Classic homecomputer games
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Classic home brew computer games, A small history[edit | edit source]
OK>Cload "cave.bas" OK>run
Player1 : <insert name here> Score : 120 Lives : 0
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In the early X days of home
computing X much of the
capabilities X of the devices
had to be X harnessed by the user
by programming X the machine it self.
usually all you X got was the system ,
a manual , some X leaflets and some
media for the X machine to store work.
If you were X smart you'd get yourself
a book about $ X programming, usually basic
on most Z80 X machines, and started writing
small pieces X of code. There where several
hobbyist books X on the
market with X various pieces
of code that X you then should
have typed in X yourself in order
to run it. These X programs often
ranged from just X several lines
of code to , for @ X example, simple
questionnaires that X $ stored data to a
cassette tape.Whilst X $$ most literature
at the time, late 70's X early 80's, tended
to focus mainly on the X serious applications
of the machines, say X accounting, business ,
communications there did X evolve a small
group of people who used the X machines for entertainment.
Mostly these peoples where young X electronic enthusiasts
who enjoyed mucking around with X personal computers
to see what they could get X out of them. lost
of these youngster ended up X either running
multimiliondollar X software companies
or in the X gutter mumbling random
snippets $ X of basic of pascal
code X and how they would have
been X A "contender". But out
of X these nerd filled basements
and $ X attics came a new form of
computer X art, if you will.
instead putting $ X these machines
to use crunching Dow X Jones index
numbers or figuring out X how to
use it X to analyse medical
information X @ this
generation X of technophiles
build X surprisingly complicated
looking software just for X entertainment.
Some of these people made X static
demonstration programs X ( or demo's )
to show off skill and X demonstrate
the maximum performance X one
could get out X of such a machine.
Others made X interactive games,
Due $ X to limitations, often
introduced @ X to cut price on
hardware, the X interaction
between dynamic X applications
and a user was terribly X $ difficult
to figure out. To X get smooth
results lots of X clever hacks were
needed to give X a program it's flowing feel.
Electronic games X where not new, they had been
around for X several years, Pong being the most
revered. @ XBut also Simon says, early Atari consoles
and lots of Xhandheld games that used circuit logic to
interact between X human and game where around at the
time. But all these XX systems were dedicated and didn't
offer Any creative control XX for the users.
The home computer changed thisX dramatically. With games coming
out at even increasing rates X and code sheets being swapped
all of the world the home X computer gaming industry
finally took shape. The X basis for almost all
the large game studios X that nowadays
are responsible for all X @ the big
multimillion dollar X $ development
costing games X like EA
or ID X find there
origins $ or X at $ least
lost of there X coders to
have there X roots $ $ at
that point X . Some
of these X systems
used to create X these
early pioneering X pieces of
software where MSX, XX Acorn BBC,
P2000T, Atari, Sharp XX MZ series and
ofcourse Spectrum Sinclair XX and commodore.
The Z80 systems where very popularX and with
the use of byte-code lots of X $ interoperable
programs where made. But byte-codeX lacked
speed and whilst interoperabilityX $ aimed at
a use user base, at this X time performance
started to be the bigger X factor in the choice
of computer. This XX was especially true for game
coders who, having $ XX reached the peak performance
capabilities of there XX systems over and over again
started writing more XX $ elaborate hacks. Writing
purely in machine XX code wasn't such a rare thing
those days. XX The small group of people, from who
almost XXX everybody nowadays has committed suicide
or Xare locked up in mental institutions, who mastered
this skill X could help take new software to new
levels on older XX machine, but eventually even this
wasn't enough. XX There was a cry from the
community for the XXX hardware developers
to take into account XXXX the needs of the
users and developers in XXXX @ certain field of
computing, floating point wasn'tXXX the main
focus for lots coders who wanted XXXX $ faster
easier graphics , polyphonic sound, X color,
sprites supported by hardware. Finally X $ the
new breed of systems that came out did X $ not
only focus on the paradigm XX of a CPU running
a program in order XX to run floating point
algorithms but also XX did complex graphics
and media. The Amiga and the XX Macintosh can
arguably be put on the sharedXX number one spot
as the user centric XX business machine and the
user centric X home machine. early games
Beginning $ $ X the revolution of electronic
game X entertainment we can't deny PONG and
simple concept that, X with a healthy amount
of imagination and several XX @ hours of psychedelic
game-play , could resemble X $ a tennis court and
two tennis players. This pioneerX meant hours
of fun and brain tumor inducing XX $ CRT radiation
for us youngsters back then. It XXX isn't all that
surprising that the early home XX $ brew game
coders started out imitating these earlyXX gems.
This effect resulted in a revival of X the old
and nearly forgotten hype in the X early 70's and
this shook awake the companies that, X at the time,
pushed this market. After all the X golden oldies where
imitated ad nausea on every X platform possible
people started to implement new X and original
ideas into games Tekst $ based X $ adventures being
the most famous. But also $ the X early simulators
started to appear and even $ X small endeavours in
multiplaying networked games $ X saw the first light.
at this times most games still X were sold on cassette
and in code form in books. One @ XX more famous concept was
called SKI also known as X pitfall ( not to be confused
with the arcade pitfall game ). X The objectives in these games
based on this concept varied but X that main deal was a symbol
for a figure, be it a skydiver, X skier of cavedweller, had to
be controlled through a course of X rock, clouds or skiramp.
During the evading process of the sidesX of the playing field
( and lose objects ) there could be X several point or health
gaining activities going on. In the X cave explorer type the
player could collect money or gold and X health points. The
skier had to catch slaloms in order to gain XXX # points.
Most of these games had a notion of levels that XXX### where
implemented by speeding up the falling process XXXand narrowing
the playingfield. An increase in obstacles and ###more diffuse
distribution of bonus items where used to make it # harder.
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