Homestar Runner RPG - Revision history

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2026-08-05T04:58:59Z

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-<!-- Wayback HTML body (hrwiki.org); RawHtml -->
+<!-- Mirrored from Homestar Runner Wiki (hrwiki.org) via Wayback Machine -->
-<html>
+[[File:hsr_rpg_atari2600_tv.jpg|220px]]
-<div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:222px;"><a class="image" href="/index.php?title=File:hsr_rpg_atari2600_tv.jpg" title="Atari'd!"><img alt="" border="0" class="thumbimage" height="206" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20211001000000im_/http://www.hrwiki.org/w/images/thumb/2/22/hsr_rpg_atari2600_tv.jpg/220px-hsr_rpg_atari2600_tv.jpg" width="220"/></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="/index.php?title=File:hsr_rpg_atari2600_tv.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20211001000000im_/http://www.hrwiki.org/w/skins/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15"/></a></div>Atari'd!</div></div></div>
-<p>A <b>Homestar Runner RPG</b> was in development for the <a href="/index.php?title=Atari_2600" title="Atari 2600">Atari 2600</a> in the early 2000s. Programmed by <a href="/index.php?title=Paul_Slocum" title="Paul Slocum">Paul Slocum</a>, it was initially planned to be released in early 2004 and would've been the first console game for <a href="/index.php?title=Homestar_Runner_%28body_of_work%29" title="Homestar Runner (body of work)">Homestar Runner</a>.
+''Atari'd!''
 Due to the immense level of work required to build a full RPG on the limited hardware of the Atari 2600, a demo was still only 1/3 finished by February 2006. The project was abandoned by August 2008, with Slocum estimating that the game was only half-finished and would've still required months of work.
+* [http://qotile.net/rpg.html Homestar RPG for Atari 2600] page on Paul Slocum's website (includes ROM demo download)
-<div class="visualClear"></div>
+** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fWEoDdMvig YouTube demo video from emulator]
-</html>
+** [https://stella-emu.github.io/ Stella: a multi-platform Atari 2600 VCS emulator]

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-<!-- Mirrored from Homestar Runner Wiki (hrwiki.org) via Wayback Machine -->
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-https://web.archive.org/web/20211001000000im_/http://www.hrwiki.org/w/images/thumb/2/22/hsr_rpg_atari2600_tv.jpg/220px-hsr_rpg_atari2600_tv.jpg
+<html>
+<div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:222px;"><a class="image" href="/index.php?title=File:hsr_rpg_atari2600_tv.jpg" title="Atari'd!"><img alt="" border="0" class="thumbimage" height="206" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20211001000000im_/http://www.hrwiki.org/w/images/thumb/2/22/hsr_rpg_atari2600_tv.jpg/220px-hsr_rpg_atari2600_tv.jpg" width="220"/></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="/index.php?title=File:hsr_rpg_atari2600_tv.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20211001000000im_/http://www.hrwiki.org/w/skins/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15"/></a></div>Atari'd!</div></div></div>
-''Atari'd!''
+<p>A <b>Homestar Runner RPG</b> was in development for the <a href="/index.php?title=Atari_2600" title="Atari 2600">Atari 2600</a> in the early 2000s. Programmed by <a href="/index.php?title=Paul_Slocum" title="Paul Slocum">Paul Slocum</a>, it was initially planned to be released in early 2004 and would've been the first console game for <a href="/index.php?title=Homestar_Runner_%28body_of_work%29" title="Homestar Runner (body of work)">Homestar Runner</a>.
 Due to the immense level of work required to build a full RPG on the limited hardware of the Atari 2600, a demo was still only 1/3 finished by February 2006. The project was abandoned by August 2008, with Slocum estimating that the game was only half-finished and would've still required months of work.
-* [http://qotile.net/rpg.html Homestar RPG for Atari 2600] page on Paul Slocum's website (includes ROM demo download)
-** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fWEoDdMvig YouTube demo video from emulator]
+<div class="visualClear"></div>
-** [https://stella-emu.github.io/ Stella: a multi-platform Atari 2600 VCS emulator]
+</html>

imported>HRWikiMirrorBot: Reimported from hrwiki.org Wayback HTML→wikitext (full reconvert)

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← Older revision		Revision as of 17:00, 18 July 2026
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	''Atari'd!''		''Atari'd!''

