Author: Jim Groom
The 1981 Missile Command Cartridge for Atari 2600 may have had the grooviest art ever #umwconsole
Cartridge for Haunted House (1981) #umwconsole
Another of my favorite games for Atari 2600.
#umwconsole
Most disappointing video game purchase of my life was back in 1981 #umwconsole
Pac-Man for the 2600 might have been the greatest disappointment of my life.
#umwconsole
Math Grand Prix -Gamified Education in 1982 #umwconsole
Raiders of the Lost Ark for Atari 2600 Manual Cover #umwconsole
One of my personal favorite games for the Atari 2600 was Raiders of the Lost Ark. It took two joysticks to play, and may have been one of the most inelegant games ever. But I loved it.
#umwconsole
#paratext
Art of the Microsurgeon Intellivision Game #umwconsole
Coleco Video Games for the Atari 2600 #umwconsole
This is a promotional pamphlet that accompanied Coleco video games for the Atari 2600 console. Donkey Kong was decent, but I really liked Venture and the Smurf game, personally. Given how rudimentary Venture graphics were in the Coin-op version, it almost seemed like a flawless port to the 2600. As for Gargamel’s Castle, well, I’ve been an unrepentant Smurf fan since second or third grade.
Zach Whalen brought this over along with a ton of video cartridge manuals and other “paratext” as he described it. This stuff is alike a waterfall of context nostalgia. Between the cartridge art, the player manuals, advertisements like this one, and the actual cartridges and consoles—I really couldn’t be happier. My office has transformed into an early 80s showroom. I’ll be scanning and blogging as much of the cartridge art, manuals, and advertisements as I can as part of the Console Living Room exhibit. And you can be sure I’ll be flooding all the social mediaz with what I discover.
#umwconsole
We now have 2 working Atari 2600 joysticks for #umwconsole exhibit, the third/spare (pictured) has 3/4 directions working
Close-up of Atari 2600 joystick circuitry #umwconsole
Close-up of Atari 2600 joystick circuitry #umwconsole
Thanks to Zach Whale, I know have a rather solid understanding of how an Atari 2600 joystick works, and I consider that a very cool accomplishment.
#umwconsole
