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                            Video Jogger FAQ
                           for the Atari 2600
                         Version 1.0 (10/13/14)
                         Written by Andrew Testa
                 Email Address: [email protected]
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   This document is Copyright (c) 2014 Andrew Testa. All Rights Reserved.


   Table of Contents
   ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
      1. What's New?
      2. Introduction
      3. Controls
      4. Overview
      5. Strategies
      6. Frequently Asked Questions
      7. Credits
      8. Contact Information
      9. Legal Disclaimer


=============================================================================
                          --- 1. What's New? ---
=============================================================================

Version 1.0 (10/8/14): First posted version of guide.


=============================================================================
                          --- 2. Introduction ---
=============================================================================

Welcome to my strategy guide for Video Jogger on the Atari 2600! This is my
26th guide for an Atari 2600 game, but my first in almost ten years. I really
enjoy writing small guides for these really old, somewhat obscure games,
because they are all elegant in their simplicity. And, overall, they aren't
all that well-covered as far as FAQs are concerned. And, yeah -- this game is
totally older than me. =/

As far as the game, Video Jogger was released in 1983 by Exus. The defining
feature of this game is actually something that you probably do not have: the
jogging pad. This pad came with the game and you could actually "jog" to move
your dot in the game. This is totally Wii Fit, but almost 25 years earlier!


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                            --- 3. Controls ---
=============================================================================

Fire Button: Press it to start the game.
  Joystick: Alternate between up and down to move your dot.


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                            --- 4. Overview ---
=============================================================================

Here is a diagram of the game:
______________________________________________________________
|                             TIME                             |
|                                                    DISTANCE  |
|   _______________________________________________________    |
|  /                                                       \   |
| |    _________________________________________________    |  |
| |   |                                                 |   |  |
| |   |_________________________________________________|   |  |
| |                                                         |  |
|  \_______________________________________________________/   |
|                                                              |
|                                                              |
|   _______________________________________________________    |
|  /                                                       \   |
| |    _________________________________________________    |  |
| |   |                                                 |   |  |
| |   |_________________________________________________|   |  |
| |                                                         |  |
|  \_______________________________________________________/   |
|                                                              |
|______________________________________________________________|
|           LIVES                             SCORE            |
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

So, in Video Jogger, you must endlessly race around a track. Your position is
marked by the dot with the smiley face on it. To make things interesting,
there is also another dot -- which I will call the "pacing dot" -- that you
must keep up with while jogging.

The pacing dot changes color at irregular intervals, but most of the time
it's red. Red is bad; if you jog into the dot while it's red, you will lose a
life and start again in the middle of the track. And if you lose three lives,
it's game over.

You want to pass through the pacing dot when it is green. Green is good! You
even get extra points if you pass through the dot when it's green. And when
the pacing dot is white, you can pass through it, but you won't get that
special bonus.

To jog in this game, you need to alternative between up and down. This will
create a type of rhythm, and propel your dot forward. You can slow down by
either ceasing up/down, or by slowing down your up/down movements. You should
consider slowing down if you get too close to the dot.

The time is kept in the top part of the screen, the lives on the bottom-left,
and the score on the bottom-right. Each track has a distances meter to the
top-right. This tells you how many laps you have gone thus far.

After you accumulate 2000 points, the pacing dot will start to move faster,
which leaves less room for error as you need to keep up a speedier pace. And
after five minutes, another pacing dot will appear, to complicate matters
even further. So, the game starts out simple -- one slow pace dot, not very
fast -- but this changes after 2000 points and/or five minutes.

Finally, there are two tracks in the game, but you can only choose one. The
top track has a slower pacing dot, and the bottom track has a faster pacing
dot. So, choose the top track when you are just starting out.


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                          --- 5. Strategies ---
=============================================================================

Here are some basic strategies for success in Video Jogger.

 * It's more about a rhythm in your alternating up/down than it is sheer
   speed. At first, you can spam up/down to begin motion, but you will want
   to keep an even, steady rhythm for the most success.

 * You can slow down, and even stop, if you cease with the up/down mania.
   This might seem strange at first; after all, aren't we supposed to be
   jogging? But you *will* need to slow down when you come up to the pacing
   dot when it's read. And it's actually best to strategize it out a bit --
   slow down, see what's going on with the pacing dot, and speed up right
   when it turns green.

 * Watch out for passing the pacing dot at corners. On the corners, things
   speed up quicker than the straightaways.

 * Only focus on the track that you're jogging on. The other will still
   show, and it feels like there should be another player jogging, but it's
   just a distraction.

 * Start on the top track first. Even though the game feel easy-peasy, when
   you get 2000 points or pass five minutes, the game starts to get a little
   more competitive.

 * Always try to go through the pacing dot when it's green. That's where the
   points are at. And, of course, avoid the pacing dot like the plague when
   it's red. White is OK -- you didn't lose a life, but you didn't get much.

