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The Official Space Invaders Board Game

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We have said this a few times now, we are very very choosy what we back (and promote) on Kickstarter– so take note!

Space Invaders is one of those iconic video games that transcends generations. It is the game that keeps on giving. Having celebrated it’s 40th anniversary last year, this time around we are set to get an official Space Invaders Board Game!


source: 612 Games

We are so pumped for this Kickstarter and can’t wait to defend against the invaders on a physical board! For more info, head to the Space Invaders Board Game Kickstarter page to check out what you can get with your pledge. The campaign has already blown way past its target goal, so this is happening! Pew pew pew!

image source: Space Invaders Board Game via Kickstarter

[source story: technabob]

 

Super Nintendo Anthology: The Ultimate Book

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If there is one sure thing, it’s that Geeks-Line Publishing know how to create brilliant gaming tomes. Their latest book, Super Nintendo Anthology has launched on Kickstarter and it has already blasted past its goal.

Geeks-Line had so much content on Nintendo’s 16-bit beast that they had to split the Anthology into two volumes, one for Software and the other for Hardware. There is also a Kickstarter exclusive “Ultimate Edition” where the software and hardware volumes are bundled together in a super-duper slipcase. With a combined 620+ pages, this is going to be MEGA! Oh yeah, have no fear as Geeks-Line always delivers on their crowdfunded projects. If you already have the PlayStation, N64 and GameCube Anthologies, you know what to expect – lots of awesomeness!

As already mentioned, the 620+ pages will be richly illustrated with documents from the period, with the two Super Nintendo Anthology volumes recounting the life story of the Kyoto-based giant’s wondrous 16-bit console and delve deep into its huge international games library. This will be the definitive SNES work of reference.

Back the Kickstarter project now!

Table of contents (“Ultimate” Edition):

Software Edition

  • The Complete Official Games Library (1724 games)
  • All Games in Alphabetical Order
  • The Box Art of each Game
  • Alternative Game Titles by Region
  • ‘After-Market’ Games
  • Canceled Games

Hardware Edition

  • The SNES Epic
  • Hiroshi Yamauchi: The Man behind the Machine
  • A New Revolution Is Afoot
  • Rise of the 16-bit Machines
  • Observe – Create – Play
  • War on the Horizon
  • The First Announcement
  • The Japanese Launch
  • The American Launch
  • The European Launch
  • The View from the Top
  • A New Era
  • Swansong and Beyond
  • Secrets of the Hardware
  • Accessories (Official and Unofficial)
  • Interviews with People Who Made History
  • Developers’ Words
  • Collectible Treasures
  • Bundles & Collectors’ Editions from around the World

 

source: Geeks-Line’s Super Nintendo Anthology on Kickstarter

 

Byte Driver – Vector Based Mayhem

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As most of you will know, we are huge fans of vector based games, especially the ones that hark back to our youth, like Atari’s Star Wars and of course, all Vectrex games!

When Mike from Vector Hat informed us of his creation, Byte Driver, our interests were immediately piqued! Byte Driver is currently being funded via Kickstarter with a very modest goal, which we reckon is very achievable!

Byte Driver isn’t just your typical vector based racing game. The game is a combination of 2D racing with an interesting game play mechanic whereby energy that your car runs on is obtained by hacking the vehicles around you. Oh yeah, while you are sapping energy for your own use, you can also hack other vehicles to bolster your weaponry! The whole package comes together quite nicely in its vector display style and synthwave soundtrack. If you want an old school  tough-as-nail game, then Byte Driver will be right up your alley.

If you wanna try before you buy, there is a playable demo for Windows, Linux and OSX! If only this game was also being ported to the Vectrex – we can only hope (hint, hint!).

PS: That Byte Driver pit crew patch looks da biz!

 

 

Digitiser: The Show – Proper Retro Gaming TV

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Does Paul Rose (aka: Mr Biffo) really need an introduction? If so, then hang your head in shame! OK, if you really don’t know, for whatever reason, we won’t judge (Ed: oh yes we will!). Anyway, here is the 101 on Paul Rose – Going by his alter ego, Mr. Biffo, he is the creator and chief writer of legendary teletext games magazine Digitiser, which ran in the UK between 1993 to 2003. These days, he mostly writes for kids TV but can still be found rambling on about games, old and new on his daily website, Digitiser2000.com. You can thank Wikipedia and Retro Gamer (magazine) for this mashed Paul Rose bio.

