Astrocade Halloween Videos

[ballyalley]

It's Halloween... so I figured it was time to upload a few videos for this super-scary holiday. Here's the first one...

Halloween Graphics with Flying Witch Demo
By David Ibach and Steve Walters
ARCADIAN 3, no. 12 (Oct. 05, 1981): 126-127. (BASIC Listing)
ARCADIAN 4, no. 1 (Nov. 10, 1981): 3. (Loading Method Explanation)
General Video Assembler Package (Flying Witch Sample)

You can watch this video on YouTube, here:

You can watch or download this video from Archive.org, here:

https://archive.org/details/HalloweenGraphicsFlyingWitchDemoDaveIbachSteveWaltersBallyAstrocade

Unlike most of my other videos, this program, to get it out in a timely fashion, doesn't have any background or an overview. It doesn't even have opening and closing credits. Maybe I'll make an overview of this program later.

This program is for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade, a video game/computer system released by Bally in 1978.

Halloween Graphics, written in Bally BASIC, and Flying Witch Demo, written in machine language, are two separate programs running together.

Halloween Graphics is called "BOO" in the Arcadian. It runs with "AstroBASIC" and no expansion RAM. It draws a pumpkin, a haunted house, a skull and a witch. It runs for about two minutes and then repeats.

The flying witch demo requires at least 4K of expansion RAM. A witch flies around a blank screen.

When these two programs are combined, as in this video, then a witch flies around a haunted house.

The program runs twice in this video.

Enjoy this holiday program. Oh, and what's the deal with the pumpkin being yellow and not orange...?

Adam

[ballyalley]

Here is the second Halloween video of the day. The sound in this "AstroBASIC" program has been fixed for "AstroBASIC," but I think it still sounds a little better running in Bally BASIC. This program starts out with a buzz, but it quickly goes away after the skull laughs for the first time. For the sake of convenience, this is the "AstroBASIC" version of this cheery holiday program.

Halloween Ghost
By James Wilkinson
Arcadian 2, no. 10 (Sep. 17, 1980): 103-104.

This program is for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade, a video game/computer system released by Bally in 1978.

From the ARCADIAN newsletter:

HALLOWEEN GHOST is a self-running program that is topical. The author sets up a TV at a window near his front door, and the program, a "talking" skull, makes snide remarks about the people going by. It re-cycles, and uses random statements on the screen, shifting colors as well.

You can watch this video on YouTube here:

You can watch or download this program from Archive.org, here:

https://archive.org/details/HalloweenGhostJamesWilkinsonArcadianBallyAstrocade1980

When the program is run it says: "HORRIBLE HARRY THE INSULTING TV GHOST MYSTERIOUSLY APPEARS HERE EVERY HALLOWEEN" The nine insults that "Harry" will throw at those passing by are:

1) WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?
2) YOU LOOK TERRIBLE!!!
3) THAT CAN'T BE -YOUR FACE
4) YIPES!!-YOU SURE ARE UGLY
5) YOUR WORMS ARE SHOWING
6) WHO DUG YOU UP?
7) HOW COME YOU HAVE 3 EYES?

8 ) YOU LOOK LIKE THE -DEVIL-
9) I'D HATE to BE YOUR MUMMY

This video was created from the modified version of the program that has NT=-1 in the BASIC listing to allow sound to work properly under "AstroBASIC." This fix was made by Lance Squire on May 6, 2006.

Just like the Halloween Graphics and Witch Witch Demo, this video doesn't have any background, overview or even opening and closing credits.

Have fun!

Adam

[ballyalley]

Here is the last Halloween-themed Astrocade video that I'll be uploading today. It has been fun poking around the library of the Bally Arcade to see what I could find to share today.

The Magic Jack-O-Lantern
By Bill Loos (L&M Software)
1987

An orange jack-o-lantern is drawn on the screen. The eyes move and some sound effects play. The program only runs for about 13 seconds and then repeats, therefore I let it run three times in this video.

You can watch the video on YouTube, here:

You can watch or download the video from Archive.org, here:

https://archive.org/details/MagicJack-O-LanternBillLoosLMSoftwareBallyAstrocade1980

In this program the pumpkin is orange: hooray!

This video doesn't have any background, an overview or opening and closing credits. Maybe I'll make an overview of this program later.

Have a happy Halloween everyone, and eat some dark chocolate for me!

Adam