• Category Archives Commodore 64

  • The best selling computer model of all time

  • Computer Arcana » Commodore 64

  • Zzap! 64 (April 1992)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Zzap! 64 – Issue Number 83 – April 1992

    I have no doubt this would have been my favorite magazine for a time if it had been available in the U.S. Most of my early game playing experience (after the Atari 2600 of course) was on a Commodore 64. The April 1992 issue includes:

    Features

    • Budokan – Review of this fighting game from Electronic Arts. Reminds me a bit of Yie ar Kung Fu.
    • The Shoe People – An educational game featuring shoes from First Class/Gremlin that, as far as I know, never made it to the U.S.
    • Alien World – A pretty solid sci-fi themed shooter from Hi-Tec.
    • Indy Heat – A top down racing game that is a follow up to and of the same style as Super Off-Road (except featuring indy cars).
    • Reviews – In addition to the above games, there are also reviews for 3D Pool, Castle Adventure, Demon Blue, Desert Island, Famous Five, Flippit, Game Over II, Ghouls ‘N’ Ghosts, Jimmy’s Soccer, Messenger, Mansion Quest, Midnight Resistance, Mission X, Moontorc, Q10 Tankbuster, and Zoomerang.

    Regularz

    • Zzap! Zone – Tips for April Fools Day.
    • Tapeworm – This month’s cover tap includes the games Uridium and Yabba Dabba Doo!, plus a demo of Space Gun, and pattern making software called Kaleidoscope.
    • Light Up Your Life! – A competition to win a 5.25″ disk drive.
    • Stuff – Thalamus to release soccer game; a look at the upcoming movie Hook, and more.
    • Previews – Previews of Brides of Dracula, Space Crusade, Striker in the Crypts of Chaos, and World Cricket.
    • PD File Returns! – A look at a public domain game for the Commodore 64 called Galax-I-Birds II (shoot-em-up).
    • Whiplash Whispers – Letters from readers about a cartridge version of Battle Command, adventure game coverage, game ratings, and more.
    • Walter’s No Wally! – An interview with Walter Pooley, maker of adventure games such as Castle Adventure.
    • Whiplash Scores – Reader high scores for games such as Boulderdash IV, Creatures, NARC, Midnight Resistance, Super Off-Road, Hudson Hawk, Navy S.E.A.L.S., Paradroid, Smash T.V., Robocop II, Super Space Invaders, and lots of others.
    • It’s Corky! – Tips and cheats for Rainbow Islands, The Jetsons, Logical, Paradroid, Batalyx, and others
    • Flashback – A look at older games now available at bargain prices including 3D Pool, Ghouls ‘N’ Ghosts, Midnight Resistance, and Game Over II.
    • Megamix – A look at recent game compilations including 2 Hot 2 Handle (Shadow Warriors, Golden Axe, Total Recall, Super Off-Road) and Multimixx 4 (Gauntlet, The Deeper Dungeons, Guantlet II).
    • Get Some Brides On Your Back! – A competition featuring Dracula and a leather jacket.

    …and more!


    Commodore 64 Computer Arcana Retro Games 📎and tagged

  • Compute!’s Gazette (June 1984)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Compute!’s Gazette – Issue Number 12 – June 1984

    Gazette was Compute!’s most successful spin-off magazine. It covered Commodore’s 8-bit computers, primarily the Commodore 64 but also, at times, the VIC-20, C-16/Plus 4, and Commodore 128. The June 1984 issue includes:

    Features

    • The Future Of Commodore Games – A look at some of the more mature and complex games coming to the Commodore 64. Some specific titles looked at here include Seven Cities of Gold, B.C.’s Quest For Tires, King’s Quest, Sorcerer, Blade of Blackpool, Infidel, Space Ace, and others.
    • Inside View: The Designers Behind M.U.L.E. – An interview with Dan Bunten, Bill Bunten, Jim Rushing, and Alan Watson, designers of M.U.L.E.

    Games

    • 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe – A type-in 3D Tic-Tac-Toe game for the VIC-20 and Commodore 64.
    • Castle Dungeon – A type-in graphics adventure game featuring hidden bombs to find, blind monsters to avoid, and evil wizard, and more. For the VIC-20 and Commodore 64.
    • Revenge of Cyon – A type-in game for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 in which you must destroy ships from the Cyon Empire. It’s sort of a cross between Space Invaders and Missile Command.
    • The Frantic Fisherman – A type-in fishing game for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 in which you must also avoid shards and thunderstorms.

