Welcome
to my homepage. This
page has evolved over the years to become more simplified and easier to
use. I have on this page several interests of mine, including
programming, personal hobbies (computers, reading, sports, etc.) and
other interests. If you have any questions, please e-mail me at:
l
u m b e r j a c k s 7 6 @ l y c o s . c o m. For my most current thoughts and happenings, check out my Windows Live space: Paul's Space
Computers
My interest in computers goes way back -- back to the 1980's and the
famous Commodore
64/128
line of home computers. I first became interested in computing in 1983,
when my uncle brought home a Commodore 64. Way ahead of it's time, the
64 had a 320 x 200 resolution display, with 16 colors, 8 individual
sprites and a built-in speech synthesizer providing up to 3 voices. Printing was done with the Panasonic KX-1080i printer. We
had a lot of fun on the Commodore, spending countless hours playing
video games, programming, writing -- and printing -- documents (via a word processor), and even
typing in program listings from Commodore-specific computer magazines
(e.g. Compute!'s
Gazette, Run, Ahoy!, etc.).
(left) The Commodore
64.
Sooner or later, though, we all moved on to the IBM PC-line of
computers. My first IBM PC-clone was a Packard
Bell Legend 10CD
in 1994. It had a 486 processor, 4 MB of RAM, a 340 MB hard disk drive,
a 2X CD-ROM drive, a 2400 baud data/fax modem and a host of multimedia
CDs, including the New
Grolier Encyclopedia and Microsoft
Works
(which incorporated a Microsoft Word-compatible word processor and
spreadsheet).
The 486 wasn't fast enough to run Windows
95,
but we installed it on the system anyway. It took forever to boot up.
That was okay, though, because we spent most of our time in MS-DOS mode
playing the latest computer games. One of the games I played
religiously was X-Wing,
a
game taking part in the Star Wars universe. There was also a
reverse-roll version which allowed the player to play as a Tie Fighter
pilot. The graphics were truly amazing for the time and the missions
were well thought out.
(left) Pro Comm Plus.
I also used the 486 to Telnet (via PRO COMM PLUS for Windows) to
various online MUDs -- Multi-User
Dungeons.
These were multi-player online adventure games
similar to Dungeons
& Dragons, both in scope and
design. One in
particular was enjoyed for several years -- LustyMUD (and no,
despite the rough sounding name, it was really a family MUD taking
place on two continents, Melchior
and Stormhaven).
My screen name on that game was dunric, which I originally picked up as
a nickname after playing the old NES game The
Immortal
by
Will Wright and Electronic Arts (EA).
(left) Playing Lusty MUD (circa 1994).
I discovered USENET newsgroups around that same time and read up on
various game cheats for the Atari and Commodore, including a way to
(finally!) win Raiders
of the Lost Ark.
I had been at that game for over a decade without finding a solution,
and the newsgroup rec.games.video.classic provided one for me
(solution: use the parachute, shovel and medallion, making sure to land
on the tree branch with the parachute). There were also newsgroups
devoted to the Commodore (comp.sys.cbm) and the regular Sony
Playstation
(rec.games.video.sony).
After the 486 finally gave up the ghost, I upgraded in 1997 to a
Hewlett Packard Pavilion 7360 PC, which had 32 MB of RAM, a 200mhz
Pentium processor with MMX technology, a 3.8 GB hard disk drive, a 33.6
kbs Plug-N-Play modem and a 16X CD-ROM drive. The computer
served
me well throughout college until I upgraded to an e-Machines i400
with 32MB, a 400mhz processor and Windows
98
(in 1999).
(left) The Microsoft
Network.
With the new Hewlett Packard came an opportunity to finally get on the
World Wide Web (WWW), and we did so by signing up for a Microsoft
Network
(MSN) internet
account. While the host software wasn't the greatest,
the cool "Darth Vader" look of the included MSN 2.0 browser and the
associated "ding" sound whenever a certain amount of time passed online
more than made up for it. Plus, you could also check your email by
merely clicking on a link from the desktop, a handy feature for the
time.
I created homepages at Geocities,
Fortunecity
and Tripod
before
finally settling on Geocities in 1999. I was also heavily involved in
the QBasic programming community during that time, producing games with
tile-based sprite graphics and some text adventures as well (many of my
adventure games can still be found over at the Interactive
Fiction Archive
-- www.ifarchive.org).
(left) Playing Retarded Creatures and Caverns on the ZX Spectrum.