			A '''Homestar Runner RPG''' was in development for the [[Atari 2600]] in the early 2000s. Programmed by [[Paul Slocum]], it was initially planned to be released in early 2004 and would've been the first console game for [[Homestar Runner (body of work)\|Homestar Runner]].
			Due to the immense level of work required to build a full RPG on the limited hardware of the Atari 2600, a demo was still only 1/3 finished by February 2006. The project was abandoned by August 2008, with Slocum estimating that the game was only half-finished and would've still required months of work.

			== Planned Features ==

	https://web.archive.org/web/20211001000000im_/http://www.hrwiki.org/w/images/thumb/6/6f/RPG.png/220px-RPG.png		https://web.archive.org/web/20211001000000im_/http://www.hrwiki.org/w/images/thumb/6/6f/RPG.png/220px-RPG.png
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	''Title screen''		''Title screen''

	~~'''~~Homestar Runner ~~RPG''' was~~ the ~~first planned official console game for~~ [[~~Homestar Runner~~ (~~body of work~~)\|~~Homestar Runner~~]]. It was ~~under development for the~~ [[~~Atari 2600~~]] by [[~~Paul Slocum~~]], ~~planned~~ to ~~be released in~~ early ~~2004. Due to~~ the ~~immense scope of~~ a ~~full 2600 RPG~~, ~~as of February 2006~~ the '~~'demo'' was approximately 1/3 finished. As of August 2008~~, the ~~project has been abandoned~~.		Players would have been able to play as [[Homestar Runner]], [[Homsar]], or [[Strong Sad]] (and possibly [[Marzipan]] and [[Coach Z]]) against the villain [[Strong Bad]] (and possibly [[The Cheat]] and [[Strong Mad]]) in a traditional [[sword and sorcery]]-themed [[Role-playing video game\|role-playing game]]. Gameplay was planned to be turn-based with lots of mini-games and story text with codes given to save game progress. RPG elements would have included magic, HP, weapons, and an inventory with different items (such as Wooden Shield, [[The Stick]], Ninja Star, Leather Armor, [[Fhqwhgads]], and [[Strong Bad's Fondue Pot\|Fondue Pot]]). The enemies would have included those from other Atari 2600 games. The map was comparable in size to the early computer RPGs, and the player could travel through different lands, such as grass (with trees and water), castle (with different floor tiles and a basement), nighttime, and mountains. Like the [[homestarrunner.com\|website's]] [[Index Page\|index page]], the title screen would give players the option to view the intro or play the game.

	~~== Game Features ==~~

	While ~~Paul~~ Slocum ~~did the~~ programming, [[The Brothers Chaps]] ~~did~~ the character graphics and some of the game tiles. Some of the screens ~~use~~ the same graphics as the [[Compy 386]]-emulated characters in [[big white face]], while sometimes they ~~resemble~~ their [[Retro Gaming Character Variations\|Atari counterparts]]. The game would have been released in an Atari 2600 cartridge for the dedicated old-school gamer, and as a downloadable ROM for systems with an emulator. Players would have been able to play as [[Homestar Runner]], [[Homsar]], or [[Strong Sad]], and possibly [[Marzipan]] and [[Coach Z]], against the villain [[Strong Bad]], and possibly [[The Cheat]] and [[Strong Mad]], in a traditional swords and sorcery RPG.		While Slocum was responsible for programming, [[The Brothers Chaps]] provided the character graphics and some of the game tiles. Some of the screens used the same graphics as the [[Compy 386]]-emulated characters in [[big white face]], while sometimes they resembled their [[Retro Gaming Character Variations\|Atari counterparts]].

	~~There~~ would have been magic, HP, weapons, and an inventory with different items (such as Wooden Shield, [[The Stick]], Ninja Star, Leather Armor, [[Fhqwhgads]], and [[Strong Bad's Fondue Pot\|Fondue Pot]]). The enemies would have included those from other Atari 2600 games. Gameplay was planned to be turn-based with lots of mini-games and story text with codes given to save game. The map was comparable in size to the early computer RPGs, and the player could travel through different lands, such as ~~grass (with trees and water), castle (with different floor tiles and~~ a ~~basement), nighttime, and mountains. Like the~~ [[~~homestarrunner.com~~\|~~website's~~]] [[~~Index Page~~\|~~index page~~]], ~~the title screen would give you~~ the option ~~to view~~ the ~~intro, or play the game~~.		The game would have been released as a downloadable [[ROM image\|ROM]] for [[Video game console emulator\|PC emulation]], with the option of a physical Atari 2600 cartridge for the dedicated old-school gamer.

