Intellivision FAQ Section 3.0 Software

Intellivision Master Component model 2609

The Classic Intellivision FAQ

Composed, arranged, and produced by Intv Prime, Artifact Productions Division
https://www.intvprime.com/intellivision-faq

Section 3.0: Software

Software the runs on the Intellivision, and media that carries it.

  • 3.1 Games
  • 3.2 Easter Eggs and Bugs
  • 3.3 Tools for making Software
  • 3.4 Divergent/Theoretical Stuff
  • 3.5 Productivity and non-Game Software
  • 3.6 Software Deployed for Publicity
  • 3.7 Software Internals
  • 3.8 Cartridge Info
  • 3.9 Games on other Platforms

3.0: Why do some cartridges have white labels?

(Keth Robinson)

Pretty cheesy, huh? I was in charge of printing those; Terry Valeski
contracted with me to provide all the packaging for the INTV Corporation
releases. He wanted costs as low as possible, so overlays were eliminated
where possible (Mattel’s policy was that every game had to have overlays,
even if they weren’t really needed, such as for Pinball; Valeski got rid
of them), manuals became black & white (folded, not stapled) and labels
were printed on whatever stock my printer had leftover and would give me a
price break on. That’s why you’ll find different size labels on different
copies of the same game.

Of course, INTV didn’t invent this cost cutting. Mattel’s Intellivision
packaging went downhill quickly, too. The original boxes opened like a
book and had a plastic tray the cartridge fit into. Manuals were all full
color. The plastic tray was the first thing to go, then the manuals
went to two-color, then the boxes simply became boxes (some games, like
BurgerTime, were released in both versions of the boxes).

At INTV, we printed the boxes on an even cheaper grade of cardboard, but
at least Valeski wanted them to be colorful. I designed most of them with
an art budget of about $800 per box. A painter named Steve Huston did the
Super Pro sports covers and I did most of the cartoony covers (Thin Ice,
Learning Fun I & II). Other artists and photographers did individual
titles. I had Joe Ferreira, who did the graphics for Hover Force, do the
artwork for the box. And if the cover art for Thunder Castle looks more
threatening than the cute graphics in the game, it’s because that artwork
had been commissioned by Mattel for the Tower of Doom cartridge. Valeski
had it used for Thunder Castle since that game was already completed when
he bought the Intellivision rights; Tower of Doom was incomplete. He had
Tower of Doom finished later and I had to come up with new art for its
box.

(By the way, look for the number 47 on the INTV boxes; that number is how
Pomona College alumni sort of say "hello" to each other. Dave Warhol, the
Pomona alum who produced these games, asked me to slip a 47 into the art
whenever possible. Trivia: another Pomona Alum got onto the staff of Star
Trek, which is why the number 47 pops up in most episodes of Next Generation
and Voyager, and TWICE in the movie Generations.)

Sorry that I can’t answer your real question though, namely which labels
are worth more. That’s a question for the collectors. But remembering how
quickly some of this stuff was slapped together, it amuses me today to
hear people pondering their value.

3.0: Why do some white cartridge labels have different text?

(Keith Robinson)

Without seeing them, I would guess that you’re comparing Intellivision Inc.
labels with INTV Corporation labels. Intellivision Inc. was the company
that took over the rights from Mattel; Terry Valeski was president, and
his investors were merchandise liquidators. During that period, they did
manufacture new copies of some of the popular games, but mostly they were
selling off the exsisting Mattel stock. Once the stock was pretty much
depleted, Terry bought the rights from his investors and changed the name
of the company to INTV. He commissioned new games and continued
manufacturing many of the old ones. I was brought in at that point to do the
packaging; while I got the original artwork for the boxes and instructions,
I simply did new typesetting for the labels. The Intellivision Inc. labels
usually have a copyright notice [ �I.I. 19XX U.S.A., where the year is
the year of the Mattel copyright]; the INTV labels don’t.

OR…as I said in a previous post, the labels were printed on whatever
leftover stock my printer had and would give me a price break on. In some
cases, the labels were so much shorter than what we had used previously,
that I had to re-typeset some titles in a condensed font.

3.0: What games did Mattel plan to release with Sears?

In October of 1979, Mattel Electronics directors and engineers met with some Sears bosses to present technical details of the Intellivision and Keyboard Component before the official release. Among the titles presented, names and dates, a curious title "Puppet Theatre" was scheduled for 1980 but no prototype or draft exists.

3.0: How do I pause an Intellivision game?

Simultaneously pushing 9 and 1, or 7 and 3, on the Intellivision keypad should make a game pause. In original games by Mattel/APh, the screen was completely blanked using an EXEC routine. Later developers adopted the same design idea for accessibility but do not necessarily blank the screen.

3.1: What is the most popular Intellivision game?

The answer is subjective based on the year the question is asked, the favorite game genre of the person, and the access a person has to the Intellivision catalog.
The Intellivisionaries Podcast (www.intellivisionaries.com/) performed a listener-choice survey in 2021. The compiled results across many "Top 10" submissions was Burgertime

3.1: What is the worst Intellivision game?

The answer is almost as subjective as "best Intellivision game" but it is a little easier to pick. Inty enthusiasts generally agree that Carnival and Donkey Kong tie for the worst; those games were programmed by anonymous contractors from Coleco, who were sent minimal design docs and sprite outlines by people not familiar with the Intellivision at all. it has been speculated the games were allowed to be bad on purpose to drive sales of the competing Colecovision console.

3.1: What is the first Intellivision game?

"Killer Bees" was a demo written by Dave Rolfe to show the power of the built-in EXEC, how it could allow a programmer to create games quickly. Killer Bees was not only the first "game" but also the training tool for APh and Mattel programmers.

3.1: How many games are for Intellivision?

125 games were released during the original lifecycle of the Intellivision.
Owners of all 125 games complete-in-box are known as Intellivision Brotherhood Gold 125 Club.

3.1: How many games are in the networks?

  • Sports Network: 11 games
  • Action Network: 13 games
  • Space Action Network: 5 games
  • Strategy Network 5 games (6 if counting Triple Challenge)
  • Gaming Network: 4 games
  • Children’s Learning Network: 2 games
  • Arcade Network: 1 game
  • Uncategorized: 84 games (Mattel dropped the idea of Networks approximately 1982)

3.1: How many new games are on Intellivision?

(2023-Jan) 147 games have been released in the 21st Century, more than were originally availbale!.

3.1: How many Tutorvision games exist?

Intellivision Productions and Realtime Associates have 14 of the games, found on floppy disks many years ago. Most read that as 16 games were programmed, and if the Canadian version of Time Trip is counted separately that could make it 17. Two titles remain unknown.

  • Nounsense (parts of speech)
  • Busy Bodies (jobs & workplaces)
  • Map Mazes (reading maps)
  • Tale Teller (building paragraphs)
  • Zoo Review (capitalization and punctuation)
  • Jungle Math (basic math)
  • Shapes in Space (fractions)
  • Tops in Terms (word definitions)
  • Write it Right (spelling)
  • Wordsmith (constructing sentences)
  • Story Stopper (advanced punctuation)
  • Wordcalc (math word problems)
  • Time Trip (history)
  • Geo Graphics (geography)

3.1: What was the first Intellivision game?

The first was most likely Major League Baseball, as the original OS had to be developed along with a game to test it and all controls and graphics and sound. The 1979 test market releases were ABPA Backgammon, Armor Battle, Major League Baseball, Electric Company Math Fun, Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack.

3.1: What was the last Intellivision game?

Spiker! Super Pro Volleyball (1989) was the final classic Intellivision game release.

3.1: What games exist for Intellivision?

ABPA Backgammon
Advanced Dungeons n Dragons Cartridge
Advanced Dungeons n Dragons Treasure of Tarmin
Armor Battle
Astrosmash
Atlantis
Auto Racing
B-17 Bomber (Intellivoice)
Beamrider
Beauty n the Beast
Big League Baseball
Blockade Runner I
Body Slam Super Pro Wrestling
Bomb Squad (Intellivoice)
Bowling
Boxing
Bump ‘N Jump
BurgerTime
Buzz Bombers
Carnival
Centipede
Championship Tennis
Checkers (released as Draughts in England)
Chess
Chip Shot Super Pro Golf
Circus
Commando
Congo Bongo
Defender
Demon Attack
Dig Dug
Diner
Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong Jr
Dracula
Dragonfire
Draughts
Dreadnaught Factor
Electric Company Math Fun
Electric Company Word Fun
Fathom
Football
Frog Bog
Frogger
Golf
Happy Trails
Hockey
Horse Racing
Hover Force
Ice Trek
Kool-Aid Man
Lady Bug
Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack (pack-in game)
Las Vegas Roulette
Learning Fun I
Learning Fun II
Lock ‘N Chase
Loco-Motion
Major League Baseball
Masters of the Universe Power of He-Man
Micro League Baseball
Microsurgeon
Mind Strike
Mission X
Motocross
Mountain Madness Super Pro Skiing
Mouse Trap
NASL Soccer
NBA Basketball
NFL Football
NHL Hockey
Night Stalker
Nova Blast
Number Jumble
Pac-Man
PBA Bowling
PGA Golf
Pinball
Pitfall!
Pole Position
Popeye
Q-bert
Reversi
River Raid
Royal Dealer
Safecracker
Sea Battle
Sewer Sam
Shark! Shark!
Sharp Shot
Slam Dunk Super Pro Basketball
Slap Shot Super Pro Hockey
Snafu
Soccer
Space Armada
Space Battle
Space Hawk
Space Spartans (Intellivoice)
Spiker! Super Pro Volleyball
Stadium Mud Buggies
Stampede
Star Strike
Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back
Sub Hunt
Super Cobra
Super Pro Decathlon
Super Pro Football
Swords & Serpents
Tennis
Thin Ice
Thunder Castle
Tower of Doom
Triple Action
Triple Challenge
Tron Deadly Discs
Tron Maze-a-Tron
Tron Solar Sailer (Intellivoice)
Tropical Trouble
Truckin’
Turbo
Tutankham
US Ski Team Skiing
USCF Chess
Utopia
Vectron
Venture
White Water
World Championship Baseball
Worm Whomper
World Cup Football
World Cup Soccer
Zaxxon

3.1: What new games exist for Intellivision?

