Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

https://www.destructoid.com/toast-your-buns-for-burgertime-party-on-nintendo-switch-551400.phtml

 

Burgertime Party for Switch.

 

Similar game on Amico perhaps?

Maaaaaybe.

 

even today Microsurgeon is a game I am always happy to play and find it amazing the design and detail that went into it...

 

...wait til you play the NEW one!

 

Having said this, the arcades are now a thing of the past. More than that, I agree console video games were the best when they made their own things... which is why I'm a bit worried about the Amico (after being completely sold to the idea). I'm sure Tommy will say that I have nothing to worry about, but up to now it seems to me the focus is a bit too much on those old arcade games. I certainly really like playing those games on MAME (I'm currently building a bartop cabinet that I will give to my niece), I could most probably appreciate a "reimagining" of those arcade games, but the truth is arcade-style games are not really what I'm looking for. I'm far more interested in a reimagining of Utopia or Sea Battle (a four-player version of those would be the best) than a reimagining of Moon Patrol. (And please Tommy, don't hit me for saying this!).

Hi! Don't worry... Classic Arcade and Reimagined games only represent 25% of our initial game library. 25% are sports/recreation, 25% Original IP's and 25% Board/Puzzle/TV Game Shows/Dice/Cards/Word Games, etc.

 

There will be something for everyone for sure!

 

Yes, I just watched this interview... and as usual I found it somewhat frustrating because so little is said! LOL

 

We're still over a year and 4 months away from release. Can't reveal everything too early. Besides... it's been confirmed to me that Apple, Sony, Goggle, Microsoft & Nintendo are carefully watching us now. We are still in major patent filing mode.

 

 

But you have to remember that so far the only places we have had game announcements was at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo last year so they tailored their games to reveal to that group and for the 25th anniversary of a franchise. But in his latest interview with Victor Lucus on Electric Playground he stated that their game catalog has a 4 prong approach each representing about 25% of the catalog of games those general categories are Re-imagined Classics, Sports games, Card/Trivia/Board Games/TV Game Shows, Original IPs. Also we have over a year left so I would imagine most of the game information will come out closer to release

 

Alpha82 always has my back when I'm not around!

 

Ha that's good to hear.. it must be hard to deal with both licensed developers and hobbyists at the same time, but it's been done before.. Sony's Net Yaroze was a good example and experience for me (dev kit, but no GPU direct access, and no distribution) and Microsoft indie live arcade/[email protected] (no dev kit, no hardware access).

 

Having two different programs is a pretty old concept, I think anyway and would require a bit of extra work, Nintendo has been 100% open to indie/hobbyist for the past 5ish years.

I'd say give the hobbyist access to the high level script engines (no hardware access) and the pro's the NDK (similar to xbox's two dev programs)... but these days most "gamedev's" wouldn't know what NDK is, let alone program it.. which is sad :/

 

Agreed.

 

 

...wait til you play the NEW one!

Microsurgeon would be really something as a first person shooter; with the original graphics as a map screen. I'm guessing there won't be any FPS games on Amico.

It sounds quite "logic" that a version of Tron deadly discs will come out for Amico, I'm not 100% sure but I hope to 100%!

It sounds quite "logic" that a version of Tron deadly discs will come out for Amico, I'm not 100% sure but I hope to 100%!

Deadly Discs is on the list in their press release last october.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/intellivision-reveals-initial-details-for-the-upcoming-amico-home-video-game-console-300734998.html

Edited June 2, 2019 by mr_me

Microsurgeon would be really something as a first person shooter; with the original graphics as a map screen. I'm guessing there won't be any FPS games on Amico.

 

There will be no FPS's on Amico. But when you finally get a chance to see & play the new Microsurgeon.... you'll know why. It's going to be AMAZING!!!!!! Currently it is not a launch title but that could potentially change. We have so many games for launch (50!) that we gotta save stuff for our weekly releases.

Deadly Discs is on the list in their press release last october.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/intellivision-reveals-initial-details-for-the-upcoming-amico-home-video-game-console-300734998.html

 

 

Oh yeah! And we're getting the same team who is doing Night Stalker for us to do Tron! (Lots of the same mechanics)... and I can tell you that the new Night Stalker is going to completely blow away everyone! Everyone in the office can't stop playing it. That is going to be the one I'm really looking forward to sharing with all of us old Intellivision fans. So amazing!!!!!

Edited June 2, 2019 by Tommy Tallarico

Oh yeah! And we're getting the same team who is doing Night Stalker for us to do Tron! (Lots of the same mechanics)... and I can tell you that the new Night Stalker is going to completely blow away everyone! Everyone in the office can't stop playing it. That is going to be the one I'm really looking forward to sharing with all of us old Intellivision fans. So amazing!!!!!

