Programming Retro Games in Python | 80s Usborne Computer Coding Book

Please note, this video is not intended as a programming tutorial, it's just to show me having a go at converting the games. Hopefully seeing this will inspire others to have a go themselves :)
Today join me as I have another go coding some retro 80s computer games. This time I'm typing in games from the Usborne book: "Computer Battlegames", using my BBC Micro Computer from the 1980s. Then I convert the games to work in the computer language Python.
And don't worry, you don't need retro hardware to try the original BASIC language out yourself, as you can easily recreate this with an emulator. For the BBC Micro, my favourite emulator I like to use is "BeebEm" ( www.mkw.me.uk/beebem ).
As mentioned, for those who haven't seen, here is a link to my previous "Coding games like it's the 80s" video ➡️ • Coding games like it’s...
Usborne website link (with book downloads) below ⬇️⬇️⬇️
usborne.com/gb/books/computer...
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[@robertbreyer3309]

When I was younger I always found the artwork was vastly more impressive than the game.

[@catsaregovernmentspies]

That was one of the criticisms of Atari, and is why Nintendo released their first releases as the "Black Box" series, with pixel art on the cover showing an accurate representation of what you could expect from the game.

[@thomaswinston5142]

That's how they sold the games.

[@KarriKoivusalo]

Indeed, when newcomers complain how modern games prioritize graphics over a good gaming experience (implying this is a recent thing) they obviously weren't around in the eighties when horrible games were sold with box art.

[@matthewweng8483]

The childhood trauma of coming home having blown all your chore money, geeked to pop in your new Atari VCS game only to realize you'd bought a total stinker... 😝

[@JCCyC]

@@catsaregovernmentspies Activision was more honest IIRC. At least on the cartridge label.

[@rlacombe]

As a 49 year old, it is refreshing to see someone so young interested in retro micros!

[@OneAndOnlyMe]

I still have my ZX81. Wish I'd kept my Commodore now.

[@rlacombe]

@@miroslaw5615 old enough to have used the BBC Micro at school and seen the release of the ZX Spectrum!

[@rameynoodles152]

Hell, as a 29 year old, it's still refreshing for me.

[@sols.2525]

@@OneAndOnlyMe yeah I wish I still had my Commodore 64 setup too.

[@semplew]

It's good to see that younger generations are keeping older systems alive.

[@mattihp]

The artwork in those books is amazing. Somehow the style always reminded me of the movie parodies in MAD Magazine

[@OneAndOnlyMe]

Those books got me started. I never looked back. Today I'm an enterprise systems architect.

[@lucasrem]

Why so bored ? You should create again, post it here ! enterprise systems, why that ?

[@OneAndOnlyMe]

@@lucasrem Natural progression from systems analyst to enterprise architect, from starting in small companies to big corporate and government enterprises.

[@theoDSP]

Worth noting that the `msvcrt` module is only available on Windows systems so if you are using Linux or Mac you can use the 'keyboard' module.

[@karilawler]

Thanks - I probably should have mentioned that in the vid👍

[@MjArmstrong35]

Just found this channel yesterday, seeing such a young person interested in our yesterday is brilliant and so are you 😇

[@Urko2005]

Well said.

[@maidbloke]

54 year old BBC Micro owner here. That start-up sound at 1:10 brings back so many memories. 😍😍😍

[@RetroJack]

💯

[@lucasrem]

You learned coding, why care how old it is ?

[@pcarmonac]

At 48 years old, being a dentist, I remember writing those programs in Atari Basic (it is what was strongest here in Chile), "thanks" to the pandemic I decided to return to programming and learned Python, not yet enough to dedicate myself to this passion for programming, but I do like being able to "convert" those programs from Basic to Python and see them work again. Thank you very much Kari for the endearing content you generate. Greetings

[@bluesoystercultist7164]

Wait, Chile!? Wena conchetumare :D Yo tenia entendido que tener acceso a productos como el C64 era casi imposible en los 80

[@pcarmonac]

@@bluesoystercultist7164 wena !!!! de echo yo tenia Atari por que el Commodore ese si que era escaso, solo unos pocos tenían ese compu. Hasta hoy tengo el 65XE y el 800XL, busco la consola Atari 2600

[@dylanherron3963]

Oh man, the ART in the background of all the game code pages! My favorite part about retro materials was the immense effort put into the artwork to kind of "help along" the reader imagine what the boxes and symbols represent, lol. Loving this channel! I'm 31 and know JS about this and FA about where to get any of these original products!

