Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

Oh yeah... one more thing Tommy... 

How about a Berzerk remake!!!  LOL!

2 hours ago, Loafer said:

Dj_convoy:  This isn't meant as an attack on you at all but in light of other past posters comments about the system probably not having any 3D engine support, your comments made me chuckle and I think is the main reason why Amico hardware devs need to just stay focused on what they are trying to achieve and not get too caught up with the opinions of the masses lol.  I do get what you are saying, there's a certain charm to 2D art and visually it ages better (ie: compare the majority of SNES games with PSX and the low poly count of the PSX just look too fugly nowadays).

 

The thing for me is there is an evident vision behind the Amico and I suspect that vision is also at play behind the scenes as far as art is concerned.  As you've said these are just a few seconds of gameplay and I don't doubt this sample of greatest hits is meant to both act as a taster for the games but also meant to show that the hardware can flex its muscles too as far as 3D is concerned.

Nailed it!  (as always). 

2 hours ago, wolfy62 said:

I think everything looks outstanding,though what really pops for me is the colorfullness

Of all of the games.

I love that!😃

Always interesting to hear different perspectives and glad you like the colorfullness.  We feel the same. 

Funny that a few people say they don't like it.  Imagine if I tried to create a machine to please everyone?  Impossible!! 

 

2 hours ago, mr_me said:

It is ecco the dolphin.  Confirmation in that video GrudgeQ linked.

Still officially only a rumor.  We can neither confirm nor deny the existence of an EXCLUSIVE dolphin game on Amico by the original Ecco team including musician Spencer Nielsen.   

But if it was true... that would be pretty AMAZING... wouldn't it.  

 

58 minutes ago, imstarryeyed said:

Great video Tommy, I am in on so many of those games.  I do hope many devs in the future consider doing sprites, but I am ok with the 3d looking characters as long as the gameplay is very tight and properly difficult, which I am sure will be no problem seeing as how much Quality Control your company has over things.

 

The Snafu and Night Stalker. Moon Patrol games looks amazing, Astrosmash, Armor Attack, Shark Shark just simply amazing!  I loved the Asteroids new and old, tell your asteroids developer to include Blasteroids (the arcade remake), if they are redoing the game, that evolution of asteroids to this day is still one of the best!

 

Human Cannonball, Auto Racing, Hot Wheels / Matchbox racers were such pleasant surprises, I can't believe no one has ever made a Hot Wheels game that actually simulates playing with the toy and not trying to make a 3rd person / 1st person racer.

 

Ok now that I can see what you all are thinking, you have an amazing catalog of Intellivision and 2600 games that would be amazing, I am thinking Swordquest series, Star Master, Dodge em, Seaquest, Omega Race (come on this one can so be arcade vector perfect and fun on that controller), the mind literally boggles at the opportunities!

 

Congrats, I have been showing your trailer to everyone I know today!

 

 

 

Thanks so much for the support and thank you for helping us to spread the word!!!!!!

11 minutes ago, IMBerzerk said:

I just watched and commented on the John Riggs video, have to really say I'm definitely excited about this unit Tommy.  This sounds great.  The fact that you crossed over so many boundaries that the original Intellivision never got to be a part of is amazing.  Ecco the Dolphin being one of them, the other being Earthworm Jim.  Wow.. Sega specific stuff.. and now on Intellivision.  Very exciting!!!  All the unique Atari arcade games... the remakes... WOW!!!   

 

Like I said before... it's your drive to make this thing a success that is really pulling us all in.  Keep it going!   Best luck at the Show in Germany and the big Amico reveal!  Post some pics if you can.. 

 

JR

Thanks so much!  The support of everyone in here really means a lot to me.

11 minutes ago, IMBerzerk said:

Oh yeah... one more thing Tommy... 

 

How about a Berzerk remake!!!  LOL!

But of course!

13 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Shark! Shark! is one of the highest voted games in focus testing.  People absolutely love it and so far have not complained about the potential issue you mentioned.  Like you said... hard to tell from such a quick clip... but trust me... it plays AMAZING!  And one thing you can't see from the clip is that the backgrounds actually come into play during certain parts of gameplay.  That's all I can say for now.  Looking forward to sharing more in the future.

 

Love the trailer, especially excited about the Moon Patrol game. Have you looked into porting any of the unique Odyssey 2 classics? I think Killer Bees and UFO would work particularly well with a disk controller. 

