[FLT8]

I credit the C64 that I had as a kid and magazines like COMPUTE! / Compute's Gazette for my career in software. I taught myself 6510 assembler and started writing some simple demo-like things on that machine, and got hooked on the feeling of creativity that it unlocked.

Funnily enough I'd been thinking that it's about time I tried (again, as an older person) to write a game or a demo for the old 64.

It's absolutely amazing what people are able to get out of these 40+ year old machines now, and I love that there's still a vibrant scene.

In addition to the tools specified in the article, I would also recommend "retro debugger", it's an amazing tool for single stepping through code and seeing what's going on, even letting you follow the raster down the screen to see what code is executing on given scaliness.

Also, there are some really good youtubers out there helping to demystify how various games/demos work.. Martin Piper comes to mind as a good example.

[breput]

I credit the BASIC and machine language byte code type-in programs for reinforcing my attention to detail and being able to track down software problems.

Kids these days[0] will never know the "pleasure" of spending hours typing in some cheesy BASIC game only to have to track down any number of syntax errors!

[0] Get off my lawn!

[lstodd]

A9 LDA# A0 LDY#

your lawn may stay.

[Lance_ET_Compte]

I had a C64 as well. My school had a programming class and we all shared a TRS80 (I think). I remember writing a program to find prime numbers and thinking about various optimizations. Mine was fastest, and I was proud. Then the boy that wrote directly in assembly ran his... That was the moment I decided to get good. :-)

[ddingus]

Definitely try as an older person!

I have similar experiences and sentiments myself. One difference is I was into Apple and Atari computers, but that does not seem to matter all that much.

As a younger person, I did demos and explored the tech plenty without actually building finished applications and or games.

Learned a ton! And had major league fun. Great times filled with bits of understanding I draw on all the time.

And YES! Good grief, the pixels are dancing in ways nobody would have predicted back then.

When I hop on the machines today I find them simpler than I remember and fun to program.

[deterministic]

My experience as well but using the ZX-Spectrum. Trying to figure out why the machine code I hand translated from Z80 assembler crash the computer taught me a lot. No internet to ask for help. Just a book explaining how to program the ZX-Spectrum using machine code. I was 11 at the time.

[agentdrek]

I still keep the Reference Guide on my desk to remind me of my roots and how far things have come and yet how much they remain the same.

[nurettin]

POKE 53280, 0