At PlayPower, we believe in recycling not only material, but information.  This is called bitrecycling, or porting.

 

A key part of understanding digital media is knowing when a game should be ported or rewritten.  For example, Oregon Trail seems to be continuously reinvented on several platforms, which each new version addressing a slowly-shifting set of ideas.

 

Porting Commodore BASIC

 

 

Porting Education Software

 

Our first choice is to port educational software.  We're focusing on learn-to-type software and other educational software.  For example, you can see CMUGRL's Top 10 List of Influential Educational Software.

 

Learn-To-Type Software

 

As we have documented before, many people can not get jobs, simply because they have no typing skills.  Therefore we're bitrecycling 8-bit "Learn To Type" software to a computer that low-income people can use.  This page is a collaboration point for all of us- to post findings, etc.

 

We've focused on 5 software packages that we think are potentially important to port:

 

1. Stickybear Typing

2. Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing

3. MasterType  (another typing teacher program, space-themed)

4. Oregon Trail

5. Logo for the Atari x00 series.

 

 

     We have the disk images of programs 1-4 and a ROM image of 5.  From the disk images, we are seeking to make ROM images.  (This is like the ISEPIC software, if anyone remembers that). 

 

Other Software to Consider Porting:

 

Robot Odyssey

Typing of the Dead

Progress Report on Porting Effort Required for Each Program:

 

 

1. Stickybear Typing

It can be played properly in the cross-platform fceu emulator.  (If you don't have it yet, get it.)

You might want to use warp mode to initialize faster.

It does not seem to use the disk drive once it's loaded.  That means it is easier to port.

 

Now that we have the ROM Image, we can start to find entry points.

 

2. Mavis Beacon

This program is multiple disks, so it is not the best candidate for initial porting release.  We prefer a program which fits all in memory at once.

 

3. Master Type

This program works properlyin the emulator.  It uses basic graphics (C64 sprites and Char ROM) and appears to be completely memory-resident.

It also has basic sound features for explosion noises.  Highly suggested to pursue.

 

4. Oregon Trail

The C64 version of OT is perhaps the worst.  It's not fun.  It doesn't seem to use any graphics.  It's written in BASIC.  Instead, the Apple ][ port is recommended.  It will probably require emulating shape table code (the software sprites in Apple 2), which will be neat, but hard.  If there is an Atari version, we would like to know about it, since its graphics routines will be more similar to the NES.  Please post here if you know.

 

Another idea is to write a new version of Oregon Trail.  Informal discussion suggests that Oregon Trail spans many generations and is a kind of folklore. 

 

5. Logo for the Atari x00 Series.   (Logo is a simple graphics program which teaches basic geometric and programming concepts)

 

According to one of its original developers who worked with Seymour Papert, the Atari version is the best.  We're porting it to the SUBOR.  We have some entry points and labels, and we're looking for more people to help label the reverse-engineered source code.  You can find the tools to do this on Noah's blog.

 

 

Archive

 

For long-term archival purposes, here is a .zip of three of the C64 programs for learning to type.: C64TripleTyping.zip

They are:

1. Stickybear Typing

2. Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing

3. Master Type.

 

Contributing

 

What we need:

These are .D64 & .T64 files. We need people to play these in an emulator. You will need a good C64 Emulator. Load them into it, get to the main menu screen, then save the 64K memory image to a file using the commands listed above. Then let us know here at the blog, and we can move to the next step. The next step is to port them to a platform where they can be used by people who can't afford typing lessons, or don't have access to schools. 

 

For reference, please check out Noah Vawter's blog entry on the porting the Commodore 64 typing programs at http://playpowerorg.ning.com/profiles

/blogs/commodore-emulator-challenge

 

Finally, if generating those three .bin files is small potatoes to you, then maybe you can work with some of the rest of our team ;)

 

Tech Help

 

FCEU Emulator assistance

 

     These monitor commands will help you get started:

 

save "/Users/enzo/OT.bin" 0 0 ffff  load "OT.bin" 0  

 

 

 

 

Appendix A - Techniques for porting from each platform

 

 

Famicom

Probably the easiest to port from?

 

NES

Also, relatively simple to port to SUBOR.

 

Commodore 64

has different sound and graphics chips from SUBOR, but the same CPU.  Many classic C64 programs are disk-based, but they can usually be adapted. 

 

VIC 20

Has different sound and graphics chips from SUBOR, but the same CPU. Has less memory than the C64, so programs are simpler.  Also, more of its classic software was on tape and cartridge, so producing ROM images for execution on SUBOR is easier.

 

Apple 2

Has different graphics from SUBOR, and only 1-bit speaker click sound.  Same CPU as SUBOR.  Very large software library.  Some of which is disk-based, and some is not.

 

Atari 400, 800, 1200

Has different graphics from SUBOR, same CPU, and similar, although somewhat simpler, sound chip. 

 

PC

has a different graphics chip and different CPU.  Not recommended for porting.

 

 

Appendix B - Methods and resources for porting from various systems

 

For all of these platforms, the internet is great resource.  When faced with an unknown address, you can often

 

Commodore 64

The following list comprises a basic kit of tools you'll want in order to port programs from the Commodore 64 to the SUBOR:

• Kernal Reference Manual
• Commented BASIC and Kernal interpret:
• VICE C64 Emulator
• FCEU SUBOR Emulator

 

Atari x00

 

 

Appendix C - A List of games we want to port with status