Updates:

• 2024-02-10 – Added screen shots, and pasted in the code.

On February 2, 2024, I received an e-mail with the subject: Eggs program

Could this be someone who had a copy of the VIC-NIC News newsletter where my “Eggs” VIC-20 program appeared? The e-mail read:

Hi Allen,

I saw on your website you were looking for a copy of your Eggs program listing that was in The Vic-Nic News magazine.

I went through the issues I have (#1 thru 7) and found the listing in #6. If you still need it, I can scan the page and email it to you or copy it and mail it.

Take care,

(name to be added, pending permission)

– e-mail received on 2/2/2024

I replied back:

“Proof that VIC-NIC NEWS actually existed! I would very much like a scan of that issue. Actually, since this is so difficult to find, would you be willing to scan them all so we could get them uploaded somewhere? Maybe archive.org?

But yes. Please yes. I would very much like that. Very much.”

– my e-mail reply

And today, I received a scan of my Eggs program! I had pretty much given up ever finding a copy.

Thank you thank you thank you!

I recognize my doodles, but had forgotten I sent drawings in. Actually, I believe I sent the program in typed up via a typewriter. The instructions and the “ASCII art” representation of the game screen were typed by me, and the doodles were added. Actually, I did have some kind of thermal printer for my VIC-20, so perhaps I included the program printed out that way (I see it has a few embedded screen control codes in a few PRINT statements). It is very exciting to see this again.

Very, very cool.

I typed it in to CBM prg Studio so I could play it:

1 print"{clear}{down*3}      eggs"
2 print"{down*3}  by  allen huffman"
3 print"{down*2}vic-nic news july 1983"
4 forj=1to5000:next
5 poke36879,8:printchr$(147)
10 b=8130:m=3:sc=0
15 e=int(rnd(1)*20)+7703
20 printchr$(19);chr$(5);"score:";sc
25 pokeb,21:pokee,81
30 poke37154,127
35 j=(not((peek(37151)and128)/8+(peek(37151)and60)/4))+32
40 poke37154,255
45 ifj=16then80
50 pokeb,32
55 ifj=18thenb=b-1
60 ifj=17thenb=b+1
65 ifb=8120thenb=b+1
70 ifb=8141thenb=b-1
75 pokeb,21
80 pokee,32
85 e=e+22
90 pokee,81
95 ife=>8120ande=bthen110
100 ife=>8120ande<>bthen115
105 goto25
110 sc=sc+10:pokee,32:goto15
115 m=m-1:pokee,32
120 ifm=0then135
125 goto15
135 fort=1to5:printchr$(17):next
140 fort=1to6:printchr$(32);:next
145 printchr$(158);"game over"
150 print"{down*2}play again?  y/n"
155 geta$:ifa$="y"thenrun
160 ifa$="n"thenend
165 goto155

There may still be some typos, and I think there may be an issue with the PEEKs used to read the joystick. Currently, the Mac version of the VICE Emulator has a bug an joysticks don’t work (well, the fire button does, but nothing else). I will test it on my TheVIC20 machine soon.

And here it is in all its glory!

Title Screen – I think they made this title screen. I hope I would have centered things better, if I had done it.

Game Play – A “U” for the players “bucket” (B variable), and a ball for the falling “egg” (E variable):

Game Over – And the inevitable game over screen.

To be continued…