Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

On 7/6/2020 at 10:43 AM, Hwlngmad said:

Getting a bit tired of all the mud-slinging.  At this point I am just waiting for the console and games to be released.  Let's get to that and see how everything all shakes out.

The best response to the day-to-day "mud-slinging" is to avoid it as much as possible.  Unfortunately, much of the anti-Amico "criticism" is tantamount to sealioning, a hostile behavior which looks like "simple question-asking" or "expressions of concern" but is specifically intended to grind you down and to sour positive, good-natured discussions; see these links for more about what sealioning is, and how to recognize it.  People who behave in this way—and are called on it—will often take the stance that the target(s) "just can't take the criticism," but if this is what is meant by "criticism," then nobody should have to take it; it is an inherently dishonest practice which would be toxic to any community.

As I've said before, attempting to engage at all with these people is a losing proposition.  What everyone chooses to do outside of AtariAge is their own business, but I think we would all do better not to respond or reciprocate or even to link to their videos and posts, and I certainly don't want to see any of that drama brought in here.  When the Amico is ultimately released, much of this current negativity will likely disappear on its own anyway; having failed to "bring down" the Amico, they'll simply move on to someone else's idea that they can amuse themselves trying to tear down.  For our own good, especially in these times, let's instead spend our time and energy on constructive activities, and remain focused on the positive.

1 hour ago, LePionnier said:

What do you think about it ? Tommy is saying that they have this possibility. Do you like the idea or not and why ?

in a perfect world it makes sense, but as you know we are in a world so far from perfect it aint funny.  The issues I see are

1) Doesnt this throw out the idea that each game gets its 2 weeks showcade window?  Isnt the point of the showcase to possibly convince consumers who may not always like this type of game to give it a shot? The showcase could and would possibly open up customers to try a new type of game they havent played before.  If you get locked into retro games and all the AI does is show you new retro games each few weeks, you'll be missing other genres you may like or may not even had the chance to try yet.

2) Staggered releases IMHO will never work well in a industry where "first" is a thing. Where people sleep out, people pay more, people do all sorts of childish things in order to be "first", Weird jealousy is a thing in the industry for some reason. As grown adults I still find it funny that people think tribal about game systems as if you just can own more than one.

Personally I think the answer is to put out a game a week.  Each week a game can indeed get a showcase to everyone, and with there being 4 weeks in a month, each week can get its on genre.  First week is sports game week, second week retro, 3 rd week new IP, fourth week Education.  People will get used to and look forward to and even budget for games if they know the schedule. 50 some games a year should be doable, in those weeks were you may be without a release you can do bundle sales or whatever. 

Here's a question folks!

What name do you like better...

Armor Battle or Battle Tanks?

Armor Battle was the stand alone that showed the tanks in like a 3/4 perspective. 

Battle Tanks is what it was called in Triple Action (which is more of the style of the new game we're doing).

Which name would you prefer and why?

Thanks!

2 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Armor Battle or Battle Tanks?

Armor Battle... its Intellivision after all

1 minute ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Here's a question folks!

 

What name do you like better...

 

Armor Battle or Battle Tanks?

 

Armor Battle was the stand alone that showed the tanks in like a 3/4 perspective. 

 

Battle Tanks is what it was called in Triple Action (which is more of the style of the new game we're doing).

 

Which name would you prefer and why?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Either name is good.  But if I had to choose, I'd say Battle Tanks since that was the title in Triple Action.

4 minutes ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

Personally I think the answer is to put out a game a week.  Each week a game can indeed get a showcase to everyone, and with there being 4 weeks in a month, each week can get its on genre.  First week is sports game week, second week retro, 3 rd week new IP, fourth week Education.  People will get used to and look forward to and even budget for games if they know the schedule. 50 some games a year should be doable, in those weeks were you may be without a release you can do bundle sales or whatever. 

Agreed.  That is our plan to get to at some point.  But not out of the gate (time/costs/resources, etc.).

As we build to that (and even more!  Maybe a new release every 3 - 5 days eventually).

To clarify what I meant in the video in regards to the idea of showcasing...

July 1st we could release 4 different games.  Retro, Edutainment, Casual & Sports.

If a person LOVES sports and has bought a ton of sports games... then we will first feature the new SPORTS game to them.  The other 3 games are still in the store and they will get featured to the "Sports" guy over the next 3 weeks... but they see the "Sports" release first.  So they have something to play until the next month where another Sports title would be released, etc.

Just an idea and concept at this point.

6 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

What name do you like better...

 

Armor Battle or Battle Tanks?

Battle Tanks, because the title says it all ! You know that you will control tanks against tanks ! 😊

This will seem off topic, but bare with me a bit...

