Racing the Beam

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Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System
Racing the Beam book cover.jpg
Author Ian Bogost and Nick Montfort
Publisher MIT Press
Publication date
March 31, 2009
Pages184
ISBN 0-262-01257-X

Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System is a book by Ian Bogost and Nick Montfort describing the history and technical challenges of programming for the Atari 2600 video game console.

Contents

Content

The book's title comes from the fact that the Atari 2600, initially branded the VCS (Video Computer System), did not have a video frame buffer and required the programmers to write each line of video to the TV output, one line at a time. As there were only a limited number of machine cycles in which to do this, the programmers were "racing" a high-speed electron beam across the screen. [1]

Racing the Beam discusses the history of the VCS platform and the design decisions that impacted the types of games that could be written for it. Specific games such as Combat , Pitfall! and Yars' Revenge are analyzed from a technical and cultural perspective. [2]

Racing the Beam is the first in a series of books on early video-game platforms and has been cited by modern Atari 2600 enthusiasts as an inspiration for attempting to write new games for the platform. [3] [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atari 2600</span> Home video game console

The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System, it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridges, a format first used with the Fairchild Channel F in 1976. The VCS was bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a game cartridge—initially Combat and later Pac-Man. Sears sold the system as the Tele-Games Video Arcade. Atari rebranded the VCS as the Atari 2600 in November 1982 alongside the release of the Atari 5200.

<i>Centipede</i> (video game) 1981 video game

Centipede is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. Designed by Dona Bailey and Ed Logg, it was one of the most commercially successful games from the golden age of arcade video games and one of the first with a significant female player base. The primary objective is to shoot all the segments of a centipede that winds down the playing field. An arcade sequel, Millipede, followed in 1982.

<i>Pitfall!</i> 1982 video game

Pitfall! is a video game developed by David Crane for the Atari Video Computer System and released in 1982 by Activision. The player controls Pitfall Harry, who has a time limit of 20 minutes to seek treasure in a jungle. The game world is populated by enemies and hazards that variously cause the player to lose lives or points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Television Interface Adaptor</span> Video/audio/input chip of the Atari 2600

The Television Interface Adaptor (TIA) is the custom computer chip, along with a variant of the MOS Technology 6502 constituting the heart of the 1977 Atari Video Computer System game console. The TIA generates the screen display, sound effects, and reads the controllers. At the time the Atari VCS was designed, even small amounts of RAM were expensive. The chip was designed around not having a frame buffer, instead requiring detailed programming to create even a simple display.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sprite (computer graphics)</span> 2D bitmap displayed on top of a larger scene

In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional bitmap that is integrated into a larger scene, most often in a 2D video game. Originally, the term sprite referred to fixed-sized objects composited together, by hardware, with a background. Use of the term has since become more general.

<i>Gravitar</i> 1982 video game

Gravitar is a color vector graphics multidirectional shooter arcade video game released by Atari, Inc. in 1982. Using the same "rotate-and-thrust" controls as Asteroids and Space Duel, the game was known for its high level of difficulty. It was the first of over twenty games Mike Hally designed and produced for Atari. The main programmer was Rich Adam and the cabinet art was designed by Brad Chaboya. Over 5,427 cabinets were produced. An Atari 2600 version by Dan Hitchens was published by Atari in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atari Flashback series</span> Line of dedicated video game consoles

The Atari Flashback series are a line of dedicated video game consoles designed, produced, published and marketed by AtGames under license from Atari SA. The Flashback consoles are "plug-and-play" versions of the Atari 2600 console. They contain built-in games rather than using the ROM cartridges utilized by the 2600. Most of the games are classics that were previously released for the 2600, although some Flashback consoles include previously unreleased prototype games as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second generation of video game consoles</span> Second video game console generation, including the Atari 2600

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<i>Basic Math</i> (video game) 1977 video game

Basic Math is an educational cartridge for the Atari Video Computer System developed by Gary Palmer of Atari, Inc. It was one of the nine launch titles offered when the console went on sale in September 1977. In 1980, Basic Math was renamed Fun with Numbers.

