Skip to content
23 Apr, 2021
Scribblings From The Public Restroom Stalls Of The Gods

He's big, he's fearsome, but most of all, he's FUN!

  • Home
  • theLogBook.com
    • Today In History
    • Support theLogBook at Patreon
    • Webmaster’s Blog
  • The LogBooks
  • Phosphor Dot Fossils
  • Music
  • Podcasts
    • Retrogram
    • Select Game
    • Don’t Give This Tape To Earl
    • theLogBook.com’s Escape Pod
  • Forums
    • Science Fiction
    • Media
    • Video Games
    • Site Announcements
    • Forum Rules
  • Store
  • ToyBox
  • Books
    • Login
  • Home
  • Gaming

Category: Gaming

Comments on things related to video games (usually of a fine vintage of at least 20 years), game collecting, and chronicling the history of video games.

Review: Flynn’s Retrocade

5 August 2018 Earl

When we last left the Little Green Men and their Big Green Dad, they were searching for a new “arcade home” in northern Utah, and they encountered… disappointment. This weekend, however, was a different story. […]

Leave a commentGaming

Review: The Atomic Arcade

21 July 201821 July 2018 Earl

I looked up lots of things about the Salt Lake City area months before moving there: schools, housing prices, utility prices, jobs, restaurants, retro arcades. Retro arcades? Well, yes. I’d think you would have to […]

Leave a commentGaming21st Century Video Arcades, Utah, Video Games

Cyan Saturday

25 November 2017 Earl

I’m declaring it Cyan Saturday. Not sure why, but it flows off the tongue way better than Black Friday, doesn’t it? First off, I want to introduce a new tradition, wherein I point you toward […]

Leave a commentCooking With Code, Gaming, Toiling In The Pixel Mines, Write, Write, You Bloody Well Write

Work the room

15 June 201715 June 2017 Earl

That first time I went to Classic Gaming Expo was quite something. I had won, in a contest on the Digital Press forum, a pass to attend the alumni dinner held the night before the […]

Leave a commentGaming, Serious StuffClassic Gaming Expo, Video Games

Rogue One: A Vector Graphics Story

15 January 201715 January 2017 Earl

Dear company now passing yourself off as Atari, This would be the best possible use of your time and resources right now. Think of it as a game design document built on hope. You may […]

Leave a commentGaming, Television & MoviesStar Wars, Video Games

On the passing of Joyce Worley-Katz

31 July 2016 Earl

I was saddened this morning to hear that Joyce Worley-Katz, 1/3 of the editorial team of the pioneering ‘80s Electronic Games Magazine, has passed away. She was married to fellow EG editor Arnie Katz, and […]

Leave a commentGaming, Serious Stuff

The one about the Pokemon

10 July 2016 Earl

I know a lot of you are sick to death of hearing about Pokemon Go, but let me tell you, if you have a kid who’s accustomed to sitting on the sofa to catch his […]

Leave a comment...And Little E Makes 3, Gaming, Home Base

And then BB-8 vanquished the basilisk

5 April 20165 April 2016 Earl

E and I played a Tuesday night game of checkers, during which he told me he wanted to introduce some sort of “battle” element to the game. After we finished our game, I fired up […]

Leave a comment...And Little E Makes 3, Gaming

Posts navigation

1 2 … 27 Next

You’re who, again?

I'm just your typical compulsively-writing, sci-fi-and-science-obsessed, classic-video-game-playing, action-figure-collecting dad.


That's me in red with the smooth round head.

I run theLogBook.com and host its daily Escape Pod podcast and the monthly podcasts Select Game and Don't Give This Tape To Earl. I've written several books (WARP!1, VWORP!1, VWORP!2, Fatherhood, Fandom And Fading Out, and The Escape Pod Logs), and produced the Phosphor Dot Fossils video game documentaries. Follow me on Twitter @LogBookGuy, like theLogBook.com on Facebook, or contact me here.

Retrogram Podcast

  • Retrogram #8103: The Hawkman Cometh

    The week of January 12th, 1981: Hitchhikers, Hulk, Hawk, and Who, oh my!  Buck Rogers returns with a new feathered friend, the Doctor has a new furry friend, and the stories from behind the scenes reveal what a miracle it was that any of these shows made it to our screens.  (1:02:19) Right-click here and…

    https://www.thelogbook.com/podcast/retrogram/retrogram_8103.mp3

Don't Give This Tape To Earl

  • 501: The Apple Episode

    HGR2: You think I’m a pretty basic podcast host? Oh baby, I am totally a BASIC podcast host. It’s a memory core dump from the early days of Commodore PETs and the mighty Apple IIe-compatible Franklin ACE 1000, a journey back in time to the computers that made me fall in love with…well…computers. Also, the…

    https://www.thelogbook.com/podcast/thistape/this_tape_501_applesode.mp3

Now available in theLogBook.com Store!

Stuff I Blither About

Stuff I Blather About

Support theLogBook.com

If you enjoy theLogBook.com's podcasts, videocasts, and other content, please consider helping the site stay afloat.
Patreon
Ko-Fi
Paypal
Dreamhost
Amazon Wishlist

Stuff I Twitter About

Tweets by @LogBookGuy

UAH!

It’s Jump Cut City!

Save the kittehs! And the net.

Member of The Internet Defense League

Latest YouTube Videos

When one door closes, another opens.  Either that's a really vapid piece of meaningless feel-good advice, or it's how this game works.  Or both!



We'll actually cover the classic Playstation 1 arcade compilation Nichibutsu Arcade Classics, but Puck shows up for take one to remind us that he wants everyone to see HIS Nichibutsu.  A little something for our Patreon patrons.

Phosphor Dot Fossils ( http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/​ ) is one of the web's oldest archives of vintage console, computer, and arcade games; there was also a 2-DVD documentary of the same name, covering the early history of video games, produced in 2008 and 2009 (now available for download at http://www.thelogbook.com/store/​ ).  And these days?  PDF aims to bring a more laid-back, less-caffeinated, less-profanity-spewing experience to the retro video game longplay video.

Check out my other projects and podcasts: eBooks "VWORP!1", "VWORP!2", "WARP!1" and "Fatherhood, Fandom, And Fading Out" available at http://www.thelogbook.com/store/​ and at Amazon!

Select Game: Expanded Memories of the Odyssey2 podcast - http://www.thelogbook.com/selectgame/​

Retrogram podcast - http://www.thelogbook.com/retrogram/​

Don't Give This Tape To Earl podcast - http://www.thelogbook.com/thistape/​

theLogBook.com's Escape Pod daily mini-podcast - http://www.thelogbook.com/podcast/​

And, of course, the site that started it all, combining sci-fi, retro video games, book, music and toy reviews, and all sorts of retro-futurist fun: http://www.thelogbook.com​

All of the above podcasts are available on iTunes and Stitcher. Want to support more projects like all of the above? Feel free to throw a few coins in the hat at http://www.patreon.com/thelogbook/​ or help rebuild the post-cross-country-move studio via our Amazon wish list at http://a.co/7oUbGgb​ - and many many thanks to everyone who has supported theLogBook.com's podcasting and videocasting endeavours!

The theme music is the "Phosphor Dot Fossils Theme" by Earl Green.
Phosphor Dot Fossils: Lock 'n' Chase (Game Boy, 1990)
YouTube Video UCQhbcY-vixBkryMO0UMZ5UQ_7VZSBTz0DLk
Kind of a weird flex, really, to turn out your best port of an arcade license for one of the competition's consoles, but hey, Atarisoft went there.



We'll actually cover the classic Playstation 1 arcade compilation Nichibutsu Arcade Classics, but Puck shows up for take one to remind us that he wants everyone to see HIS Nichibutsu.  A little something for our Patreon patrons.

Phosphor Dot Fossils ( http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/​ ) is one of the web's oldest archives of vintage console, computer, and arcade games; there was also a 2-DVD documentary of the same name, covering the early history of video games, produced in 2008 and 2009 (now available for download at http://www.thelogbook.com/store/​ ).  And these days?  PDF aims to bring a more laid-back, less-caffeinated, less-profanity-spewing experience to the retro video game longplay video.

