Support NeoGAF

[cRIPticon]

Inspired by the similar Amiga thread, this one was started to discuss, good and bad, the older, and more limited, Commodore VIC-20. Why the hell would someone start a VIC-20 thread when we have the awesome might of the unholy PS3/XB360/Wii triad at our collective disposal? Well:

1) I started programming back on Trash 80's and the VIC-20 in the late 70's/early 80's
2) I have some very fond memories of that era of compute technology and exploration, akin to the western migration and panning for gold, as do many of my other friends in the games industry
3) The VIC-20 was an amazing machine to explore and could do things beyond it's meager specifications, in the right hands
4) Feeling nostalgic this morning. Plus, the cassette recorder for the machine had a ground wire that attached to NOTHING. Pretty boss!

So, with that, I present the humble, yet mighty, Commodore VIC-20!

Vitals*
(* Source: http://oldcomputers.net/vic20.html)

Released: January 1981
Price: US $299
CPU: MOS 6502, 1MHz
RAM: 5K (3.5K for the user)
Display: 22 X 23 text, 176 X 184, 16 colors max
Ports: composite video, joystick, cartridge, user port, serial peripheral port
Peripherals: cassette recorder, printer, modem, external floppy drive
OS: ROM BASIC

Some of the most impressive games on the VIC-20:

All images from the PICVIC site (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Alley/3583/pcvic.html

Avenger

Defender

DigDug

Donkey Kong

Jungle Hunt

Lode Runner

Matrix Blaster

Ms. PacMan

Robotron 2084

Star battle (Galaxian knockoff)


Links:

Boris's VIC-20 Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Alley/3583/Vindex.html
Commodore VIC-20 Tribute Page: http://www.geocities.com/rmelick/new_page_2.htm
Commodore VIC-20 computer: http://oldcomputers.net/vic20.html
Geek Site: The Commodore VIC-20: http://www.kdef.com/geek/vic/

 

[kaleii]

I never really used the Vic 20 myself, but my cousin had a Vic-16...

I had a Commodore 64 though, which was class.

 

[womp]

The lack of Cosmic Cruncher in this thread makes me ill.

 

[xemumanic]

I never really used the Vic 20 myself, but my cousin had a Vic-16...

I had a Commodore 64 though, which was class.

Yeah, I cant really speak on the VIC20, I had a C64.
But the VIC20 seems like a computer from the 2600 era.

 

[TTP]

WHERE IS OMEGA RACE?!?!

 

[Wollan]

My first computer-gaming device. I can vision my first game in my head but I don't know the name of it and it has been a futile hunt so far. (labyrint, shooting spiders and larvaes, spiders came in different colors..etc)

 

[pr0cs]

WERE IS OMEGA RACE?!?!

QFT

 

[haowan]

I started my gaming days with a Vic-20 and I was too young to really grasp programming for it, but I played a bunch of games.

My dad still makes the noise of bombs hitting buildings in "Blitz" every now and again. Boop boop boop boop BOOP boop.

My favourite game was a cartridge called "Serpentine" which was a snake-in-a-maze game where you had to pursue other snakes and eat them butt-first until you eat the head. Matron! There was also a mechanic where your last section would become an egg and if you protected it properly it would hatch and become an extra life. Great game!

I recently tried Cloudburst on an empulator and it wasn't as good as I remembered it. Spiders of Mars, by the same author, I recall as being good but I haven't played it since I had the actal hardware over 20 years ago now I guess.

 

[haowan]

boss!

Haha, extra kudos points to you for use of this word.

Great thread.

 

[ToxicAdam]

I was a c-64 kiddie. I never really liked the Vic-20 stuff, much cheaper to play an Atari instead.

But, without the Vic, there never would have been a C-64. So respect for it +1.

 

[The Elite]

Mine is sitting in the closet. The last time I hooked it up it didn't seem to work... but I might have been doing something wrong.

ALSO... I see no GORF.

FACT: GORF was supposed to be a tie-in for Star Trek: The Motion Picture

 

[Eric P]

i had one of these

the only game i recall specifically was crystal caverns

then a million of those "you program it" books

 

[cRIPticon]

The lack of Cosmic Cruncher in this thread makes me ill.

