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Next Generation Intellivision Classics for PC & MAC Kickstarter


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Hey everyone.

 

We are excited to announce our Kickstarter to release new and modernized versions of your favorite Intellivision classics for PC and Mac. Both Keith Robinson and Dave Warhol are also a part of this cool venture. Check out the Kickstarter campaign here and help us spread the word:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/756513245/intellivision-gen2-video-games-for-pc-and-mac

 

 

Thanks!!

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I don't see how you can't back it.

:thumbsup:

Really?

 

It's easy: I backed the RETRO magazine campaign, and was very disappointed with the end product, and so I do not feel like backing foolhardy enterprises for their own sake. I did not care for these games in iOS, so why would I want to see them on a PC?

 

I rather see resources spent on fruitful and actually exciting products that enrich our community.

 

Of course this is not to say that there is no value in this campaign, or that the games do not appeal to others; I just think it is equally valid to pass on it.

 

Good luck.

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Unfortunately, I predict that this project will not make its funding target. I see it becoming a repeat of David Crane's Pitfall reboot campaign :-

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/201359-david-crane-jungle-adventure-kickstarter/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jungleventure/david-cranes-jungle-adventure-0

 

Its a lost opportunity in my eyes. Had the team decided to make three completely new Inty titles for the original hardware it would be a fantastic prospect. They could easily sell 300+ copies of each game at $50 each, and make at least $45K (less the inevitable production expenses).

 

Anyways... Thats my 2 pence. Best of luck!

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I don't get it...$100k for this 3 games that are already available and just needed to be converted on the PC?

 

Depending on how the originals were written, "just converting" to another platform could be essentially a rewrite. And it's to two quite different platforms, depending on technologies used in the original.

 

Having written multiplatform code for longer than I'm willing to admit, though not in the gaming industry, the process is not simple, and good developers who do it correctly, well, and on schedule are not cheap.

 

Have all three games already been finished on any platform? I confess to not following these on PS* or iOS. I don't own any PlayStation platform, and don't use any iOS devices, at least for personal entertainment. Family members have iPhones, iPads, and iPods, but don't tend to buy many games. The games they do play tend to be free, since Dad and Mom are pretty stingy and old-fashioned regarding how much time is spent on those things. The "big" games tend to be on consoles or Windows PC, but again, limits.

 

Back to development... Even staying within Apple's ecosystem, there are still some profound differences between iOS and Cocoa development. These are slowly converging, but the differences are still important. If the earlier software wasn't written with platform portability in mind, it will be a lot of work to do it now. The art and sound assets can be reused, obviously, and the core game logic, rules, etc. depending on how they were written. But as they say, the devil is in the details.

 

Maybe they've already been written in someone's "spare time" and now that they're to be productized, compensation is expected - and deserved. Some serious testing and validation should happen that may not have been done yet. That's also expensive, if done properly.

 

I suspect the reasons for this fundraising goal are manifold. The number of donors may be just as important as the amount of money raised -- if not more so. Most backers will likely contribute enough to get the games. Obviously the goal is to sell many more copies than there are backers. Perhaps $100K is enough to pay for the remaining development with some profit, even if the games don't meet sales expectations. I.e. "playing it safe."

 

This is all pure speculation of course - but that's what's fun about this.

Edited by intvsteve
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Really?

 

It's easy: I backed the RETRO magazine campaign, and was very disappointed with the end product, and so I do not feel like backing foolhardy enterprises for their own sake. I did not care for these games in iOS, so why would I want to see them on a PC?

 

I rather see resources spent on fruitful and actually exciting products that enrich our community.

 

Of course this is not to say that there is no value in this campaign, or that the games do not appeal to others; I just think it is equally valid to pass on it.

 

Good luck.

 

The two games that were originally released on the PS3 / PlayStation Home platform didn't receive the support promised by Sony. They were then reworked and tried on iOS, but the touch screen mechanic didn't work well (I agree, as I'm not a fan of that play mechanic). However, I don't fault the games themselves, as I feel they are imaginative recreations of the originals, and quite fun. And on the PC and Mac platforms, you will be able to use a variety of USB controllers, which eliminates the control issues.

 

I'm curious why you think this is a foolhardy enterprise and not fruitful or exciting. Is it the games themselves? Is it that you don't want new versions of classic Intellivision games, only real Intellivision games? Is it the people behind it? Is it the cost?

 

Obviously, I don't feel the same way you do about this, and that's fine. I think it's very exciting that If this is funded, it will facilitate development of more Gen2 games. A new version of Utopia... of Sea Battle. Really? No interest? Hmm, OK then. You're entitled to your opinion. For me, a $15 investment that gets you all 3 games is a no brainer. I'm hopeful others will feel the same way. Will it succeed? Who knows, but I'd like to do my part to give it a chance to do so, as I respect the people behind the project, and the concept in general.