<i>Pac-Man</i> (Atari 2600 video game) Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man

Pac-Man is a 1982 maze video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. under official license by Namco, and an adaptation of the 1980 hit arcade game of the same name. The player controls the title character, who attempts to consume all of the wafers in a maze while avoiding four ghosts that pursue him. Eating flashing wafers at the corners of the screen causes the ghosts to temporarily turn blue and flee, allowing Pac-Man to eat them for bonus points. Once eaten, a ghost is reduced to a pair of eyes, which return to the center of the maze to be restored.

<i>Jawbreaker</i> (video game) 1981 video game

Jawbreaker is a Pac-Man clone programmed by John Harris for the Atari 8-bit family and published by On-Line Systems. Released in 1981 before an official version of Pac-Man was available, it was widely lauded by reviewers and became a major seller. The story of its creation and Harris's Atari 8-bit implementation of Frogger form a portion of Steven Levy's 1984 book, Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stella (emulator)</span> Atari 2600 emulator

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<i>Superman</i> (1979 video game) Action-adventure game for the Atari 2600

Superman is a video game programmed by John Dunn for the Atari Video Computer System and released in 1979 by Atari, Inc. The player controls Superman, whose quest is to explore an open-ended environment to find three pieces of a bridge that was destroyed by Lex Luthor, capture Luthor and his criminal gang, and return to the Daily Planet building. The game world is populated by antagonists such as a helicopter that re-arranges the bridge pieces and roving kryptonite satellites that cause Superman to revert into Clark Kent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atari 2600 homebrew</span> Video game genre

The first hobbyist-developed game for the Atari 2600 video game console was written in 1995, and more than 100 have been released since then. The majority of games are unlicensed clones of games for other platforms, and there are some also original games and ROM hacks. With only 128 bytes of RAM, no frame buffer, and the code and visuals closely intertwined, the 2600 is a difficult machine to program. and many games were written for the technical challenge. Emulators, programming tools, and documentation are available.

Carla Meninsky is a former video game designer and programmer active during the early years of the Atari VCS. Along with Carol Shaw, Meninsky was one of three female engineers at Atari, Inc. to develop video game cartridges. She later became an intellectual property lawyer.

<i>Street Racer</i> (1977 video game) 1977 video game

Street Racer is a racing video game developed for the Atari Video Computer System, later known as the Atari 2600. It was programmed by Larry Kaplan and released by Atari, Inc. in September 1977 as one of the nine Atari VCS launch titles. The game was also published by Sears for their Tele-Games product line as Speedway II.

<i>Yars Revenge</i> 1982 video game

Yars' Revenge is a video game released for the Atari 2600 in 1982. It was created by Howard Scott Warshaw and is Atari's best-selling original game for the 2600.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M Network</span> Video game division of Mattel

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atari joystick port</span> Computer port used for gaming controllers

The Atari joystick port is a computer port used to connect various gaming controllers to game console and home computer systems in the 1970s to the 1990s. It was originally introduced on the Atari 2600 in 1977 and then used on the Atari 400 and 800 in 1979. It went cross-platform with the VIC-20 in 1981, and was then used on many following machines from both companies, as well as a growing list of 3rd party machines like the MSX platform and various Sega consoles.

References

  1. Kohler, Chris (2009-03-19). "Racing the Beam: How Atari 2600's Crazy Hardware Changed Game Design". Archived from the original on 2010-07-27. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  2. Agger, Michael (2009-03-09). "Speak, Atari: How the 2600 forged the home video game future". Archived from the original on 2010-07-27. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  3. Fries, Ed (2010-08-01). "Halo for the 2600 Released at CGE!" . Retrieved 2010-08-05.
  4. "Interview: Will Nicholes". Kittysneezes.com. 2010-08-23. Archived from the original on 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2010-08-24.