Introducing Slixed: An online drawing program which allows you to create Commodore 64-esque pictures with the C64's glorious 16 color palette. You can choose to create a new drawing from scratch, or load an image (in JPEG, GIF or PNG formats) which can then be edited in either hires or multi-color modes. Once you have an image worthy of hanging in the Louvre, you can save it off in PNG format for posterity or for later editing.

The program is currently in alpha, but it's certainly quite usable. One can only imagine what great features may be coming down the pike: Saving and loading in native C64 formats.. editing the various interlaced (high color) formats.. exporting images to assembly includes (for coders).. the skies the limit.

Just one more great cross platform tool to help modern C64 developers create new games, demos and art.

Check it out here.

Amiga Forever DesktopCloanto has released the latest versions of their popular and easy-to-use Amiga Forever and C64 Forever emulators. This is great news for old and new fans of the greatest Commodore platforms, including all versions of the Amiga series (inclusive of the CDTV and CD32), and most of the 8-bit line, including PET, VIC 20, C-64/128, and C-16/Plus4. Around here, it's among our absolute favorite emulation packages and used as pack-ins with various devices, including the MCC, so you know it has to be great.

The full press release details are below, along with all the links to the various packages available:

[ MAR . 27 . 2011 ]
 

Greetings folks! Welcome to the March 27th, 2011 edition of Three for the Road.

This week we take a look at a retro style platform game where you try to save the dinosaurs from extinction.. a shoot'em up where music plays an integral role in the gameplay.. and a recent scene re-release for the venerable Commodore 64.

We're like a bad penny - We always turn up. It's Episode 8! Did we cut the show down, or has it grown into something we can't control? You'll have to listen to find out! Matt Barton, Bill Loguidice, Christina Loguidice, Chip Hageman, and I - Chris Kennedy - give you the latest in listener bliss.

Click here to download the show.




Segments and approximate times below:

• Matt Barton on Indie games and their quest to save us from lack of originality in today's games (4:06)
• Chip Hageman on Commodoreserver.com (21:35)
• Christina Loguidice on the use of videogames in medicine (36:32)
• Bill Loguidice's first computer roleplaying experience (45:25)
• Chris Kennedy and videogame remakes (1:11:16)

As always, we'd really appreciate any feedback you have to offer on the episode. You can leave comments here, email us, or review the show on iTunes. You can also subscribe to our RSS Feed.

Fierce. Green. Dragon.It's the month of love. Nope, we're not sending you valentines and a heart-shaped box of assorted fine chocolates, but you do get a podcast sealed with a kiss! We have a humongous show clocking in at nearly three hours, with special guests Jay Barnson of Rampant Coyote, John Pio of MAMECADE, and Alex Layne of Not Your Mama's Gamer. We're also joined by almost all of the regular AA team, including Bill Loguidice, Christina Loguidice, Mark Vergeer, Rob Daviau, Chris Kennedy, and yours truly, Matt Barton.

Click here to download the show.

Segments and approximate times below:

• Jay Barnson (aka Rampant Coyote) and the fierce green dragon (4:44)
• John Pio (aka MAMECADE) on classic arcade machines (16:00)
• Bill Loguidice's third and final segment on motion gaming (45:15)
• Christina Loguidice on Plants vs. Zombies (1:00:06)
• Alex Layne on Samus Aran (1:08:51)
• Chris Kennedy and the results of AA Favorite Arcade Machine Poll (1:18:26)
• Rob Daviau on the Dreamcast (1:34:12)
• Mark Vergeer on the Commodore 64 (2:10:06)
• Matt Barton on Gerald Celente's Predictions of a Global (Gamer) Revolution

As always, we'd really appreciate any feedback you have to offer on the episode. You can leave comments here, email us, or review the show on iTunes. You can also subscribe to our RSS Feed.

[ JAN . 12 . 2011 ]
 
I remember back in 1976 when my father came home with Atari Pong... We hooked it up straight away on the TV set in the kitchen and just played the hell out of it. Only being five, I didn't quite get the hours in on it that my older siblings did, but I still logged quite a few.

Who would have thought that something so damned simple could hold your attention for so long? Simply put, it was a new technology that really foreshadowed the possibility of what was about to come. And it didn't take long.. Atari 2600, Fairchild Channel F, Bally Astrocade, Intellivision, Odyssey 2... all of these systems owe their existence, at least in part, to the financial success of Atari Pong... and conceptually to the Magnavox Odyssey by Ralph H. Baer and, of course, Willy Higinbotham for his oscilloscope rendition of Tennis for Two.

I've been checking out a ton of Commodore 64 related sites recently and came across this little gem: C64 Pixels. The website is archiving and cataloging all of the C64 artwork it can get a hold of, and it looks fairly well organized. All of the artwork is broken down by year, format and artist.

If you're a fan of C64 pixel art and don't want the hassle of firing up an emulator or viewing these on actual hardware, then this site is a dead simple alternative to getting your pixel art fix.

-Chip

[ JAN . 04 . 2011 ]
 
It's just amazing that we can still be reviewing new Commodore 64 releases in this day and age.. and there's nothing wrong with that. You guys know that I always like to give these games a shout-out because they are getting fewer and far between. They also tend to get buried under the mass of new titles for current systems. Also, who wouldn't want some new games to play on this nearly thirty year old beast. :-)

So, today we were contacted by Shoot'em-Up Construction Kit (S.E.U.C.K) king extraordinaire, Alf Yngve, about his latest S.E.U.C.K. game release over at Psytronik Software.

Amiga Forever DesktopCloanto has released the latest versions of their popular and easy-to-use Amiga Forever and C64 Forever emulators. This is great news for old and new fans of the greatest Commodore platforms, including all versions of the Amiga series (inclusive of the CDTV and CD32), and most of the 8-bit line, including PET, VIC 20, C-64/128, and C-16/Plus4. Around here, it's among our absolute favorite emulation packages and used as pack-ins with various devices, including the MCC, so you know it has to be great.

The full press release details are below, along with all the links to the various packages available: