Commodore 64 — My Little Computer Museum

Historical Context

The era it was born in

In 1982, Commodore's Jack Tramiel had a philosophy: "computers for the masses, not the classes." The C64 launched at $595 — half the price of the Apple II — with graphics and audio specifications superior to anything else on the consumer market.

In Europe, especially Italy, Germany and the UK, the C64 absolutely dominated the 1980s. An entire generation learned to program in BASIC on this machine.

Why It Mattered

Why it was revolutionary

The SID (Sound Interface Device) chip produced sounds so rich and characterful that a dedicated music scene — chiptune — still exists today. The VIC-II graphics chip delivered hardware sprites and smooth scrolling that competitors could not match.

With approximately 17 million units sold, the C64 holds the record as the best-selling single computer model in history — a record no individual PC model has ever surpassed.

Anecdote

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The SID chip was designed by Bob Yannes, who later founded Ensoniq, a professional synthesiser company. Yannes considered the SID a true miniature musical synthesiser — and he was right: its three-oscillator architecture with filters and envelopes was comparable to analogue studio synths of the era. When he left Commodore, he took that knowledge and built instruments used on professional recordings.

My Memories

My story with this piece

Pit Stop II — my first game on the C64

Pit Stop II was the very first game I saw and played on this magical box. That split-screen two-player racing was mind-blowing for 1984 — I couldn't believe a home computer could do that.

Remember waiting for games to load from cassette tapes? Sometimes it would go all wonky and we'd have to start from scratch. 😖 But somehow that made it all the more satisfying when it finally worked.

My first program was a VAT calculator that I wanted to use to modernise my father's office. 🤓 BASIC on the C64 was the perfect language to learn — simple enough to start immediately, powerful enough to feel like real programming.

My second project was a Space Invaders-like game written in BASIC. It had no score, just an endless level. But for me, it was the best game in the world… for about an hour. Then I started looking for improvements. 😅

Want to see the technical wizardry behind this home computer? Check out the full video!