Showing posts with label 1991. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1991. Show all posts

Wednesday 28 May 2014

Memories of considering the Commodore Amiga 500...

Back in 1991 our well used Spectrum +2 was fully loved, however it didn't know it would soon be replaced... by the Amiga 500!

International Amiga Day is approaching us so just wanted to share some of my memories of the exciting time of upgrading our family computer.  Comment here or get involved on twitter: @rich_lloyd


We had always been a ZX Spectrum household.  First it was the rubber keys, then the +2.  Long loading times and 16 colours was the norm. A lot of my friends had speccys, so sharing games was frequent, the world of the ZX Spectrum was more than enough. Even the BBC Micro was exciting, mainly exposed to at school this tank like machine was great!

After joining secondary school there was a shake up in my world of computers. The Acorn Archimedes!  This was a machine from the future...

  • It had colours, bright clear screen which displayed crisp clean graphics. 
  • A MOUSE, wow this was science fiction right here. 
  • Disks, the quickest thing I'd ever witnessed
...this era of computing was about to change.  If you'd asked me right there if I wanted an Archimedes I would have said YES... but where are the games?  This amazing machine had the stigma of being an educational beast, not really your full all round home entertainment machine.

The Amiga 500 has entered the building

It was now becoming clear that the well loved ZX Spectrum was starting to fall behind and a new machine was about to replace it.  I remember very clearly going in to Dixons, Salisbury with my Dad to inspect the latest home computers and there it was the Amiga 500.  We asked for a demo of what the machine could do, and I will never forget what we experienced.  

Shadow of the Beast 2




First up was Shadow of the Beast 2.  After seeing the most amazing animation intro to any game of my life, the title screen appeared with the most beautiful music and stunning visuals.  We were instantly sold.  To this day the music is still stuck in my head.

Amiga Workbench




We were then shown the power of a multitasking computer when booting up the Amiga Workbench.  A clock in one window, some classical music being played in another.  There was also the power of desktop publishing (DTP), something we massively take for granted.  Produce documents which could be printed in your own home.  I could see this was ticking all of my Dad's boxes.

Deluxe Paint




Not to forget Deluxe Paint, Photoshop of it's day, this powerful art program was ground breaking.

Touch Me


The novelty of using a mouse was extremely exciting, a completely new way to interact with a computer.  The concept of Drawers (Folders) and Windows of icons was just pure wizardry.  Using the mouse for games was also a crazy thing, it wasn't a joystick!

I remember touching the keys was a joy, how they felt on the finger tips, solid.  This was a REAL keyboard it had Function keys and Amiga keys, WOW.

So it ticked all the boxes, games + art programs for me, desktop publishing + spreadsheets for my Dad. Everyone's a winner!

But before we handed over all our money we visited a friend with an Amiga just to double check it was all it was cracked up to be.  The main demo I remember is...

Puggs In Space




Again, seeing a full on animation on a home computer was mind blowing.  Watching a 'cartoon' on a computer and not a TV.

The Amiga 500 really was something special.  The quality of sound and visuals really were something new and exciting to experience.  The general feeling of power was felt every time you inserted a new disk for the first time.  When playing a game you never new what it was going to be like, but you knew it would be engaging.  You'd always be reassuringly hugged by the Amiga, no matter what.

The Amiga.  Friends forever.

Comment here or get involved on twitter: @rich_lloyd

Friday 7 March 2014

What I really wanted in October 1991... Amiga Computing issue 41 reveals all...

That's right, I recently sat down and browsed through an old Amiga Computing magazine I had... 

Issue 41 to be exact, why issue 41 I hear you not ask?  Well I've kept all the Amiga Format, Amiga Power and Amiga Computing magazines we ever had.  Recently in conversation the game Mega Lo Mania for the Amiga came up.  Turns out issue 41 of Amiga Computing had a review of that very game, and a great review too 93%.
Amiga Computing - Issue 41 - October 1991

As I was browsing... 

I came across one of those ads that advertised every game under the sun, there's plenty of them, this one was for 'Special Reserve'. Before I flicked the page over I realised, as a 12 year old kid, scribbled next to the things I wanted.  So I thought I'd share with you these things...

My wish list October 1991

The Amiga games/software I wanted in alphabetical order:
  • AMOS (Games Creator) - £32.99
    Yes as a 12 year old I was desperate to be a games programmer, I was so naive, but Google didn't exist so didn't know what was out there, this seemed to be the obvious choice.  I owe a lot to AMOS, it spring boarded my programming career! 
  • ELF - £16.49
    I remember now, for some reason the advertising for this game really appealed to me. To this day I've never played it, I must fire it up on my Amiga 1200.  I've got a feeling it had bad reviews.
  • HOLLYWOOD COLLECTION (Robocop, Ghostbusters 2, Indy Jones, Batman Movie) - 19.99
    Of course I wanted this, how awesome are these bunch of games! Never had this collection. Remember playing Robocop and being slightly disappointed. I'm assuming that was Indiana Jones and the last crusade, I played it on other platforms and loved it.  Never played Ghostbusters 2 or Batman Movie.
  • RAINBOW COLLECTION (Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, New Zealand Story) - £13.99
    Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands were a MASSIVE favourite on our ZX Spectrum. Remember seeing the vibrant colours on the Amiga version and really wanted to be in those worlds. I did play New Zealand Story in the end, but I don't think it had the same energy as the other 2 games.
OK so there were a couple of accessories I wanted too...

Many joystick options available back in the day, but the Quickshot Maverick was the one I wanted

  • Quickshot 138F Maverick 1 - £12.99
  • Roctec External Drive - £54.99
So I was after an awesome joystick and external floppy drive, never did get a joystick better than a standard Competition Pro, but did get the 2nd floppy drive about a year later.

And then there was the Nintendo Gameboy...

OK so I LOVED my Amiga, it was great then, and it still is today. At the time I never had a Nintendo product, they were top of their game and the Gameboy was so amazing.  This is what I wanted.  After months of my Mum pretending to not understand what a gamethingy was she secretly got me one for Xmas that year.


The Gameboy games I desperately wanted was Formula 1 Race (with four player adaptor) £29.49 and Super Mario Land £19.49.  What I find funny about this selection is that I didn't know ANYONE else with a Gameboy at the time, so no idea why I chose the four way adaptor.  Super Mario Land became a massive favourite of mine, but I never did get or play Formula 1 Race.

Yup they were the top things I wanted.  Nothing too exciting I know, but it's just funny looking back on things that a 12 year old me wanted.  When I look at all the other things on offer at the time, makes me chuckle.

Right I must get back to coding in Amiga Assembler...

Comment here or get involved on twitter: @rich_lloyd