The 1970s was the dawn of commercial home video games.

Atari led the way with the Atari 2600 game console, released in 1977. The console, which had a joystick, used swappable cartridges for its games.

There are still games made for the Atari device, including the new “Route 22 Rampage,” designed  by Matthew Blum.

Blum says the game has “traffic, potholes and just enough frustration to feel like home,” but is more fun to play than driving on the actual Lehigh Valley thruway.

At his home in West Allentown, which he shares with his terrier Bella, Blum says, “They made so many of the Atari 2600s that they are pretty common, and there is a large marketplace for them.”

On the Internet, prices for the original Atari 2600s are as low as $25. You might be able to get one for $5 at a garage sale.

The Atari 2600+ is in production. It looks just like the original in 80 percent scale, and it can play the old cartridges.

“There is a large Atari community, where a new game is made every day,” says Blum.

Blum made a limited run of 42 cartridges of “Route 22 Rampage.” “They sold within 24 hours,” he says.

When we spoke, he was making more packaging cases on his 3D printer. Blum manufactures everything: cases, chipboard and artwork.

The first thing you see when you enter the front door of his home is a 1969 “Jackpot” pinball machine. Blum says its retro quality has been an inspiration for his work:

“I always wanted to make a cartridge. There is something magical about them.”

It’s like having an album or CD instead of digital music, having something physical that you can hold.

Blum only had 128 bytes of memory for the programming of the Atari. “I ran out of RAM fast,” he says.

For comparison, the ZDNET website states: “16 gigabytes of RAM has become the operational minimum on new consumer laptops.” A gigabyte is more than one billion bytes.

Blum began designing “Route 22 Rampage” in March, spending one month off and on coding, and one month on the cover art.

He programmed “Route 22 Rampage” with Batari Basic language and assembly language. The former is used for computer games, while the latter is a complicated language that communicates more directly with computer hardware.

Blum’s workshop is in his basement, which has an S scale train layout.

It also has a portable light table that is an art work and a clock. With LED lights underneath, it displays time with moving dots: blue for hours, purple for minutes, yellow for seconds, and white for 10th of seconds. You can tell time by counting the dots.

Blum plans to make his next game for PC or phone, but still with a local theme.

He has become more interested in electronics than with his former occupation, photography.

He has had solo photography exhibitions at Bethlehem’s Town Hall Rotunda Gallery, ArtsQuest InVision Festival, Allentown’s Baum School of Art and has participated in group photography exhibits.

In 2015, at ArtsQuest, Blum presented “Glass Portraits,” a series using ambrotype photography, a technique that dates back to the 1850s. The wet plate collodion process produces images on glass plates using chemicals while the glass is still wet.

Blum has been involved in sound, editing, visual effects and cinematography for movies. He was director of photography for “Billboard,” a Lehigh Valley narrative fiction film directed by Zeke Zelker based on a real-life radio station contest where people camped out on a billboard along Route 22.

Blum attended Muhlenberg Elementary School, Trexler Middle School and William Allen High School. Despite his many skills, he never went to college.

“I just learned it on my own,” he says.

To purchase “Route 22 Rampage”: https://shop.lightly-salted.com

Lehigh Valley Press article about Matt Blum exhibit at the Rotunda Gallery:

www.lvpnews.com/20221223/gallery-view-rotunda-nature-and-machine

Lehigh Valley Press article about Matt Blum exhibit at Baum School of Art:

www.lvpnews.com/20191025/matthew-blum-windows-in-baum-exhibit-4+