Sente missing kids photos

coinopper

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Trying to find out more about these. The only game I remember having them was Sente's Mini Golf. The first version of the game code has 2 digitized photos of 2 girls (pic #1). The dip switch settings in MAME (pic #2) show whether or not to show the photos, or to note whether either have been located.

The second version of the game code has 2 digitized photos of 2 boys (pic #3) but there's no dip switch setting info about them (pic #4). Doesn't seem to be a way to turn it off or mark them as 'located'. Not sure why the Hide-And-Seek Foundation local isn't included on the photo page.

I heard other Sente games might have included similar photos, with Gimme A Break being one. The entry on KLOV for the game (https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7946) mentions something about it in the trivia section:

"In the demo mode the screen can show pictures of missing children. This is controlled by dip switch settings."

However, there's no dip switch info about it in MAME (pic #5) and no photos in the game.

I have emails out to some former Sente folks to try and find out more about them. The Missing Kids photos predate the more well-known FBI "Winners Don't Use Drugs" PSA screens that started to appear in games in 1989 until 2000 - https://www.inverse.com/article/519...s-don-t-use-drugs-the-arcade-motto-of-the-90s
.. or the less-popular "Recycle It, Don't Trash It PSA - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycle_It,_Don't_Trash_It!
 

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There are 2 different photos in Stompin' - 2 more boys - and the dip switch info is present.

Nothing in Toggle (prototype), Street Football, Spiker, Name That Tune, Shrike Avenger, or Night Stocker (both versions). Don't know about Moon Quake or Team Hat Trick, since the code for either hasn't been made available. I didn't check any of Sente's 1984 games.

It seems the Hide And Seek Foundation is no more. In 2002 a similarly-name Foundation, the Hide 'N Seek Children's Foundation, or Hide & Seek Foundation, was started in 2002 to promote responsible parenting. In 2010 it joined with Proactive SEO Solutions to bring awareness to Lysosomal disease research.

http://hidenseekca.org/about/history/
http://www.hideandseek.org/
https://www.volunteermatch.org/search/org75195.jsp

As for the 6 kids, the only one that was found that I could find online was Tahj Allen Merriman:

https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/89695965/
 

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I heard back from a few former Sente folks.

Howard Delman doesn't recall anything about it.

Roger Hector only remembers it was an idea that came in from outside of his dev group, and they implemented it. It was an add-on feature that came late in development, and doesn't remember much more about it.

Lee Actor feels it only lasted a short time, and word came down from Bally corporate that they were cooperating with the FBI and including this info in some of their games, but that none of his games included the photos. He thought the 1984 Trivial Pursuit games included them but I just checked all the different versions I have (All Star Sports Edition, Baby Boomer Edition, Genus Edition 1 set 1, Genus Edition 1 set 2, Genus Edition 2, Spanish Edition, Young Players Edition) and none of them have the photos or any dip switch info.

Ed Rotberg's recollection is similar to Lee's.

Dennis Koble was the programmer for Mini Golf and he said near the end of the game's creation he recalled someone suggesting they implement the missing children feature. Although the game was "finished" at that point he added the switch-controlled feature to a revision of the ROM's. The code was very simple and it consisted of a timer, a check for whether the feature was enabled via the on-board option switches and the display of a static screen showing the children. He didn't know who initiated the missing kids project but it seems likely the FBI did request it. Being Sente was a small company, perhaps they approached Bally and the request and materials were filtered down to Sente. As for the photos, he was given a completed screen just like the final product in the game.


I checked the other 1984 (Bally) Sente Games (Chicken Shift, Goalie Ghost, Snake Pit, Hat Trick, Off The Wall, and Snacks 'n Jaxson) - none of those have them either.

I haven't checked any Bally/Midway games yet, but I don't recall any of those having them.
 
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IIRC the Sente Mini Golf at Funspot has that dip enabled to see the photos. That was the first time I'd seen this.
 
Not sure. Maybe someone like "brzezicki" can see how they're implemented. I wonder if Sente used Ralph Baer's camera to digitize them.
 
pretty neat stuff... as a Sente collector I had no idea about that stuff cool ! Also side note shout out to all the old KLOVERS haven't been on / around in a while... finally getting to some PM's

I found one in Chicken Shift...
photo+(2).JPG
 
interesting, never saw this.

probably wouldn't be too hard technically if mame supported it though it would be alot of time/work, most likely. I imagine the kids images are simply broken up into pieces and the pieces are probably implemented as "tiles".

so you'd have to figure out the tiles, figure out the way the tiles are encoded which probably is straighforward and probably documented in mame (if it was suported) but then take an existing image, turn in into a rasterized form of the specific color bit depth, match your color palette to theirs and then chop up and re-encode the tiles

if mame doesn't have to support so you can easily test then it would be a huge pain.

-brian




Not sure. Maybe someone like "brzezicki" can see how they're implemented. I wonder if Sente used Ralph Baer's camera to digitize them.
 
interesting, never saw this.

probably wouldn't be too hard technically if mame supported it though it would be alot of time/work, most likely. I imagine the kids images are simply broken up into pieces and the pieces are probably implemented as "tiles".

so you'd have to figure out the tiles, figure out the way the tiles are encoded which probably is straighforward and probably documented in mame (if it was suported) but then take an existing image, turn in into a rasterized form of the specific color bit depth, match your color palette to theirs and then chop up and re-encode the tiles

if mame doesn't have to support so you can easily test then it would be a huge pain.

-brian

I'd donate to this kickstarter
 
interesting, never saw this.

probably wouldn't be too hard technically if mame supported it though it would be alot of time/work, most likely. I imagine the kids images are simply broken up into pieces and the pieces are probably implemented as "tiles".

so you'd have to figure out the tiles, figure out the way the tiles are encoded which probably is straighforward and probably documented in mame (if it was suported) but then take an existing image, turn in into a rasterized form of the specific color bit depth, match your color palette to theirs and then chop up and re-encode the tiles

if mame doesn't have to support so you can easily test then it would be a huge pain.

-brian

MAME has the option to show graphics tiles (hit F4 and press ENTER), but this doesn't work with Sente games.
 
I wasn't aware of this, and it's fascinating. Thanks!
 
Because its dark and they were probably dead within 24hrs of being reported missing. Its creepy for sure.

I dont know that I would go that far with it.
In many cases children are taken by one of the parents in a bad breakup.
One was to ensure custody is to book it with the kid.
 
Nothing funny about dead/missing kids.

You realize that if it's possible to change the photo, it's also possible to change the text... right?

Besides, at least 1 of the 6 kids was found. As for the other 5, I wasn't able to find any info online about them, so I wouldn't assume they met some horrible fate.
 
Because its dark and they were probably dead within 24hrs of being reported missing. Its creepy for sure.

I think also if you were like me as a kid, your main arcade was in a small dark room who's only light and sound were other arcade games. 90% of the time I was the only one in there and if I saw that as a kid in that kind of atmosphere it would have sent chills down my spine
 
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