Backloggd – The Letterboxd for Videogames

My videogame profile on Backloggd is here: todd_russell Backloggd profile

Forgive a little history here, momentarily we’ll get to Backloggd (https://www.backloggd.com/)

Before this website was started, we used Letterboxd to track the movies we were watching. We still use the site every day, tracking all the movies we watch, rewatch and review. Late last year we started doing full text reviews here for movies seen in theaters, but a shorter review still appears on Letterboxd.

We’re still looking for something like Letterboxd that does TV shows. Have a suggestion? Let us know in the comments. We post all TV show reviews here currently and a list (in progress, updated periodically) is available here: TV Series Reviews.

Theaters: April 16, 2021

Since there are movie and TV tie-in videgames, including Mortal Kombat which comes out in 2021 (and looks pretty good from the trailers), we also cover videogames here. However, there are way more videogames that have nothing to do with movies and TV shows. We wanted to use something like Letterboxd, and maybe you do too, hence this post, to track our videogaming.

Enter Backloggd. Completely FREE to use — just like Letterboxd — for all the features you need including game journals, logging, reviews, lists (!) and more. The one feature I don’t see available is any way to export the data you’ve created like Letterboxd. I’m hoping this is available somewhere, somehow (it’s not as of this writing, but is on their site roadmap wishlist here), because if you spend a bunch of time adding and tracking games you own and/or play and the site goes belly up, you should be able to export your data and take it elsewhere. To your own site, another site, whatever. Letterboxd has that feature and it remains one of the reasons we keep using it. We’re essentially future-proofed if the site decides to do something like this:

vpinball.com shut down around April 1, 2021 and it doesn’t appear to be an April Fool’s joke

Anyway, one list I’m assembling are for the AtGames Legends Ultimate (ALU) v1.1 arcade (see: Arcade and Console Videogaming Heaven – Legends Ultimate Arcade). There are 300+ licensed games included, some of which I played a long, long time ago, some played in arcades, some on various console systems through the years and most I’ve never played. Wanted to add more detail on the games discovered for the first time, played, including notes for personal strategies developed and possibly even reviews of the games I play more extensively. Not really interested in the reviews part yet, but rather just to have some place to record notes on the games played, as well as the time spent playing these games. This will help me better develop a favorites list and be able to talk about these games with others interested in buying the ALU.

Since we also own the Legends Gamer Pro, I also compiled a list of those games: AtGames Legends Gamer Pro – GAMES Included List.

For other customers of these systems, this makes it easy to explore these games in greater detail, as the systems don’t tell you very much about the games themselves. You can simply click on the titles and play, but where do you record your personal notes, strategies, gaming tips, etc? You can use tools like Excel Spreadsheets or Google Docs or, well, Backloggd. This way if you’re friends ask what videogames you’re playing, you just point them to your Backloggd page.

Backloggd doesn’t do everything it could and should yet, however.

I’ve noticed one (glaring, really) weakness for Backloggd is that it doesn’t seem to have much in the way of video pinball represented in the database. This means I won’t be able to make a list for our most recent purchase: the AtGames Legends Pinball (ALP). I’m sure there is a way like Letterboxd to add games that aren’t in the database, so I fully plan to investigate that feature in the future. They seem to use IGDB.com as a source and I do see how to add games there, so that might be the ticket. Anybody who knows more detail about this process, please feel free to educate and inform us in the comments below.

Will coverage for videogames expand at this site? Probably, yes. I see how movies and TV shows have become important properties for videogames, so it seems only natural to explore that path in greater depth. Also, playing videogames is a more active hobby than watching movies and TV. It’s healthy and good to stay more active. This doesn’t mean that movies will take a backseat to videogames, here, but it does mean the site will become a little broader. Maybe 😉

Thank you for reading!

Was The Terminator Also Inspired By Arcade Game Robotron 2084?

Harlan Ellison complained of plagiarism over his stories “Demon with a Glass Hand” and “Soldier” from The Outer Limits being inspiration for James Cameron’s The Terminator. I’ve been playing a lot of the arcade game Robotron: 2084 and it also has a storyline that is very similar to The Terminator. See below:

Ellison might have been one of the first to come up with the idea for robots from the future terminating humans, but there have been multiple projects using this idea. Robotron: 2084 was created by the development studio Vid Kidz for Williams in 1982. Programmed by Eugene Jarvis and Larry Demar. Jarvis also programmed the classic arcade game Defender.

Considering The Terminator didn’t come out until two years later in 1984, the timing of the videogame story seems more likely to have been inspiration for James Cameron than Ellison’s stories on The Outer Limits (“Soldier” first aired September 19, 1964 and “Demon with a Glass Hand” first aired October 17, 1964). Justwatch.com reports as of this writing that seasons 1 and 2 of The Outer Limits original TV series can be watched with ads on the Roku channel. So you could check out these episodes, play a round of Robotron: 2084 on The Internet Archive and compare the storylines to The Terminator.

It should be noted that James Cameron adamantly denies any wrongdoing, claiming it was a “bum deal” according to a quote cited in the Wikipedia entry for Ellison’s story “Demon with a Glass Hand.”

Until recently, I never noticed the storyline for the videogame Robotron: 2084 being similar to what Skynet did in The Terminator. Also, it’s the Kyle Reese like soldier with “super powers” that can battle the robots in the videogame. As for the two Outer Limits episodes, I’ve seen both and do see similarities in those storylines to The Terminator, but it’s possible they are coincidental, not because Cameron enjoyed those episodes and heavily borrowed from them.

