Episode Guide

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8-BIT VS 5200 PART 2: Q1 1983

01:57:19   53.7 MB   Production date: 04/29/22

5200 coverage in magazines from January through March 1983. Plus a special bonus look at a NY Times article about Warner's stunning December 1982 earnings shortfall caused by Atari's massive financial loss.

1982

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DEC 1982: MAGAZINES, PART 3

01:29:46   41.1 MB   Production date: 03/31/22

Coverage of a few magazines I missed last time. Live plays of two games, tips to speed up disk drive I/O, and articles on how automation has changed TV and film production.

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DEC 1982: MAGAZINES, PART 2

01:57:18   53.7 MB   Production date: 12/10/21

Coverage of Atari Connection, APX, Byte, C&VG, Micro, Softside, Page 6 & Atari I/O for Dec 1982. Another Chris Crawford article on game design, a review of Steve Wozniak’s US Festival, and will Forth become the official language of the podcast?

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DEC 1982: MAGAZINES, PART 1

01:48:44   49.8 MB   Production date: 11/19/21

Coverage of Antic, Compute!, Creative Computing, Dec 1982. Chris Crawford on Legionnaire, first rumors of the IBM PCjr, and two articles predicting the future: Compute! does OK while Creative Computing gets a bunch of whammies. Also: Bullwinkle’s restaurant, sexism and mansplaining about whether educational software should ask kids their gender, and Bahrain doctors, video games & epilepsy.

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8-BIT VS 5200 PART 1: 1982

01:50:41   50.7 MB   Production date: 10/20/21

In a special multi-part series comparing the 8-bit computers to the 5200 console, this first episode focuses on 1982. Scanning the regular magazines for mentions of the 5200, I also scour other magazines for both 8-bit and 5200 coverage. Only in this special series will you hear article summaries from these periodicals: Electronic Games, JoyStik, Video Games, Video Games Player and Atari Age Magazine.

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NOV 1982: BYTE, CVG, CGW, MICRO, SOFTLINE, SOFTSIDE

01:29:14   40.8 MB   Production date: 06/02/21

Coverage of the remaining magazines for Nov 1982.

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NOV 1982: ANALOG, COMPUTE!, CREATIVE COMPUTING

01:13:15   33.5 MB   Production date: 05/07/21

Format experiment: splitting magazine coverage across two episodes and separating game reviews to their own episodes.

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OCT 1982: WORM WAR I

01:59:38   54.8 MB   Production date: 04/17/21

A friend gets his first game published in Computers & Video Games! 6 other magazines this episode, and I try to dissect my first kernel game, Worm War I. Or is it 1? It’s a super important distinction.

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SEP 1982: DELUXE INVADERS

02:34:15   70.6 MB   Production date: 02/20/21

Strap yourselves in for coverage of 11 magazine issues including a tiny bit on the large magazine Byte -- there’s an article on Star Raiders strategies that I can’t pass up. Game review is of Deluxe Invaders, which is a high quality Space Invaders clone. Oh, and there’s a discussion of a game called Hazard Run and its ties to a bad TV show and a worse flag.

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AUG 1982: REAR GUARD

02:37:52   72.3 MB   Production date: 11/09/20

Adding a new magazine to the coverage: Softline, a games-focused magazine published by the people responsible for Softalk. Also a review of Rear Guard, a game that’s appeared in full-page color ads for many months in magazines.

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JUL 1982: TYPO ATTACK

01:14:42   34.2 MB   Production date: 10/20/20

Just a regular ol’ episode talking about magazines, learning typing during the pandemic, and if we’ve finally seen the end of creepy William Shatner ads for the VIC-20.

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JUN 1982: QUARXON

01:47:50   49.4 MB   Production date: 12/08/19

Phase 2 begins with the usual magazine coverage and a review of Quarxon, a two-player shoot-each-other game with prominent use of Display List Interrupts. In the tech section, I use Omnivore to discover how these DLIs work.

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SPECIAL EPISODE: PHASE 2

00:05:47   5.3 MB   Production date: 03/14/19

Introducing Phase 2 of the Player/Missile extended podcastimatic universe. The magazine coverage will stay the same, but instead of a typical game review, I will focus on reverse engineering to discover interesting game programming techniques used by the authors of these classic games. I intend it to be a tutorial on the use of Omnivore, the desktop application I've designed that includes many reverse engineering tools, including a built-in emulator and debugger.

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MAY 1982: FUJIRUN

01:29:18   40.9 MB   Production date: 09/29/17

The hiatus is over. With my new slimmed-down post-production, I now plan to get back to regular episodes. For this one, it's the usual magazine coverage and some talk about the retro-computing projects I've been doing in the last year.

