Hi! question about the Atari - Jr. Pac-Man discovered!

[Phantom]

WOW! All I can say is WOW!

That is not only cool as shite,

but that has to be one of the best looking ports I have ever seen!

Nice find and thank you all involved!

Where do I sign up for a copy of the cart and the ROM?

Edited March 28, 2009 by Phantom

[Inky]

I still wont believe until the 5th of April... lol

[Almost Rice]

Wow, I stop reading this forum for a week and this happens. I just hope Bob was not too far along on any Jr port if he started on one.

[AdeptRapier]

This is really neat to watch happen here! I know that I'm a new forum member and from what I've been able to piece together from this thread is that a lot of people seem to think that this is somehow going to be a prank because of previous (?) similar types of pranks. It would seem that unless the site owner is "in league" that the game is most certainly genuine and the only doubt that is left is weather or not the original poster is telling the truth or it is an elaborate april fools joke (I would assume the joke being that he programmed the game himself and it isn't a prototype). Either way it seems that the 7800 has a new game (cool!!!) when it is finally released. I would have to say that it does seem "suspicious" that the original poster has been "conspicuously absent" from posting ever since mailing the "prototype" to Albert. I know that if I happened to have found a "lost game" and mailed it off to a board I would be posting every day to see what people thought, make sure the game showed up, commented on the video, etc.

 

AdeptRapier

 

[Bakasama]

Yeah there's been a few hoaxes and I remember there was one case some guy seemed to have a rare 2600 game but too many people got involved in seeing if this that was one game was real or not. That didn't end well.

 

We live in an age of photoshop. Any skilled artist can pull off a fairly convincing fake screenshot. So some skepticism is expected.

 

If Al was pulling some kind of joke, I think a lot of posters here would have been peeved and that would forgivable if the fake was playable.

 

Seeing that game is the real deal and seem complete, I wonder what the box and label art might have looked like.

Edited March 29, 2009 by Bakasama

[aftermac]

This is really neat to watch happen here! I know that I'm a new forum member and from what I've been able to piece together from this thread is that a lot of people seem to think that this is somehow going to be a prank because of previous (?) similar types of pranks. It would seem that unless the site owner is "in league" that the game is most certainly genuine and the only doubt that is left is weather or not the original poster is telling the truth or it is an elaborate april fools joke (I would assume the joke being that he programmed the game himself and it isn't a prototype). Either way it seems that the 7800 has a new game (cool!!!) when it is finally released. I would have to say that it does seem "suspicious" that the original poster has been "conspicuously absent" from posting ever since mailing the "prototype" to Albert. I know that if I happened to have found a "lost game" and mailed it off to a board I would be posting every day to see what people thought, make sure the game showed up, commented on the video, etc.

 

AdeptRapier

 

 

Search the forums for "Plutos" and "Sirius".

 

This was a "prank" pulled last year that these two prototypes had been found, but the real prank was that the games were actually found! It was fun to watch that unfold last year when I was a new member.

 

However, this doesn't seem to be a prank of any kind to me. My feeling is that the timing (so close to April fools) is just coincidence.

[Underball]

I dunno. The timing is super curious.

 

The fact that Al has dumped it to rom, but hasn't released it (but runs a site that hosts 1,000's of other roms he doesn't really have permission to release roms from) tells me there was a lot of effort in getting this one done and the author just wants to ensure perfection before releasing it.

 

It's clearly real. but not necessarily a prototype, and more likely another April Fools Gag/Release. And that's fine. But the teasing is killing me. I wanna play it.

[Mirage]

I want to believe. (but either way, I'm excited!)

[aftermac]

I dunno. The timing is super curious.

 

The fact that Al has dumped it to rom, but hasn't released it (but runs a site that hosts 1,000's of other roms he doesn't really have permission to release roms from) tells me there was a lot of effort in getting this one done and the author just wants to ensure perfection before releasing it.

 

It's clearly real. but not necessarily a prototype, and more likely another April Fools Gag/Release. And that's fine. But the teasing is killing me. I wanna play it.

 

Are there any homebrews that bear an Atari copyright line on the title screen? Unless that's part of the prank too...

 

But agree, I can't wait to get my hands on the ROM!

[Wickeycolumbus]

I dunno. The timing is super curious.

 

The fact that Al has dumped it to rom, but hasn't released it (but runs a site that hosts 1,000's of other roms he doesn't really have permission to release roms from) tells me there was a lot of effort in getting this one done and the author just wants to ensure perfection before releasing it.

