Comments on: Priceless Memories, Now Just 99¢

By: Jim

Jim — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:15:36 +0000

Thanks for the post! I was an adult in grad school when I bought a copy of Basic Computer Games in 1985. I had Zenith PC that I'd bought to write my dissertation with. But what I most wanted to do was write computer programs. The machine didn't come with BASIC or any computer programming language. Eventually I got a copy of UTAH Basic by mail-order, but the manual seemed to be written in a foreign language. I couldn't figure out how to write even the simplest program until I found a copy of Basic Computer Games. Over 30 years later, I still write games and other programs as a hobby, and have used a variety of languages. Basic Computer Games started me off.

By: The Rampant Coyote

The Rampant Coyote — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:15:00 +0000

I still have both books, though the cover of the first one is held together with tape. They've held up well for being something like 30 years old.

I *wish* we still had books like this. Maybe we need to write 'em. These books were how I learned to write games.

By: Rubes

Rubes — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:41:27 +0000

Yep, "More" BASIC Computer Games is on their site as well, and you got the cover right. I don't specifically remember having that book, but there are a few games in it that I do remember quite well, like Baccarat, Eliza, and especially Camel. Camel formed the basis for a number of games I made on my own afterward, so I must have had that book as well.

By: Aaron A. Reed

Aaron A. Reed — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:24:22 +0000

Looks like the book got around. I learned a lot of BASIC programming typing in stuff from that book, and its sequel, which I think was called "MORE Basic Computer Games" and had a red cover (on which the bespeckled gentleman is now friends with *two* robots). The best part is I think I still have them both, in a box at my parent's house….

This was around the same time (1985ish) my uncle gave me a 5.25" floppy disk called (IIRC) "Solid Gold Classics," which contained Adventure, Eliza, Pong, and Conway's Life. Probably one of the most important single objects from my childhood in terms of its influence on my life, and not only because of Adventure…

By: AHAntics

AHAntics — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:27:32 +0000

Thank you SO much for reminding me of this! I just ordered one, too. My son's probably just old enough for us to be able to repurpose some of these for a modern programming language. Or maybe we'll just do it in good old BASIC. Wheee!

By: Jason Maskell

Jason Maskell — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:23:19 +0000

Wow! That brought back some memories. I remember that book extremely well.

I think I might follow you and buy a copy myself. I remember typing those in on my Coco 2 (and before that, my TI 99/4A).. A lot of them didn't work correctly – the basic dialect in that book was a little weird, IIRC.