Vault Entry
[📷 suggested: promo shot of the Commodore 64 with 1541 drive and joystick]
Overview
The Commodore 64 (C64) arrived in 1982 with a 64 KB price tag and a multimedia feature set rivaling arcade cabinets. It spread through bedrooms, schools, and living rooms worldwide, anchoring the scenes this curriculum celebrates.
Fast facts
- CPU: MOS Technology 6510 running at ~1 MHz.
- Graphics: VIC-II chip delivering sprites, smooth scrolling, and 16 colours.
- Sound: SID 6581/8580 tri-voice synthesizer with filters and modulation.
- Storage: Datasette cassettes, 1541 floppy disk, cartridges.
Why it mattered
- Affordability: Commodore controlled chip production, letting them undercut rivals and dominate sales (12–17 million units).
- Creativity platform: bundled BASIC invited experimentation; POKE lists and magazines nurtured a generation of coders.
- Ecosystem: thriving third-party hardware, music, and demo scenes kept the machine relevant well into the 1990s.
Lesson connections
- BASIC Blocks 1–4 happen entirely on the C64, mirroring the experience of 1980s learners.
- Transition course peeks under BASIC’s hood to expose how the 6510, KERNAL, and ROMs cooperate.
- Assembly course dives into VIC-II timing, SID sound design, and 1541 fastloaders built for C64 hardware.
Modern legacy
- Emulation: VICE, Frodo, and MiSTer recreate the machine with high accuracy.
- Hardware clones: THE C64 Maxi/Mini, Ultimate 64, and FPGA boards keep the platform alive.
- Community: new games, demo competitions, and music releases appear annually, proof that the “64” still inspires.