Fun and Games with the Computer: Hobbyist Game Programming

in the Microcomputer Era

Matthew Wells, PhD Student, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto

investigating the relationships between the hardware
and software design of standardized computing
systems platforms and the creative works
produced on those platforms. [1]

o In the 1970s, the costs of
computer components memory,
CPU, etc. began to fall
dramatically.
o By the late 1970s, the home
computer a small, standalone
machine designed (in part) for the
hobbyist home programmer
arrived. These machines were
also known as microcomputers.
o Microsoft BASIC licensed to most major vendors,
became the lingua franca of home computing.
o Most machines boot directly to BASIC interface,
allowing for instant coding (see C64 screen on right).

o Problem: microcomputers competed with early game
consoles (e.g. Atari VCS) for in-home market.
o Solution: vendors marketed their computers as both
gaming and programming/learning machines (see text
from print ad on right).
o Proliferation of third-party books and magazines
featuring type-in BASIC programs in 1970s & 1980s.
o Programming itself often presented as play, and/or as
a puzzle to solve (see text and images on right).
o The player/programmer emerges as the user that
programs and plays games dialectically; programming
becomes an essential component of play.
Sure, it plays the great games that kids love. But the VIC-20 can
also improve learning skills. In fact, it uses the same computer
language taught in school on the Commodore PET. So students
learning on the PET in class can practice computing at home on
the VIC.

- Text from VIC-20 print ad, retrieved from www.retrocrush.com/archive2/retrocomputers/

[O]ne of the best things about typing in programs yourself is that
you can see exactly how another programmer created the effects
you want to use in your own games. You may soon find that the
best computer game of all is programming games for other people
to play!

- (COMPUTE!s first book of VIC games, 1983, p.8)
Images:
Book covers: http://www.bombjack.org/commodore/
Commodore 64 screen: http://www.city-data.com/forum/computers/
Puzzle corner images: Isaaman, D., & Tyler, D. (1982). Computer
spacegames. London, UK: Usborne Publishing.
Text:
COMPUTE!s first book of VIC games. (2011). Greensboro, NC:
COMPUTE! Publications.
Bagnall, B. (2011). Commodore a company on the edge. Variant
Press.
Ceruzzi, P. (2003). A history of modern computing. Cambridge, MA:
The MIT Press.
ARRIVAL OF THE MICRO

o Game modding has emerged to
become a powerful means by which
players can customize their games.
o Typical tools include level editors,
character editors, and environment
editors (e.g. a physics model editor).
o Dialectical practice: playing informs
modding, and vice versa.
THE PLAYER/PROGRAMMER TODAY
THE PLAYER/PROGRAMMER EMERGES
o The Python programming language
has become popular with hobbyist
programmers, due both to its simple
syntax and rich feature set.
o Like Microsoft BASIC, Python offers
immediate mode coding.
o Python increasingly recognized as
platform for hobbyist game
programmers.

REFERENCES