flojomojo

@happydeathman https://tommytallarico.com

Still can’t decide if Damien is a hero for documenting these hilariously bad projects like this, Polymega, and Tommy Tallarico’s Intellivision Amico, or a villain for giving them more air and publicity than they deserve.

I’d welcome any system that helps brand custodians of ancient turds like Dragon’s Lair and ZX Spectrum realize their holdings are best left to fond memories or released into the public domain. Not everything needs to be monetized, and hardly any old turnip contains blood to squeeze out. I suspect Elite has set this up so they get paid either way.

Silly rabbits! Expensive collectibles are for hoarding, not for enjoying!

Haha what a dirtbag. Is his mother very proud?

I'd rather play the funky old Moon Patrol than the muddy brown new one. The "each person has a different button to press" gameplay is right out of Atari's port of Space Invaders. It wasn't fun then, and it's still a terrible idea. This is from the old manual:

E. Two player partnership game. (Games 65-80) Both players
control a common laser cannon. Each player can move in
one direction only. Right player moves the cannon to the
right, left player moves it to the left. Either play may
fire. Otherwise, this version is like a one-player
"normal" game (one score display, COMMAND SHIP = 200
points, etc.)

F. Two-player partnership game with alternating firing and
controlling of the cannon. (Games 81-96) The left player
starts and may move the cannon in either direction. After
ONE shot by the left player, the right player then has
control and fires one shot. Both players are striving for
a common (high) score, as in the E version above.

G. Two-player partnership game with one player controlling
cannon movement and the other player firing laser beams.
(games 97-112) Left player moves the cannon, right player
fires. Otherwise, this version is the same as the other
"partnership" games.

@Muddy_4_Ever It's always been comedic. I remember when the former CEO went after me on AtariAge for a comment I made here in this comment section. His cultists then proceeded to wonder about my mental health and parental status for questioning such a great product. Looks like I was right all along.

This thing is going to be more than a year late, the showcase game is Cornhole, and you guys think it’s a neat idea but the price is a little high? I don’t understand why NL is so bullish on this and Polymega.

Maybe the author is thinking of cocktail arcade games, or Mattel-era LED games, but no Atari-era Lynx games had simultaneous two player games on one console except a recent homebrew called Ponx. The Lynx used a serial cable called ComLynx. They also prototyped an infrared communication system called RedEye.

Networked Lynx games are fun, you should try them! I liked Warbirds, Xenophobe, Todd’s Adventures in Slime World, and Battlewheels.

@Ptbrady12 I think the early communication from years ago referenced "hybrid emulation," and there's even a whitepaper about it by Rob Wyatt, who went on to the Atari VCS before dropping out of that project.
You're right, nothing about the current Polymega is "hybrid" anything, it's straight emulation, just with ripping the ROM from the cartridge or CD before loading it into a PC-like emulator.

I wish this thing would hurry up and release already. The cult of curated comments on everything they post is the worst kind of gaslighting. They pull down anything remotely critical, such as the vast majority of comments on this story.

I see at least two direct ports from old mobile games in this video. The Evel Kneival motorcycle jumping game is a mobile game from 2015 and is on the Google, Apple, and Amazon app stores for next to nothing. Emoji Charades by GameCake is an iOS game from 2017 and is also on Steam.

The hardware looks like a footbath and if you want to see some seriously unhinged rants, search for "Tommy Tallarico Introduction and Q&A" to find him cutting loose in a classic game forum.

I used to think he was a harmless minor celebrity who made game music and used to be on a review show. You can really see some delusions of grandeur on full display in his forum posts.

@Jop that's factually inaccurate. That was microprose. "Atari" is a brand custodian and employs no full time developers or engineers. This is public information.

I wouldn't defend them if I were you, they don't deserve it. They're coasting on their name, which is the only reason that have any backers on IndieGogo at all.

Don't spread misinformation.

I love looking at places like this ... but the idea of getting into collecting cartridges, especially at current (bubble?) prices really scares me. Games are already a colossal waste of my time, but at least I haven't let mine spread out and take over all my physical space, too.

Looks like an awesome shop, and I'm glad he's able to turn a profit!