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First of all: I'm not a collector of VCS stuff that's breakable.
In fact, the only VCS related items I own, are a pair of CX40 joysticks and a loose NTSC Pac-Man cart.
The joysticks I use while playing and testing VCS games on my PC (with the help of the excellent Stelladaptor), the Pac-Man cart I own just for the fun of it.
I did own an Atari 2600 game console once, though.
Back in the early eighties I fell in love with the VCS when I visited a huge toy fair in Amsterdam.
It was August 1983 and the dam of the game console software river was completely busted.
There were dozens of game manufacturers demonstrating hundreds of different game titles.
I just couldn't believe my eyes.
Three months later I got my Atari 2600.
I also bought this video game review book, which I still own and cherish:
IMO one of the best video game review books ever published in Europe back then.
I must have been one of the very few persons at the age of fourteen actually buying a video game review book in order to verify if a game was good enough to buy or not.
I loved reading all the reviews (especially the ones describing the best and the worst games) and I only spend my money on buying the games that had four or five thumbs up.
Eventually I ended up with these:
Missile Command
(this one came bundled with the console)
Space Invaders (this one too - the first VCS game I ever played on my own console)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (my personal favourite - I found the Ark without reading any hints)
Vanguard (great shooter with a lot of different game screens and... an end of level boss)
E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial (a mistake - my mother gave it to me for my birthday together with the next two titles)
Swordquest - FireWorld
(I searched high and low for the comic book in Europe, but never found it - fascinating but extremely frustrating game)
Yars' Revenge (highly original action game by Howard Scott Warshaw, the creator of Raiders and E.T.)
Enduro (very addictive racing game - loved the different weather stages)
Pitfall II - Lost Caverns (Crane's masterpiece - an incredible programming achievement on the VCS)
Robot Tank (great game - IMO better than BattleZone)
StarMaster (excellent pseudo 3D space shooter - played it a lot)
Demon Attack (very colourful Phoenix clone with funky sound FX)
Tutankham (I changed this one for Super Cobra after completing it in one afternoon)
Super Cobra (I should have kept Tutankham)
Jawbreaker (fast paced Pac-Man game - loved the rotating smilies and the toothbrush-intermezzo)
Marauder (I wanted to buy Berzerk first, but the seller adviced me to buy this one instead - wise seller)
While a friend of mine owned these:
Chopper Command (Defender in the desert)
Space Shuttle - A Journey into Space (complex but brilliantly programmed shuttle simulator)
Riddle of the Sphinx (really liked the puzzle-adventure style of this one)
Donkey Kong (always wondered what the "ducks" in the second level were suppose to be - I now know these are fireballs)
Mouse Trap (cute game - loved the sound FX of this one)
Zaxxon (a shock at first sight - somehow, I expected it to be like the Arcade version)
Certainly not bad games at that time and I really enjoyed playing them a lot, before I sold my Atari 2600 and all my games to someone else (I still regret this action) and stepped over to the good old Commodore 64 (which I luckily never sold and will never sell as well).
VCS chapter closed.
Or so I thought...
Fifteen years later, my brother gave me a CD ROM, entitled: "And then there was... The Atari 2600!"
On it was a VCS emulator and some 500 different Atari 2600 game ROMs...
What happened next is described here.
Five years ago I wanted to share all this gathered information with other VCS enthousiasts and asked the administrators of GameReset to help them adding new information to their database.
I got no response, so I contacted the guys at Atarimania (a small but fast growing Atari games database) instead, who immediately offered me a job as a moderator, giving me full access to their database.
I worked almost daily at the Atari 2600 section, updating every single VCS game entry (some 1500 by then) and adding a massive amount of new ones (the database now contains more than 7500 different VCS titles), and gained full respect of the other team members by doing this.
This is our site.
This is our team.
And this is what I do at Atarimania:
At least 80% of what you see in the Atari 2600 section of the Atarimania database was added by me.
ROMs, titles, screenshots, scans, pictures, game info, additional comments, goodies, you name it.
I am not a contributor, I'm the head maintainer of the Atari 2600 section.
Every single detail that is planned to be changed or added to the Atari 2600 section, is first verified and accepted or rejected by me.
Also every new VCS ROM or game title that I find or receive is first double-checked for its true existence before it's added to the database and every new scan or picture that's coming in, is first examined for resolution quality and cropped and/or resized by me before I add it to the correct corresponding game title.
In short: I run the Atari 2600 section, just like Bertrand runs the Atari 8-Bit section and just like Marko runs the Atari ST section.
The site's interface and look is programmed by Franck Palusci, but his work relies heavily on the advices, suggestions and demands of the other team members.
After all: we are the ones that have to work with the interface and its options at a daily basis.
So, although Franck did most of the programming, the complete layout of our site has always been a team work creation.
If one of the members doesn't agree with a certain new option or look, it simply won't take shape.
Again: I'm not a collector of the real thing, I'm just an archivist that's trying to create the world's largest Atari 2600 database with the help of many other VCS fans.
Here are our main contributors.
To whom I'm much obliged.
Well, that's what I do at Atarimania, folks.
I truly hope I made this clear for now and forever.
And to all people who still think an archivist should be the owner of all the stuff he wants to archive: please go seek mental help as soon as possible.
Take care and don't forget: keep those scans coming!
