Remarks: Processing Mazes

When the C64 was launched in 1982, it was a powerful home computer for creating computers graphics. Contemporary hardware is an interesting place to re-imagine the 10 PRINT algorithm because it has changed substantially from its predecessors. For this exploration into re-imaging 10 PRINT, we used Processing, a programming system first designed in 2001. It is built on top of Java, one of the dominant modern programming languages, but Processing exists to create graphics and simplifies some of Java's native syntax. Introduced in 1995, JAVA is most similar to C++, which itself is from 1983. C++ is an object-oriented programming language built on top of C, a procedural language originally from the early 1970s.

When the C64 was launched in 1982, it was a powerful home computer for creating computers graphics. Contemporary hardware is an interesting place to re-imagine the 10 PRINT algorithm because it has changed substantially from its predecessors. For this exploration into re-imaging 10 PRINT, we used Processing, a programming system first designed in 2001. It is built on top of Java, one of the dominant modern programming languages, but Processing exists to create graphics and simplifies some of Java's native syntax. Introduced in 1995, JAVA is most similar to C++, which itself is from 1983. C++ is an object-oriented programming language built on top of C, a procedural language originally from the early 1970s.

The first Processing version of 10 PRINT was written to take advantage of the increased resolution of contemporary screens. It does this by making the thickness and ends of the lines into variables that can be changed while the program runs. The lines of the maze can range from 0.5- to 10-pixels wide, and the lines can terminate with a rounded or square end. Like 10 PRINT, this Processing version of 10 PRINT maintains the grid of lines at 40 x 25 units, but, unlike 10 PRINT, it doesn't add each grid unit in sequence from left to right and top to bottom. In the new high-resolution version, the entire maze is refreshed at once. Using the default Processing colors to create white lines and a black background confers a mood similar to that of the original lower-contrast blues of the C64 (See Figures ?? to ??).

The first Processing version of 10 PRINT was written to take advantage of the increased resolution of contemporary screens. It does this by making the thickness and ends of the lines into variables that can be changed while the program runs. The lines of the maze can range from 0.5- to 10-pixels wide, and the lines can terminate with a rounded or square end. Like 10 PRINT, this Processing version of 10 PRINT maintains the grid of lines at 40 x 25 units, but, unlike 10 PRINT, it doesn't add each grid unit in sequence from left to right and top to bottom. In the new high-resolution version, the entire maze is refreshed at once. Using the default Processing colors to create white lines and a black background confers a mood similar to that of the original lower-contrast blues of the C64 (See Figures ?? to ??).