I’ve been guilty of being a “game hoarder” more than a “game player” over my Videogame playing years. For example, back in the day I bought over 80 Colecovision titles over a 2 year span, each on first day of release, and about 40+ Atari 2600 (To play via the expansion module) over that same span.  That’s over 120 titles, so 60 titles per year.  The problem got worse over the years between the Apple 2, the C64, the Amiga computer (ohhh the memories!), etc. The xbox 360 itself was a huge problems with over a 100 titles. That may not sound that bad but I figure maybe 35% of those I put in more than 2 hours, so that’s 60 titles that were great titles but I probably should passed on (more on that at the end)

Now, you’ll note I used “game hoarder” instead of “game collector”. The reason is simple, I didn’t buy the games as an investment, I just wanted the new thing, the flavor of the week. 30+ years later and this got worse with the advent of steam and those devil bundles of cheap Indie games resulting in I think near 2000 games, which I gather 1800 I never even tried.

Fret not, I’ve gotten a handle on this addiction, with the exception of VR, I now tend to buy games that I at least tend to play more.  VR is an exception because I really want to support devs during the early days of that endevor so Ive purposely bought a few games not to play but to show support. Anyway this is the difference between the early days of my addiction (colecovision) and the latter days with the Xbox 360/steam, where I at least played all the colecovision games, some probably not as much as I should but most got a fair shake.  Still addiction nevertheless lol

So still relevant to THIS thread but still sounds off-topic, this leads me to an anecdote from last year where I participated briefly in the high-score competition in the Colecovision forums.  One such game was Pitfall, where I got to playing it and just focused on it for a week.  To my surprise instead of enjoying it via the typical nostalgic lens that I usually do, I ended up really getting into it and found a new love for the brilliance of the gameplay but also of the incredible dev work in getting a game like this, with it’s very large scope, to fit into such a small size.  Bonus, I also finished the damn thing!  The same thing happened again with other games which lead me to play old favorites but just STICK WITH THAT ONE game, for a few days at least.  T

Alright when does it become relevant to THIS thread?  Right now!  So after playing “High score competition” experience, this also got me to try other games like the awesome Wargames on the Colecovision and even on the PCVR or Oculus Quest stuff, just stick with one game at a time. Really give the game the time it needs to show you what its got.  And so this leads to the following conclusion:

- Am I the only one that has game hoarderitis?  I seriously doubt at the same level BUT I suspect in this day and age of disposable ... everything, a lot of us approach gaming in the same way.  Buy it, play a bit, park it, move on to something else.  So...

- This also reminds me that by design, none of the Amico games are 100 hour adventures*, none are open world Walking simulators where you spend the majority of the time walking from point A to point B, none need to pass the “10 button Game controller” online course, etc

- I also can’t say I don’t yearn for Games that allow figuring everything I need to know gameplay wise in the first 2 min of the game, which is sometimes missed nowadays (on purpose, it’s not a bad thing ... always). So...

So All the above lends the opportunity to put more time in each of the games, where I can enjoy them thoroughly before parking them aside for the next big thing.  What was good in the early to mid 80’s is wanted yet again.

Ironically, this means instead of investing in just the games themselves, I’m investing in ME and my own precious time.  It doesn’t hurt that it’s a better return in my investment

So all that to say to me, the IE approach on releasing finished games post launch via a schedule is great. This gives me the chance to really play the launch games (and lord knows I’ll be buying a few), REALLY play them!  Let’s remember these are also carefully curated games that should focus first and foremost on FUN.  In return, it should allow me to appreciate more the work these devs put into them, in essence honoring their efforts.

Maybe I’m a unique fellow and no others are like me.  But the very nature of the games, the target audience, the mix of retro, casual, high score chasers, the couch multiplayer, etc this is EXACTLY why I can’t wait for this system.  For some, these are the very reasons why they aren’t interested in the Amico experience and that’s A-OK but for me, well... 

“I’m ready for Amico, are you?” tm (heh)

* Note: reminder that I’m not against big RPG’s, open world games, FPS, etc that sync hundred of hours, I’m just ready for something else too.

I couldn't agree more Loafer.  I like simplicity.  Most games now a days no longer have that.  But with the Amico, the simple fun will return in all it's glory.  The Amico is a refreshing change of pace.  I wish it was October already.

25 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Here's a question folks!

 

What name do you like better...

 

Armor Battle or Battle Tanks?

 

Armor Battle was the stand alone that showed the tanks in like a 3/4 perspective. 

 

Battle Tanks is what it was called in Triple Action (which is more of the style of the new game we're doing).

