First published in 1985, this book enabled a whole new generation to learn game coding on their Atari 130XE - one of Atari's acclaimed 8-bit home computers. The XE had two joysticks rather than the four of its sibling models, however it did come with a full 128kb of bank-switched RAM.
Although it was not as successful in America as the Commodore 64 - or the ZX Spectrum in Europe - the machine retains a large fanbase to this day.
As the original publisher Melbourne House wrote:
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Turn your Atari into an exciting arcade of electronic fun and thrills with the easy-to-enter ready-made programs in this book. Containing 30 different games designed to demonstrate the complete capabilities of the Atari 130XE - arcade games, strategy games and adventures are all here for you to enjoy - without the need for any complex programming skills!
Each game includes a screen photo, to illustrate exactly what the program will look like, and the unique CHEXSUM facility, to avoid those costly typing errors. For the benefit of more advanced programmers, there is a full outline of what each program is doing, enabling you to modify the games to suit your own specifications.
Now the best games book is available for the Atari 130XE opening the door to a fascinating new dimension of computer games, action and excitement.
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Acorn Books is proud to present its Retro Reproductions series, a collection of classic computing works from the 1980s and 90s, lovingly reproduced in the 21st century. From standards of programming reference no self-respecting microcomputer programmer would be without, to obscure works not found in print anywhere else, these modern reprints are perfect for any connoisseur of retro computing.