Into The Vertical Blank - S5:E5: The Computer Lab and The Horrors of Junior High

S5:E5: The Computer Lab and The Horrors of Junior High

Explicit content warning

09/07/22 • 79 min

Into The Vertical Blank

This episode is about the early 1980's Junior High computer lab. A wonderous place where Bank Street Writer and Sands of Egypt were loaded from 5 1/4 inch floppy disks, LOGO and BASIC were viable programming options, and where kids like us could find a place of our own. The story this time is about the computer lab, and also about how sometimes you don't understand the affect teachers have on your life until decades later.

All music, video production. writing and game play by Jeff Fulton with help from Steve Fulton unless otherwise noted.

Music : Everything Has Energy - Tony Longworth : support Tony's Patreon music https://www.patreon.com/tonylongworth

Theme by Brian TravisTitle: Into The Vertical Blank theme Words & music by Brian Travis (c)(p)2021 Taste This Moment Music ASCAP http://www.briantravisband.com/

Find us here:

http://intotheverticalblank.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/intotheverticalblank

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Atari_VB_Pod

All music, video production. writing and game play by Jeff Fulton with help from Steve Fulton unless otherwise noted.

Music : Everything Has Energy - Tony Longworth : support Tony's Patreon music https://www.patreon.com/tonylongworth

Theme by Brian TravisTitle: Into The Vertical Blank theme Words & music by Brian Travis (c)(p)2021 Taste This Moment Music ASCAP http://www.briantravisband.com/

Find us here:

http://intotheverticalblank.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/intotheverticalblank

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Atari_VB_Pod

Previous Episode

S5:E4: Atari ST Halcyon Days of 1989 Part 2: Fun Imported From Europe

In this episode Steve and Jeff turn calendar to 1989 and discuss what it was like gaming on the Atari ST back then. They list and discuss close to 50 games that they purchased and played that year. for the Atari ST Computer.

Games Mentioned in this Episode:

Action Fighter (Firebird) - Sega Arcade Port
Airborne Ranger (Microprose) - Military Sim
Axel’s Magic Hammer (Gremlin) - Multi Screen Platformer
BAAL (Psyclapse) - Arcade Platformer / Shooter
Bad Company (Logotron) 3D first person fly / drive and shoot
Ballastix (Psyclapse) - Sports Marble game
BattleHawks 1942 (Lucasfilm) - Battle / Air sim
Blasteroids (Mirrowsoft/Imageworks) - Atari Coin-op Conversion
Blood Money (Psygnosis) - Hor / Vert Scroll and blast
Bloodwych (Mirrowsoft/Imageworks) - RPG 3D
Breach (Omnirend) - Squad Strategy . Combat
Captain blood (Mindscape) - Adventure /Arcade 2D
Commando (Elite) - Capcom Arcade Conversion
Darius + (Edge / Softek) - Horizontal Shooter - Arcade conversion
Demon’s Winter (SSI / EA) - RPG 2D
Double Dragon II (Virgin) - Arcade Scrolling Beat-em-up
Dragon Spirit (Domark) - Namco Vertical Scroller Conversion
Fighter Bomber (Activision) - Air Combat Sim
Forgotten Worlds (ARC / US Gold) - Capcom Horizontal Scroller shooter
US GOLD Giants - 1943 The Battle of Midway, Gauntlet II, Out Run, Street Fighter.
Hard Drivin’ (Domark) - Atari Arcade Conversion
Hostages (Infogrames) - Police Simulation
Hound of Shadow (EA) - Graphic Adventure
License to Kill (Domark) Shoot’em Up Misc
Lost Dutchman Mine (Magnetic Images / Innerphase) - Adventure Arcade 2D
Macadam Bumper (Pocksoft / Infogrames) - Pinball . Pinball Construction
Microprose Soccer (Microprose) - Soccer with indoor soccer
North and South (Infogrames) - Various Historical Arcade Game
Pirates (Microprose) - Adventure / Arcade 2D
Populous (EA) - World creation and destruction Sim
Power Drift (Activision) - Sega Arcade Conversion - driving / racing
Precious metal Ocean Compilation - Arkanoid, Captain Blood, Super Hang-on, Xenon.
Rick Dangerous (Microplay / Firebird) - Arcade platformer / Multi screen
Robocop (Ocean) - Horizontal scrolling blaster . beat em up
Roller coaster Rumbler (Tynesoft) - Shoot em up 3D
Sidewinder II (Masertronic) - Horizontal Shooter
Sim City (Maxis) - Simulation
Sleeping Gods Lie (Empire) - RPG 3D
Strider (Psyclapse) - Capcom Arcade Port - Horizontal and Vertical scroll and fight
Stunt Car Racer (Microprose) - 3D racing
Super Wonderboy in Monsterland (Activision) - Sega Port Arcade Platformer / Scrolling / adventure
Switchblade (Gremlin) - Arcade Adventure Platformer Multi Screen
Thunder Blade (US Gold) - Sega Coin Op Conversion
Toobin (Diomark) - Atari Coinop conversion
Vincators (Domark) - Atari Coin op conversion
Xenon II Megablast (Imageworks) - Vertical shooter

