32 replies to this topic

[CPUWIZ]

sku_u, on Fri Jan 27, 2006 4:26 PM, said:

Locomotive is undumped technically.

Technically.

http://www.atariprot...motionproto.htm

[sku_u]

CPUWIZ, on Fri Feb 3, 2006 2:57 PM, said:

sku_u, on Fri Jan 27, 2006 4:26 PM, said:

Locomotive is undumped technically.

Technically.

http://www.atariprot...motionproto.htm

You know what I mean.

[Omegamatrix]

sku_u, on Fri Feb 3, 2006 12:13 PM, said:

CPUWIZ, on Fri Feb 3, 2006 2:57 PM, said:

sku_u, on Fri Jan 27, 2006 4:26 PM, said:

Locomotive is undumped technically.

Technically.

http://www.atariprot...motionproto.htm

You know what I mean.

Are copyright issues holding up this release? I'd love to have a go at this.

[MattG/Snyper2099]

pkblack, on Sat Jan 21, 2006 4:01 PM, said:

I may have a chance to purchase some games through a friend of a friend but they may be expensive. do these things go up in value over time like baseball cards or coins?? Are some better investments then others??

I would just like to add that if you want to invest in atari games, buy up some boxed or sealed rarity 8 and 9's. Prototypes will never be worth more than those gems.

[Foxsolo2000]

[quote name='Tempest' date='Mon Jan 23, 2006 5:22 AM']
Back in the early 90's when there weren't alot of prototypes out there and they could be had fairly cheaply if you knew where to look, they could have been in investment (although no one ever really thought of them that way). Nowdays there are tons of them floating around out there and the price has fallen alot. A proto that would have gone for $150 just 5 years ago goes for about $70 today. Personally I only collect prototypes so I can examine and review them, not for investment. If you're looking to invest in something classic gaming related, try boxed 2600 games. Those can still be found relatively cheaply and seem to be going up in value.

But then again if you're just interested in buying this stuff for an investment, you're in the wrong hobby...


Tempest
[right][/right]
[/quote)

Tempest are the majority of these prototypes copies or are they originals and if they are original where did they all suddenly come from? On that question how many prototypes did a game on average possess before it was finally released? I ask for on your site you list two or three different versions of the same prototype

[Tempest]

[quote name='Foxsolo2000' date='Mon Feb 6, 2006 7:19 AM']
[quote name='Tempest' date='Mon Jan 23, 2006 5:22 AM']
Back in the early 90's when there weren't alot of prototypes out there and they could be had fairly cheaply if you knew where to look, they could have been in investment (although no one ever really thought of them that way). Nowdays there are tons of them floating around out there and the price has fallen alot. A proto that would have gone for $150 just 5 years ago goes for about $70 today. Personally I only collect prototypes so I can examine and review them, not for investment. If you're looking to invest in something classic gaming related, try boxed 2600 games. Those can still be found relatively cheaply and seem to be going up in value.

But then again if you're just interested in buying this stuff for an investment, you're in the wrong hobby...


Tempest
[right][/right]
[/quote)

Tempest are the majority of these prototypes copies or are they originals and if they are original where did they all suddenly come from? On that question how many prototypes did a game on average possess before it was finally released? I ask for on your site you list two or three different versions of the same prototype
[right][/right]
[/quote]

All of my prototypes are originals, and most of the ones I reviewed were originals. Usually the only time I used copies were when I was reviewing prototypes found on the 5200 Multicart.

I have no idea how many copies of each prototype were made. I guess it all depends on how big the company was, how far the game got into development, how long it took them to debug it, etc. As for where did all the prototypes come from? I think you'll find that lots of people kept their review copies or took several prototypes with them when they left their company. Now that classic gaming is in style, people are digging through attics looking for that old box of prototypes they have.

Tempest

[supercat]

Tempest, on Mon Feb 6, 2006 9:29 AM, said:

I have no idea how many copies of each prototype were made.  I guess it all depends on how big the company was, how far the game got into development, how long it took them to debug it, etc.

It's important to realize that many thousands of lab prototypes were made and erased--indeed, a programmer who doesn't have a ROMulator might make dozens in a single day. Although such prototypes may provide some insight into how certain games evolved (and, alas, in some case may be the only copy of a game, period) they were generally never intended to be an archival medium.

To use a very rough analogy, before the advent of automated typesetting, printing houses would set a page of type, use that page to either print off the required number of copies or else to make a casting, and then once that was done they would break the page apart to reuse the type. Although it would have been theoretically possible for a printer to keep braced all of the pages of type he set, the cost of the equipment and space required would have been absolutely prohibitive. The goal of setting the type was to produce the finished product. If future copies would be required, a casting could be used to produce them. Once either the printed pages or casting were produced, the frame loaded with type was considered less useful than an empty frame with a collection of sorted type.

BTW, on many books, you'll notice at the bottom of the copyright page a row of numbers. The last number indicates the number of the printing. The page is set up that way because historically once type had been cast it was very difficult (generally not practical) to add text to the casting, but was easy to remove text (just file it down). So the casting would be made with all the numbers; then just before the second and subsequent printings, a number would be filed off.

[sku_u]

supercat, on Tue Feb 7, 2006 12:50 AM, said:

To use a very rough analogy, before the advent of automated typesetting, printing houses would set a page of type, use that page to either print off the required number of copies or else to make a casting, and then once that was done they would break the page apart to reuse the type.  Although it would have been theoretically possible for a printer to keep braced all of the pages of type he set, the cost of the equipment and space required would have been absolutely prohibitive.  The goal of setting the type was to produce the finished product.  If future copies would be required, a casting could be used to produce them.  Once either the printed pages or casting were produced, the frame loaded with type was considered less useful than an empty frame with a collection of sorted type.

BTW, on many books, you'll notice at the bottom of the copyright page a row of numbers.  The last number indicates the number of the printing.  The page is set up that way because historically once type had been cast it was very difficult (generally not practical) to add text to the casting, but was easy to remove text (just file it down).  So the casting would be made with all the numbers; then just before the second and subsequent printings, a number would be filed off.

You'll also notice that on many books and important historical documents, the National Archives Museum archived not only the final draft, but all preliminary drafts known to exist as well. For example, they have the original draft of the Declaration of Independance complete with Thomas Jefferson's revisions and notes.