Episode 296: Trackball Games & The Art of Atari (Patreon)

A little word of warning before you listen to this week's episode: The audio quality is not as clean as we normally aim for for the Trackball Games segment. I recorded it at PAX East a couple of months ago, but circumstances meant we didn't have a proper isolated recording space available. The quietest place on hand was a seemingly abandoned hallway on the lower level of a hotel... which turned out not to be THAT quiet once some dude started doing a mic check in the ballroom opposite us. But I decided to press on an make the best of it, because it was becoming clear that it would be a long time before I'll be able to record in-person with anyone else again—and who knows when these two seasoned retrogaming experts in particular (Bob Neal of RetroRGB fame and Benj Edwards of freelance fame) will be together again? So please don't mind the background noise; this was a case of seizing a moment.

Plus, to make up for the disruptions, I added in a semi-related second segment as solace for your ears! The first half of the episode explores trackball games, which were mostly by Atari; for the back half, I chat with Tim Lapetino, author of the extraordinary Art of Atari, about his experience digging through what Atari archives exist and meeting the people responsible for the bold imagery of the 2600 era. 

Thanks to Greg Leahy for salvaging the first segment, and to Leeann Hamilton for the gorgeous cover art!