Legally it seems that there was agreements with Ellison and he is mentioned in the closing credits of The Terminator. Nothing about Robotron: 2084 is mentioned, but it was enough to make me think with the timing that one might have been more inspirational than the other, simply due to the timing. Not accusing Cameron of anything, of course, but it’s funny that a game I played frequently in the arcades all those years ago and a movie I enjoyed share a similar storyline, even if it is coincidental.

(The word “coin” is included in that word, as in “INSERT COIN” to the videogame — another curious sidenote).

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade Stool

Recently, we mentioned buying the AtGames Legends Ultimate Arcade System (see: Arcade and Console Videogaming Heaven – Legends Ultimate Arcade). For retro gaming, it’s the bee’s knees. But standing up and playing only goes so far, which leads to the need for a good gaming stool or two.

At Walmart we see the Arcade1Up Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle stool and thought our youngest grandchild would dig the design (he is going through a turtles phase). The chairs are a bit pricey at $79.99, but we’ve seen deals as low as $49.99 online, so you might want to shop around. Assembly is a breeze, takes about 10 minutes or so and it comes with the allen wrenches required, so no exterior tools necessary. Supports weight up to 290 pounds. The seat feels a little firm, so might want to snag a seat cover if you’re going to have a really long gaming session.

Hmm, wonder what game is perfect to play sitting on this stool? (your suggestions in the comments welcome)

Arcade and Console Videogaming Heaven – Legends Ultimate Arcade

Right up there with our passion for movies is videogames. We don’t talk a whole lot about gaming here, but we’re huge game fans. Arcades, consoles, portable, you name it.

For reference, we’ve either played or bought the vast majority of home console gaming systems for the last 30+ years. We’ve survived Microsoft’s red rings of death on the Xbox 360 (7 of those machines we burned through, true story) and enjoyed all incarnation of the Playstation (with one exception, keep reading), loved the early onset NES, SNES, N64, Wii, Switch, Sega Genesis and its various incarnations, a bunch of Atari systems (2600 through Jaguar), Colecovision and even some offbeat systems like 3DO and my personal favorite for 2D fighting games: Neo Geo. We’ve also played or owned many portable gaming systems, clearly we love the hobby.

That said, it’s a bit odd that the newest game systems, Sony PS5 and Microsoft Xbox S are not on our immediate radar — we’re normally looking very forward to buying the newest game system and playing some new games. We just don’t have that urge with the most current generation. Sure, we’ll likely play or buy one or both of them eventually, but not likely this holiday season.

However, another system that was an immediate purchase when we found it in stock at Sam’s Club again (see top image): Legend Ultimate Arcade. We kept refreshing that product page and on 11/14 it showed as available to order. A couple hours later it was out of stock again.

Our middle son recently was interested in buying an arcade game machine for his new home. I didn’t hesitate to show him the system I’ve been tracking online: AtGames Legend Ultimate Arcade. He bought it right away, it shipped a week later and it took us under 30 minutes to assemble.

Legends Ultimate is the world’s first connected arcade. Legends Ultimate includes 300 of favorite licensed arcade and console games in an expandable, full-size arcade machine designed for players of all ages, skill levels and play preferences. Featuring cloud gaming functionality, hundreds of top titles with access to countless more, connectivity, arcade-quality controls, and customized game integration options–play your favorite games the way you want on this amazing platform.

Legends Ultimate Arcade – Sam’s Club

For our grandchildren, this arcade system was love at first sight.

For videogame fans, especially old school arcade fans, this system is the real deal. It might very well be our most favorite system we’ve ever purchased, because it’s like all systems in one unit. You can even stream next generation systems and PC to the full standup arcade system and use the controls.

If you’re a gamer, this should be on your radar. We don’t review videogames or arcade systems here as of this writing, but if we did, this would be rated highly and recommended.

Upcoming Star Wars Pinball from Arcade1up and Zen Studios Looks Amazing

No idea if this is how the table will really look, but if it’s close to the real thing and costs less than $1,000, we’ll be buying one when it’s released

It’s been awhile since we’ve talked any serious videogaming here, but the Star Wars virtual pinball game sounds extremely cool. It’s got the tech, the Arcade1Up reasonable pricing (or so we hope), yet faithful arcade experience and it has Zen’s pinball wizardry programming, how can it now be good?

But this cool tech is also being used to bring Zen’s virtual pinball to life like never before. “We’re really optimizing the games with the hardware. We’re doing custom mapping, working on the controls, making sure the buttons feel right, and that the response on the accelerometers feels right. It’s going to feel like a brand-new game.,” shares an enthusiastic Kirk.

Star Wars Pinball Readies to Change the Game at Home | StarWars.com

We already have bought a lot of the Zen Pinball tables, including the Nintendo Switch Star Wars tables (see: Star Wars Pinball for Nintendo Switch) a year ag.

Those tables are the real deal. And a ton of fun.

This new pinball table sounds like a cross between a real pinball table and videogame pinball. Now, whether or not it’s as cool as it sounds, I hope the price is right so we can buy one and put it in our entertainment room alongside the Arcade1Up NBA Jam that I’ve been wanting to buy.

This table is similar in design to the Marvel pinball table and that one is said to be priced between $500-600 (see: Arcade1Up Reveals Price Point for Marvel Pinball), which is inline with their arcade cabinets.