IBM released its personal computer in 1981.  Whilst this would be the system that would lead to ‘PC’ becoming a synonym for a computer sitting on a desktop, it was quite expensive.  Prices started at $1,565 (presumably USD) for a configuration without disk drives (Wikipedia).  Apples -- destined for the ... Continue Reading »

Many copyright works – especially books – have a potentially lengthy commercial lifespan.  Of course, longevity does not necessarily equate to commercial success, but the longer a work’s ‘shelf life’, the better the prospects for the owner.  Strangely enough, a longer shelf life may also benefit the consumer – how ... Continue Reading »

In the long 1980s decade, some hardly souls in both New Zealand and Australia built their own computers. New Zealand Microcomputer Club legend, Selwyn Arrow, recalls building his first computer (or part thereof): It was either Christmas 77 or 78, more likely 1978…A copy of Byte magazine arrived…I read it ... Continue Reading »

What got you started collecting on/around the area of games? I was lead into collecting by nothing more than misty-eyed nostalgia. My first computer was a Sinclair ZX81. In the early 80s, at 10 or 11 years old, I taught myself to program a ZX81 which was on display in a ... Continue Reading »

What got you started collecting on/around the area of games?  I’ve always had an interest from a young age in computers and videogames and I’m old enough to have grown up during a period when both were new and exciting. There was a period where there was a flood of different ... Continue Reading »

What got you started collecting on/around the area of games? A number of things really, I've lived my life in gaming; From the earliest time all I could think about was playing video games. First console was a 2600, and as I ... Continue Reading »

I was never in the "gaming scene" or "gaming culture" as such. I was never a member of a software-swapping "club" nor did I spend many night and weekends gaming with my peers. Unlike many retro-gaming enthusiasts, who remember the games of their school and teenage years, by the time I ... Continue Reading »

The New Zealand Film Archive has been aware of the 'institutional gap' in this country for several years, with regard to the lack of representation of video games & early computer games within national cultural collections. In 2005 when the NZFA held an exhibition called C:/ DOS / RUN - ... Continue Reading »

What was your local arcade like?  Tell us about it.  Were the machines new, with their own artwork?  Or were they generic cabinets, converted from other games? Was it a welcoming space or somewhere less than safe to hangout?  A full arcade, or just a few machines?  Do you have any ... Continue Reading »

 In Part 1 Carl tells us about where he first encountered computers as a child in Fiji and how he created his first games (and made his first sale) typing listings onto the display machines at his New Zealand home town’s computer shop. These are some of ... Continue Reading »

In Part 2 Carl tells us about finally getting his own computer, joining the local computer club and in how his interest in games design inspired him to learn Assembly language and dissemble games studying the works of UK designer Jeff (Yak) Minter. VIC-20 During the final term the school bought a newfangled Commodore VIC-20. This ... Continue Reading »

In Part 3 Carl tells us about designing his games  from making his own Smurf platformer based on a screenshot of a Colecovision Smurf game he saw published in a magazine to experimenting in sound for “Toccato”. It was a time for experimentation in what could be achieved on a micro and looking at screenshots in ... Continue Reading »

What got you started collecting on/around the area of games? I was an avid reader as a child and you could argue that my original game collection consisted of all the Choose Your Own Adventure and Fighting Fantasy books! My transition to collecting computer games began when the electronic gaming industry ... Continue Reading »

What got you started collecting on/around the area of games? / What do you collect? I have managed to restrict my collecting to the Sega SC-3000 / SC-3000H. I think most collectors have their own nostalgic reasons for doing what they do, or at least that is how it starts. In my case, ... Continue Reading »

The Poly could well have been the first microcomputer specifically designed for educational use in the world, and it came from New Zealand. The Poly was designed by Neil Scott and Paul Bryant at Wellington Polytechnic (hence its name) in 1980 as ... Continue Reading »

How does one identify local themes and scenes in digital games history?  Figuring out what is local will usually require knowledge of the non-local, won't it?  Well, in 1980s New Zealand there were some unique conditions which meant that games production developed at least partly along its own trajectory.  New ... Continue Reading »