Task: Play an Atari Game You Have Never Played Before Needed: Web browser, Emulator Time: 10-15 mins Introduction There are hundreds and hundreds of games for the Atari 8-bit computers and video game consoles. One of my favorite things to do is to try new
Read moreExplore Homesoft’s Collection of Games for the Atari 8-Bit Computers (10-15 mins)
Task: Explore Homesoft’s Collection of Games for the Atari 8-Bit Computers Needed: Web browser Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction The Internet Archive and Atari Mania are awesome source of Atari software and games. These are certainly good places to start if you are looking for something.
Read moreExplore Atari Software and Games on Atari Mania (10-15 mins)
Task: Explore Atari Software and Games on Atari Mania Needed: Web browser Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction It can be challenging to find comprehensive and safe sources of Atari software and games online. The Internet Archive is certainly one of my favorites. Another go-to source is
Read moreLearn About Checksum Programs for Checking Type-In Programs (15-30 mins)
Task: Learn About Checksum Programs for Checking Type-In Programs Needed: Web browser, Altirra Time: 15-30 mins Introduction It was common in the early 1980s to get software by typing in program listings from magazines like Antic or Compute!. This was partly because new Atari home
Read morePlay Infocom’s Planetfall on an Atari 8-bit Computer (1-2 hours)
Task: Play Infocom’s Planetfall on an Atari 8-bit Computer Needed: Planetfall Disk or ATR file Time: 1-2 hours Introduction Infocom was king of the text-based adventure games in the 1980s. I played Zork I with a friend and was instantaneously hooked. He had already played
Read morePlay Bowling on the Atari 2600 (10-15 mins)
Task: Play Bowling on the Atari 2600 Needed: Bowling cartridge or Altirra emulator Time: 10-15 mins Introduction Everyone has played classics like Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and Missile Command on the Atari 2600. But, have you played Bowling? If not, you are missing out on one
Read moreExplore Atari XL BASIC Listings (15-30 mins)
Task: Explore Atari XL BASIC Listings Needed: A web browser Time: 15-30 mins Introduction I recall several friends remembering when they got their first Atari 8-bit computer. They brought it home, took it out of the box, and quickly discovered they had no software to
Read moreRead the Book “Unofficial Atari: A Visual History” (15-30 mins)
Task: Read the Book “Unofficial Atari: A Visual History” Needed: The book Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction “Unofficial Atari: A Visual History” is ~400-page book written by Darren Doyle and published by Greyfox Books. Much of the book consists of two-page visual layouts of 162 third-party
Read morePlay The Goonies on an Atari 8-bit Computer (30-60 mins)
Task: Play The Goonies on an Atari 8-bit Computer Needed: The Goonies disk or ATR file Time: 30-60 minutes Introduction The Goonies is an American kids movie that was released in 1985 and written and produced by Steven Spielberg. I recall really enjoying the movie
Read moreLearn How to Make a Game in BASIC XE (30-60 mins)
Task: Learn How to Make a Game in BASIC XE Needed: BASIC XE and extensions Time: 30-60 minutes Introduction My previous posts have demonstrated many of the programming techniques needed to make a game in Atari BASIC. A common theme is how slow BASIC is
Read moreExplore the Antic Software Archive (30-60 mins)
Task: Explore the Antic Software Archive Needed: Web browser Time: 30-60 minutes Introduction As I mentioned in my last post about Antic Magazine, one of the great features of Antic was the software that came in each and every issue. Most of these were software
Read moreCombining Redefined Characters Sets and Player-Missile Graphics in BASIC (30-60 mins)
Task: Combining Redefined Characters Sets and Player-Missile Graphics in BASIC Needed: BASIC Time: 30-60 minutes Introduction It takes time to learn the ins and outs of Atari graphics. This is especially true if you aspire to make a game. I have previously demonstrated how to
Read morePlay Haunted House on the Atari 2600 (15-30 mins)
Task: Play Haunted House on the Atari 2600 Needed: Atari 2600 or emulator Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction Last year for Halloween I did a post on drawing pumpkins on the Atari 8-bit computer using re-defined characters sets in BASIC. This year I thought I would
Read morePlay Dark Chambers on an Atari 7800 (15-30 mins)
Task: Play Dark Chambers on an Atari 7800 Needed: Atari 7800 or emulator Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction One of my all-time favorite arcade games is Gauntlet that was produced by Atari games and released in 1985. I enjoyed playing it back in the day on
Read moreInstall an Atari 7800 Emulator (10-15 mins)
Task: Install an Atari 7800 Emulator Needed: Web browser Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction Emulation software for the 7800 is not as far along as for other Atari consoles and computers. I have tried two emulators that I recommend for those wanting to play 7800 games
Read moreWatch the Documentary “Atari: Game Over” (1 hour)
Task: Watch the Documentary “Atari: Game Over” Needed: Web browser Time: 1 hour Introduction One of the great stories of Atari was the “rumor” that they buried tons of E.T. cartridges for the 2600 in a desert landfill after the video game crash of 1983.
Read morePlay Qix on Your Atari 8-Bit Computer (15-30 mins)
Task: Play Qix on Your Atari 8-Bit Computer Needed: Qix cartridge, ROM, or ATR file Time: 15-30 mins Introduction Qix was one of the first cartridges I owned for the Atari 400 and 800. I still love this game. It has simple rules, good graphics,
Read morePlay Star Raiders on Your Atari 8-Bit Computer (15-30 mins)
Task: Play Star Raiders on Your Atari 8-Bit Computer Needed: Start Raiders cartridge, disk, or ROM Time: 15-30 mins Introduction Star Raiders was released in 1979 along with the Atari 400 and 800 computers. It was a huge success and the demos in the stores
Read moreExplore Floppy Disk Collections (30-60 mins)
Task: Explore Floppy Disk Collections Needed: Floppy disks Time: 30-60 minutes Introduction One of my favorite things to do with my Atari home computers is explore the contents of my floppy disk collections. I still have my floppies from back in the day and have
Read morePurchase an Atarimax SD Multi-Cart for Atari 5200 (10-15 mins)
Task: Purchase an Atarimax SD Multi-Cart for Atari 5200 Needed: Web browser Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction My previous post covers purchasing an Atari 5200 console if you don’t already have one. As with all Ataris, the cartridges can be quite expensive with prices of $20
Read morePlay Sea Dragon on Your Atari 8-Bit Computer (15-30 mins)
Task: Play Sea Dragon on Your Atari 8-Bit Computer Needed: Sea Dragon disk or ATR file Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction My all time favorite game on the Atari 8-bit computers was and still is Sea Dragon. I still have my original 16K cassette version of
Read moreLoad Cassette Games on Your Atari 2600 (10-15 mins)
Task: Load Cassette Games on Your Atari 2600 Needed: Arcadia / Starpath Supercharger, compatible cassette game Time: 10-15 mins Introduction One of the many limitations of the Atari 2600 video console system (VCS) was that it only had 128 bytes of RAM. This and the
Read morePlay Atari 2600 Games in Your Web Browser (10-15 mins)
Task: Play Atari 2600 Games in Your Browser Needed: Web browser and Atari 2600 ROMs Time: 10-15 mins Introduction Emulation has been a lifesaver for bringing Atari goodness to the masses without the need for original hardware. The Stella emulator for the Atari 2600 is
Read morePlay Spacewar! on a PDP-1 Emulator (10-15 mins)
Task: Play Spacewar! on a PDP-1 Emulator Needed: Web browser Time: 10-15 mins Introduction When Nolan Bushnell started Atari he had inspiration from two major sources. First, he had worked at an amusement park in the 1960s where he was exposed to early coin-operated games
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