[@atys1966]

Thanks Kari I have enjoyed all your videos, takes me back to my youth and my ZX81 and Spectrum days, please do keep the content coming.

[@NickT6630]

These books started my journey in to programming on the ZX Spectrum+ back in the 80's.

[@Urko2005]

Ace days typing in the progs from the magazines back then.

[@pataleno]

@@Urko2005 Me too into my ZX81

[@panopolis8051]

10:35 thought you had 3 hands for a second 🤣 good video, keep em coming!

[@josephkarl2061]

It's great to see you getting into rhe gateway drug that got so many of us into programming back in the day 💯

[@dylanherron3963]

So the, 90's when I was a child, felt like and endless landscape of constantly improving technology. I'm fascinated with the 8 and 16 bit era, since it was just out of my reach (being an infant lol)

[@nebhead77]

Great idea for a video! Really fun to watch how far we have come.

[@robertbronkowski3262]

I really like how you re-program these games in python. truly amazing.

[@shootmcrunfast]

Awesome stuff. I used to have these books back in the day, the artwork stoked my naive young mind and I honestly imagined graphics akin to the artwork in the book!!

[@Gordos503]

I thoroughly enjoyed this video. A nice trip down memory lane and I learnt a bit of Python too. Great work and I can’t wait to see more! Cheers! 🇨🇦

[@FifthOfNovember_Original]

Thanks for yet another great video! Looking forward to see more retro themed coding content!

[@BlameThande]

I love the Usborne books, not only these computer coding ones but others too, great to see them being put to use!

[@jeffersonkohler4162]

What a lovely channel, Kari. Please keep making your good content.

[@paulooliveira130]

Thank you so much for this video! This was really a brilliant idea. Now I want to go check those vintage programming magazines too XD

[@denissoames4372]

Great to see a 00s CompSci generation programmer playing with old tech and reinventing old code for other Python newbs. I've a classroom idea forming. Keep up the good work!

[@BastiaanOlij]

This brings back so many memories, using my dads TRS-80 with similar programming books, writing my first basic programs. Cool to see people today still find fun in it :)

[@ImDaCoolDad]

I love your videos! You have only come up on my feed and love them! I watched the 3D print one of et and Mario. I'm a school teacher and totally going to do that with my students. Thanks for your awesome content. Great work 👍

[@fabiomoises5765]

Loved! I love retro text games. Your video inspired me to study Python.

[@tedmerrick935]

I am 46 and used to use those old BASIC programs in magazines and the nostalgia hit hard. This was fantastic to watch.

[@JosephHaig]

I had those books when they came out (I'm showing my age). When I saw that Osborne made them available for downloading I also had the idea of rewriting them for Python but didn't get round to it. Your walk-through here is fantastic!

[@ReverendPONT]

This brought back memories. My Dad subscribed to these and would program quite a few of these. I remember flipping through the pages and helping him pick what games to program.

[@MrShikaga]

I had that book as a child of around 8 years old in the 90s. By that time it was already pretty retro, but we had an old DOS computer with Basic on it. I didn’t know how to code (I mostly just liked to look at the pictures) but I just typed the words in and sometimes it worked, but normally it didn’t. But those rare moments it did work were like magic! And the very few times I was able to modify small bits to customise the game were genuinely transcendent experiences and set me on the path to ultimately becoming software engineer. Great to see that book again!

[@tastyw0rm]

I had this book! so many memories, thank you!

[@tobiasjames9107]

Oooh that's the shootout game I did from this book as a child, before becoming disenchanted with it sadly. It was years before I dipped my toe into programming again. Great video as always!

