tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post1806879106616918326..comments2024-03-24T17:41:28.172-05:00Comments on The Golden Age Arcade Historian: The Ultimate (So Far) History of Cinematronics/Vectorbeam - Pt. 4Keith Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08421308095592306594noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post-38151898776316865792013-07-19T22:00:57.798-05:002013-07-19T22:00:57.798-05:00Wow. Thanks for the info. Good to know the real st...Wow. Thanks for the info. Good to know the real story. So, did he have any role in the design of Star Castle, Rip Off, or Tailgunner?<br />There's actually an earlier post I did that was specifically on Wynn Bailey and it includes the full newspaper article.<br /><br />I tried to track him down, but was never able to.<br />I also tried to recontact Tim Skelly, but never heard back (it's been almost 15 years since I talked to him the first time).<br /><br />On, and if you're interested in talking about your experiences at Cinematronics, send me an e-mail.Keith Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08421308095592306594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post-35294110305638996892013-07-19T00:14:23.605-05:002013-07-19T00:14:23.605-05:00Wynn Bailey is not a myth, nor a pseudonym.
He ...Wynn Bailey is not a myth, nor a pseudonym. <br /><br />He was real and had a significant role in Cinematronics when Vectorbeam was acquired. And yes, he was from Ramtek.. I remember hearing a number of Ramtek stories from Wynn during his tenure with Cinematronics. <br /><br />Wynn was actually Production Manager at Vectorbeam at the time it was acquired by Cinematronics. There some interesting drama surrounding Tim Skelly and Wynn Bailey at the time Cinematronics was acquiring Vectorbeam and it's assets (including the patents). Which is probably why the history about Wynn is clouded. <br /><br />When Vectorbeam was acquired by Cinematronics and shutdown (Jim and Tom really only wanted control of the patents), Wynn talked Jim Price into a job as General Manager at Cinematronics in El Cajon. As I recall, he held that position until he was fired by Jim and Tom about a year, maybe a year and a half later. <br /><br />Tim Skelly by the way.. was fired by Wynn (against the wishes of Jim and Tom) and this is actually how Tim ended up over at Gremlin. I'm not sure exactly how Wynn, Jim, and Tom resolved the dispute over Tim's termination, I only know that Tim did not get his job back. Wynn was of the opinion that while Tim was a creative game designer, he was a complete hack at programming (an assessment I agree with by the way). Scott Boden and Rob Patton were excellent software coders, but Tim was the primary creative force behind the early vector games. However, both Wynn and Jim fancied themselves as great "game idea" people and with Scott and Rob to code... they felt Tim was more trouble then benefit.<br /><br />So Wynn was a real person and he did play prominently in Cinematronics History at the time Vectorbeam was acquired and for about a year afterwards.<br /><br />- Ex Cinematronics Engineering StafferAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post-61105437717417951932012-12-03T10:04:40.629-06:002012-12-03T10:04:40.629-06:00A couple of other comments.
If you think Fascinat...A couple of other comments. <br />If you think Fascination was odd, check out these links:<br /><br />http://holoexhibitions.blogspot.com/1978/09/lunch-box-revue-unusual-holograms-by.html<br /><br />http://webmuseum.mit.edu/info.php?f=maker&type=browse&t=objects&s=Claudius%2C+Peter<br /><br />They are about someone named Peter Claudisu who, circa 1976-1978, created "...several coin-operated sex machines using holographic imagery."<br /><br />As for the Oops demo, I wish I had more devinitive info. As I mentioned earlier, several years back I actually dropped the book entirely with no plans to pick it back up, so I tossed out my original interview tapes. I had already transcribed what I wanted and taken notes on the rest (most of my interviews were done via e-mail and I still have those). THe Rosenthal tape is the one tape I wish I would have kept.<br /><br />Unfotunately, I lost the Rosenthal notes. I had already added the transriptions and information from the notes to the book, but it would be nice if I could go back and double-check exactly what he said.<br /><br />So I can't swear that he even remembered Oops but I don't know where else I would have gotten the information about the demo version other than from him. I do remember that I asked about one game and he said "Yeah, I'm looking at a prototype for it right now." but I don't know if it was Oops (my memory is that it was not).<br />Keith Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08421308095592306594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post-30568331651628360042012-12-03T09:25:34.137-06:002012-12-03T09:25:34.137-06:00Thanks. I should probably mention (and I added a n...Thanks. I should probably mention (and I added a note to the story to this effect) that while Skelly admits he saw the Oops! demo he does not consider it the "origin" of Star Castle since the games were so different. He just borrowed the idea of the rotating rings to create a completely new game.Keith Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08421308095592306594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post-22040103231051641332012-12-03T01:59:51.675-06:002012-12-03T01:59:51.675-06:00Wow, I will never look at Star Castle the same way...Wow, I will never look at Star Castle the same way again. I wonder if anything remains of the original prototype, or of Rosenthal's later prototype. That's crazy they even began developing it, as there's no way arcades would've bought it. But maybe they thought they could get enough bars (and maybe even adult stores?) to buy it.<br /><br />It's a strange coincidence hearing this because I just found out that Nintendo made an arcade game in 1974 where you shot the clothes off of a woman. <br /><br />"In 1974, Wild Gunman, the first game of its kind, was released. Alongside Wild Gunman, Nintendo designed an adult version of the game titled Fascination; instead of cowboys, the game featured a Swedish woman in an evening dress who would dance around on the projection. Then, when the women struck a pose, players would shoot off key parts of her clothing until she was completely nude. However, the game was never released to the general public."<br /><br />en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_Clay_Shooting_SystemAdam Coatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10173118527796266162noreply@blogger.com