ASTROSMASH - "16 COLORS"

UPDATE: Apparently the mp3 previously available for download was flawed. I've since updated the link with a "working mp3". Sorry for that. Also this time around, the link takes you to the download page where there is a window you can actually listen to the track before choosing to download it. Adore, my friend!

When someone asks me what I remember about the 80s, I have to say, why the birth of console gaming of course!

Astrosmash was a video game for the Intellivision videogame console written by John Sohl and published by Mattel in 1981.

Intellivision Astrosmash

Actual gameplay footage from the Mattel Intellivision game Astrosmash.

Recorded off of real hardware.

But not only that, Astrosmash is the title of a retro electronica band.

BEAMING ACROSS THE UNIVERSE...
...IS A SUPERSONIC TRANSMISSION...
...TRANSPORTING YOU FROM REALITY...
...INTO THE 5TH DIMENSION...
...WHERE ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE...
...AND DREAMS CAN COME TRUE...

ASTROSMASH: YOUR MUSICAL JOURNEY INTO THE FUTURE.

The foundation of Astrosmash originated in 2001 after the breakup of the Los Angeles area based heavy metal band Tenitus. Dan and Mike wanted to create not just a band, but a colorful, cosmic, supernatural musical experience. They had the concept, all they needed was a name. Many names were considered, but none seemed to capture the idea of the band. Then, while brainstorming about 80's memorabilia, it came in a flash: Intellivision....ASTROSMASH! Dan and Mike loved the classic video game system, so it was perfect to become the world's only Intellivision tribute band. The band has since become a duo with Nino Rebelle on vocals and Dan creating the music. Combining musical elements of psychedelica, space rock, progressive rock, dance music, and british pop with Intellivision and other weird sci-fi sounds, Astrosmash is your supersonic rocket out of the insipid, repetitive music of today and into the beautiful and intense music of tomorrow.

Today I've included a track off of Astrosmash's first EP, The Future, titled "16 Colors"

The Future
Triple Action Records

1. The Future
2. 16 Colors
3. Sunset
4. Bomb Squad

www.myspace.com/astrosmash

This song was a tip of the hat to The Blue Sky Rangers.
The Blue Sky Rangers were the group of Intellivision game programmers who once worked for Mattel back in the early 1980s. The original five members of that Intellivision team were manager Gabriel Baum, Don Daglow, Rick Levine, Mike Minkoff and John Sohl.

There's currently a big retro gaming scene going on right now, along with 8-Bit dedicated music.
Wanna see what all the fuss was about? Download the Astrosmash song above. Watch a game of Astrosmash on the Youtube video above. Or go to GetBack.com and play it for yourself.

http://www.getback.com/game/astrosmash-/2272180

GetBack is essentially a website that gives users access to decades gone - and they have some awesome Intellivision stuff. They're free little Java applets and all ten of the original games are there for your use and abuse.

Or if you wanna own and play the game Astrosmash yourself, then read the following all about the game Astrosmash, thanks to Intellivision!

Astrosmash

INTELLIVISION CARTRIDGE [#3605]
Working titles: Rocks, Meteor! + Avalanche
Design & Program: John Sohl
Instructions posted here | Overlay posted here
Play this game on Intellivision Lives! for Windows & Mac!
Play this game on Intellivision Classics for PlayStation!
Play this game NOW! Download it FREE here!

CATALOG DESCRIPTION
Spin. Blast. And drop into hyperspace to avoid a killer asteroid shower. Power on. Attack computer engaged. Fire a quick burst at the alien antagonists. Got 'em!

Now take a deep breath and relax. But only for a fraction of a second, because more trouble is on the way.

You're all alone in a hostile universe of tumbling asteroids and homicidal aliens. You've got the wits and the speed, but you're awesomely outnumbered.

With a little practice, you may survive...

• Battle aliens and tumbling asteroids
• Unlimited scoring potential
• Hyperspace feature

PRODUCTION HISTORY
Astrosmash started out as a clone of the arcade game Asteroids, called Meteor!. The game wasn't very big, so John Sohl used the extra room in the cartridge to come up with a variation called Avalanche using the same graphics and sound effects. At the last minute, afraid of a lawsuit from Atari, the Mattel lawyers killed the Asteroids-like Meteor!. Rather than risk introducing bugs by deleting code, John simply put a branch around the opening-screen menu straight into the Avalanche! variation, which was released under the name Astrosmash.

John admits he wasn't sorry to see Meteor! go -- he hadn't been happy with the game, much preferring the Avalanche! version.

Astrosmash quickly became one of the most popular Intellivision games thanks in large part to a very simple technique John programmed in: like most arcade-style games, Astrosmash gets faster and harder at higher levels, but unlike most arcade-style games, as you start to lose lives, the game gets easier again. The game then is never too easy or too hard, making it extremely addictive and making it possible for even a beginner to play a single game for over an hour.

