This month is home coders month on the Popular Memory Archive. That means we’re discussing the games that ordinary people wrote themselves, at home, during the 1980s. This week, the now professional Australian game developer, John Passfield, tells how he got his start, coding a game for the local Microbee computer.
It all started at the Lismore Show (really). Read about his inspiration, his favourite game from the local arcade, and the game he went on to code and then — on a lark — send off to a publisher. “Chilly Willy” would be the first of many published games Passfield would contribute. While some of John’s other game titles (TY the Tasmanian Tiger, Halloween Harry, Jaruu Tenk, Flight of the Amazon Queen, and Brainiversity) might have made a bigger splash, the first is always special.
Did you write your own game, or play those of your mates? Please tell us about it in the blog or upload your materials to help us build an archive dedicated to 1980s games and gaming.
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