	== ~~The Abandoning~~ ==		== Abandonment ==

	On January ~~4th~~, 2005, Slocum published a statement that development had halted:		On January 4, 2005, Slocum published a statement that development had halted:

	<blockquote>		<blockquote>
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	</blockquote>		</blockquote>

	On September ~~5th~~, 2005, [[Matt Chapman]] indicated in [[Bobby Blackwolf Interview - 5 Sep 2005\|an interview]] that the game ~~may not materialize~~: ~~''{statement edited for clarity}''~~		On September 5, 2005, [[Matt Chapman]] indicated in [[Bobby Blackwolf Interview - 5 Sep 2005\|an interview]] that the game was still on hold:

	<blockquote>		<blockquote>
	>~~I think it~~'s sort of in limbo. I think it was really pushing the limits of what the 2600 could do, especially with an RPG, and so I think he was getting a little overwhelmed. He realized that all the work he had done — which was, you know, hours and hours and hours — amounted to like 2% of what the game would finally be. And so he just kinda freaked out.		>It's sort of in limbo. I think it was really pushing the limits of what the 2600 could do, especially with an RPG, and I think he was getting a little overwhelmed. He realized that all the work he had done — which was, you know, hours and hours and hours — amounted to like two percent of what the game would finally be. And so he just kinda freaked out.
	~~><br />~~
	>So he was on hold on that for a while, but he did say that he's willing to look into some other 2600 projects that are a little more, you know, within the normal 2600 realm. I think that's gonna be his opus, and so the Homestar Runner was sort of just being applied to it. He could make an RPG that really didn't have to be Homestar Runner or not. So I hope he makes it someday, 'cause I would love to play an RPG on the 2600 for sure.
	</blockquote>		</blockquote>

	On August 12, 2008, ~~Paul~~ Slocum confirmed in a [http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=642739&cid=24564745 Slashdot~~.org~~ comment] that the game ~~was abandoned~~:		On August 12, 2008, Slocum confirmed in [http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=642739&cid=24564745 a Slashdot comment] that development on the game had halted:

	<blockquote>		<blockquote>
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	== External links ==		== External links ==

	* [http://qotile.net/rpg.html ~~Developer~~'s ~~Site]~~		* [http://qotile.net/rpg.html Homestar RPG for Atari 2600] page on Paul Slocum's website (includes ROM demo download)
	* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fWEoDdMvig YouTube demo video from emulator]		** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fWEoDdMvig YouTube demo video from emulator]
			** [https://stella-emu.github.io/ Stella: a multi-platform Atari 2600 VCS emulator]
			** [http://www.whimsey.com/z26/z26.html z26 Atari 2600 Emulator for Windows and x86 Linux]
	* [https://www.redbull.tv/video/AP-1QP4CPXQN1W11/homestar-plays-himself Watch Screenland episode "Homestar Plays Himself"]		* [https://www.redbull.tv/video/AP-1QP4CPXQN1W11/homestar-plays-himself Watch Screenland episode "Homestar Plays Himself"]
	* [https://stella-emu.github.io/ Stella: a multi-platform Atari 2600 VCS emulator]
	* [http://www.whimsey.com/z26/z26.html z26 Atari 2600 Emulator for Windows and x86 Linux]
	[[Category:Technology]]		[[Category:Technology]]
	[[Category:Games]]		[[Category:Games]]
			[[Category:Atari]]

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2026-07-14T14:24:44Z

Reimported from hrwiki.org Wayback HTML→wikitext (full reconvert)

New page

https://web.archive.org/web/20211001000000im_/http://www.hrwiki.org/w/images/thumb/2/22/hsr_rpg_atari2600_tv.jpg/220px-hsr_rpg_atari2600_tv.jpg

''Atari'd!''

https://web.archive.org/web/20211001000000im_/http://www.hrwiki.org/w/images/thumb/6/6f/RPG.png/220px-RPG.png

''Title screen''

'''Homestar Runner RPG''' was the first planned official console game for [[Homestar Runner (body of work)|Homestar Runner]]. It was under development for the [[Atari 2600]] by [[Paul Slocum]], planned to be released in early 2004. Due to the immense scope of a full 2600 RPG, as of February 2006 the ''demo'' was approximately 1/3 finished. As of August 2008, the project has been abandoned.

