. Oh yeah, the panels are all free to attend, so get ready to mark your calendars!

We’ll start with the best of the best, the Australian based panel that we are most looking forward to:

PANEL: Play It Again: Preserving Australia’s Game History
WHEN: September 13 @ 5:15pm
PANELISTS: Dr. Helen Stuckey [RMIT], Seb Chan [ACMI], Nick Richardson [ACMI], Candice Cranmer [ACMI], Dr. Denise De Vries [Swinburne], Dr. Cynde Moya [Swinburne]
ABOUT: The 1990s was an important era in Australian game development, with technological innovations such as Full-Motion-Video and motion capture helping to shape a new generation of games. Our panel will discuss the Play it Again ARC project, whose aims are to collect and preserve iconic titles from the era including Aussie Rules (1991), Krush Kill ‘n’ Destroy (1997) and the Team Fortress Mod of Quake (1996). We will explore some of the challenges facing the team from the technology of the era, and the ultimate goal of making these games playable once again via Emulation-as-a-Service.

And now for the rest…

PANEL: Sid Meier’s Memoir!: A Conversation with Sid Meier about His Life in Computer Games (pre-recorded)
WHEN: September 13 @ 9:30am
ABOUT: In his first video game instruction manual, for 1982’s Formula 1 Racing, a 28-year-old systems analyst for General Instruments named Sid Meier declared that he hoped to one day “write the ultimate strategy game.” At the time he was installing networked cash register systems in retail stores. Nine years later, his software company, MicroProse, released Civilization, arguably the most influential strategy game in video game history. It was the first significant design in the 4X genre (“Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate”). Computer Gaming World called it “a new Olympian in the genre of god games.” PC Gamer US said it was the second-best video game ever created. Since then, the Civilization franchise has sold approximately 51 million units. Today, Sid Meier is a recognised giant in the field of video game design and development. His best known and best loved games include Pirates!, Railroad Tycoon, Covert Action, Gettysburg!, and F19 Stealth Fighter. Now he brings his signature wit and good humour to the story of his own development. In SID MEIER’S MEMOIR!: A Life in Computer Games [W. W. Norton & Company; September 8, 2020; $27.95 hardcover], he traces the arc of a legendary career, including the founding of MicroPose; the evolution of their famous war game manuals; the commercial failure of C.P.U. Bach, a visionary music generator inspired by his passion for the program’s namesake; and the abandonment of “DinoCiv,” his beloved dinosaur game that never came to be.

PANEL: Build an Inexpensive Retro Gaming Machine in Under an Hour
WHEN: September 15 @ 2:30pm
PANELIST: Tim Ellis [Creator of the Dispatches from the Multiverse podcast and Game Journalist with GeekWire]
ABOUT: Want to build a Raspberry Pi-based retro gaming console, but don’t know where to start? In this panel we will walk you through the whole process, start to finish, live. All you need is a $35 Raspberry Pi, an SD card, and your USB or Bluetooth controller of choice. And yes, we have Battletoads.

PANEL: A Guided Tour to ‘80s Computer Retrogaming
WHEN: September 17 @ 6:00am
PANELISTS: Alexander King [Adjunct Professor, NYU Game Center], Naomi Clark [Assistant Arts Professor, NYU Game Center], Clara Fernández-Vara [Associate Arts Professor, NYU Game Center], Bennett Foddy [Associate Arts Professor, NYU Game Center], Jesse Fuchs [Adjunct Professor, NYU Game Center]
ABOUT: Retrogaming is more popular than ever, and it’s never been easier to play history’s greatest videogames. But while vintage consoles and arcade games are increasingly accessible, classic computer games remain a bit arcane, and it’s easy to miss out on some amazing games buried in the floppy disks of yore.

So join us for a guided tour to an age of forgotten home computers, when PCs didn’t have the best computer games and they didn’t even make games for Windows yet. There’s no DOSBox where we’re going!

What’s worth playing? How do the emulators work? What’s BASIC? If you’ve never heard of a Commodore 64 or an Apple ][ and want to explore a new frontier of undiscovered retro goodness, join some game design professors to learn about getting into games on everything from the Amiga to ZX Spectrum.

