Page 10 - OSG Presents Video Game Trader Magazine #14

Alf VectrexMad! AutoFire Dongle
For the Sega Master System For the Vectrex

Alf is everyone's favorite cat from Mel-
mac, well he‘s not really a cat, but he
does love to eat them. Alf was a great
character from the 80‘s. He had it all, a
family to support him, his own trading
cards, toys, and even a video game. He
was sarcastic and troublesome, but
really funny. Biggest problem with Alf
was he was ugly, just like his video
game.
The goal of the game In Alf, for the Sega Master System, was to help him find
parts to repair his space ship. The game was developed by Nexa, and is
considered, by many, to be one of the worst Master System games. A few
minutes playing the game and you can see why. But there are some good
points that need mentioning. First and most importantly, it is the only console VectrexMad!, our resident VGT reporter for all things Vectrex has stepped in to the
game to feature ALF. So if you love the wisecracking nature of Alf, you‘ll world of homebrew hardware production. He has produced a small batch of AutoFire
probably like this game. Secondly, the music could have been a lot worse dongles for the Vectrex which gives the player super human shooting powers. The
than it actually is. Some of the songs, you may even find yourself humming inline dongle sits between the Vectrex console and the controller plug, and with the
now and then. fire button pressed down achieves a constant firing. In August we caught up with
VectrexMad! to find out more. Below is an edited version of our interview. Read the
Now the bad, Alf has complete interview at VideoGameTrader.com
horrible gameplay.
There‘s not much to do VGT: Hello VectrexMad! Why did you suddenly produce these AutoFire dongles for
other than jump. Detec- the Vectrex, isn‘t writing Vectrex articles for VGT enough to fill your spare time?
tion is also off. For exam- VectrexMad!: It‘s all because some months prior to the release of the AutoFire
ple, on the street scene, dongle, my finger had started to hurt. Whether this has been caused by playing too
you can be hit by the car, many video games or using the mouse button too much at work I don‘t know, but my
even if not in its line of finger was really becoming swollen and I couldn‘t enjoy playing Vectrex games any-
sight. Graphics for the more. I therefore produced a small prototype circuit that emulated multiple pressing of
Master System are typi- the fire button with a single button press on the controller. It works really well. Then I
cally better then the NES thought, hey it‘s fairly likely that in the demographic of Vectrex owners there are likely
but you would never to be other people like me who could also benefit from the AutoFire dongle. And it is
know it looking at this true, immediately after the launch of the AutoFire dongle, I received a number of
game. Alf looks like a big emails from people who said they didn‘t play the Vectrex anymore because of repeti-
tive strain injury.
brown pile of mush. No colors to bring out his true look.
VGT: Ignoring the commendable finger saving benefits, one might argue that the
Overall, despite being a generally poor game, many video game collectors, Auto Fire dongle is just a cheating aid to proceed further in games.
and Alf fans, are looking for it. So, if you spot this game in the wild, pick it up.
The price on this title may just keep going up. The current value for the game, VectrexMad: Well for me, a side effect of the AutoFire dongle is that it brings back
complete with original box and manual is $19. new interest in old games. Now, with the AutoFire dongle, getting to later game levels
is possible much earlier on. My girlfriend has jokingly said to me that I‘ve have made
a cheating device and that I should keep quiet about it. Perhaps, owning or not an
AutoFire dongle does signify the end of fairness in the competitions which homebrew-
ers occasionally hold when they release their new games. My thoughts are that Vec-
trex fans are a decent bunch so I don‘t think there will be any foul play involved to win
a competition. Anyway, a video is always required for proof of reaching a particular
game level and it would be pretty obvious if an auto fire circuit was in use.
VGT: How are you finding homebrewing, will you be releasing anything else in the
future?
VectrexMad!: Yes, I am enjoying the experience. It‘s nice to be able to say you
made a product which is being purchased by more than one person. I‘m also getting a
lot of positive emails from other Vectrex users. My next Vectrex project is a game, it‘s
currently 60% finished, but time permitting I want to release before January next year.
It will be a game of the type never seen before on the Vectrex, so I don‘t want to say
too much more just yet.
VGT: Thanks for your time and we wish your finger good health.

10 • Video Game Trader Magazine • Issue #14 • Winter 2009/2010 • www.VideoGameTrader.com