Accolade Documentary (Full History 1984-1999 + Origins)

A Documentary about Accolade software a powerhouse 3rd partry games developer that ran from 1984-1999 + a full origins story about it's two founders Alan Miller & Bob Whitehead.
A great Interview with Alan Miller about his Activision & Atari Days
www.digitpress....
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[@pw1169]

Really great content, loved the company documentary :) Thanks again!

[@BastichB64K]

Glad you enjoyed it , thx 👍👍

[@TonyManso]

Thank you for this! I wrote the Apple IIgs versions of 4th and Inches and Jack Nicklaus Golf. That was a lifetime ago. I burned out shortly after that and took a 20 year vacation from game programming. But I'm getting back into it now. Anyway, thanks for putting this together. Very cool!

[@BastichB64K]

No thank you for your contributions to gaming , those were 2 classic games well done 🕹️👍👍 , thx for watching

[@bojcio]

Dude Bastich! Your stuff is really brilliant. Great work! I get so much insight into the games I grew up with. I love this. This channel needs more views.

[@BastichB64K]

Cheers thx , glad you enjoying it . Please share anything you enjoy 🕹️👍

[@nehuge]

Agreed he put so much work into these!

[@tommacari4103]

Awesome video I worked for Accolade to start my career back in 98!

[@BastichB64K]

Nice , apologies the video was my first attempt at a documentary so it was probably rubbish but glad you enjoyed it anyway

[@tommacari4103]

​@BastichB64K video is great! I was a minor leaguer for the A's in Hardball 6 which was fun :)

[@RapIcant]

Bro... you are awesome! Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

[@BastichB64K]

Thank you for watch and cheers 😁👍

[@troymitchell8431]

Dude, this review totally rocks. I loved Accolade in the day.

[@BastichB64K]

Thanks for watching 👍👍👍

[@darrenlonghurst4433]

Awesome Documentary! Lots of great content and information! Again Loving your work Mate! Keep it up!!!😀

[@BastichB64K]

Thx , i apologize for that video it was my 1st attempt at a documentary about 5 years ago so its probably rubbish but thx for watching

[@AlexCBrandon]

Absolutely fascinating information. And the most unique accent I’ve ever heard.

[@BastichB64K]

🤣👍 thanks glad you enjoyed the video

[@skRapKlan]

Thanks for all this awesome history! Loving your videos, keep up the good work!

[@BastichB64K]

Cheers thx 😀👍

[@napoleonwilson3912]

Great video. Thanks for making it.

[@BastichB64K]

Cheers , thank you

[@nanorider426]

Great video! I think I played half of their catalogue but Law of the West, Test Drive 1 and Grand Prix Circuit is really special to me. ^^

[@BastichB64K]

Yeah those were great , so many classics

[@astrosjer822]

Law of the West. Such a great game!

[@BastichB64K]

One of my favs , so original 👍

[@OperationPhantom]

Great work Bastich! Really enjoyed your look at Accolade, as they are arguably an underrated software house and not as well known as the UK based ones but they released many gems for the C64 and other systems. The pictures setting the scene for the particular year are a great touch. Keep it up!

[@BastichB64K]

Thx for watching it ! It was my first profile vid on a company I loved . Making those year pictures was so much fun ... What to add and what to leave out 😄😂

[@OperationPhantom]

@@BastichB64K Yeah I bet there was a lot of cheese to choose from, beside the greatness! It makes for nice bonus nostalgia.

[@RickvanderValk14]

Fun to watch thanks for putting together

[@BastichB64K]

Cheers , thank you for checking it out 👍

[@ZabiNeinOhNein]

Thx for this Great Documentary.I loved Testdrive,Sound Intro and everything on the Amiga. Great Cap. Greets from Germany

[@BastichB64K]

Cheers thank you , I got a lot of other docs for a bunch of the old companies so check em out . System 3 documentary arrives in May 👍

[@ZabiNeinOhNein]

I was looking for the Main Theme of Grand Circuit all my Life,Finale found it,thx as well. Also I would love Research on the Game Hostages and Persian Gulf Inferno. I remember two versions of PersianGulfInferno due to political issues.