About backgrounds, I'm with BydoEmpire. Please, please include options to turn off and /or minimize backgrounds. From Atari 2600 Ms. PacMan to about a million retro remakes, for many of us colorful and busy backgrounds just distract from gameplay... And it gets worse as your eyes grow older.... 

14 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

HERE IT IS!!!

Let me know your thoughts. Please help us by sharing this video! The world needs to know that Intellivision is back and available on 10.10 2020.

 

Looking  forward to sharing more details and gameplay footage over the next 14 months.
 

https://youtu.be/TzE386pQOy4

Just curious: Noticed you referred to it as "the Intellivision." Yet you mention upthread that you wanted to refer to it as "Amico" without the "the." Change of heart?

29 minutes ago, JeffVav said:

 

Just curious: Noticed you referred to it as "the Intellivision." Yet you mention upthread that you wanted to refer to it as "Amico" without the "the." Change of heart?

Pretty sure the intent is along the lines of enticing Intellivision fans, as in the "Intellivision" is back in the form of "AMICO" 😉 At least that is how I interpret it. 

Of course I leave it to Tommy to clarify. 

I was excited during all the video but at 1:40, when Tommy said: "that's the magic that we want to bring back with the Intellivision" my heart bumped louder than ever!

Take my Canadian dollars$$$

I can clearly see 2020. (Sorry, has to do it)

New Turbografx mini in the spring and the Intellivision in the fall.   

OK my Sesame Street "One of These Things Is Not Like the Other" extensive training has kicked in once again - so I have to ask:

Why is Breakout on a CRT or is that a controller screen? My Spidey senses say some sort of Easter Egg here.

9 hours ago, doug0909 said:

Love the trailer, especially excited about the Moon Patrol game. Have you looked into porting any of the unique Odyssey 2 classics? I think Killer Bees and UFO would work particularly well with a disk controller. 

 

About backgrounds, I'm with BydoEmpire. Please, please include options to turn off and /or minimize backgrounds. From Atari 2600 Ms. PacMan to about a million retro remakes, for many of us colorful and busy backgrounds just distract from gameplay... And it gets worse as your eyes grow older.... 

You really need to play the game.  Your opinion will quickly change I think.  I totally respect and realize that it's hard to determine anything with just a 2 second clip so you'll just need to trust me at this point. 

I'm not familiar with Killer Bees and UFO on the O2.  I'll need to check them out.  Thanks.

8 hours ago, OldSchoolRetroGamer said:

Pretty sure the intent is along the lines of enticing Intellivision fans, as in the "Intellivision" is back in the form of "AMICO" 😉 At least that is how I interpret it. 

Of course I leave it to Tommy to clarify. 

Correct!  In that instance THE in front of the company name was fine.  But never "The Amico".

 

6 hours ago, MonsterSky said:

I was excited during all the video but at 1:40, when Tommy said: "that's the magic that we want to bring back with the Intellivision" my heart bumped louder than ever!

Mine did too when I said it!! 

I didn't have a script.  I just turned on the cameras and started talking. 

2 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

You really need to play the game.  Your opinion will quickly change I think.  I totally respect and realize that it's hard to determine anything with just a 2 second clip so you'll just need to trust me at this point. 

 

I'm not familiar with Killer Bees and UFO on the O2.  I'll need to check them out.  Thanks.

 

 

They are both free roaming games, which is why I think they would work well with a disk controller. 

UFO is an asteroids type game which adds the options of bashing enemies with your shield and, much more importantly for the fun factor, cascading destruction. 

Killer Bees is a totally unique avoid or stop the objects game with a firing weapon added. 

Of course, if you are after simplicity, you might also want to take a look at another unique O2 game which may have been one of the greatest 2 player games of the entire 8 bit era, Smithereens... It's a one switch two player game where you hold your stick down to shoot a catapult, and the longer you hold it down, the further you shoot. You have to knock down your opponent's castle fully before he knocks yours down, and the angle of your shot has to adjust to the height of the castle as you knock it down... 

6 minutes ago, GrudgeQ said:

OK my Sesame Street "One of These Things Is Not Like the Other" extensive training has kicked in once again - so I have to ask:

Why is Breakout on a CRT or is that a controller screen? My Spidey senses say some sort of Easter Egg here.

 

It's just the style of the game.  We wanted it to seem old school CRT so we added the scan lines and screen curvature right into the art. 

One of the biggest Indie Switch developers are working on this.  They are HUGE Intellivision and retro fans and reached out to me through my good friends who are doing Night Stalker (another amazing award winning developer who LOVES Intellivision!).  I'm only hiring developers who are super passionate about what we're doing... and it really shows in the products we're making together.

The cool thing about Breakout is that the game starts off "traditional" (vertical) at first and then switches to horizontal so we can use more of the screen.  And wait til you experience how the gameplay is!  You're not just hitting out bricks and that's it.  There is a timing goal and "Space Invader" vibe happening.

Looking forward to sharing more in the future!!

2 minutes ago, doug0909 said:

They are both free roaming games, which is why I think they would work well with a disk controller. 

 

UFO is an asteroids type game which adds the options of bashing enemies with your shield and, much more importantly for the fun factor, cascading destruction. 

 

Killer Bees is a totally unique avoid or stop the objects game with a firing weapon added. 

 

Of course, if you are after simplicity, you might also want to take a look at another unique O2 game which may have been one of the greatest 2 player games of the entire 8 bit era, Smithereens... It's a one switch two player game where you hold your stick down to shoot a catapult, and the longer you hold it down, the further you shoot. You have to knock down your opponent's castle fully before he knocks yours down, and the angle of your shot has to adjust to the height of the castle as you knock it down... 

Cool.  Thanks again.  I never had an O2 (although I have one now for my hardware collection... and signed by Ralph Baer!) but have never played it.

I apologize if this comes off "cheeky", but I had to share this in this forum.  I would never post this publicly on any of my social media... but I thought the folks in here would get a kick out of it.  Console Wars 2.0!!   Hahahha! 

 

I enjoyed the video, but want to see more extensive footage of the various games before I commit to anything.  I want to be blown away so I know I'm on board 100% with this.  It's a good start and look forward to more gaming video footage.  I think one approach that would be helpful would be to show a clip of the original game, then another of the re-imagined of that same game, like a side by side comparison.  This may help some of us identify with what the Amico is doing to improve upon.  Just a thought.  Also, any chance the Amico will be on display to the general public to try out before you buy it like Intellivision did back in the day with display kiosks? 

I think a lot of people will first play the original game for a few minutes, then play the new ones.

I know you will make bundle of games at a really good price for the Intellivision's game.

But will you also have bundle for games that not appeared on the Intellivision, (like atari 2600, etc ) ? 

Thank you.

18 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

It's just the style of the game.  We wanted it to seem old school CRT so we added the scan lines and screen curvature right into the art. 

 

One of the biggest Indie Switch developers are working on this.  They are HUGE Intellivision and retro fans and reached out to me through my good friends who are doing Night Stalker (another amazing award winning developer who LOVES Intellivision!).  I'm only hiring developers who are super passionate about what we're doing... and it really shows in the products we're making together.

The cool thing about Breakout is that the game starts off "traditional" (vertical) at first and then switches to horizontal so we can use more of the screen.  And wait til you experience how the gameplay is!  You're not just hitting out bricks and that's it.  There is a timing goal and "Space Invader" vibe happening.

Looking forward to sharing more in the future!!

Wow nice job on baking in the CRT look for Breakout - fooled me. Also love the layout switching and adding another layer of goals to a pretty simple game - talk about "competing on ideas" - nice stuff. Quite frankly probably the best word to describe the Amico extended team is "passionate" - I can tell by the social media responses to the new trailer that the passion is spreading too. Troll droppings are getting far & few between and pundits have gone from "DOA" to at minimum "Looks Interesting" & "Worth Watching".

27 minutes ago, doug0909 said:

UFO is an asteroids type game which adds the options of bashing enemies with your shield and, much more importantly for the fun factor, cascading destruction.

UFO and K.C. Munchkin were my two favorite games for the O2 (in my case, Videopac). However, both need a serious upgrade in the gameplay too. Contrarily to a game like Moon Patrol, simply changing the graphics won't be enough.

I'm excited for everything that I have seen. The arcade remakes look amazing, the original content also looks amazing. I was on board before, but I had to jump in my place to show that I'm still on board. October 2020 can't come quick enough. I have one suggestion since it looks like there might be some Sega Genesis games coming over. It would awesome for a new Comix Zone. I think that could be quite amazing on the Amico.