BASIC
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Almost every book transmitting information of BASIC in the 1970s could be called educational — that is, they explained, illustrated, and provided code for applications that users could enter, test and alter. | Almost every book transmitting information of BASIC in the 1970s could be called educational — that is, they explained, illustrated, and provided code for applications that users could enter, test and alter. | ||
| − | David H. Ahl's compilation, ''101 Basic Computer Games'', was first published in 1973 by the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). Though not the first book of computer games, it was the first to collect only games in BASIC. It contains a listing of games, a sample run of each game, and usually a short description of each game. It also acknowledges each game's author(s) and describes sources if the game had been transformed from a previously known game. Illustrations punctuate the presentation, usually between this modicum of contextual information and the program's listing. | + | David H. Ahl's compilation, ''101 Basic Computer Games'', was first published in 1973 by the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). Though not the first book of computer games, it was the first to collect only games in BASIC. It contains a listing of games, a sample run of each game, and usually a short description of each game. It also acknowledges each game's author(s) and describes sources if the game had been transformed from a previously known game. Illustrations, courtesy of ''Mad Magazine'' among others, punctuate the presentation, usually between this modicum of contextual information and the program's listing. |
The game's titles are abbreviated into names that are no longer than six characters long -- e.g. ACEYDU for "Acey Ddeucy CArd Game"; AMAZIN for "Draw a Maze"; or POET for "Random Poetry (Haiku)." The book's table of contents comprises three columns: a list of game nametags in alphabetical order, a column bearing a single-line description of the game, and a page number where the game's actual title accompanies the game's nametag along the top of the page. | The game's titles are abbreviated into names that are no longer than six characters long -- e.g. ACEYDU for "Acey Ddeucy CArd Game"; AMAZIN for "Draw a Maze"; or POET for "Random Poetry (Haiku)." The book's table of contents comprises three columns: a list of game nametags in alphabetical order, a column bearing a single-line description of the game, and a page number where the game's actual title accompanies the game's nametag along the top of the page. | ||