== Game Features ==

While Paul Slocum did the programming, [[The Brothers Chaps]] did the character graphics and some of the game tiles. Some of the screens use the same graphics as the [[Compy 386]]-emulated characters in [[big white face]], while sometimes they resemble their [[Retro Gaming Character Variations|Atari counterparts]]. The game would have been released in an Atari 2600 cartridge for the dedicated old-school gamer, and as a downloadable ROM for systems with an emulator. Players would have been able to play as [[Homestar Runner]], [[Homsar]], or [[Strong Sad]], and possibly [[Marzipan]] and [[Coach Z]], against the villain [[Strong Bad]], and possibly [[The Cheat]] and [[Strong Mad]], in a traditional swords and sorcery RPG.

There would have been magic, HP, weapons, and an inventory with different items (such as Wooden Shield, [[The Stick]], Ninja Star, Leather Armor, [[Fhqwhgads]], and [[Strong Bad's Fondue Pot|Fondue Pot]]). The enemies would have included those from other Atari 2600 games. Gameplay was planned to be turn-based with lots of mini-games and story text with codes given to save game. The map was comparable in size to the early computer RPGs, and the player could travel through different lands, such as grass (with trees and water), castle (with different floor tiles and a basement), nighttime, and mountains. Like the [[homestarrunner.com|website's]] [[Index Page|index page]], the title screen would give you the option to view the intro, or play the game.

== The Abandoning ==

On January 4th, 2005, Slocum published a statement that development had halted:

<blockquote>
>The game's on hold for a while. I'm too busy with my band and other projects to work on it right now, but I do plan to return to it when I can. Sorry it's taking so long, but that's life.
</blockquote>

On September 5th, 2005, [[Matt Chapman]] indicated in [[Bobby Blackwolf Interview - 5 Sep 2005|an interview]] that the game may not materialize: ''{statement edited for clarity}''

<blockquote>
>I think it's sort of in limbo. I think it was really pushing the limits of what the 2600 could do, especially with an RPG, and so I think he was getting a little overwhelmed. He realized that all the work he had done — which was, you know, hours and hours and hours — amounted to like 2% of what the game would finally be. And so he just kinda freaked out.
><br />
>So he was on hold on that for a while, but he did say that he's willing to look into some other 2600 projects that are a little more, you know, within the normal 2600 realm. I think that's gonna be his opus, and so the Homestar Runner was sort of just being applied to it. He could make an RPG that really didn't have to be Homestar Runner or not. So I hope he makes it someday, 'cause I would love to play an RPG on the 2600 for sure.
</blockquote>

On August 12, 2008, Paul Slocum confirmed in a [http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=642739&cid=24564745 Slashdot.org comment] that the game was abandoned:

<blockquote>
>We had to abandon it, it was just too ambitious, and during the time that I was working on it my schedule was gradually getting more and more ridiculous. The display code for that RPG was pushing the Atari so hard, and so it was very delicate and became time-consuming to keep in balance. Most of the display, music, map-handling, and memory management was in place. But the battle system and overall RPG design were just getting started. I've had some people interested in the code for other 2600 RPG projects so something may still come out of it.
><br /><br />
>We still may release a H*R Atari 2600 game at some point -- we've talked about some other ideas that would be much more reasonable.
</blockquote>

== External links ==

* [http://qotile.net/rpg.html Developer's Site]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fWEoDdMvig YouTube demo video from emulator]
* [https://www.redbull.tv/video/AP-1QP4CPXQN1W11/homestar-plays-himself Watch Screenland episode "Homestar Plays Himself"]
* [https://stella-emu.github.io/ Stella: a multi-platform Atari 2600 VCS emulator]
* [http://www.whimsey.com/z26/z26.html z26 Atari 2600 Emulator for Windows and x86 Linux]
[[Category:Technology]]
[[Category:Games]]