Atari 2600 Homebrew Project Tracker

There are so many incredible games being developed for the Atari 2600.  40 years old and going strong, there are more games in production for this classic system than we have seen since the Great Crash of '83.  Keeping track of what is going on in the exploding homebrew community can be a daunting task.  There are lots of new developers jumping into the game and technology like the batariBasic programming platform are making it easier than ever to create high quality, fun games.  It feels like someone is announcing something on a weekly basis, whether it's a great idea, a work in progress, a beta candidate ready for public testing, or even a cartridge release.  There is always something going on!  A very exciting time to be a fan of the VCS!!

But, as I said, keeping track of everything that is going on is a big job.  I'm here to try to make that job a little bit easier.  It is the goal of this Project Tracker to keep abreast of all games in development for the Atari 2600.  This Tracker will monitor the progress of announced games in development and update regularly as the status of the progress changes.  To make things a little bit easier, as many games have been announced, worked into development, then shelved or progress just tapered off, I have decided to start this tracker with games that have begun development as of Jan. 1, 2017.  I realize this will cause a lot of games that have been long workshopped to slip through my net, but I will happily rectify those cases as they are brought to my attention so that they can be tracked.  Anything already in development prior to Jan.1 will be on my radar, but not updated on the Tracker.

As things progress, I will update the status of each game according to where they are in the process.  I'll be working out the proper classifications for things as we go along so bear with me.  As games are completed and/or released, I will move those projects to the end of the tracker to be moved off at the end of the year (I'll likely do some kind of Year in Review as well).

If you have a game you are developing or know of someone who does, please contact me with information pertinent to this tracker.  I'll work on setting up an email address for that purpose as well. For now you can drop me a message at my facebook page or in the notes section at the bottom of the Tracker.  If you are a game developer and want to update your game's status, or change any information presented on this tracker, that would be exceptional.  Just drop me a message with your name, the name of your game and its updated status. If, for some reason, you are developing a game and you do NOT want your game listed on this Tracker, that's ok too. Just drop me a request asking for its removal and we'll just act like it never happened.  This is a project to help support the community and raise awareness, that's all.

So without further ado, let's take a look, in no real particular order, at the games currently in development for the Atari 2600:

(Titles are always the working title and will change as necessary.  All developer names are the names I have been able to pull from my sources, usually Atariage ID's or personal names.  Descriptions are all written by me, pics when provided or when ROM available.)

TOTAL GAMES IN THE TRACKER:    28
LAST UPDATE: 7.10.17


HACKER FACE (NEW 7.1.17)
Developer: Robot 2600
Status: BETA TESTING
Description: Hack into the system and rack up points, but look out for rival hackers!

T.R.A.S.H. (NEW 6.25.17)
Developer: WizardBone
Status: IN DEVELOPMENT
Description: Clean up the streets by collecting garbage and thwarting mutated monsters.

CAVES OF ZARGON (NEW 6.13.17)
Developer: VGAGuy
Status:  IN DEVELOPMENT
Description:  Navigate narrow tunnels and conserve your fuel supply.  Pick up extra fuel to keep the adventure going.

SPIES IN THE NIGHT (UPDATED 5.7.17)
Developer:  Gray West
Status:  RELEASE PENDING
Description:  This is a game originally started in 2015.  Get your spies to the detonator and take out that lighthouse, but if you get caught in the light, it's lights out for you.  Lights.  Also, bad guys shoot at you.

MY KNEE HURTS
Developer: atari2600land
Status: IN DEVELOPMENT
Description:  Germs are trying to infect your hairy leg and you must stop them.

ROBIN'S ROUNDABOUTS
Developer: boski
Status: IN DEVELOPMENT
Description:  Experience the irritation of circumnavigating traffic roundabouts in the comfort of your own home and earn points!

SPACE CACTUS CANYON (UPDATED 6.10.17)
Developer: bjbest
Status:  RELEASE CANDIDATE
Description:  Guide a wayward Space Cactus home, braving canyons full of deadly bandits who hate anthropomorphized cacti.

SWORD OF IFFRIT (UPDATED 7.1.17)
Developer: ultima
Status:  IN DEVELOPMENT
Description:  An action-RPG based on Norse legend.  Find the mystic sword and avert Ragnarok!

L.E.M. LUNAR MODULE
Developer: Philsan
Status: RELEASE PENDING
Description: We're finally going back to the moon.  See if you have what it takes to touchdown on the moon's surface.

HUNT THE WUMPUS
Developer: The Maxx
Status:  IN DEVELOPMENT
Description:  The incredible Wumpus hunt comes to life on the VCS!

PANIC ROOMS
Developer:  Michael Brown
Status: IN DEVELOPMENT
Description:  Vicious vandals have broken into your plush mansion and are ransacking the place.  Protect your treasures and take out the bad guys while seeking safety in your strategically placed panic rooms.


CARROT KINGDOM
Developer: Jinroh
Status: IN DEVELOPMENT
Description:  The Adventures of an adorable Cat Girl as she traverses the dangerous Carrot Kingdom.

DUNGEON II: SOLSTICE (UPDATE 6.10.17)
Developer: David Weavil
Status:  RELEASE CANDIDATE
Description:  The sequel to the instant classic, Dungeon.

TREMORS (UPDATED 4.30.17)
Developer: mojofltr
Status:  RELEASE PENDING
Description: Previously MINE DIG, the game has been revised with theming from the movie Tremors.

AARDVARK
Developer: nanochess
Status:  IN DEVELOPMENT
Description:  A port of the Commodore and Atari 8-bit classic!