1 4-Tris [Original Philly Classic LTO Intelligentvision]
2 Aardvark
3 Adventures of Tron
4 Anthropomorphic Force
5 Antartic Tales
6 Astro Invader [Red Blue]
7 Bank Panic
8 Battlestar Galactica Space Battle
9 BCs Quest for Tires [Limited Standard]
10 Beach-Head
11 Beat Em & Eat Em
12 Blix Blix/Chocolate Mine
13 Blow Out
14 Boulder Dash
15 Brickout
16 Castle of Death
17 Choplifter
18 Christmas Carol
19 Copter Command
20 Cosmic Avenger
21 D2K Arcade
22 D2K Arcade Special Edition
23 Death Race
24 Deep Zone
25 Deep Pockets
26 Defender of the Crown
27 Desert Bus
28 Donkey Kong Arcade [Elektronite DK Arcade (No Box Boxed) Intelligentvision]
29 Donkey Kong Junior
30 ET
31 Fantasy
32 Fantasy Puzzle
33 Fast Food
34 Flappy Bird
35 Flintstones Keyboard Fun
36 Frankenstein’s Monster [Cart Only CIB]
37 Fubar
38 Galaxian
39 Game Factory
40 Ghost Busters
41 Gorf
42 Gooninuff
43 Gosub
44 Gyruss
45 Hard Hat
46 H.E.L.I.
47 Hotel Bunny
48 Hover Bovver
49 Illusions
50 Infiltrator
51 Intellivania
52 Inty BASIC Showcase Volume 1
53 Inty BASIC Showcase Volume 2
54 Inty BASIC Showcase Volume 3
55 Jawcrusher
56 Jr. Pac-man
57 Jumpking Jr.
58 Jungle Hunt
59 Keystone Kopps
60 King of the Mountain
61 Klax
62 Land Battle
63 Laser Sharks
64 League Of Light (Original Intellivision Revolution)
65 Lock N Chase (8K Collapsing Lupin) [Cart Only Boxed]
66 Lost Caves of Kroz The [Original Updated]
67 Mad Bomber
68 Magic Carousel
69 Mancala
70 Maria
71 Match 5
72 Melody Runner
73 Meteors
74 Minehunter [Elektronite Intelligentvision]
75 Miner 2049er
76 Missile Domination [Original DX Blue Box DX Black Box]
77 Moon Blast
78 Moonsweeper
79 Ms Night Stalker
80 Ms Pac Man
81 Mystic Castle
82 Ni Felter
83 Ninja Odyssey
84 Norseman
85 Number Jumble
86 Old School [standard Upgrade]
87 Omega Race
88 Operation Cloudfire
89 Oregon Bound
90 Paddle Party
91 Pandora Incident The
92 Penguin Land
93 Piggy Bank
94 Pitfall II
95 Poker Risque
96 Princess Quest [CBS Mattel]
97 Pumpkin Master
98 Quo Vadis
99 Raiders of the Lost Ark
100 Rick Dynamite
101 Robot Army
102 Robot Rubble (Original Intellivision Revolution)
103 Rocky & Bullwinkle
104 Same Game & Robots [2005 2012]
105 Scarfinger
106 Secret Government Waffle Project
107 Sea Venture
108 Shark Shark 2
109 Show Must Go On The
110 Smurf Rescue in Gargemmels Castle
111 Sorrow of Gadhlan Thur
112 Space Cadet
113 Space Cunt [intellivoice Mattel]
114 Space Invaders
115 Space Patrol [2008 2012]
116 Space Raid [CBS Mattel]
117 Spider-Man
118 Spina the Bee [standard Upgraded]
119 Star Mercenary
120 SteamRoller
121 Stonix
122 Super Chef BT
123 Super Mine-Field
124 Super Pro Baseball
125 Super Pro Hockey
126 Super Pro King of the Mountain
127 Super Pro NFL Football
128 Super Pro Tennis
129 Sydney Hunter [CBS Coleco]
130 Sydney Hunter and the Sacred Tribe [Limited GOTY Edition]
131 Takeover
132 Tale of Dragons and Swords A
133 TNT Cowboy
134 Ultimate Pong
135 Unlucky Pony
136 Upmonsters
137 Vanguard (Relase Updated)
138 Wizard of Wor
139 X-Ray
140 Yogis Frustration
141 Zombie Madness

3.1: What games support ECS for enhanced sound?

The following games use normal Intellivision PSG (3 tone, 1 noise) for audio, but with the addition of ECS have an additional PSG (total 6 tone, 2 noise), as of 2023-January:

  • Space Patrol
  • Bad Apple demo
  • Infiltrator
  • Pandora Incident
  • Operation Cloudfire
  • Ninja Odyssey
  • TNT Cowboy
  • Anthromorphic Force
  • A Tale of Dragons and Swords
  • Cat Attack
  • Sorrow of Gadhlad Thur
  • Star Mercenary
  • Fubar
  • FW Diagnostics
  • Intelligentvision ECS Volume Calibration
  • Fantasy
  • The Minstrel’s Legend (future release in development)

3.1: Which games were enhanced by INTV Corp?

INTV enhanced many of the early Mattel titles by adding new features and making them a 1 or 2 player game by adding a computer opponent.
| Mattel Cartridge Original | INTV Corp Enhanced |
|—|—|
| PGA Golf | Chip Shot Super Pro Golf |
| Math Fun | Learning Fun I |
| Major League Baseball | World Championship Baseball |
| NASL Soccer | World Cup Soccer |
| NBA Basketball | Slam Dunk Super Pro Basketball |
| NFL Football | Super Pro Football |
| NHL Hockey | Slap Shot Super Pro Hockey |
| Tennis | Championship Tennis |
| US Ski Team Skiing | Mountain Madness Super Pro Skiing |
| Word Fun | Learning Fun II |
| Backgammon/Checkers/Chess | Triple Challenge |

3.1: What are good party games?

Originally marketed as a sophisticated player’s console, several games supported the idea of more than two people playing in a "party situation". Gaming Network titles (Horse Racing, Poker & Blackjack, Roulette, Craps [unreleased]). Some horse stables and training centers actually bought Intellivisions strictly for the Horse Racing game.
By 1982, with the success of the Atari 2600 making "twitch" arcade games popular, programmers created Party Line where controllers were designed to be passed around for turns. This is different from most 2600 games where multiplayer usually meant watching a player play and taking turns only.
One game, Super Soccer by Nice Ideas, actually allows 4 humans to play simultaneously with two additional controllers plugged into the ECS.

Intellivision Horse Racing example

3.1: Do Intellivision prototype games exist?

Qualified List (refinement in-progress)

  • Vegas II, 1980: Multi-game pack including Craps, Slots, and Roulette (Roulette later released independently). Unfinished due to 4K cartridge space constraints.

  • Air Strike, 1982: An unfinished, but playable game, that is strikingly similar to the cult PC game Sopwith 2. You are a plane dropping bombs on enemies. Neither the collision and detection nor the controls work that well. It is available on Intellivision Lives! PC/Mac only.

  • Brickout!, 1981: A clone of the Atari 2600 game Super Breakout! You are trying to bounce the ball and destroy all the blocks overhead. There are unsubstantiated rumors that Atari threatened a lawsuit if it was released. Is available on PC/Mac version of Intellivision Lives!

  • Deep Pockets, 1990: Was going to be a late release by INTV Corporation. The best pool/billiards simulation up to that point. Was eventually released on cart and on Intellivision Lives!

  • Game Factory, 1983: A program that allowed the gamer to create their own game. Was later released on the compilation Intellivision Rocks! from 1996.

  • Hockey (Pong), 1982: As of 2022-May, it is unclear if this is a fan-made game or an original lost game.

  • Land Battle, 1982: This is a war, strategy game. Is only available on the PC/Mac version of Intellivision Lives!
    n

  • Party Line Games, 1983: These were going to be multi-player games. Think of today’s Mario Party games. Hard Hat involves players racing to see who could install all the sheets of glass on a skyscraper. Is available on Intellivision Lives! Blow Out is two players trying to shoot balloons as they rise up. Is available on the PC/Mac and Nintendo DS versions of Intellivision Lives, only. Space Cadet an alien from an ice planet is trying to turn a desert planet into another ice planet and vice versa. Only available on PC/Mac and DS versions of Intellivision Lives!

  • Robot Rubble, 1983: An Activision game of a lone human battling evil robots that can regenerate. Was released in 2001 on the Intellivision Rocks compilation.