Today I am happy to report that I have since built two computers from
scratch, including a 64-bit processor computer courtesy of Fry's
Electronics. Although I am at present using a borrowed computer from my
parents, I hope to get the 64-bit computer out of storage and insert a
(working) video card. My hard disk drive and CD-ROM are also woefully
out-of-date, and when I get enough money to put towards a brand new
computer, you can bet I'll upgrade the system to something faster and
more elegant. I am also working on getting my system Microsoft
Windows Vista ready (requires at least 1 GB of RAM to run smoothly).
(left) Using GEOS 64.
Programming
I have been programming on computers since I learned to type (about
1983 or so). Many of my early programs were quite simple and even
laughable -- but they were indeed building blocks to improved programs
and games later on down the road. One of my earliest programs on the
Commodore was a text adventure named Enchanter:
Westfront to Apse.
'Westfront', as I called it, evolved from a fairly spartan dozen or so
rooms to a mammoth text adventure spanning over 80 rooms. The
game was set in Norway
and included a mythological Smurf
Village.
I incorporated several towns and villages into the game, including Oslo,
Trondheim, Stavanger and Bergen. Additionally, I added a Flora Island
just off the coast of Norway (complete with a functional lighthouse for
incoming vessels).
(left) Playing
'Enchanter: Westfront to Apse' (circa 1995).
The game included a sprite title -- WESTFRONT -- as well as a 3-D
fractal map of the surrounding countryside (actually just 8 sprites
joined together). Finally, I added a scrolling, WINDOWed text display
and function keys for easier movement. All in all, the game occupied
206 blocks on disk, leaving approximately 7,000 bytes free (the game
was written for the Commodore 128's 40-column mode). Although I lost
the original version of this game some time ago -- due to the notorious
SAVE-WITH-REPLACE bug -- I rewrote much of it from an earlier version
that I found lying around. The result was a game very similar to the
original version, albeit without some of the original rooms (Smurf
Village was replaced with a 'golden elf' village), commands (a few
misc. commands were removed) and a slightly different fighting engine
(more balanced than the original).
More on the Story of Westfront to Apse - read about my long lost game, 'Westfront'.
Another retrospective piece on Westfront to Apse - more on 'Westfront'.
The Temple of Westfront - my thoughts and remembrances about 'Westfront'.
The Unabridged Story of Westfront (updated December 1, 2007) - link says it all.
(left) Playing Dunric's 8k Adventure on the ZX Spectrum.
Text Documents
In addition to programming, I am also a prolific writer. I enjoy
writing and have even written a couple of books. For now, though, I
will include here some of the more interesting documents that I have
written which have yet to be published. Feel free to download them and
check them out. The documents range from unusual dreams that I have had
to a short story called 'The Golden Cat."
Click to join minibasic
(left) Listing a program with Lixter.
The
Rabbits of Avalon Hill - my
featured short story about rabbits who have lost their carrots.
Commodore Memories - An article on some of my memories related to the Commodore.
Early Computing Memories
- A nice article on my early computer memories, stemming from 1983 to the mid-1990s.
More Computing Memories
- Another article on my early computer memories, stemming from 1983 to the mid-1990s.
The
Seven Dreams of Paul
- read about a series of seven unusual dreams that I had once -- all
in
one night!
The
Story of Westfront to Apse - a
retrospective piece
on my first ever game. Brings back a lot of
memories.
Song
#54 - a
hip-hop song
that I wrote just for fun. Not sure how it would sound if actually
played.
The
Snail Dream
- another
dream that I had, this time involving a snail and a magic carpet ride.
MINI-BASIC by Sylvain Bizoirre - a modern programming language based off of Li-Chen Wang's Palo Alto Tiny BASIC from 1976
Sprite-Topia - my
storyboard for a video game where the 'sprites' need help finding their
way home.
The Diskette Experiments - the original (and now infamous) diskette experiments, as conducted by this person from 2003 to 2006.
The
Numerica Format
-
read about my numerical sequencing method for encoding data.
A
Loom that also plays music?
- my recent theory on a magical loom in space that can be used to play
music.
The
Linux Rainbow
- why
Linux will ultimately succeed (originally published in Linux World
magazine).
An interview with Gustav - all about the Finland programmer who discovered a message from God.
An interview with Gustav, Part II - a second look at Gustav.
The
Frontiers of Adventure
- a retrospective on the history of adventure games.
Waterlog - my quest for
the perfect balance between drinking too little water and too much.
The
Golden Cat
- the
mystical adventures of Howie, the Golden Cat.
(left) Playing Vampyre Cross.
Downloads
I have included here several games that I have written, spanning a time
period from 1995 to the present. I am still active in programming, and
have programmed in languages ranging from the Commodore 64's BASIC 2.0
to Randall
Hyde's
excellent High
Level Assembly (HLA).
(left) Playing HLA
Adventure
in Windows XP (circa July 2005). (right) Playing Twilight of the
Valkyries in MS-DOS (circa April 1999).
