Tommy Tallarico - Fun Amico Conversations

5 hours ago, mr_me said:

There is a book in the works by a couple of researchers.  I forget the University these guys are from but they seem very qualified.

I didn't know that. Do you know if they are working in collaboration with Intellivision?

5 hours ago, mr_me said:

"Your friend the exec" has been scanned and is out there.

I know. I have it (the one with the missing D-1 page). I also have scans of a few technical documents. The only (reasonable) thing I'm missing is the include file for the assembler. However, my goal is not really to have the information.

I may be weird, but I like to surround myself with things that remind me of good moments from my past. I was too young in 1981 to be a programmer for Mattel, but I wished I could be one. So to me, having documents like "Your friend, the exec" on display on a shelf would remind me of my youth and my first dreams of programming video games. Obviously, having original documents would be the best, but that's not something possible for me. So the second best would be to have an official reproduction by Intellivision. It would feel to me more genuine than simply printing the PDF (with the missing D-1 page) that I have.

If I could summarize Saturday's event in Lehi. It would be in one word: Fun.

I was starting to type this out last night, but life got in the way. As it tends to do.. So Tonight it is.

I'll split the event up into a few parts.

1)The Venue -  The Museum of Natural Curiosity was a perfect place to hold it in. My kids happen to be too old for it now, so coming in with them, was a little odd. I had a nice conversation about the Intellivision and the Amico with one of the people from the Museum. Overall. a perfect place for it. It was a little difficult doing any filming as the backdrop was a beautiful day and very large glass windows. Hard to get decent footage. I think total I took two pictures. But it did not detract from the systems on display. It was quiet at first, with just a few people. That was an advantage for me. See below.  The museum staff reported that around noonish the museum picks up  And it did.

2)Tommy -  We got there when things were a little quiet, so Tommy and I got to chat. I won't bore you all with the details, but I can tell you, he and his team are very passionate about their little machine that they have created. And the soon to be, hopefully, many games in the ecosystem. He took me aside and showed me the physical media. I examined the boxes and the contents of two different games. Finnegan Fox and Dynablaster. I had them in my hands and looking at them without signing an NDA. He just asked me not to reveal the contents. I will honor that. There is something in there that is not just a "code in a box". And there are some cool collectable items in each. Unique to that game. The moment I had the game boxes in my hand, I was very surprised by one aspect of the packaging. I'll just say that the pictures that you have seen on line do not convey a key aspect about it. At $20.00 each, I don't see any reason not to collect all of them. Too bad I didn't get to keep them.. Oh well.   Thank you Tommy for the sneak peak.

2A) Full disclosure - Tommy gave me a controller disc and an Amico Controller Pouch.  He didn't have to.  He just did.  For some the people out there, I'm a little more expensive than that to buy off... Thank you again Tommy.  As he was fishing through his backpack, he whipped out the Evercade and the first INTV cart. Made an offhanded comment like "oh yeah, this is it.."  Most likely the same unit that was pictured playing Night Stalker. No, he didn't turn it on and play it. We were too busy chit chatting. I'm sure if I would have asked, he would have.  We could have chatted for a long time, but he had an event to run.  One thing I can say about tommy is that se is VERY approachable. That is not just because I was talking to someone famous. Or a CEO. He just is.

3)The Systems - On display was Tommy's Ferrari Red console. That one had Astrosmash. Galaxy Purple had Shrark Shark. Glacier White had Emoji charades. For the life of me I cannot remember what color the console was that had pool. Evel Knievel was on the Graphite Black one. I don't remember seeing a woodgrain.  I could be wrong.. But I don't think it was on display.  Each console had four controllers hooked up. Some solid colors. Some various colors.  I did like the fact that there were different models and sizes of TVs. Just so you can see what games looked like. Tommy brought out a final version of Galaxy Purple console top cover and the pictures do not come close to seeing the paint job in real life.  NICE. Very Nice...  My son loves the color purple and Tommy made sure to show him. 

