8bitgamer

Hi Fellow Gamers!

My book covering EVERY game for the Nintendo NES, Sega Master System, and Atari 7800 is now available in paperback. You can order it here:

http://www.amazon.co...pd_bxgy_b_img_b

Sample Pages:

http://www.mcfarland...0-3.Page145.pdf

http://www.mcfarland...0-3.Page243.pdf

Book Description:

A follow up to 2007's Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984, Classic Home Video Games, 1985-1988 provides detailed descriptions and reviews of every U.S.-released game for the Nintendo NES, the Atari 7800, and the Sega Master System, all of which are considered among the most popular video game systems ever produced. Organized alphabetically by console brand, each chapter includes a description of the game system followed by substantive entries for every game released for that console. Video game entries include publisher/developer data, release year, gameplay information, and, typically, the author's critique. A glossary provides a helpful guide to the classic video game genres and terms referenced throughout the work, and a preface provides a comparison between the modern gaming industry and the industry of the late 1980s. Foreword by Bill Kunkel.

As always, thanks for reading!

Brett Weiss

Classic Home Video Games, 1989-1990: A Complete Guide to Sega Genesis, Neo Geo and TurboGrafx-16 Games is now on Amazon Kindle, which is available as a free app for numerous devices, including the iPhone, droid, iPad, etc. You can check it out here:

http://www.amazon.co...ASIN=B007MJCGEU

Product description:

The third in a series about home video games, this detailed reference work features descriptions and reviews of every official U.S.-released game for the Neo Geo, Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx-16, which, in 1989, ushered in the 16-bit era of gaming. Organized alphabetically by console brand, each chapter includes a description of the game system followed by substantive entries for every game released for that console. Video game entries include historical information, gameplay details, the author's critique, and, when appropriate, comparisons to similar games. Appendices list and offer brief descriptions of all the games for the Atari Lynx and Nintendo Game Boy, and catalogue and describe the add-ons to the consoles covered herein--Neo Geo CD, Sega CD, Sega 32X and TurboGrafx-CD.

As always, THANKS FOR READING!

My new ebook of short stories, Filtered Future and Other Dark Tales of Science Fiction and Horror, is now available on Amazon for only $2.99.

Here's an excerpt from the book. I hope you enjoy it.

The Land of Oz

The familiar sounds of electronic fighting, pseudo gunfire, virtual racecars and hollow explosions punctured Jeff’s ears as he stood in the doorway looking out the entrance to The Land of Oz and into the mall corridor. An occasional “cool, dude” and “awesome, man” rose above the canned noise.

Jeff strummed his pudgy fingers over the money changer strapped to his belt as he watched young couples walk past hand in hand, smiling, talking, laughing, enjoying the freedom of youth.

Jeff looked at his watch, stifled a yawn and turned to go back inside. He froze in mid-turn, his chin falling to his tree trunk neck.

Three girls walked his way, each of them within kissing distance of the other: a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead—vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. Like a banana split without the nuts.

Jeff had long ago quit pretending not to look. These days he openly stared. What the hell. Sometimes he got dirty looks, and, on rare occasions, a smile. But usually girls couldn’t be bothered to spare a glance toward him or the arcade. And they almost never came in. Unless, of course, they were with a dude.

Jeff stood tall, his eyes painting the girls with even strokes. Each girl was just over five feet tall, he guessed. Their pert little breasts stood unmoving behind tight sweaters. The blonde girl’s sweater rode up just enough to expose her belly button, which sported a small metal hoop.

Jeff clinched his hands into painful fists, his body slowly rotating as he watched the girls pass. He chose the blonde. “Summer,” he decided. She looks like a Summer.

Jeff watched “Summer” walking away, the other flavors forgotten. He looked her up and down, from her silky curls to her narrow back and waist to her apple-round ass.

“Damn,” he uttered under his breath. “Son of a bitch.”

The girls never even looked in Jeff’s direction. He figured they were most likely headed for Hot Topic or the food court or one of the upscale clothing stores. Or maybe to the bookstore to look at fashion magazines. They were probably too young, anyway. Who could tell these days?

“Hey, man, something’s wrong with Immoral Killings.”

