Games were what most kids started off with. Type-ins from magazines, cheap budget software from quarter page adverts in their weekly or monthly magazines. A lot of them in the older days were coded in BASIC and I present a few examples to you here.
What’s in each download
Each download will contain the tape image/snapshot of the title plus a number of text files depending on how many parts there were for the title.
Sometimes the .TXT files included were the equivalent of MERGE “” to get at the code, others were a lot harder. For every one, I’ve used ZX Preview to get at the BASIC.
Not all of the titles on this, and the other pages, will use all the possibilities listed in the legend below. The easier ones to port to another language/system will be the ones that used the least of the ZX Spectrum’s functionality.
The majority of the TXT files with the source code will have one command per line – aka ‘Structured mode’ as ZX Preview calls it. This, to my mind, makes it easier to understand and read through if you’ve never seen a ZX BASIC code listing before. There might be some still using a normal list, but I’ll replace those as and when I find them.
Table Legend:
UDGs = Code uses UDGs within the Print statements. UDGs are either POKEd via BASIC, or loaded from tape.
Font = Uses a new font to replace the standard Sinclair font. BASIC will poke 23606 & 23607 with the new address.
Z80 = Uses Z80 machine code, either in separate files or in REM statements within the BASIC code.
MS = Uses Memory Savings (see this page) to save precious bytes for the target machine(s).
EC = Uses Embedded Colours (as well as, or instead of BORDER, PAPER & INK commands)
EG = Uses Extended Graphics (The little square shapes available in Extended Mode)
Games
| Game Title/Year | Download | UDGs? | Font? | Z80? | MS? | EC? | EG? | Notes |
| 3D Golf (19xx) (DE) | Download | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | Lots of UDGs in use (almost full). I’ve translated this from German to English and it’s included in the download. |
| 3D Irrgarten / 3D Maze (J.Falkenberg, 1984) (DE) | Download | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | I’ve translated this from German to English (*) and it’s included in the download. Uses Spectrum’s TIMER system variables to time your escape. (*) With the exception of the huge flashing “congrats” message at the end of the game – far too fiddly to convert to English using Notepad++! |
| 3D Labyrinth (C&VG,1983) | Download | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Lots of BEEPs. |
| 3D Noughts and Crosses 16K (ZX Computing,1983) | Download | Y | N | N | N | N | N | 16K game. Forces Caps Lock (POKE 23658,8). Alters Line Input via POKE 23659,1. Multiple BEEPs for various actions and a few spelling mistakes. |
| 3D Pyramid (Green Fish Software Enterprise,1983) | Download | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Loader displays intro and sets up (painfully) all 21 of the UDGs. Then loads the main game. |
| 9-Hole Golf | Download | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Uses ‘o’, ‘p’ & ‘q’ for UDGs. Be careful not to press ‘s’ on the main menu as it loads the next item on, I assume, a compilation tape? |
| Air Raid (CCS & re-release by Pulsonic,1983) | Download | Y | N | N | N | N | N | I’ve compared both releases and they’re exactly the same code so I’ve only included the CCS release. |
| Computer Bomber Game (Ford,????) | Download | Y | N | N | N | N | N | Ford Truck had a number of games and utilities built and sent to their garages. This is a copy of the usual Bomber game, but the ‘buildings’ are all names of Ford Truck competitors! |
| Derby Day (CRL, 1983) | Download | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Lots of BEEPs and UDGs in use for the scenery. |
| Fruit Machine (Soft Sell, 1982) | Download | Y | N | N | N | N | N | Simple fruit machine using UDGs. |
| Mined Out (Quicksilva, 1983) | Download | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Simple enough game. |
| Moonlander (CCS, 1982) | Download | Y | N | N | N | N | N | Simple game. |
| Nightmare Park (JDS Cranston, 1982) | Download | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | Maze game where incidents befall you as you try to traverse from left to right. |
| Quincy (Severn Software) | Download | Y | N | N | N | N | N | Multiplayer dice game. But has a bug where it runs out of screen space when it tries to print the 3rd dice roll! |
| Rail Traffic Control Powerbox – Bristol Temple Meads (Ashley Greenup, ???) | Download | Y | N | N | N | N | N | I have no idea what this game is about other than signal boxes for railways around the UK! There’s 20+ other titles in the same range for other train stations. I’m only doing this one as the others will be very similar. |
| The Tomb Of Dracula (K-Tel, 1982) | Download | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | This was included as part of a double pack from K-Tel. The other game, It’s Only Rock N Roll, can be found on the Strategy Games page. |
| The Wild Bunch (Firebird, 1984) | Download | N | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | The classic cowboy-based game from Firebird. I think everyone broke into this game and cheated :) |