  • Takeover, 1982: A war, strategy game. Some have said that it is quite similar to the board game Risk! It was released only on Windows/Mac and Nintendo DS editions of Intellivision Lives!

  • Yogi’s Frustration, 1983: Based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Ranger Smith catches Yogi trying to steal picnic baskets and so he puts him to work. Booboo has to take picnic baskets up to Yogi so he can keep working. Was eventually released on cart/ROM format.

  • Grid Shock, 1983: Unfinished, supposed to be a strategy game, but doesn’t really function well. Is available only on the PC/Mac version of Intellivision Lives!

  • Super Masters of the Universe, 1983: A sequel to the original Masters of the Universe game (He-Man). It looks great but there is no sound or hit detection. Available as a ROM.

  • Hypnotic Lights, 1981: A picture demo or maybe a strategy game? It is unfinished and I’m not sure what it’s supposed to do. Is available on all versions of Intellivision Lives except the DS version.

  • Number Jumble, 1983: Supposed to be an ECS release, an edutainment game that allows players to shoot things and answer math questions. Was released on Intellivision Lives PC/Mac only.

3.1: What is most popular unfinished game?

Air Strike has been consistently asked-for on active Intellivision forums and social media more than any other game.

3.1: Was Intellivision popular in Germany or in German language?

Mattel Electronics did not perform full text language conversions of games, probably because few games had on-screen English text that would be hard to understand. German language instructions were included in English distribution of games instead.

Known list:

  • Treasure of Tarmin
  • Buzz Bombers
  • Shark! Shark!
  • Space Spartans
  • Bomb Squad
  • Tron Solar Sailer
  • Mind Strike
  • Mr BASIC Meets Bits and Bytes
  • Melody Blaster

From Michael LĂĽnzer IntyMike on Facebook (auto translated from German) ‘While the Intellivision System was introduced in the United States in 1979 on a test market in California and in 1980 nationwide, it did not come to the market in Germany until mid 1982. Not much time to establish yourself against the overpowering opponent Atari. I find it all the more amazing how many games and hardware have been published with us within a good 1 1/2 years. In the pictures is the greeting word for the introduction of Intellivision from a press folder (August 1982), front page of the Service Manual (29.9.82) and a letter about the closure of Mattel Electronics in Germany (31. March. 1984) to be watched.’

3.1: Do Mexican Intellivision games exist?

Mattel Electronics did not perform full text language conversions in games. Manuals were converted to Spanish language for distribution by Aurimat in Mexico, which maybe also handled physical media translation.
"Combate Astral" (literally, "Astral Combat") is an interesting name!

3.1: Do special needs Intellivision games exist?

Initial Intellivision game releases were complex and not made with special needs in mind, the controller itself could be easier to handle than others of the early 1980s, and some games in the original catalog could adapt to different levels of physical or intellectual ability. Take a look at this list, and share your thoughts.

  • Frog Bog
  • Sharp Shot
  • APBA Backgammon
  • Checkers
  • Las Vegas Poker n Blackjack
  • Nelody Blaster
  • Reversi
  • Safecracker
  • B17 Bomber
  • Truckin’

3.1: Why are title screens brown?

Engineer Dave James chose brown so consumers could adjust their television sets at game start because it is a mix of screen gun colors, using blue or red or green would mean using a single gun and difficult to tune.

3.1: Why is color 14 called blue, it looks like light purple?

Becayse Dave James declared it that color. 1981 you would adjust the tint knob on the TV until it looked like sky, which is how you know it’s light blue and not purple.

3.1: Are Intellivision games in arcades?

Instead of porting popular games from the arcade to the console, Mattel Electronics planned Vactron to work the opposite way by becoming popular at home and then driving people to arcades. This fell apart because (1) Vectron was not a great candidate game and (2) The Crash wrecked all forward-thinking plans like this.

In 2022, things changed for Intellivision with a real arcade approaching James Pujals to port Christmas Carol to an arcade!

3.1: How are dungeons in AD&D Cloudy Mountain generated in such a small memory footprint?

  • All the rooms are 9×9 "background cards" in size (72×72 pixels).
  • The middle card on three of the edges
  • The three directions you can travel to is where one room connects to another.
  • The center card is the spawn point for: yourself, monsters, pickup items, and the exit (or crown halves).
  • The card just south of the spawn point, regardless of orientation is where visual "artifacts" appear: rat droppings, demon bones, and skulls.
  • All the rooms are rendered using six GROM character tiles: blank (#0), full (#95), and half-filled along a diagonal (#116 to #119).
  • The rooms are rotated in 90° increments based on the three directions you can go.
    -T here is one row/column full of empty cards in the direction you can’t go.
  • Movement always happens in one-tile increments, though the animation is smooth. You and the monsters can only move where there are filled tiles. Diagonals within the "tunnels" are for visual effect, so you’re not seen walking through walls while travelling diagonally. The diagonals also effect the angle of refraction for arrows.

3.1: How can I advance quickly in Treasure of Tarmin?

Okay…wanna know the secret to having a really powerful character really early in the game? Here’s the solution: The "Empty Bow"!

When you start off, collect as much food as possible. When you fight, use only your bow and arrows. Make sure you rest after each battle.

Collect whatever weapons you can, but repeating spiritual weapons like scrolls (and books) are great to have. If you cannot find any, just pick up whatever is available.

Okay…you’ve fought a couple of times, and now you’re out of arrows. KEEP THAT BOW RIGHT THERE! Go find another monster, and attack him with
the bow. You’ll get the ever-popular "RAZZ" sound, but the monster will attack you anyways. Keep repeating this until your HP get as low as you want to go. The lower they go, the stronger you will become. When you’re tired of letting the monster pummel you, get one of the other
weapons and finish him off. Then rest. VOILA! You’re HP’s will skyrocket!

Normally, this affects your War HP faster than your spiritual HP, because you are using a war weapon. Your spiritual HP can also go up if
you are being hit by spiritual weapons. Another way to get more Spiritual HP is to get the Spiritual knowledge book and then continue the method. This will raise your Spiritual HP faster.

In order to get the most out of this, you must do the following:

  1. FIND ALL FOOD
  2. Fight as often as you can (without being stupid…)
  3. DO NOT GET ARROWS!
  4. Get all of the War and Spiritual skill books (to allow your HP to go above normal limit).

Some other tips… Keep a spare bow with you at all times in case your active one breaks. Also, fight the weakest monsters the longest. You
can sit there and get hit 300 times by a skeleton, then kill him once and get back 50 HPS, even though you only lost 4. Basically, it’s like your body gets stronger by getting hit, which it does.

This trick also works with scrolls, but since you never run out of ammo, just use the light blue scroll against a stronger opponent. ONLY DO THIS IF YOU ARE REALLY STRONG!

3.1: Does Auto Racing have alternate steering?

The original release had "screen relative" steering, which meant that pushing the disc left made the car turn left. This was deemed too difficult to understand, and an unannounced change was made to "car relative" steering, so pushing the disc left would make the car turn left regardless of the direction it is facing.

3.1: Is Boulderdash available?

Classic Game Publishers, Inc Elektronite partnered with First Star Software in 2015 to release Boulder Dash (developed by Scott Nudds). Rockford was never-before available on the platform. The game is official with DRM on-cartridge, as of 2022 can only be found on auction sites, although Elektronite maintains an agreement from current license owner BBG Entertainment for 23 complete-in-box copies to publish (original agreement with First Star expired in 2016) . It is an awesome version, grab it if you can!

3.1: What is Technical Associates?

A pair of New Jersey programmers that created the game for Mattel after showing the company they knew how to develop using a PlayCable and PC.

3.1: Can games use 3D glasses?

In the early 1980s, University of Georgia researchers developed 3-D image viewing through "prism glasses", and Mattel Electronics incorporated it into the Hover Force game.

Mattel also used the glasses in a Crayola game; anyone looking for the glasses today can find them via auciton sites for the Crayola game "3D Sidewalk Chalk". Left Turn Only had them available on their site in the 2015 time frame.

3.1: Why was Kool Aid Man for the Intellivision different than the Atari 2600 version instead of being the same like most people would produce?

(Keith Robinson, 1995)

Both games were created specifically for the Kool-Aid tie-in; in fact, they were the result of an in-house contest. The reason the two games are different is the result of a philosophical difference between the programmers and Marketing.

Since every game system had its strengths and weaknesses, any game originally developed for one system (or for the arcades) would suffer when adapted for another. For the most part, the programmers wanted every game to be an original, designed for a specific system and taking full advantage of that system’s strengths.

Marketing wanted games that would be on as many systems as possible, with game play and graphics that were recognizable across those systems. They argued for simplifying Intellivision graphics on some games to make them more like the 2600 versions. (This led to many heated discussions, particularly between myself and Marjorie Brent, a marketing person who had been a friend of mine from before we both wound up at Mattel.)

Anyway, Marketing had made a deal with Kool-Aid, then presented the deadline to Programming. No game idea was presented to us, just that it had to use Kool-Aid Man. It was, of course, a rush job. We argued that the only way to meet the deadline, which required an Intellivision and 2600 version to be ready at the same time, was to allow the programmers to develop different games for the two systems; designing to the strengths of a system is faster than adapting something around its weaknesses.