 

Can't wait !!! Two of my favorite's !!!!

Can't wait !!! Two of my favorite's !!!!

 

 

Awesome! And by Christmas 2020 will be 2 of your new favorites again!

@Tommy Tallarico Sorry if this has been asked but will Earthworm Jim be at E3 and will it be shown. Also, will there be a classic collection released of Earthworm Jim 1 and 2?

 

Thanks good luck!

@Tommy Tallarico Sorry if this has been asked but will Earthworm Jim be at E3 and will it be shown. Also, will there be a classic collection released of Earthworm Jim 1 and 2?

 

Thanks good luck!

 

No. Earthworm Jim will not be at E3. We are still in the design stage. It won't be a launch title, but we may try to finish it so it's out for Christmas 2020. But nothing that we are interested in rushing.

 

At this point we don't have the original EWJ 1 & 2 on our list of titles as we're not really doing things like that at this point (although we will have a lot of the original Intellivision titles put together in "packs" that people could down for VERY cheap. We're talking around .50 per game!). I'm not totally against the idea in the future... but our focus right now is strictly on new and exclusive stuff. There is a false narrative out there already that we're just some "retro box". That isn't the case at all. So we need to be careful with our messaging moving forward.

 

 

Edited June 2, 2019 by Tommy Tallarico

Okay. Thanks for the replying.

 

 

Can't wait to see what you all unveil. 👍

We're still over a year and 4 months away from release. Can't reveal everything too early. Besides... it's been confirmed to me that Apple, Sony, Goggle, Microsoft & Nintendo are carefully watching us now. We are still in major patent filing mode.

 

Hi Tommy,

 

Actually, the reason I find those interviews somewhat frustrating is not because of the lack of specific technical information, but because they don't talk about the fundamental game design philosophy that will be promoted by Intellivision. I know the goal of the Amico is to appeal to all kinds of people so they can play together, but I don't know how Intellivision hope to achieve this goal.

 

You do mention modern controllers being an obstacle for "casual and non-gamers" and I agree with you on that one. However, in my mind, that's far from being the only problem.

 

For example, I believe another major obstacle for "casual and non-gamers" with modern video games is graphic cluttering and, to a lesser degree, audio cluttering. With a lot of modern video games, there is an overload of visual and audio information, most of which is useless from a game play point of view and only there to make things pretty. I believe this overload of information can also very intimidating. So a question that comes into my mind is : will Intellivision encourage game designers to limit this information overload?

 

Another question is what kind of mechanism will Intellivision use to make people with different skill levels play against each other? When curating games, will Intellivision favor a hidden "adaptative" catch up mechanism, an automatic handicap system (based on player profiles and history of results), a manual handicap system, or something else?

 

There are, of course, other questions I would have, particularly when it comes to the marketing strategy of Intellivision, but I know you will never answer those.

 

OK, maybe just one question : how will you make sure the new controller doesn't end up being seen only as a gimmick? For example, playing tennis on the Wii looked fun... until people realized sitting on the sofa and slightly moving their wrist was as valid, if not a more efficient way to play the game.

 

 

I've loved Intellivision with all my heart since Christmas of 1980. I haven't stopped playing the console in 40 years. I saw a huge gaping hole in the video game industry which sees video games becoming too isolating and family & friends not getting together anymore to play (like we did when I was growing up). I approached Steve Roney (and Emily & Bill) after the passing of our good friend Keith Robinson (to whom we spoke about getting me involved with Intellivision for a few years). I told them my vision and how I was going to do it and they all agreed it was a fantastic idea... and Intellivision Entertainment was born.

 

Thank you for that insight.

Idea: PC Engine classics remade

 

 

Oh yeah! And we're getting the same team who is doing Night Stalker for us to do Tron! (Lots of the same mechanics)... and I can tell you that the new Night Stalker is going to completely blow away everyone! Everyone in the office can't stop playing it. That is going to be the one I'm really looking forward to sharing with all of us old Intellivision fans. So amazing!!!!!

 

 

There will be no FPS's on Amico. But when you finally get a chance to see & play the new Microsurgeon.... you'll know why. It's going to be AMAZING!!!!!! Currently it is not a launch title but that could potentially change. We have so many games for launch (50!) that we gotta save stuff for our weekly releases.

 

I have already said that I am very confident in you and your team.

But I have one more thing to add ... You are a damn good seller ! lol

What can we do while waiting for another 17 months ! It's endless !!!

So if Mario is to Nintendo, Sonic was to Sega, and Atari has the Mt. Fuji logo... what will Amico use? A new Running Man In the works as well?

 

I'm really looking forward to the new game versions. Night Stalker and Deadly Discs were personal favorites as well.