[@BastichB64K]

I really enjoyed Hostages a lot , I'm sure I'll get to that game eventually 👍 so many to cover

[@ZabiNeinOhNein]

@@BastichB64K yeah lot to Cover ,i remember Bitmapbrothers Speedball and used to jerk on Elvira 😝

[@maxsmarts8210]

You are right , Power At sea totally underrated game, for me one of the best from Accolade with The Train, Test Drive 1 and 2 ,Gran Prix Circuit, Killed Until Dead, Law of the West, Elvira, 4th and Inches . all gems .

[@BastichB64K]

Yeah I love all those !! They made so.much good stuff especially in the 80's to early 90's

[@0fUnkn0wn0rigin]

This was very interesting, i really enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next one.

[@BastichB64K]

Thanks 😁👍

[@timhaskett1733]

Great video, completely adored Accolade and their quality C64 games. Hardball 3 had some nice improvements from #1, but outside of buying stadium disks and adding Al Michaels, #3 and later were uneventful. I really wished Bob had done a Fast Break 2, the first was quite fun.

[@BastichB64K]

Accolade were kings , when the founders left it was all downhill unfortunately

[@dennyhaynes3]

First class analysis of a once brilliant company. I have many memories back in the day playing their games. I used to play the original Hardball on the C64 and I can't stand baseball lol, it was a brilliant programmed game. Another fantastic documentary Bastish 👍

[@BastichB64K]

That was my first attempt at a documentary , a little rough around the edges but it's become the blueprint for all the others . And yeah I loved Hardball too and Im not a fan of baseball games either 🤣👍

[@dennyhaynes3]

@@BastichB64K For a first attempt it was perfect, I wouldn't have realised if you hadn't said.

[@BastichB64K]

@@dennyhaynes3 😀👍

[@nikoxenos6237]

Great video- looking forward to more high quality content!

[@BastichB64K]

Thx 😁 lots more to come 🕹️👍

[@troyboy9988]

Great work mate.....Great channel and looking forward to seeing more docos.

[@BastichB64K]

Thanks for the kind words sir 👍👍

[@amadagio2856]

Thank you, great quality video. Many games I never heard of.

[@BastichB64K]

Awesome I was hoping people would discover games they never knew about 👍 thx for watching

[@thomasriccardi8561]

Don't go alone is an AMAZING RPG and the reason I love it is because it's not a typical fantasy or sci-fi rpg. It took place in a house where you had to figure out what happened to your father. It is a great game and is definitely worth another look.

[@BastichB64K]

Yeah I definitely want to play that game a lot more 🕹️👍

[@mkastelovic]

Great video :) . It would be really interesting to see the history of The Silmarils ( the French game developers responsible for Ishar series ) :) :)

[@BastichB64K]

That would be interesting , they made a lot of good stuff 👍 thx for watching

[@adampizurny9452]

thanks!

[@patsfan4life]

Imagine if you only developed one game for the c64..... and it just happened to be Law of the West..... legendarily great game

[@BastichB64K]

Yeah I know right !! So cool 😎👍

[@timhaskett1733]

I remember it could turn into some great humour depending on your choices

[@billybobs1705]

@@BastichB64K where's test drive 3?

[@BastichB64K]

@@billybobs1705 its in there in the 1990 section ?????

[@billybobs1705]

@@BastichB64K does not say what platforms it was released on though.