Check out my other projects and podcasts: eBooks "VWORP!1", "VWORP!2", "WARP!1" and "Fatherhood, Fandom, And Fading Out" available at http://www.thelogbook.com/store/​ and at Amazon!

Select Game: Expanded Memories of the Odyssey2 podcast - http://www.thelogbook.com/selectgame/​

Retrogram podcast - http://www.thelogbook.com/retrogram/​

Don't Give This Tape To Earl podcast - http://www.thelogbook.com/thistape/​

theLogBook.com's Escape Pod daily mini-podcast - http://www.thelogbook.com/podcast/​

And, of course, the site that started it all, combining sci-fi, retro video games, book, music and toy reviews, and all sorts of retro-futurist fun: http://www.thelogbook.com​

All of the above podcasts are available on iTunes and Stitcher. Want to support more projects like all of the above? Feel free to throw a few coins in the hat at http://www.patreon.com/thelogbook/​ or help rebuild the post-cross-country-move studio via our Amazon wish list at http://a.co/7oUbGgb​ - and many many thanks to everyone who has supported theLogBook.com's podcasting and videocasting endeavours!

The theme music is the "Phosphor Dot Fossils Theme" by Earl Green.
Phosphor Dot Fossils: Galaxian (Colecovision, 1983)
YouTube Video UCQhbcY-vixBkryMO0UMZ5UQ_U8YRQlYUblQ
A more thorough tour of a fully-terraformed Mars colony in Surviving Mars.  Lasts about 20 minutes, and I tried to take manual control of the camera angle less here, and just let the game show you everything in its own time.  I was about to track the whole thing with some Babylon 5 music, then I thought... nah.  Provide your own tunes.  Less hassle for me, more fun for you.  It's almost 20 minutes total.  Enjoy!
Surviving Mars - Terraformed Mars Montage II
YouTube Video UCQhbcY-vixBkryMO0UMZ5UQ__s3BkhVGqcc
We're gonna need a montage!  To celebrate the fact that I was today years old when I figured out that you could "follow" supply/personnel shuttles - automated things that you completely ignore in the game unless they're not working - I grabbed some video and put together a little montage.  (The music is not from the game itself; I did that music quite some time back.)


The game is Surviving Mars, with the Green Planet terraforming add-on, and I've fully terraformed the planet - at least my little corner of it.  The population of the colony is hovering at around 5,000, and it's self-sustaining enough that I can put the game in real-time mode and attach a "camera" to various shuttles as they do their thing and just fly over my creation.


I'll get back to demoing this game soon since I now have a setup that's much less prone to glitching/freezing video.
Surviving Mars - Terraformed Mars Montage
YouTube Video UCQhbcY-vixBkryMO0UMZ5UQ_T215KianU0k
Why would you go streaking in a video game?  Just...why?  Why is this game even here?  This game might just take the prize for being the weirdest "homage" to the Pac-Man format your host has ever seen.  Even his cat has things to say about it.


Phosphor Dot Fossils ( http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/​ ) is one of the web's oldest archives of vintage console, computer, and arcade games; there was also a 2-DVD documentary of the same name, covering the early history of video games, produced in 2008 and 2009 (now available for download at http://www.thelogbook.com/store/​ ).  And these days?  PDF aims to bring a more laid-back, less-caffeinated, less-profanity-spewing experience to the retro video game longplay video.

Check out my other projects and podcasts: eBooks "VWORP!1", "VWORP!2", "WARP!1" and "Fatherhood, Fandom, And Fading Out" available at http://www.thelogbook.com/store/​ and at Amazon!

Select Game: Expanded Memories of the Odyssey2 podcast - http://www.thelogbook.com/selectgame/​

Retrogram podcast - http://www.thelogbook.com/retrogram/​

Don't Give This Tape To Earl podcast - http://www.thelogbook.com/thistape/​

theLogBook.com's Escape Pod daily mini-podcast - http://www.thelogbook.com/podcast/​

And, of course, the site that started it all, combining sci-fi, retro video games, book, music and toy reviews, and all sorts of retro-futurist fun: http://www.thelogbook.com​

All of the above podcasts are available on iTunes and Stitcher. Want to support more projects like all of the above? Feel free to throw a few coins in the hat at http://www.patreon.com/thelogbook/​ or help rebuild the post-cross-country-move studio via our Amazon wish list at http://a.co/7oUbGgb​ - and many many thanks to everyone who has supported theLogBook.com's podcasting and videocasting endeavours!

