Atari Kangaroo Article

Ironic, but this article has peaked my interest in Gravitar and ... "the letter T". :)

"One of these people was Rich Adam. Rich was working on a game called Lunar Battle (later renamed Gravitar of course), a the time when Kangaroo arrived in the USA."
 
Ironic, but this article has peaked my interest in Gravitar and ... "the letter T". :)

"One of these people was Rich Adam. Rich was working on a game called Lunar Battle (later renamed Gravitar of course), a the time when Kangaroo arrived in the USA."

Alright, smart-ass! :)
 
Read through the thread. I get what's being referred to in it (especially on page 4), but what I was referencing was behaviour that falls more into the category of, "we never expected anyone to play this game for this long."

Right. My point was, it's already been mentioned and it's obvious the level counter wasn't designed to go past 9. I doubt anybody at Atari did any testing on it beyond putting it on location (for a very short time). Rich was right to be upset about it. All you needed to do was just watch it run and see how inferior the hardware was, or play one game and see how much the input lags. Something that bad wouldn't have been released if it were designed in-house, which was Rich's point. There were 2 standards being used, and all that resulted in was inferior games being released (Kangaroo, Arabian, Fast Freddie, etc) and discontent among the in-house designers.

Btw, I didn't use MAME cheats to get that far. I simply took advantage of the save state feature.

Arabian's similar hardware has been mentioned as well in another thread. The hardware isn't exactly the same but only marginally better.
 
I suppose this isn't the place to show off previews of my upcoming Kangaroo Kabaret build is it? Oh well:

37650621784_cc72d59298_b.jpg

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"Piqued." :)

U go Girl. I learned something today. Damn. :001_sbiggrin:

pique

stimulate (interest or curiosity).
"you have piqued my curiosity about the man"
synonyms: stimulate, arouse, rouse, provoke, whet, awaken, excite, kindle, stir, galvanize "his curiosity was piqued"
 
Right. My point was, it's already been mentioned and it's obvious the level counter wasn't designed to go past 9. I doubt anybody at Atari did any testing on it beyond putting it on location (for a very short time). Rich was right to be upset about it. All you needed to do was just watch it run and see how inferior the hardware was, or play one game and see how much the input lags. Something that bad wouldn't have been released if it were designed in-house, which was Rich's point. There were 2 standards being used, and all that resulted in was inferior games being released (Kangaroo, Arabian, Fast Freddie, etc) and discontent among the in-house designers.

Btw, I didn't use MAME cheats to get that far. I simply took advantage of the save state feature.

Arabian's similar hardware has been mentioned as well in another thread. The hardware isn't exactly the same but only marginally better.

Well... Yes, all of that's correct.

Sorry, but I'm just not understanding the point you're making.
 
I suppose this isn't the place to show off previews of my upcoming Kangaroo Kabaret build is it?

OMG. <3

Kangaroo is a top 20 arcade game for me. Love it. So difficult, so underrated. Once you put some time into learning it, it will become a fun platformer.

Great article Tony.
 
OMG. <3

Kangaroo is a top 20 arcade game for me. Love it. So difficult, so underrated. Once you put some time into learning it, it will become a fun platformer.

Great article Tony.

I'm in the US at the moment, and spent all day Sunday at Funspot NH. They now have a Kangaroo out on the floor, and I think you might be right. Completed a dozen games or so. There's actually quite a bit of depth to it, and the graphical glitches go unnoticed unless you're looking for them.

The lack of a jump button takes some getting used to, but that's probably just trying to unlearn "learned" behaviour over the years.

I'm starting to like it. And the art/design of the cabinet is just glorious.
 
Humm ... 'roo options?

I own a Centipede upright and Dig Dug upright.
Maybe I should add a Kangaroo (upright) to the mix and have them sitting side by side. That would be cool. And maybe add an Arabian into the mix? All similar cabinet shapes, yes?

Anyone have a picture of all three/four similar cabinets together in a row?

Alternatively, I wonder if I can add a 'roo PCB into my DigDug and have a multigame. Dig Dug stick is 8way, no? (I'm sure these questions have been asked before). :cool:

Or perhaps a 'roo / Arabian multigame is easier?
 
Humm ... 'roo options?

I own a Centipede upright and Dig Dug upright.
Maybe I should add a Kangaroo (upright) to the mix and have them sitting side by side. That would be cool. And maybe add an Arabian into the mix? All similar cabinet shapes, yes?

Anyone have a picture of all three/four similar cabinets together in a row?

Alternatively, I wonder if I can add a 'roo PCB into my DigDug and have a multigame. Dig Dug stick is 8way, no? (I'm sure these questions have been asked before). :cool:

Or perhaps a 'roo / Arabian multigame is easier?

Dig Dug is definitely 4 way. Kangaroo and Arabian are 8 way I believe.
 
The Kangaroo shown in the Youtube video in your BLOG is mine! I bought is from Joe's Classic Arcade shortly after the video was made. My kids love the game!
 

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Humm ... 'roo options?

I own a Centipede upright and Dig Dug upright.
Maybe I should add a Kangaroo (upright) to the mix and have them sitting side by side. That would be cool. And maybe add an Arabian into the mix? All similar cabinet shapes, yes?

Anyone have a picture of all three/four similar cabinets together in a row?

Alternatively, I wonder if I can add a 'roo PCB into my DigDug and have a multigame. Dig Dug stick is 8way, no? (I'm sure these questions have been asked before). :cool:

Or perhaps a 'roo / Arabian multigame is easier?

I believe Dig Dug, Arabian, and Kangaroo are all the same cabinet. Centipede definitely is not. It has a similar but noticeably different profile.
 
Loved the article. Still hate the game, though.
 
I dig Kangaroo. I'm slowly trying to deconvert this Toki back into a dedicated Kangaroo.
 

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