#Magnavox odyssey graphics software#

#Magnavox odyssey graphics software#

Probably the most interesting thing about Odyssey² software was that about half of the games were written by one man: Ed Averett, a former Intel salesman who started writing Odyssey² games after the other Magnavox designers started running out of ideas. It was basically the 'third place system' of the early 1980s. By the early 1980s, however, it had fallen behind in sales to the Atari 2600 and Mattel Intellivision. In the United States, the Odyssey² managed to achieve a moderate level of success, at least in its early years. This not only meant that broken joysticks could not be easily replaced outside of a Magnavox service center, but that customized controllers and other input devices were impractical. Unfortunately, on most models of the console, the joysticks were plugged inside of the unit. Each joystick sports one fire button labeled 'ACTION.' Odyssey² joysticks were responsive, fairly well constructed and generally well liked. The stick is a slim silver metal shaft tipped with a plastic knob. Odyssey² joysticks consist of a large box-like base that can be held in one hand or placed on a tabletop. The keyboard was also used for game selection, game configuration, programming mazes, and entering names or initials for high scores. The keyboard primarily appealed to parents because it could be used for educational games, of which the Odyssey² has several. Ads for the Odyssey² exclaimed 'The Keyboard is the Key,' referring to its potential for increased game options and educational software. Coming at the beginning of the home computer revolution as it did, the keyboard was a strong selling point for the console. The Odyssey² had one significant advantage over other systems: a built-in 49-key membrane keyboard. The Odyssey² also contained Intel's very first mass-market microprocessor, the 8048. However, Odyssey² graphics were sharp and its animation fluid, with no trace of the screen flicker that was usually seen on competing consoles. Its maximum screen resolution was smaller and its player sprites larger than other comparable systems, giving most of its games a somewhat blocky look. The Odyssey² supported one sound channel and its graphics consisted primarily of several characters built into its internal ROM code, which gave almost all the games a similar appearance. The company released it in 1978, touting it as 'The Ultimate Computer Video Game System.' However, the bottom was quickly dropping out of the over-saturated dedicated console market, and Magnavox scrapped the 24-game Odyssey² in favor of an expandable cartridge-based model. Finally, in 1977, Magnavox signaled a new generation of Odyssey by announcing the Odyssey², a dedicated unit that was to contain 24 games and accommodate four simultaneous players. For the next five years, the company released a number of standalone consoles in the Odyssey line, giving them numerical suffixes like Odyssey 100, Odyssey 400, and so on. Magnavox started the video game revolution in 1972 with the release of the Odyssey, the world's first home video game system.