Was it one of the ones with about 100 lines of DATA parameters? I got to the point where I could memorize bit sets of 16 digits because of typing those things in.
Alas, I wanted a C64 badly, but had to make do with my TI-99-4/A. And I never got the damned voice synthesizer!
I actually had both of these (at different times).
My fondest memory of my C64 was the day after my Dad took me with him to a Computerland to see the first Mac. I was utterly speechless. I was so amazed. I couldn't believe a computer could DO that. I went home and started trying to program my C64 to do the same thing.
I know -- $200, IIRC & I had to earn that myself. Talk about a chinese water torture. _AND_ I had to stay up until after they stopped watching TV to use a ***snicker*** "monitor".
Uphill, to school, both ways!
(Although my parents sprang for the 1541 floppy drive about a year later.)
All right! That does it! Screw these political distinctions! THIRTY-SOMETHINGS OF THE BOARDS, UNITE!
We already have. Wait until the boomers are trying to send you a bill for 80% of your taxable income in order to support their Social Security, Medicare, and deficit repayment program.
Was it one of the ones with about 100 lines of DATA parameters? I got to the point where I could memorize bit sets of 16 digits because of typing those things in.
And we didn't have any fancy Sony PlayStation videogames with
high-resolution 3-D graphics. We had the Atari 2600. With games like "Space
Invaders" and "Asteroids" and the graphics sucked ass. Your guy was a little
square! You had to use your imagination. And there were no multiple levels
or screens; it was just one screen forever. And you could never win, the
game just kept getting harder and faster until you died. Just like LIFE!
I was going to avoid this thread so I didn't come off like a terminally old fart or a curmudgeon (I'm both)- BUT - in 1983 I had a school internship at Activision when they were the #2 developer of Atari 2600 games (behind Atari itself). Working for a video game developer in the early '80s was a lot like working for an Internet startup in the '90s. Activision went from zero to $150+ million revenue in two years.
I remember seeing the prototype (EEPROM on a breadboard) of Activision's Space Shuttle game for the 2600, which simulated a Shuttle launch, docking with a satellite (aligning X, Y, and Z axes), undocking, and returning to earth while following a tight reentry path - all on a 16K chip, of which the Atari 2600 could only process 4K at a time! The developer (most games had only one) wrote entirely in assembly language and it was frankly amazing what they could do with the primitive graphics and processing power available to them, to say nothing of a controller consisting of nothing more than a joystic plus a single button.
And, of course, at the time nobody was saying "in 20 years this thing called a PS2 will make this look like an Etch-A-Sketch." Instead, they were saying "This blows Pong away!"
And it did! Pong sucked compared to Atari's "Combat"!
Pong was an Atari game, too (came bundled with the 2600), but it was "late '70s technology."
Here's a trivia question (I don't know the answer): Activision had a successful game (top 10 seller) called "River Raid" that was written by a female developer, Carol Shaw. It was the first-ever vertically scrolling video game, at least on the Atari platform. Have there been any other Top 10 video games since then for which the lead or solo developer was a woman?
Comments
Originally posted by Hassan i Sabbah
I had a game printed in one of the magazines.
Was it one of the ones with about 100 lines of DATA parameters? I got to the point where I could memorize bit sets of 16 digits because of typing those things in.
(and hope your C64 power supply didn't overheat)
Originally posted by dmz
...try 10+ pages of machine language, just to play a "three-voice" Bach fugue!
(and hope your C64 power supply didn't overheat)
Alas, I wanted a C64 badly, but had to make do with my TI-99-4/A. And I never got the damned voice synthesizer!
Originally posted by midwinter
Alas, I wanted a C64 badly, but had to make do with my TI-99-4/A. And I never got the damned voice synthesizer!
I actually had both of these (at different times).
My fondest memory of my C64 was the day after my Dad took me with him to a Computerland to see the first Mac. I was utterly speechless. I was so amazed. I couldn't believe a computer could DO that. I went home and started trying to program my C64 to do the same thing.
Originally posted by trick fall
All I had was a lousy Commodore 16
I know -- $200, IIRC & I had to earn that myself. Talk about a chinese water torture. _AND_ I had to stay up until after they stopped watching TV to use a ***snicker*** "monitor".