We hoped that the result would be two good games instead of one good game and a lame adaptation or two passable versions of one game and that it would lead to more games in which the Intellivision, 2600, Colecovision or whatever versions could differ greatly to take full advantage of each system. But Marketing HATED that the two games were different and never let us do it again. They said consumers would be confused and angry. And you know, based on the e-mail we’ve received and the posts to this newsgroup about Kool-Aid Man, looks like they were right. After 12 years, I guess I owe Marjorie an apology.

3.1: Are there any game play tips for Sewer Sam?

The standard Intellivision pause method doesn’t seem to work! Pressing 1 and 9 (or 3 and 7) just makes Sewer Sam fire his gun.
The rats can actually be helpful, since as long as you’ve got one onscreen, it takes the place of a potentially more dangerous enemy (the spiders are probably the biggest hassles in the game). If you’re lucky enough to get three rats at the start of a water level, you can actually keep the crocodile from ever appearing.

Obviously, all of the odd mazes are dry, and the even ones are wet. Submarines only appear in wet levels.

  • Maze 1 (starting maze): Dry, Dark Green/Light Green
  • Maze 2: Wet, Dark Green/Light Green
  • Maze 3: Dry, Dark Green/Blue
  • Maze 4: Wet, Light Green/Yellow
  • Maze 5: Dry, Light Green/Blue
  • Maze 6: Wet, Dark Green/Yellow
  • Maze 7: Dry, Red/Blue
  • Maze 8: Wet, Red/Yellow

Not a lot is known about Interphase, anyone with additional info about them, please contact us at Intv Prime. Thanks!

3.1: Is Space Battle based on BattleStar Galactica?

Mattel Electronics was the first organization to do 3rd party tie-ins for sports franchises, and looked to do the same for space games, of which Space Battle was the first. Early Intellivision prototypes feature a "Battlestar Galactica" game, which is why the strategy screen and combat screens and sounds are 90% like the 1970s TV series. Mattel’s subsidiary failed to get the correct deal at the last minute, and the company had to reduce the name to simply "Space Battle".

3.1: What phrases are built into the original Intellivoice games?

  1. Space Shuttle
  • All Systems Go
  • Altitude
  • Approaching
  • Bring It Home
  • Critical
  • Damage
  • Decrease
  • Deep
  • Deploy
  • Down
  • Emergency Reentry
  • Fuel
  • Gear
  • Good Job
  • Ignition
  • Increase
  • Lift Off
  • Low
  • Minus
  • Mission Complete
  • Mission Point
  • Moderate
  • Nose
  • Orbit Decay
  • Over
  • Reentry Window
  • Ready To Change The Orbit
  • Recover
  • Repeat
  • Roger, Out
  • Satellite
  • Satellite In View
  • Shuttle
  • Space Debris
  • T
  • Test
  • This Is Control
  • Up
  • Warning
  • We Have
  1. Magic Carousel
  • Almost
  • Answer
  • Back
  • Balloons
  • Blow Up
  • Camel
  • Camera
  • Carousel
  • Close
  • Closer
  • Comes
  • Deer
  • Drink
  • Find
  • For
  • Get
  • Giraffe
  • Go
  • Good
  • Great
  • Hello
  • Here
  • Honk
  • Horn
  • Hurry
  • Jack
  • Kangaroo
  • Lets
  • Lion
  • Little
  • Milk
  • More
  • Not That
  • Now
  • Phone
  • Piano
  • Picture
  • Play
  • Press
  • Right
  • Step Right Up
  • Stop It In The Middle
  • Swan
  • Take
  • The
  • Tiger
  • Till It
  • Times
  • To
  • To Far
  • Unicorn
  • Wait
  1. World Series Major League Baseball
  • At
  • At (Used Prior to a Base)
  • Ball
  • Bases Loaded
  • Catch
  • Chopper
  • Double
  • First
  • Fly
  • Foul
  • Four (Used After Ball)
  • Going
  • Gone
  • Got ‘Em
  • Grounder
  • Hard
  • He
  • He’s
  • Heading For
  • It’s A
  • Line Drive
  • Long
  • Makes The
  • Nobody
  • On
  • One
  • Out
  • Plate
  • Play
  • Safe
  • Second
  • Strike
  • The Plate
  • The World Series
  • Third
  • Through The Infield
  • Throws To
  • Two
  1. Space Spartans
  • Alien
  • Aliens
  • Battle Computer
  • Destroyed (Man)
  • Destroyed (Woman)
  • Energy Level
  • Hello Commander Computer Reporting
  • Hyperdrive
  • Impulse Drive
  • Off
  • On
  • One
  • One Third Down
  • Repair
  • Repaired
  • Shields
  • Starbase
  • The Battle Is Over
  • Three
  • Tracking Computer
  • Two
  • Two Third Down
  • Under Attack
  • Under Repair
  1. Bomb Squad
  • Bomb Squad
  • Minutes Till Blast
  • Tested
  • The Code The Code Figure Out The Code
  • Are You Sure
  • Good Going
  • Ok Ok
  • Oh No
  • Cut This Out
  • This Out
  • Out
  • Replace This
  • You Did It You Did It You’re A Hero
  • They’ll Be Looking For Us
  • They’ll Never Do It In Time
  • It Won’t Be Easy
  • This
  • Up More
  • Down More
  • Left More
  • Right More
  • Wrong Part
  • Wrong Order Resolder
  1. B-17 Bomber
  • Bandits
  • Bombs Away
  • Check Point
  • Close
  • Em
  • Fighters
  • Flak
  • For
  • Good Shot
  • Got
  • In Sight
  • Look
  • Mayday
  • Nine
  • Not A
  • O’clock
  • On
  • Out
  • Six
  • Target
  • That Was
  • Three
  • Twelve
  • Uh Oh
  • Watch
  1. Tron Solar Sailer
  • End Of Line
  • Energy
  • Five
  • Four
  • Get Off
  • High
  • I Can’t Allow This
  • Low
  • Medium
  • No
  • One
  • One
  • Override Code
  • Sector
  • Seven
  • Six
  • Three
  • Track
  • Two
  • We’ve Been Hit
  • Yes
  • You Will Regret This
  • Zero
  1. ROM Resident
  • Teen
  • Ty
  • And
  • Eight
  • Eighteen
  • Eighty
  • Eleven
  • Enter
  • Fifteen
  • Fifty
  • Five
  • Forty
  • Four
  • Fourteen
  • Hundred
  • Mattel Electronics Presents
  • Nine
  • Nineteen
  • Ninety
  • One
  • Or
  • Press
  • Seven
  • Seventeen
  • Seventy
  • Six
  • Sixteen
  • Sixty
  • Ten
  • Thirteen
  • Thirty
  • Thousand
  • Three
  • Twelve
  • Twenty
  • Two
  • Zero

3.1: What is IntyOS?

Realistically, 1K of RAM isn’t enough to host a GUI for desktop productivity. Arnauld Chevallier decided to create something that looks like one, though. 🙂

3.1: What software existed for the Keyboard Component?

The Keyboard Component software list was short, but was created to make use of the capabilities to differentiate it from every other computer of the day. The sound channels, two CPUs, digtal+audio combo tape drive, cartridge port, keyboard, Intellivision controllers, and microphone came into play for nearly every title.

Conversational French (written by APh) (witness programming prowess of Mimi’s facial movements in sync with the audio!)
Crosswords
Family Budgeting
Super Football (coaching)
Geography Challenge
Jack Lalane’s Physical Fitness (written by APh)
Jeane Dixon Astrology
Spelling Challenge (written by APh)

3.1: Is ECS required for some games?

The ECS expanded RAM, extra audio chip, and keyboard are necessary for these games:

  • Mind Strike
  • Scooby Doo’s Maze Chase
  • Super NFL Football
  • World Series Major League Baseball
  • Melody Blaster

Update 2022-10: Intelligentvision has modified versions of the games so a keyboard is not required.

ECS enhanced 21st Century titles:

  • Space Patrol
  • FUBAR
  • The Minstrel’s Legend (under development)
  • Operation Cloudfire
  • Christmas Carol vs the Ghost of Christmas Presents (cut scenes)
  • Bad Apple demo

3.1: Can I play ECS games without an ECS keyboard?

Super supreme Intellivision developer "Inty Dave" has modified these games to not require the keyboard:

  • Mind Strike
  • Scooby Doo
  • Super NFL Football
  • World Series Major League Baseball

3.1: Does the Intellivision have demos?

As an expression of the coding talent of a programmer (or programmer team) on a given platform, the best and brightest have created runtime creations that push the stock Intellivision hardware to its limit to make some extremely entertaining works of art. You won’t believe that 1979 hardware can do what it does!
As of 2021, the most expansive demo is "Voyage".

3.1: Are alternate songs or music available for Melody Blaster?

A hacked ROM and configuration from Midnight Blue allows playing an all new set of songs.

  • Hallelujah! (from Handel’s Messiah)
  • O Fortuna (first and last movements of Carl Orff’s Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi)
  • Korobeiniki (rendition from Game Boy Tetris Tune-A)
  • Linus and Lucy (from the Charlie Brown Christmas Special OST)
  • I Wonder As I Wander
  • Carol of the Bells
  • Pac-Man Intermission (original arcade port)
  • Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man! (title screen from the Intellivision game)
  • Bomb Squad
  • Thin Ice
  • R.C. Pro-Am (title screen from the NES game)

3.1: Which original 125 games came with overlays?

  • Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
  • Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin
  • Armor Battle
  • Astrosmash
  • Atlantis
  • Auto Racing
  • B-17 Bomber
  • Backgammon
  • Beamrider
  • Beauty & the Beast
  • Blockade Runner
  • Bomb Squad
  • Bowling
  • Boxing
  • Bump ‘n’ Jump
  • BurgerTime
  • Buzz Bombers
  • Championship Tennis
  • Checkers
  • Demon Attack
  • Dracula
  • Dragonfire
  • Dreadnaught Factor, The
  • Electric Company Math Fun, The
  • Electric Company Word Fun, The
  • Fathom
  • Frog Bog
  • Happy Trails
  • Horse Racing
  • Ice Trek
  • Jetsons Ways With Words, The
  • Kool-Aid Man
  • Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack
  • Las Vegas Roulette
  • Lock ‘n’ Chase
  • Loco-Motion
  • Major League Baseball
  • Masters of the Universe: Power of He-Man
  • Melody Blaster
  • Microsurgeon
  • Mind Strike
  • Mission X
  • Motocross
  • Mouse Trap
  • Mr. Basic Meets Bits ‘n Bytes
  • NASL Soccer
  • NBA Basketball
  • NFL Football
  • NHL Hockey
  • Night Stalker
  • Nova Blast
  • PGA Golf
  • Pinball
  • Pitfall!
  • Reversi
  • River Raid
  • Royal Dealer
  • Safecracker
  • Scooby Doo’s Maze Chase
  • Sea Battle
  • Sewer Sam
  • Shark! Shark!
  • Sharp Shot
  • Skiing
  • Snafu
  • Space Armada
  • Space Battle
  • Space Hawk
  • Space Spartans
  • Stampede
  • Star Strike
  • Sub Hunt
  • Swords & Serpents
  • Tennis
  • Triple Action
  • TRON Deadly Discs
  • TRON Maze-A-Tron
  • TRON Solar Sailer
  • Tropical Trouble
  • Truckin’
  • USCF Chess
  • Utopia
  • Vectron
  • White Water!
  • World Championship Baseball
  • World Cup Soccer
  • World Ser. Maj. League Baseball
  • Worm Whomper

3.1: What is plug all in one 10?

As a profit-generating exercise for future projects like the Intellivision Flashback, the "Intellivision 10" and "Intellivision 25" handheld units were created to emulate popular Intellivision games. The units strongly resembled the Nintendo/Sega controllers of the late 1990s, and contained the entire emulation and TV connectivity with a simple game selection menu. The games are NoaC (Nintendo on a Chip) re-writes of Intellivision games using Intellivision graphics and converted audio. The units supported single player games. The games were written from the ground-up, not emulated, so the audio plus control plus graphics generally left something to be desired. However, to the new generation of kids seeing the games for the first time, they were fun! Intellivision Productions owner Keith Robinson decided he was on to something with these all-in-one units, when kids at family get togethers started arguing who got to play (Skiing) next.

3.1: What is Intellivision Lives?

The Intellivision Productions company leveraged the profits from the Intellivisoin-10 and Intellivision-25 handhelds to release full treatments of Intellivision games in turnkey packaged emulation called "Intellivision Lives!".

The sound, control, and graphics are faithfully replicated on the following systems:

  • Windows PC
  • Power Macintosh
  • Sony Playstation 2
  • Microsoft Xbox
  • Nintendo DS
  • Nintendo Gamecube

60 games plus previously-unreleased Hardhat, Brickout, and Deep Pockets are included. The Nintendo DS version is particularly valued because of the portability and quick-to-play format.

In addition to games, the Windows/MacOS version CD contains additional media and documents about the early days of Intellivision production.

Sony also released "Intellivision Classic Games" for The Playstation One (ASIN B00001QECQ) in Sep-1999, 30 packed-in games for direct play from a PS1 menu.

3.1: What are the versions of Intellivision Lives?

The main difference is that 1.1 contains the Windows-based emulator (which was a port from Steve Roney’s Macintosh emulator done by Quicksilver Software, Inc) in addition to Carl Mueller’s DOS emulator.

3.2: Does 4Tris have easter eggs?

  • If you press 6+9 (on either controller) and press RESET, youďż˝ll get a ďż˝helloďż˝ message from Joe (picture #1).
  • If you press RIGHT on the LEFT controller, and 5 on the RIGHT controller and press RESET, you’ll get PONG instead
  • To access the hidden ROM test, press and hold 1 on either the RIGHT or LEFT controller.

3.2: Does Dungeons & Dragons Cloudy Mountain have easter eggs?

  • On the RIGHT controller, hold 0 + either upper side button + disc position 7, then press RESET. When the title screen appears, push the disc or any button and you’ll see the map screen (see picture). Both halves of the crown will be assembled on top of your party and you immediately win the game!
  • Use the first controller to run (usually a straight vertical corridor is best). At the same time, use the second controller to fire an arrow horizontally. If the run has enough speed, the arrow will bounce left-right forever, making a kind of "arrow wall" that you can trick monsters into running into.
  • Move so that a slow-moving monster (on early levels, this is all of them, but blobs work best) is above you in a long vertical passage. Walk downwards until the monster is just barely off the top of the screen, and then quickly return. The monster will often be cloned; with blobs, you can get up to three at once from one original. It takes some practice to get the timing right.
  • On the map screen, you move your party around using the number pad on the controller. If you move your party to the upper-left corner of the screen, you can press the up/left diagonal and move off the screen. Keep moving in that direction, and you’ll appear in the middle of the map. Once you’re in the middle, you need to make one more "move" before you can return to moving normally.
  • At game start, move expidition to visible northwest corner of map, press [1] and expidition will disappear, predd [1] and expedition will appear in center of the map but actually be near southeast corner as far as game code is concerned, press anything on keypad repeatedly until the expedition appears in a usable location

3.2: Does Armor Battle have any bugs or easter eggs?

  • On the LEFT controller, press and hold 0+either upper side button +disc position 7, and then press RESET. You’ll then see a title screen with "D.E.I." under the name (picture #1), followed by the infamous crowd cheering sound. Note- this only works on the fast (later) tank version.
    • On the LEFT controller hold 3, on the RIGHT hold 9, and then press RESET. The title will change to "D.E.I.", followed by the infamous crowd cheering sound. Also, the copyright will say 1984 (picture #2). Note- this only works on the slow (original) tank version. {from Chris Hawley’s "Copyright Kludge" file}
    • Drive a tank to the bottom of the screen, and then inactivate it. Then take another tank (yours or enemies) and shoot it once or twice to make it move down. Then re-activate the tank, turn it so it points straight down, and drive forward for a moment or two. The tank will appear from the top of the screen and the tank will gain some "ghost tank" powers, able to drive through buildings and not be encumbered by water.

3.2: Does Astrosmash have easter eggs?

  • The game has a score overflow bug which causes negative numbers, letters, and other ASCII characters to be displayed in the socre counter. According to the Blue Sky Ranger website, the bug occurs with scores higher than 9,999,999. However, former Astrosmash contest competitor Doug Leighty stated the highest score possible before the rollover bug occurs is 32,767, 995. The manual also proves BSRďż˝s score is impossible since the right-most digit can only be a 0 or a 5 (ironically, the catalog description promises "Unlimited scoring potential").
  • 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. Very 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 was intentional or reliably repeatable, but it’s neither).

3.2: Can AI play Astrosmash?

Twin Galaxies high scorer Winslator coded a Lua script to run within the BizHawk emulator to read the memory of the game while running and have it play the game. It rolls over past 32 million points.

3.2: Does Atlantis have easter eggs?

  • Unlike other versions, the Intellivision version has an ending. After so many waves, a purple ďż˝lineďż˝ will move down the screen and destroy everything in Atlantis! The manual makes no mention of this.

3.2: Does Auto Racing have easter eggs?

  • Press 1+6+9 on either keypad to switch to "real" steering (and vice-versa). {from Chris Hawleyďż˝s ďż˝Copyright Kludgeďż˝ file}
  • Basketball mini game: Hold 4+7+8+9+0, then press DOWN+LEFT at the title screen. Note: this only works with the later version (white-labeled carts ?).
  • Select track 1. On the last long strip (before the sharp right turn), drive the car in the grass underneath the road. The car will never hit an obstacle!
  • The 5 race courses were created as a "globe" – you can go ‘off the course’ and onto other courses at many places in the game. Anywhere where there’s daylight in between trees is explore-able, and often ‘hidden’ areas (like the "Drag Strip", a long horizontal area) not mentioned in the manual can be found. All of the courses exist within the ROM on a single map/track field, and can be driven from one to another. A special way to see them is to drive to the "hidden drag strip" that exists below the horizontal track stretch where no trees exist. Without steering when on the path, the car will "circle the globe" forever.

3.2: Does B-17 Bomber have easter eggs?