[@remelin75]

Fantastic work you put down on this! Many many thanks for making it! I have a recommendation though as it might help getting you more views and subscribers. I have a hard time watching your videos because of the constant flashing of the background. Sometimes even images flash and have a random movement to them. It's a cool effect but I can't concentrate on the information. The brain wants to look at things moving so if the things that animate and flash is the background then it steals attention from what you're actually supposed to look at. If an image randomly moves around then the eyes can't rest. The flashing is so bad that I just want to look away to get relief and it stops me from wanting to continue watching. This must be a reason why you have so very few subscribers on such otherwise amazing content. I rather look at a boring black background than a cool flashing background that makes me feel ill. If you want to have effects, make them have a flow which the brain can comprehend. Please take this into consideration and keep the great content coming!

[@BastichB64K]

Thx for feedback , I appreciate the comments and again thx for watching 👍

[@Konsker]

love accolade's the games winter challenge and the games summer challenge

[@BastichB64K]

Those were pretty good for sure 👍

[@Konsker]

@@BastichB64K glad to hear it

[@AnthonyCassidy50]

Loved the video. Yes please do more company bios. Liked and subscribed :)

[@BastichB64K]

Thank you sir , much appreciated . I got a mini profile documentary coming out later this month you might enjoy

[@freddyh.1282]

Excellent video - Thank you !

[@BastichB64K]

Thank you 😁 👍

[@gfmretro]

Excellent documentary! I've played some of the c64 titles, only problem was they were all cracked so I had no instruction on how to play them. Anyway well done! 👍

[@BastichB64K]

Thx 😁 yeah I was lucky enough to have a lot of original versions of their games so I could play them with real instructions

[@BenMargolin]

Totally, Dam Busters and the other war sims, and Star Control were essentially impossible without manuals!

[@BastichB64K]

@@BenMargolin agreed 100%

[@timhaskett1733]

Most of mine were cracked too, only originals were Fast Break and 4th and Inches which I bought at release

[@3dtexan890]

Great video. I have about 12 games from Accolade. I need to get them out again. Really loved Star Control 2. I have all three, but have only played SC 2 to the end. I know you do C64, but Sierra games were fun also, on DOS and Windows. I don't think they made any for the C64, but I am not sure. Keep up the great work.

[@BastichB64K]

Thx , I do C64 as my main focus but I'm gonna be doing more classic PC stuff as well this year ... Sierra would be awesome they had a massive history but I'd definitely want to do them in the future . Thx for watching 😁👍👍

[@mattmihm6946]

Oh man. Always loved Star Control on Sega Genesis. And just recently got Accolade's Comics going again, that game is so funny and well written. My favorite video of yours so far. Maybe something on EPYX in the future?....

[@BastichB64K]

Thanks for that 😁👍 Epyx will definitely be covered in detail at some point but in the meantime you can check out my 2 part "Let's play a series" covering the entire Epyx "the games" series from 1984-1988... You'll probably enjoy those vids

[@ExtremeWreck]

I think a better title would be "The Rise And Fall of Accolade" since that's essentially what it is in this case. A company that fell from grace because of Michael Berlyn not wanting to listen to the incredible advice. If not for him making Bubsy, Accolade would've more than likely been able to somewhat recover after the disappointment that was Hardball 5, but NOOOO he just had to make the pain even worse with Bubsy 3D. Accolade was on a good role until Bubsy came out, & seeing such a company fall from grace to the point that their reputation would end up being based on that particular franchise, & straight up nothing else just hurts to see.

[@BastichB64K]

It is sad , they had such a brilliant legacy and went all to hell at the end 😭😭😭

[@TamasKalman]

i’ve seen a c4 corvette with the digi dashboard in test drive on the c64 first and now i have a real c64 and a real c4 :)

[@Jammet]

Ahh, so that's why Test Drive Unlimited and such were released under the Atari label. Atari owns Infogrames, or what used to be Infogrames. But, erm. Little remains of Atari today, right? The follow-up games by the studio that made Test Drive Unlimited now sells pretty much the same game on mobile and Nintendo Switch, called Gear Club and Gear Club 2. They're decent racers and light simulations. I like them. Anyway-- really great documentary! Wonderful work! Let's see. Maybe it'd be easy to look these things up, but personally, I wonder what became of publishers or studios like Gremlin Graphics (Westwood?), Melbourne House, and who made the Firebird games?