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APR 1982: JUMPMAN

01:43:28   47.4 MB   Production date: 10/14/16

The culmination of the first "season" of the Player/Missile podcast is a review of my favorite game and the announcement of the project undertaken by Kevin Savetz and myself to reverse engineer the game. We're sponsoring a level design contest, and there's still time to enter! Oh, and I'm taking a hiatus until I can collect the physical magazines. You can help out with your contributions!

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MAR 1982: GETAWAY!

02:26:50   67.2 MB   Production date: 03/31/16

Game review of Getaway! and interview with the author Mark Reid. The program won the Atari Star Award and the $25,000 prize in 1983. I also introduce Omnivore, the 8-bit binary editor that I've been working on during the hiatus. Kevin Savetz has a guest review of the APX Spring Catalog, and we add a new section to the podcast, the countdown to the Tramiel takeover.

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FEB 1982: FLIGHT SIMULATORS, PART 2B

02:12:19   60.6 MB   Production date: 12/09/15

Part 2b of the flight simulator roundup with Chris Olson, reviewing helicopter sims and the all-time classic F-15 Strike Eagle. Plus: an update on speeding up Star Raiders.

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JAN 1982: SHAMUS

02:17:42   63.0 MB   Production date: 10/19/15

The universe of games really begins to expand in 1982. From here on out we'll have a huge selection of choices to talk about, and Shamus by Cathryn Mataga leads us off. Also, an interview with Michael Portuesi who is both a published author in Compute!'s books and a listener to the podcast.

1981

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DEC 1981: FLIGHT SIMULATORS, PART 2A

02:39:54   73.2 MB   Production date: 09/01/15

The first half of the military flight simulator roundup with Chris Olson. I've included a bonus tech section at the end discussing a clever display list technique used by the MicroProse sims. Guest reviews: Michael Glaser of the XEGS Cart-by-Cart podcast covers SoftSide and Kevin Savetz summarizes the APX Winter 1981 Catalog.

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NOV 1981: REVERSI II

01:50:17   50.5 MB   Production date: 07/31/15

Two new magazines for the coverage: Computer Gaming World and my first magazine from the UK: Computer & Video Games, and two guest reviewers of magazines. An overview of KansasFest from the Atari point of view, and a review of the APX game Reversi II.

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SPECIAL EPISODE: GAME DRAFT #1

01:34:37   43.3 MB   Production date: 06/25/15

Jack Nutting of the Retro Computing Roundtable, Victor Marland of Ten Pence Arcade, Wade Ripkowski of Inverse Atascii and Kevin Savetz of ANTIC join me for a 5 round draft of Atari 8-bit games.

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OCT 1981: MISSILE COMMAND

01:47:43   49.3 MB   Production date: 06/02/15

Summary of Bill Kendrick's Atari Party 2015 and review of the excellent port of Missile Command. In magazine coverage, I've added MICRO: The 6502/6809 Journal, and new contributor Michael Glaser takes over SoftSide Magazine.

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SEP 1981: FLIGHT SIMULATORS, PART 1

02:10:26   59.7 MB   Production date: 05/04/15

Flight simulator roundup where Chris Olson and I review 5 noteworthy civilian aircraft sims on the 8-bits (military sims will be the subject of part 2). Also added Byte to the magazine to the coverage due to the serializiaton of De Re Atari.

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AUG 1981: INTERVIEW WITH JAMES HAGUE

01:49:34   50.2 MB   Production date: 04/10/15

Interview episode with game developer James Hague who was published in ANALOG and Antic magazines, is the author of Halcyon Days & maintainer of the Giant List of Classic Video Game Programmers. Atari Party 2015 is just around the corner!

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JUL 1981: INTERVIEW WITH CHUCK BUECHE

01:29:56   41.2 MB   Production date: 03/20/15

Interview episode with Chuck Bueche, tech section on Star Raiders and the Atari 8-bit executable format, guest magazine coverage of Softalk, and the Atari Party: Davis CA, May 2, 2015!

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JUN 1981: INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL CURRENT

01:38:41   45.2 MB   Production date: 03/03/15

Interview episode with Michael Current, maintainer of the Atari 8-bit FAQ and the Atari History Timeline; also covering the magazines from June 1981. Tech section on building Star Raiders, MAME cabinet update, and the Atari Party: Davis CA, May 2, 2015!