4)The Controllers - Lighter than I thought they would be. SOLID. I was flexing them a little bit and no controller creak could be heard or felt. Your hand naturally slips to where they are supposed to go. The physical buttons were not what I was expecting. Very little give in them.. That is a good thing. They just worked. So did the touch screen. The Disc did take me a few minutes to get used to. I had Analog stick stuck in my brain and was rotating going from right to left.. Tommy even mentioned I could use it more like a conventional pad for some games. That is something that I will have to get used to. But after a bit.. I did get better very quickly. My kids took to it real quick. More about them and the controllers in a bit.

4a)With 20 controllers in a room 5 consoles. Multiple people with Cellphones and all broadcasting blutooth, I expected more technical glitches. For the most part everything did run smoothly. I managed to get a game to hiccup.. But that was due to a controller issue. A quick reset of the system. Plopped the controller on top in the cradle. All set. It was here that I saw the developer screen. Not the normal UI. Nothing exciting to report here. Just fun to see.  I expected way more problems with all of those controllers that close together. I always felt like I was in control of my  character on the screen. 

5)The Games - As mentioned above, The prominent games on display were Astrosmash. Shark Shark! Evel Knievel. Pool. Emoji Charades. Flying Tigers and Moon Patrol were shown off a little later on, but I didn't see them. You know the basic game play for each of them so there is no need to go into that. How were they to play? As I stated in my one word review of the event: Fun!!!  I got to play a little Astrosmash with Tommy before that many people were there. And we were joking back and forth about all the lag and subpar graphics.  I Played Shark Shark with my two kids and Tommy.  That was a blast.  While I like Shark Shark on the original INTV... I wasn't sure about it getting too much playtime with the family with the reimagined version. I was pleasantly surprised to see both kids said that they would play it. Same with Astrosmash, and Evel Knevel.  So 3 out of 3 that we played extensively. I watched pool a little. And same with Emoji. They both looked like fun. I just never got to them. There was next to no people when we started. All too quickly for me that did change. out of nowhere a small line formed behind us.  We had our fun. Now it was time to move on..

6)The Graphics - There were no Jaggies. Everything was pretty darned smooth. Like I stated above. All different sized TVs. I believe from different manufacturers. I could be wrong. I believe the Astrosmash TV was probably 70-75 inches. I got up close to it during game play. All looked good. No nothing near what a PS4 or 5 would do.. But I didn't see a problem with the actual looks of the graphics.  

7)The Intellivision Crew - Tommy doesn't strap a few tv's on top of one of his very fast red cars.. Drive up I15, stopping off in Baker California  to get some Alien Fresh Jerky. (Look it up). Pull up to Thanksgiving Point. Unload everything, and poof, the magic happens. There is a group of people behind the scenes that do a lot to get things running and keep them running.  I had some good conversations with The "tech" guys that kept things running smoothly. One of the Videographers. There is no way you are going to make me look cool on camera, if you do.. You are truly amazing!!! Also please photoshop about 20-40 lbs off!!! I got to hear some real awesome news about the first 8 physical games and their status from the one of the people that is coordinating all the shipping/logistics. I don't know if I'm supposed to not say anything as I don't think I read this news here. I don't want to spill anything. Ironiclally, the two people I had the least contact with was the two people in front. Other than a few pleasantries,  I didn't get much chance to talk  to you two. Sorry about that. But I wanted to thank you all for all the hard work you put in to get that event going. In a small company, you wear many hats. Not all of them fun. But you all made it look fun! 

8)My Kids - I've said it before, so I'll say it again, both my children are older. One is Autistic, and I was a little worried about his reaction to all this. The growing crowd had them both a little anxious but for different reasons. My boy doesn't do well in crowds. And speaks his mind... There is no filter.  That can sometimes lead to awkward situations. My daughter has some physical issues along with being imuno-compromised. So getting her to an event like this, was pretty cool. For those of you there, she was the one with the shiny blue walking stick. She has some balancing issues that require it. The good news is she is down to only needing one now.. So it's a slow improvement. 

For my daughter, my worries were pretty much tossed aside almost immediately. It is all but impossible to play a game standing up for her. A normal  controller takes two hands to operate efficiently. But play she did.. One hand on the controller and the other to keep her from tipping over. The control scheme had her zipping around 3 games with no difficulty. And after all is said and done. She did not have any hand cramps afterward. That is another undocumented plus.