All music, video production. writing and game play by Jeff Fulton with help from Steve Fulton unless otherwise noted.

Music : Dust and Ashes - Tony Longworth : support Tony's Patreon music https://www.patreon.com/tonylongworth

Theme by Brian TravisTitle: Into The Vertical Blank theme Words & music by Brian Travis (c)(p)2021 Taste This Moment Music ASCAP http://www.briantravisband.com/

Find us here:

http://intotheverticalblank.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/intotheverticalblank

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Atari_VB_Pod

Next Episode

S5:E6: Atari ST Halcyon Days of 1989 Part 3: Atari ST Gaming Gems

S5:e6 Atari ST Halcyon Days of 1989 Part 3: Atari ST Gaming Gems

Our favorite 1989 Console Style Games for the ST

We had an ST when most of the other kids near us had various consoles. We knew our machine could play superior RPGs, Simulations, and Adventure titles, but how did it hold up against the 8 and 16 bit console games of the day? Some ST console-like games were as good, some were not. We've chosen 20 console style games from 1989 for the ST to highlight and talk a little about, but before we get to those we’d like to highlight, let's first look at a list of the top 10 games in all genres from 1989, based on our ratings.

To make these lists we played every single game that has a 1989 release date in Atari Mania’s database, and ranked them based on Sound, Graphics, Game Play and Addictiveness, usings scores of 1-10, then averaged those scores to come up with a rating.

The following list is how the numbers worked out for a top 10. It’s all subjective + math, but we did play all of the games from the year to be certain we were ranking them against their contemporary competition.

Videos for this Podcast:Atari ST Gaming Gems #6 1989 Top 10https://youtu.be/dCBzOatNAng

Atari ST / STE Gaming Gems: Vol 7 - Top Console Style Games from 1989 https://youtu.be/rZ0qsS42av0

Games discussed in this episode:

Interphase
RVF Honda
Gauntlet 2
Midwinter
Seven Gates of Jambala (The)
Ultima V - Warriors of Destiny
Kick off Extra Time
SimCity .
Xenon 2 .
Stunt Car Racer
New Zealand Story
Super Wonderboy
Pipe Dream/Pipe Mania
Robocop
Blood Money
R-Type II
Rick Dangerous
Strider
Ivanhoe
Batman The Movie
Baal
Atomic Robo-Kid
JUG
Onslaught
Switchblade
Commando
Hawkeye
Skweek

All music, video production. writing and game play by Jeff Fulton with help from Steve Fulton unless otherwise noted.

Music : Past Present Future - Tony Longworth : support Tony's Patreon music https://www.patreon.com/tonylongworth

Theme by Brian TravisTitle: Into The Vertical Blank theme Words & music by Brian Travis (c)(p)2021 Taste This Moment Music ASCAP http://www.briantravisband.com/

Find us here:

http://intotheverticalblank.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/intotheverticalblank

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Atari_VB_Pod