[@barnes0801]

I did not know you could get those books online for free - thank you! I had so many of them when I was a kid which was, sadly, when the BBC Micro was contemporary.

[@PaulioBee]

Wow... With so many retro computer channels on here now, it's refreshing to see something a little different. The old programming books, particularly those aimed at children, may be the most overlooked aspect of retro computing. I had one such book in the 80s, and I read it over and over again, and typed in the programs that were in the back. I've spent recent years collecting many books. Maybe this will encourage me to do a little exhibition of a neat little program or two.

[@Urko2005]

Love seeing younger people loving the stuff i used to do in my teens in early 80s. The BBC was a very upmarket machine in its day.

[@lucasrem]

UK only machine !

[@Applecitylightkiwi]

Glad i discovered you, these are things i expect from a youtuber

[@TheHaircutFish]

Awesome job, just went through using your video and created it to using Python. Then posted it to github, adding credits to you and linking your video in the code. Along with the link to the Usborne page. Great job, lots of fun!

[@GeorgesChannel]

Amazing video, Kari! Combining old tech with new is what i love doing also! Great T-Shirt of Robocop. Love the movie too. Keep up your great work!

[@karilawler]

Thanks so much!

[@GeorgesChannel]

@@karilawler Always welcome. I am a Software-Developer reaching back to the 80's. Love that you have chosen this topic.

[@HypnoGenX]

Love this idea. Using old magazine listings then porting them sounds like a good time to me. 😁

[@HeatDeath76]

A few months back I converted several games from a copy of "Practise Your Basic" I still had from when I was in grade 7 in the late 80s. I did a little googling, but I couldn't figure out a way to make ia python equivalent of inkey work. Thanks for digging up msvcrt! Super useful! I've added that to my personal python cookbook document!

[@daltonyon]

Awesome this book, I have never seen that and already love!

[@xjet]

Reminds me of when I first got into microcomputers way back in the late 1970s. So much effort, so much fun.

[@Tenebrarium]

Hey Kari, I think you are great! And great content, looking forward for more :)

[@retrogiftsuk4812]

I had that exact book back in the day (along with a couple of other programming books). I used to love looking through the book at the pictures to choose a game to type in.

[@rexjaneway186]

Oh my...I didnt remember that book but when I waychwd the video it triggered so many memories...thanks a lot❤

[@x3n0l3e6]

I like your tshirt . I find your videos entertaining and relaxing .

[@Trovolt]

You should program all the games of that book! make a youtube series of programing it! would love to watch all of them, keep on the good work, you are amazing.

[@housecaldwell]

It's fantastic that Usborne made these books available! I'm trying out the Space Games (in Python) now thanks to this video.

[@techhoppy]

As someone who typed in 100's of BASIC programs from magazines in my youth, and also as someone who enjoys Python, this was a great video! Thanks!

[@Daniel15au]

Love your videos, Kari! I had those books even though I'm only 33. My school library were getting rid of old books, and they were going to throw them away so I took them. Had to get emulators for the old computers they were designed for since I couldn't find any of them locally in Australia.

[@RetroSegaDev]

Kari your BASIC to Python skills are really smooth! :D My Python knowledge of libraries is flaky at best and you absolutely sail it.

[@jackfry]

love your videos they're awesome! and that robocop tee 'chefs kiss'

[@ColaSpandex]

I am currently working on a new game for the BBC Micro. This made me smile.

[@squarehead6c1]

This is cool. I have some of those books and was interested in re-implementing some of the games in Python with my daughter.

[@Greatkudos]

This was great. Please do more videos like this.

[@xShibux]

Love your Chanel, keep up these videos!

[@TevelDrinkwater]

Remember entering these games by hand in my Vic-20! What a blast from the past. I've downloaded these PDF's before, after hearing about Usborne releasing them for free back in an old Ars Technica article. I haven't tried entering the programs again though. Cool to see them still around.

[@lincoln537]

Very interesting videos. I actually love them. Subscribed

[@mikelock6931]

Excellent video! I still actually have my copy of that book, along with its sibling Computer Spacegames, which I remember my mum buying from the school bookclub for my Spectrum-owning older brother. I wonder what the authors would say if they knew people were still looking at thier programs over 40 years later!

