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I learnt to program on the ZXSpectrum with "Write Your Own Adventure Programs for Your Microcomputer" [0] The RPi400 with Pico-8 seems to tick the same boxes,

by jops 6y ago

I learnt to program on the ZXSpectrum with "Write Your Own Adventure Programs for Your Microcomputer" [0] The RPi400 with Pico-8 seems to tick the same boxes, so I got one for my 10yr old. He's loving it. Perfect use case. [0] https://colorcomputerarchive.com/repo/Documents/Books/Write%20Your%20Own%20Adventure%20Programs%20(1983)(Usborne).pdf https://colorcomputerarchive.com/repo/Documents/Books/Write%...

abraxas 6y ago
I wish there was a bare metal option that boots RPI 400 into a BASIC or Python interpreter the way the 8 bit machines used to
- lixtra 6y ago
  What do you mean by bare metal? Booting into python (or basic) would probably take less than 1h for someone who knows what they are doing.
- notpygame 6y ago
  There's a python/pygame/pygame_gui OS that does exactly this called snakeware. https://github.com/joshiemoore/snakeware https://github.com/joshiemoore/snakeware Grab the rpi4 image and go.
- drcode 6y ago
  Pick up a pocket chip for $40 on eBay- you have to click a single button after boot and then can start coding a game with pico-8 in lua.
- 0-_-0 6y ago
  Check out this thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18228740 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18228740
- zozbot234 6y ago
  RISC OS for RPi can do this. Not sure if RPi400 is supported just yet.
- UncleSlacky 6y ago
  RISC OS Pico boots straight into BBC Basic: https://web.archive.org/web/20181109020203/https://www.riscosopen.org/content/sales/risc-os-pico https://web.archive.org/web/20181109020203/https://www.risco... (IA link as it's been removed from the site, but the installer is still available via IA).
  - bencollier49 6y ago
    This is the correct answer. I've copied BBC BASIC games directly to a Pi running RISC OS Pico: https://www.bencollier.info/projects/electronics/emulation/fun/games/retrocomputing/riscos/raspberrypi/2016/01/02/getting-yellow-river-kingdom-running-risc-os-pico.html https://www.bencollier.info/projects/electronics/emulation/f... To reiterate, the Pi can be made directly backwards-compatible with 8-bit games from 40 years ago. It's wonderful.
- simonh 6y ago
  The Pi OS comes with Python installed, the pygame libraries, a bunch of games written in Python and of course the source code so you can modify them and create your own. https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/usage/python/README.md https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/usage/python/READM... https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/usage/python-games/README.md https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/usage/python-games...
- mlyle 6y ago
  It's not bare metal, but Python on Pi400 is great for kids. Especially with side-by-side with a Minecraft window and the Minecraft Pi Edition python integration. Also, there's a whole lot of little boards that support Micropython, and boot straight to it, including ESP32 etc. I use them in the classes I teach.
  - boogies 6y ago
    Wasn’t Minecraft Pi Edition discontinued years ago? Minetest on the other hand might be a great intro to programming with its Lua script mods, and also has always been designed for modest hardware.
    - cyberbanjo 6y ago
      https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/edition/pi https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/edition/pi Appears to still be available
      - boogies 6y ago
        But not updated in ~7 years since v0.1.1 https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Pi_Edition https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Pi_Edition
        mlyle 6y ago
        Yah, it's discontinued, but it works fine and is still distributed. It's a fine path to write some code and interact with a working game world.
        boogies 6y ago
        Yah, it’s technically functional, but there’s an actively maintained alternative that can support such advanced features as spawning mobs (like, say, the mascot in Minecraft’s logo).
fmakunbound 6y ago
These Usborne (and other) books were fantastic!
butlersean 6y ago
one of my colleagues uses that as an assignment for his students, they have to port one of the listings to c++
antod 6y ago
I got my start with a Spectrum and that book too. Far less luck interesting my kids in computers though.

by jops 6y ago

abraxas 6y ago

I wish there was a bare metal option that boots RPI 400 into a BASIC or Python interpreter the way the 8 bit machines used to

lixtra 6y ago
What do you mean by bare metal? Booting into python (or basic) would probably take less than 1h for someone who knows what they are doing.
notpygame 6y ago
There's a python/pygame/pygame_gui OS that does exactly this called snakeware. https://github.com/joshiemoore/snakeware https://github.com/joshiemoore/snakeware Grab the rpi4 image and go.
drcode 6y ago
Pick up a pocket chip for $40 on eBay- you have to click a single button after boot and then can start coding a game with pico-8 in lua.
0-_-0 6y ago
Check out this thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18228740 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18228740
zozbot234 6y ago
RISC OS for RPi can do this. Not sure if RPi400 is supported just yet.
UncleSlacky 6y ago
RISC OS Pico boots straight into BBC Basic: https://web.archive.org/web/20181109020203/https://www.riscosopen.org/content/sales/risc-os-pico https://web.archive.org/web/20181109020203/https://www.risco... (IA link as it's been removed from the site, but the installer is still available via IA).
- bencollier49 6y ago
  This is the correct answer. I've copied BBC BASIC games directly to a Pi running RISC OS Pico: https://www.bencollier.info/projects/electronics/emulation/fun/games/retrocomputing/riscos/raspberrypi/2016/01/02/getting-yellow-river-kingdom-running-risc-os-pico.html https://www.bencollier.info/projects/electronics/emulation/f... To reiterate, the Pi can be made directly backwards-compatible with 8-bit games from 40 years ago. It's wonderful.
simonh 6y ago
The Pi OS comes with Python installed, the pygame libraries, a bunch of games written in Python and of course the source code so you can modify them and create your own. https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/usage/python/README.md https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/usage/python/READM... https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/usage/python-games/README.md https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/usage/python-games...
mlyle 6y ago
It's not bare metal, but Python on Pi400 is great for kids. Especially with side-by-side with a Minecraft window and the Minecraft Pi Edition python integration. Also, there's a whole lot of little boards that support Micropython, and boot straight to it, including ESP32 etc. I use them in the classes I teach.
- boogies 6y ago
  Wasn’t Minecraft Pi Edition discontinued years ago? Minetest on the other hand might be a great intro to programming with its Lua script mods, and also has always been designed for modest hardware.
  - cyberbanjo 6y ago
    https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/edition/pi https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/edition/pi Appears to still be available
    - boogies 6y ago
      But not updated in ~7 years since v0.1.1 https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Pi_Edition https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Pi_Edition
      - mlyle 6y ago
        Yah, it's discontinued, but it works fine and is still distributed. It's a fine path to write some code and interact with a working game world.
        boogies 6y ago
        Yah, it’s technically functional, but there’s an actively maintained alternative that can support such advanced features as spawning mobs (like, say, the mascot in Minecraft’s logo).

fmakunbound 6y ago

These Usborne (and other) books were fantastic!

butlersean 6y ago

one of my colleagues uses that as an assignment for his students, they have to port one of the listings to c++

antod 6y ago

I got my start with a Spectrum and that book too. Far less luck interesting my kids in computers though.