Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

Tommy -- in one of your earlier comments on Spades you mentioned there would be a kid mode. I tried to search this thread and maybe I missed it, but is kid mode going to fall under the Karma engine?

Also, I watched some of the game footage with my son (he's 6). Some observations by just letting him watch:

He was excited for Astrosmash, thought Missile Command looked cool but thought it would be too hard for him, loved Liar's Dice and Nitro Derby, and thought Evel Knievel was awesome (particularly the skycycle and the crashes),  He has no idea who EWJ is but mentioned he wanted to play that ASAP just by looking at it. His favorite overall game from all that he saw was Battle Tanks...but he is big into planes, warships and army stuff right now. 

He also saw Sesame Street mentioned and was excited, even though he's mentioned before "he's a bigger kid now and that's for little kids" 🤣 It's ok kid...you can be excited about Big Bird regardless of your age.

I also totally forgot about Skiing being shown -- I think this is still probably my favorite of all the games so far. I still play the original and between this and all the SSX games I have, I really like games like this. 

I keep seeing videos where people say the Amico needs a killer app.  I also see a lot of people saying Skiing looks amazing and they are really excited for it...and it's a pack in game...and so are Astrosmash and Shark! Shark!  As an Intellivision fan, those three games alone make for a killer app.  Cornhole and Farkle are just icing on the cake, and we even have another pack in game yet to be announced.  I didn't get any pack in games with my XBOX One, PS4, or Switch.  Honestly, Skiing alone makes me want to buy the system.  I still play Skiing on my 2600 and Intellivison, and I haven't found a modern Skiing game out there that is as much fun.

Let's keep talking about killer apps though.

Cloudy Mountain and Night Stalker look fantastic, and we've seen gameplay.  These look to be well into development.  Then we get Moon Patrol, an absolute arcade classic, and we can already get a taste of the gameplay on our phones.  As a retro gamer, just hearing those titles makes me excited.  And before someone calls me out for nostalgia, these retro games are actually still fun to play and totally hold up.  I'm not worried about the gameplay for these classics, and the graphics are appropriately scaled up for modern gamers who want a fun experience.  I agree that maybe there is still some polish to be done on the graphics, but these are all still in development.

Let's talk surprises. Evel Knieval and Space Strike.  I had zero interest in Evel Knievel--until I saw the gameplay and stylized graphics.  Seems like a winner.  But then, out of nowhere, Space Strike is shown and it looks like Rocket League for retro gamers!  

Let's talk about future games.

Earthworm Jim 4. Do we need to say more about this one?  Graphics looked promising, beloved franchise, still recognizable even today.

MLB Baseball could be great as well.  Name the last "fun" baseball game since the 16-bit era?  Maybe "The Bigs" or "Mario Baseball," but games like Sony's "The Show" would put my family to sleep!

And personally I can't wait for Asteroids because I'm a huge fan. And I love that game.  And it still holds up.

I think my long rambling point is that a new console can't survive on nostalgia alone, it needs multiple fun games to play.  I can be very honest about games that I used to play and love that don't hold up anymore.  This happens in all media.  Try watching that "hilarious" movie or television show from your youth and maybe it's surprisingly no longer entertaining.  I think what we've seen already is a promising library of games that should be a lot of fun to play.  I understand that most of us have not even had a chance to play these games yet, but I haven't played any of the upcoming new games on the next gen consoles either.  The list of Amico games that have already been announced have gameplay styles that absolutely still hold up, and that's "killer app" enough for me.

16 minutes ago, Noah98 said:

Let's keep talking about killer apps though.

 

 

I still say that the "killer app" or the thing that makes this desirable, is the controller. Yes, Wii Sports helped to sell the Wii, but it was because of its controller that made those games fun. If it came with a typical video game controller, I doubt most would have bought it. Amico's controller combined with any of the games they've shown, should be an enticing sale. For me, the killer app will be the controller... and Night Stalker. 

I don’t think there will be any one “killer app” that stands above the rest, but a variety of things that appeal to different groups of people.

For some, the “family safe” aspect of Amico is “killer” enough.

For others it might be inexpensive games with no harassment to spend more money in-game.

For the EWJ fans, it’ll be that game. 

For us old-time gamers, the eventual original games will be “killer”.

For parents with young kids, whatever Amico is doing with Sesame Street will be a major buying factor. 

And as @vongruetz I think wisely points out, the controller will be “killer”, especially for group games where you need to have private info on your controller.

This is part two of two.

1 hour ago, vongruetz said:

I still say that the "killer app" or the thing that makes this desirable, is the controller. Yes, Wii Sports helped to sell the Wii, but it was because of its controller that made those games fun. If it came with a typical video game controller, I doubt most would have bought it. Amico's controller combined with any of the games they've shown, should be an enticing sale. For me, the killer app will be the controller... and Night Stalker. 

Great point! If this just had a standard controller with analog sticks or a snes clone, I'd probably be less enthusiastic. The disc on the controller looks really promising with games like Pong and Breakout. I bought an AtGames Legends Cabinet, which is awesome by the way, and the two spinners are so much fun. Tron, Super Breakout, Circus Atari, Warlords, get lots of play on the cabinet. And the screens can really add to the experience. I actually loved the overlays on the original system because they personalized many of the games.

On 8/8/2020 at 2:51 PM, cmart604 said:

The comment I'm most puzzled by that I keep seeing is "I don't like the look of that game or that game is not for me" as if every single game should appeal to you. Can anyone name a system they own that they like every single game that's been made for that system? I consider myself to be a fairly big Intellivision fan and I certainly don't love every game on the system. Off the top of my head I'm pretty sure I'll like Astrosmash, Nightstalker, Cloudy Mountain, Skiing, Baseball, Fox, and a handful of other ones at a minimum. For me that's enough to buy the console. My 2 cents. 

