AtariAge at CGE2010 Classic Gaming Expo

Demos

We'll have a large number of Atari 2600, 5200, 7800 and ColecoVision systems setup at this year's CGE for you to try the latest homebrew games as well as several games currently in development! We've included some information below on some of the upcoming games you can try out in advance!

Tempest
Atari 5200
 

The hit Atari coin-op finally comes home in this exciting and challenging 3-D game for your Atari 5200 System. You control the ‘Blaster’, patrolling the rim of an electric ‘tube’ playfield, in a constant battle with the myriad enemies that are making their way up the tube’s rails.

Your enemies are fast, varied and devious. Each class of enemy has its own special attack. All you have are your wits, your Blaster and your
devastating, but limited, SUPER ZAPPER.
Destroy every enemy and you will warp through the liberated tube, on to an even more challenging one.

Tempest was Atari's first color vector arcade game, released to arcades in 1980. Known for its frantic, addictive gameplay, Tempest was one of Atari's most successful vector arcade games. Versions of Tempest were being developed for Atari's 2600 and 5200 game consoles, but they were never completed or released commercially. A box for the 5200 version of Tempest is actually visible in the movie Cloak & Dagger.

For 15 years, the existence of an Atari 5200 version of Tempest was thought to be only myth. No prototypes had ever surfaced. A crude 2600 version had come to light, along with a prototype box. Then, in 1999, an unfinished working 5200 prototype came to light on eBay. The game was eventually dumped and the binary freely distributed around the Internet. Another decade has gone by since the game's discovery, and the original Atari 5200 Tempest programmer, Keithen Hayenga, has been working to complete Tempest so it can finally see the light of day in completed form!

We'll have a playable demo of Tempest at our booth, and you'll have an opportunity to speak with ex-Atari employee Keithen Hayenga. AtariAge will begin selling Tempest at some point after CGE, complete with a professionally printed box, manual and label.

You can read about the "unfinished" 5200 prototype on AtariProtos.com.

Tempest
Tempest
   
Tempest
Tempest
   
Tempest
Tempest
   
Tempest
Tempest
   
Ature
Atari 2600
 

Ature is an action/adventure game for the Atari 2600. It is set in the land of Ature, in a very distant future of our Earth, in a time where when mankind has developed mysterious powers due to the influence of the Great Tree and the twenty Lesser Trees. You incarnate Signe, the guardian of one of the lesser trees on her quest to defeat queen Ikaza, who is using the tree's powers for her own goals. The gameplay consists of the staples of classic action adventure. You have to beat enemies, level up, solve puzzles and find your way to your goal.

Ature
Ature
   
Ature
Ature
   
Skull Island
Atari 2600
 

You've found an old map in the attic. It shows the location to a buried treasure on Skull Island. The only problem is you only have part of the map. You can make out the general area where Skull Island is, but which island is it? There are so many.

Skull Island features 40 levels of puzzles ranging from Beginner (levels 1 - 10) to Intermediate (levels 11 - 20) to Advanced (levels 21 - 30) and Expert (levels 31 - 40). The puzzles are lateral thinking, meaning they build upon the previous puzzles and get harder as you go along. When you start a game you'll see a 5 x 5 grid of squares on the screen. The blue squares are water, the brown square in the center is the island you need to land on in order to advance to the next level, the red square is your raft, and the other colors are your friends' rafts.

Your objective is to land your red raft on the island in the center. It must land directly on the island, so you'll need another color raft to block it from floating out to sea. Once you do this, a level animation will show, it will say LEVEL DONE, and you will see the number of the next level coming up.

Skull Island
Skull Island
   
Skull Island
Skull Island
   
Panky the Panda
Atari 2600
 

Prepare yourself for the most epic adventure involving a panda trying to prevent wang chopping to ever hit the Atari 2600!

In this game, you assume the role of the peace-and-bamboo-loving Panky the Panda, on an epic quest to save your kidnapped brother from evil poachers who want nothing more than to chop off your brother's you-know-what and sell it on the black market as an aphrodisiac (over the Internet, of course).

Peace-loving you may be - but you're not just going to sit back and let that happen. As Panky the Panda, your goal is to jump your way around 120+ screens of the poachers' underground lair, collecting 6 keys and various other items needed to unlock doors and complete the quest to save your brother. The poachers' lair is packed with various minions as well as secret rooms disguised as unassuming walls, though, so stay on the lookout!

It's non-linear adventure/platform gaming on the Atari 2600 at its finest! And only 30 years too late!!

Panky the Panda
Panky the Panda
   
Panky the Panda
Panky the Panda
   
Omicron
Atari 2600
 

Fight against five different enemies and collect targets to survive in this shooter for the Atari 2600!

Omicron is a new homebrew game by Simone Serra, whose previous Atari 2600 homebrew efforts include Lead and Sync. Omicron features three different stage types:

  • Resist: Fire at the enemy to survive!
  • Absorb: Collect eggs and activate them to absorb the enemy!
  • Collect: A bonus stage where the enemy cannot kill you, but will slow you down during your hunt for targets!
Omicron
Omicron
   
Omicron
Omicron
   
Apple Snaffle
Atari 7800
 

The back story: Major Miner likes the simple pleasures in life. In his world there are no princesses to rescue, dragons to slay or long lost treasure to find. Just apples and plenty of them.

Unfortunately for him the apples are growing in the most perilous caverns where any wrong turn can leave him trapped or squashed under tons of falling rocks. Armed with only a trusty drill you must guide Major Miner around each cavern to collect the apples before it collapses.

The game: Apple Snaffle was developed by Mark Ball with graphics by espire8 to celebrate the 25th Birthday of the 7800 in May 2009. This demo has four fully playable caverns. Each cavern is selectable with a unique code.

In the coming months there will be a level design competition open to all AtariAge members. Winning entrants will have their name in the game's credits.

Apple Snaffle
Apple Snaffle
   
Apple Snaffle
Apple Snaffle
   
Apple Snaffle
 
   
Halloween
Atari 7800
 

The back story: You play Van Allensings (pronounced Van Halen Sings geddit? ;)) the long lost and distant cousin to Van Helsing. You find yourself trapped in a spooky castle. The only way to escape is to collect the parts to the magic talisman. Sounds simple, apart from the fact that each talisman piece is guarded by none other than Dracula, Frankenstein and a Werewolf.

As you wander around the creepy old castle the spirits within have their fun by opening and closing doors in your path. The nastier spirits will manifest themselves in the room and charge at you. Luckily you have an infinite supply of throwing knives at your disposal.

You'll need to collect the keys, weapons and food to stay alive!

The game: Developed by Mark Ball (GroovyBee) and Kevin Dempsey (sh3-rg). This work in progress contains a small taster of the elements that will be in the final game. There is also one boss to battle.

Halloween
Halloween
   
Halloween
Halloween
   
Halloween
Halloween

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