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Unfortunately, I predict that this project will not make its funding target. I see it becoming a repeat of David Crane's Pitfall reboot campaign :-

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/201359-david-crane-jungle-adventure-kickstarter/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jungleventure/david-cranes-jungle-adventure-0

 

Its a lost opportunity in my eyes. Had the team decided to make three completely new Inty titles for the original hardware it would be a fantastic prospect. They could easily sell 300+ copies of each game at $50 each, and make at least $45K (less the inevitable production expenses).

 

Anyways... Thats my 2 pence. Best of luck!

 

It may, it may not. But if it is funded, and more Gen2 games are developed, and are successful, the income from those projects will help fund other projects like you mentioned, which would be a fantastic idea - new Intellivision games for the original console developed by original programmers. That's obviously more of what the users here would want to see (and I'm one of them). If helping to fund this makes that scenario more likely down the road, I'm all for it.

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, the income from those projects will help fund other projects like you mentioned, which would be a fantastic idea - new Intellivision games for the original console developed by original programmers.

 

huh? How could funding this Kickstarter have anything to do with new games for the Intellivision?

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It may, it may not. But if it is funded, and more Gen2 games are developed, and are successful, the income from those projects will help fund other projects like you mentioned, which would be a fantastic idea - new Intellivision games for the original console developed by original programmers.

They could do that already, as a hobby, like the rest of the sensible homebrewers do. Trying to monetise anything done on retro consoles in order to obtain a real world commercial salary is likely to end in tears. It just looks like they want a payout for all the hard work of creating and then porting their games to two previous platforms where they failed to gain any kind of sales or user/player support.

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huh? How could funding this Kickstarter have anything to do with new games for the Intellivision?

 

Speculation: Successful Kickstarter would show widespread demand and brand recognition for the Intellivision "platform". It could provide funding for projects like new games for more Flashback releases. There have been... what, five Atari Flashback releases? That platform started off with a huge library, has lots of abandonware, and has an extremely active homebrew scene. The name never really completely dropped out of sight, even though it's not really attached to its origins by anything other than name these days.

 

It's different for Intellivision. We're seeing a Golden Age of truly great, new Intellivision releases these past few years, but its doubtful that a second Intellivision Flashback would garner much widespread interest if it had 45 of the same games and 15 new ones. (Caveat: If it had Burgertime people might get it just for that!)

 

A successful Kickstarter keeps the brand in people's minds, fresh off what hopefully was a successful Flashback release. This one in particular brings the brand to a wider, younger audience and hopefully helps it gain lasting traction. With that, there's simply more likelihood of resources (i.e. money) being available to pay for more development of titles for a second Flashback with a higher percentage of new content. Or maybe it's simply to get funding to license some of the missing titles like the Activision and Imagic games and some of the arcade ports for a fresh release.

 

The larger point is that when projects like the Flashback and, hopefully, this Kickstarter succeed, it shows that the brand has "legs" and that people less passionate about Intellivision for its own sake will still give it consideration (i.e. money) for future projects. Success breeds success.

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With that, there's simply more likelihood of resources (i.e. money) being available to pay for more development of titles for a second Flashback with a higher percentage of new content.

Or homebrew developers could do it for just the kudos of having their game on a commercial product.

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huh? How could funding this Kickstarter have anything to do with new games for the Intellivision?

 

Ah, because they're the same people / company.

 

A real world example... The much maligned 'Techno Source' all-in-one 'NES on a chip' handhelds sold millions of units. This funded the DS version of Intellivision Lives, and also allowed the Flashback development to get going. Product A makes money, product B can be funded, followed by product C, etc.

 

I count Keith Robinson, Dave Warhol and Mike Kennedy as friends, and have had many discussions with them about plans for the Intellivision market. Let's just say I'm aware of some future projects that I'm not privy to discuss at present, other than to say when a product is successful, it enables other products to be released.

Edited by nurmix
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The two games that were originally released on the PS3 / PlayStation Home platform didn't receive the support promised by Sony. They were then reworked and tried on iOS, but the touch screen mechanic didn't work well (I agree, as I'm not a fan of that play mechanic). However, I don't fault the games themselves, as I feel they are imaginative recreations of the originals, and quite fun. And on the PC and Mac platforms, you will be able to use a variety of USB controllers, which eliminates the control issues.

 

I'm curious why you think this is a foolhardy enterprise and not fruitful or exciting. Is it the games themselves? Is it that you don't want new versions of classic Intellivision games, only real Intellivision games? Is it the people behind it? Is it the cost?

 

Obviously, I don't feel the same way you do about this, and that's fine. I think it's very exciting that If this is funded, it will facilitate development of more Gen2 games. A new version of Utopia... of Sea Battle. Really? No interest? Hmm, OK then. You're entitled to your opinion. For me, a $15 investment that gets you all 3 games is a no brainer. I'm hopeful others will feel the same way. Will it succeed? Who knows, but I'd like to do my part to give it a chance to do so, as I respect the people behind the project, and the concept in general.

If you read my post, rather than react to it, you'll realize that my objection was to your comment of "why wouldn't fans support it." I gave you my reason and think it is perfectly valid for Intellivision fans to not support a fund raiser for its own sake.