 

As for modern gaming... it's too violent and over stimulating with speed, visuals and audio. I agree with Papy on that point. Last version of COD nearly gave me PTSD after playing it. I'm a huge fan of Skyrim and Flight Simulation like DCS... so these new all-out combat games are just too intense for me.

 

I've even lost interest in all the NFL/NHL sports games on the XBOX. Just too damn complicated to play. I moved back to retro gaming and just bring my portable Retropie unit wherever I go. Works for me.

 

How about the Intellivoice games like B-17, and Bomb Squad. Any remakes in the works? I'll bet Bomb Squad would be really intense!

The Amico, in 5 to 10 years after launching.

 

Any thoughts to the future?

What will be become of our downloaded games? Will they always work?

What about long after the servers are gone, any way to download games long after that?

 

The Wii servers are down, I think whatever games was downloaded on a particular system are stuck on that system. Yes?

Whoops... almost forgot... I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing Microsurgeon! I'm all in for a unit just because of that!! Thanks for reworking that game. Clearly a game that complimented the Intellivison, and showed how good that system was!

 

Beers to you!! 🍺🍺🍺

The Amico, in 5 to 10 years after launching.

Any thoughts to the future?

What will be become of our downloaded games? Will they always work?

What about long after the servers are gone, any way to download games long after that?

The Wii servers are down, I think whatever games was downloaded on a particular system are stuck on that system. Yes?

Call me old fashioned, but this is why Ill always prefer a cartridge or CD-ROM based system.

 

Hi Tommy,

 

Actually, the reason I find those interviews somewhat frustrating is not because of the lack of specific technical information, but because they don't talk about the fundamental game design philosophy that will be promoted by Intellivision. I know the goal of the Amico is to appeal to all kinds of people so they can play together, but I don't know how Intellivision hope to achieve this goal.

 

You do mention modern controllers being an obstacle for "casual and non-gamers" and I agree with you on that one. However, in my mind, that's far from being the only problem.

 

For example, I believe another major obstacle for "casual and non-gamers" with modern video games is graphic cluttering and, to a lesser degree, audio cluttering. With a lot of modern video games, there is an overload of visual and audio information, most of which is useless from a game play point of view and only there to make things pretty. I believe this overload of information can also very intimidating. So a question that comes into my mind is : will Intellivision encourage game designers to limit this information overload?

 

Another question is what kind of mechanism will Intellivision use to make people with different skill levels play against each other? When curating games, will Intellivision favor a hidden "adaptative" catch up mechanism, an automatic handicap system (based on player profiles and history of results), a manual handicap system, or something else?

 

There are, of course, other questions I would have, particularly when it comes to the marketing strategy of Intellivision, but I know you will never answer those.

 

OK, maybe just one question : how will you make sure the new controller doesn't end up being seen only as a gimmick? For example, playing tennis on the Wii looked fun... until people realized sitting on the sofa and slightly moving their wrist was as valid, if not a more efficient way to play the game.

 

 

I'm sorry you feel so frustrated by my interviews and hopefully you can appreciate and understand that there is a very specific and detailed plan in place that may or may not coincide with your own personal timeline of knowing things. But I can answer your questions in as much details as possible at this time.

 

I can guarantee that the "audio" will all be absolutely awesome for every game. I have personally been doing a lot of the audio design for the games we have at E3. And they all sound pretty amazing if I do say so myself. So no worries there.

 

I am also personally producing, designing and overseeing each and every game that will be shown. We have some absolutely incredible games... and that is the most important thing at the end of the day. And that isn't just marketing talk... the games are simple to understand and super fun to play and even greater to play when there are others present. Our non-biased focus testing has been proving this for us. I can't wait to share some of the videos and info we've received.

 

Also, no need to worry about the graphics... Mike Dietz is one of the most talented game artists/animators on the planet. I've been working with Mike for over 25 years. If you liked the graphics and animations of games back in the day like Earthworm Jim 1 & 2, Disney's Aladdin, Cool Spot, Global Gladiators... then you are familiar with the level of quality that Mike was able to accomplish decades ago. And his skill and understand is exactly why I knew I needed him as Intellivision's Art Director. He is personally overseeing almost all the games we'll be showing at E3.

 

In regards to the "mechanism" to get people of different skill levels to compete. It is one of our most sacred game design focuses. Each game has a different way to do it so I'm not going to get into specifics... we call this our Karma Gaming Engine™ which basically acts like a real-time on-the-fly handicapping system for the first couple of play sessions. But again... each game is different and I can't get into details just yet.

 

In regards to our controller being a "gimmick"... I don't believe the 3 BILLION people who play mobile games consider their phone a gimmick. What we've done is taken the best of both worlds! Touchscreen & simple tactile controls.

 

Edited June 3, 2019 by Tommy Tallarico