|
Instant Software
Instant Software was a company that produced game, utility, and education software in the late 1970s and early 1980s primarily for the TRS-80 line of home computers. Instant Software was a subsidiary of Kilobaud Microcomputing, headquartered in Peterborough, New Hampshire and run by Wayne Green. History Green said in 1980 that although his company Instant Software had published "hundreds of programs for the TRS-80 ndwant to translate as many as possible for use on the TI-99/4", it could not find anyone among more than 1,000 developers in its network who could port software to the computer, adding "We understand the problems with the system and the efforts Texas Instruments made to make translation difficult". Games *''Santa Paravia en Fiumaccio'' (1978) *''Casino II - Craps'' (1978) *''Dungeon of Death'' (1979) *'' Who-Dun-It?'' (1979) *''Wordwatch'' (1979) *''Airmail Pilot ''Airmail Pilot'' is a video game published in 1979 by Instant Software, in which the player pilots a Cur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TRS-80
The TRS-80 Micro Computer System (TRS-80, later renamed the Model I to distinguish it from successors) is a desktop microcomputer launched in 1977 and sold by Tandy Corporation through their Radio Shack stores. The name is an abbreviation of ''Tandy Radio Shack, Z80 icroprocessor'. It is one of the earliest mass-produced and mass-marketed retail home computers. The TRS-80 has a full-stroke QWERTY keyboard, the Zilog Z80 processor, 4 KB dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) standard memory, small size and desk area, floating-point Level I BASIC language interpreter in read-only memory (ROM), 64-character per line video monitor, and a starting price of US$600 (equivalent to US$ in ). A cassette tape drive for program storage was included in the original package. While the software environment was stable, the cassette load/save process combined with keyboard bounce issues and a troublesome Expansion Interface contributed to the Model I's reputation as not well-suited to se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kilobaud Microcomputing
''Kilobaud Microcomputing'' was a magazine dedicated to the computer homebrew hobbyists from 1977 to 1983. How ''kilobaud'' started Wayne Green, the editor and publisher of ''kilobaud'', had been the publisher of ''BYTE'' magazine, (another influential microcomputer magazine of the time) where he published the first four issues in his own office. But one day in November 1975 Wayne came to work, and found that his ex-wife and the rest of the ''Byte'' magazine staff had moved out of his office and had taken the January issue with them. Consequently, the January 1976 issue had Virginia Green listed as publisher instead of Wayne Green. Wayne was not happy with this development, so he left Byte to start a new magazine to compete with the fledgling ''Byte''. He wanted to call it "KiloByte" to trump ''Byte''. But the people of ''Byte'' quickly trademarked KILOBYTE as a cartoon series in ''Byte'' magazine. So he named the new magazine "kilobaud" instead. The magazine was first published ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peterborough, New Hampshire
Peterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,418 at the 2020 census. The main village, with 3,090 people at the 2020 census, is defined as the Peterborough census-designated place (CDP) and is located along the Contoocook River at the junction of U.S. Route 202 and New Hampshire Route 101. Peterborough is west of Manchester and northwest of Boston. History Granted by Massachusetts in 1737, it was first permanently settled in 1749. The town suffered several attacks during the French and Indian War. Nevertheless, by 1759, there were fifty families settled. Incorporated on January 17, 1760, by Governor Benning Wentworth, it was named after Lieutenant Peter Prescott (1709–1784) of Concord, Massachusetts, a prominent land speculator. The Contoocook River and Nubanusit Brook offered numerous sites for watermills, and Peterborough became a prosperous mill town. In 1810, the first cotton factory was established. By 1859, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wayne Green
Wayne Sanger Green II (September 3, 1922 – September 13, 2013) was an American publisher, writer, and consultant. Green was editor of '' CQ'' magazine before he went on to found '' 73'', ''80 Micro'', ''Byte'', '' CD Review'', ''Cold Fusion'', ''Kilobaud Microcomputing'', '' RUN'', ''InCider'', and ''Pico'', as well as publishing books and running Instant Software. Biography In his editorial in the inaugural issue of ''80 Microcomputing'' he said, "The first magazine I published was in 1952 about amateur radio Teletype. Later I became editor of ''CQ'', a ham radio magazine. I started my own magazine for hams in 1960, that was ''73'' magazine. ''73'' is now the world's largest ham publication, with subscribers in over 200 countries. When MITS put the first microcomputer kit on the market in 1975 I organized and did most of the work to get ''Byte'' magazine started. When I felt there was a need for a magazine aimed at beginners in computing, I started ''Kilobaud Microcomput ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texas Instruments TI-99/4A
The TI-99/4 and TI-99/4A are home computers released by Texas Instruments in 1979 and 1981, respectively. Based on the Texas Instruments TMS9900 microprocessor originally used in minicomputers, the TI-99/4 was the first 16-bit home computer. The associated video display controller provides color graphics and sprite support which were only comparable with those of the Atari 400 and 800 released a month after the TI-99/4. The calculator-style keyboard of the TI-99/4 was cited as a weak point, and TI's reliance on ROM cartridges and their practice of limiting developer information to select third parties resulted in a lack of software for the system. The TI-99/4A was released in June 1981 to address some of these issues with a simplified internal design, full-travel keyboard, improved graphics, and a unique expansion system. At half the price of the original model, sales picked up significantly and TI supported the 4A with peripherals, including a speech synthesizer and a "Perip ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Santa Paravia En Fiumaccio