For my son, he actually enjoyed the games. I caught him smiling a few times.. He was studying the controller. He did mention to some of the staff that he really liked the controller. It's unlike anything he's ever used before. While out in the car, he said he could see some real potential in it and cannot wait to play other games on the Amico.

9)The Crowd - I did not see a frown the entire time I was there. Another good sign.

When all is said and done, it ended too soon for us and we had to go. The place was filled up quite nicely and Tommy was chatting with a ton of people. All looking like they were having fun. Especially the kids. I didn't get a chance to say bye to him or thank him again.  Overall a good time. Got to play the system. Got to meet Tommy. Got to see and hear a few cool things. Watched my kids have some fun on the system too. I'd call that a successful time.

41 minutes ago, woobman said:

If I could summarize Saturday's event in Lehi. It would be in one word: Fun.

 

I was starting to type this out last night, but life got in the way. As it tends to do.. So Tonight it is.

 

I'll split the event up into a few parts.

 

1)The Venue -  The Museum of Natural Curiosity was a perfect place to hold it in. My kids happen to be too old for it now, so coming in with them, was a little odd. I had a nice conversation about the Intellivision and the Amico with one of the people from the Museum. Overall. a perfect place for it. It was a little difficult doing any filming as the backdrop was a beautiful day and very large glass windows. Hard to get decent footage. I think total I took two pictures. But it did not detract from the systems on display. It was quiet at first, with just a few people. That was an advantage for me. See below.  The museum staff reported that around noonish the museum picks up  And it did.

 

2)Tommy -  We got there when things were a little quiet, so Tommy and I got to chat. I won't bore you all with the details, but I can tell you, he and his team are very passionate about their little machine that they have created. And the soon to be, hopefully, many games in the ecosystem. He took me aside and showed me the physical media. I examined the boxes and the contents of two different games. Finnegan Fox and Dynablaster. I had them in my hands and looking at them without signing an NDA. He just asked me not to reveal the contents. I will honor that. There is something in there that is not just a "code in a box". And there are some cool collectable items in each. Unique to that game. The moment I had the game boxes in my hand, I was very surprised by one aspect of the packaging. I'll just say that the pictures that you have seen on line do not convey a key aspect about it. At $20.00 each, I don't see any reason not to collect all of them. Too bad I didn't get to keep them.. Oh well.   Thank you Tommy for the sneak peak.

 

2A) Full disclosure - Tommy gave me a controller disc and an Amico Controller Pouch.  He didn't have to.  He just did.  For some the people out there, I'm a little more expensive than that to buy off... Thank you again Tommy.  As he was fishing through his backpack, he whipped out the Evercade and the first INTV cart. Made an offhanded comment like "oh yeah, this is it.."  Most likely the same unit that was pictured playing Night Stalker. No, he didn't turn it on and play it. We were too busy chit chatting. I'm sure if I would have asked, he would have.  We could have chatted for a long time, but he had an event to run.  One thing I can say about tommy is that se is VERY approachable. That is not just because I was talking to someone famous. Or a CEO. He just is.

 

3)The Systems - On display was Tommy's Ferrari Red console. That one had Astrosmash. Galaxy Purple had Shrark Shark. Glacier White had Emoji charades. For the life of me I cannot remember what color the console was that had pool. Evel Knievel was on the Graphite Black one. I don't remember seeing a woodgrain.  I could be wrong.. But I don't think it was on display.  Each console had four controllers hooked up. Some solid colors. Some various colors.  I did like the fact that there were different models and sizes of TVs. Just so you can see what games looked like. Tommy brought out a final version of Galaxy Purple console top cover and the pictures do not come close to seeing the paint job in real life.  NICE. Very Nice...  My son loves the color purple and Tommy made sure to show him. 

 

4)The Controllers - Lighter than I thought they would be. SOLID. I was flexing them a little bit and no controller creak could be heard or felt. Your hand naturally slips to where they are supposed to go. The physical buttons were not what I was expecting. Very little give in them.. That is a good thing. They just worked. So did the touch screen. The Disc did take me a few minutes to get used to. I had Analog stick stuck in my brain and was rotating going from right to left.. Tommy even mentioned I could use it more like a conventional pad for some games. That is something that I will have to get used to. But after a bit.. I did get better very quickly. My kids took to it real quick. More about them and the controllers in a bit.