The theme music is the "Phosphor Dot Fossils Theme" by Earl Green.
Phosphor Dot Fossils: Streaking (arcade, 1980)
YouTube Video UCQhbcY-vixBkryMO0UMZ5UQ_I2R-MBUDjr8
Robot City: for all your robot needs!  Or at least if you have need of a bunch of robots who are out to kill you dead at the first opportunity.  A really neat unreleased prototype from the European Videopac library (basically the Odyssey2).


Phosphor Dot Fossils ( http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/​ ) is one of the web's oldest archives of vintage console, computer, and arcade games; there was also a 2-DVD documentary of the same name, covering the early history of video games, produced in 2008 and 2009 (now available for download at http://www.thelogbook.com/store/​ ).  And these days?  PDF aims to bring a more laid-back, less-caffeinated, less-profanity-spewing experience to the retro video game longplay video.

Check out my other projects and podcasts: eBooks "VWORP!1", "VWORP!2", "WARP!1" and "Fatherhood, Fandom, And Fading Out" available at http://www.thelogbook.com/store/​ and at Amazon!

Select Game: Expanded Memories of the Odyssey2 podcast - http://www.thelogbook.com/selectgame/​

Retrogram podcast - http://www.thelogbook.com/retrogram/​

Don't Give This Tape To Earl podcast - http://www.thelogbook.com/thistape/​

theLogBook.com's Escape Pod daily mini-podcast - http://www.thelogbook.com/podcast/​

And, of course, the site that started it all, combining sci-fi, retro video games, book, music and toy reviews, and all sorts of retro-futurist fun: http://www.thelogbook.com​

All of the above podcasts are available on iTunes and Stitcher. Want to support more projects like all of the above? Feel free to throw a few coins in the hat at http://www.patreon.com/thelogbook/​ or help rebuild the post-cross-country-move studio via our Amazon wish list at http://a.co/7oUbGgb​ - and many many thanks to everyone who has supported theLogBook.com's podcasting and videocasting endeavours!

The theme music is the "Phosphor Dot Fossils Theme" by Earl Green.
Phosphor Dot Fossils: Robot City (Odyssey2/Videopac, 1983)
YouTube Video UCQhbcY-vixBkryMO0UMZ5UQ_8M4-9ILEmww
Load More... Subscribe

All text © 1989-2018 theLogBook.com

On this day...

  • 2012: The interview — He was the program director of a radio station that, since it was a satellite radio affiliate, didn’t really require [...]
  • 2009: Question mark — Ahhh dammit. I’ve wanted one of these for years – a question mark umbrella. I doubt that many [...]
  • 2009: Always remember: Avid = diva spelled backwards — …but I kid the electronic behemoth that is my livelihood. But seriously, what’s up with this new corporate logo? I [...]
  • 2008: Staring In Blimps: PDF DVD final table of contents & technical notes — Editing is completed, DVD authoring is about 85% of the way there, and I expect to have that done around [...]
  • 2007: Opening the pod bay doors…OF LOVE. — Another silent movie concoction for you (because what it’s spoofing is also silent), it’s time for a True ad spoof [...]

Recent Mumblings

  • Courting the vote of the midichlorian demographic
  • Not exactly the Federation news service, are you?
  • The Official 2001 2020 Calendar
  • The Ballad of Oberon
  • Voices from the machine
  • Memo to Russell T. Davies: when did you actually acquire the ability to time travel?
  • If Babylon 5 was produced in 2020
  • To live (and leave) in Utah
  • Earl’s Spring 2020 Album Anticipation Post
  • Time has rearranged, but time has the final word

The wayback machine

© 2020 theLogBook.com. All rights reserved.
Magazine Plus by WEN Themes