My Computing History - Part 1

the Commodore 16

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Part 3 - Amiga

Part 4 - SNES

Part 5 - Win95

My Computing History - Part 1

This is the start of my computing history, what machines I had (or we had in the house) and my nostalgic connection to them

The first machine today is, the Commodore 16 - whilst not the first computer I used (or even the first we had in the house), this was MY first.

The Commodore 16 "Starter Pack"

I was about 6 or 7 ish (can't remember which) and I got a Commodore 16 for Christmas. I couldn't believe it, I had my own computer, this was awesome for me, but of course the C16 is not a very capable machine, not even for the time, however, fun was still had and I have such a nostalgic connection to the machine.

The machine came with the following software:

Xzap
Punchy
Rolf Harris Picture Builder
Starter Chess
Introduction to BASIC Part 1

The C16 Games Pack - Volume 1

Whilst this was not an official inclusion with the Commodore 16, I had this compilation also included, which had some pretty good games, but they were all written in BASIC and not really considered by many as a quality set of games, but this didn't matter, as I still found enjoyment with many of them.

I particularly liked:

Breakin
Blockade
Black Jack
Penetrator
Siege
2D Maze

Purchasing further games with my own pocket money

Like all kids, I wanted to expand my game collection, and I found the place to do that when we used to go on trips to "Wellesbourne Market", where I found a stall with pretty much as many games as I could possibly and conceivably think about, all for pocket money prices (we're talking £1, £2, £3 ish) - some notable highlights were:

Bomb Jack (pictured)
Bomb Jack II
Frank Bruno's Boxing (I had the "Commemorative Edition" version)
Paperboy

Some awesome games for Christmas one year

So one year, I got 3 games for Christmas, and two of these got extensive play, one because I'm a fan of the genre and the other because my brother is, and we played that together

Formula 1 Simulator

I love racing games - granted, this was very basic and quite a repetitive experience, but this was the nearest experience I had to driving an F1 car on screen, so this was the dogs bollocks for me, until I saw better games later in life

Football Manager

Now this got a LOT of play - me and my brother would play this together, managing our teams and getting them from Division 4 to Division 1 (that's how old it was, it was before "The Premiership" - disappointingly, the C16 version has no graphics, but this didn't take away from the enjoyment

I also got Scooby Doo, but after playing that a couple of times, I got a bit bored of that one.

Further recommendations

In more recent times, I recommend the following titles to give a go on the C16:

Big Mac (pictured)
Mr Puniverse (also pictured)
Pacmania (more of a standard Pac Man clone)
Dizasterblaster (a great shooter)
Way Of The Exploding Fist
Paperboy (not the best port, but still ok)
Bomb Jack (not the best, but enjoyable)

Conclusion

Whilst the C16 was not the best machine to come out of Commodore, it really did have it's charm.

The C16 was considered a marketing mistake by Commodore, initially intended to replace the ageing VIC-20 for the low end market of people who could not afford a C64, but, with the Amiga looking round the corner, the C64 became that budget option.

Yeah, the C16 is an oddity in the retro computing scene, but that black breadbin case with grey keyboard looked a lot nicer than the C64's brown colour scheme.

What also didn't help with the C16 was that it was kneecapped, it had no hardware scrolling or sprite support, the sound chip was basic (nowhere near as good as the SID in the C64) and the graphics, well, they're ok in still screens, but the C16 didn't have much memory for pulling off anything too crazy.

Do I like the C16?

I love it, some of it because of the nostalgia I have behind the machine, some of it because it's a weird underdog of a computer with an oddly still rather active scene. If you're interested in retro gaming/computing and want something a little different, then you should get a C16 or even a Plus/4 (which is a 64k version of the C16 in a different case)

I've got my C16 upgraded to 64k, so it's essentially a Plus/4 in most ways. Once you have either and upgraded C16 or Plus/4, you unlock the power of the platform, and there's some really interesting stuff that's been made for these systems.

What's next?

For "Part 2", I'll be talking about the Amstrad CPC 6128 - keep your eyes peeled for that one coming.