Lately I’ve been on a binge — a retro computing hardware binge. It started last year when I went searching for a working Timex Sinclair 1000. The idea was simple. Set it up and run my own programs on real hardware again. What began as a hunt for one machine quickly turned into something bigger.
E.T. may not have been my best game ever, but it was an interesting exercise in 1985. Loosely, and I really mean loosely, based on the Atari 2600 game, E.T. follows the exploits of the title character as he tries to find his way home. Originally written in ZX81 BASIC, I revisited E.T. to better understand how to use MCODER II. I was ultimately successful in compiling it and getting it to run. If you are adventurous, you can compare it to original version, bugs and all. Instructions for E.T. are available off my old ZX81 website.