The good old days
Back in the 90s, Christoph Zwerschke developed a Sinclair ZX81 emulator for the Atari ST. Believe it or not, but I've never actually used this old computer before! From what I know, this computer is mute and makes no sound. Plus, the graphics are actually made up of monochrome blocks rather than pixels.
This might all sound rather lame to people today, but you must remember that this was 1981. Plus, there is a certain charm to the itsy-bitsy flimsy device with less processing power than your average kettle. So I powered on this quirky computer and even took a stab at programming. Well, I say programming...
The good news is that even the stock Atari ST is enough to play ZX81 games - from either a floppy or (better still) a hard drive device. However, if you feel the ZX81 is running in overdrive, press the UNDO key and adjust the speed limiter. I needed to do just that for Pac-Man, which was otherwise insanely way too fast.
10 PRINT "ATARICRYPT ROCKS YOUR ST WORLD"
20 GOTO 10
RUN L
The good news is that even the stock Atari ST is enough to play ZX81 games - from either a floppy or (better still) a hard drive device. However, if you feel the ZX81 is running in overdrive, press the UNDO key and adjust the speed limiter. I needed to do just that for Pac-Man, which was otherwise insanely way too fast.
I might never have owned a ZX81, but I was shocked to discover many games that are very playable, albeit without sound or colourful pixels. 3D Monster Maze by Malcolm Evans is a great example and is regarded as one of the best reasons people adore this old Sinclair paperweight. It might even be one of the first survival horror games using a first-person perspective? (see Retro Resolution for a review!).
The CryptO'pinion?
This is a fantastic program, and it is compatible, fast, and robust. It provides an opportunity to play games from an era when fancy graphics and sounds didn't exist. A time when gameplay mattered. Give it a whirl and boot up this surprisingly excellent emulator that flips your Atari ST into a Sinclair ZX81.
This is a fantastic program, and it is compatible, fast, and robust. It provides an opportunity to play games from an era when fancy graphics and sounds didn't exist. A time when gameplay mattered. Give it a whirl and boot up this surprisingly excellent emulator that flips your Atari ST into a Sinclair ZX81.
Party like it's 1981 and have tons of fun. Scroll down for more ZX81 games that I really liked...
I gotta say, Mazogs is something else!! (Have you played Bugziacs?)
I was also equally impressed by the simplicity of Galaxians.
Castle of Carmain is just downright awesome fun!!
The mighty 3D Labyrinth is thrilling.
when i see those games i nearly start to cry, thinking how much i miss those days
ReplyDeleteYa big jessie!!
DeleteI agree, and times where simpler for us being younger n all that. Still, kids and wives are good. Right? ;)
From what I recall Christoph's emulator was pretty good - the ZX81 had no sound and could only display monochrome block graphics.
ReplyDeleteyet here we are in 2018 playing 3D Monster Maze :D
Deletehow do i get the maze game?
ReplyDeleteJust use Old Games Finder: http://www.oldgamesfinder.com/?q=&m=-34
Delete