PANEL: Building Our N64 Classic Console
WHEN: September 15 @ 11:00am
PANELISTS: Sam Woods [Associate Staff Writer, DualShockers], Mario Rivera [Video Manager, DualShockers], Cameron Hawkins [Staff Writer, DualShockers], Scott White [Associate Staff Writer, DualShockers], Ricky Frech [Senior Staff Writer, DualShockers], Asa GreenRiver [Founder/Host/Producer, Borderline Entertainment]
ABOUT: The N64 is considered to have ushered in Nintendo’s era of 3D gaming, and some of the best games of all-time have been released for it. From Super Mario 64, to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – we debate the 10 games that should make up the N64 Classic, if Nintendo ever decides to actually make one. This isn’t the definitive list of the top 10 games on the system, but a mixture of the best games from different genres that would make it the complete package.

The other panels we reckon you should also consider (if you have time) are:

There you have it folks, a few panels to whet your nostalgic appetite. There are staggering number of panels on during PAX Online, so don’t forget to check the schedule, as there may be something of interest for you.

 

PICO-8 Masters Of The Universe: The Battle For Eternia

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Do you guys remember when we got giddy over the fictional C64 Barbarian – Masters Of The Universe Edition game?

Well guess what, thanks to the amazingly talented game programmer, Andrea Baldiraghi (aka: TheRoboZ), you can now play the ultimate rethemed Barbarian video game, Masters Of The Universe: Battle For Eternia right in your browser (or that nifty little PocketCHIP running PICO-8) for some slashing good times!

Mr Baldiraghi, we thank you for creating this awesomeness in 3 months – Wow! Now grab a sword and let’s battle for Eternia!

image source: TheRoboZ – MOTU

 

Iconic SEGA Akihabara Building 2 To Close Soon

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It looks like we will never cross this one off our bucket list 🙁

SEGA’s Building 2 (formerly known as SEGA GiGo / Akihabara GiGo) is set to close on August 30th. Building No. 2 opened on the southern edge of Akihabara in October 2003, becoming a favourite for arcade video game enthusiasts and gaming nostalgia-seeking peeps.

It would seem that the current world health crisis has hit the Electronic Town quite hard, with a big downturn in visitor numbers. SEGA hasn’t as yet provided any formal reason for the impending closure, except for this post and the sign below, which reads (translation by SoraNews24):

image source: Arcade Otaku via Twitter

“Notice of Closure

Thank you for your continued patronage.

We are sorry to announce that this branch, Sega Akihabara Building 2, will be closing.

Our last day of operations will be Sunday, August 30.

The entire staff wishes to express, from the bottom of our hearts, our sincere gratitude at the loving support you have given our establishment for so many years.”

If you have visited SEGA’s Building No. 2, we would love to hear your stories (and see some pics), so please share them with us on Twitter or Facebook!

image source: That Damn Pixel / header image: Google

 

New Scrabble Go App

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

The new “Scrabble Go” app was released earlier this year, and contrary to what many fans of the iconic game are saying, I really enjoy it. The candy-coloured, frenetic update was meant to get younger players to appreciate an older game.

The new look to the app, a far cry from the traditional red-and-tan predecessor, is definitely going to turn off some loyal fans of the decade-old game.

I’ve been playing Scrabble since I was 8-years-old. I used to watch my parents play and I’d bug them about the rules and what a triple word score meant. In high school, my friends and I would play Scrabble past midnight. We would have little tournaments that would last long into the night. My friend Elizabeth would usually beat the rest of us, but it never stopped us from trying to win one game against her.

I’m a Scrabble traditionalist, so when I first played the “Scrabble Go” app, I didn’t know what to make of it. The ability to decorate my word tiles with 3-D flamingos and baby dragons was slightly alarming. I understand that dragons have no place in Scrabble, but it didn’t make me want to stop playing the game. What is so bad about a little color in a classic game? The redeemable shiny gems that give you a preview of the best available words was a nice touch. It didn’t bother me. Covid-19 could be the biggest reason for all the criticism of the new app. People don’t like change and being shut in during the pandemic has made people really not like change. Hasbro tinkered with a classic when loyal players need Scrabble more than ever. I play the app for about an hour a day. I can’t imagine what the changes were like for a player who plays for hours daily.

