saipan59
Experienced Member
My daughter works in the hand-held gaming industry, so that inspired me to make a simple "video game" using only 1980's technology.
Key features:
- The MPU is a DEC T-11, running at 4 MHz. It has 8K of EEPROM, 8K of RAM, an MC68B50 UART, and a few GPIOs. I made the PCB a few years ago, for experimenting with T-11's.
- The display is a Tektronix 606B X-Y display (like a fancy oscilloscope, but without any sweep circuits).
- The T-11 board mates with an I/O board that includes a pair of DAC1230 DAC's, which drive the X and Y inputs on the display. The I/O board also has an MC68B21 PIA, and an AY-3-8912 sound chip (used in some 1980's console video games).
- Most of the code space in the EEPROM is used by my hacked version of figFORTH. The game code is in PDP assembly, and can be run via a FORTH command.
- In the game, you launch a spaceship from "earth" and land it on an orbital platform. Keystrokes (thru the serial port) control 'increase thrust', 'decrease thrust', 'move right', and 'move left'. If you hit earth or the platform at more than a slow speed, you blow up (Game Over).
The image of the display is not very good - too much ambient light and such.
Source code also attached (I think).
Comments/Questions welcome!
Pete
View attachment MajorTom.txt
Key features:
- The MPU is a DEC T-11, running at 4 MHz. It has 8K of EEPROM, 8K of RAM, an MC68B50 UART, and a few GPIOs. I made the PCB a few years ago, for experimenting with T-11's.
- The display is a Tektronix 606B X-Y display (like a fancy oscilloscope, but without any sweep circuits).
- The T-11 board mates with an I/O board that includes a pair of DAC1230 DAC's, which drive the X and Y inputs on the display. The I/O board also has an MC68B21 PIA, and an AY-3-8912 sound chip (used in some 1980's console video games).
- Most of the code space in the EEPROM is used by my hacked version of figFORTH. The game code is in PDP assembly, and can be run via a FORTH command.
- In the game, you launch a spaceship from "earth" and land it on an orbital platform. Keystrokes (thru the serial port) control 'increase thrust', 'decrease thrust', 'move right', and 'move left'. If you hit earth or the platform at more than a slow speed, you blow up (Game Over).
The image of the display is not very good - too much ambient light and such.
Source code also attached (I think).
Comments/Questions welcome!
Pete
View attachment MajorTom.txt