    Reviews

    • Arcade-Style Games For The VIC-20 – A review of two games for the VIC-20, Skramble! and Gridder. The former seems to be the better game.
    • Easy Script: Word Processor For The 64 – Review of this word processor for the Commodore 64 from Commodore. This was a pretty good word processor for its time.
    • Worms? For The 64 – A one to four player worm training game for the Commodore 64.
    • IFR (Flight Simulator) For The VIC-20 – Given the limitations of the hardware, this was a pretty good flight simulator for the VIC-20.

    Education/Home Applications

    Computing For Families: New Standards In Home Learning, Part 2 – The second in a series of articles on using computers for education at home. It includes discussion of the best computers and software to use, guidelines for parents, and more.

    Therapy – A more advanced version of Eliza to type-in for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20.

    Spelling Critter – A type-in educational spelling game for the VIC-20 and Commodore 64.

    Shape Match – A type-in shape matching game for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20.

    Word Scramble – A type-in game for the Commodore 64 in which you must unscramble words.

    Programming

    • The Beginner’s Corner: Planning A Game Program – How to design and implement a game using Tic-Tac-Toe as an example.
    • Inside Random Numbers – A look at how random numbers are generated on the VIC-20 and Commodore 64.
    • Power BASIC: One-Touch Keywords – A type-in utility that provides shortcuts for the 52 most common BASIC keywords on the VIC-20 and Commodore 64.
    • Machine Language For Beginners: Indirect Addressing – A tutorial on indirect indexing with machine language.
    • File Copier – A type-in utility for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 that will copy files from one disk to another using a single disk drive.
    • Hints & Tips: Appending Sequential Disk Files – A How-To for appending data to sequential files. I once wrote a journaling program on the Commodore 64 that did something like this.
    • Scroll 64 – A type-in machine language routine that lets you control scrolling from within a BASIC program.
    • Tape Data files For VIC and 64 – Examples for setting up, writing to, and reading from tape files from BASIC on the VIC-20 and Commodore 64.
    • VIC 5K Emulator – A technique for emulating having only 5K of RAM on the VIC-20 and memory expansion is installed for programs that are incompatible.
    • Tape Protection For VIC An 64 – Techniques for protecting files on tape from being copied on the VIC-20 and Commodore 64.
    • All About PRINT For VIC And 64 – A guide to using BASIC PRINT statements on the Commodore 64 and VIC-20.

    Departments

    • Editor’s Notes – A look at the growth of Gazette over its first 12 issues (with a circulation of more than 300,000). Plus, a letter on software piracy.
    • Gazette Feedback – Letters from readers about reading joystick input, using PEEK and SYS commands, double sided floppies, and more.
    • Simple Answers To Common Questions – Questions answered about machine language vs. assembly and disk drive commands.
    • Home Telecommunications – A look at using the various services on networks such as Delphi, CompuServe, and others.
    • Horizons 64 – A look at Blue Max, a new game from Synapse; a look at an Apple emulator for the Commodore 64 called the AP Modular Pak; and a comparison of the PCjr and Commodore 64.
    • VICreations – A look at new games and educational programs on the VIC-20 including Kindercomp (Human Engineered Software), Type Attack (Sirius Software), Write Now! (Cardco), Skyblazer (Broderbund), Donkey Kong (Atarisoft), Laser Zone (Human Engineered Software), and Capture the Flag (Sirius Software).
    • News And Products – A look at new products including keyboard overlays for the VIC-20 and Commodore 64, a cassette backup program from Creative Electronics, Seek-Bible for the VIC-20, PET, and Commodore 64, Doodle! graphics program for the Commodore 64, a parallel interface board for the VIC-20, Roadsearch computerized maps, and more.

    …and more!