[@rrivillox]

Great job!!!! Congratulations 🎉🎉🎉

[@TechyMantis]

Our family had a BBC micro when I was about 5 in the 80s and loved it.

[@azb7000]

Thank you so much for this video! I've re-coded Vital Message in C#. I'm an amateur, and this was a nice exercise!

[@ShaneSimmons]

Love it. This was one of my activities during 2020 when I was stuck at home and recovering from pneumonia. I managed to get a Compute! 1987 Amiga fractal mountain routine running in Pygame. Much more educational than just playing a game.

[@RobotoPerson]

It's so awesome hearing you say bbc

[@davidplanet3919]

Coding micro computers in the 80s. Learnt so much - miss those times and the computers.

[@JamieBainbridge]

Very cool! I have done this too, converting old BASIC games into C. It's a good way to learn the differences and similarities between languages, and to think about how to structure your code which becomes useful when you do other things in your own programs later.

[@MichaelB-wm5cg]

Just restored my family BBC Micro a few months ago. I had to replace some old power supply filter caps after they produced the magic white smoke. Now playing many games from the 80's from a nice SSD card kit you can buy.

[@ReviewsforNerds]

in high school we had IBM 386 machines all over camups. In computer class we were allowed to play around with basic and vb and the such. There were games (snake, gorillas, etc) that we could get into and modify. it was so much fun. Such a great video. thank you.

[@TheRealTombliboos]

I had the BBC Electron! Awesome content, tvm!

[@Newtube_Channel]

Clever clocks, digging the computer laboratory you have there

[@AnalogX64]

Very cool covering this topic. I think I might still have that book :) I remember trying to type a lot of those games on my Commodore 64 and couldnt get them to work.

[@Ultra-Violet]

Hi Kari, great video, I'm impressed with your knowledge of these old systems, I love watching these videos, I get fully absorbed 🙂 thanks for your time here. Oh yeah, I bought a t-shirt from postees because of you, maybe they could be a sponsor? Robocop 👍🏻💜

[@DadofScience]

These are quite clever little programs showing particular functionality to provide the basics of a game, but leaving it open to the home user to add to it, adding ASCII graphics, 'Play again?' features and even levels if they have the patience to do so. I'd forgotten this sort of thing from back in day!

[@gregmckinley5178]

The 80's were a good time. Looks like your programming BASIC. I remember that

[@Mr2at]

Yes did all the typing out of games from the magazines in the early 80's and was always underwhelmed. Enough so it put me off coding. So I became an IT Project Manager instead. Excellent channel.

[@georgeyreynolds]

The BBC Micro is nice to type on. In my school we had a couple of model B but mostly Master 128. I installed new backup batteries in the Master 128s, using AA battery packs at my secondary school, they were still working in 2001.

[@AFourEyedGeek]

Your presentation style and subject are giving me Violet Berlin vibes from Bad Influence.

[@snakecaseofficial]

Hey Kari, cool project. As a child, I programmed some games for the C16 from a magazine :) That inspired me to become a computer scientist. I think this is also a good way to learn python. cheers.

[@SEGAMasterSystemNerd]

I have this Battle Games book.. “borrowed” it from the school library in 1985 when I was 10.. so it’s a bit late being returned 😅 And yes we had a singular BBC Micro in the hallway on a trolley.. used to use it every lunchtime ☺️ Unfortunately I never did become a programmer.. Great videos, really cool seeing you enter these programs 👍

[@Inaflap]

I have a book of dinosaurs loaned in 1977. OMG I'm on the run, as the late return fine will be massive.

[@Lucas_Pit]

Just found your channel. This is so great :) I remember there was a radio show here on Thursday nights where they actually played back a most annoying beeps and squeaks sounds from the old days. I used to record them from the radio broadcast with a tape recorder and then load the program on the C64. Those were the days. Would love to see you replicate in python the stuff you could do in the days with ‘sprites’ on the Sinclair ZX Spectrum.

