Setup

Such pretty machines! The C64 was my first computer. I still remember it fondly.

I got mine 2nd hand with its manuals and several BASIC books in spanish. A diskette drive called 1741 was presented to me for free. At first it got no software or knowledge at all, so I got playing writing “x” on the TV and erasing those. The “x” were soldiers. ASCII games could be fun, they require very few memory, but lots of human imagination…

Then I would program BASIC games (a dice game from a large C64 book). After that a very long sound-making program called DEMOSON. It required saving it in the diskette, it took so long to write and correct errores.

Once I learned about its routines, I used those to write my first own game: it was a Russian Roulette simulator! It included a gunshot sound from DEMOSON, some randomized routines for the revolver chamber, and even red flashing screen and a loud scream for effect. Not bad!

It was better than play russian roulette with a real gun for sure.

Then I got COMMANDO, a C64 run and gun game, with great music. With SPACEBAR you throw hand grenades. It’s the first diskette game I can remember. But it was so much better than my BASIC game. :D