So why all the excitement and the soiled undies you may ask? Well, Mr Biffo has a Kickstarter that will tickle your retro gaming and funny bone. Digitiser: The Show, will be a proper retro gaming tv series, with top notch production value that will blow your 8-bit minds! Rather than spin a yarn on here, why don’t you check out the Kickstarter campaign and judge for yourself as to why THIS MUST HAPPEN!

Oh yeah, since Digitiser: The Show campaign has blown past its target goal, Mr Biffo has kindly thrown together a handy grid showing which rewards are available with which tier – so check it out, pledge hard or go play with your broken yo-yo!


source: Digitiser2000

 

NESmaker – Make New Cartridge Based Games For the NES

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We’ll keep this short and sweet – if you want to realise your childhood dreams of making a new (cartridge based) playable game for the NES but don’t have the necessary coding expertise, then hit the NESMaker Kickstarter immediately. Hurry up, ’cause there are only a few hours left to secure this awesome bit of dev-kit!

Go on, unleash your inner game developer without the need of coding skills!

PS: Don’t worry about funding, the project has already blown waaaaay past its goal and has unlocked a number of stretch targets!


source: The New 8-Bit Heroes

 

Boss Fight Books: BOOM SHAKALAKA

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BOOM SHAKALAKA! Boss Fight Books latest collection Season 4: Creator Access Edition has conquered Kickstarter!

With the successful crowdfunding now finished, we can’t wait to read about Final Fantasy V, Shovel Knight, NBA Jam, Star Wars: KotOR and Postal. If you missed the Kickstarter, don’t worry, just keep an eye out on how to order this collection on the Boss Fight Books website.

These books are making us drool in anticipation, but it is Reyan Ali’s chronicling of Midway’s arcade hit NBA Jam, that we are most looking forward to reading. With inside information on the game’s creation and interviews with key development people and industry leaders, this tome will definitely be a slam dunk!

source: Boss Fight Books

 

PAC-MAN X ORLINSKI: Perfect Art

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Released in Japanese arcades on May 22 1980, Namco’s PAC-MAN has just celebrated his 37th anniversary!

When Toru Iwatani, creator of PAC-MAN, had pizza for lunch, he took one piece from the whole pizza and there it was – a circle with an open mouth!

The best ideas often come from the simplest life experiences. Mr. Iwatani didn’t know he would leave such a mark in the video game industry when he was eating his pizza. Yet, 37 years later, PAC-MAN is still one of the most archetypal characters in gaming. As well as changing the face of arcade games back in 1980, Namco also managed to create an icon in popular culture.

For PAC-MAN’s 37th anniversary, Neamedia has just unveiled a Kickstarter for a series of beautiful sculptures designed by Richard Orlinski with support and license from BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe.

The collection will be available in 3 versions. A yellow 25cm version, a golden chromed version of the same size, and an exclusive 1 metre version limited to 37 units. Added to that, different stretch goals will unlock special rewards such as a PAC-MAN metal figure, artwork of the original PAC-MAN sketches and a limited-edition art book.

If you want to grab yourself a piece of PAC-MAN history, then head to Kickstarter now!

source: Neamedia – PAC-MAN X ORLINSKI Kickstarter

 

Interview With Andreas Wallström: For The Love Of The C64

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UPDATE 24-April-2017: Andreas has informed us that the Kickstarter has been cancelled!

The Commodore 64 was our first true love in gaming and computing. The beautiful C64 invokes great memories from decades ago, with memories feeling so vivid that they seem like they happened just yesterday!

Nostalgia is truly intoxicating, especially when meeting fellow C64 lovers like Andreas Wallström. If you don’t know who Andreas is, then this interview will give you an insight into Andreas’ passions and great dedication he has towards the fabled C64. We have been following Andreas for a while on social media and constantly refer to his awesome C64.com site. Once we found out that Andreas had a C64 book on Kickstarter, we took note as his book is unlike other C64 books we have seen or read before.

We managed to grab Andreas to tell us a bit more about himself, his passions and of course, his new C64 tome.