THE BLACK CANDLE
Developer: TheMajorHavoc
Status: EARLY DEVELOPMENT
Description:  Dungeon crawler/RPG


DANNY
Developer: The Maxx
Status: BETA TESTING
Description:  Skateboarding peril!  Navigate danger filled streets and grab low hanging fruit.  Watch out for the cops!

AIR TAXI
Developer: Kylearan
Status: EARLY DEVELOPMENT
Description:  A port of the Amiga and Commodore classic

NeXION 3D
Developer: TheMajorHavoc
Status: RELEASE PENDING
Description: First person shooter inspired by Berzerk!

GIZZLE WAP AND THE GREAT BLIZZARD
Developer: Mountain King
Status: IN DEVELOPMENT
Description:  You and your bird friend search for survivors after a great blizzard.

RAILSLIDER (UPDATE 4.2.17)
Developer: Lillapojkenpaon
Status: NEARLY COMPLETE
Description: Twin stick shooter (will require special controller) puts you against evil robots as you slide along a center rail.

CHAOTIC GRILL
Developer: splendidnut
Status: IN DEVELOPMENT
Description: A brilliant remake of Burgertime.

DODGEBALL
Developer: tschak909
Status: IN DEVELOPMENT
Description: It's one-on-one dodgeball action for the your VCS.

FRANCES ICHABOD CRANIUM
Developer: atari2600land
Status:  IN DEVELOPMENT
Description:  Waffles and Pretzels are coming at you from all sides.  Dodge waffles and shoot the pretzels in this 2K arcade game.

PANKY THE PANDA
Developer: Ben Larson
Status: RELEASE PENDING
Description: Adventure platformer following the trials of a Panda as he attempts to rescue his brother.

PArsec (UPDATE 3.26.17)
Developer: hloberg
Status: ON HIATUS
Description: A port of the TI-99 game.

UT2600/FLUT
Developer:MLdB
Status: IN DEVELOPMENT
Description:  Demake of the popular Unreal Tournament game for the Atari 2600.

NO TOUCHY! (UPDATE 3.26.17)
Developer: The Maxx
Status:  BETA TESTING
Description:  Flap about, grab the eggs, but avoid the spikes.

COMPLETED!

THE CELLAR-Y GAME (UPDATE 3.13.17)
Developer: atari2600land
Status: COMPLETE
Description:  Avoid the celery and roast the on coming Vegans in this 2K arcade game.

This tracker will be updated at minimum weekly when there are things to report.  Updates will be noted with a date of the most recent information for that game.  Again, if you know of a game I missed (and there are likely plenty) please let me know!

Thanks

Stan!

Atari 2600 Homebrewing 2 New Ongoing Features Coming Soon!

So, I'm trying really hard to get back into the Atari 2600 Homebrewing community.  I was on the ground floor 15 years ago when the modern era of VCS homebrewing was just getting going.  There were maybe 4-6 homebrew games coming out per year and only those who were really in love with coding for the old girl were behind that output.  Now, things have dramatically changed.  I've been on the fringiest fringe of the Atari 2600 community for a long time now, taking a hiatus to get married, have a kid, change careers and be otherwise pretty cash poor.  During that time, the 2600 homebrewing scene has exploded.  Advances in programming like the sometimes controversial batariBasic platform which allows novice programmers access to advanced tools to create some really sharp games, and hardware advances like the AtariVox and Harmony cart have accelerated the Atari 2600 into the Internet Age.

I sometimes feel like I am a piece of 40 year old hardware that is struggling to keep up with the rapidly changing times.  I may never fully understand the functionality of some of these advances, and many of them will go right over my head, BUT there is one thing I still know how to do, and that's play video games.  So as I work my way back into the 2600 Homebrewing universe,  I'm coming at it the only way I know how: as a gamer.

As a part of this effort, I'm going to create two new features here on Electric Frankfurter that will hopefully help keep me on track and keep the ol' blog updated with new content on a more regular basis.  The first project is an ongoing development tracker which will be my attempt to stay abreast of any and all homebrew games in development for the Atari 2600.  This is going to be tricky in the current climate with so many developers out there working on both the original assembly programming platform and the new batariBasic platform and who knows what else.  It used to be that 90% of Atari homebrewing was concentrated in the Atariage.com community; a community in which I still participate and strongly recommend as one of the best places to hang out on the internet.  I will be using Atariage and a couple of other outlets as my primary source for the goings-on in the homebrew world.  However, I would love any heads up from you, the humble reader, if you are aware of an active project that I have missed.  I want to keep this project tracker as a way of knowing for myself what is coming up as well as perhaps provide a valuable resource to the homebrewing community.  It is my intention to update the tracker weekly at a minimum and more often if there is more activity.

The second project is a spotlight feature that will showcase a Homebrew of the Month.  I was fortunate enough to free up a little scratch in my budget with which I plan to purchase a new homebrew game every month, play it to exhaustion, and then report on it here.  My goal is to increase awareness of the homebrew community and specific games that I am playing.  I may also choose to feature some of the incredible games from my already respectable homebrew library (see pic above for a glimpse at that library).  There are so many incredible games out there for the Atari 2600, I want as many people playing them and supporting the community as possible.  In some instances I will also provide more in-depth game play guides, maps, strategies, etc.  This will be much like the old, much revered, Closer Look feature from the early days of EF, but with the focus on new "old" games that you shouldn't miss.




So with any luck, I'm going to try to rev up the engine and give EF its vigor back by indulging in an aspect of my video game hobby that has long been under-enjoyed.  Come along with me, check out some cool games for the most classic video game system ever, and join in the conversation.  It'll be fun.