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Micro Power
Micro Power was a British company established in the early 1980s by former accountant Bob Simpson. The company was best known as a video game publisher, originally under the name Program Power. It also sold many types of computer hardware and software (both its own and third-party) through its Leeds 'showroom' or via mail order. Games From 1980 to 1987 the company published a number of video games and other software for various home computers. The earliest programs were released for the Acorn Atom but Micro Power is best remembered for its games for that machine's successor, Acorn's BBC Micro (with all but two of its post-Atom games running on that machine). A large selection of games that could be (and weren't considered 'too old') were ported to the Acorn Electron after its release in 1983 and most new games were now released for these 2 machines in 1984. A few were also ported to other 8-bit platforms including Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum but these never achiev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Computer Software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists of machine language instructions supported by an individual processor—typically a central processing unit (CPU) or a graphics processing unit (GPU). Machine language consists of groups of binary values signifying processor instructions that change the state of the computer from its preceding state. For example, an instruction may change the value stored in a particular storage location in the computer—an effect that is not directly observable to the user. An instruction may also invoke one of many input or output operations, for example displaying some text on a computer screen; causing state changes which should be visible to the user. The processor executes the instructions in the order they are provided, unless it is instru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Read-only Memory
Read-only memory (ROM) is a type of non-volatile memory used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be electronically modified after the manufacture of the memory device. Read-only memory is useful for storing software that is rarely changed during the life of the system, also known as firmware. Software applications (like video games) for programmable devices can be distributed as plug-in cartridges containing ROM. Strictly speaking, ''read-only memory'' refers to memory that is hard-wired, such as diode matrix or a mask ROM integrated circuit (IC), which cannot be electronically changed after manufacture. Although discrete circuits can be altered in principle, through the addition of bodge wires and/or the removal or replacement of components, ICs cannot. Correction of errors, or updates to the software, require new devices to be manufactured and to replace the installed device. Floating-gate ROM semiconductor memory in the form of era ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doctor Who And The Mines Of Terror
''Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror'' is a game for the Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro and Commodore 64. It was first released by Micro Power on the BBC Micro in 1985, and on the Amstrad CPC & C64 in 1986. Gameplay left, In-game screenshot (BBC Micro) The game's play centres on the player's character of the Doctor (specifically his sixth incarnation), and his robotic programmable cat Splinx. The goal of the game is to halt the Master's production of Heatonite, retrieve stolen plans for the Time Lords, and return safely. The game's screen always has the player in the centre, and depending on the direction of movement, the entire screen scrolls horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. The player can move freely, but can die in many ways: monster attack, robot attack, too great a fall, forced regeneration, lack of oxygen, and sharp spikes. Enemies include patrolling robots that resemble the Daleks; however, the actual name and exact design of the Daleks was not used due to the rights t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castle Quest (BBC Micro)
''Castle Quest'' is action-adventure game for the BBC Micro noted at the time of release as being the best game on the platform in its genre for its problem solving, colourful graphics and smooth scrolling. Gameplay The game is set in a wizard's castle, the player's task being to find the treasure. It employs "very smooth" side-scrolling (termed 'Scrollerama') and imperfect vertical scrolling. Play includes climbing ladders, which are sufficiently wide to simplify this aspect of gameplay. Various objects can be found and used to solve problems. These include everyday items, furniture, specialist equipment and valuables. Other characters include guards, animals, a witch and the wizard. Control is via the keyboard, with 13 keys having various uses, for example accessing the inventory of objects carried in the backpack, viewing off-screen to left/right. Play requires both dexterity and lateral thinking. A saved game facility is not provided. Scores are awarded based on progre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arcade Adventure
Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * Arcade (architecture), a series of adjoining arches * Shopping mall, one or more buildings forming a complex of shops, also sometimes called a shopping arcade Arcade or The Arcade may also refer to: Places Greece * Arcades (Crete), a town and city-state of ancient Crete, Greece Italy * Arcade, Italy, a town and commune in the region of Veneto United States * Arcade Building (Asheville, North Carolina) * Arden-Arcade, California * Arcade, Georgia, a city in Jackson County * Arcade (village), New York * Arcade (town), New York * The Arcade (Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts), a historic site in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts * The Arcade (Providence, Rhode Island), a historic shopping center * Arcade, Texas Arts and entertainment Books and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electron User