AUSRETROGAMER [ARG]: Hello Andreas, thank you for your time to do this interview. Before we delve into your wonderful projects, tell us about yourself – when did you start gaming and/or dabbling with gaming systems and computers? 

Andreas Wallström [AW]: My name is Andreas Wallström. I’m a 43 year old father, graphic designer, photographer, drummer and a massive Commodore 64 fan. Some time at the beginning of the 1980’s, my father brought home the ColecoVision, so that was the first machine I started with. But in 1984, dad brought home the C64, a 1541 disk drive, a 1530 tape deck, a MPS 801 printer and five Mastertronic games. That was the start of my love affair with the greatest machine of all time – which changed my life forever.

ARG: When did you discover the Commodore 64 and what was it about the C64 that got you hooked on this 8-bit micro?
AW: I got hooked pretty quickly. I was only allowed to use the C64 during weekends at first, but like the sneaky little bastard that I was, I brought friends home during lunch breaks to play games like H.E.R.O., Snoopy and Spy Hunter. Dad and I undertook a BASIC course in 1985, but that didn’t really spark my interest. The programming exercises were mainly aimed at an older audience, but I was still happy to just be near the machine. I got really hooked when I first saw crack intros (cracktros) and demos. I was very impressed when I saw text scrolling on screen for the first time!

ARG: Is the C64 your only love or do you have other computers, consoles or systems you like to use and play on?
AW: I play games and watch demos on three machines: The C64, the Amiga and the Mega Drive. I never owned a Mega Drive back in the day, but I love the games on it. Favourite games on these other two machines would be; on the Amiga: Pirates!, Defender of the Crown, Beach Volley, King of Chicago, Super Cars and Another World. On the Mega Drive, they are: Sonic the Hedgehog II, Castle of Illusion and The Lion King.

ARG: As you are a graphic designer and photographer by trade, did the C64 (or other systems) play a part in your choice of vocation? 

AW: It certainly did. My grandmother was a painter, so designing things runs in the blood. I started drawing logos and fonts on the C64 when I was 14 years old, so that was the start of my self-education in the field of digital graphics. I constantly thank the creators of the C64 and the people that inspired me along the way because it’s thanks to them that I have the job that I have today.

ARG: Your website, c64.com is a treasure trove of information on the C64 (we constantly use it!) which has been around for almost 20 years! What made you start this site? And, do you have outside (contributors) that assist you with it?
 
AW: C64.COM was started by my friends Creeper/Flash Inc and Jordan/Antic. I helped out in the beginning but wanted to do a different kind of C64 homepage, so I started C64hq.com. After a few years working apart, I suggested that we’d join forces again to create one cool site together. That was in 2006 if I remember correctly. The reason why both sites were started was simply because the undying love for the C64. We’re a small team and would love more contributors, so if anyone is interested, please apply!

ARG: Let’s get to your latest project, the Commodore 64: For the Love Of A Machine book, which is currently seeking crowdfunding on Kickstarter – could you tell us a bit more about this project and what people can expect from the finished product?
AW: Since I have something of an obsession with the C64, I thought it would be a great idea to design a beautiful coffee-table book that celebrates the world’s most popular computer. People can expect a 224 pages hardback book filled to the brim with C64 nostalgia. There will be interviews with Al Charpentier who was VP of Engineering at Commodore during the creation of the C64 and he also created the VIC-II graphics chip. I have also done an interview with Bob Yannes who created the SID chip and he was one of two engineers that put the C64 together. We got a lot to thank this man, and trust me when I say, without Yannes, there would be no C64!

Apart from these guys, there are in-depth interviews with the likes of Chris Hüelsbeck, Ben Daglish and Fred Gray. People can expect an interview with programmer John Twiddy who programmed The Last Ninja. Something I’m also very proud of are the game commentaries from people that created many of the games that we love. And hey, did I mention the scans of Rob Hubbard’s original music notes? Rob wrote the music to games like Sanxion, Thing on a Spring, Crazy Comets, and Spellbound to name a few. For the first time ever, people are given the chance to gain insight into how he used to compose his famous C64 tunes.

ARG: You have managed to get interviews with some big names from Commodore and the gaming community – was this a difficult process? How did you go about securing interviews with big names like Al Charpentier and Bob Yannes for instance?
 