Indeed.

Cosmic Cruncher
(http://www.weekend-gamer.co.uk/Vic20/Index.htm) (NOTE: Tons of stuff here!)

Jupiter Lander
(http://users.adelphia.net/~bsturk/8bit.html)

Radar Rat Race
(http://www.flyingomelette.com)

the extremely rare Ultima Escape from Mt. Drash
(http://members.aol.com/barbgame/Drash/drash.html)

GORF
(http://www.weekend-gamer.co.uk/Vic20/Index.htm) (NOTE: Tons of stuff here!)

Just no time to grab screen shots this morning

 

[cRIPticon]

My first computer-gaming device. I can vision my first game in my head but I don't know the name of it and it has been a futile hunt so far. (labyrint, shooting spiders and larvaes, spiders came in different colors..etc)

Shamus?

 

[Wollan]

Shamus?

Nah, looking at that and doesn't ring a bell. I think the background might have been white and much more tighter labyrinth environment. Maybe the spiders could walk across the labyrinth, I'm not sure. Very vague memory.

 

[VNZ]

There's a crazy finish guy called Viznut/PWP who keeps on churning out the most awesome VIC-20 demos...

You need to check this out:
Page with info + links to decent quality AVI and YouTube version

 

[Spectral Glider]

Any Commodore fan needs to read this book:

http://www.variantpress.com/books/on-the-edge

I finished it this past weekend, great stuff. It's a little long winded in parts, but it's fascinating to read about what that company did in the industry's infancy. Terrible shame how it all ended because it was run by monkeys.

 

[womp]

Nah, looking at that and doesn't ring a bell. I think the background might have been white and much more tighter labyrinth environment. Maybe the spiders could walk across the labyrinth, I'm not sure. Very vague memory.

Necromancer?

Trolls and Tribulations?

 

[OnWarmerMusic]

My first gaming device, though I didn't do any programming for it. I had this crazy tooth-cleaning game, I think it was called "Tooth Invaders", and some text adventure game.

And I rocked it all on a b&w tv. Good times indeed.

 

[neopokekun]

You can't have a VIC20 thread without mentioning the fantastic Robotic Liberation demo, this is a good example of what you can do with an unexpanded VIC20.

EDIT

Star battle (Galaxian knockoff)

Made by HAL Laboratory. And who programmed it? Why Satoru Iwata of course. From the Digitpress guide:

Easter Eggs: The onscreen titles only show part of these internal messages: "(C) 1981 COMMODORE JAPAN THIS PROGRAM WAS WRITTEN BY - SATORU IWATA - APR.19.1981 HAL LABORATORY AKIHABARA TOKYO JAPAN".

 

[haowan]

You can't have a VIC20 thread without mentioning the fantastic Robotic Liberation demo, this is a good example of what you can do with an unexpanded VIC20.

Haha, that was awesome.

"we send fuckings to all who suggested that we should start using ram expansions"

PURE

 

[pubba]

There's a crazy finish guy called Viznut/PWP who keeps on churning out the most awesome VIC-20 demos...

I love this kind of stuff - it's incredible what he has has achieved considering the age and limitations of the hardware..

Wow.. if these demos had been released back in the VIC 20 days, they would have definitely done some heads in. Nice find - cheers

 

[Trojan X]

It was the Commodore 64 for me.

 

[SturokBGD]

Forget your Mario, your Zelda, your Halo, your Grand Theft Auto, even forget your Pac Man and your Space Invaders. Playing Omega Race on the VIC-20 for the first time is not only one of my strongest and boldest childhood memories, but the single reason I'm the video game nut I am today. Oh yes.

VIC-20 was also the first gaming system I ever accidentally broke. Family vacation visiting some relatives, I left a cartridge in the slot with the VIC-20 bouncing around in the trunk of the car, by journey's end the thing no longer worked with the RAM expansion cart plugged in. To this day I probably still have a couple of games somewhere that I've never played because they required the RAM pack, just pretty box art that's been there to taunt me for the last 25 years or so...

Plus, the cassette recorder for the machine had a ground wire that attached to NOTHING. Pretty boss!

THIS! YES!