 

4a)With 20 controllers in a room 5 consoles. Multiple people with Cellphones and all broadcasting blutooth, I expected more technical glitches. For the most part everything did run smoothly. I managed to get a game to hiccup.. But that was due to a controller issue. A quick reset of the system. Plopped the controller on top in the cradle. All set. It was here that I saw the developer screen. Not the normal UI. Nothing exciting to report here. Just fun to see.  I expected way more problems with all of those controllers that close together. I always felt like I was in control of my  character on the screen. 

 

5)The Games - As mentioned above, The prominent games on display were Astrosmash. Shark Shark! Evel Knievel. Pool. Emoji Charades. Flying Tigers and Moon Patrol were shown off a little later on, but I didn't see them. You know the basic game play for each of them so there is no need to go into that. How were they to play? As I stated in my one word review of the event: Fun!!!  I got to play a little Astrosmash with Tommy before that many people were there. And we were joking back and forth about all the lag and subpar graphics.  I Played Shark Shark with my two kids and Tommy.  That was a blast.  While I like Shark Shark on the original INTV... I wasn't sure about it getting too much playtime with the family with the reimagined version. I was pleasantly surprised to see both kids said that they would play it. Same with Astrosmash, and Evel Knevel.  So 3 out of 3 that we played extensively. I watched pool a little. And same with Emoji. They both looked like fun. I just never got to them. There was next to no people when we started. All too quickly for me that did change. out of nowhere a small line formed behind us.  We had our fun. Now it was time to move on..

 

6)The Graphics - There were no Jaggies. Everything was pretty darned smooth. Like I stated above. All different sized TVs. I believe from different manufacturers. I could be wrong. I believe the Astrosmash TV was probably 70-75 inches. I got up close to it during game play. All looked good. No nothing near what a PS4 or 5 would do.. But I didn't see a problem with the actual looks of the graphics.  

 

7)The Intellivision Crew - Tommy doesn't strap a few tv's on top of one of his very fast red cars.. Drive up I15, stopping off in Baker California  to get some Alien Fresh Jerky. (Look it up). Pull up to Thanksgiving Point. Unload everything, and poof, the magic happens. There is a group of people behind the scenes that do a lot to get things running and keep them running.  I had some good conversations with The "tech" guys that kept things running smoothly. One of the Videographers. There is no way you are going to make me look cool on camera, if you do.. You are truly amazing!!! Also please photoshop about 20-40 lbs off!!! I got to hear some real awesome news about the first 8 physical games and their status from the one of the people that is coordinating all the shipping/logistics. I don't know if I'm supposed to not say anything as I don't think I read this news here. I don't want to spill anything. Ironiclally, the two people I had the least contact with was the two people in front. Other than a few pleasantries,  I didn't get much chance to talk  to you two. Sorry about that. But I wanted to thank you all for all the hard work you put in to get that event going. In a small company, you wear many hats. Not all of them fun. But you all made it look fun! 

 

8)My Kids - I've said it before, so I'll say it again, both my children are older. One is Autistic, and I was a little worried about his reaction to all this. The growing crowd had them both a little anxious but for different reasons. My boy doesn't do well in crowds. And speaks his mind... There is no filter.  That can sometimes lead to awkward situations. My daughter has some physical issues along with being imuno-compromised. So getting her to an event like this, was pretty cool. For those of you there, she was the one with the shiny blue walking stick. She has some balancing issues that require it. The good news is she is down to only needing one now.. So it's a slow improvement. 

 

For my daughter, my worries were pretty much tossed aside almost immediately. It is all but impossible to play a game standing up for her. A normal  controller takes two hands to operate efficiently. But play she did.. One hand on the controller and the other to keep her from tipping over. The control scheme had her zipping around 3 games with no difficulty. And after all is said and done. She did not have any hand cramps afterward. That is another undocumented plus.

 

For my son, he actually enjoyed the games. I caught him smiling a few times.. He was studying the controller. He did mention to some of the staff that he really liked the controller. It's unlike anything he's ever used before. While out in the car, he said he could see some real potential in it and cannot wait to play other games on the Amico.

 

9)The Crowd - I did not see a frown the entire time I was there. Another good sign.

