Latest Updates:
March 28 2012 - Updated an OC&GS Article
Completely updated Changing Atari VCS Graphics -- The Easy Way which first appeared in the April 1999 issue of OC&GS.
This article explains two easy methods that may be used to change the graphics in an Atari 2600 (aka Atari VCS) game. A step-by-step example is provided that gives the details on how to change the graphics in Space Invaders. No programming experience is required to follow these instructions.
Changing Atari VCS Graphics -- The Easy Way
By Adam Trionfo
March 27 2012 - Added three articles from the 1990's
This article explains the creation of an Atari 2600 cartridge called Tear-Jerker 2000. Links to the ROM and the 6502 assembly source code are also included.
Creating the Tear-Jerker 2000 Cartridge
By Chris Federico
This article, written in the late nineties, serves as an introduction to PD in general. The references to particular games that are made in it go some way toward explaining how "classic gamers" felt about the overall gaming situation in the late nineties.
Public-Domain Commodore 64 Games
By Chris Federico
This "article" was originally written for a special-problems class at Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute. The class only contained three people, and we were to work together on the writing of a computer game.
Theory of Console- and Computer-Game Design Principles
By Adam Trionfo
March 26 2012 - Added "Top Ten" List, Part 2
Writing this second part of the "top ten" list was started in December of 1997, but it was never finished. It is only presented now for the first time.
The OC&GS Panel Trades Top Tens: The Choices of Adam, Part 2
By Adam Trionfo
March 23 2012 - Added Three Amiga Articles
These three Amiga articles were published in 1999 and were written for two different issues of MAUS Dropping, the newsletter of the New Mexico Amiga Users' Society (NewMAUS).
Amiga and Y2K, The
By Adam Trionfo, 1999
Helpful Hint for Amiga Cross-DOS Users, A
By Adam Trionfo, 1999
Going Against the Grain (or: An Amiga User's Story)
By Adam Trionfo, Summer 2009
Added articles written by either Chris Federico or Adam Trionfo in the late nineties. While two or three were published in lesser forms, most of these articles have never been seen before. There are enough articles here to easily make up one or two entire 1990s-era paper issues of OC&GS.
Bug, The
By Adam Trionfo
Collectors, The (Part 3)
By Adam Trionfo
Overview of Computer-Program Transfers, An
By Adam Trionfo
Phoenix vs. Joystick Nation: Which Book Is for You?
By Chris Federico
Reasons to Own an Orphaned Computer or Game System
By Adam Trionfo
Truth Be Told, The
By Adam Trionfo
When Too Much Isn't Enough
By Adam Trionfo
October 3, 2011 - Book Review: Tron and Robotron by Jeff Spega
Added a book review of Tron and Robotron: Thirty Years of Electronic Gaming (and Counting) by Jeff Spega
September 6, 2011 - Article: Imagic's Wing War
Added review of Imagic's Wing War for the Atari 2600 and Colecovision
May 23, 2011 - The Strategy and Solution Compendium
Added The The Strategy and Solution Compendium for Old Video and Computer Games (Including Secrets and Easter Eggs) by Chris Federico. Included are:
May 2011 - Article: Data Age and TigerVision
Believe It or Not, Data Age and TigerVision Can Lead to Philosophy
May 2011 - Game Review: Marauder by TigerVision
TigerVision's Marauder: A Distinctive Robot Shooter
May 2011 - New Column: "Who Needs Manuals?"
Game reviews that are first written without using a manual. Afterward the game is played with the manual. The results, both before and after using the manual, can be quite amusing.
December 5, 2007 - Fork: The Great Underground Dining Room
"Fork: The Great Underground Dining Room" by Chris Federico
Fork is a text adventure written by Chris Federico that will run on any computer that can run Frotz. Frotz is an interpreter for Infocom other Z-machine games (think "text adventures"). A version of Frotz for Windows (called WinFrotz) is included with the Fork archive.
Note that on faster PCs, there's a slim chance that some of the text might be invisible. This is easy to prevent: Once you've opened WinFrotz, go to View -> Display Options, then set the Screen Update to "Very Frequent."
Get a taste of Fork, The Great Underground Dining Room, by playing it online, here. This online version allows you to play Fork, but the disadvantage is that you can not save your progress. The ideal way to play Fork is to download the game and play it on your computer.
June 2002 - Added Four Original Games by Chris Federico
This is a collection of original Commodore 64 games by
Chris Federico with descriptions. These four games were developed in conjunction with
a graphics/sound utility called Garry Kitchen's Gamemaker. The games are:
1) Jupiter's Electrician
2) Stella Gets a Lobotomy
3) Super Space Carnage
4) Tyrant
June 2002 - Exclusive Interview With Bill Kunkel
In this interview with Bill Kunkel, called "A Lifetime To Master," Bill answers questions about video games, the pioneering of a journalistic field and the present (circa 2002) game-coverage climate in an exclusive OC&GS interview.
Contact Orphaned Computers & Game Systems: