A/W/A Anthology - Atari 5200

A/W/A Anthology

The A/W/A Anthology cartridge allows you to run any of 14 exciting games for your Atari 5200. The games vary from classic shoot ‘em ups, strategy games, puzzle games, maze games, and action-adventure games. These games were originally designed in the classic era of video games, but they have been reimagined to create a modern and challenging gameplay experience. With numerous variations, you will have countless hours of fun playing these games!

About

The 14 games included with this anthology were originally conceived in the 1980s as games written on the Atari 400/800/XL/XE/XEGS computer series by three teenagers. They were originally written in Atari BASIC on an Atari 400 computer with an Atari 410 program recorder that was used to save and load the programs. As these teenagers learned more about the capabilities of the Atari 8-bit computers, their simple games quickly turned into quite impressive BASIC games for the time.

The publication rights to Kooky Klimber and Night Rescue were sold to COMPUTE! Magazine, but these two games were never published. The publication rights to Kooky’s Quest, Overflow, and Robot Dungeon were sold to Antic Magazine. Kooky’s Quest (February 1985) and Overflow (July 1985) were published as type-in programs. Robot Dungeon (November 1985) was included as a Bonus Disk game.

With the proceeds, the group purchased additional Atari computers, disk drives, modems, and printers and continued programming games. Ultimately, the computers and peripherals were put in the closet, but the developers continued being engaged in the Atari 8-bit scene through discussion forums, websites, and emulation.

40 years later, these teenagers are now middle-aged, but still retain their passion for Atari 8-bit computers. They decided to take a fresh look at their original 1980s BASIC games with the intention of updating them and re-writing them in assembly language.

The Games

• Alien Assault - Missiles rain down from space onto satellites that must be protected by a laser cannon at a central base.
• Kooky Diver - Swim from your boat to the ocean floor, retrieve a treasure from a giant clam, and swim back to return it to your boat.
• Kooky Klimber - Climb skyscrapers while avoiding closing windows, falling dumbbells, dropped flower pots, and falling signs.
• Kooky’s Quest - Trapped in an evil dungeon, your only hope of escaping is to fight monsters and get treasure in the deepest level.
• Night Rescue - You are on a daring attempt to rescue civilians with your hot air balloon before they are taken prisoner.
• Overflow - You are a plumber trapped in the central conduit of a network of pipes. You must fight back the water with your plunger.
• Piracy - The goal is to collect treasure before sustaining battle damage, being rammed, or using too much fuel.
• Piracy II - Gather treasure by sailing through the ocean, defeating ships guarding islands, and avoiding pirates to get the booty.
• Ramses’ Revenge - Race to the top of a pyramid to retrieve keys while avoiding monsters, one or two players.
• Raptor Attack - You must fight the alien invasion of robotic birds as they descend upon your planet with deathly laser beams.
• Robot Dungeon - Avoid deadly robots, electric walls, and teleports. Make your way through the maze of rooms and escape the dungeon.
• Soko-Ban - In this addictive puzzle game, you must move all of the blocks into the landing area. Each level gets more challenging.
• Space Assailants - Shoot all of the invaders as they come marching toward your planet. Avoid the starfield that descends upon your ship.
• Yatzy – Once the five dice are rolled, you have the option to re-roll any of your dice to improve your scores. Strategy wins.

Included USB Drive with 4.5GB of data!

Included with the A/W/A Anthology is a USB thumb drive with a whopping 4.5GB worth of data related to these games! 

The thumb drive includes: 

• Development notes
• Digital versions of each game in several different formats
• PDF instruction manual
• Magazine scans featuring individual games
• Video and audio podcasts where these games are discussed
• Audio files featuring music tracks from each game
• Full Assembly and BASIC source code for all the games
• Gameplay videos

These materials provide incredible insight into development of the games, and the included source code and development notes are a gold mine for anyone curious about Atari 8-bit computer game development.

Screenshots

A/W/A Anthology Poster Included Free!

We're including a free 10" x 14" poster with your purchase of the A/W/A Antholgoy! The poster features William Thorup's original A/W/A Anthology artwork that adorns the box, manual and cartridge label. 

Additional Information

Included with the A/W/A Anthology is the game cartridge, full color, 48-page manual, professionally printed box, 10" x 14" poster featuring the box artwork, and a USB drive containing 4.5GB of data related to this anthology of games.