What 8-Bit Computer Did You Grow Up With?

[onthinice]

[Greyfox]

Thanks.  I recall getting tired of loosing at "Strip Poker," and in a moment of desperation, figured out how to "hack" the game to start with the nudies first.  LOL!

Necessity is indeed the mother of invention! :lol:

Well at least it wasn't as embarrassing to be found at your computer in nothing but a pair of under wear in front of a TV, because you where continually losing at Artworx's Strip Poker up against Melissa  :113:

[onthinice]

[TL]

Thanks.  I recall getting tired of loosing at "Strip Poker," and in a moment of desperation, figured out how to "hack" the game to start with the nudies first.  LOL!

Necessity is indeed the mother of invention! :lol:

Well at least it wasn't as embarrassing to be found at your computer in nothing but a pair of under wear in front of a TV, because you where continually losing at Artworx's Strip Poker up against Melissa  :113:

Classic  :4:

[onthinice]

Weirdos  :21:

[Cryptic33]

Just seen this thread so here goes.

Having been introduced to the 2600, I was fascinated with how games were made. Not from an in depth programming viewpoint but just how did they do that curiosity. My first wife, a lovely woman, could see my interest in the new world of home computing even though I couldn't afford a machine of my own back then. However, as time went on, the prices became more affordable and one Christmas she bought me an Atari 800 XL and 1050 disk drive package from Dixons.

I was very pleased that year and spent many hours reading, dabbling with programming in BASIC and of course, playing games. It became a bit of an obsession and though I eventually bought a 130 XE, I still have some of the original equipment from all those years ago.

I once spent many, many hours typing in code from a magazine only to find it would not run. That was a little off-putting though I still have an interest in how gifted people turn ideas in to games.

Hmm it must have been some 15 years or more later when I introduced my daughter (about 5) to the computer. I remember a public domain game called Doggies from Page 6 magazine. Simple but fun and I also had some stories that had some graphics and sound effects that we read together. Wow, I feel old now. You see, next Tuesday is her birthday and we are going to make ice cream together. She will be 22!

Funnily enough, only last week I introduced her boyfriend (I fully approve of this one) to the world of retro gaming on the Jaguar. He was impressed ha :21:

I could go on and on down memory lane but I won't I feel privileged to have been a young man when home computing became mainstream. It holds many fond memories for me. Here is a picture of the game I mentioned earlier:
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[SnakeEyes]

I had a CPC 464, but with the colour monitor.

Thing is with the colour monitor it had quite a sharp picture and fair enough it was easy to laugh about it when you were looking at agreen screen but bring the colour monitor into it and its a whole new story.

I knew loads of people with Speccys and C64's and not one of them took the mick after seeing Robocop, switchblade, Pand, Rick dangerous, Chase HQ, and Gryzor in full colour on the amstrad.

[guest5132]

I grew up with an Acorn Electron, it didn't match the power of my friends C64, but it still had some great games on it. 

I would spend hours typing in games from magazines only for them not to work, and having to spend even longer figuring out where i'd mis-keyed something.  All that left with with an attachment to BASIC i still can't let go of (if i have to write something simple i'll usually head to FreeBasic than something else).

[Akuza]

Commodore 64 was mine, Robocop and trivial pursuit were the main games we started out with.

Still own it now from back when it launched boxed and all

[zapiy]

Some awesome replies in here guys. Brilliant to read.

[guest5590]

Amstrad CPC 464 for me, but the poverty version with a green screen monitor for many years.  Everything changed one birthday though, when my parents bought me a TV modulator and I finally got to experience all those green games in glorious colour.  I grew up around other kids with Spectrums and C64's but for me, they don't come close to those trademark blocky, vibrant CPC visuals and plinky plonky sounds.  A select few games really made the Amstrad shine - mostly covered a couple of posts up!

[MadCommodore]

I grew up with a C64 mostly.

My first experience with a computer, at the school computer club, was a Sinclair ZX81. It was in our Physics classroom with my teacher who looked exactly like Jimmy Carter! Later on we did get ZX Spectrums but I got my own computer by then so was at home.

I got a VIC-20 starter pack (with C2N, 4 games and Introduction to BASIC part one pack) for Xmas in 1982. Didn't have it for a few months only so I never appreciated how good it was as most of the games I had bought were rubbish. Decades later however I got to see some REALLY awesome games on it and it is a really underappreciated machine here in the UK but really look into this machine.

After a few months the VIC-20 stopped working and the shop had none to exchange so they offered to sell my father a Commodore 64 for full retail price reduction to the price we paid for the VIC-20 Starter Pack at Xmas luckily and the sales guy let us keep the C2N, who btw looked like the tall guitarist from Duran Duran haha. That was the computer that really defined my taste in music and games for the rest of my life really.

So Atari 2600 (my first machine of all but never used it like a computer with any expansion) and C64 all moulded my idea of what video games should be like. Fast, great sound, colourful and viciously addictive and easy to get into.

[davyk]

An Oric-1, then when that died on me a CPC-464 (with green screen - though I got a modulator for it that allowed me to connect it to a colour TV).

Enjoyed both machines. Obviously the Oric didn't have great support but at the time I was into programming so I got a lot out of creating simple games like Video Poker etc on the machine.  It did get the odd good game - Ocean did an excellent port of Hunchback for it for example.

The 464 was a nice machine. It got probably the definitive version of Jet Set Willy called JSW-The Final Frontier with bugs fixed and extra space levels etc. I mapped that game out on a piece of A2 paper. Other highlights were a lovely version of Bombjack that I played to death , 3D Starfighter, Spindizzy, Bubble Bobble, Fruit Machine Simulator, Chuckie Egg, Thrust (1 & 2), Gauntlet II, Infiltrator, Leaderboard and a game called ATF - Advanced Tactical Fighter. I programmed quite a bit on the old 464 as well.

[MadCommodore]

The Oric 1 was a massive hit in France in the early days of home computer sales and made up the bulk of Loriciels business amazingly. Don't have one yet so still looking forward to the real machine (played some games on the emulator though which was fun).

[davyk]

The Oric Atmos is the followup with a tweaked BASIC ROM ironing out a few bugs and a far superior keyboard. Probably the better machine to go for.