    Commodore 64 Computer Arcana 📎and tagged

  • Compute!’s Gazette (November 1984)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: ompute!’s Gazette – Issue Number 17 – November 1984

    Compute!’s Gazette was one of a few popular Commodore 64 magazines that were published in the U.S. Though it covered other 8-bit Commodore computers at times like the VIC-20, Commodore 128 and Plus/4, the bulk of its coverage through the years was for the Commodore 64. The November 1984 issue includes:

    Features

    • Bulletin Board Fever – An introduction to BBSing. BBS systems had been around for a while at this point but Commodore specific ones were rapidly gaining in popularity. This article guides you through your first call to a BBS.
    • A Buyer’s Guide to Modems – A comparison of more than 20 different modems ranging in price from $49 (Commodore VICmodem) to $289 (Hayes Smartmodem 300). All are only 300bps.
    • GAZETTE Telecommunications Software, Part 1: C/G Term – A type-in terminal program for the VIC-20 and Commodore 64.
    • Inside View: Freefall Associates – An interview with Jon Freeman and Anne Westfall, designers of Archon and Archon II: Adept.

    Reviews

    • EasyDisk – A utility designed to make managing disks (formatting, renaming files, etc.) easier.
    • MusiCalc – A difficult to use but powerful music program for the Commodore 64 and SID.
    • Adventure Creator – A cartridge-based program for the Commodore 64 that allows you to design your own adventure games.
    • Drol And Spare Change for the Commodore 64 – Two arcade style games from Broderbund for the Commodore 64. I’m not familiar with these two games specifically but Broderbund made some outstanding games (like Spelunker and Raid on Bungeling Bay).
    • Also Worth Noting – Briefer reviews of Raid on Bungeling Bay, PuzzlePanic, Gumball, 64-Accounting, Montezuma’s Revenge, and Satan’s Hollow.

    Games

    • Bagdad – This type-in game for the VIC-20 and Commodore 64 reminds me a bit of games like Joust.
    • Jump – This type-in game for the VIC-20 and Commodore 64 is sort of a cross between Space Invaders and Missile Command.
    • Supertank – In this type-in game for the Commodore 64 you must destroy other tanks before they destroy you.
    • Descent to Kaylon – In this type-in game for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20, you must land your ship for resupply while avoiding asteroids and other obstacles.

    Education/Home Applications

    • Computing For Families: A Look At New Books From “Reggie” D’Ignazio – A brief look at various new books including The Commodore 64 Home Companion, Computer FUNdamentals, The Beginner’s Computer Dictionary, The Computer Alphabet Book, The Commodore Puzzle Book: BASIC Brainteasers, At the Heart of the Mountain: A BASIC Adventure for the Commodore 64, and more.
    • Budgeteer – A type-in program for the VIC-20 and Commodore 64 that helps you balance your budget.

    Programming

    • BASIC Magic: The Four Most Important BASIC Commands – A look at four commands that can help you get started quickly with BASIC: PRINT, GOTO, FOR-NEXT, and INPUT.
    • Machine Language for Beginners: Getting Started – An introduction to machine language including a type-in assembler.
    • Power BASIC: Slowpoke – A short machine language program that allows you to control the speed of the PRINT command.
    • Hints & Tips – Tips for adding comments to machine language programs, LISTing BASIC programs to a file, and more.
    • Programming Sound and Graphics With The Super Expander 64 – The Super Expander 64 is a cartridge from Commodore for the C64 that adds a variety of powerful graphics and sound commands to BASIC.
    • Function Key – A type-in utility for the VIC-20 and Commodore 64 that lets you define the function keys.
    • Disk Auto Load – A type-in utility for the Commodore 64 that lets you modify your programs so that they will automatically run when loaded.

    Departments

    • The Editor’s Notes – A commentary on the new Amiga which had just been shown in prototype form at the June CES.
    • Gazette Feedback – Letters from readers on the purpose of DATA statements, reading joystick movements, turning off the disk drive when not in use, implementing cursor control, connecting a printer to the SX-64, and more.
    • Simple Answers To Common Questions – A discussion on troubleshooting modem connections.
    • Horizons: 64 – An in-depth look at the new Commodore Plus/4.
    • VICreations: VIC Mailbag – Letters from readers about adjusting the speed of the 1541 disk drive for the VIC-20, converting BASIC programs from the C64 to VIC-20, using VIC-20 sound with a BMC monitor, using a Commodore 1526 printer with the VIC-20, and more.

    …and more!


    Commodore 64 Computer Arcana 📎and tagged