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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
337 followers · 395 posts · Server digipres.club
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Over on Break Into Chat, I've added a special collection of eight club newsletters from the Atari Computer Enthusiasts of St. Louis (ACE-St. Louis).

My dad and I were on-and-off members of this club in the early 1990s, and eventually I became a disk librarian and a newsletter contributor.

breakintochat.com/blog/2023/09

#breakintochat #digipres #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #atari8bit #atari

Last updated 1 year ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
331 followers · 383 posts · Server digipres.club
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2/ An exciting update — I have begun imaging a set of 3.5" disks sent to me by Sali Ariel this year. 💾

It includes the "baroque" Magic Harp disk seen in those slides, among other things. 🎼

I'm far from finished, but I hope to share more of its history, plus good disk images, this fall.

Wanna know more?

• Background here: breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11

• My Kirschen talk: breakintochat.com/blog/2023/02

#software #jewish #israel #dev #digipres #vintagecomputing #breakintochat #retrocomputing #amiga

Last updated 1 year ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
234 followers · 209 posts · Server digipres.club
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I'm wearing my gear to get psyched up for my talk TONIGHT at Arch Reactor in St. Louis! 🗣️

If you live near , come on out at 7 p.m.! I'd love to see you.

I'll be speaking about my multi-year odyssey researching and rescuing the software curiosities of cartoonist Yaakov Kirschen. 💾

facebook.com/events/8948206852

#breakintochat #history #gamedev #software #digipres #atarist #appleii #vintagecomputing #stlouis #stl #retrocomputing #atari

Last updated 2 years ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
226 followers · 208 posts · Server digipres.club
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These are the disks from my childhood that set me on what became a multi-year quest to research and rescue the software of cartoonist Yaakov Kirschen.

breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11

I'll be discussing this odyssey in St. Louis, MO, at Arch Reactor next Sunday (Feb. 5) at 7 p.m. Come join me!

facebook.com/events/8948206852

#breakintochat #atarist #history #gamedev #software #floppydisk #digipres #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing

Last updated 2 years ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
207 followers · 193 posts · Server digipres.club
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5. Unearthed: Kirschen’s “Music Creator” for IBM PC 🎵

Decades before the debut of DALL-E, cartoonist Yaakov made “artificial creativity” to let computers compose their own , by recombining the "musical DNA" of existing songs. The software was originally written for the , but business changes led them to abandon that platform and port the program to the .

breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11

#breakintochat #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #digipres #commodore #ibmpc #pc #amiga #music #software #kirschen

Last updated 2 years ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
207 followers · 192 posts · Server digipres.club
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4. Unearthed: Kirschen’s Atari ST projects 🗻

Surprising as it might seem, cartoonist Yaakov began an Atari-based computer greeting card project for CEO Jack Tramiel. This project yielded the graphical chatbots "Murray" and "Mom", who became two of the earliest titles for the Atari ST. 👵

breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11

#breakintochat #gamedev #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #atarist #software #kirschen

Last updated 2 years ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
207 followers · 191 posts · Server digipres.club
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3. Unearthed: Kirschen’s independent Apple II projects 🍏

Cartoonist Yaakov had an idea for a secular , which he pitched to The Learning Company. The player is a field mouse serving as a junior detective who must solve animal-related mysteries. 🐭

breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11

#breakintochat #gamedev #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #appleii #game #educational #kirschen

Last updated 2 years ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
207 followers · 190 posts · Server digipres.club
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2. Unearthed: Kirschen’s Apple II games for Gesher 🍎

Ever wonder what the version of Pac-Man might look like? 🕹️

The Gesher organization saw potential in developing specifically for Jewish students. From 1982 to 1984, cartoonist Yaakov worked with them on four games.

breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11

#breakintochat #gamedev #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #appleii #kirschen #software #educational #jewish

Last updated 2 years ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
207 followers · 189 posts · Server digipres.club
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In case you missed it, here are the and , plus the surprising stories behind them:

1. Bringing dry bones back to life: The software collection

breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11

#digipres #breakintochat #ibm #atarist #appleii #gamedev #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #kirschen #software #games

Last updated 2 years ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
195 followers · 178 posts · Server digipres.club
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Finally got around to writing a first-draft wiki page for "1NS0MN1A," a BBS door game released by musician Shooter Jennings in 2020.

breakintochat.com/wiki/1NS0MN1

Playing this game was a lifeline for me in the months after my daughter Jadzia died. It took months, but I did complete it (as I did his previous game, Freedom Train)!

One of my goals for 2023 is to write strategy guides for both 1NS0MN1A and Freedom Train.

