Sinclair ZX80 / ZX81 / Z88 Forums

I have a question about hi res games for the ZX81 please.

Why didn't we see many more hi res games for the ZX81 in the early 80s?

There were two great hi res games from Software Farm and there are dozens of new hi res games available now, but I don't understand why we didn't see more of this quality back in the day?

I think maybe it's because by the time the pseudo hi-res way of creating games got into its stride, the 81 was superseded by the colour, sound and hi-res of its younger brother so technically it was a bit of a dead end. Whereas these days because of a lack of commercial pressure and the 81 now being more of a hobbyist thing more time can be devoted to seeing what can be got of the little door wedge for pleasure rather than financial gain.

And I would add, that if the likes of Wilf Rigter had been in the lab on the day they were putting together the ZX81, it may well have been launched with hi-res capability in ROM right out of the box. Oh for hindsight!

poglad wrote:And I would add, that if the likes of Wilf Rigter had been in the lab on the day they were putting together the ZX81, it may well have been launched with hi-res capability in ROM right out of the box. Oh for hindsight!

Possibly but knowing Uncle Clives penchant for cheapness I doubt he would have spent an extra twenty pence for the larger capacity ROM chip needed to hold the extra code for any hires routines.

Thanks for the information guys. I suspected it was a general awareness of the machines abilities and it's short lifespan.

I'm so impressed with the quality of the new hi res games that are available now. Incredible stuff.

Indeed, hires is novel but for sheer scale and '!!' factor, you have the incredible lo-res works pushing the envelope of what's possible such as Super ZXagon and Ant Attack by the one and only Bobs.. It is indeed a great time all-round

sirmorris wrote:Indeed, hires is novel but for sheer scale and '!!' factor, you have the incredible lo-res works pushing the envelope of what's possible such as Super ZXagon and Ant Attack by the one and only Bobs.. It is indeed a great time all-round

Here here!