an atari story

Cool; good for you. You're barely even scratching the surface with those two rather easy arcade conversions, but they're certainly not bad. I find that the most comfortable way to hold the joystick is between your thumb and index finger, like you're holding a pen, except even further back into the thumb web. Getting used to it gives you a lot of control, because you can effortlessly transition to diagonals, etc.

 

I can't possibly pick only one homebrew to recommend!

Sort the homebrew list by most popular, that should give you are first idea. Then start looking for a game you like.

Some homebrew (e.g. Skeleton+) is legally downloadable and playable via emulators so you can try before you buy.

A lot of the joysticks from back then are Atari compatible, so don't feel like you have to get used to it. Even multi-button gamepads will work, like the Sega Genesis gamepad, though only a single button will work for the games (Genesis button B is the equivalent of the Atari firebutton). Game Over has new-in-box third party Genesis controllers, I picked up a few from the Houston location a couple months ago. The Genesis gamepad button C can be read by the Atari, and some games have been hacked to take advantage of it. Use the Harmony Cart to play the hacked versions on your Atari. You can also play a lot of the homebrews using the Harmony, though it's recommended to buy the games you like to help support the hobby and Atari Age.

 

Nathan Strum's done excellent reviews of just about every homebrew. Last summer he reviewed his reviews and revised them to use 1/2 star instead of full star increments. You can find the revised list here. Click on each game name to see the full review.