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Programming the Atari 2600 Video Computer System (VCS)

This tutorial complements the general tutorial series on using WUDSN IDE with the Atari 2600 Video Computer System (VCS) knowledge. The purpose of the tutorial is to show interested people the history of the Atari 2600, explain the hardware design decisions, and how they impacted the way of programming - making programming the Atari 2600 a unique experience and challenge. I also explain examples illustrating how programmers adopted the machine's limitations and strengths to create better graphics over 30 years. The following picture from The Argyle Sweater nicely brings it to the point. Thanks a lot to Scott Hilburn for the permission to use it.

Atari VCS has no memory

The following material is available for you:

  • The Slides & Source Code used for the presentation. Thanks to SvOlli for the original slides.
  • This English video was recorded at the "plugIn - Geek out" event at SAP in January 2014. Thanks to Julien for making the event possible and for the recording.
    This 35-minute video consists of two parts. The first part gives a short overview of the history and inner workings of the Atari 2600. In the second part, I show how to code for the Atari 2600 using WUDSN IDE. Changing a single line of code and seeing immediately what happens brings you as close as possible to the machine.

    Programming the Atari 2600 Video Computer System (Live)  
  • The German video was recorded during the event night at the Digital Retropark in January 2015. Thanks to Falk Heinzelmann & Stefan Pitsch for the event and Markus Wlochowitz for the photos and the recording.
    This video explains the inner workings and how better code makes better graphics possible. It is 1:15 hours long and does not contain any coding parts.

    Programmieren für das Atari 2600 Video Computer System (Live)
  • I recommend further readings such as Racing the Beam at MIT Press and Atari 2600 Programming on AtariAge.

And here are some more impressions from the event night at the Digital Retropark on 2016-01-29. Click on the images to enlarge.

Visitors getting in touch with the old hardware Visitors from a vocational who where not born when the hardware was released Wizard and me The crowd waiting for the fun to begin
In November 2016, I had the unique opportunity to present at the European Solidarity Centre in Gdansk as part of the Silly Talks at Sillyventure 2016. 
The very unique looking building from the outside The modern beamer was no compatible with my retro Windows XP hardware The building and the hall were awesome. Most people from the party place took the long walk to come and listen.  

At Silly Venture 2k24 SE, I filled in for MGO of Altair, who could not make it for his presentation. I held the first part of the presentation again for a different audience. The recording is available in the SV2k24SE - Friday stream. Unfortunately, the second part could not be done due to technical issues and the late starting time. But you can check the old recording from 2014 for that. The source code is not very well readable in that video, but it is available for download via slides & source code.