“The Rev. Rob Times” 

Red vs. Blue - Free Homebrew for Magnavox Odyssey to Celebrate 40 Years of Home Video Game Consoles

Red vs. Blue - Free Homebrew for Magnavox Odyssey to Celebrate 40 Years of Home Video Game Consoles

Written by Rev. Robert A. Vinciguerra Thursday, 19 July 2012 19:36

Many people may not know this, but this year marks the 40^th anniversary of home video game consoles. In 1972 Magnavox had partnered with Sanders Associates and Ralph Baer who had invented the first video game console in 1966. The prototype he called the “brown box.” Several companies passed on the idea of playing electronic games on TV sets, including RCA who would later go on to release the worst video game console ever. Baer, now age 90, won the National Medal of Technology for his many achievements, which was presented to him by President George W. Bush  in 2006. All prototypes now reside in the Smithsonian. 

It took Magnavox to get video games in households. They were later followed by Fairchild, Atari, Coleco, and others. Now home gaming is a part of normal everyday life.

To celebrate this occasion I wanted to give away this free homebrew to anyone who want it. It's a lot cheaper for you to assemble it on your own than it is for me to assemble it and ship it.

The game designed the game to work with Game Card #11, mostly as a thank you to everyone who ordered Odball, but it also plays great with Game Card #8, which almost everyone who has an Odyssey should have.

What you will need are the following three items, which can be downloaded here.

1. Box
2. Instructions
3. Overlays

Assembling the Box

I find that assembling the box sucks. I hated this part when it came to Odball.

1. Print on non-glossy A4 size card stock. Ink will not stick to glossy.
2. If you have a mechanical cutter then cut as close to the black on all sides. If you don't have a slicer, then I suggest using a ruler with a sharp edge and an xacto knife.
3. Use the ruler and xacto knife to to cut out the box and all of the tabs.
4. Be sure to cut three mm on each side of the folding flaps (the rounded part), at the fold.
5. Using the ruler, on the back side of the box, lightly drag the xacto knife over the areas were the folds will be.
6. Fold the box.
7. Apply a thin layer of glue to the white tab.
8. Use the ruler to press firmly the tab to the inner box. Hold for 30 seconds.
9. Let glue dry at least one minute.
10. Fold tabs and cut away excess as needed so that it folds and fits properly.

Printing the Instructions

1. I usually like these printed on semi-glossy paper. But any A4 size will do.
2. Be sure to fold it carefully. Maybe print more than one in case folding the first one gets messed up.

Printing the Overlays

1. The type of paper used for the overlays is vellum. Clear plastic type overlays don't display well. Vellum is cheap and can be purchased from any FedEx Office, Office Max, Staples, et cetera.
2. Use an ink jet printer and set your print settings to a low color density so there's not too much ink so it won't smear.
3. Cut out each square. I suggest using a slicer if possible.

Enjoy.

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