Frequently Asked Questions?
Who are you?
I'm Nicole Express... wow, that was obnoxious. I'm a random woman in the United States, and this is my blog, about mostly vintage technology, especially video game consoles, arcade PCBs, as well as old computers, music, some hobby game development, and others. This is just a blog.
I'm going to complain about you later, but I want to get it right. What are your pronouns?
She/her.
What are your credentials?
I have a a master's degree in biophysics, and did a minor in history in undergrad. Everything else, including the programming I do for a living as well as that for the hobby, are all self-taught. So the answer to what are your credentials is, I have none for most of what I'm talking about. Just trying to figure things out like everyone else.
You made a mistake!
That's not a question. That being said, I welcome corrections to the email listed in the page footer, and I'll make changes to the post and credit accordingly. But make sure to be polite about it.
Why doesn't your site support dark mode?
Personally I prefer my websites dark text on light, but use a dark mode in macOS, so I didn't want to just respond to CSS dark mode. But there's a button disguised as a hyperlink at the bottom of the page for a dark mode-- now, I will warn you that I don't use it, so it's at your own risk. If you see an issue feel free to reach out to me and I'll try to fix it, though.
What's your connection to retrocomputing?
I'm a milennial, so 8-bit computers were mostly before my time, other than an Apple ][ they let us kids bang on in elementary school. The first game console (in the television-plug-in sense) I had as a kid was a Nintendo 64, though I had a Game Boy before then. So most of my interest is because I find the topic interesting rather than merely nostalgia. As a result, I might end up taking things from an unexpected direction from people at the time would've.
6502 or Z80?
6502. Think about it, when was the last time you really needed to add numbers higher than 128?
Can you give me all of the series in your site in one place, in no particular order?
Sure, very specific person.
A series on: NEC and Epoch's µPD777 🎰
Digging into the Epoch and NEC collaboration that would bring us Japan's first domestically-developed game console. It's surprisingly well documented!
- How can Space Invaders Invade Your Space? The Epoch TV Vader! — Wherein the TV Vader is discussed-- a standalone µPD777-based console that plays a game similar to but legally distinct from Space Invaders.
- The Epoch Cassette Vision: Definitely Not a Pong Console in a Trenchcoat — Taking a look at the interchangeable cartridge console based around the Epoch/NEC 777-series chips.
- The Epoch Cassette Vision: Has Games — The games of the Cassette Vision! By the early 1980s, this hardware that was too fancy for a Pong console was showing its age. How could it stand out? Having no competition helped, sure...
A series on: April Fool's Day
A bit of levity on this otherwise deathly serious blog.
- The Canon Cat! — Wherein a rare 1980s computer gets fur all over my carpet and begs for food.
- Mr. Do Proves Our History Is Not What It Seems — A look at a vintage arcade board reveals the dark secrets of reality itself. Don't believe what they say, only believe what they (Mr.) Do
- Another Weird Cartridge! Why doesn't it have a label? — The deepest depravity of the human condition revealed in the form of an NES cartridge. Not just because this post has 240p interpreted as 480i, but mostly because of the murder
- ROM Hacking in the 90's — A look back at an internet that is no more. Under construction!!
- The Nintendo Family Computer: Forgotten 8-bit Powerhouse? — History takes a very different turn, and now westerners don't get to enjoy Nintendo games. Also some other stuff might've happened
- Lost Prototype Found! The Origin of Lock-On Technology! — What if Lock-On Technology had existed on the Sega Master System? That's right!
A series on: Lightguns!
Focusing on the classic Duck Hunt and other Nintendo titles, with a look at how to play them without the original CRT hardware.
- Yes, You Can Use Lightguns on LCDs-- Sometimes — If your 8-bit lightgun nostalgia is only for the Master System, feel free to sit this one out.
- Yes, You Can Play Duck Hunt Without a Television (but I can't) — For those willing to take the definition of 'original hardware' way too far. And can help me fix a 1970's children's toy.
A series on: Pong consoles
Game consoles that do only one thing. Do they do it well? Eh, debatable.
- First is the Worst: Nintendo's Color TV Game 6 & 15 — Nintendo's take on the Pong console. Surprisingly not great; should they just give up on this whole console thing?
- The Bare Minimum Video Game: The Odyssey 100 — Calling the Magnavox Odyssey 100 a Pong console may be a violation of court order, so be careful-- this hardware's origins predate Pong itself.
- Composite Mod from Scratch: Atari's Pong Sports IV — People make a lot of allegations about life at Atari in the 1970s, but one thing is clear: their Pong consoles sure are colorful. Psychedelic?
- The Last of the First: The Magnavox Odyssey 500 — Ending the Pong console series with a look at the very last console based on the original Magnavox Odyssey. Did you get actual pixel graphics in my Pong?
- The Epoch System 10: The Pong to End All Pongs — One more Pong console to round out 2024. The Epoch System 10 was Epoch's first time making a console with their own R&D, and led directly to their Cassette Vision console. Is it worth the time?
A series on: The RCA Studio II
The radio company tries its hand at game consoles. Late to the market and with only monochrome graphics, how can I make this sound interesting?
- A System For The Sixties: The RCA Studio II — Historical background on the CDP1802 chipset that powers the console, and a failed attempt to get one running.
- The RCA Studio II in Living Monochrome — An actual working machine, and a look at the built-in games and a cartridge too. (Possibly a Pong console post)
- A System For The Sixties-and-a-Half: The Toshiba Visicom COM-100 — From Japan with color: Toshiba takes a spin at beefing up the Studio II for the Japanese market
- The RCA Studio II Lives On: A Package from Belgium — A gift from a modern Studio II enthusiast shows off what the system is really capable of.
A series on: The SG-1000 II
It's just a variant of Sega's "I can't believe it's not a ColecoVision", isn't it? Let's see how far it can go.
- RGB Modding the SG-1000 II! Is it worth it? — Where Sega was going, they didn't need TMS9918As. And that comes with some advantages-- but how big of an advantage is it?
- SG-1000 Smörgåsbord! Cartridges and RGB — Building some cartridges for Sega's SG-1000, and explaining why some early games that say they're 40kiB are actually just 16. Plus some attempts to refine the RGB mod.
- Bringing the Arcade Home, in 1984: The SG-1000 Arcade — Pushing the SG-1000 II to its limits by making it run games intended for its arcade counterpart. Some more console modding needed, but less than you might expect.
A series on: The Teddy Boy Blues
It's a song, it's a game, it's a lifestyle! Well maybe not that last one.
- The Power of Cross-Marketing: Teddy Boy Blues — Teddy Boy Blues the song and the 1985 Sega System 1 arcade release.
- The Teddy Boy Blues Just Don't Stop — Yohko Ishino is left behind as her song becomes a game that's ported to the Master System and the Sega Genesis (and even makes its way onto the Sega CD twice).
A series on: Throwaway Arcade Games
Games intended to be played once and discarded after confirming the basic functions of the arcade hardware they came with. Can they stand on their own?
- A Lot of Effort to be Thrown Away: Sega's Dottori-kun! — Sega's Dottori-kun, and the discrete logic that powers this simple game. Head-On is back!
- Taito's Mini-Vaders: Why Should Dottori Have All the Fun? — Taito enters the ring with Mini-Vaders. How could they do anything else except Space Invaders, after all.
- How a Konami Cabinet Stays on Target: Target Panic! — Konami could hardly be left out. Can you imagine that they used a Z80 and some discrete logic? Truly shocking.