Atari 2600
Entry posted by Guest
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OK, to get things moving I thought I would post a little about how I came to start programming for the Atari 2600. Unlike many of the folks around here, I have only been programming the 2600 for a short time (since the beginning of 2005), and I still consider myself to be a newbie in the scene.Although I was around in the heyday of the 2600, I must admit that it passed me by completely. I only became interested in computers, and computer games, with the later advent of the 8-bit home micros, such as the ZX Spectrum, C64, Dragon, Apple 2, and BBC Micro (more on this another time). This is probably because the 2600 never achieved such great heights of popularity in the UK, and it was always a very expensive machine here. I vaguely remember seeing it in the shops, but I don't recall having any friends who owned one, or having played on one at the time. The other part of the problem was that you could persuade your parents that a home micro would be good for homework, but it was rather different to persuade them to buy a dedicated games machine! As a result, I gained a healthy interest in 8-bit micros, but the 2600 remained unexplored by me until recently.I will save the rediscovery of my love for 8-bit gaming for another blog entry. However, the catalyst for my discovery of the Atari 2600 was the publication of the UK-based Retro Gamer magazine. At the end of 2004, this magazine had a feature on the Atari 2600, and a small discussion of the 2600 homebrew scene. For some unknown reason, the idea of a group of people programming this ancient machine appealed to me, and I though this was something that I could get into! A week or two later, I spotted an old 2600 Jr at a car boot sale and purchased it, together with a small selection of cartridges. A few weeks more, and I had to attend a week-long workshop which gave me plenty of free time. During the workshop talks, and thanks to a wireless connection, I read through Kirks tutorials and discovered the AtariAge website! A few weeks more, and I had written a few simple examples and was struggling to get to grips with the TIA. The rest, as they say, is history ...Chris
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