intvnut Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 (edited) The other day, I got a request from Steve Ettinger to help locate a lost Easter Egg in Spiker. A scant two hours after the request came in, I discovered what may be the earliest "production baby" announcement in video gaming history. And Egg-within-an-Egg: If you press 2 or 3 while Jessica's screen is up, it'll highlight the July 19th line or the 3:25 a.m. line (because really, under the hood, it's the first menu screen). I had previously found Kyle & Russell's menu. I guess I should have continued digging... To get Jessica's announcement, press [1] on left controller and [4] on right controller across reset. To get Kyle & Russell's menu, press [1] on both controllers across reset. And fun fact: I validated the Easter Egg on a real Intellivision using LTO Flash!'s Download & Play facility. Ever closer.... Enjoy! Edited February 18, 2015 by intvnut 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Games For Your Intellivision Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 (edited) Spiker is mentioned in this article on 'Production Babies' here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_babies Edited February 18, 2015 by Games For Your Intellivision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 I could have sworn this easter egg was found a long time ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freewheel Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 (edited) Time to feel old, kids: Jessica is now 26 years old. Full-grown woman we're talking about, here. Reminds me of the interview with the Nirvana "baby" that I saw recently. Edited February 18, 2015 by freeweed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonlikesINTV Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 This is neat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intvnut Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 I could have sworn this easter egg was found a long time ago. So far as I can tell, Jessica's Easter Egg text was discovered a few years ago (2011?), but not how to display it. Links: http://cabel.me/2013/01/11/message-in-a-binary-bottle/ https://tcrf.net/Spiker!_Super_Pro_Volleyball I had first heard about it a couple days ago. I discovered Kyle & Russell's menu 14 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 So far as I can tell, Jessica's Easter Egg text was discovered a few years ago (2011?), but not how to display it. Oh maybe that was it then. I didn't know no one knew how to display it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+intvsteve Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Also put this up on my Spiker! page. You may need to scroll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nanochess Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Maybe is this Jessica? https://twitter.com/jessettinger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Spiker is mentioned in this article on 'Production Babies' here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_babies so if all this is true then spiker was the first to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lathe26 Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Congrats on finding that. Steve Ettinger contacted me a little while ago to help him with finding the trigger but I was only able to offer limited help since I haven't learned Intellivision assembly yet. This was on my to-do list, but it can be crossed off now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscar G. Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Wow... This is really interesting. Thanks for sharing and thanks for all the work that you do for the community. Good luck in all your projects! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nibunnoichi Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Great find, the Intellivision is always surprising even after decades 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soporj Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Maybe is this Jessica? https://twitter.com/jessettinger Brings a whole new meaning to Night STALKER. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nanochess Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Brings a whole new meaning to Night STALKER. just first result of a simple G(iant company) search Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freewheel Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Maybe is this Jessica? https://twitter.com/jessettinger I love the Internet. This is the kinda thing I'd love to see a 5 minute interview with Dad & daughter about, on the podcast. I wonder if she even realizes that she's a part of videogaming history (and one of the most coveted games to boot). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-crew Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I m sure she does realize....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freewheel Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I m sure she does realize....... I dunno. Considering how many former game devs still seem surprised that there's even a hobbyist community these days, and how many don't even remember games they programmed, it's quite possible Dad never even mentioned it. Or at least that he didn't share the "importance" of it. Hell, most people I know under 30 haven't even HEARD of the Intellivision, let alone know anything about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intvnut Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 I love the Internet. This is the kinda thing I'd love to see a 5 minute interview with Dad & daughter about, on the podcast. I wonder if she even realizes that she's a part of videogaming history (and one of the most coveted games to boot). I m sure she does realize....... I dunno. Considering how many former game devs still seem surprised that there's even a hobbyist community these days, and how many don't even remember games they programmed, it's quite possible Dad never even mentioned it. Or at least that he didn't share the "importance" of it. Hell, most people I know under 30 haven't even HEARD of the Intellivision, let alone know anything about it. Based on Steve Ettinger's initial request to me, I would ask that nobody take pains to draw her attention to the screen just yet, assuming she isn't already aware of it. :-) I did ask Steve if I could share the egg.... I wonder now if I should have waited a few months, anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-crew Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I dunno. Considering how many former game devs still seem surprised that there's even a hobbyist community these days, and how many don't even remember games they programmed, it's quite possible Dad never even mentioned it. Or at least that he didn't share the "importance" of it. Hell, most people I know under 30 haven't even HEARD of the Intellivision, let alone know anything about it. You may be right on that thought, what was I thinking most under 30 don't even know what a record is... lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-crew Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Based on Steve Ettinger's initial request to me, I would ask that nobody take pains to draw her attention to the screen just yet, assuming she isn't already aware of it. :-) I did ask Steve if I could share the egg.... I wonder now if I should have waited a few months, anyway. No Worries, surprised are great. Wouldn't want to spoil it for her.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonlikesINTV Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 He's waiting until 2018 to announce the Happy 30th Birthday easter egg 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 You may be right on that thought, what was I thinking most under 30 don't even know what a record is... loli dont understand what this new fandangled tecknollergee you young wippersnappers are talking about! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonlikesINTV Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 ...I thinking most under 30 don't even know what a record is... lol I've heard of those! My grandfather had one. The full name is Tape Recorder 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intvnut Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 (edited) I've heard of those! My grandfather had one. The full name is Tape Recorder Just don't mess with 8-Track McGraw! Anyway, if you follow this link I posted earlier, it turns out Jessica knows about the Easter Egg. Quoting from the page: I asked Jessica about this message. She wrote back: “I found out about this probably after I started college. Up until then I didn’t know what my exact time of birth was since my mom couldn’t remember and I was too lazy to find my birth certificate I guess. I at least know my birth was noted to the galaxy in some small way!” And then, some words from Steve himself! “Yes, I put messages to my kids (and wife) in all of my Intellivision games. This one was obviously from the birth of my daughter – her two older brothers are featured in hidden messages in each of the games that preceded her birth. I put messages into each of these games: Hover Force (1986), Slam Dunk (1987), Chip Shot (1987), Body Slam (1988), Spiker! (1989), Deep Pockets (1989). My typical ‘cheat code’ was to hold down 23 on the left [intellivision] controller while simultaneously holding down 26 on the right controller and then pressing reset while holding them down. Admittedly a bit of a contortion act, and not easily replicated on an emulator as it turns out. I kept the source code for many years for all of these (and more) games, but sadly with a hard drive crash and a neglected back-up I lost them, so I can’t retrieve the code and have to try to remember how to trigger these messages from memory…” Hey, ROM hackers: sounds like Steve could use your help! Exciting to know there are more hidden personal messages yet to be discovered… Had I seen the call then, I would have found this sooner perhaps. Also, another link describing the Easter Egg (mainly links back to the other mentions above): http://daddytypes.com/2013/01/15/the_first_production_baby.php Edited February 19, 2015 by intvnut 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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