Retro Scan of the Week: “Our Way of Saying Thanks”
Monday, March 5th, 2007
I found this 5×10.5″ document in an old box of Commodore 64 ephemera that I inherited from a stranger (along with some of his old speeding tickets) via a hamfest. It appears to be the reward for filling out a COMPUTE! magazine survey (circa mid 1980s) and contains the BASIC program code for a game called Amazer.
Typed program listings like this were extremely common back in the day, but I found this example particularly interesting, as it was intended to be a bonus “gift” program, and they didn’t even bother to send a disk or cassette. Paper was a far cheaper distribution medium, of course, but it’s not even a full piece of paper! They must have had trouble finding a decent game small enough to fit the size of paper allocated by their minuscule gift budget.
I just did a quick search for “Amazer” on Google and found that some enterprising individual is trying to sell a copy of this very document on eBay for $50. He even went so far as to blur out the program listing on his picture! And no, this item is not worth $50. It’s more like a few steps away from toilet paper in terms of actual monetary value. But it’s still a neat historical footnote, no doubt.
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Wow. The last challenge was supposed to be hard, but you guys got them all in the first day! I’ve pulled a couple obscure games out of my hat this time to test your pixel recognition engines. This week’s theme and hint is “Color Titles.” Think color, my friends. That should help you pin them down. The first block is to the right, the other two are below. As always, post your guesses in the comments section of this entry, and don’t be bashful. Good luck!