#gamdev #breakintochat #doorgames #retrogaming #retrocomputing #bbsing #bbs

Last updated 2 years ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
158 followers · 155 posts · Server digipres.club
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In this , the player is a field mouse serving as junior detective under the guidance of Doc Possum.

You investigate various nature mysteries by interviewing animals in different habitats.

It's perhaps Yaakov Kirschen's most polished game, developed in consultation with a biologist at the Jerusalem Zoo.

breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11

#appleii #retrocomputing #floppy #software #breakintochat #kirschen #digipres #gamedev #game

Last updated 2 years ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
158 followers · 154 posts · Server digipres.club
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Is "Doc Possum" a lost Learning Company game for the 🍎Apple II?

A few weeks ago I released images of "You and Doc Possum," a previously-lost by Israeli cartoonist Yaakov Kirschen. 🕹️

breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11

#retrocomputing #floppy #software #breakintochat #kirschen #digipres #gamedev #game #appleii #disk

Last updated 2 years ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
126 followers · 130 posts · Server digipres.club
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Today, Yaakov Kirschen published a cartoon in appreciation of my work to recover his long-lost software for the Apple II, Atari ST, and IBM PC.

breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11

#retrocomputing #games #kirschen #breakintochat #appleii #atarist #disks #software #digipres

Last updated 2 years ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
90 followers · 116 posts · Server digipres.club
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5/ Finally -- Decades before DALL-E, Yaakov Kirschen coaxed Amiga computers into composing their own music. His process was to find the "DNA" of existing songs, then and recombine those elements. His system was used in 1988 to score a BBC TV documentary.

Download the disk images of the end PC product and read the bonkers history here:
breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11

#israel #jewish #breakintochat #videogames #gaming #gamedev #retrocomputing #digipres #pc #ibm #amiga #commodore

Last updated 2 years ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
90 followers · 115 posts · Server digipres.club
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4/ Then, we shared the biotoons "Murray and Me" and "Mom and Me", two of the earliest entertainment programs for the Atari ST. These artificial personalities were originally intended to serve as the interface for an Atari-powered computer greeting card kiosk system.

Download the disk images and read the crazy history with Jack Tramiel here:
breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11

#israel #jewish #breakintochat #videogames #gaming #gamedev #retrocomputing #digipres #atarist #atari

Last updated 2 years ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
90 followers · 114 posts · Server digipres.club
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3/ Next we shared Yaakov Kirschen's independent Apple II software, including "You and Doc Possum", which appears to be a lost Learning Company game.

Download the disk images and read the histories here:
breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11

#israel #jewish #breakintochat #videogames #gaming #gamedev #retrocomputing #digipres #appleii #apple

Last updated 2 years ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
90 followers · 113 posts · Server digipres.club
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2/ First, we recovered four Jewish educational games for the Apple II, including "Nosh Kosh," a creative take on Pac-Man that teaches kashrut (Jewish dietary law). Yaakov Kirschen made these with Gesher Educational Affiliates.

Download the disk images and read the histories here: breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11

#hebrew #israel #jewish #breakintochat #videogames #gaming #gamedev #retrocomputing #digipres #appleii #apple

Last updated 2 years ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
90 followers · 112 posts · Server digipres.club
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🕹️ ICYMI: helped rescue 10 previously lost games and programs for the Apple II, Atari ST, and IBM PC by Israeli cartoonist Yaakov Kirschen.

💾 Download the disk images, and get the fascinating histories behind them all:
breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11

#videogames #gaming #gamedev #retrocomputing #digipres #appleii #apple #pc #ibm #amiga #commodore #atarist #atari #breakintochat

Last updated 2 years ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
85 followers · 101 posts · Server digipres.club
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1/ Decades before DALL-E debuted, Israeli cartoonist Yaakov Kirschen developed an Amiga-based "artificial creativity" system to let computers compose their own music, by extracting components of existing songs and combining them in new ways.

breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11

#pc #ibm #commodore #amiga #software #digipres #breakintochat #retrocomputing #kirschen

Last updated 2 years ago
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Josh Renaud · @kirkman
80 followers · 88 posts · Server digipres.club
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7/ Despite the head start, plus publicity in several large newspapers, ANTIC sold fewer than than 2,000 copies of "Murray" and "Mom." LKP earned just a pittance in royalties.

Kirschen tried unsuccessfully to work out a deal with American Greetings for the greeting-card kiosk project.

Without further funding, the project died, and Kirschen moved on to his new big idea. (More on that tomorrow)

breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11

#breakintochat #software #atarist #kirschen #digipres #retrocomputing

Last updated 2 years ago
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