''Electron User'' was a magazine targeted at owners of the Acorn Electron microcomputer. It was published by Database Publications of Stockport, starting in October 1983 and ending after 82 issues in July 1990. Initially it was included as a 16-page pullout supplement to '' The Micro User'' but after four such editions it became a standalone title and within a year had grown to an average length of around 64 pages. The focus was news stories, type-in programs and software reviews. It also contained cheat codes and a long-running column on adventure games initially by "Merlin" in a column entitled "Merlin's Cave" and subsequently by "Pendragon". Its advertisers included the top BBC/Electron games distributors of the day, such as Acornsoft and Superior Software. Often the April-dated edition of the magazine included an April Fools' Day joke, generally consisting of a short machine code type-in listing which claimed to do something extremely useful and of wide interest but whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clone (video Games)
A video game clone is either a video game or a video game console very similar to, or heavily inspired by, a previous popular game or console. Clones are typically made to take financial advantage of the popularity of the cloned game or system, but clones may also result from earnest attempts to create homages or expand on game mechanics from the original game. An additional motivation unique to the medium of games as software with limited compatibility Compatibility may refer to: Computing * Backward compatibility, in which newer devices can understand data generated by older devices * Compatibility card, an expansion card for hardware emulation of another device * Compatibility layer, compon ..., is the desire to port a simulacrum of a game to platforms that the original is unavailable for or unsatisfactorily implemented on. The legality of video game clones is governed by copyright and patent law. In the 1970s, Magnavox controlled several patents to the hardware f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colour'' and ''ZX82'', it was launched as the ''ZX Spectrum'' to highlight the machine's colour display, which differed from the black and white display of its predecessor, the ZX81. The Spectrum was released as six different models, ranging from the entry level with 16 KB RAM released in 1982 to the ZX Spectrum +3 with 128 KB RAM and built in floppy disk drive in 1987; altogether they sold over 5 million units worldwide (not counting unofficial clones). The Spectrum was among the first home computers in the United Kingdom aimed at a mainstream audience, and it thus had similar significance to the Commodore 64 in the US and the Thomson MO5 in France. The introduction of the ZX Spectrum led to a boom in companies producing softwar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and the German-speaking parts of Europe. The series spawned a total of six distinct models: The ''CPC464'', ''CPC664'', and ''CPC6128'' were highly successful competitors in the European home computer market. The later ''464plus'' and ''6128plus'', intended to prolong the system's lifecycle with hardware updates, were considerably less successful, as was the attempt to repackage the ''plus'' hardware into a game console as the ''GX4000''. The CPC models' hardware is based on the Zilog Z80A CPU, complemented with either 64 or 128 KB of RAM. Their computer-in-a-keyboard design prominently features an integrated storage device ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness World Records as the highest-selling single computer model of all time, with independent estimates placing the number sold between 12.5 and 17 million units. Volume production started in early 1982, marketing in August for . Preceded by the VIC-20 and Commodore PET, the C64 took its name from its of RAM. With support for multicolor sprites and a custom chip for waveform generation, the C64 could create superior visuals and audio compared to systems without such custom hardware. The C64 dominated the low-end computer market (except in the UK and Japan, lasting only about six months in Japan) for most of the later years of the 1980s. For a substantial period (1983–1986), the C64 had between 30% and 40% share of the US market and two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
8-bit
In computer architecture, 8-bit integers or other data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) architectures are those that are based on registers or data buses of that size. Memory addresses (and thus address buses) for 8-bit CPUs are generally larger than 8-bit, usually 16-bit. 8-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 8-bit microprocessors. The term '8-bit' is also applied to the character sets that could be used on computers with 8-bit bytes, the best known being various forms of extended ASCII, including the ISO/IEC 8859 series of national character sets especially Latin 1 for English and Western European languages. The IBM System/360 introduced byte-addressable memory with 8-bit bytes, as opposed to bit-addressable or decimal digit-addressable or word-addressable memory, although its general-purpose registers were 32 bits wide, and addresses were contained in the lower 24 bits of thos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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