Maybe the reason why the dragons don’t bother me is because I’m a huge “Game of Thrones” fan. If you’re focusing on the actual game of Scrabble, struggling to score with a clever word, the dragons and strange gnomes (or pixies) aren’t distracting.

Complaints about the new game on Reddit threads and Facebook pages are hilarious. The most frequent criticisms are about the colourful treasure chests and the difficulty of finding the dictionary. Personally, I could care less about the chat room. I don’t want to get to know any other players or learn any of their “tips.”  A lot of people on the chat room are not even interested in the game of Scrabble. I think some of these lonely people really need to leave their basement and go for a long afternoon walk. Perhaps get some fresh air and sun and think about things that are slightly more important than a word game. Scrabble is something I do to get away from all the chatter and snark on social media platforms, especially Twitter. I cannot think of anything worse than chatting with stranger during a game of Scrabble. Focus is vital during Scrabble.

Mark Blecher, Hasbro’s head of digital gaming, said the old app isn’t coming back and that the company sees the updated app as a “game-changer” for Scrabble. A “game-changer” seems somewhat overenthusiastic, but something new usually always causes some division. I’ve noticed the more I play the new app, the less I notice the little things that players have decried.

 

LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System Set

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Whoa, LEGO and Nintendo have given us a one two punch of sets – first with their LEGO Super Mario, and now, the awesome LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System set!

This awesome LEGO NES set will be available from August 1 and will retail for AU$349.99. You’ll now be able to assemble your own console and retro CRT TV, then turn the crank to make 8-bit Super Mario move across the screen! We are excited 🙂

source: LEGO

 

Building Miniature SEGA Arcade Machines

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The amount of talent and knowledge some people have is beyond comprehension. One particular person got our attention on Twitter, gaug888. gaug888’s miniature Sega arcade machine creations are beyond amazing! Not only are they faithful miniature recreations of their bigger arcade brethren, they also play the arcade video games they are based on – totally mind blowing!

The meticulous level of detail of these miniature creations are off the charts. We reckon Yu Suzuki would be quite impressed too!

PS: If you want to check out the complete and documented log of gaug888’s miniature creations, head to Togetter now.

image source: gaug888 via Togetter

 

STAR WARS Comic Art Pinball: May The Force Be With You

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A long time ago in a galaxy far, far too close to home, I was excited when Stern Pinball announced their Star Wars pinball machine. I was so excited by this news, I almost bought one without playing it!

But there was a disturbance in the (pinball) FORCE in mid 2017! Bear with me here, as this story delves into the depths of the dark side before I see the light.

Cooler heads prevailed and I took Ms. ausretrogamer’s advice to play the pinball machine before making a decision to buy it or not. Well, on that fateful day in mid 2017, my initial impression of Stern’s Star Wars pinball wasn’t at all positive. I played the Pro model of the game, and let’s just say that it didn’t inspire me to press the start button to play it again. The FORCE just wasn’t strong enough to engage me. I was gutted! I felt that the machine did not capture the theme and universe of my all-time favourite movie franchise. I buried my disappointment and forgot about the machine. As the great Jedi Master, Yoda once said, “Disappointment is the path to the dark side. Disappointment leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” Welllll, he didn’t say that exactly, but you get my drift.

Luckily I did not give in to the disappointment, no matter how tempting the dark side of the force was. At the time, I found solace in another pinball machine, Chicago Gaming Company’s Attack From Mars Remake. My pinball mojo was back to peak level and the disappointment of the Star Wars pinball machine was all but a distant memory.

source: Stern Pinball Inc.

Then in mid 2019, there was a flicker in the FORCE. My brother-in-law, who got the silverball bug after playing our machines, went hunting for his first pinball game and settled for a Stern Star Wars Premium pinball machine. I remember thinking to myself, I hope he loves the game. Well, to my surprise, he did. What surprised me even more was my reaction to the game – once I pressed the start button and started flipping, I was immediately grabbed by the FORCE, just like Darth Vader’s force choke. Taking Yoda’s advice to heart, we had to unlearn what we learned about this game.

