kobunheatforum
02-26-2005, 08:55 PM
You know, I don't post here nearly enough but when I do you know something's up. I need to draw upon the power of the awesomest retro gamer community on the planet!
Two-sentence summary of this post: A follow-up to O'Reilly's book Gaming Hacks is currently in the works, and I (Chris Kohler) am the editor/main author. As such I am looking for freelance writers, technophiles, emulation experts, and other such people to write individual hacks.
Further details: Are you an expert on something or another related to video games? Are you a writer who wants his or her name and c.v. to appear in an upcoming book about video games? Are you a retro gamer? (Duh, it's the DP boards...)
If so, please take a look at the list below. I'm hoping to recruit some more writers to cover a few of the topics in the book that fall outside my area of expertise. If you're not familiar with the series, the Hacks books are published by O'Reilly (the computer guide publisher, not the talk show host) and consist of about a hundred small sections.
Hacks in the last book ranged from general overviews of a topic ("Play Atari Games Without The Atari") to specific instructions about unique things to try ("Install a PS2 in Your Car") to the way-out-there ("Play Japanese Games Without Knowing Japanese"). Word count is between 1,000 and 2,500 words, give or take.
Your reward for doing this (besides eternal paradise and 72 virgins) is the satisfaction of seeing your name published in an honest-to-goodness book from a publisher with major name recognition and excellent distribution. Put it on your resume! Thrill your friends and parents! Also you get a free copy of the book.
EDIT: You also get a meaty paragraph in the front of the book for your author bio, where you can pimp yourself, your website, whatever.
If this still sounds appealing to you, here's the list of hacks that are currently author-less. If you're interested in writing one or more of them, or finding out more about what we're looking for, please email me at retrogaminghacks@gmail.com. (Don't PM me about this, and don't email me at my normal address -- I need to keep all the emails straight somehow...)
EDIT: I've updated the hacks list to reflect what's already gone. The "high priority" list are the hacks I'd really like to have. The "low priority" list are hacks that, if I can't find an author, I'm liable to just cut out of the book.
HIGH PRIORITY:
Hack # ?? Dump Your Own ROM
Pluck the classic game from an ancient board.
Hack # ?? Put the ROM Back
Transfer a downloaded ROM to an original arcade cabinet.
Hack # ?? Use Freeware Game Creation Utilities
Find utilities that will let you assemble pre-fab games for fun.
Hack # ?? Program Your Own Atari 2600 Software
Make a retro game of your own on the granddaddy of retro hardware.
Programming your own Atari 2600 games -- utilities that are available, etc.
Hack # ?? Put Your Homebrews on a Cartridge
Start your own game assembly line.
Hack # ?? Sell Your Homebrew Retro Games
Make some money off your creations online and at expos.
Hack # ?? Design a Classic Adventure Game
Create an adventure game to rival King's Quest.
LOW PRIORITY:
Hack # ?? Run MAME on a Palm and other handheld computers
Hack # ?? Set Up a TRS-80
Buy, find, or steal Tandy's breakthrough home computer.
Hack # ?? Emulate the TRS-80
Play the classic games without the need for cassette tapes.
Hack # ?? Run Sinclair Computers
Set yourself up with a ZX series or the fabled Spectrum.
Hack # ?? Emulate the Sinclair Computers
Run ZX series or Spectrum software on your PC.
Hack # ?? Emulate Other Classic Computers
Play the obscure, the bizarre, the ancient PCs.
Other old computers you can emulate (Coleco, Pet, Atari 400/800, TI-99/4 even play Spacewar on the original PDP).
Hack # ?? Buy a Modern-Day Classic Computer
Use an FPGA board as a replacement for your retro PCs.
Commodore 64 on an FPGA (Jeri Ellsworth; http://c64upgra.de/c-one/)
Two-sentence summary of this post: A follow-up to O'Reilly's book Gaming Hacks is currently in the works, and I (Chris Kohler) am the editor/main author. As such I am looking for freelance writers, technophiles, emulation experts, and other such people to write individual hacks.
Further details: Are you an expert on something or another related to video games? Are you a writer who wants his or her name and c.v. to appear in an upcoming book about video games? Are you a retro gamer? (Duh, it's the DP boards...)
If so, please take a look at the list below. I'm hoping to recruit some more writers to cover a few of the topics in the book that fall outside my area of expertise. If you're not familiar with the series, the Hacks books are published by O'Reilly (the computer guide publisher, not the talk show host) and consist of about a hundred small sections.
Hacks in the last book ranged from general overviews of a topic ("Play Atari Games Without The Atari") to specific instructions about unique things to try ("Install a PS2 in Your Car") to the way-out-there ("Play Japanese Games Without Knowing Japanese"). Word count is between 1,000 and 2,500 words, give or take.
Your reward for doing this (besides eternal paradise and 72 virgins) is the satisfaction of seeing your name published in an honest-to-goodness book from a publisher with major name recognition and excellent distribution. Put it on your resume! Thrill your friends and parents! Also you get a free copy of the book.
EDIT: You also get a meaty paragraph in the front of the book for your author bio, where you can pimp yourself, your website, whatever.
If this still sounds appealing to you, here's the list of hacks that are currently author-less. If you're interested in writing one or more of them, or finding out more about what we're looking for, please email me at retrogaminghacks@gmail.com. (Don't PM me about this, and don't email me at my normal address -- I need to keep all the emails straight somehow...)
EDIT: I've updated the hacks list to reflect what's already gone. The "high priority" list are the hacks I'd really like to have. The "low priority" list are hacks that, if I can't find an author, I'm liable to just cut out of the book.
HIGH PRIORITY:
Hack # ?? Dump Your Own ROM
Pluck the classic game from an ancient board.
Hack # ?? Put the ROM Back
Transfer a downloaded ROM to an original arcade cabinet.
Hack # ?? Use Freeware Game Creation Utilities
Find utilities that will let you assemble pre-fab games for fun.
Hack # ?? Program Your Own Atari 2600 Software
Make a retro game of your own on the granddaddy of retro hardware.
Programming your own Atari 2600 games -- utilities that are available, etc.
Hack # ?? Put Your Homebrews on a Cartridge
Start your own game assembly line.
Hack # ?? Sell Your Homebrew Retro Games
Make some money off your creations online and at expos.
Hack # ?? Design a Classic Adventure Game
Create an adventure game to rival King's Quest.
LOW PRIORITY:
Hack # ?? Run MAME on a Palm and other handheld computers
Hack # ?? Set Up a TRS-80
Buy, find, or steal Tandy's breakthrough home computer.
Hack # ?? Emulate the TRS-80
Play the classic games without the need for cassette tapes.
Hack # ?? Run Sinclair Computers
Set yourself up with a ZX series or the fabled Spectrum.
Hack # ?? Emulate the Sinclair Computers
Run ZX series or Spectrum software on your PC.
Hack # ?? Emulate Other Classic Computers
Play the obscure, the bizarre, the ancient PCs.
Other old computers you can emulate (Coleco, Pet, Atari 400/800, TI-99/4 even play Spacewar on the original PDP).
Hack # ?? Buy a Modern-Day Classic Computer
Use an FPGA board as a replacement for your retro PCs.
Commodore 64 on an FPGA (Jeri Ellsworth; http://c64upgra.de/c-one/)