[@Inaflap]

Perhaps that was Datarama. That was a regular radio show in 1983 that broadcast code (typically 30 seconds long). I think Micro Live on BBC television did the same during the end credits sometimes. They also did a thing with a flashing square in the top-right of the screen, but you needed a light pen taped to your television screen (over that area of course).

[@silvermig]

Nice!. A couple a years ago I did the same, but with some of those old "Write your own adventure/fantasy Game from the Usborne books", for the sake of fun. I never though someone else would do the same.

[@JoaoNeto-up8zi]

Very cool but I want to see more of the timed/coroutine games! These books are pure gold

[@rickrivethead]

O WOW, This really takes me back!!, I remember back in the 80's typing a programme from a game magazine into my Amstrad 464, which was so long I had to leave the computer on all night in order to finish it!. Of course, this was the 80's and there was a power cut obviously!!! 12 hours of game data lost!!!....... I didn't restart it!!!

[@BoopSnoot81]

Very similar to “Compute!” Magazine in the US which was based for the Commodore series of PC. Lots of programs! And they also included an MLX complier programs as well (machine language) which were awesome to sit and punch in programs included in the magazine for hours. Lol.

[@59withqsb12]

Hi Kari, pressing all my nostalgia buttons with these books!! They used to write them in the most vanilla BASIC and then include special variations where the individual machines' own flavours of BASIC were different. That's why you'll find STOP in this listing (as it was required in some variants of BASIC), where END would be more normal on the beeb - I think STOP is mainly used in BBC BASIC for debugging, as it always returns an error message. IMHO, BBC BASIC was the most advanced BASIC of its day as it has elegant loops (REPEAT.... UNTIL something) and nice procedures (DEF PROCsomething.... ENDPROC).

[@Piglet6256]

oeeeefffff i remember this coding in Basic way back from my C64 days! Seeing it just brought back some lost memories :D

[@seancpcp]

Awesome. I was born in 82', so this was very cool to see.

[@mudi2000a]

Nice, it really brings back memories. I had the C64. Quick tip for Python when checking a number range: you can just write if 4

[@gdclemo]

Great videos! I love your enthusiasm for old technology. If I can make one small suggestion, please make the text editor font bigger in future videos so it's easier to read in a small window. Otherwise, perfect.

[@JaFlapdrolja]

Hi Kari i just love ❤ to see you code, love the shirt even more😊

[@Victoria-fs9jo]

Just found this channel and wow this is cool

[@Meglivorn]

Wow... I have my old (1982) "Writing BASIC adventure programs for the TRS-80" book that teaches you how to make text adventure games. I had an idea that maybe it could be made in some modern language like python or java, and learn a bit about the language (I dropped out of programming long time ago). Now the idea came back and nudges me :D Nice keyboard by the way :)

[@dazetwenty346]

omg i have that book in my loft somewhere! i am feeeling old was 13 when i used to type that into a VIC20!

[@MrZombieUK]

I HAD THAT BOOK and used it on the ZX Spectrum!!!! Wow, the algorithm has done me proud!

[@stevecarter8810]

I could never have dreamed this would be a thing in the twenty twenties. I would have thought we'd be busy space travelling by now. But it was a sign of the times that you put the magazine on screen to "make it easier". For me, easier is paper, you can put it anywhere and don't need to use up "valuable" screen space with it.

[@CustAndCode]

How cool! 🤩🤩🤩 I remember a type of DBASE DB Code in one of these magazines. 😀 great memories! 😀

[@jessecampbell7628]

Amazing, I thought I was the only person who did this for fun ❤

[@ru2979]

Wow loved the video ❤

[@marsguyphil]

I remember checking these out of the library when I was a kid. We also somehow had BBC micros in my junior high school (in America), all of them sharing a pair of floppy disks via a weird serial port network. Felt really advanced by the standards of 1986!

[@MarkKnights]

I love programming. Thanks for this. I have only dabbled in Python, may give it a longer look.

[@GuzForster]

Gosh my nostalgia just quicked in hard. I need to buy these books.