I was playing around with joystick inputs, working on ideas for a new strategy game, then poof...my Vic 20 died. So I got another Vic 20 and started all over again.
I got part way through when I realized I had the makings of a good program for kids. Someone here suggested more very simple programs for little kids.
Remember Lite Brite? It was out around the time of the Vic 20, where you put coloured pegs in a black sheet of paper mounted on a grille that was back lit, so the pegs lit up. Well, this program simulates that.
For the unexpanded Vic:
http://digitalquirk.ca/vic20/LITEBRIT.PRG
Comments and suggestions welcome.
Lite Brite: One for the kids
Moderator: Moderators
Oops...I forgot to change the screen to "All Black."
Please download this one instead:
http://digitalquirk.ca/vic20/LITEBT2.PRG
D64 image:
http://digitalquirk.ca/vic20/litebrite.d64
Image:
Please download this one instead:
http://digitalquirk.ca/vic20/LITEBT2.PRG
D64 image:
http://digitalquirk.ca/vic20/litebrite.d64
Image:
Re: Lite Brite: One for the kids
Very neat idea for a game!!!
I did not have one when I was a kid, but remember the TV commericals.
While still available when Vic-20 came out, Lite Brite pre-dates Vic-20 by a considerable number of years. Hasbro introduced this game in 1967.DigitalQuirk wrote:It was out around the time of the Vic 20
I did not have one when I was a kid, but remember the TV commericals.
Mega-Cart: the ultimate cartridge for your Commodore Vic-20
The objective could be not to lose your patience. I had a lite-brite when I was young and I when I think back I am amazed I had the patience to sift through hundreds of differently coloured pegs all mixed up in order to put together a picture that took hours to do even with those pre-printed pattern sheets. (My favourite was the train. The clown face took forever!). And then as it is only a picture in the end and there is nothing else to do with it, you get bored with it in about 3 minutes after you showed it to your mother and she gives you a perfunctory "Wow, good job" and then you have to pull it all apart again.Jeff-20 wrote:Cool idea! It's a great toy as it is... i bet there is room to add an extra game option. What could be the objective?
A VIC 20 version would be good since it is easier to clean up and set up. However, I suspect that an actual Lite-Brite has a higher resolution than a VIC-20, not to mention the monochrome Etch-a-Sketch.
There are only three kinds of people in the world: those who can count and those who can't.
Paul Lambert
Berlin
Federal Republic of Germany
Paul Lambert
Berlin
Federal Republic of Germany
This was a good idea. My daughter should enjoy this. Kids just love lite-brite.
The only thing I could see added to this is an option to save an image, or print it. It should be fairly easy to send the PETSCII graphics to a Commodore printer, no? Of course it would be in black and white, but that's okay.
If you wanted to get really complicated, you could roughly translate colours to black and white threshold values. i.e. light colours would get printed as hollow circles and dark colours as solid circle PETSCII colours.
The only thing I could see added to this is an option to save an image, or print it. It should be fairly easy to send the PETSCII graphics to a Commodore printer, no? Of course it would be in black and white, but that's okay.
If you wanted to get really complicated, you could roughly translate colours to black and white threshold values. i.e. light colours would get printed as hollow circles and dark colours as solid circle PETSCII colours.
One thing I was considering was having "Pictures" that could be loaded in and decorated, using the F keys to change from a circle to three other shapes. Another idea was to load in "Lite Brite" images; essentially, a screen full of numbers that correspond to the colours on the numeric keys. Placing a coloured dot on the appropriate numbers would result in a picture, just like the real lite brite.
I also considered a "Save" facility to allow someone to save their work to look at later.
I also considered a "Save" facility to allow someone to save their work to look at later.
This would a great idea, allowing "kiddies" to recall their favourite creations.DigitalQuirk wrote:I also considered a "Save" facility to allow someone to save their work to look at later.
Mega-Cart: the ultimate cartridge for your Commodore Vic-20You know....this program would be awesome with the Koala Pad. I'm not kidding. The Koala Pad is a great underused accessory for the VIC....basically a graphics tablet that plugs into the joystick port and can be programmed as if it was two paddles (one paddle inputs the X direction, the other the Y). Heck, with two paddles someone could even do an Etch-a-Sketch (but I think it might have already been done for the Atari).
But seriously. You guys should all buy Koala Pads (make sure they are Commodore compatible ones). They are really great and cheap accessories for the VIC, and easy to program for.
In fact, you can play paddle games with the Koala Pad! I played The Sky Is Falling with one. You move the pen left or right to move the paddle left or right (but because the values are reversed you have to hold the Koala Pad upside down).
But seriously. You guys should all buy Koala Pads (make sure they are Commodore compatible ones). They are really great and cheap accessories for the VIC, and easy to program for.
In fact, you can play paddle games with the Koala Pad! I played The Sky Is Falling with one. You move the pen left or right to move the paddle left or right (but because the values are reversed you have to hold the Koala Pad upside down).
I'm so angry! I found a koala pad in the thrift store, and I sold it for cheap on ebay because I didn't think it had any use on a VIC 20. In the early day of collecting, I stumbled across many 9pin accessories (from TI99 to Astrocade). Not all Atari or Commodore compatible. Some, like Astrocade, could even be dangerous to the VIC. I didn't hold on to things I couldn't use.
