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C64 : What was this 100 (or so) games collection on a single tape?

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  • 14-11-2013 3:11am
    #1
    Hematocyte
    Registered Users Posts: 327 ✭✭


    Can someone help me identify a game collection I remember buying for the C64 probably around 1986-87.

    All I remember is that it was advertised as this 'amazing collection' a hundred (or maybe hundreds?) of games.

    It delivered on the promise of quantity, however when I finally started loading the games they turned out to be little more than the sort of simple stuff you got in 80's computer mags where you typed several hundred lines of code and if you did it without a mistake you got 'tic tac toe' or whatever.

    Imagine a tape with about 100 of those games and you'll see where I'm coming from.

    Also, this was a single c90 tape with a hundred games, so as you'd expect each game took about '5' on the dial to load. Basically, nothing-games.

    Other things I remember is that it came in a 'big box' style case. Imagine a case that was needlessly large for a single tape, black plastic and probably even bigger than vhs box. Unbelievably I think the cassette tape itself was just a standard store-bought blank tape (as opposed to something that had been professionally printed). This was overall a real unprofessional product now that I think of it.

    Also the cover art looked fairly amateurish like someone had done it for a school magazine or something. Bob Wakelin it was not!

    Lastly, I seem to remember I first heard about this title in the Sunday World Newspaper of all places! So for all I know this was just some Irish guy producing tapes in his bedroom and selling them on for a few quid. I'm fairly sure whatever this thing sold for it was probably less than whatever a typical C64 game went for. So I imagine the 100 games probably cost £4 or whatever.

    Anyway, I'd love to find out what it was. Any info gratefully received. Thanks.


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    #2
    rgfuller
    Registered Users Posts: 675 ✭✭✭rgfuller


    Was it "The Big 100" compliation tape ?

    http://www.retrogames.co.uk/034706/Commodore/The-Big-100-by-Wicked-Software

    or was it "Cassette 50" (seems more likely).

    http://compilation64.zzap64.co.uk/html/cassette_50.html

    or was it "King Size" (also 50)

    http://compilation64.zzap64.co.uk/html/king_size.html


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    #3
    Hematocyte
    Registered Users Posts: 327 ✭✭Hematocyte


    Thanks for the reply rgfuller. No it isn't any of them.

    However that said, "the big 100" (http://www.retrogames.co.uk/034706/Commodore/The-Big-100-by-Wicked-Software) is certainly going along the idea of what I had. I think the box of one I had was 'portrait' oriented with a black plastic case (as opposed to that landscape "shoebox" style in 'big 100') and the coverart on a sleeve of paper that was inserted into the cases 'sleeve area'.

    Also I seem to remember the coverart of the set I'm looking far was predominantly red (or wine) and very 'busy' looking (like in that 'big 100') with all the games represented by little scenes all interacting with each other.

    Finally my one probably looked less professional than 'big 100' too. TBH i wouldn't be surprised if the coverart sleeve was just a print-out from a home printer and then inserted into this big black cassette case. It really did look fairly shoddy.


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    #4
    Doge
    Registered Users Posts: 8,953 ✭✭✭Doge


    Might be worth posting on the Lemon 64 forums where some c64 anorack might be able to identify it for you. :)


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    #5
    Dark Savior
    Registered Users Posts: 276 ✭✭Dark Savior


    It wasnt this one?

    7cdfa164-2d4e-4aa4-8135-d4d22ec3ce1e.jpg?t=1384472144


    858b2e0b-b261-4cdc-abd2-48a29c813c9e.jpg?t=1384472264

    　


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    #6
    Hematocyte
    Registered Users Posts: 327 ✭✭Hematocyte


    Thanks for the latest replies guys. No, it wasn't 'international arcade action' either. That product looks far too professionally made to be what I had mind.

    The set I'm thinking of, I don't even remember there being any distributor name or logo on it ( like 'wicked games' ) either. I'd bet this was a cottage industry operation, possibly something that never even got out of Ireland for all I know?

    Also, the more I think about my game I actually think the back cover of these sleeve looked like nothing than a list of the games done in typewriter font on a white background with three digit numbers beside each game indicating where to go on the tape to load it.

    I can't over-emphasize how 'cottage industry' this product looked. Even as an 8 year old or whatever I was at the time I noticed that something didn't look too sharp about it.

    Times like this I wish I had newspaper scans because I'm 99.99% certain it was featured (possibly even the box cover) on the burgeoning 'video games' page of the Sunday World! :(


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    #7
    KeRbDoG
    Registered Users Posts: 4,221 ✭✭✭KeRbDoG


    Does 'Turbo Loader' ring a bell maybe with this collection?


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    #8
    Hematocyte
    Registered Users Posts: 327 ✭✭Hematocyte


    ^^ They might have been turbo-loaders. However these games were so basic that I'd bet they probably did load regularly on 5-10 clicks of the tape dial.

    These were real nothing games. Think "hangman", "tic tac toe" stuff. I'm guessing the vast majority of them didn't even have 'graphics' so to speak. They were just limited to the 'PETSCII' characters available on the keyboard.

    vv PETSCII btw vv (I only found out just now the official name for those symbols :D something new every day) .....
    pet2.jpg


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    #9
    CiDeRmAn
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 34,532 CMod ✭✭✭✭CiDeRmAn


    This sounds like a cassette of simple games programmed in Basic, possibly home produced so it never popped up on anyones radar.
    The C64 was enormously popular so if the collection you're remembering was too it would have a picture or article on it somewhere.
    Can you recall, was it irish made as well?


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    #10
    Hematocyte
    Registered Users Posts: 327 ✭✭Hematocyte


    CiDeRmAn wrote: »
    This sounds like a cassette of simple games programmed in Basic, possibly home produced so it never popped up on anyones radar.
    The C64 was enormously popular so if the collection you're remembering was too it would have a picture or article on it somewhere.
    Can you recall, was it irish made as well?

    Sorry I couldn't say if it was definitely and Irish product or not, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was. I really couldn't see this thing as a 'product' in the real sense. I mean I'm pretty sure the tape that came with it was just a bog-standard blank tape.

    The only thing I am absolutely certain of is that it was mentioned (with cover art) in the Sunday World one issue (they used to have like half a page or something devoted to computer games and vhs rentals iirc). I remember this because that's where I first saw the game and got it into my head that I should get this 'mega collection of games'.


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