Originally published in COMPUTE!’s Gazette Issue 2, August 1983
Education and Rescue
The Programmers Guild has released three tapes of educational games for the unexpanded VIC and a rescue game for the Commodore 64.
• Math Escape presents a series of math problems at graduated difficulty levels; $14.95.
• Sea Word teaches grammar, spelling, and vocabulary by having the player unscramble words to defeat the sea serpent. Upper levels require knowledge of the parts of speech; $9.95.
• In Birthday Party a clown leads players through a party complete with song, a cake with the correct number of candles, and games. On the same tape is Story Time, a game that allows children to fill in the blanks of a story, creating a variety of situations; $9.95.
• Sub Rescue, was designed to make use of the 64’s sprite graphics and sound capabilities. The strategy game requires you to guide your submarine fleet to rescue stranded divers. Underwater mines and a relentless death ship add complications; $24.95.
Programmers Guild
P.O. Box 220
LaCrescent, MN 55947
Games, Games, Games
Brøderbund Software has converted several of its best-selling games for use on the VIC-20 and Commodore 64. Unless otherwise noted, the games are joystick controlled and sell for $39.95.
• AE places you in defense of Earth against squadrons of robot sting rays. The VIC-20 game includes four 3-D screens.
• Sky Blazer is the name of the WWIII plane you pilot as you attack the headquarters of the repressive Bungeling Empire. In this VIC game, you’ll have to keep an eye on your fuel consumption and limited bomb load, and hope the supply plane arrives on time.
• Seafox is an underwater adventure game for both the VIC and 64. You must take on a convoy of enemy ships while dodging depth charges, mines, and torpedoes.
• In Choplifter!, a cartridge game for the 64, you fend off jet fighters, air mines, and tank fire to rescue hostages from behind enemy lines. The game, which sells for $44.95, features animation and 3-D graphics.
• Serpentine, for the 64, is an arcade action game with 20 levels of play. You, the snake, must dispose of the giant serpents before they dispose of you.
• David’s Midnight Magic is a high-resolution pinball game that features dual flipper control and multiple ball play. The game, which is available on disk for the 64, does not require joysticks. It sells for $34.95.
Brøderbund Software, Inc.
1938 Fourth St.
San Rafael, CA 94901
Word Processor With Dictionary
Script 64 is a full-function Commodore 64 word processor with a built-in dictionary that can be expanded to 20,000 words. The program includes all normal editing functions plus the ability to hold 40 screen pages in memory at one time, automatic page numbering, headers and trailers, and a redefinable keyboard.
Script 64 works with the Commodore 1541 disk drive and the Commodore 1525 printer. Other serial printers can be used with an optional RS-232 interface.
The word processor, which sells for $139.95, can be used with other CBM disk drives and IEEE printers by using the C-64 Link, an IEEE interface. The C-64 Link also adds 15 BASIC 4.0 commands and allows eight 64s to be chained together to share time on a disk drive or common IEEE printer. The C-64 Link sells for $169.95.
Computer Marketing Services, Inc.
300 W. Marlton Pike
Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
(609)795-9480
Word Processor, Games, And Equipment
Micro-Ware Distributing has a number of new products available for the VIC-20, including Word Wizard, an all-machine language word processor.
Word Wizard requires memory expansion of at least 8K. It uses standard VIC-20 commands and includes search functions, page layout commands, flexible print routines, and routines to save to either tape or disk.
The program displays the amount of memory left for text input, and it allows a joystick to be used to scroll horizontally or vertically to view the entire document. Word Wizard is available on cassette for $34.95.
Micro-Ware’s games include Key-Quest, a high-resolution adventure, and Triple Play. In Key-Quest, you wander through a dungeon stealing treasures from the Gorbs. After you’ve accumulated enough booty, a magic key appears. Pick it up and unlock the passage to the next level. The game is available on cartridge for $34.95.
Triple Play is a tape loaded with three word games. “Crosswords,” which requires an 8K expansion, includes five complete crossword puzzles. “Crypto-solve” is a message decoding game. Enter your own messages or work on one of the 50 puzzles provided with the program. “Hidden Words” generates a matrix of letters on the screen. Your job is to find a set of randomly placed words in the matrix. Triple Play is available for $29.95.
VIC-20 equipment available from Micro-Ware includes a parallel printer interface and a tape recorder interface, both produced by Tymac Controls.
The $19.95 parallel printer interface plugs into the user port to provide the necessary link between the VIC and almost any parallel printer. Included with the interface is a printer driver software listing.
The Universal Tape Recorder Interface and Duplicator allows you to use nearly any cassette recorder with your VIC. The unit includes an audio enhancement circuit and three LED indicators to allow you to monitor your interface at all times. The $49 interface also allows you to use two recorders to make backup tapes without loading the software into the computer.
Micro-Ware Distributing, Inc.
P.O. Box 113
Pompton Plains, NJ 07444
Cartridge Word Processor
A cartridge-based word processor for the VIC-20 is available from United Microware Industries.
Wordcraft 20 includes a page capacity of 66 lines of 99 characters, page format commands, automatic line centering, text highlighting, and tab stops. The program has automatic word wrap to eliminate broken words at the ends of lines. A demonstration tape is provided with the program.
The cartridge, which sells for $149.95, contains the 16K Wordcraft program on ROM chips. Wordcraft 20 Plus, which sells for $199.95, includes an additional 8K of memory. Documents created with the program can be stored on either tape or disk.
United Microware Industries, Inc.
3503-C Temple Ave.
Pomona, CA 91768
Wordcraft 20 is a plug-in word processor for the VIC-20.
Sports Strategy
Two sports strategy games for the VIC-20 are available from Parr Programming. In each game, Baseball Adversary and Football Adversary, you are the team’s manager or coach, and your opponent is the computer.
Baseball Adversary, which sells for $10.95, allows you to position your defense, and call in pinch hitters and relief pitchers.
In Football Adversary, you select from a playbook of 31 plays. The game requires 8K expansion and sells for $14.95.
Parr Programming
2664 Tyler St.
Gary, IN 46407
(219)885-0511
Preschool VIC
Garden Valley Software has developed a set of VIC-20 games designed to teach a young child the alphabet, numbers, and basic math and reading skills.
The programs, designed for children ages 3 to 7, include Copy Cats, ABC, First Numbers, and First Words.
The entire set is available for $24.95.
Garden Valley Software
P.O. Box 23
Garden Valley, ID 83622
COMPUTE!’s Gazette for Commodore welcomes announcements of new products for VIC-20 and Commodore 64 computers, especially products aimed at beginning to intermediate users. Please send press releases and photos well in advance to: Tony Roberts, Assistant Managing Editor, COMPUTE!’s Gazette, P.O. Box 5406, Greensboro, NC 27403. New product releases are selected from submissions for reasons of timeliness, available space, and general interest to our readers. We regret that we are unable to select all new product submissions for publication. Readers should be aware that we present here some edited version of material submitted by vendors and are unable to vouch for its accuracy at time of publication.