 

I respect the people involved, and as you can clearly see in my other posts, I support, defend, and admire Mr. Robinson. However, in this case, I agree with other comments above: it is a missed opportunity and smells of cash-grab by rehashing the same-old same-old.

 

I wish them luck nonetheless, but I think there should be no stigma associated with those who disagree with you or this campaign.

 

dZ.

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If you read my post, rather than react to it, you'll realize that my objection was to your comment of "why wouldn't fans support it." I gave you my reason and think it is perfectly valid for Intellivision fans to not support a fund raiser for its own sake.

 

I respect the people involved, and as you can clearly see in my other posts, I support, defend, and admire Mr. Robinson. However, in this case, I agree with other comments above: it is a missed opportunity and smells of cash-grab by rehashing the same-old same-old.

 

I wish them luck nonetheless, but I think there should be no stigma associated with those who disagree with you or this campaign.

 

dZ.

 

Fair enough. There's no stigma. Just trying to have a discussion and understand opposing viewpoints.

 

For the record, I'm not supporting it 'for its own sake'. I'm supporting it because I genuinely like the Gen2 concept.

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To move a game from iOS to PC? That seems high.

If you're paying professionals? In California? For several months? Remember, an employee generally costs the employer 2-3x their salary if there are benefits involved, too. Contract work tends to be spendy if that's the route.

 

Then again, maybe they'll hire interns. Wonder how that would work out.

Edited by intvsteve
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I don't know.. I think the games look a lot like those dotcom era Flash games with a little bit additional filtering. The sprites are too obvious that they're sprites. Or even worse, it looks like a 99-cent phablet game.. Ugh.. The over-obvious blockiness isn't catching my attention in a positive way and making me say wow! I don't know what is with the trend of re-doing the classics into a half-assed slower-moving Flash-like "app-looking" remake. Just to capitalize on "Retro" ?

 

Make no mistake, I like things "Intellivision" and all that. Especially Astrosmash. And I'd like to see a modernized Sea Battle. Just not in this style. I'll stick with the original console or emulation for now. That's the real thing, or next best thing.

Edited by Keatah
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I'm definitely supporting this! And I hope all the Intellivision fans here do as well. Even if you're more a fan of the original system and games, as an Intellivision enthusiast, I don't see how you can't back it.

:thumbsup:

 

Is that so.. Well, I don't support games just to arbitrarily support them. Flash rehashes of the older genuine (and more fun) article are about the last thing I'm interested in spending money on.

 

I also found it amusing that $2.00 gets you some gratitude. How do they package and ship that?

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Fair enough. There's no stigma. Just trying to have a discussion and understand opposing viewpoints.

 

For the record, I'm not supporting it 'for its own sake'. I'm supporting it because I genuinely like the Gen2 concept.

 

I can appreciate that. I am also not the only one who dislike the Gen2 concept, or its previous implementation.

 

 

I'm curious why you think this is a foolhardy enterprise and not fruitful or exciting. Is it the games themselves? Is it that you don't want new versions of classic Intellivision games, only real Intellivision games? Is it the people behind it? Is it the cost?

 

Because the last Gen2 effort was faced with lackluster enthusiasm from the public, and "rebooting" old titles seems like a sign of desperation. To me it is not exciting to rehash old properties, and it has the distinct feel of trying to milk old glories with minimal effort.

 

As I said before, my objections are not at all based on the people behind the project, but on the project itself.

 

Obviously, I don't feel the same way you do about this, and that's fine. I think it's very exciting that If this is funded, it will facilitate development of more Gen2 games. A new version of Utopia... of Sea Battle. Really? No interest? Hmm, OK then. You're entitled to your opinion. For me, a $15 investment that gets you all 3 games is a no brainer. I'm hopeful others will feel the same way. Will it succeed? Who knows, but I'd like to do my part to give it a chance to do so, as I respect the people behind the project, and the concept in general.

 

A new version of Utopia or Sea Battle? If they end up just like the Gen2 "Shark! Shark!" and "Astrosmash" games, they will be modern-looking versions of 30 year-old games that have all the limitations and creative constraints of the original, and none of the depth and character of contemporary ones; in short, neither fish nor fowl. So no, I'm not interested.

 

What about putting their creative minds together and coming up with a completely new and original title? How about creating new Intellivision games--or even sequels to classic ones--to be included in the next Flashback? There's plenty of exciting projects that they can do.

 

If these future "secret" projects to which you alluded are all just rehashes of previous titles, then I will be very disappointed. This is just one man's opinion, though I would be surprised if it were unique.

 

-dZ.

Edited by DZ-Jay
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I am torn on this one, I am of the mindset that the look they are going for with these just does not appeal to me. There is a charm to the old blockiness that my daughter thinks it is cool and likes to play the games with me understanding that for the time it was pretty impressive. She looked at this and thought the PS4 looks better and since these are supposed to be "new" that is her comparison.

 

IF I knew that they were judging the success of this to be able to go back to third party ip holders and show there is demand for this system and a new Flashback with different games (dream for a cartridge slot :) ) or some other true "Retro" item then I would gladly back it if that is what it took.

 

This current effort seems underwhelming.

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