>> There is still a solid enthusiast scene releasing modern
titles, such as The 8-Bit Guy’s Planet X1 (2009) and Attack of the
PETSCII Robots (2020), and Pentagorat (2016), with graphics and
animations that many would think impossible. There’s even a
port of Doom (2013), albeit a very stripped-back version!4
LEGACY
Despite strong sales of around 2.5 million, production
ceased in January 1985 after only five years. However,
this was in no way down to problems with the machine. The
VIC-20 served as a model, both technically and commercially, for
the Commodore 64 that followed.
>> As the Commodore 64 went on its own price war, producing
the VIC-20 no longer made financial sense. Customers were
quick to move to the new machine, which would soon become the
world’s best-selling home computer.5
EMULATION
The most popular emulator for the VIC-20 is VICE, which
supports Windows, Linux, Mac, and many other platforms.
>> For the Windows version, head to the website and download
the latest build. VICE doesn’t come with an installer, so after
extracting the package, you’ll have to go into the new folder,
open the bin folder, and manually open xvic.exe. You might want
to make a desktop shortcut.
>> For Linux users, VICE is available in the repositories but
will probably be missing key ‘kernal’ files due to licensing
restrictions. You can get these files from a source tarball, but it’s
much easier to install a Snap or Flatpak package instead. Both
versions should install entries in your system menu.
>> Snap users can find the package on the Snapcraft store
under the name vice-jz. If you prefer Flatpak, you can install VICE
with the command:
$ flatpak install flathub net.sf.VICE6
USAGE
Before you start getting down to any VIC-20
gaming, it’s worth defining your joystick controls.
From the main menu, choose Preferences > Settings.
In the new window, open the ‘Input devices’ entry and
open the Joystick menu.
>> We’ll let you work out the rest, but if you prefer to
use your keyboard for joystick emulation and want to use
your cursor keys for up, down, left, and right directions,
you don’t need to assign controls to diagonals.7
LOADING CARTRIDGES
This process is fiddlier than we would have liked,
and success rates were hit-and-miss. Although
the process is straightforward, you may have to rename
any file extensions to .bin for cartridge images to work.
>> Other than that, the process is easy. From the main
menu, just choose File > ‘Attach cartridge image’. This
will open a file browser. Select your file then click Attach.8
LOADING TAPES AND DISKS
Cassette titles are more common than disks, but
both are easy to load under VICE—most of the
time, you can even load straight from zip files.
>> From the main menu, choose File > ‘Smart attach
...’ Choose your image from the file browser, then click
Autostart.
>> VICE will try to load your files by automatically
entering any load commands. If you get stuck at the
BASIC prompt with nothing happening, just enter:
RUN© WIKIMEDIA
TROUBLESHOOTING
You may need to try a few settings before your VIC-20
software works. If a program fails to load, it may need RAM
expansion enabled. Go to Preferences > Settings, open
the Machine entry, and choose Model. Under the ‘Memory
expansions’ field is a drop-down box that assigns 3, 8, 16KB,
or ‘All’. There are varying RAM configurations and the
filename will often tell you which one is needed.
If your image is off to the side of the screen, running with
a strange color palette, or your game is running at a strange
speed, you may need to change between PAL or NTSC. This
option is in the same Settings window, under the same
Model settings as the RAM configuration. Just look for ‘VIC
model’, which has a PAL or NTSC setting.COMMODORE VIC-20 (1980)
CPU: MOS Technology 6502 @ 1.108MHz (PAL),
1.02MHz (NTSC)
RAM: 5KB (expandable up to 32KB)
Graphics: VIC 176x184, 8 or 16 colors
Sound: 3x square and 1x noise channel, mono
Storage: Cassette, 5.25-inch floppy, and ROM cartridge
OS: Commodore Kernal/BASIC 2.0Launch Price: $300
Released: June 1980
Production: 1980-1985
Worldwide sales: 2.5 millionSPECIFICATIONS
>> Sure, it may be slow, blocky, and stripped back to the bare
minimum of features but it’s still Doom! Well, kind of.>> It may look like the Commodore 64 but this is
its older sibling. Did you know its CPU is slightly faster?MAR 2022 MAXIMU MPC 65