 

Which name would you prefer and why?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Battle Tanks.

Because then you can release a more tactic centric "Armor Battle" at a later time if you want.

20 minutes ago, jaybird3rd said:

The best response to the day-to-day "mud-slinging" is to avoid it as much as possible.  Unfortunately, much of the anti-Amico "criticism" is tantamount to sealioning, a hostile behavior which looks like "simple question-asking" or "expressions of concern" but is specifically intended to sour positive, good-natured discussions; see these links for more about what sealioning is, and how to recognize it.  People who behave in this way and are called on it will often take the stance that the target(s) "just can't take the criticism," but if this is what is meant by "criticism," then nobody should have to take it; it is an inherently dishonest practice which would be toxic to any community.

 

As I've said before, attempting to engage at all with these people is a losing proposition.  What everyone chooses to do outside of AtariAge is their own business, but I think we would all do better not to respond or reciprocate or even to link to their videos and posts, and I certainly don't want to see any of that drama brought in here.  When the Amico is ultimately released, much of this current negativity will likely disappear on its own anyway; having failed to "bring down" the Amico, they'll simply move on to someone else's idea that they can amuse themselves trying to tear down.  For our own good, especially in these times, let's instead spend our time and energy on constructive activities, and remain focused on the positive.

Agreed. 

I answered every "gotcha" type question that folks sent in.  I went through every single concern and bit of misinformation and laid out exactly what the truth is.  If folks don't like the answers... I don't care at this point.  As you mentioned...  it's not about getting their questions answered anyway... it's about holding on to their distorted view of reality in hopes that someone on the internet will give them attention.  So although it was nice to address all the "concerns"...  I answered everything they could muster and proved everything to be nonsense.  Very simple to do when you have the truth on your side. 

The interview from last night is going out in 2 parts.  The first one already posted and focused on the misinformation from the recent PU Podcast.  It shows how they take information and try to purposely put a negative spin on it.  That's fine.  I think I've embarrassed them enough at this point.  Next week they'll make another negative video... and probably the week after that and the week after that.  And if we do get delayed (will know for sure by the end of this month) then they'll do victory laps telling anyone willing to listen how "right" they were.  Which... is total nonsense.   I've been saying SINCE MARCH that there could be delays caused by COVID if everything wasn't back to normal by June.  Here we are in July and cases in California rise and we can't go back in the office and a lot of compliance testing facilities are not operational.

No more reason to waste my time.  The video interview I did shows that they don't know anything about how the game industry operates and they certainly don't know anything about what we're doing at Intellivision.  The success of Amico will make them the "Coleco Chameleon" of YouTubers. 

The 2nd video (not sure when he's putting that one out) addresses every single far reaching "concern".  From supposedly faking our Missile Command & SideSwipers video footage (showing everyone clearly playing the games on a real machine) to "it's just a Banana Pi" (so easily debunked).  But lets be honest... it's not like any of my answers are going to change their minds.  And that's okay.  I don't mind answering any questions or concerns or criticisms... as I have nothing to hide and have always spoken from the heart from a place of honesty and passion.
 

Armor Battle is my vote!

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Here's a question folks!

 

What name do you like better...

 

Armor Battle or Battle Tanks?

 

Armor Battle was the stand alone that showed the tanks in like a 3/4 perspective. 

 

Battle Tanks is what it was called in Triple Action (which is more of the style of the new game we're doing).

 

Which name would you prefer and why?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Why not 

Armor Battle Tanks?

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

 

Agreed. 

 

I answered every "gotcha" type question that folks sent in.  I went through every single concern and bit of misinformation and laid out exactly what the truth is.  If folks don't like the answers... I don't care at this point.  As you mentioned...  it's not about getting their questions answered anyway... it's about holding on to their distorted view of reality in hopes that someone on the internet will give them attention.  So although it was nice to address all the "concerns"...  I answered everything they could muster and proved everything to be nonsense.  Very simple to do when you have the truth on your side. 

 

The interview from last night is going out in 2 parts.  The first one already posted and focused on the misinformation from the recent PU Podcast.  It shows how they take information and try to purposely put a negative spin on it.  That's fine.  I think I've embarrassed them enough at this point.  Next week they'll make another negative video... and probably the week after that and the week after that.  And if we do get delayed (will know for sure by the end of this month) then they'll do victory laps telling anyone willing to listen how "right" they were.  Which... is total nonsense.   I've been saying SINCE MARCH that there could be delays caused by COVID if everything wasn't back to normal by June.  Here we are in July and cases in California rise and we can't go back in the office and a lot of compliance testing facilities are not operational.