[@BastichB64K]

Thanks glad you liked it ! There's tons of companies I'd like to cover the Melbourne house suggestion is pretty intriguing .. I have no idea what happened to them , they made some great games 😁

[@mix3k818]

Jammet Leopard Actually, now Bigben Productions will make a new TDU

[@Thiesi]

Nope, Infrogrames bought the rights to the Atari brand for computer games and then renamed themselves to Atari.

[@lurkerrekrul]

Stratego - This game is a sore point for me. I never played the board game, but after seeing the screenshots of the DOS version, I wanted it for the Amiga. When I finally got a copy, the graphics kind of sucked compared to the DOS version, but I figured I'd give it a chance. I read the rules and set up my pieces. The computer avoided every single trap I'd laid out and went straight for whatever piece you need to win (I forget now). In other words, it knew what all my pieces were, so the whole strategy aspect of setting up your pieces in secret was out the window. That was the one and only time I ever played it. Accolade Comics - Its failure might have something to do with the fact that it came on six disk sides and wasn't exactly a speedy game. I only recall trying to play it a couple times. Jack Nicklaus Golf series- I never cared for these. I always preferred the much cleaner graphics in the Leaderboard series. Elvira games - All of these games had nice graphics, but the combat sequences sucked. Everyone I knew had these games on the Amiga, but I never knew anyone who could win the fights with any degree of regularity. It was all just dumb luck. Star Control - I loved this game, but the computer AI was pretty dumb in the action mode. Playing against another player was much more fun. As for other companies to cover, how about CBS Electronics? They weren't around for that long, but they made some pretty good games for the Atari 2600.

[@BastichB64K]

Thx for watching , I might cover CBS in the future just got a lot of other companies I wanna do first

[@8_Bit]

I always thought there was a Canadian element to Accolade, but never looked into it. Very interesting!

[@BastichB64K]

Yeah I never knew it either until I started researching the company in detail ... It's pretty cool I think 🕹️👍👍

[@YoavRabinovich]

Nice !

[@BastichB64K]

Thx for watching 👍

[@Waterboyofsuperman]

Did any Accolade Genesis/Megadrive games get released for Sega CD? It looked like Pele had some FMV.

[@BastichB64K]

No none , the FMV clips are in the Genesis/Mega Drive version

[@sakuraharukamelody]

Great video and documentary!!, But only a thing: Test Drive 5 really was a Great game, no forgiveness!!

[@BastichB64K]

Thanks for watching , glad you enjoyed it . I didn't hate TD5 it's just I grew up on the originals so they just appealed to me more and as long as you like it then it's all good 👍

[@bbqnetwork8536]

Hardball III!

[@ShaneHill69]

Well done!!

[@BastichB64K]

Thx 😁🕹️👍

[@dacealksne]

Infogrames really is Euro EA

[@BastichB64K]

👍

[@kite666G]

Bc' Quest for tires is one of my favorite c64 games but i never knew the orignal title cos it was a renamed copy on my disk back in the day!Many thanks for this. Great video!!! (hope this works on the c64 mini)

[@BastichB64K]

Glad you liked it & yes BC's quest does work on the mini 🕹️👍👍👍

[@fandenivoldsk]

Great stuff!

[@BastichB64K]

Thx 🕹️👍

[@AnthonyCassidy50]

I've never played any of them, but wow those early 80s games were so creative. Pure creative game development - distill an interesting idea from a film or novel, and carve a unique piece of game play around it.