 

It's clearly real. but not necessarily a prototype, and more likely another April Fools Gag/Release. And that's fine. But the teasing is killing me. I wanna play it.

 

The owner said if it gets released, he will release it himself.

[2600 Forever]

The fact that Al has dumped it to rom, but hasn't released it (but runs a site that hosts 1,000's of other roms he doesn't really have permission to release roms from)

 

FREE ROMZ DUDE!!!111!!

 

It's always the same, "give me - give me - give me", I hope he doesn't release it at all or it doesn't work on emulators.

Edited March 29, 2009 by 2600 Forever

[iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin]

In Mel Brooks' classic film parody Young Frankenstein (1974), Cloris Leachman plays the character of Frau Blucher. If you've seen this great film, you know that every time someone utters the words "Frau Blucher" the whinnying of horses can be heard. Somehow an explanation for this running gag arose, which claimed that the hidden reason for the horses' reaction was that Frau Blucher's name sounds like the German word for glue, implying that the horses fear ending up in a glue factory.

 

But if you bother to look up the word "glue" in German, you won't find any word that is even close to "Blucher" or "Blücher." Do the words der Klebstoff or der Leim sound even remotely similar?

 

On the other hand, if you look up Blücher, some German dictionaries do list the expression "er geht ran wie Blücher" ("he doesn't loaf around/he goes at it like Blücher"), but that refers to the Prussian general Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (1742-1819), who earned the name "Marschall Vorwärts" ("[Field] Marshal Forward") for his victories over the French at Katzbach and (with Wellington) at Waterloo (1815). In other words, Blücher (or Blucher) is just a German surname. It has no particular meaning as a normal word in German and certainly does not mean "glue"!

 

Turns out that director Mel Brooks was just having some fun with a classic cinematic "villain" gag from old melodramas. There is no real logic for the horses' neighing, since most of the time there is no way they could even see or hear Frau Blucher or the people saying her name. Now you can just enjoy Young Frankenstein—without any dopey "glue" myth.

 

 

I am still not convinced that this is a real proto!

[Mirage]

The fact that Al has dumped it to rom, but hasn't released it (but runs a site that hosts 1,000's of other roms he doesn't really have permission to release roms from)

 

FREE ROMZ DUDE!!!111!!

 

It's always the same, "give me - give me - give me", I hope he doesn't release it at all or it doesn't work on emulators.

 

Why on Earth would you hope for that? It really makes no sense. I can understand not liking an entitlement attitude, but why punish everyone unnecessarily for that?

[Ian Primus]

Yeah - I was initially skeptical about this as well, being so close to April Fool's and what with the wonderful AtariAge history of prank releases. But, now I'm convinced that the game exists. Wether it's a proto or a homebrew... I don't know. Either way, if it does turn out to be a hoax, it's a very well done one. Much better than that lame "Red Sea Crossing" hoax a couple years ago.

 

-Ian

[iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin]

Much better than that lame "Red Sea Crossing" hoax a couple years ago.

 

-Ian

 

Is it confirmed that RSC was a hoax????

[Wickeycolumbus]

Much better than that lame "Red Sea Crossing" hoax a couple years ago.

 

-Ian

 

Is it confirmed that RSC was a hoax????

 

IIRC he is holding on to it until he gets a high enough offer. I believe its real.

[PacManPlus]

I've been watching this thread like a hawk, and I agree - I don't care if it's a real proto or not, I just want to see how they did the scrolling. That was the part I couldn't figure out.

[Bakasama]

I've been watching this thread like a hawk, and I agree - I don't care if it's a real proto or not, I just want to see how they did the scrolling. That was the part I couldn't figure out.

 

Ah, I was wondering when you were comment on this. The only Pac-Man maze game the 7800 needs is Pac & Pal and Baby Pac-Man.

[Greg2600]

Great thanks Albert.

[Albert]

The owner said if it gets released, he will release it himself.

Bingo--this is why I have not released the ROM myself. This scenario has played itself out like this in the past as well, and I'm confident we'll see the ROM for Jr. Pac-Man released so everyone can enjoy it. The important thing was getting it dumped--I'm even leery of shipping a one-of-a-kind prototype in case something were to happen during shipping. But it arrived safely, and the game's survival is no longer dependent on a lone piece of 20+ year old hardware.

 

..Al

[Underball]

I dunno. The timing is super curious.

 

The fact that Al has dumped it to rom, but hasn't released it (but runs a site that hosts 1,000's of other roms he doesn't really have permission to release roms from) tells me there was a lot of effort in getting this one done and the author just wants to ensure perfection before releasing it.