Uphill, to school, both ways!
(Although my parents sprang for the 1541 floppy drive about a year later.)
Originally posted by dmz
(Although my parents sprang for the 1541 floppy drive about a year later.)
Hey! I had to save up my own money to buy one!
Damn...where is my Dad's phone number...he's got some 'splainin' to do!
Originally posted by dmz
Uphill, to school, both ways!
In the snow!
Originally posted by DanMacMan
Tomorrow (28 January) is the 20th Anniversary of the Challenger explosion. I was 4 years old. Damn.
Ha! I was two. I share my birthday year with our magnificent Macintosh; we're both 21.
I also had to cheerfully commend you on your signature. "One Nation Under Steve..." it makes me smile.
Originally posted by midwinter
All right! That does it! Screw these political distinctions! THIRTY-SOMETHINGS OF THE BOARDS, UNITE!
We already have. Wait until the boomers are trying to send you a bill for 80% of your taxable income in order to support their Social Security, Medicare, and deficit repayment program.
United we will be then, I assure you.
Nick
Originally posted by midwinter
Was it one of the ones with about 100 lines of DATA parameters? I got to the point where I could memorize bit sets of 16 digits because of typing those things in.
No. Strictly BASIC baby.
10 PRINT C$141 "HASSAN IS COOL"
20 GOTO 10
Originally posted by midwinter
Alas, I wanted a C64 badly, but had to make do with my TI-99-4/A. And I never got the damned voice synthesizer!
Ah, the 'good old' TI-99! I think my Dad still has it in the attic. Had to use my tape player to save things.
BEEP BOOP BEEP BEEP BOOB HISS BEEP HISS BING!
Originally posted by Tulkas
And we didn't have any fancy Sony PlayStation videogames with
high-resolution 3-D graphics. We had the Atari 2600. With games like "Space
Invaders" and "Asteroids" and the graphics sucked ass. Your guy was a little
square! You had to use your imagination. And there were no multiple levels
or screens; it was just one screen forever. And you could never win, the
game just kept getting harder and faster until you died. Just like LIFE!
I was going to avoid this thread so I didn't come off like a terminally old fart or a curmudgeon (I'm both)- BUT - in 1983 I had a school internship at Activision when they were the #2 developer of Atari 2600 games (behind Atari itself). Working for a video game developer in the early '80s was a lot like working for an Internet startup in the '90s. Activision went from zero to $150+ million revenue in two years.
I remember seeing the prototype (EEPROM on a breadboard) of Activision's Space Shuttle game for the 2600, which simulated a Shuttle launch, docking with a satellite (aligning X, Y, and Z axes), undocking, and returning to earth while following a tight reentry path - all on a 16K chip, of which the Atari 2600 could only process 4K at a time! The developer (most games had only one) wrote entirely in assembly language and it was frankly amazing what they could do with the primitive graphics and processing power available to them, to say nothing of a controller consisting of nothing more than a joystic plus a single button.
And, of course, at the time nobody was saying "in 20 years this thing called a PS2 will make this look like an Etch-A-Sketch." Instead, they were saying "This blows Pong away!"
Originally posted by Voxapps
Instead, they were saying "This blows Pong away!"
And it did! Pong sucked compared to Atari's "Combat"!
Originally posted by midwinter
And it did! Pong sucked compared to Atari's "Combat"!
Pong was an Atari game, too (came bundled with the 2600), but it was "late '70s technology."
Here's a trivia question (I don't know the answer): Activision had a successful game (top 10 seller) called "River Raid" that was written by a female developer, Carol Shaw. It was the first-ever vertically scrolling video game, at least on the Atari platform. Have there been any other Top 10 video games since then for which the lead or solo developer was a woman?
Originally posted by iPoster
BEEP BOOP BEEP BEEP BOOB HISS BEEP HISS BING!
HIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.....SCREEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH.....
Originally posted by Hassan i Sabbah
No. Strictly BASIC baby.
10 PRINT C$141 "HASSAN IS COOL"
20 GOTO 10
Dude, you know you have to add the semi-colon so it prints to the screen all the way across and gives you that cool diagonal effect.
Haxor Nick