Regards,
Rom Hunter
In fact, the only VCS related items I own, are a pair of CX40 joysticks and a loose NTSC Pac-Man cart.
The joysticks I use while playing and testing VCS games on my PC (with the help of the excellent Stelladaptor), the Pac-Man cart I own just for the fun of it.
I did own an Atari 2600 game console once, though.
Back in the early eighties I fell in love with the VCS when I visited a huge toy fair in Amsterdam.
It was August 1983 and the dam of the game console software river was completely busted.
There were dozens of game manufacturers demonstrating hundreds of different game titles.
I just couldn't believe my eyes.
Three months later I got my Atari 2600.
I also bought this video game review book, which I still own and cherish:
IMO one of the best video game review books ever published in Europe back then.
I must have been one of the very few persons at the age of fourteen actually buying a video game review book in order to verify if a game was good enough to buy or not.
I loved reading all the reviews (especially the ones describing the best and the worst games) and I only spend my money on buying the games that had four or five thumbs up.
Eventually I ended up with these:
Missile Command
(this one came bundled with the console)Space Invaders
(this one too - the first VCS game I ever played on my own console)Raiders of the Lost Ark
(my personal favourite - I found the Ark without reading any hints)Vanguard
(great shooter with a lot of different game screens and... an end of level boss)E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial
(a mistake - my mother gave it to me for my birthday together with the next two titles)Swordquest - FireWorld
(I searched high and low for the comic book in Europe, but never found it - fascinating but extremely frustrating game)Yars' Revenge
(highly original action game by Howard Scott Warshaw, the creator of Raiders and E.T.)Enduro
(very addictive racing game - loved the different weather stages)Pitfall II - Lost Caverns
(Crane's masterpiece - an incredible programming achievement on the VCS)Robot Tank
(great game - IMO better than BattleZone) StarMaster
(excellent pseudo 3D space shooter - played it a lot)Demon Attack
(very colourful Phoenix clone with funky sound FX)Tutankham
(I changed this one for Super Cobra after completing it in one afternoon)Super Cobra
(I should have kept Tutankham)Jawbreaker
(fast paced Pac-Man game - loved the rotating smilies and the toothbrush-intermezzo)Marauder
(I wanted to buy Berzerk first, but the seller adviced me to buy this one instead - wise seller)While a friend of mine owned these:
Chopper Command
(Defender in the desert)Space Shuttle - A Journey into Space
(complex but brilliantly programmed shuttle simulator)Riddle of the Sphinx
(really liked the puzzle-adventure style of this one)Donkey Kong
(always wondered what the "ducks" in the second level were suppose to be - I now know these are fireballs)Mouse Trap
(cute game - loved the sound FX of this one)Zaxxon
(a shock at first sight - somehow, I expected it to be like the Arcade version)Certainly not bad games at that time and I really enjoyed playing them a lot, before I sold my Atari 2600 and all my games to someone else (I still regret this action) and stepped over to the good old Commodore 64 (which I luckily never sold and will never sell as well).
VCS chapter closed.
Or so I thought...
Fifteen years later, my brother gave me a CD ROM, entitled: "And then there was... The Atari 2600!"
On it was a VCS emulator and some 500 different Atari 2600 game ROMs...
What happened next is described here.
Five years ago I wanted to share all this gathered information with other VCS enthousiasts and asked the administrators of GameReset to help them adding new information to their database.
I got no response, so I contacted the guys at Atarimania (a small but fast growing Atari games database) instead, who immediately offered me a job as a moderator, giving me full access to their database.
I worked almost daily at the Atari 2600 section, updating every single VCS game entry (some 1500 by then) and adding a massive amount of new ones (the database now contains more than 7500 different VCS titles), and gained full respect of the other team members by doing this.
This is our site.
This is our team.
And this is what I do at Atarimania:
At least 80% of what you see in the Atari 2600 section of the Atarimania database was added by me.
ROMs, titles, screenshots, scans, pictures, game info, additional comments, goodies, you name it.
I am not a contributor, I'm the head maintainer of the Atari 2600 section.
Every single detail that is planned to be changed or added to the Atari 2600 section, is first verified and accepted or rejected by me.
Also every new VCS ROM or game title that I find or receive is first double-checked for its true existence before it's added to the database and every new scan or picture that's coming in, is first examined for resolution quality and cropped and/or resized by me before I add it to the correct corresponding game title.
In short: I run the Atari 2600 section, just like Bertrand runs the Atari 8-Bit section and just like Marko runs the Atari ST section.
The site's interface and look is programmed by Franck Palusci, but his work relies heavily on the advices, suggestions and demands of the other team members.
After all: we are the ones that have to work with the interface and its options at a daily basis.
So, although Franck did most of the programming, the complete layout of our site has always been a team work creation.
If one of the members doesn't agree with a certain new option or look, it simply won't take shape.
Again: I'm not a collector of the real thing, I'm just an archivist that's trying to create the world's largest Atari 2600 database with the help of many other VCS fans.
Here are our main contributors.
To whom I'm much obliged.
Well, that's what I do at Atarimania, folks.
I truly hope I made this clear for now and forever.
And to all people who still think an archivist should be the owner of all the stuff he wants to archive: please go seek mental help as soon as possible.
Take care and don't forget: keep those scans coming!
Regards,
Rom Hunter