Jeff woke from his irreverent revelry. He shifted the toothpick that he had forgotten he had in his mouth and turned around, only to see a sickly looking, pale wisp of a boy trembling before him.

Jeff hated his job at the arcade. He was sick of the claustrophobic atmosphere and the strobe lights and the noise and the dry-aluminum smell of recycled mall air. He especially hated the modern videogames with their emphasis of style over substance and violence over originality: secret codes and special moves taking the place of raw skill and eye-hand coordination; flashy, obtrusive graphics and gimmickry substituting for finely tuned gameplay and beautiful, stark simplicity.

The goddamned ticket redemption games were even worse.

Jeff had started in the business more than a decade ago, when pinball, Pac-Man and pool were king. When arcades were dimly lit places where you could shoot for high scores, smoke cigarettes, flirt with hot girls and listen to rock music. He loved Aerosmith, Judas Priest and The Stones, but his favorite band of all time was KISS: their melodic hard rock music laced with the trappings of comic books, horror movies and sex.

The wisp stood there patiently, waiting for a reply, his eyes pleading silently for a response.

“I haven’t seen you in here lately,” Jeff said. “You been grounded?”

The boy shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground. “Aladdin’s Castle has a sale going. Five tokens for a dollar.”

Jeff scowled like a frumpy schoolmarm. “Don’t you ever play outside? Ride your bike? Shoot some hoops or throw the football?”

The boy shifted his feet nervously, adjusted his glasses, ran the back of his hand across his nose and slowly turned to walk away.

Jeff pinched the back of the boy’s shirt and gently pulled him back. “Hold on,” he said. “What’s wrong with the game?”

“It’s broken.”

As they approached Immoral Killings, the boy glanced back to make sure Jeff was following. The boy had a gleam in his eye, like this was his proudest moment—his chance to prove his value to mankind.

“See, it’s messed up,” he said. “Just a bunch of dumb words on the screen. Where’s Chung Pow and Willy Lee and Kodan Mock? Where’s Jon Kwan Do?”

Jeff frowned as he read the first couple of lines on the screen. “Son, have you read any of this?”

“Not really,” the boy said, holding out his hand. “Can I have a free token?”

Jeff stuffed his right hand into his pants pocket and pulled out a fistful of tokens. He shoved them in the kid’s direction, spilling a few in his eager palm and the rest on the floor. Feeling as though he had won the lottery, the boy quickly dropped to the floor and scooped up the coins. He then made a beeline for Mortal Kombat II.

Jeff continued reading the message on the video screen.

Who is in charge?
Why do your people kill?
Who has the power?
Who do you cheat and steal?
Why do some of your people get fat while others starve?
Who is your leader?
Why do innocents die?
Who holds the key?
Why do you wage war against those like yourselves?
Who makes the law?
Why do you insult and strike one another?
Who is your king?
Why do you abuse your own bodies?
Who rules over you?

Jeff arched back and looked around to make sure no one was watching or needed any help. Satisfied he was alone with this…communication or whatever it was, he leaned in and continued reading.

Meet us on the roof of the tallest structure in your city.
We are there now. Tell no one of your contact with us. Be prepared to tell us everything we need to know.

Do not bring weapons; you will cease to exist if you do.
Put six of your tokens in this machine and the transmission will end.
If you do not do as ordered, you will cease to exist.
Come at once. We await.

Computer hackers, Jeff thought. Those bastards. Almost had me going. He shook his head and smiled as he pulled six tokens out of the front pocket of his red vest and dropped them, one by one, into the little slot on the front of the machine. He was curious what would happen next. Sure enough, as soon as the sixth token disappeared into the slot, the game went back to normal just like it said it would.

“Hey, dude, is there a pisser in this place?”

Jeff turned around to put a face with the rude voice. “My name’s not dude, and the restrooms are at the other end of the mall by the food court. Why don’t you just go home to use the can? The mall’s about to close.”

At 8:59, Jeff flipped the master switch in his office, shutting down all the arcade games in The Land of Oz. Ignoring the moans and groans of the few remaining customers, Jeff kicked them out and began his usual closing procedures: pull down and lock the two gates, empty the money changers, count the cash, fill out the bank deposit.