 

It's clearly real. but not necessarily a prototype, and more likely another April Fools Gag/Release. And that's fine. But the teasing is killing me. I wanna play it.

 

Are there any homebrews that bear an Atari copyright line on the title screen? Unless that's part of the prank too...

 

But agree, I can't wait to get my hands on the ROM!

Pac-Man Collection, for sale right here on AtariAge, does. Same with a half dozen other homebrews and hacks.

 

Speaking of the Copyright date - it says 1984. Which means if it's accurate. Atari would have had it in this near final prototype at teh Original 1984 shout-launch of the 7800, and definitely by the wide release in 1987, yet they never released it? But they did release Jr. fo the 2600 - in 1987, Not 1984.

 

curious, indeed.

Edited March 30, 2009 by Underball

[Underball]

The owner said if it gets released, he will release it himself.

Bingo--this is why I have not released the ROM myself. This scenario has played itself out like this in the past as well, and I'm confident we'll see the ROM for Jr. Pac-Man released so everyone can enjoy it. The important thing was getting it dumped--I'm even leery of shipping a one-of-a-kind prototype in case something were to happen during shipping. But it arrived safely, and the game's survival is no longer dependent on a lone piece of 20+ year old hardware.

 

..Al

This is indeed the important thing.

 

but you have to understand the natural curiosity, and the *ahem* timing of it all.

[Underball]

The fact that Al has dumped it to rom, but hasn't released it (but runs a site that hosts 1,000's of other roms he doesn't really have permission to release roms from)

 

FREE ROMZ DUDE!!!111!!

 

It's always the same, "give me - give me - give me", I hope he doesn't release it at all or it doesn't work on emulators.

It's a game that was supposedly a "prototype", meaning Atari never released it. If that's really the case, then Atari can't really consider it a viable product, and couldn't claim financial losses if the rom were released.

 

Now if it were a homebrew, and the creator does intend to sell it - sure, he/she has every right to hold onto it if they choose. But as the story goes so far, dude just stumbled upon it randomly. In that case why not share it, and then auction off the ACTUAL prototype board to the highest bidder?

 

That would seem like a win/win situation.

[FrauBlucha]

In Mel Brooks' classic film parody Young Frankenstein (1974), Cloris Leachman plays the character of Frau Blucher. If you've seen this great film, you know that every time someone utters the words "Frau Blucher" the whinnying of horses can be heard. Somehow an explanation for this running gag arose, which claimed that the hidden reason for the horses' reaction was that Frau Blucher's name sounds like the German word for glue, implying that the horses fear ending up in a glue factory.

 

But if you bother to look up the word "glue" in German, you won't find any word that is even close to "Blucher" or "Blücher." Do the words der Klebstoff or der Leim sound even remotely similar?

 

On the other hand, if you look up Blücher, some German dictionaries do list the expression "er geht ran wie Blücher" ("he doesn't loaf around/he goes at it like Blücher"), but that refers to the Prussian general Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (1742-1819), who earned the name "Marschall Vorwärts" ("[Field] Marshal Forward") for his victories over the French at Katzbach and (with Wellington) at Waterloo (1815). In other words, Blücher (or Blucher) is just a German surname. It has no particular meaning as a normal word in German and certainly does not mean "glue"!

 

Turns out that director Mel Brooks was just having some fun with a classic cinematic "villain" gag from old melodramas. There is no real logic for the horses' neighing, since most of the time there is no way they could even see or hear Frau Blucher or the people saying her name. Now you can just enjoy Young Frankenstein—without any dopey "glue" myth.

 

 

I am still not convinced that this is a real proto!

 

thanks for the explanation of that gag! i just realized that i mispelled frau blucher . oh well

 

i normally am not around on the weekends. if you notice, none of my posts have been made on the weekend. i am either visiting my mother in florida or running somewhere with my father. any way, thanks to al for dumping the game. i am awaiting an answer from someone who wants to purchase this now that i have the bin, so once i head from him i will post it... most likely later on today.

 

how do i try this bin in an emulator?

[Mirage]

how do i try this bin in an emulator?

 

Download Stella (for Windows/OSX/Linux):

 

http://stella.sourceforge.net/

 

It's pretty straightforward to use. Run it, point to the .bin file, and it should just play. You may have to set up your keyboard controls to your liking.

 

And thanks for handling this so awesomely, as a great service to the Atari enthusiast community. Just getting it dumped so quickly was of utmost importance and is very much appreciated.