  • For unlimited fuel and 200/1000lb bombs, press 0 and then 1 on the LEFT controller at the start-up screen.
  • Start a game in practice mode and keep bombing targets over England. The score will eventually roll over and start displaying text, graphics, and even some bonus items from Lock ‘N’ Chase!
  • If your altitude is high enough, and you’re hit with enough enemy fire, you can rack up so much damage before you hit the ground that the damage counter will roll over, giving you instant repair!
  • Dropping a bomb to the far left of the screen from just the right altitude will crash the game.
  • Flying into flak features some great perspective animation; the rear view, however, doesn’t look quite right. They ran out of time to debug it. By the way, they also ran out of room for a flak graphics picture. Instead, the program grabs some of the EXEC/Executive ROM program code and graphically displays it. This random jumble of bits passes as flak.
  • When the game starts, the bomber faces east. When you return from a mission, the bomber faces west. When you start the second mission, the bomber is still facing west, so you can easily end up halfway to Bermuda, trying to figure out how the English Channel got so wide and where the German fighters are.
  • The gauges screen was not intended to be in the game. It was a debugging tool, used by the programmers to check on the value of certain variables during the game. John liked it so much it became part of the finished product. But since this screen was never intended to be seen by the public, it wasn’t coded to check for values overflowing, resulting in non-numeric characters showing up on the counters.
    Get hit with a large amount of enemy fire at high altitude. The damage counter will increase by such a large amount that it will reset before your bomber hits the ground and allow it to continue flying.

3.2: Does Beamrider have easter eggs?

  • By holding down 6 on the LEFT controller and 8 on the RIGHT controller when pressing RESET, youďż˝ll get the following message as part of the title info scroll (picture #1) ďż˝ "A Cheshire Game! By David Rolfe Thanks to Chris, Kevin, Larry & TomL and Will & Shal!".

3.2: Does Beauty n the Beast have easter eggs?

  • Get to the point where the ape falls off the building, and press 3 twice on the RIGHT controller. The designer’s initials, "WB" (for Wendell Brown), will appear atop the building (see picture).
  • Climb to the top of the first building, and then intentionally fall off. The next time you climb the building, the game play will be easier.

3.2: Does Body Slam Super Pro Wrestling have easter eggs?

  • Both controller button combinations must all be done simultaneously: hold down 2+3 on the RIGHT controller and 2+6 on the LEFT controller, and then press RESET. Programmer Steve Ettinger’s message to his family will appear (picture #1).
  • To display the credits, press 0 on either controller while the title screen is displayed (picture #2).
  • When first turned on or reset, the game will flash a standard title screen (picture #3) just before it shows the normal one.

3.2: Does Bomb Squad have easter eggs?

· BUG: Depending on the level (Level 3 is the worst), you cannot take a part, with pliers, to extreme ends of the circuit board when the fast (top action) key is pressed. Once the key is released, you can. It is most noticeable when you release a part and you need to pick one up at the top level.

· BUG: If the wrong part is cut, Frank will say, "wrong part: resolder!" and there is a sound associated with it. If Boris is talking when this happens, his voice overrides Frank’s. Frank won’t say "wrong part: resolder," but the associated sound still occurs.

· BUG: When you have correctly soldered a part, it will not move like the others so that you know what you have replaced. However, if you solder that piece again, it will start moving.

3.2: Does Boxing have easter eggs?

· HIDDEN MESSAGE: On the LEFT controller, press the 2 lower action buttons and push RIGHT (actually wheel direction #7). A different title screen will appear (see picture). {from Chris Hawley’s “Copyright Kludge” file}

· Maneuver the right boxer character up-and-left while maneuvering the left boxer down-and-right (this seems to be easier with the agile/light vs average boxer). After some fidgeting, the boxers will end up back-to-back, and punching will make the boxers "throw elbows" that can’t be blocked and seem to have a lot of power. Knockouts come quickly.

3.2: Does Bump n Jump have easter eggs?

· BUG: It is possible to jump off the left side of the screen and land safely on the right on a "secret" road, or vice versa. If you jump and position yourself so that only the left half of the car appears on the right edge of the screen (give it a few tries; the position has to be precise!), you will land safely off the screen and don’t have to do anything for the rest of the level — you don’t even have to jump at water hazards! There are only two disclaimers: (1) you will crash if you jump again (it turns out that the car positions itself one pixel to the left when jumping); and (2) you have to jump back onto the roadway at the end of the level, because the car automatically drives toward the center of the screen at the end and will crash if you do not return.

3.2: Does Buzz Bombers have easter eggs?

· Marketing had a version of the game prototyped with a RAID can and tried to sell Johnson & Johnson, makers of Raid bug-spray.

· Buzz Bombers is a one-player game only, a fact that wasn’t properly communicated to the Visual Design (packaging) department. Tens of thousands of copies were packed before someone realized the back of the box said "1 or 2 can play." They had to cross it out every copy by hand.

· When first turned on or reset, the game will flash a standard title screen (picture #2) just before it shows the normal one.

3.2: Does Dig Dug have any bugs or easter eggs?

To satisfy your urge to play Tron as a hot dog, use the Intv Corp release of Dig Dug: press 47 (4 and 7 simultaneously) on both hand controllers and press reset. The Deadly Dogs title screen will appear.

3.2: Does Frogger have any bugs or easter eggs?

There is a serious game ending glitch in Frogger, that surprisingly calls to the Intellivision’s cheering sound effect bank, with the problem with it never returning (Game Terminates). There does not seem to be any definite reason why this occurs, but the further the game goes, more likely the glitch to occur at any time. Can happen at any part, road, middle, river, etc… (there are several examples in the this week Intellivision HSC ending tonight for examples if needed).

3.2: Does Math Fun have any bugs?

This title originally coded by Kimo Yap had an 8-bit math overflow error which was seen on harder game levels (with more complex problems). When the development was transitioned to Larry Zwick, the storage for the equations was moved to 16-bit memory, and the overflows were mitigated.
The original version is left-to-right math solving, and in 1982 it was changed from right-to-left

3.2: Does NHL Hockey have any bugs or Easter Eggs?

It’s possible to score by shooting at the goal where there is a pixel missing in the back of the net. Sometimes when trying, the puck will go right through the next, or it may become (briefly) stuck to it.

3.2: Does Super Pro Basketball have any easter eggs or bugs?

Offensive team will miss a pass with a defensive player on the far side of the screen near the out, and the defensive player will recover the ball but "float" in space and cannot be touched by the other team, and that player can then shoot at his leisure.

3.2: Does Space Armada have any bugs or easter eggs?

Hold down 4+6+Both lower fire buttons and Reset to launch "Spaz Armada", a very intense version of the game in Practice Mode.
Hold down right controller both fire buttons and left controller Clear+Enter to launch "Space Beasties"

  • SPACE ARMADA: left = 46 OR clear-enter right = lower two action keys

3.2: Does Space Hawk have any bugs or easter eggs?

The "black holes" in the manual are a result of programmer not using the EXEC controller debouncing. The EXEC has a very robust controller input subsystem which can make games seem slow/unresponsive, so the Space Hawk developers decided to trade speed with the risk of the controllers not being read correctly.

3.2: Does Star Strike have any bugs or easter eggs?

  • The game can be "fried" (push reset repeatedly while moving the cartridge in and out), where it will go into a crazy GRAM-GROM switch loop and display random memory contents
    — Steve Craft, Jay Craft. Matthew Long.
    STAR STRIKE: left = 19 OR 37

3.2: Does Super Pro Football have any bugs or easter eggs?

Press either lower left action button at the title screen, and the game jumps to the stats page. After pressing Enter on the right controller, it then starts game play, with the visitors having first and goal at the one yard line. Both teams are human controlled.

This is in addition to the well documented easter egg where pressing and holding keypad #0 or disc-East at the title screen rolls the credits.

3.2: Does Treasure of Tarmin have any bugs?

Ever wanted to see what was behind a wall or a door…WITHOUT the sight book? I did this on an Intellivision II, so I’m not sure if it works on a I or III…

Go to a "hall of doors" as I call it…tons of doors that line up on either side of you. Put an object down, and then GLANCE left or right. When you glance, if there is anything behind the door, the object you put down may blink for an instant. If it does, that means that an object is one or two spaces away in the direction you glanced. When you return back to your original direction, it may blink again. Sometimes, when it blinks, it momentarily turns into the object (or part of the sprite) that was hidden. For example, if a spear is behind the door, the shield you put down (or whatever) MAY momentarily become a spear, then return to whatever it was. It becomes easier to see if you glance one way, and then hit the other glance the other before you come back to your original position. Great way to avoid spending tons of time looking into empty doors.

To try this in a more surefire way, find an eyeball mural that has a closable door beside it. Go through the door and then turn around to face the door. The eyeball mural will be on the other side. Put something down in front of you, and glance both directions. Notice the object you put down…it will blink, and if you’re fast enough… It’ll turn into an eyeball!!!

The reason this may work only on an INTV II system is because there is a slight timing maladjustment inherent to all INTV II’s, that I’s and III’s don’t have (according to what I’ve heard.) If that is indeed true, then this works because the timing misfire actually causes the correct sprite to be in the wrong place due to the screen changes.

3.2: Does the Keyboard Component have any easter eggs?

In the retail demo made for Sears, use the keys DEI instead of space bar when playing Space Battle for a treat.

3.2: What games can be patched for cheats?

With access to an emulator (jzIntv seems to be the most capable and popular in 2021), many games can be modified to make them easier to "win", either with runtime configuration or direct hex editing.

3.2: Does Horse Racing have any bugs or Easter Eggs?

Called "Copyright Kludges" back then.
The date style marks this compilation as the work of Chris Hawley [Notation: hold down indicated keys during powerup.]
Kluge file for Games- Updated 8107.13

  • HORSE RACING: left = 69 right = 69

3.2: Does Roulette have any bugs or Easter Eggs?

