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You don't really need a full blown retro computer for all that. There are plenty of "modern" (as in "in production and in use") 8 bit embedded CPUs out there.
by archi42 6y ago
You don't really need a full blown retro computer for all that. There are plenty of "modern" (as in "in production and in use") 8 bit embedded CPUs out there.
Arduino/atmega comes to my mind, just ditch the IDE. Instead program assembly and assemble + program the board using their toolchain. Of course, at first the analog part (CRT, old keyboard) will be missing, but these are not needed to write your own little kernel. However, I did a quick search, and it seems the Arduino can interface with a VGA display: On the hardware side of things this only needs some resistors, and software side could be deemed as an interesting exercise ;-)
- Shikadi 6y agoThere's also the charm of programming graphics and sound chips, and having the same resources available as those from the 80s. There aren't endless computer magazines devoted to learning about programming the arduino and all the interesting tricks to get better graphics. Sure we have tutorials and all the information available on the internet, but arduino is niche, while commodore 64 was completely mainstream. You can definitely learn the same concepts on both, but I think it's subjective (depending on how someone learns) which is the better platform to learn on. In fact, I'd argue to learn on both!
- macjohnmcc 6y agoI think part of the appeal of the retro computers is learning to work within their limitations from memory, sound capability, etc. Sometimes having boundaries can fuel ingenuity.
- archi42 6y agoHats of to the demo scene in that regard. (Some of them just should do less drugs ^^")
- macjohnmcc 6y agoThe only downside to this approach is that you have to use a modern computer to do anything with that retro like hardware. Not that that is a horrible thing but it's another layer.