C64 Hot Air Ballonn

Dedicated to the memory of Saladin Akara (2023), may he Rest In Peace, and to all of his family and friends.

30 years ago this year (2023) Commodore release the C64. This C64 was a game changer in the computer industry as it allowed everyone access to an affordable computer. 

My first computer was the C64, and it is where I and countless millions of others learn to program for the first time. The first program most of us wrote was the Commodore 64 Balloon using BASIC.

Here is what this looks like now in C/C++

This game is what I wanted it to look like back 1984. Due to work commitments this week I never got to finish it, but I will over the coming weeks. You can get the latest code here: Johnnyg63/HotAirBalloonGame: A Memory Game for OLC CodeJam 2023 (github.com)

This game was to contain, and will in time, 3 games in 1

1. A simple game to play while you wait for your main game to load 
2. The main game itself
3. And a hidden game with reference to Microsoft POKE of the time

Your Mission in this Game is to help all the C64 Hero's escape their enemies.

This section of the game is reference the Microsoft POKE of which Commodore was not to happy about it. 

A man, lets call him "Bill" was not to happy with people stealing his code back in the late 70's so he created the first know Easter Egg. Yep Bill places a special POKE command into BASIC that when ran would change the full screen to "Microsoft"!!! 

Well Commodore discovered this and where a little upset by it. This is a wonderful peice of history and I would highly recommond you watch the below vides by Dave Plummer (Rired Micorosoft Employee) about it.

Vid one:

And Vid 2:

Even to this day Bill still replys to folks about it.

A Big thank you to:

1. @oroosvall for fixing my WASM File!!!!
2. Commodore for the C64
3. Microsoft, because without them there would not have been a Commodore 64
4. @Javidx9 for creating OLC PGE 2, hosting the Jam and for teaching me how to draw a circle with a Decal!
5. https://codeincomplete.com/articles/c64-manual-nostalgia/
6. https://rickdangerous.co.uk/graphics.htm
7. https://www.spriters-resource.com/commodore_64/