Bundling up against the winter weather, Jeff set the alarm and headed for the exit at the back of the office.

The night was dark, lonely and bitterly cold. Low temperatures kept home all but the restless young. The moon was hidden, but a few brave stars sprinkled light from the heavens, piercing the smog, their faint light absorbed into the snow-covered streets.

Jeff stepped outside, slamming the heavy, fireproof door behind him. He walked carefully onto the icy sidewalk, bracing himself for the hike to his apartment, which was seven blocks away.

Jeff squinted as strong, cold winds pelted his unprotected face, turning it bright red. The navel-pierced blonde from earlier in the evening was temporarily forgotten, stored in a file marked DANGER, JAILBAIT INSIDE: OPEN ONLY WHEN IN NEED OF MASTURBATORY FANTASY.

But he couldn’t forget those odd, strangely disconcerting messages on Immoral Killings: “Why do your people kill each other? Who is your king?"

What a load of crap, Jeff thought, trying to shrug off the unease he was starting to feel. He couldn’t believe he was nervous about a few lines of inane text on a damned arcade game. It was probably just some wiseass programmer who had planted the messages into the machine as an Easter egg. And the kid had just stumbled across it by hitting the right combination of buttons.

Regardless, Jeff was hungry and looking forward to getting home, even though the closest thing to company waiting for him there was a frozen pizza and a stale, half-empty, two-liter bottle of Pepsi.

Jeff was almost to his high-rise apartment building when he remembered that the videogame had actually threatened his life. The message had said to meet at the tallest structure in the city. That would be the McLuhan Media Communications Tower over on Fourth, just a couple of blocks over.

What the heck, Jeff thought, it’s not like I have a date tonight or anything. Maybe it’s some kind of computer-nerd game and they’ve left some clues or something. Maybe they’ll direct me to a website or another spot in the city. Might be kind of fun—a real-life text adventure. Or maybe they’ll be waiting for me when I get there so they can mug me and steal my wallet. Or kill me. Yeah, right.

Jeff stood before the front door of the McLuhan building, feeling more than a little foolish. The structure was pitch dark—closed for the night, locked up, shut down, see-you-tomorrow. He pushed on the opener bar and was only half-surprised that the door opened. He took a deep breath, and he could feel his heart beating beneath his sweater and oversized coat. He glanced around to see if anyone was looking. The streets were largely empty. He went inside, letting the door slowly shut behind him.

CONTINUED IN MY NEW EBOOK, FILTERED FUTURE AND OTHER DARK TALES OF SCIENCE FICTION AND HORROR, which is only $2.99 through Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co...27722260&sr=8-1

As usual, this year's Texas Pinball Festival is in Grapevine, which is near Dallas and Fort Worth. The event is happening Friday, Saturday and Sunday (March 23, 24 and 25). I always go, and I always have a great time. For more info, check out the website:

http://texaspinball.com/tpf/

My first book is now available in soft cover for only $25, pre-ordered through Amazon. I got my copies yesterday, so the wait shouldn't be long if you decide to go ahead and pre-order it:

http://www.amazon.co...31663659&sr=1-2

Here's a review of the hardcover version of the book from noted film critic Kenneth Muir (reprinted from GameCulture Journal #4):

In 2008, it will be thirty years since the Atari VCS made the brand name Atari virtually synonymous with the term “video game.” With this cultural milestone on the horizon, it is the perfect time for author Brett Weiss to unleash this mammoth guide of home video games marketed in the heyday of the 2600.

Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984 (2007; McFarland) includes detailed chapters on every game console released during this epoch. That’s sixteen systems in all; from Adventure Vision and the Atari 2600 to Telstar Arcade and Vectrex. The text also includes a thorough catalog of every cartridge released for each system, including ports of popular coin-operated arcade games. The appendices offer a useful and highly detailed glossary as well as a brief look at homebrew games.

In a personal and well-written preface, Weiss introduces the reader to the subject matter while pinpointing the historical context; the birth of video games in the seventies and the early Age of Reagan. The author discusses Surgeon General C. Everett Koop’s assertion in the eighties that video games were “hazardous” to the health of children. Weiss then proceeds to explain in convincing terms why this was a bum rap.

