Computing’s human, technical and cultural histories, imagined as a collage.
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Explore the people, machines and ideas that connect computing’s history.
Commando brought Capcom’s arcade action to home computers. On the Commodore 64, Rob Hubbard’s soundtrack became a story of its own. Follow the game into the people, hardware and techniques behind its sound.
Classic GamesCommandoOne man, a machine gun and a pocketful of grenades
CommandoMusic by
Rob HubbardHubbard wrote the C64 soundtrack in one long night. His account is part of the story behind the conversion.
PeopleCommandoSound from
SID: The Sound of the C64The C64’s sound chip gave Hubbard three voices to work with, shared between music and effects.
HardwareSID: The Sound of the C64One technique
ArpeggioRapidly changing the notes on one voice lets SID music suggest a chord without using every channel.
TechniquesSID: The Sound of the C64Preserved by
HVSCThe High Voltage SID Collection preserves the music beyond the games it was written for.
CommunitiesOn the Spectrum, shape and colour live in separate blocks of memory. When a sprite moves, they do not always agree.
A different machine, a different person, a different part of the story.
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