 

 

When all is said and done, it ended too soon for us and we had to go. The place was filled up quite nicely and Tommy was chatting with a ton of people. All looking like they were having fun. Especially the kids. I didn't get a chance to say bye to him or thank him again.  Overall a good time. Got to play the system. Got to meet Tommy. Got to see and hear a few cool things. Watched my kids have some fun on the system too. I'd call that a successful time.

This was an amazing outline of your experience thank you so much for sharing especially the part about your kids because that is the kind of thing I always pictured Amico would be great at.  Most of my friends don’t really game these days so a pick up and play system with party games and games for all sorts of people has always been a huge plus in my mind. In fact that’s what is bringing me back to gaming I stepped away during PS3 era I had maybe 5 games and rarely played them. Another reason I’m excited is that my grandma who will be 84 soon has seen some game videos I have explained how the games will work and their are at least 5 games she is excited to play with me and she never played 2 players on any game before in fact she hasn’t played a game period since Tetris on the NES.  

4 hours ago, woobman said:

If I could summarize Saturday's event in Lehi. It would be in one word: Fun.

Thanks for giving your impression. It's great that more and more people can test the console.

However... If there is another event, I'd really like to ask for a favor. My main goal for the Amico is to play with my niece, my sister and my mother too (she's 71). Finding games to play with my niece and my sister is easy (Overcooked!, Worms WMD, etc.), but finding multiplayer games that my mother likes to play is extremely challenging. So if there's another event, could someone try to convince their own parents to go with them and to try the console? I'm very interested in hearing about the reaction of older people too.

Great write-up, very comprehesnive.

Very intrigued now about the phsyical products!  My main take away is that you mention how much fun playing Amico was and how everyone could get involved.  

Sounds perfect, I don't want games that take ages to learn, especially if friends come round you just want to have a good time and enjoy.

Thank you

2 hours ago, Papy said:

However... If there is another event, I'd really like to ask for a favor. My main goal for the Amico is to play with my niece, my sister and my mother too (she's 71). Finding games to play with my niece and my sister is easy (Overcooked!, Worms WMD, etc.), but finding multiplayer games that my mother likes to play is extremely challenging. So if there's another event, could someone try to convince their own parents to go with them and to try the console? I'm very interested in hearing about the reaction of older people too.

I almost qualify for senior discounts in some places.. Sooooooo I'm older.. That counts... Right?

1 hour ago, woobman said:

I almost qualify for senior discounts in some places.. Sooooooo I'm older.. That counts... Right?

I hope not, cause I’m right there with you 👨‍🦳

28 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Our latest video showcases our Salt Lake City, UT offices and team members.

Also some new gameplay footage from our upcoming Space Strikers game!
 

Thanks for giving us the tour.  Also, it was nice seeing new footage for Space Strikers.  Glad to hear it has a single player mode.

33 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Our latest video showcases our Salt Lake City, UT offices and team members.

Also some new gameplay footage from our upcoming Space Strikers game!
 

Nice to get a tour of the Utah office thanks for that love getting to meet people working with Intellivision and seeing the amazing amount of experienced people you have at all kinds of levels including logistics 

3 hours ago, woobman said:

I almost qualify for senior discounts in some places.. Sooooooo I'm older.. That counts... Right?

Looking at your signature, no, you don't qualify! LOL

My mother is a casual gamer. She plays a lot with her computer and her tablet, but almost exclusively with word games (mainly Scrabble), card games, mah-jong, match-3 games and puzzle games. She doesn't play action games. Other than Lady Bug 40 years ago, the only action game she truly had a lot of fun playing was Carmageddon. That's the kind of "old people" I'd like to hear from.

11 hours ago, woobman said:

8)My Kids - I've said it before, so I'll say it again, both my children are older. One is Autistic, and I was a little worried about his reaction to all this. The growing crowd had them both a little anxious but for different reasons. My boy doesn't do well in crowds. And speaks his mind... There is no filter.  That can sometimes lead to awkward situations. My daughter has some physical issues along with being imuno-compromised. So getting her to an event like this, was pretty cool. For those of you there, she was the one with the shiny blue walking stick. She has some balancing issues that require it. The good news is she is down to only needing one now.. So it's a slow improvement. 

