Tempest Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Purely by accident today I found out one of my managers used to be a developer for K-Byte software. What's more, one of the guys in our testing lab also worked for K-Byte. He said K-Byte did games for the Atari 2600, 5200, 8-bit, C-64, and PC, which is odd because I didn't know K-Byte did any 2600 games (they were a contractor for Atari I guess). He had some stories about Ballblaster (Ballblazer) and MULE which I found interesting (more about K-Byte's connection to those games later). He thinks he has some prototypes and source code at home that he's going to bring in for me one of these days. He's also "pretty sure" that there is some unreleased stuff in there. I just can't believe that I never knew about this. I've worked with him for about 4 years now, and somehow it never came up. Tempest Oh and he did verify that the PC version of MULE does indeed exist. He remembered working on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjb Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Interesting. Didn't K-Byte do some titles for CBS on the 8-bit Atari? Like Krazy Antiks? tjb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted May 23, 2007 Author Share Posted May 23, 2007 Interesting. Didn't K-Byte do some titles for CBS on the 8-bit Atari? Like Krazy Antiks? tjb Yep, they did Mountain King, K-Razy Shootout, K-Star Patrol, Krazy Antiks, and several other games. If I have the spelling right, the other person he named did some big name games that people would recognize. I need to talk to him before I make his name public though. This is really exciting stuff! Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themrfreeze Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Mountain King was one of the very first games I ever got for my Atari 8-bits, and I spent many an hour playing it. To this day, it's one of my go-to games when I get on one of my Atari nostalgia kicks. If one of your co-workers programmed that one, give him my thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariman Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Geez, how convenient is that? Protos practically showing up on the proto-guy's doorstep. I hope that you get some interesting stuf! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayhem Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 If he's got any Commodore bits in the closet, then let me know Mountain King was actually published by Beyond (a different company to the UK one) for the Commodore machines. What about the others? K-Razy Antics and Shootout were CBS. I think there's one other game I've got for a Commodore machine (perhaps Math Mileage) which was a K-Byte production also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted May 23, 2007 Author Share Posted May 23, 2007 If he's got any Commodore bits in the closet, then let me know Mountain King was actually published by Beyond (a different company to the UK one) for the Commodore machines. What about the others? K-Razy Antics and Shootout were CBS. I think there's one other game I've got for a Commodore machine (perhaps Math Mileage) which was a K-Byte production also. I'll have to ask him. I think he was talking about the Atari 8-bit version of Mountain King because of the other programmer names he mentioned. It was funny because I told how I hated how the bats stole the crown back when you were trying to get to the top of the mountain and he started humming the little tune it plays (In the Hall of the Mountain King) and the guy next to us just sort of stared at him like he was insane. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 I think there's one other game I've got for a Commodore machine (perhaps Math Mileage) which was a K-Byte production also. World Games possibly. Or any other of the Epyx games they did, like Street Sports Soccer or 4x4 Off Road Racing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathtrappomegranate Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 (edited) It would be interesting to know whether K-Byte released any A8 carts themselves, other than Kritters and Shoot-Out, before CBS took over. Specifically, I wonder whether they released "K-Razy Antiks" on the K-Byte label. It's pretty cool to find out that a long-time co-worker was involved in the 8-bit scene! Edited May 23, 2007 by deathtrappomegranate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jboypacman Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 This should be very cool i cant wait to see what prototypes he brings in for you to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayhem Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 World Games possibly. Or any other of the Epyx games they did, like Street Sports Soccer or 4x4 Off Road Racing. Ah, I was forgetting about those games, just thinking of stuff from 82-84 on cartridge. I did wonder whether they were the same team, but I guess so now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.atarimania.com Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 K-Star Patrol was released in CBS Software packaging but the original version never made it. The game probably looks 100% the same as there is no mention of CBS Software on the intro screen. Here's a picture of the proto: http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issu...E_FOR_ATARI.php IIRC, K-Byte was to issue a number of utility packages on cartridge for the Atari 8-bit. I think there was an organizer and a telecommunications package. K-DOS made it to disk but I don't know about the others... There's also a mention of a game called Bug-a-Boo in an early company ad so it would be great to know more about that one... Could be it evolved into K-Razy Antiks but I'm not sure. Was James Zalewski still at K-Byte when he developed stuff for Atari? -- Atari Frog http://www.atarimania.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 It would be interesting to know whether K-Byte released any A8 carts themselves, other than Kritters and Shoot-Out, before CBS took over. Specifically, I wonder whether they released "K-Razy Antiks" on the K-Byte label. I'd like to know about this, too. I have a 1983 issue of COMPUTE! in which a K-Razy Antics cart for the A8 was photographed in K-Byte livery, so I'm thinking that they at least made some lab loaners in this style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.atarimania.com Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 What about the others? K-Razy Antics and Shootout were CBS. K-Razy Shoot-Out and K-Razy Kritters were also released in K-Byte packaging on the Atari. -- Atari Frog http://www.atarimania.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted May 25, 2007 Author Share Posted May 25, 2007 Was James Zalewski still at K-Byte when he developed stuff for Atari? Yes he was. That was the other person that I was referring to. I wondered why his name always sounded familiar... I'm going to go talk to him tomorrow if I get a chance. The problem is that everyone is busy and you can't exactly just drop into someone's cubical out of the blue and expect them to give you details about jobs they held 20 years ago. My manager says that all the old K-Byte guys have lunch every now and then and he'll bring me along next time they go. That will probably be my best bet to get information. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted May 25, 2007 Author Share Posted May 25, 2007 What about the others? K-Razy Antics and Shootout were CBS. K-Razy Shoot-Out and K-Razy Kritters were also released in K-Byte packaging on the Atari. -- Atari Frog http://www.atarimania.com I'd never seen the K-Byte K-Razy Kritters until I looked at your page. Looks like I'm short another rare label variation... Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 Was James Zalewski still at K-Byte when he developed stuff for Atari? Yes he was. That was the other person that I was referring to. I wondered why his name always sounded familiar... I'm going to go talk to him tomorrow if I get a chance. The problem is that everyone is busy and you can't exactly just drop into someone's cubical out of the blue and expect them to give you details about jobs they held 20 years ago. Tempest What? This is IMPORTANT INFORMATION! I would expect anyone with Atari-related history to be able to accurately recollect every obscure product-related conversation ever held, or every piece of code written. Heh, I can just imagine what I'd say in this situation: Me: "Wow, I heard that you used to work for K-Byte. Tell me everything you know!" Programmer: "What? Why would you want to hear about that? I've just spent the past five years working on _______. Let me tell you about that!" Me: "No! I want to hear about the development of K-Razy Shootout!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted May 25, 2007 Author Share Posted May 25, 2007 So far my manager has been pretty cool about talking to me. Like I said, the biggest problem is that we're both very busy and we just don't have time to sit around and chit chat. He remembers working on alot of things, but the details are fuzzy. He was telling me today how they did one of the versions of Crystal Castles (he's not sure which, he thinks it was the C-64 version), and how they worked 40 hour weekends to get the compression algorithms down. He also talked about MULE for the PC and PCjr, Moon Patrol for the TI (he said this was a port from some other version and that they did it over a weekend. I think he's probably talking about the Colecovision since it's very similar to the TI), and Spiderbot and The Games: Winter Edition for Epyx (when he worked for FACS). Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayhem Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 Interesting if he did work on the C64 Crystal Castles, because it was never released. By Atarisoft at least... and it wouldn't be a bad idea if he was able to verify if the "proto" I have is indeed genuine. It ended up eventually being released in Europe only by US Gold in 1986... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted May 25, 2007 Author Share Posted May 25, 2007 Interesting if he did work on the C64 Crystal Castles, because it was never released. By Atarisoft at least... and it wouldn't be a bad idea if he was able to verify if the "proto" I have is indeed genuine. It ended up eventually being released in Europe only by US Gold in 1986... Yeah I told him that I didn't think any version of Crystal Castles (except the 2600 version) was actually released back in 83-84. The reason I think it's the C-64 version is that I showed him the 8-bit versions (which I know was done in-house by Atari), and he said that it looked kind of like it, but better looking. That leads me to believe it was the C-64 version. I could be wrong though. He also remembers working on a PC version because he said the PC didn't have the proper speed to run it very well. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 Sounds like he has some interesting stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uzumaki Posted May 26, 2007 Share Posted May 26, 2007 I just had to ask this question. How can a master of Proto work with someone for a few years and not smell the proto thr whole time? Someone need to check his nose and make sure the proto sniffing ability hasn't been affected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayhem Posted May 26, 2007 Share Posted May 26, 2007 Yeah I told him that I didn't think any version of Crystal Castles (except the 2600 version) was actually released back in 83-84. The reason I think it's the C-64 version is that I showed him the 8-bit versions (which I know was done in-house by Atari), and he said that it looked kind of like it, but better looking. That leads me to believe it was the C-64 version. I could be wrong though. He also remembers working on a PC version because he said the PC didn't have the proper speed to run it very well. If he'd like something to look over and assess, please direct him to this page on my site http://www.mayhem64.co.uk/crystal.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted May 26, 2007 Author Share Posted May 26, 2007 If he'd like something to look over and assess, please direct him to this page on my site http://www.mayhem64.co.uk/crystal.htm Neat, I've never seen your page about that before. I'll show him that next week. BTW in case you're all wondering why I don't mention his name anywhere, he sort of wants to remain anonymous. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted May 29, 2007 Author Share Posted May 29, 2007 I talked to Jim today, and he's a really cool guy. He likes the fact that people are still interested in the games he did. According to Jim, after K-Byte he became a direct report to Atari and he worked out of his house. After doing Barnyard Blaster and Crime Busters for the XE and Planet Smashers for the 7800 he left the gaming industry all together (he did do the graphics for Lynx Klax though). He did mention a few interesting things: 1. There's a secret cheat mode in Barnyard Blaster for the XE. Jim didn't remember exactly how to access it, but it went something like this: - Hold down the option and select keys on start up - Let go of option then select (or vice versa) - Play the first round of the game - On the bonus round, shoot the weather vein If you do this correctly it will bring up his name and put the game into Blood n Guts mode where things explode when hit (and you get infinite ammo). He doesn't know if this was ported to the 7800 version since he didn't do that version. 2. He didn't remember how to access the invincibility mode in Planet Smashers, but he says he still has the source code and I can look at it. 3. He still has all his stuff, and he will dig it out for me. He mentioned a few unrleased 8-bit games he did while at K-Byte (Jack and the Beanstalk being one), but no unreleased 2600, 5200, or 7800 games (Time Lords of Xantec didn't get far enough to even have a proto made). Jim said that if anyone wants him to sign their Planet Smashers carts he would (he thought that was a cool idea). Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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