MASTERING THE ZX SPECTRUM

ON 21 APRIL 1982, SINCLAIR RESEARCH UNVEILED ITS LATEST HOME MICRO, THE ZX SPECTRUM. THIS SMALL AND IDIOSYNCRATIC DEVICE WOULD HELP KICKSTART THE UK GAMES INDUSTRY, INSPIRING PEOPLE ALL OVER THE COUNTRY TO START PROGRAMMING. IN THIS SPECIAL FEATURE, WE LERAN FROM SOME OF THEM JUST WHAT CREATING GAMES ON THIS MAGICAL YET FLAWED COMPUTER WAS LIKE

- WORDS BY GRAEME MASON

Released to an eager public that spring day in 1982, the success of the ZX Spectrum had been building for two years. When, in 1980, Sinclair (then Science Of Cambridge) released its breakthrough micro computer, the ZX80, it planted the seeds of what would eventually blossom into the UK's most successful computer of the Eighties.

Sales of the ZX80 were solid rather than spectacular, its value-for-money appeal neutered by a tiny memory (even by contemporary standards) and a flickering display. Undeterred, Sinclair built on the concept, releasing its first major hit a year later, the ZX81. Now users had a serious entry-level home computer, retailing for under £100 and enabling anybody to program using its in-built BASIC language. A 16K RAM pack expansion boosted the power and possibilities of the ZX81 further.

Despite the popularity of the ZX81 it is estimated to have shifted over a million units in its lifetime - Sinclair was slow to take advantage. Who knows how much more cash the company could have earned if it had marketed its own 'datacorder' or 'data recorders', essentially a rebranded shoebox-style tape player? Instead, Sinclair focussed on its next entry in the affordable computer market - the ZX82.