The 2009 2-4KB Games Competition
My
Adventure Games
(Windows)
Westfront
PC: The Trials of Guilder |
HLA
Adventure |
The
Magic Flute |
The Golden
French Fry |
Golgatha
|
Progue
|
Twilight
of the Valkyries (demo
#1) |
Twilight
of the Valkyries (demo
#2) |
Conquest
of Attica |
Orbit
Zone |
Castle Bally (for Just BASIC) |
Westfront
Omega: The Amulet of Vega |
Ghost of the Fireflies |
Dunric's 5K Tiny BASIC adventure |
Dark Forest 1 & 2 (MINI-BASIC) |
Dark Forest 2 (UBASIC)
My
Adventure Games
(Commodore)
Westfront
64 |
Westfront
to Apse 128 |
Westfront to Apse 64 |
Mystic
Castle |
Wizard Castle |
B-Venture (C64/VIC-20)
|
B-Venture (ZX81/Timex Sinclair 1000) |
Dragon Castle |
Paul's 4K Adventure (Plus/4 version) |
Ryan's Disk |
Alesian
Plains |
8k Adventure (ZX Spectrum version here:
ZX Spectrum 8K Adventure)
Westfront to Apse II |
Esotera |
Dyania |
Paul's 4K Adventure |
Vampyre Cross 64 |
Vampyre Cross +4 |
Merlin's Quest
My
Adventure Games
(ZX Spectrum/ZX-81)
8k Adventure (ZX Spectrum version) |
8K Adventure (ZX-81 version) |
Andre's 8K Adventure Port
Other programs
ScreenBuilder
|
ScreenLoader
Miniwrite (C64)
|
MINI-BASIC |
Ryan's Disk (C64)
(left)
Marty Francom's ScreenBuilder v1.0.
(left)
Artwork for Dunric's 8K Adventure
My Articles
I have written a number of articles for Linux and Windows specific
magazines and online publications, including Byte, Dr.
Dobb's Journal
and Linux
World.
Here are but a sampling of these works below.
The
Ubuntu Experience (Linux World)
Memory
is just like RAM...volatile (Linux World)
The
Vanishing Bits (Linux World)
The
Commodore Comeback (BYTE.com)
Who Are The Real
Victims? (Dr. Dobb's Journal)
Sports & other
hobbies
I have always been a huge fan of sports, in particular American
college and professional football and basketball. My favorite sport,
though, is college football. I love the Arizona
State Sun Devils
and have been a HUGE fan of their team since
the
1980s. Although I graduated from Northern
Arizona University
in Flagstaff, I am at heart a Sun Devil.
For pro sports, I am an avid follower of the Phoenix
Suns of the NBA (find out who the BEST team in Suns history is by
clicking here!)
,
who have
always come THIS CLOSE to winning an NBA Title -- only to fall short.
But that's why I love them...they try so hard and yet don't often
succeed!
(sort of like me)
When I'm not watching sports, I enjoy reading, writing and
programming. I also like religion, science fiction, history, art and
music. The list goes on and on. Most of my interests have been evolving
over
time, including a love of computers and art. I also like technology and
how data is stored on CDs and disks.
(left) Playing Dunric's 8k Adventure on the ZX-81.
Links
Here are several links that I have found in my internet travels. The
first link is part of this homepage, as it is my Commodore-specific
website called The
Commodore User II. The rest are pages from
around the web
that I found interesting or otherwise useful.
The
Commodore User II
- my own website devoted to the classic
8-bit Commodore 64/128 line of personal computers.
Tolkien
Adventure Games
- a website reviewing several adventure gaamees
in the J.R.R. Tolkien Lord
of the Rings
mold.
Brass Lantern - a
website of interactive fiction enthusiasts, games, reviews and much,
much more.
Eidolon's
Inn - MULE
- a retrospective website on the greatneess tthat is
the multi-player classic game M.U.L.E.
Welcome to
ExtremeMULEing!
- another retrospective website of the
classic game.
The
Magnetic Scrolls Memorial - a fantastic website
devoted to
the memory of Magnetic Scrolls, makers of The
Pawn.
Artemis'
--LustyMUD-- Odds and Ends Site - a website from a
legendary
LustyMUD player and fan, Artemis.
SaveSURGE.org -
Dedicated to the preservation of SURGE - speaks for itself. A
website devoted to saving SURGE soda.
(left) Playing
Crossroads 2: Pandemonium on the Commodore 64.
That's it for now. I hope to add more useful links in the near future!
Note: The
images used on this
page were found via Google Image search. If anyone objects to my use of
these images, please e-mail
me and I'll promptly remove them. Thanks!