 * The pacing dot changes color pretty irregularly. You can expect it to be
   red for fifteen seconds, then red for two seconds, then green for five
   seconds. Basically, you can't expect much from the RNG! :)

 * When you achieve 2000 points, the pacing dot goes faster. This means that
   you'll have to go faster, too, and you'll have less time to think about
   the pacing dot's color conundrum.

 * When five minutes pass, another pacing dot appears. This is actually
   worse than the game going faster, because you'll be blocked in. No more
   does the "slow down" strategy really work effectively, as you have to
   worry about what's ahead of you as well as what's behind you.

 * If you do not have the jogging pad, you might find this incredibly
   boring. But, just imagine it with the jogging pad: you'd have to use
   your body to keep going!

 * Try to pass at the straightaways if you can help it. This is because
   it's just easier without the irregular speed-up of the corners.

 * Aside from 2000 points and five minutes, the game doesn't get any more
   interesting. Beyond that, it's just seeing who gets the most points.
   So, you might want to try the lower track if you get bored, after those
   two conditions have been triggered.


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                  --- 6. Frequently Asked Questions ---
=============================================================================

This section tries to answer most commonly asked questions about the game.

Q: Does this game ever change?
A: Yes, in two instances. First, it speeds up after 2000 points. And
  second, another dot will appear after five minutes.

      =---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=

Q: How did people even find this game fun?
A: For this game, you could use the jogging pad that came with the game.
  This makes things a little more fun, obviously -- a little more Wii Fit!

      =---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=

Q: Is there a way to beat the game?
A: Not that I know of; the game just goes on forever.

      =---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=

Q: How many lives do you get?
A: Only three.

      =---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=

Q: Can two people play this game at the same time?
A: Unfortunately, no, although it does seem that way with the two tracks.

      =---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=

Q: What is the difference between the top and bottom track?
A: The top track has a slower dot than the bottom track. So, you should
  play with the top one first, and when you get the hang of it, you can
  promote yourself to the big leagues down below.

      =---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=

Q: Where can I play this game?
A: It's most fun to actually play this game with the jogging pad that came
  with the game, but you'd have to look hard to find the game and the pad,
  in 2014, in good enough condition. So, that leaves a few choices:
  buying the game at ebay or a garage sale, using a ROM, or playing it on
  your internet browser. Of those three, the last is probably the easiest.

      =---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=

Q: Play it on browser, you say?
A: Yes, you can now play most Atari 2600 games on your browser, which is
  different than when I first started covering this system in 2003. The
  only problem is that you'd be using a keyboard, and not a game pad.
  Still, the new browser way is probably the best, sans finding it at
  a garage sale.

      =---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=

Q: What "happens" in this game?
A: Two things "happen": after five minutes, there is another pacing dot,
  and after 2000 points, the game speeds up.

      =---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=

Q: What does the distance number translate to?
A: It's just the number of laps you've done. So, if you've done one full
  lap, it will say 1.0, and if you've done five and a half laps, it will
  say 5.5.



=============================================================================
                           --- 7. Credits ---
=============================================================================

In this section, we give credit where credit is due. :)

 *  CJayC for creating GameFAQs.
 *  Sailor Bacon, Devin Morgan, and Krystal for continuing, maintaining, and
    administering GameFAQs.
 *  Brian Sulphur, for showing me that writing on old games is cool! :)
 *  You! For reading this guide, of course. :)


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                     --- 8. Contact Information ---
=============================================================================

If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, inquiries, spam, additions,
grievances, hate mail, and general overall concerns, please email me at:

"andrew.c.testa(at)gmail(dot)com" <[email protected]>

All I ask is that you put "Video Jogger" or "Jogger" or "Atari Game" in the
subject line so I know what the email is about. I don't mind if u talk liek
dis 2 me or whatever, so long as I can understand you.


=============================================================================
                       --- 9. Legal Disclaimer ---
=============================================================================

This document is Copyright (c) 2014 Andrew "TestaALT" Testa. All Rights
Reserved. This document may not be reproduced under any circumstances except
for personal, private use. It may not be sold, altered, or published in any
way without the advanced permission of the author. It may not be placed on
any website or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written
permission. Use of this guide on any other website or as a part of any public
display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All trademarks
and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective
trademark and copyright holders. All sources that have contributed to this
document are cited and/or credited in some form. The only sites that I
allow this document to be viewed at are GameFAQs <http://www.gamefaqs.com>,
IGN <http://www.ign.com>, and Neoseeker <http://www.neoseeker.com>.

                                   ----

Thanks for reading this guide! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I
enjoyed writing it! :) You can see some of my other work at:

       <http://www.gamefaqs.com/users/TestaALT/contributions/faqs>

_____________________________________________________________________________
                                            Copyright (c) 2014 Andrew Testa

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