[@BastichB64K]

That's awesome that you never played any of them ! Now you have a whole bunch of retro classics to try out 🕹️👍👍👍👍👍

[@superbowltournament1692]

I'm afraid you left out Legends 98 (Football, ala Unnecessary Roughness, but with an NFL license)

[@BastichB64K]

Yeah I felt it was just the same game with an updated roster so I didn't include it but you are right I should have mentioned it anyway . Thanks for watching 👍

[@bbqnetwork8536]

Law of The West fun too

[@BastichB64K]

Great game

[@bbqnetwork8536]

Bubsy good too

[@iancolvert2543]

Hmm. No Jack Nicklaus Signature Edition?

[@BastichB64K]

Its simple a variation on the original , thats why its not covered

[@philipatkinson843]

Does anyone here know where I can download the team expansion disc for 4th and Inches? I owned it but can't access it anymore and loved making my own football teams. I would love to recapture the magic of this lost part of my youth.

[@BastichB64K]

What version of the game ? Dos , C64 , apple etc...

[@philipatkinson843]

C64. Thanks!

[@BastichB64K]

@@philipatkinson843 heres the link to download it csdb.dk/release/?id=231903

[@lelandfranklin3487]

Accolade boxes always looked AMAZING...but usually a disappointment for me. This compared to MicroProse...which was always good.

[@BastichB64K]

I liked them both , thx for watching

[@CasperEgas]

You make cool documentaries. It could be a bit less fast though. Infogrames is pronounced like infogramme in a French kinda way... Does Bubsy on the Jaguar count? Fractured Furry Tales?

[@BastichB64K]

Thanks for checking it out much appreciated , as for the length that company had over 100 games to go through !!!! If the pace wasn't fast it would have been a 5 hour video 😂 but yeah I would have liked to spend more time on each but there just simply were too many games ... No wonder nobody else has made a full every game from them video 🤔😂

[@CasperEgas]

@@BastichB64K 5 hours would have been bad, I agree, but 1 hour, instead of half an hour could have been great. Thanks for the video anyway!

[@BastichB64K]

Bubsy Fractured wasn't developed or published by accolade on the Jag.

[@youarepredictable]

How is it that you always seem to have mint condition boxes and merch from whatever company you are talking about?!?! Did you just meticulously save everything from back in the day or did you find it later?

[@BastichB64K]

Its a combo of both , all the old C64 tape stuff is from my childhood , everything else i bought on my early 2000 ebay binges , the games were worthless then .. nobody wanted them ... I cleaned house 😂👍

[@youarepredictable]

@@BastichB64K Smart. Yeah..I remember retro computing in the late 90's and early 2000's. Nobody was interested. Now people who weren't even alive then are buying retro stuff.

[@BastichB64K]

@@youarepredictable i was lucky , i could never buy most of those games now

[@midshipsport]

🤪🤩😍🥰💥💥💢💢💢💫😭😭 Thank You Mr.Miller and Mr.Whitehouse 🤟🤟🤟🤟

[@BastichB64K]

Legends 🙌👍

[@midshipsport]

@@BastichB64K They are the only guys to invent "The 1st of it's kind-1st of its kind." I am 39 now.

[@timhaskett1733]

Question for everyone, does anyone play any Accolade games still via emulation or non-original computer

[@BastichB64K]

I use a combination of both still

[@mix3k818]

Bubsy was kinda cool. Too bad the 3D game damaged Accolade so badly and the newest titles released by Billionsoft are just reskins...

[@BastichB64K]

That's a pity about the new one , never knew it was just a reskin ... That's too bad 😞

[@mix3k818]

@@BastichB64K Yeah, it's a skin of Runner 3. Worst part, people think this is the best Bubsy can get. Once I get my hands on Godot, I'll prove em wrong.

[@eliezervargas2959]

I🧡retro😼

[@BastichB64K]

Thx for watching 👍

[@vigarnyzavalaortega9112]

Track Name?

[@BastichB64K]

? Lol you gonna have to be a bit more specific with the question ?

[@vigarnyzavalaortega9112]

@@BastichB64K Ok, What is the background song called?

[@eliezervargas2959]

3 year late 🤪

[@BastichB64K]

😂 never late when its about retro 👍👍