Post #116 - Gaming In The 1980s

When I was a child growing up in the 1980s, video gaming was very much in its infancy.  Saying that, me and my two brothers were bought handheld electronic games though (complete with the mandatory four way chunky adaptor).  My stepfather purchased a Sinclair ZX81 early in the decade and then we upgraded to a 48K model (in full colour!) about a year later and hooked it up to our Sony Trinitron 14in portable television.  My first great love was Thro' The Wall  which was included on the Spectrum Horizons introductory cassette.

Thro' The Wall (bring on the wall?) was a bit like Sir Clive's ersatz version of Space Invaders.  That said, it was better in my eyes (way back then because I didn't have to venture into scary amusement arcades ...) My mum enjoyed it, especially when the puck managed to penetrate the top row of bricks(!)

Daley Thompson's Decathalon was another favourite in our household. My older brother broke the keyboard/motherboard by continually pounding away at it with two fingers and later on, a technical Lego wheel he made especially for the purpose of beating his younger siblings.

Also, I tended to like those extended adventure games such as Everyone's A Wally.  This was a follow up from the classic Pyjamarama and included the same cast of characters, namely Wally Weeks and his family.  I never completed this game, but still enjoy watching the game play on YouTube.

Mum (and my stepfather by then) purchased a 128K Spectrum after a couple of years and we played with that instead.  I can't say that I really noticed much improvement in its computing power though.