IF/THEN/ELSE
[click for bigger image] Yep, that's me on Christmas morning with my Vic 20 personal computer. Specs:ROM 16Kb. RAM 5Kb (3.5Kb user memory) expandable to 32Kb. Screen: 22 columns by 23 rows. Screen dot matrix: 176 by 184 with up to 16 colours. Sound: 3 voices plus white noise. Media Tape drive (controlled by VIC), Disk Drive, Printer.
Yet I felt like I had all the power in the world at my fingertips. 16 colors! I played Clowns and Pac-Man to my heart's content until I discovered the world of adventure games.
Pirate's Cove. The Count. Adventureland. Voodoo Castle.
Hours, days, weeks passed where I would do nothing but go on adventures.
I learned to program BASIC and set to work making my own very simple adventure games, word processing programs and arcade games. None of them were very well done, but the thrill of being able to make programs myself was unbeatable.
Eventually, I stuck the Vic20 in the closet when it's sexier, sleeker update, the Commodore 64, came out.
And here I am, all these years later with a computer to die for and what do I do with it? I play text adventure games all day.
Comments
Aw. You look so cute in that picture.
I had a TRS-80.
Then an Apple 2E.
D
Posted by: David Strain | July 26, 2003 10:50 AM
Yeah, I've got the 128mb 3DO graphics card for playing solitaire. Just Windows Solitaire, not even a fancy 3rd party version.
Posted by: a different Bill | July 26, 2003 10:51 AM
Did anyone else have an ADAM?
Posted by: Steve of Norway | July 26, 2003 10:52 AM
Was Pirate's Cove a predecessor of Sid Meier's Pirates!? I loved that game and I've always heard it was originally made for the Commodore.
Posted by: a different Bill | July 26, 2003 10:54 AM
My boyfriend built mine, so I have no idea what it is! It works great though, so I'm happy. Have fun with Blogathon and good luck!
Posted by: ~Mel | July 26, 2003 11:00 AM
I hate you for putting up that link to Zork.
I played it for days on end on moms commodore. ack! Run away from the game!!
Posted by: kat | July 26, 2003 11:09 AM
I had the superior Apple IIc and spent many an hour playing the best text-adventure of all time, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
and like you, it's 25 or so years on and one of my Big Computer Moments was when I discovered the very same game in Java....and Ii'm playing it again.
Posted by: Jane Finch | July 26, 2003 11:15 AM
Man, you guys were livin' large. All I had was a Lite-Brite by Hasbro.
Posted by: Anna | July 26, 2003 11:38 AM
I loved Pirates Cove, and Savage Island too.
Posted by: Ith | July 26, 2003 01:53 PM
OMG!! I can't believe I came across this site. I LOVED Pirates Cove and VooDoo Castle.. For the life of me, I could not remember their names...Alas.. Now I just have to find a way to play them online or something... AH That would make me Verrrry Happy :)
Posted by: Dawn | August 3, 2003 09:12 PM
Wow, reading your comments takes me back. I worked all summer with my dad when I was in Junior High. I bought my own Vic 20 with all my major wages...for something like $100 at the time! I also learned all about programming on it. Spent hours programming in different songs, then actually writing my programs down in a notebook....until I finally got a cassette to tape my programs. I also graduated to a C64 and spent more hours programming my own Sprite graphics and creating more advanced music.
I grew up to become a mainframe computer. Went to work for IBM, working on the Space Shuttle program...later went to work for Caterpillar in the midwest.
Just bought a VIC20 on ebay & all the scott adams games and am working on rewriting them in Visual Basic. Hey, does anyone remember how to get the shovel out fo the cave? Or how to get past the crocs? Or how to get to treasure island?!?!? If so, email me at: mark_8675309@mchsi.com !
Happy Gaming!
C. Mark
Posted by: Mark | August 28, 2003 07:19 AM