Weiss’s argument begins with a bit of industry background (especially regarding video game pioneers Ralph Baer and Nolan Bushnell), but ultimately it is the author’s sense of personal connection to the format that points to the inherent value of the games and consoles of the era.

Just as many film writers gaze upon the maligned format of the horror film as a healthy avenue of catharsis, Weiss convincingly suggests the same is true for the video games of the Golden Age. “Video games give players control of a closed, finite universe, governed by a specific set of rules, as opposed to actual life, where we often wing it as we go along,” he writes. “There’s rational, almost sympathetic logic to video games that reality lacks…Video games are no substitute for real world pleasures…but they do provide a nice reprieve from real world woes.”

In other words, Weiss finds order (and thus comfort) in the world of classic video games such as Space Invaders, Zaxxon, and Defender. He also notes the interactivity of the video game as an improvement over television, which he sees as a more passive experience. Perhaps the video game is indeed as close as we can get to playing God. Here, as Weiss suggests, we can re-boot existence if we make a mistake. Here, we control the fates of armies and spaceships, men and Pac-Men.

The Book’s sixteen game system entries follow the same easily-digestible format. The entries commence with a detailed description of the console/joysticks and usually feature a black-and-white photograph of a system in question. Then Weiss runs down a history of brand (for example, the Astrocade): when it was released; how many game cartridges were available; success or failure in the marketplace; and the limitations and strengths of the system as a vehicle for game play.

After a discussion of the console, Weiss launches into wide-ranging alphabetical surveys of every cartridge available for the system, noting publisher, developer, and year of release. Following this data is a paragraph-long critical assessment. There are hundreds of game reviews in the Atari 2600 section alone.

Weiss’s deep familiarity with his chosen subject matter is an asset of the text, and as a writer he conveys information clearly and without pretension. The author makes readers aware of games that became notorious in their day; whether for reasons good, bad or obscure. The Atari 2600’s misbegotten E.T. The Extra Terrestrial and port of Pac-Man are two of that console’s most notorious failures, for instance, and Weiss explains why this is so and how each Waterloo contributed to the “Video Game Crash” of 1984.

But Classic Home Video Games also delves deeper, and Weiss’s reviews of obscure games make the book a treasure. He remembers, for example, Spectravision’s 1983 Chase the Chuckwagon—an Atari 2600 game based on a Ralston Purina dog food commercial.

Individual game cartridges in Classic Home Video Games tend to stress playability. Weiss also spends much time comparing and contrasting port games with their coin-op antecedents, noting for instance, how the original, real-life Cold War/nuclear war context was removed for the Atari 2600 version of Missile Command, replaced with a remote science fiction setting on another planet.

If anything can be determined lacking this impressive and fun book, it’s only this: a clearly-defined set of aesthetics rigorously and objectively applied to each game. This isn’t a rap on Weiss or his work: the aesthetic criteria of video games have not been adequately codified given the relative youth of the form and the hesitancy on the part of some to consider video games an art form. That established, this book—though undeniably smart, historically valuable and wide-ranging in coverage, doesn’t pick up that gauntlet to a significant degree.

Still, the breadth of coverage here is astounding. The text’s organization (by game system, and alphabetically by cartridge) permits for quick, easy reference, and I was delighted to find included here games that I had only hazy memories of from my youth, such as the Atari 5200’s Astro Chase and a highly frustrating game called Beam Rider. I was also tantalized by the fact that there were Atari 2600 video game versions of horror movies such as Halloween and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre that I never even heard of, much less played. The latter allows a person to play as Leatherface! What I wouldn’t do to pop those game cartridges into my refurbished Atari 2600 today.

For those who lived through the Atari-Intellivision-ColecoVision-Vectrex “Golden Age,” Classic Home Video Games is a fun read and a nostalgic trip supreme. For those who arrived on the scene later, this book still fulfills an important purpose; charting the pre-history and trajectory of the video game boom, the opening chapter of a medium that continues on a blazing ascent.