AW: You know, for some reason I’d like to torture myself by pursuing people, knowing how hard it is to find people that have said no to others. The interview with Mr.Z/Triad for instance was particularly challenging – It took me three years to get a ‘yes’ from him and then it took eight years to finish the interview! Obviously, the interview was started way before I started thinking of doing a book, but you get an idea what I’m willing to go through. Regarding how I secured interviews with Al and Bob, well, I’ll have to keep that myself for now, let’s just say that being in the scene since 1987 helped a lot. Oh yeah, persistence helps too.

ARG: What sets this C64 book apart from others? 

AW: The interviews for sure. You won’t find current interviews anywhere with people like Bob Yannes, Mr.Z/Triad and Dave Collier who programmed games like Yie Ar Kung-Fu, Green Beret and Hyper Sports. This is the first time he’s talking to anyone about the good old C64 days. The Rob Hubbard scripts of course make this book stand out too. I’m also putting focus on women in games which I haven’t seen in any other books. The book will also include professional photography and photos from old copy-parties and meetings that have not been seen before. I take great pride in this and I will make sure the book has a really eye-catching design.

ARG: The pledge tiers are all enticing and we are struggling to pick just one – they all look good! Got any tips on which one we should go for?
AW: How about the associate producer one? *smiles* I would really recommend to get the physical book together with a poster from Dave Rowe and/or Steinar Lund. They’re going to look great on any wall!

ARG: Before we let you go, do you have an all-time favourite C64 game and chiptune?

AW: The impossible question and despite the figure skating events in Winter Games, that would be my favourite game. When it comes to music, one tune I always love to listen to is the main tune in Krakout by Ben Daglish. It’s fast paced, it’s jolly and the melodies are second to none!

Like all good things, even an interview must come to an end. We honestly could’ve asked Andreas another hundred questions, which he would have happily answered, but we thought we’d better let him go to concentrate on his upcoming book. As we say our goodbyes, we are left quite confident that Andreas’ book will be something quite special, for all fans! If you want to back Andreas’ C64 book, head over to Kickstarter now.

source: Commodore 64: For the Love of a Machine

 

Gameband: Kick-Ass Smartwatch For Gamers

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WOW! In just over 24 hours Gameband’s Smartwatch for Gamers Kickstarter has gone gangbusters! With the $75,000 goal smashed easily, we can’t fathom how far this Kickstarter will go – and there is still a month to go!

Having stayed up to the ungodly hour of 1:00am for the start of the Kickstarter, it was definitely worth it, as we snared ourselves a Super Early Bird Gameband Atari Edition. Ever since then, the Gameband team have been keeping busy with informing its backers of all the wonderful functions and rewards they will include on this most KICK-ASS of a gamer’s timepiece.

One of the early rewards was to increase the included 5 Atari mini-games to 10 mini-games per Gameband! The 5 additional games are the Atari classics: Tempest 2000, Battlezone, Firefox, Missile Command and Yars Revenge! How good is that!

But wait, there is more! With the $100K milestone surpassed with ease, the Gameband folks wanted to reward its backers (even more!) by including the Terraria mini-game on all smartwatches. Whoa!

Does it get better? Of course it does! Gameband are preparing further stretch goals, which we honestly can’t wait for! It’s truly like Christmas every day on this Kickstarter!

Oh yeah, for those of you that are on the fence – do you or don’t you get one, perhaps this comparison chart will help you make up your mind… It’s pretty easy to see who leads each category. Hop on the Kickstarter now, before it’s too late!

source: Gameband

 

Blow The Cartridge 6: The Retrogaming Comic Book!

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BlowTheCartridge6_TitleOh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Now I am hyperventilating! So what has got this retro gamer so excited you ask? Even if you didn’t ask, I am still going to tell you. Are you ready for it? Our awesome and very talented friend, Cameron Davis has kicked off another Kickstarter to bring us Blow The Cartridge numéro six ! Yep, the bestest retrogaming comic book can only come to life if you head to Kickstarter now and pledge for any tier that tickles your fancy! If Cam’s previous Blow The Cartridge comics are anything to go by, this one is going to be a doozy!

Having a rare opportunity to ask Cam for a memorable quote, he was nice enough to give us this gem, “I like vanilla ice-cream”. So there you have it, make what you will out of that. Now go and check out Blow The Cartridge on Kickstarter!


source: Kickstarter