Wow, what a difference two years had made! The updated code and of course, this being the Premium model of the game, it felt like I was in the middle of the (original) Star Wars universe! I found that my excitement for the machine was at the same level as when Stern first announced that they were making a Star Wars pinball game. I knew then that I had to hunt down a machine to fulfil my wish of owning my pinball dream theme.

Just like all Star Wars stories, starting with a struggle and then ending on a positive note, so has this musing. I finally saw the light side of the FORCE and procured my pinball dream theme, a Stern Star Wars Comic Art Premium machine, beautifully presented by Star Wars comic artist, Randy Martinez – it’s so eye-poppingly beautiful. It was a long time coming to get to this point, but I am glad I went on this journey and reached my destination. The moral of my story is, never judge a book by its cover and always come back to a pinball game you haven’t played in a while, it may surprise you.

Thanks to the folks at Zax Amusements for fulfilling my wish – they made this Padawan very happy. May the FORCE be with you!

A lightsaber is required to bust open this beauty!

The Ausretrogamer Fun Factory is READY!

The machine is (almost) in its position – love the right side cabinet art!

Love the left side art cabinet too!

And we are upright!

We have the keys to the Millennium Falcon

Time to play and defeat the evil Empire!

Always Use The Force!

Love the LCD – it integrates the theme with visual Star Wars eye-candy

The comic art is eye-poppingly gorgeous on this machine

Taking in the comic art with the glass off!

Randy Martinez should be commended for his brilliant art work on this machine

Let’s blow up the Death Star

Making the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs

The magnets on this machine whiz the balls around on the hyperspace loop at breakneck speeds!

And we are on, like Donkey K… Ah, never mind!

Who doesn’t like seeing their name on the high score table

Just enjoying the view

A handsome threesome in the Fun Factory

 

May The 4th Be With You – Happy Star Wars Day

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It’s STAR WARS DAY peeps! May the 4th be with you!

As huge Star Wars fans, we can’t go past celebrating this day. Since Star Wars Day almost coincides with our birthday, it makes it that little bit extra special.

We are celebrating this day with our new cool and very special gift, a Star Wars – Han Solo Limited Edition Invicta watch. We love everything about this awesome watch, from Han encased in carbonite sharing the watch-face with his beloved Millennium Falcon, his heavy blaster on the second hand, to the leather strap depicting his attire, and of course, the Millennium Falcon side plate and the see-through automatic watch movement. Do you have any special Star Wars items celebrating this occasion?

From all of us at ausretrogamer, have yourselves a great Star Wars Day, and May The 4th Be With You!

 

 

 

MEGAMANIA 64 – Have a Blast On Your C64

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One of the better Atari 2600 video games, Activision’s MEGAMANIA, has now been expertly and lovingly ported to the Commodore 64 by the very clever and prolific game dev, Nick Sherman of Arla Games!

The best part is, MEGAMANIA 64 is totally free! What are you waiting for? Grab the game and fire up your Commodore 64 and get blasting!

image source: Arla Games

 

It’s-a me, LEGO Super Mario

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With everything going on in the world right now, you’d be forgiven for missing some big (geeky) news. Thanks to our friends (Phil and Kristy – you guys rock!), we’ve been informed that Lego will be releasing a new playset and characters based on Nintendo’s coveted franchise, Super Mario!

The below video hints at what fans can expect when LEGO Super Mario launches later this year, showing a player using an interactive Mario figure collecting coins in a real-life game level that has been created with LEGO bricks.


source: ProsafiaGaming

Reading through the press release, this passage made us get quite giddy,

“Neither a video game nor a traditional LEGO brick-based set, LEGO® Super Mario™ is a new product line that features an interactive LEGO Mario figure who collects coins in real-life game levels created with LEGO bricks. The new line will let kids experience the playful world of Super Mario like never before.”

To say we are excited would be the biggest understatement of 2020! We can’t wait for this to be released (later this year)!

source: Lego