I'm with you on this @cmart604. I'd further it by saying even the ones that i'm not sure about only cost $10 USD and most days that's enough for me to take a chance...this system doesn't need to be for everyone but its creating an ecosystem that is affordable and inclusive and that is something the world can never have enough of  

Cheers All,

The Wren

Anyone else having trouble finding the Level857 YouTube feed with @Tommy Tallarico and Victor Lucas? 

yes...alot of refreshing going on and nuttin!

3 minutes ago, cmart604 said:

Anyone else having trouble finding the Level857 YouTube feed with @Tommy Tallarico and Victor Lucas? 

Same here - can't find anything on YouTube or their Twitch channel

Just now, GrudgeQ said:

Same here - can't find anything on YouTube or their Twitch channel

Ok cool. So I'm not an idiot. 😂

Just came up

1 minute ago, GrudgeQ said:

Same here - can't find anything on YouTube or their Twitch channel

They just tweeted some tech difficulties...they're tryin!

1 minute ago, cmart604 said:

Just came up

Yep, here is the link:

8 hours ago, Zee said:

I didn't realize the lure of Earthworm Jim in the video game community

EWJ 1/2, Aladdin, Spot etc were some of the best game EVER made. They were the TOP games in the industry back in the day.

3 hours ago, Noah98 said:

Let's keep talking about killer apps though.

You guys are missing the obvious Killer App in the room, while I do think the controller and the family friendliness is huge pluses, I dont think they are in and of themselves the "killer app", the " the killer app" I think is the game prices.  8 to 10 bucks for a complete no DLC game..  you kidding me.  Thats HUGE.  Thats do I dare say killer?!?  

I also hold out some hope that one or more of these sports games is so damn fun, people will take notice... 

Also live:

Finally finished the demo without continuing. I agree that at first I found it hard to distinguish obstacles from scenery but by the third or fourth session it was no longer an issue. 

Hi everyone on atari age. This is my first time posting anything so I guess you could call me an atari age virgin, so be gentle. I wanted to give my 2 cents on amico controller and how great it could be, if used in the right way. I'll start by saying some of my favorite games ever are the Warcraft and Starcraft franchises. I don't know what genre their called I guess building Sims. Well any way some of them got ported to consoles and I couldn't stand using a controller over a mouse. This is where I think the amico controller could really shine. The reasons I hated a regular controller is that it was pretty difficult to pick only some of the troops when they were all bunch together because you were limited to a box. It would be great to use your finger to make any shape you want so you can select the troops you want while leaving out the ones you don't. Another reason I believe the amico controller would be great for those style of games is that you could click and drag spells. How great would it be to click a button and drag your finger in the direction of your enemies or allies depending on spell. To be honest it may even be better than mouse. I know some people might think that's crazy talk but we will see. I'm actually trying to make that type of game my self that I think would be great for the amico one day. It has a lot of twists to make it familiar to both older generation gamers as well as new generation gamers. While still having a lot depth without complication. I believe you can have both if done in the right way. So I want to wish you Mr. Tallarico all the luck in the world. Maybe one day we will meet. Also don't listen to all the haters and do whatever you can to make your dream a reality. I always consider myself a dreamer. People act like to be grown up you need to put those things aside but where's the wonder in that. Thanks for reading my rambles and I realize I don't have a question.

Good interview Tommy.  I'm glad you're still doing interviews.

9 hours ago, mr_me said:

You'd have to figure out how to do the first person perspective in a local multiplayer game.  Are you thinking split_screens?  [Edit:  Is it that everyone shares the same perspective?]

I don't know. One of the great thing about Amico is "firsts", so the game designers with more background than me might come up with something good. What I'm thinking of is the perspective just like Tarmin with maybe the characters at the bottom of the screen looking in, or maybe a 2.5d perspective view with all 4 players visible in a kind of formation/marchine order. Then when it's fight time each controller gets a turn and the monsters and etc. I think Dungeon Master on the IIGS/Amiga/others had a pretty good mechanic.

Any chance for some classic game shows?

I Think a game like Password would work well with the controller screen.

The Match Game

Buzzers for Jeopardy

Spin the disc.... Wheel of Fortune.

This list could grow quickly.  During Covid, I have watched some classic game shows.  Forgot how funny some of them were/are.

29 minutes ago, 1980gamer said:

Any chance for some classic game shows?

 

I Think a game like Password would work well with the controller screen.

The Match Game

Buzzers for Jeopardy

Spin the disc.... Wheel of Fortune.

 

This list could grow quickly.  During Covid, I have watched some classic game shows.  Forgot how funny some of them were/are.

 

 

Card Sharks

Concentration

Password

Tattletales

Pyramid

To Tell The Truth

Press Your Luck

Joker's Wild

To say the least would be a lot of fun to play.  They wouldn't need to be individual games either.  You could do a group of 70's Games, 60's, 80's... much like they did for the Arcade game packs (Williams, Atari, Midway, Capcom).

I have been thinking about the box art for the Amico.  When you collect games you get to see alot of cool box art. I love it more when the box jumps out at you. Lately the consoles have been a tad drab. My xbox 1 x= a black box lol my original xbox 1 = a green box lol. The switch it a bit better because its bright red but nothing really exciting.  When the neo geo mini arcade came out I fell in love with it and the box. Something you can display proudly.   So Tommy what will we get? Hints man come on

4 hours ago, cmart604 said:

Ok cool. So I'm not an idiot. 😂

I am sure Rev would disagree,but your ok by me!😄👍