Racketboy Podcast #19 – Atari 2600 Homebrew
This episode takes a look at the Atari 2600 Homebrew Scene.
Ed Fries, creator of Halo 2600, is a long time industry veteran who ran Microsoft Game Studios from the mid 1990s through the life cycle of the original Xbox. In the interview Ed discusses his first published games for the Atari 800, the early days at Microsoft, the acquisition of Bungie and Rare and the release of the original Xbox, the work he does today at Figure Prints, and of course the work on and reaction to Halo 2600.
Will Nicholes, creator of Duck Attack, discusses his journey from ROM hacking to creating a feature-rich Atari 2600 game from scratch. Will provides details about the amount of time and effort that went into all the revisions of the game, the homebrew community’s support during and after the game’s release, and his and Ed’s shared inspiration for creating these labors of love.
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Show Outline
- (Carol of the Bells – Rush Coil – go donate!)
- Dave’s Intro
- Interview with Ed Fries
- (Christmas with Atari Ad)
- Interview with Will Nicholes
- (E.T. for 2600 Christmas 1982 Ad)
- Dave’s Outro/2011 Show Preview
- (All I Want for Xmas is You – Mariah Carey via Brett Moots)
Do you have something to add? Thoughts on the best Atari 2600 hombrew titles? Do you have questions about this episode? Do you want to heap scorn or praise? Please let us know below or in the forums!
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Listening now! 🙂
This was your best podcast yet. Your guests were enthralling, your questions were smart and raised interesting topics, and the subject matter was fascinating. Thanks!
@garsh – Thanks, I also think it is arguably the best one so far…your feedback is appreciated!
Yeah, great job. I’ve played Duck Attack on an emulator and wasn’t too impressed. This podcast has me wanting to give it another shot. Another reason to want the Harmony 2 cart!
It was about half a year ago that I purchased my first homebrew from Atari Age. I’ve bought alot more since then, largely because the best games for these older consoles are being produced decades since Atari abandoned the platforms.
I’ve yet to listen to the podcast, but wanted to say I wholly approve of the topic!
With all due deference to Halo 2600 and Duck Attack, these are not the best the scene has to offer. Browse around the Atari Age store and watch some videos, download some ROMs. Juno First, Toyshop Troubles, Gunfight are all genuinely superb.
Excellent job! I agree that this is your best podcast yet – keep up the good work!
haha they should use et carts