Phosphor Dot Fossils: The DVD now available!

[boatofcar]

PDF, I'll be ordering my copy in a few days (thank you for overseas shipping) but I wonder, do you have any concerns about possible copyright violations? I'm not accusing you of anything of course, I just wonder if that ever crossed your mind...

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Actually, that's a decent question which bears addressing. There are huge differences between the original version which was shown (but not sold) at OKGE/OVGE for several years, and this one, ranging from some clips (i.e. movie trailers for Tron, WarGames, etc.) to music (8-Bit Weapon and Tony Fox) that had to be removed before I could sell the DVD. (Don't get me wrong, Tony and 8BW gave me permission to use their music before I ever put it in the old version, and I loved having it in there, but their permission was based on the assumption that it would just be shown and not sold.)

The commercials are in a bit of a gray area, but they're of little commercial interest (pun not intended but required) now - i.e. they're not being represented as a current product. Game footage and logos fall under fair use - as I've said before, the best term I can think of to describe the PDF DVD is a "video book," as my own on-screen text accompanies what you see much of the time, adding some critical and historical perspective to what you're seeing. If it was just a DVD of commercials, that might be a darker gray area, but I think I'm on fairly safe ground here based on my own copyright experience. (And even if there was a DVD of just commercials, tapes of those have been going around for ages with nary a peep from the copyright holders, unless I'm very much mistaken.)

The music issue was resolved by me getting my groove on and coming up with my own music, plain and simple. (The neat thing there is, and I'm not sure if anyone's noticed this, when Atari Video Music comes up, it is in fact responding to the music that you're hearing at that very moment.)

So it's a pretty valid question. I put most of these commercials through the same remastering process that I did the stuff on PackratVG.com's Odyssey2 DVD, sometimes vastly improving things and sometimes winding up with an "ah f*** it", so think of it this way: you're not paying for the commercials, nor am I laying claim to them as intellectual property. But you are paying for some decent restoration that's been done on them.

[boatofcar]

Thanks for the answer I was planning on purchasing one either way, but I'm glad you thought about all that stuff

[vespertillio]

Payment sent. Cant wait to see this.

[chuckwalla]

I received it on Monday and it's excellent.
Spent part of the last two nights watching.
Even though I was tired, I was so motivated to play some games from watching the DVD I broke out Pitfall and Super Breakout (2600), and Mouse Trap and Venture (Colecovision) for a few quick games - man I suck at video games when i'm tired!

[Coldguy]

Congradulations you were mentioned on Retro Gaming Radio!
http://www.retrogamingradio.com/thes....php?current=1

[Gapporin]

Congradulations you were mentioned on Retro Gaming Radio!
http://www.retrogamingradio.com/thes....php?current=1

The segment starts right at 160:04, for those of you, like me, who just want to skip straight to that part.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

The rest of the show is usually worth listening to. I got a chuckle out of how impressed Shane seemed by it, and I got a big laugh from him thinking it was a book (sorry, the book is a 2009-2010 project...whoa, did I say that out loud?).

BTW - there's a little delay in shipping this week due to the Memorial Day holiday; orders accrued since Friday morning will ship out this coming Wednesday. Again, huge thanks to everyone who's ordered so far, has thought about ordering, or has thought about thinking about considering the slightest possibility of ordering.

[Sothy]

Can I get it on beta?

PDF rocks yer mom btw.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Quick question: someone ordering from the UK said that clicking on the "outside of North America" order button took them to Paypal...in German. Is this happening to anyone else? If it is, I evidently need to fix something.

[p_b]

Just checked it, it isn't German, it's Dutch. (at least for me...)

[RetroYoungen]

Just got my copy in the mail yesterday, popped it in and watched it through... nicely enough, on my XBox 360 (which I felt was highly appropriate). Right after I had to go play some Pac-Man Championship... the wave of nostalgia was too strong to ignore.

Very nicely put together, and the way it's pieced, easy to follow and have fun with!

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Couple of notes real quick:

I've had a hell of a time with my site's hosting provider recently, as they don't seem to be able to keep their database servers up to save their lives; if you tried to order a copy of the PDF DVD about a month ago and couldn't get through, try again - I have replaced the ordering page with an "old school" HTML page so it shouldn't be affected by the ongoing server errors.

Also, regretfully I have had to back out of OVGE this year; my not showing has nothing to do with the show itself, and I hope everyone who's planning on going will stick to their plans and go, if only so there's an OVGE for us all to go to next year. Several things yanked the rug out from under me this year, from finances to babysitting, so for the first time I'm going to be on the sidelines. I'm trying to see about getting a few copies together to send with someone else to sell at their tables, but I may not be able to get it together in time for the show. In the meantime, the DVD is entering its third print run and will still be available, both before and after the show, if anyone's still wanting to pick up a copy.

I'm bummed about missing OVGE, but I'm sure the other dads out there will attest that taking care of the kiddo always comes first.

In the meantime, thanks again for the orders and the kind words - I'm glad everyone seems to like it so far!

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Just wanted to let everyone know that a follow-up to the PDF DVD, Phosphor Dot Fossils: Level 2, is in the works and should be available in spring 2009. It will cover more games, more commercials, and more trivia and factoids from roughly the same period (1971-1986), with all-new stuff that will not overlap with the original DVD. It will also take a step further into the future, covering some pivotal titles from 1987. Otherwise, it will be in much the same format as the first one; no idea on the running time yet. I mean, I've got a rough idea, but there's an old saying that no battle plan survives contact with the enemy, so I prefer not to spill those particular beans yet.

In the meantime, between now and then, a certain other gaming-related DVD project I've been working on will finally be available by the end of this year. Stay tuned!

[jcalder8]

Sweet I can't wait for the second one and whatever the one coming up is.

[kevates]

cge dvd by the end of the year? that would be a nice xmas present.

[Raedon]

labors of love always take time! I'll check it out when I can.

[Raedon]

... and can I get a Girl Gamers Gone Wild! DVD?

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Just a quick note for anyone going to CCAG this weekend: there will be a few copies of the PDF DVD for sale at Sniderman's table. Go watch the preview and get a copy in person before they're all eaten by a hideous grue! (BIG thanks to Tim for joining the ranks of those who are hawking my wares at the various shows that I can't make it to this year.)

I'm also working on making DVDs available at Too Many Games the following weekend - stay tuned for that announcement...

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Black Friday? Pffffft! Why wait?

Through this Sunday night, you can get a holiday discount on the Phosphor Dot Fossils DVD at this page - over 10% off for folks in the US and Canada, and almost a 10% discount for folks in the rest of the world. If you haven't picked up a copy of PDF just yet, or want to give one as a gift, this is your chance. This link will disappear - kinda like the discount will too! - late this Sunday night.

As an added bonus, you can see some very early preview shots from Phosphor Dot Fossils Level 2, coming next spring, at the above link. Y'know...while it's there.