Called "Copyright Kludges" back then.
The date style marks this compilation as the work of Chris Hawley [Notation: hold down indicated keys during powerup.]
Kluge file for Games- Updated 8107.13

  • ROULETTE: left = 13 right = 123

3.2: Does Skiing have any bugs or Easter Eggs?

Called "Copyright Kludges" back then.
The date style marks this compilation as the work of Chris Hawley [Notation: hold down indicated keys during powerup.]
Kluge file for Games- Updated 8107.13

  • SKIING: left = 57 right = 57

3.2: Does Word Fun have any bugs or Easter Eggs?

Called "Copyright Kludges" back then.
The date style marks this compilation as the work of Chris Hawley [Notation: hold down indicated keys during powerup.]
Kluge file for Games- Updated 8107.13

  • WORD FUN: press 43210 during word rockets mode

3.2: Do game fans repackage games?

One of the most iconic games, Las Vegas Poker and Blackjack, has had "unofficial official" playing cards made for trade shows in 2004 by Intellivision Productions.

In 2010, Intellivision fan Voltron made an exclusive set of 15 gamblers edition box sets.

3.3: What is the EXEC?

The EXEC is the Intellivision operating system, including built-in programming libraries of common game functions, allowing programmers to use them instead of creating them in cartridges, saving space. programmers could use pieces of the EXEC. For example, if your program didn’t move and sequence all eight of the objects you could modify the EXEC’s high-level code to adapt it to run in two or one frame cycles instead of three.

3.3: How were Intellivision games programmed?

Compared to developing today with sophisticated IDEs and debuggers and DevOps pipelines, coding was very much "by hand" for original Intellivision games. Graphics were usually designed on graph paper with a pencil, with on/off bits coded after the drawings were ready. A hardware device perhaps resembling a Lite Brite with push buttons for the 20×12 character Intellivision screen was created for early design. Tools were rapidly developed after that, incorporating DEC PDP-11 for round tripping between coding and executing on consoles, modified Keyboard Components (aka Blue Whale or Black Whale), and later special boards for IBM XT-era systems (Magus interface board).

The Blue Sky Rangers company in the late 1990s attempted to emulate the Magus system with what they called Magus-2 to give aspiring developers a way to code on Wintel PCs and push code to an Intellivision; this was not successful and no systems are currently known to exist.

3.3: Can an Intellivision be programmed in Assembly?

The primary and best way to write Intellivision games with CP1600 assembly language is AS1600, part of the SDK-1600 and jzIntv package by Joe Zbiciak.

The public domain compiler has built millions of lines of Intellivision code since the mid-1990s.

3.3: Where can I find Intellivision game source code?

Source code for the original 125 games is written in CP1610 Assembly and is IP owned by Intellivision Entertainment and other corporations, not open source. Steve Roney has shared the source for one of the original programmer onboarding programs "Killer Tomatoes" aka "Killer Bees". Mattel Electronics named scratch programs "Killer" and APh called them "Trivia", both containing 6 letters because the PDP-10/11 filesystems had 6 character length maximum.

3.3: What games are being made now?

Ease of development with IntyBASIC and two new programming books have made a big imapct. Homebrew makers are writing ports that never existed before (like Spiderman), new IP (like Sydney Hunter), and official licensed independents (like Boulderdash).

3.3: What is ECS BASIC?

This language is 12k of code built into the ROM of the ECS, and can be used to alter the operation of plugged-in games, or creation of simple games (labled the "sucky feature" of the language). ECS BASIC is a very subset of what was considered BASIC in the early 1980s, with many limitations on commands and variables. A likely reason that most language features revolves around manipulating ROM items (eg game cartridge content) is because the ECS provides approximately 1.5k of RAM for actual coding, with language features consuming RAM along with actual user code.

Mattel Electronics published documentation showing which games can be best-used with ECS BASIC.

As is it does in so many other areas, the jzIntv emulator (see FAQ section 9.1) makes development on an emulated ECS more pleasurable than writing on original hardware, as modern keyboards are better than the ECS keyboard, and data and state can be read or written very easily in a the virtualized environment.

This is not "IntyBASIC", which is a 2014 language for development with modern devices/computers, that compiles to Intellivision binaries using a modern dev toolchain.

3.3: Can an Intellivision be programmed in BASIC?

Ă“scar Toledo G. first released IntyBASIC in 2014, a cross-compiler that takes BASIC source code and translates it to CP1610 assembly. The assembly can be built into a ROM using the AS1600 assembler. Output is then playable on any emulator or hardware console.

The rate of creation for new Intellivision games/programs/apps is higher now than it has ever been, thanks to this language system. On Windows, Mac, or a Linux, compilation and execution is as simple as:

 
intybasic game.bas game.asm 
as1600 game.asm -o game 
jzintv game

IntyBASIC includes support for all the Intellivision video and sound features in form of commands like SPRITE and SOUND, trying to be close to the hardware but so easy as possible to user.
The level of popularity for creating games is so high, contests have been held in 2015, 2018, and 2020 for (new) programmers to try their hand at making games.

IntyBASIC is open source.

Two IntyBASIC programming books exist as guides for new developers that want to use the language.

This is not "ECS BASIC" that is included with the ECS to create limited programs directly on the Intellivision, this requires a text editor/IDE on a contemporary system and access to compilers and emulators.

3.3: Where are IntyBASIC samples?

Ă“scar Toledo G. first released IntyBASIC in 2014, a cross-compiler that takes BASIC source code and translates it to CP1610 assembly. The assembly can be built into a ROM using the AS1600 assembler. Output is then playable on any emulator or hardware console.

The rate of creation for new Intellivision games/programs/apps is higher now than it has ever been, thanks to this language system. On Windows, Mac, or a Linux, compilation and execution is as simple as:

 
intybasic game.bas game.asm 
as1600 game.asm -o game 
jzintv game

IntyBASIC includes support for all the Intellivision video and sound features in form of commands like SPRITE and SOUND, trying to be close to the hardware but so easy as possible to user.
The level of popularity for creating games is so high, contests have been held in 2015, 2018, and 2020 for (new) programmers to try their hand at making games.

IntyBASIC is open source.

Two IntyBASIC programming books exist as guides for new developers that want to use the language.

This is not "ECS BASIC" that is included with the ECS to create limited programs directly on the Intellivision, this requires a text editor/IDE on a contemporary system and access to compilers and emulators.

3.3: What is the fastest way for a beginner to program in BASIC?

The IntyBASIC SDK exists to on-board anyone quickly to programming Intellivision games. – Support for both Windows and Mac OS X computers

  • An easy-as-pie Installer Wizard for Windows that will set everything up in your workstation
  • Very simple installation instruction for Mac computers to get you going quickly
  • The latest, bleeding-edge version of IntyBASIC 1.4.2
  • Included assembler and emulator, configured to work with the SDK easily
  • Easy to use tools for streamlined workflows to build, run, and debug your programs with few keystrokes
  • Tools guide and other documentation for technical assistance
  • Tutorials on using some of the powerful features
  • Newbie & power-user friendly
  • Lots of sample programs including some completed games!
  • Full community support!

IntyBASIC SDK is not a fully integrated development system in the traditional way. It is still a command-line development environment. However, great pains were taken to make sure it is as easy and inviting as possible so that anybody can use it with little to no experience.

What’s New
Version 1.2.2 – August/24/2020

  • Updated to the latest version of IntyBASIC distribution (1.4.2).
  • Updated to the latest version of the SDK-1600 binary tools (2020-08-22).
  • Emulator now uses SDL2.
  • Emulator can now run ECS-enabled programs with newly included "miniecs.bin" ROM.
  • Updated contributions & example projects with latest versions and new programs.
  • Updated tools documentation to reflect all changes and correct typographical errors.
  • Rebuilt all samples and contribution programs with the latest tools.
  • and more!

3.3: What programming tools are available for IntyBASIC?

Oscar and others have created multiple tools that help coders of all skill levels create classic Intellivision games. Because IntyBASIC compiles to CP1610 assembly, the output from these tools can ultimely be used in other Intellivision projects/languages.
Please follow the source and media links.

3.3: How can I program speech in IntyBASIC?

The GI SP-0256 Orator was/is used in a handful of voice hardware from the early 1980s, programming documents for other platforms that use the chip can be used when coding in IntyBASIC.

Example from Ploytech:

Zero       /ZZ/ /EH/ /EH/ /ER1/ /OW/ /PA1/
One        /WW/ /AX/ /NN1/ /PA1/
Two        /TT2/ /UW2/ /PA1/
Three      /TH/ /RR2/ /IY/ /PA1/
Four       /FF/ /OW/ /ER1/ /PA1/
Five       /FF/ /AO/ /AY/ /FF/ /PA1/
Six        /SS/ /IH/ /IH/ /KK1/ /SS/ /PA1/
Seven      /SS/ /EH/ /VV/ /EH/ /EH/ /NN1/ /PA1/
Eight      /EY/ /DH2/ /TT2/ /PA1/
Nine       /NN1/ /AY/ /NN1/ /PA1/
Ten        /TT2/ /EH/ /EH/ /NN1/ /PA1/
Eleven     /EH/ /LL/ /EH/ /VV/ /EH/ /NN1/ /PA1/
Twelve     /TT2/ /WW/ /EH/ /LL/ /FF/ /PA1/
Thirteen   /TH/ /ER2/ /TT2/ /IY/ /NN1/ /PA1/
Fourteen   /FF/ /OW/ /ER1/ /TT2/ /IY/ /NN1/ /PA1/
Fifteen    /FF/ /IH/ /IH/ /FF/ /TT2/ /IY/ /NN1/ /PA1/
Sixteen    /SS/ /IH/ /KK1/ /SS/ /TT2/ /IY/ /NN1/ /PA1/
Seventeen  /SS/ /EH/ /VV/ /EH/ /NN1/ /TT2/ /IY/ /NN1/ /PA1/
Eighteen   /EY/ /DH2/ /TT2/ /IY/ /NN1/ /PA1/
Nineteen   /NN1/ /AY/ /NN1/ /TT2/ /IY/ /NN1/ /PA1/
Twenty     /TT2/ /WW/ /EH/ /NN1/ /TT2/ /IY/ /PA1/

3.4: Was Mahjong planned for release on Intellivision?

