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Author Topic: Bonkinator and other Treasures  (Read 2400 times)

henrycsc

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Bonkinator and other Treasures
« on: January 05, 2011, 06:30:15 AM »
I've met some great people since getting back into Turbo stuff, and they all have great stories to tell.  The latest is no exception.

I recently met a guy who worked for NEC back during the Turbo days as a game tester.  He said it was a dream job - I bet!  Last night, I got an email from him asking me what the heck Bonkinator was.  I hadn't heard that term before, so I asked him what he meant.  He sent me some pics, so I immediately started digging.

I saw that the Jun/Jul 1992 issue of Turbo Play announced a new unnamed character.  By the Aug/Sep 1992 issue, Air Zonk had his name. 

Turns out, this guy has a demo EPROM called Bonkinator.






Have any of you seen this version before?  I didn't have any luck searching for it.  Pretty awesome though.  I asked him for some more pics of the actual EPROM and more screen shots/info. 

What other treasures have been uncovered?

NEC did make a wise choice on the name change.  At least they got something right.   
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blueraven

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Re: Bonkinator and other Treasures
« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2011, 06:32:38 AM »
Wow. This is the first I've heard of this. Maybe Tatsujin can shed some light?
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henrycsc

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Re: Bonkinator and other Treasures
« Reply #2 on: January 05, 2011, 06:33:35 AM »
Maybe, but Tats is a PCE guy... this is totally Turbo.  NEC America would have done the name changing probably.
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Arkhan

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Re: Bonkinator and other Treasures
« Reply #3 on: January 05, 2011, 07:08:00 AM »
Bonkinator is the stupidest name change I have ever heard, lol
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[Fri 19:34]<nectarsis> been wanting to try that one for awhile now Ope
[Fri 19:33]<Opethian> l;ol huge dong

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Necromancer

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Re: Bonkinator and other Treasures
« Reply #4 on: January 05, 2011, 07:08:20 AM »
Heh, Bonkinator.  I've never heard of it, but I'm glad they changed the name; sure he's a cyborg, but that's where the parallels end.
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DragonmasterDan

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Re: Bonkinator and other Treasures
« Reply #5 on: January 05, 2011, 07:08:22 AM »
I remember they had a contest to name the character. The winner was Air Zonk. Bonkinator might have been the working name TTI used.
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henrycsc

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Re: Bonkinator and other Treasures
« Reply #6 on: January 05, 2011, 07:14:47 AM »
yeah, it obviously was a working name.... probably dreamed up by the same guy that drew the Dungeon Explorer box. 

I'll see what other neat stuff he may have in his collection and try to get pics.
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SignOfZeta

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Re: Bonkinator and other Treasures
« Reply #7 on: January 05, 2011, 07:56:54 AM »
This is news to me. Cool find!
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Arkhan

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Re: Bonkinator and other Treasures
« Reply #8 on: January 05, 2011, 08:43:39 AM »
Quote from: DragonmasterDan on January 05, 2011, 07:08:22 AM
I remember they had a contest to name the character. The winner was Air Zonk. Bonkinator might have been the working name TTI used.

That explains alot, lol.
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[Fri 19:34]<nectarsis> been wanting to try that one for awhile now Ope
[Fri 19:33]<Opethian> l;ol huge dong

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TheClash603

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Re: Bonkinator and other Treasures
« Reply #9 on: January 05, 2011, 10:45:18 AM »
Bonkinator is better than Air Zonk, especially due to the Terminator being so popular at the time of release.
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henrycsc

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Re: Bonkinator and other Treasures
« Reply #10 on: January 05, 2011, 10:46:26 AM »
I invited him to join us here, so we're just waiting on his membership approval.  Nice guy.
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MotherGunner

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Re: Bonkinator and other Treasures
« Reply #11 on: January 05, 2011, 10:52:55 AM »
I remember submitting an entry for the contest at the time.  They were supposed to credit the kid who named with with some recognition and gift although I can't remember if they ever did that and where.

Very cool, thanks for sharing!
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turbogrfxfan

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Re: Bonkinator and other Treasures
« Reply #12 on: January 05, 2011, 10:56:32 AM »
I think bonkinator would of been cool.  Think of the Time period. .  I never heard of or seen this cefore. pretty cool bit of history.  Imagine if it was on a turbo cd or huey. now that would be amazing
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SignOfZeta

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Re: Bonkinator and other Treasures
« Reply #13 on: January 05, 2011, 10:59:03 AM »
Quote from: TheClash603 on January 05, 2011, 10:45:18 AM
Bonkinator is better than Air Zonk, especially due to the Terminator being so popular at the time of release.

Yes, because you should always pick the most dated and derivative names you can! They could have got a Wayne's World or House Of Pain joke in there too, if they tried.

I think Zonk is good because it rhymes with Bonk, and is rather evocative of the same vibe as the whole Genjin/Denjin thing. Its pretty much perfect. Bonkinator isn't bad either though.
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Tatsujin

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Re: Bonkinator and other Treasures
« Reply #14 on: January 05, 2011, 11:10:24 AM »
Quote from: henrycsc on January 05, 2011, 06:33:35 AM
Maybe, but Tats is a PCE guy... this is totally Turbo. 

You are totally right. The only guy who comes to my mind which may bring some more light in this is Thibaut.

Great proto stuff. Does he have more such things'n'stuff?
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