28c3: The Atari 2600 Video Computer System: The Ultimate Talk

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Description: events.ccc.de/congress/2011/Fa...
Sven Oliver ('SvOlli') Moll: The Atari 2600 Video Computer System: The Ultimate Talk
The history, the hardware and how to write programs
Going more retro than the Commodore C=64: The Atari 2600 VCS was the breakthrough for video games in your own living room. This lecture will cover a bit of the history on how it came to live, describes the hardware used and shows how to write your own code for it.
The Atari 2600 Video Computer System (VCS for short) was the first wide-spread gaming console. It features 128 bytes of RAM, 4k bytes of addressable ROM. This was enough to keep it in production for more than 13 years.
This lecture divides in three parts:
The first part will cover the history on how it came to live. Learn why the Atari 2600 is technically half a Commodore creation. Learn why Motorola was really angry about that deal. Can you imagine on how the software was created, since there were no PCs or workstations available at this time? Get to view the probably first easter egg in the history of video games.
The second part will provide an intern view of the chips used in the Atari 2600: the 6507 CPU, the 6532 RIOT (RAM-I/O-Timer) and the TIA (Television Interface Adapter). It will also show why "racing the beam" is so important.
The third part will show how to write your own code. What registers you have and how to use them. Using emulators, the Harmony cartridge and a self-designed cart that will hopefully be finished by the time of the talk.

[@sa3270]

Everyone shows that same screen diagram. It is only a suggestion. You could make your image taller than 192 lines if you wanted, but it would leave less time for game logic. You could also do color borders on the top or bottom. As long as you have 3 sync lines and 3 black lines on each side of the sync, and around 262 lines total give or take a couple lines, it will work. You could even make one long indefinitely long frame. That is what Maze Craze did between screens so it could focus on computing the maze.

[@adamford4167]

My favorite talk on the Atari 2600 ever done!

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

Parker Brothers "Empire Strikes Back" is, in my opinion, one of the best games ever made for the 2600. It's fast-paced, fun and actually does a very good job of approximating the AT-AT's walking cycle. I was very impressed with it at the time of its release and still today.

[@wallacelang1374]

The Atari 2600 Video Computer System was my first home video game console and I loved playing it for many years since I bought mine in 1981.

[@tschak909]

Atari used PDP-11's running RT-11, attached to ADM-3A terminals. The ADM-3A terminal also had a printer port, which was used to send binaries to the adjacent development system, where some stations had an HP 1611A logic analyzer for debugging those "really hard" problems.

[@vcv6560]

Excellent presentation a nice compliment to the book Racing the Beam

[@vcv6560]

By the way I too was envious of the color palette of the Atari Hardware at that time having 64 myself

[@KC9UDX]

@@vcv6560 we all were!

[@AloanMoreira1]

43:07 - is where the juicy part begins (for me)

[@TrebleWing]

Just watched this and the C64 one. Is there an Ultimate Talk on the NES?

[@pmanolak]

unfortunately I cant find one....

[@krazybubbler]

Fantastic talk! Thanks

[@DaryxFox]

YOU might not be able to roundhouse kick in Chuck Norris Superkicks, but Chuck Norris can. Chuck Norris can roundhouse kick in any game.

[@ferndog1461]

I enjoy this presentation. Coffee toast to presenter.

[@donwald3436]

36:45 When your memory controller is more capable than the CPU.... lol

[@TheArmchairrocker]

Most people call it the Atari 26 hundred.

[@mgabrysSF]

14:22 - best games - replace Pitfall with Pitfall II. Introduced the first true platformer before Super Mario Bros., and included a massive ram boost (12k) and a custom audio chip for additional voices for music.

[@Lofote]

but without any hardware cheats, Pitfall is probably one of the best :)

[@KC9UDX]

Donkey Kong is undoubtedly the first though. Pitfall II is the most fun.

[@afloyd4976]

The 6 switcher will run Kool Aid Man and He-Man, games I cannot get to run on any other revision.

[@KC9UDX]

Interesting!

[@3vi1J]

The first ever easter-egg wasn't in Adventure. The programmer of Video Wizball did it 2 years prior on the Fairchild Channel F: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXe9ZYVvi891oaM

[@amare65]

0:44 ... 😳

[@nannosguru]

zhe shermans, we are sinkin we are sinking, what are you thinking about?

[@shawncarter7188]

Enjoying this very much so far 30 minutes in... the only thing I don't like is the laughter of the crowd at the simplicity of the games and graphics. It just feels snobbish. I get it, they obviously did not grow up in this time period. If they had, they'd express much more respect. The designers and programmers of the Atari were true pioneers. EVERYTHING that came after was due to these folks who blazed thr trail for them. Yeah maybe I'm over reacting a bit, sorry not sorry.

[@Kg277]

Why so many laughs?

[@Bongwyre2112]

It's 26 Hundred not 2 thousand 600 damn!!!!

[@John.Doe.2025]

26 hundreds for those retarded who can't count more than a hundred.

[@proxy1035]

ikr it sounds so wrong and this is the first time i've heard anyone pronouce it like that it's like saying Intel 8080 as "eight zero eight zero" you should sound like an idiot

[@Lofote]

Sorry, but who the f*** cares? Everyone can say it like they want, nobody should make others use YOUR specific version, even if it is the official one. Just because you think something sounds idiotic, it doesn't have to for anybody else. It's only important, that people know what they are talking about.

[@madmax2069]

@Dave P. its not called atari two thousand six hundred, its called Atari 26 hundred, or VCS

[@mumblic]

In German, Dutch and many other language the expression '26 hundred" is not or seldom used . That 's why many (non US/UK) called it Atari "two thousand six hundred" World wide "Twenty-Six-HUNDRED" is probably used less often then you think! Damn! The world seems to be bigger then you thought !

[@djosearth3618]

11:10 Real Sports Soccer *1983* 11:15 Real Sports Soccer *1987* Hmmmmm... *;]* Also it's *not Atari 2,000 600 (two thousand six hundred)* it's pronounced Atari 2600 *(twenty-six hundred)*

[@SeverusStudios1980]

Why do the swedes or whatever these guys are call it the Too Tousand unt Six Hundred. Its Atari Twenty Six Hundred. Did they even own one? I hate people who give big lengthy speeches about something they clearly do not truly understand. Little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

[@karl-heinznapp2874]

Well, in Germany it was (AFAIK even officially) called the Two Thousand Six Hundred, whereas in the USA and other English spoken areas it was the Twenty-Six Hundred I guess...

[@respobabs]

unlistenable from all that gross, dry mouth noise. take a drink! but interesting subject.

[@stefans2143]

Nice content, but please stick to your mother tongue. Could not watch it completely - too painful...

[@joeg4707]

He did fine.

[@TheArmchairrocker]

Sounds OK to me.

[@fergonzaleza1]

Dim people don't get accents.

[@pmanolak]

Its not the language, but the inability to prepare his presentation correctly. Looks like he tries to find what to say at that time.

[@chrisandrea4963]

Have you ever heard of Subterranea? It's the best Atari 2600 game ever but no-one seems to give a damn

[@pmanolak]

awful speaker. Maybe he knows much about atari, but he has not the ability to speak and transfer his knowledge. Also he looks like he try to find what to say at the time of presentation, giving the impression that he has not made any preparation before he starts.