''Santa Paravia en Fiumaccio'' is a video game in which each player becomes the ruler of a fledgling Italian city-state around the year 1400. The goal of the game is to become king or queen; to do so the player must manage their city-state so that it may grow. The game, by George Blank, first appeared in the December 1978 issue of '' SoftSide'' magazine, (Milford, NH), and was published for sale on tape cassette as a computer game by Instant Software (Peterborough, NH) for the Radio Shack TRS-80, Apple II, TI-99/4A, and Commodore PET. It has been translated into many languages, such as ANSI C, and has been ported to the Palm Pilot. Gameplay The game consists of yearly turns, beginning in 1400; each turn involves the allocation of grain, counted in steres, and funds, counted in florins, attempting to grow the colony in both population and size. A ruler must ensure that sufficient grain supplies are available to feed his people; by distributing excess grain, a ruler can enc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dungeon Of Death
''Dungeon of Death'' is a fantasy role-playing video game developed by Instant Software. The game was released on the 8K Commodore PET. Plot ''Dungeon of Death'' is a game in which the player searches a 12-level dungeon for the Holy Grail. Reception The game was reviewed in '' The Dragon'' #44 by Mark Herro. Herro described the game as "one of the many quasi-'' D&D'' programs on the market" at the time. He also stated that "''Dungeon of Death'' provides "a 'cheap and dirty' fix" for the solitary game player. Reviews *''Creative Computing ''Creative Computing'' was one of the earliest magazines covering the microcomputer revolution. Published from October 1974 until December 1985, the magazine covered the spectrum of hobbyist/home/personal computing in a more accessible format th ...'' References 1970s horror video games 1979 video games Commodore PET games Commodore PET-only games Fantasy video games Instant Software games Role-playing video games Video games dev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dragon (magazine)
''Dragon'' is one of the two official magazines for source material for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game and associated products, along with '' Dungeon''. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, ''The Strategic Review''. The final printed issue was #359 in September 2007. Shortly after the last print issue shipped in mid-August 2007, Wizards of the Coast (part of Hasbro, Inc.), the publication's current copyright holder, relaunched ''Dragon'' as an online magazine, continuing on the numbering of the print edition. The last published issue was No. 430 in December 2013. A digital publication called ''Dragon+'', which replaces the ''Dragon'' magazine, launched in 2015. It is created by Dialect in collaboration with Wizards of the Coast, and its numbering system for issues started at No. 1. History TSR In 1975, TSR, Inc. began publishing ''The Strategic Review''. At the time, roleplaying g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Who-Dun-It?
''Who-Dun-It?'' is a 1979 video game published by Instant Software for the TRS-80 16K. It is named for the whodunit, a type of crime fiction. Contents ''Who-Dun-It?'' is a game in which the player chooses one of five crimes to investigate. Reception Bruce Campbell reviewed ''Who-Dun-It?'' in ''The Space Gamer ''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the la ...'' No. 40. Campbell commented that "I only recommend ''Who-Dun-It?'' to those who enjoy mysteries or logic problems. If you fit those categories, it may well be worth the relatively low price." References {{reflist 1979 video games Instant Software games TRS-80 games TRS-80-only games Video games developed in the United States ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Space Gamer
''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the late 1970s through the mid-1980s. The magazine is no longer published, but the rights holders maintain a web presence using its final title ''Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer''. History ''The Space Gamer'' (''TSG'') started out as a digest quarterly publication of the brand new Metagaming Concepts company in March 1975. Howard M. Thompson, the owner of Metagaming and the first editor of the magazine, stated "The magazine had been planned for after our third or fourth game but circumstances demand we do it now" (after their first game, ''Stellar Conquest''). Initial issues were in a plain-paper digest format. By issue 17, it had grown to a full size bimonthly magazine, printed on slick paper. When Steve Jackson departed Metagaming to found his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''. History Founded in 1980, six years after the creation of ''Dungeons & Dragons'', SJ Games created several role-playing and strategy games with science fiction themes. SJ Games' early titles were microgames initially sold in 4×7 inch ziploc bags, and later in the similarly sized Pocket Box. Games such as ''Ogre'', '' Car Wars'', and ''G.E.V'' (an ''Ogre'' spin-off) were popular during SJ Games' early years. Game designers such as Loren Wiseman and Jonathan Leistiko have worked for Steve Jackson Games. Today SJ Games publishes a variety of games, such as card games, board games, strategy games, and in different genres, such as fantasy, sci-fi, and gothic horror. They also published the book '' Principia Discordia'', the sacred text of the Discordian religion. Raid by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Airmail Pilot
''Airmail Pilot'' is a video game published in 1979 by Instant Software, in which the player pilots a Curtiss JN-4D "Jenny" biplane carrying mail from Columbus, Ohio to Chicago. Gameplay The game begins with an advertisement attributed to an 18 July 1922 issue of the '' Chicago Sun'' which reads: "Wanted: Airmail pilot for the Columbus to Chicago run. Must be willing to fly in every type of weather. Only the foolhardy need apply." The player pilots a Curtiss JN-4D "Jenny" biplane carrying mail from Columbus, Ohio to Chicago, via Dayton, Indianapolis, and Logansport. Reception Bruce Campbell reviewed ''Airmail Pilot'' in '' The Space Gamer'' No. 36. Campbell commented that "If you are looking for a realistic airflight simulation, ''Airmail Pilot'' is not for you. Since its price is on the lower end of the software spectrum, I do recommend it for those looking for a quick, easy, enjoyable game with limited staying power." Another reviewer from '' Moves'' commented, "It can be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