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MAY 1981: EASTERN FRONT (1941)

01:00:14   27.6 MB   Production date: 02/14/15

Magazines from May 1981 and a review of Eastern Front (1941) by Chris Crawford, and the triumphant reinstatement of the tech section of the podcast because I've found a manageable topic. Also, info about the Atari Party 2015 which I will attend and give away a Raspberry Pi.

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APR 1981: GEM DROP (HOMEBREW)

01:24:56   38.9 MB   Production date: 01/08/15

Magazine coverage for April 1981 but jump ahead in time to cover our first homebrew game, Gem Drop by Bill Kendrick. Bill also invented one of the first software-driven graphics modes, called Super IRG, and we have an interview with him to talk about it.

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MAR 1981: SABOTAGE

01:35:11   43.6 MB   Production date: 11/23/14

In addition to the usual magazine coverage for March 1981, we look at the Apple ][ game Sabotage, converted to run on the Atari. I talk with Paul Hagstrom to get background knowledge on the Apple hardware, and get the inside story on the Sabotage conversion by the guy who did it, AtariAge user Shamus.

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FEB 1981: JAWBREAKER

01:06:26   30.4 MB   Production date: 11/07/14

This episode reviews the game Jawbreaker by John Harris and covers the February 1981 magazines Compute #9, Creative Computing Vol 7 #2, and introduces coverage of SoftSide Magazine. Anacronisticly included is coverage of my trip to the Portland Retro Gaming Expo 2014.

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JAN 1981: CAVERNS OF MARS

01:45:16   48.2 MB   Production date: 10/12/14

Welcome to January, 1981! Finally going month-by-month, Episode 4 includes the first ANALOG issue, Compute #8 and Creative Computing Vol 7 #1 and a review the game Caverns of Mars published first by APX then by Atari itself. And in my first interview, I talk with with Mike DesChenes, the co-founder of ANALOG Computing!

1980

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1980, PART 2: SPACE INVADERS

01:04:14   29.4 MB   Production date: 09/17/14

Finishing off 1980, Episode 3 includes coverage of the remaining 6 months of Creative Computing and Compute magazines, and a review of the game Space Invaders published by Atari.

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1980, PART 1: SUPER BREAKOUT

00:45:19   20.7 MB   Production date: 08/27/14

Welcome to 1980! Episode 2 includes coverage of the Creative Computing and Compute! magazines through the first half of 1980 and a review of the game Super Breakout by Atari.

1979

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1979: STAR RAIDERS

01:05:40   30.1 MB   Production date: 08/03/14

Welcome to 1979! Episode 1 includes a brief summary of the technical specifications of the Atari 400 & 800 that were first released at the end of the year, discussion of Creative Computing issues starting from April and the very first Compute! magazine, and a review of a game original to the Atari 8- bits and destined to become an all-time classic game: Star Raiders.

Introduction

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INTRODUCTION

00:29:04   13.3 MB   Production date: 07/15/14

In the inaugural episode of Player/Missile, I introduce myself, talk about my background with the Atari 8-bit systems, what the podcast will be about and what it won't be about, and describe the format of the subsequent episodes.

Game Review Possibilites

1982

  • Miner 2049er (DLIs, reuse players)

  • Fort Apocalypse (scrolling, DLIs)

  • Alley Cat (reuse players)

  • Choplifter (straight Apple ][+ port)

  • Preppie! (how do the enemies move?)

  • Nautilus (multiple scrolling areas, DLI for title screen)

  • Astro Chase

  • Galahad and the Holy Grail

  • Floyd of the Jungle

  • Shadow World (uses ANTIC mode 5 for many enemies)

  • Qix (8-bit 8k vs 5200 16k version)

  • Centipede (8-bit 8k vs 5200 16k version, ANTIC mode 5)

  • Air-Raid (APX) (simple scrolling game, multiple horizontally positioned enemies

1983

  • M.U.L.E.

  • Livewire!

  • Mountain King

  • Caverns of Khafka

  • Orc Attack

  • Neuromancer

  • Quarxon

  • Zeppelin

  • Murder on the Zinderneuf

  • Blue Max

  • Monster Smash!

  • Lode Runner

  • Archon

  • Rally Speedway

  • River Rescue

  • Pole Position

1984

  • Boulder Dash

  • Bruce Lee

  • Zenji

  • Zone Ranger

  • Pastfinder

  • Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

  • Bacterion!

  • Seven Cities of Gold

  • Pitfall II: Lost Caverns

  • Spelunker

  • Decathlon

  • Gyruss

1985

  • Star Raiders II

  • Rescue on Fractalus!

  • Ballblazer

  • Hardball!

  • The Great American Cross-Country Road Race

  • Elektra Glide

  • The Goonies