Mattel Electronics planned to do the game with Bandai in 1982. The game would have the complexity of non-Latin alphabet characters fitting within the Intellivision 8×8 card limits. No artifacts are known to exist beyond an image used for porting-planning.

3.4: Can raytracing be done on an Intellivision?

Raycasting is a rendering technique to create a 3D perspective in a 2D map. Back when computers were slower it wasn’t possible to run real 3D engines in realtime, and raycasting was the first solution. Raycasting can go very fast, because only a calculation has to be done for every vertical line of the screen. The most well known game that used this technique, is of course Wolfenstein 3D.

3.4: Can an Intellivision work a text adventure?

The Collosal Cave game engine has been ported to the Intellivision, and the Z-Machine is posible. The JLP architecture would be required to contain the read-only content in ROM (storage). Display may be a challenge with the ROM text display set to 20×12, but custom font rendering might improve this.

3.5: How can I test an Intellivision?

The "MTE 201 Test Cartridge" was the standard Mattel Electronics software tool, stepping user through exercising all of the Master Component parts and hand controllers.
Most of the cartridges will pass a functioning original Mattel Intellivision (includes Tandyvision One and GTE Sylvania). However, the Sears Intellivision, Intellivision II, and Tutorvisions have differences that will cause the early versions to incorrectly report a failure.

3.5: How can I test an Intellivision?

FW Diagnostics was the first diagnostic cartridge intended for home use. This cart provides a complete checkup of the control, audio, and video components, and comes with tools to help adjust your Intellivision – and television – to run your games as they were always meant to be.

3.5: Can a Keyboard Component act as a terminal and connect to a modern network/system?

decle rehabilitated a Keyboard Component, and set a version of Intelli-talk to get to the internet! Technical theater at its best.

3.5: Can an Intellivision connect as a terminal device or with BBSes?

If you know what 8N1 means, and have an ECS with a lot of free time, and a Cuttle Cart, you’re in luck. Joe Zbiciak has put together serial port work with a simple termianl emulator. Get it together and call a BBS today! 🙂

3.6: Do Imagic games have a demonstration unit hardware?

Imagic created a unit with all produced Intellivision games at the time for use at shows and retail outlets. It can be seen at the National Videogame Museum.

3.7: What is The Running Man?

The Running Man is the frame-by-frame animation character that showed the graphic hardware capability. Because no other console of the day could match the frame-by-frame animation, it was included on the box as a marketing catch as "flipbook style". Throughout most of the 20th century, animating frame-by-frame was the only method of producing animation.

The pixels in (print) marketing material (5:3) don’t match the real hardware output (4:3) because the Intellivision’s pixels are exactly one color carrier cycle wide by one scan line tall for standard moving objects and two scan lines tall for background characters.

The Running Man is not in ROM, probably an early design decision because it is different for each sports game (eg baseball helmet) and several other games.

3.7: Why is Baseball the first Running Man?

The first game designed by Mattel/APh was Football, but the first programmed game (along with the EXEC) was Baseball. Chang and Klose had an original goal in 1975 to make a system that could play football. APh provided Chang with some examples of pixelated football players and a football field in the spring of 1976 in connection with exploring possible ways to design a system that could implement Chang’s vision for football.

3.8: How can a cartridge be cleaned?

Feel free to think about these methods/products that have been used successfully by other users. These are not "official" endorsements, proceed at your own risk. Doing something agressively or incorrectly can cause irreparable damage to your items. This is information volunteered by others in the community to help. No warranties, etc etc etc.

  • Small piece of Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to gently scrub the contacts on games that appear dull and/or dirty.
  • 99% Isopropyl and qtips, followed by some DeOxit D5 on a qtip to help protect the edge connector. Magic eraser works good if you take the cart apart and pop the PCB out to clean it that way. Just depends on how bad it is.

3.8: What is ROM?

A ROM is a binary package representing the code plus electronics that is normally in an Intellivision cartridge for emulation. ROMs can be a single ".rom" file or a combination ".bin" with a ".cfg" bundle. Older and smaller-sized games in the range of 6k or less tend to only have .ROM, while sophisticated and newer games that stretch to 42k and beyond are .bin+.cfg because the emulation OS needs instructions in the cfg on how to map/swap the game in Intellivision memory to play. Note: an "int" or "itv" file may be a renamed "bin" with a different name for modern computer operating systems to associate with launcher apps.

3.8: What is JLP?

JLP is a cartridge platform named after Star Trek character Jean Luc Picard’s famous quote "Make it so!".
The platform provides more dev and runtime flexibility for Intellivision development than any other.

JLP Features

  • Extra onboard RAM
  • Acceleration for any code that uses multiplication or division
  • Flash storage support
  • ROM swapping for storage beyond 42k
  • Speculated support for tracking time

3.8: Does BackBit work on Intellivision?

The BackBit platform supports classic Intellivision (ie non-JLP) game loads on an SD card, giving another way to play a game library on original hardware.

3.8: Why are some cartridge labels black-on-white stuck on top of color?

Cartridges with "double labels" were original stock from Mattel Electronics, purchased by INTV Corp, and had to have labels changed to mitigate copyright concerns.

Known games with double labels as of 2021-06-18

  • Armor Battle
  • Basketball
  • Burgertime
  • Football
  • Golf
  • Hocket
  • Math Fun
  • Mission X
  • Poker
  • Roulette
  • Royal Dealer
  • Sea Battle
  • Sharp Shot
  • Skiing
  • Soccer
  • Triple Action
  • Utopia
  • Vectron

3.8: Are all cartridge PCBs the same?

Intellivision cartridge PCBs are difficult to manufacture, and production was done in multiple different areas over time. Intellivision Revolution maintains a database on this topic.

3.8: What is a T-Cartridge?

T-Carts are developer versions of Mattel Electronics games with additional electronics and EPROMs for debugging.
Evan Allen and Frank Palazzo have drafted hardware designs for the t-card (see source links).

3.9: Did Mattel Electronics make Burgertime for Colecovision?

(Keith Robinson)>Actually, Mattel DID do it; it was programmed at our European office in
the south of France. It was nearly completed when Mattel Electronics was
shut down in the US (we showed it with the Mattel Electronics title screen
at the January 1984 Consumer Electronics Show), but by law Mattel had to
keep the French office open until they could find a buyer for it. So the
programmers were kept on payroll finishing BurgerTime and several other
games. Finally, Tim Scanlon, director of the office, found investors so
that the division could buy itself from Mattel and become independent.
Part of the deal was that they got the rights to the games they were
working on. Their new company Nice Dreams (they were located near Nice)
sold the Colecovision versions of BurgerTime and Illusions (an original
game) to Coleco, and their Intellivision versions of Championship Tennis
and World Cup Soccer (originally intended to be 4-player games for the
ECS) to INTV. Their Intellivision version of Illusions was never released.

We don’t know what happened to Nice Dreams after those four games were
released; a check with the French Commerce office last year failed to
turn up a "Nice Dreams" still in business in France.

3.9: Did Intv Corp make NES games?

Intv Corp did make some profit from the NES platform. Quote from Keith Robinson:

Well, we can’t tell you how rare it is, but we can tell you its history: In 1989, INTV planned to move into NES production and distribution so they commissioned Realtime Associates (who developed most of the original INTV games) to produce both an Intellivision and NES version of "Monster Truck Rally."
When the game was finished, though, INTV had run out of money and credit to manufacture cartridges, so they sold all rights to the NES version to another company, who finally distributed it in 1990 or 91. So as to give that company an "exclusive" on the title, INTV changed the Intellivision version to "Stadium Mud Buggies."
"Monster Truck Rally" was the only NES title done by INTV. Since INTV turned around and sold the game to another company before securing the rights from Realtime Associates (i.e. paying them), litigation ensued and the INTV/Realtime relationship fell apart. INTV released no more product after "Stadium Mud Buggies" (and "Spiker, Super Pro Volleyball," released at the same time). INTV filed for bankruptcy in 1991.
Realtime Associates, however, is doing great. They’ve gone on to produce many NES, SNES, Sega, and GameBoy titles. One of their current hits is "Bug" for Saturn.

Stamp: 2023-11-26T03:29:17

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Intellivision is a trademark of © Intellivision Entertainment, Inc. Intellivision, Blue Sky Rangers Inc, the Intellivision logotype and the Running Man logo are registered trademarks ® of Intellivision Entertainment, Inc. Other trademarks are the properties of the trademark owners. Use of these trademarks is for historical and contextual purposes only and do not imply any endorsement or connection with IE or its properties.