Machine of the Month:
the BBC Micro (1981)
1
BATTLE FOR THE BBC
The BBC Micro was born out of fierce competition between
British computer makers. Worried that Britain would be
left behind in computing, the government designed a national
computer literacy project. Planning a BBC television series—
The Computer Programme—this would be tied to a specific
computer, which would be bought for schools.
>> Winning such a contract would be enormously lucrative,
with every maker putting in their bids. Ultimately, it boiled down
to two competitors: Sinclair Research and Acorn Computers.
Sinclair Research was led by famous British inventor,
Clive Sinclair. Acorn Computers was led by ex-Sinclair employee,
Chris Curry. Curry had left Sinclair on unfriendly terms, and for
several years, the two firms had a bitter rivalry.
>> When the BBC came calling, Sinclair’s proposed model had
a cheap rubber membrane keyboard, which simply didn’t suffice,
leaving Acorn the only convincing bid. However, the proposed
model didn’t actually exist, and Acorn only had a week to build it.
>> Most of the Acorn team was convinced the task was
impossible, but by stripping down an existing Acorn prototype
(the “Proton”) and working through the night for the next week,
they just about managed to cobble together a working prototype
by the last minute. The BBC was suitably impressed, and Acorn
won the contract.
>> Built with schools in mind, these machines have an
extremely rugged case, with only a keyboard in view for kids
to bash around. Switch on the machine and you’re immediately
greeted with a BASIC prompt, ready to code from the get-go.
Look behind the machine and there is an enormous number
of connectors and expansion options, with modifications being
common among serious users.
>> On launch, there were two models: the Model A with 16K
of RAM, and Model B with 32K. The Model B is more common.
Although generally too expensive for families, the Micro found
its way into the majority of British schools.2
GAMING
Despite being on national television and installed in most
schools, the Micro was uncommon in homes, losing
out to Sinclair’s ZX Spectrum and its enormous game library.
However, 1984’s Elite earned the Micro its place in gaming
history. An astonishing achievement for the time, people could
now explore an entire galaxy in wireframe 3D—all in somethingYOU MAY NEVER HAVE HEARD of the BBC Micro, but in ’80s Britain, this beige box with its cool
red function keys would find its way into almost every school in the nation. For many Brits, the
BBC Micro would be their first experience using a computer, inspiring new coders across the
country. With a production run reaching into the mid-’90s, it was a national institution. Indeed,
it was the BBC Micro that inspired both the Raspberry Pi and its Model A and B naming scheme.
Although the BBC Micro was too expensive to be a popular home games machine, those who
indulged it were rewarded with a beautiful version of BASIC and lots of great games, such as
Chuckie Egg, Exile, Citadel, and 3D Dotty. Nevertheless, BBC Micros are hard to find in the US
(never mind the issues with power supplies and PAL to NTSC conversion), leaving emulation as
Americans’ only real option. So, join us as we take you through a history of the BBC Micro, and
provide instructions for getting you gaming in the fastest, most painless way. –JOHN KNIGHTYOU’LL NEED THIS
WINDOWS OR LINUX PC
These emulators run on any
modern PC, but Linux users
need a stable version of Wine.JOYSTICK
A USB joystick makes life
easier in some games.smaller than most JPEGs. An imperious game for an
imperious machine.
>> Coming from an early era of home gaming, most
Micro games have a feel somewhere between an original
Atari and a Commodore 64 (despite the BBC having a
faster CPU than either). Later games became more
advanced, such as Impossible Mission, The Sentinel, or
Stunt Car Racer. Graphics are generally better than a
Spectrum, but not as good as a Commodore.
>> Recognizing the potential of the gaming market, and
wanting to appeal to home users, Acorn released a cut-
down version of the BBC Micro: 1983’s Acorn Electron,
which was a moderate success. Most commercial
releases are written with both machines in mind.3
HOW TO EMULATE IT
For the best emulators, our two choices are
BeebEm and Horizon. BeebEm is the easiest to
use, and runs UEF tape files, but may not run everything.
Horizon is a bit trickier to use, but has features such
as automatic key remapping. Overall, we recommend
installing both. Each program covers the other’s gaps
nicely, and between the two, most titles should work.
>> Note: The BBC Micro doesn’t have arrow keys.
Games often standardize on either A, Z, <, and >, or :, /, Z,>> Mention BBC gaming, and the first title people think
of is usually 1984’s Elite.66 MAXIMUMPC MAR 2020 maximumpc.com
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