Monthly Archives: September 2011

Who Killed Video Games?: Tim Rogers Knows

Posted on September 30, 2011 by 8bit_admin

In his latest, and possibly greatest piece of writing, Tim Rogers explores the mystery of “Who Killed Video Games:A Ghost Story“.  It’s an awesome read, even if you already know how it turns out in the end.  It’s hard to … Continue reading →

Posted in Game Design And Theory | 2 Comments

The Top-10 Worst Real-Life Products For Classic Video Gamers

Posted on September 29, 2011 by 8bit_admin

The back pages and new products sections of Electronic Games magazine in 1982 and 1983 were filled with all sorts of products, services and offers that were dubious at best, and possibly, criminal at worst.   It appears that in … Continue reading →

Posted in Atari Nerd, Retro Game Magazines | 4 Comments

Unity -> Flash Stage 3D Looks Impressive

Posted on September 28, 2011 by 8bit_admin

Yesterday at the free “Flash Day” at the Unity Unite conference, the Unity team showed off their new Unity -> Flash Stage 3D converter.  The product exactly what it sounds like it does: it converts 3D games built in Unity … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash Game Development | Leave a comment

What Video Game Journalists In 2011 Could Learn From Electronic Games Magazine in 1983: Standards

Posted on September 27, 2011 by 8bit_admin

I was looking through my old copies of Electronic Games, and I happened upon an editorial by Arnie Katz from the March 1983 issue.  It lists the “standards” that the publication had decided to employ to make sure that they … Continue reading →

Posted in Atari Nerd, Retro Game Magazines | 2 Comments

A Tribute to the Child-Oriented Consumer Goods Company “New Media” Department Golden Era (2001 – 2006)

Posted on September 23, 2011 by 8bitjeff

Note: This is a true story that depicts real events from the perspective of the author.  Most real names of the people and the places involved have been changed or left out on purpose. Everyone involved will recognize the company and … Continue reading →

Posted in 8bitrocket History, diatribe | 2 Comments

Why Information Technology Director Is The Most Hated Job In America (An Anecdotal Account)

Posted on September 20, 2011 by 8bit_admin

CNBC ran a story on Friday about the 10 Most Hated Jobs In America.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that job I left in corporate America after 15 years was represented generously on the list.  In fact, technical jobs … Continue reading →

Posted in diatribe, Management Sucks | 6 Comments

Unboxing the iCup Atari Drinking Glasses From The Target Clearance Sale : A Photo Essay

Posted on September 19, 2011 by 8bit_admin

Today I purchased the iCup set of four classic Atari drinking glasses that were on clearance at Target.  Instead of telling you this story, and I’m going to show it to you with a web-only exclusive photo-essay of this exciting … Continue reading →

Posted in Atari Nerd | 1 Comment

HUGE New 8bitrocket Inter-Web Mashup for Sept 18, 2011

Posted on September 18, 2011 by 8bitjeff

We have been sent and have come across quite a few news items in the last weeks or so that need to be at least touched on. Our HTML5 Canvas Book is going to be on Special Until September 28th … Continue reading →

Posted in Inter-Web Mash-Up | 1 Comment

Microsoft Hot On HTML5+Canvas For Windows 8, Freezes Out Flash

Posted on September 18, 2011 by 8bit_admin

Apparently, Microsoft has decided that their “Metro” Presentation layer (included in Windows 8 for PC and designed for tablets and smart phones) will not allow any kind of plug-ins to run (read: Flash).  Instead, “Metro” has been optimized for HTML5 … Continue reading →

Posted in HTML 5 Canvas | 2 Comments

A small case study in a Flash to iPad HTML5 Conversion

Posted on September 15, 2011 by 8bitjeff

The Project A few weeks ago, John and I over here at Producto Studios were asked to create an interactive, single-page, Power-Point style application for a small company (in Flash). The app was to contain multiple drop-down box syle animations … Continue reading →

Posted in HTML 5 Canvas | 3 Comments

The 8-Bit Game: Digesting Archon

Posted on September 15, 2011 by 8bitjeff

The word “Archon” roughly translated from Greek means the ruler of a particular nation or state. The 8-bit computer game, Archon was the king or ruler of “real-time” strategy in the early 80′s well before the genre was actually “invented”. … Continue reading →

Posted in Atari Nerd, The 8-bit Game | Leave a comment

Twisted Pixel’s Beard Secret: An Atari 800

Posted on September 14, 2011 by 8bit_admin

Twisted Pixel, the guys who created Gunstringer, ‘Splosion Man and Ms. ‘Splosion Man for the XBox 360, have revealed their secret.  An Atari 800.  Check out this video below:

Posted in Atari Nerd | Leave a comment

On to…Electrotank

Posted on September 13, 2011 by 8bit_admin

8bitsteve here. So I’ve just finished a stint at the company “that shall not be named” after an experience that I can only describe with the words “no comment“.  After a week of trying to figure out my next move, … Continue reading →

Posted in 8bitrocket History, Electrotank | 5 Comments

How Adobe Can Win The Flash War

Posted on September 12, 2011 by 8bit_admin

We here at 8bitrocket.com love Flash. Sure we also have a fondness for the HTML5 Canvas, but we still love Flash and have no desire to see it disappear.  We also have not seen a real change in how much … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash Game Development | 5 Comments

Developing The Alarm.com: 1995-2011

Posted on September 8, 2011 by 8bit_admin

Introduction I was web master for http://www.thealarm.com for over 15 years. The Alarm were an 80′s band with hits like 68 Guns, Strength, and Rain In The Summertime.  They broke-up in 1991, but soon afterward, lead vocalist Mike Peters embarked … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Rest In Peace Bill Kunkel: Video Game Journalism Pioneer

Posted on September 7, 2011 by 8bit_admin

Bill Kunkel, part of the duo of Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel who created Electronic Games the frst magazine about video games, Electronic Games, died on Sunday at the age of 61. We were big fans of Bill Kunkel.  One … Continue reading →

Posted in Atari Nerd, Rest In Peace, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Why I love The Flash Platform

Posted on September 6, 2011 by 8bitjeff

The simple answer is that it is just as fun as using my Atari 800 or Atari ST. I assume the same goes for you Apple IIe/ IIGS / Mac Classic folks as well as the C64 / Amiga, and … Continue reading →

Posted in 8bitrocket History | 18 Comments

Dear Large Game Development Company Engineering Job. It’s not you, it’s me. Thanks for the memories. We can still be linked in buddies if you want to.

Posted on September 4, 2011 by 8bitjeff

Dear Large Game Company Engineering Job. It all seemed so great at the beginning (don’t they all?). Our courtship was a whirlwind romance of travel, interviews with interesting people, deep thoughtful discussions on game design, and veiled promises of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 8bitrocket History | 18 Comments

8bitrocket Interweb Mash-Up For September 3, 2011

Posted on September 4, 2011 by 8bit_admin

Iain Lobb On The Flash Community So we missed this a month ago, but Iain Lobb posted a really great piece named The Flash Community Needs a Complete Reboot about a month ago.  It’s still worth reading.   We really … Continue reading →

Posted in Inter-Web Mash-Up | Leave a comment