 

No more reason to waste my time.  The video interview I did shows that they don't know anything about how the game industry operates and they certainly don't know anything about what we're doing at Intellivision.  The success of Amico will make them the "Coleco Chameleon" of YouTubers. 

 

The 2nd video (not sure when he's putting that one out) addresses every single far reaching "concern".  From supposedly faking our Missile Command & SideSwipers video footage (showing everyone clearly playing the games on a real machine) to "it's just a Banana Pi" (so easily debunked).  But lets be honest... it's not like any of my answers are going to change their minds.  And that's okay.  I don't mind answering any questions or concerns or criticisms... as I have nothing to hide and have always spoken from the heart from a place of honesty and passion.
 

 

Tommy, I admire the tenacity and patience you have in answering any questions or concerns people have about the Amico.
I really like what you and your team are doing.

Since I am involved in product development (measurement devices for the automotive industry) as a firmware/software developer myself, it is clear to me that most of the self-proclaimed "experts" have no idea what it means to develop a product. And to produce a product like the Amico for the mass consumer market is in my opinion even more of a challenge.

So for simple minds it could be helpful to to show simple things that they can understand:
For example, if you could take one of the Amico prototypes and set it up like a customer who has just taken his Amico home from the store and then play one of the games.
That could possibly give critical people more confidence and understanding of the product.

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Here's a question folks!

 

What name do you like better...

 

Armor Battle or Battle Tanks?

 

Armor Battle was the stand alone that showed the tanks in like a 3/4 perspective. 

 

Battle Tanks is what it was called in Triple Action (which is more of the style of the new game we're doing).

 

Which name would you prefer and why?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Battle Tanks was a conversion of Atari Combat/Tank.  Armor Battle is the intellivision game.

1 hour ago, oelli said:

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Here's a question folks!

 

What name do you like better...

 

Armor Battle or Battle Tanks?

 

Armor Battle was the stand alone that showed the tanks in like a 3/4 perspective. 

 

Battle Tanks is what it was called in Triple Action (which is more of the style of the new game we're doing).

 

Which name would you prefer and why?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Battle Tanks.

Because then you can release a more tactic centric "Armor Battle" at a later time if you want.

This, seconded!

2 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Armor Battle or Battle Tanks?

 

Which name would you prefer and why?

Battle Tanks has more of a ring to it, because the vowels have a near-rhyme and the flow of syllables is easier/more natural.

52 minutes ago, oelli said:

Tommy, I admire the tenacity and patience you have in answering any questions or concerns people have about the Amico.
I really like what you and your team are doing.

Since I am involved in product development (measurement devices for the automotive industry) as a firmware/software developer myself, it is clear to me that most of the self-proclaimed "experts" have no idea what it means to develop a product. And to produce a product like the Amico for the mass consumer market is in my opinion even more of a challenge.

 

So for simple minds it could be helpful to to show simple things that they can understand:
For example, if you could take one of the Amico prototypes and set it up like a customer who has just taken his Amico home from the store and then play one of the games.
That could possibly give critical people more confidence and understanding of the product.

 

Appreciate the support!

Yep!  The type of video you're talking about is definitely in the pipeline.  We have a very planned marketing focus and that is something that comes a little closer to launch.  Just like someone like Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo would do.

1 hour ago, Tarzilla said:

Why not 

Armor Battle Tanks?

 

 

I really like that!

1 hour ago, Tarzilla said:

Why not 

Armor Battle Tanks?

 

 

Nice one.

ABT!

Not bad.  Best of both worlds.

Something to consider!

Thanks!

6 hours ago, oelli said:

 

Just watching.

Tommy, thanks for answering my question right off the bat. Much appreciated. 

2 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Here's a question folks!

 

What name do you like better...

 

Armor Battle or Battle Tanks?

 

Armor Battle was the stand alone that showed the tanks in like a 3/4 perspective. 

 

Battle Tanks is what it was called in Triple Action (which is more of the style of the new game we're doing).

 

Which name would you prefer and why?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Battle Tanks ! It just sounds a bit more couch coop-ish. In my head anyway 😜

Tommy,

About your question regarding Armor Battle/Battle Tanks, what about a Battle City remake on Amico?  There were 3 games in the series.  Tank Battalion, Battle City & Tank Force.

3 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Here's a question folks!

 

What name do you like better...

 

Armor Battle or Battle Tanks?

 

Armor Battle was the stand alone that showed the tanks in like a 3/4 perspective. 

 

Battle Tanks is what it was called in Triple Action (which is more of the style of the new game we're doing).

 

Which name would you prefer and why?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Pineapple Pizza Tanks

Tommy,

Any chance we'll see a Twisted Metal style game on Amico?  It could be a top down perspective.