The popularity of Astrosmash was such that late in 1982 it replaced Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack as the cartridge shipped with the Intellivision Master Component. By June 1983, the last date for which figures are available, 984,900 copies of Astrosmash had been shipped, making it the most widely distributed cartridge by any of the Blue Sky Rangers (trailing only the APh produced Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack and Major League Baseball cartridges). John Sohl was rewarded with a plaque from Mattel and a better offer from Activision, which he took (after finishing B-17 Bomber).

An Aquarius version was also released, as was an M Network version called Astroblast for the Atari 2600. A musical adaptation, Melody Blaster, was released for the ECS Music Synthesizer. An obscene version, called...well, we can't tell you what it was called, was developed for in-house use only. The story of this version can be found in a TRON Solar Sailer FUN FACT.

BUG: There's no check for the score overflowing -- beyond 9,999,999 points, the scoring routine starts displaying negative numbers, letters, and other ASCII characters. (Ironically, the catalog description promises "Unlimited scoring potential.")

BUG: John simply branched around the code for the Asteroids version of the game; the code is still in the cartridge. Verrrry rarely, when there's a glitch hitting RESET, the Asteroids version will show up on screen. (This would be a dandy Easter egg if it were intentional or reliably repeatable, but it's neither.)

PLAYING TIPS: From Intellivision Game Club News, Issue 1, Fall 1981:

Here is some extra ammunition from John P. Sohl, creator of Astrosmash. [Note: this issue was the only time that Intellivision programmers were publicly referred to by name until the inclusion of credits on cartridges late in 1983. The same issue mentions Mike Minkoff as the creator of Bowling.] Sohl says you'll be unbeatable if you follow three basic rules: don't get hit, shoot anything that moves and never take risks unless you have to.

Sound easy? It is if you practice Sohl's special techniques for hitting your targets.

• To hit rocks, fire two shots rapidly. The first will split the rock, the second will explode both smaller fragments. If you are threatened by a rock and a spinner, go for the spinner.
• Shoot the fastest falling spinners first. Aim carefully; the extra moment you take aiming usually pays off with a hit on the first shot. Go for spinners at any cost -- if one reaches the ground, you've lost.
• Guided missiles are easy to shoot, hard to evade so shoot them high on the screen before they give you trouble. If you miss they'll follow you around. The only way to get rid of them is to lure them off the edge of the screen and use the hyperspace to get away.
• The UFO will appear when the score is over 20,000. It shoots torpedoes at your laser base wherever the base is when the shot is fired. So keep moving and you will avoid 90% of all UFO torpedoes.

Precision aiming is important. To get the highest scores, Sohl says to leave the anti-fire on and steer with the directional wheel using the firing button to get off extra shots as you need them. Keep on shooting!

FUN FACT: The unused Asteroids-version code was recycled in the game Space Hawk.

FUN FACT: Late in 1981, Mattel held a series of local "Intellivision VideoChallenge Tournaments" in Washington DC, Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles benefiting Variety Clubs International. Contestants competed for prizes (Grand Prize: an RCA projection TV) playing Major League Baseball, Auto Racing, and U.S. Ski Team Skiing. The publicity was so good, that Marketing took the idea national in 1982 with the "$100,000 Astrosmash Shootoff."

From March until August 11, Intellivision owners were invited to send photographs of their TV screens showing their high score in Astrosmash. Just for entering, they would receive an Astrosmash Shootoff patch, and it was announced that 16 regional high-scorers would be flown to Houston to compete for eight cash prizes.

Over 13,000 people entered, and quickly it became obvious there was a problem. First, because of the scoring bug, many of the pictures showed scores made up of seemingly random ASCII characters. John Sohl had to review the photos and, with an ASCII table, decipher the actual scores. Second, it turned out that no one in Marketing realized that Astrosmash, like many Intellivision games, can be played at slower speeds simply by starting the game by pressing 1, 2, or 3 instead of the disc. (This is a feature programmed into the EXEC.) There was no way of telling who had legitimately obtained a high score and who had played at the easiest speed. There were reports of competitors who literally played for days at the slowest speed, pausing the game (pressing 1 and 9 simultaneously, also programmed into the EXEC) to sleep or go to school.

Unable to decide who was legit and who wasn't, instead of the announced 16, Mattel Electronics wound up flying 73 entrants to Houston for an all-expense paid weekend, September 11 & 12, 1982. There, the entrants competed in 1 hour of timed play. 18-year-old Manuel Rodriguez of Stockton, California won the $25,000 top prize with a score of 835,180.