Its a screecher!

Well, its a cassette - that screeches!  Its always interesting to hear young kids claim that they don't believe that computer programs could be stored on an audio cassette...  But in 1983, that's how we did it...  The screeching sound of bits and bytes as they loaded across to the 16 or 48k of memory of the ZX Spectrum...

 I guess the concept of how you can store digital data on an audio device sounds a little wierd - but then again, back in the 80's the whole concept of sending "video" via a telephone to have some kind of visual chat was also a pretty "impossible" to imagine concept.  A phone was for voice - a television was to watch video - and of course to use as a monitor for that home computer...

But look at where we are now.  Its common place to video chat with people, everybodies carrying around a computer in their palm, we communicate with people on a global level every second of every day...  In the 1980's, this was still all "science fiction" material...

Computer games on cassettes?!  Yup... Thats how we rolled back in the 80s.

 

Now, where was I again? Oh yeh, that screeching tape...

I decided to fill in a little time, and expand my assets for my whole 3D "8-bit phase" I'm going through, to model and texture up one of the very first cassette games I got with my ZX Spectrum back in the day...  Galactic Abductors, by Anirog Software.

Another quicky 3D asset.  One of my first ZX Spectrum games

Its a very quick model, created using just the usual generic modeling tools and a few bump maps.  But I'm one more asset closer to getting around to creating and rendering a nice composition...  The plan is to next model the case and inlay and finish this asset off ready for whatever comes next into my head...

Was it the first?  It was one of two that started off my ZX Spectrum experience...  The other being Frenzy, a clone of the classic arcade game Bezerk...

Anyway, enough reminiscing for this blog entry...  Until next time...