 

For my daughter, my worries were pretty much tossed aside almost immediately. It is all but impossible to play a game standing up for her. A normal  controller takes two hands to operate efficiently. But play she did.. One hand on the controller and the other to keep her from tipping over. The control scheme had her zipping around 3 games with no difficulty. And after all is said and done. She did not have any hand cramps afterward. That is another undocumented plus.

 

For my son, he actually enjoyed the games. I caught him smiling a few times.. He was studying the controller. He did mention to some of the staff that he really liked the controller. It's unlike anything he's ever used before. While out in the car, he said he could see some real potential in it and cannot wait to play other games on the Amico.

Thank you for the detailed review. Specifically I appreciate this part, I really love that you highlighted the accessibility. My nephew was born with symbrachydactyly and is missing some fingers. He struggles sometimes in sports and also when playing video games. It gets a little easier as he has gotten older, but some controllers pose an issue. Sometimes I think some designs miss the mark with this, so glad to hear your kids had fun and no issues playing. 

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Our latest video showcases our Salt Lake City, UT offices and team members.

Nice office!

And... Oh, that's the lady who replied to me that if I didn't receive an email for the gift it was because the gift was only for older pre-orders and not the newer ones. Well, I know who you are now! LOL

9 minutes ago, Papy said:

My mother is a casual gamer. She plays a lot with her computer and her tablet, but almost exclusively with word games (mainly Scrabble), card games, mah-jong, match-3 games and puzzle games.

I noticed that your mom likes Mahjong.  That game is going to be on Amico.

I have to add another little nugget about an interaction my son had with Tommy that I chuckled at.  My son honestly asked where are the Micro transactions? None replies Tommy. Season Pass? Nope. Battle Pass? Nope. V-Bucks? Nope.

Later in the car he half asked, half stated: When you buy the game, you don't have to buy anything else? I explained that when you get the game. You get the whole game.  What about Day one patches?  Could there be bug fix patches? yes..  They can happen. But for the most part, they should be installed on the console and you are done. I told him that it will be just like the gamecube days for him. Start the game and just play.  That made him happy.

Woobman,

Thank you for the very detailed review.  Glad you had a great time.  And that your kids also enjoyed the console and games.

10 minutes ago, woobman said:

I have to add another little nugget about an interaction my son had with Tommy that I chuckled at.  My son honestly asked where are the Micro transactions? None replies Tommy. Season Pass? Nope. Battle Pass? Nope. V-Bucks? Nope.

 

Later in the car he half asked, half stated: When you buy the game, you don't have to buy anything else? I explained that when you get the game. You get the whole game.  What about Day one patches?  Could there be bug fix patches? yes..  They can happen. But for the most part, they should be installed on the console and you are done. I told him that it will be just like the gamecube days for him. Start the game and just play.  That made him happy.

Isn't that wonderful?  Just like the good old days when you put in a game and start playing right away.  No waiting 24 hours for an update to finish.  Lol. 

3 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Our latest video showcases our Salt Lake City, UT offices and team members.

Also some new gameplay footage from our upcoming Space Strikers game!

Great office tour Tommy!!!  I hope you have room to grow when it starts to take off!

I didn't realize you had a fulfillment Center here in Utah....  Just think. all those games are sitting in the warehouse all alone.. They need homes.  I say we start a fundraiser to give the a place to live. If someone donates $20.00 for each, you can bring them out of the soon to be cold warehouse... For $160.00 Bring a whole family of games home...   \\batocera\share\roms

5 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Our latest video showcases our Salt Lake City, UT offices and team members.

Also some new gameplay footage from our upcoming Space Strikers game!
 

Nice to see there are 40,000 physical copies ready for distribution in the US & Canada. Going to try my best to grab at least a few of those and get them off your hands Tommy

Have been spending a lot of time in the apocalyptic wastelands (i.e. rural Texas) conducting trainings, but my Intellivision hat has sparked several conversations from old Atari VCS & Intellivision fans. Of course I let them know that Intellivision is back & coming out with the Amico. Got several folks excited for something old, yet new again, from Intellivision. People just flat out miss that simple, coop game play time with family

I would think the Amico would be one of the better systems to QA for. No extremely long games to have to play all the way through.