First use of High Res graphics!
REALITY: I ONLY USED 2 COLORS. SAD.

First use of paddles!
REALITY: USELESS SINCE YOU CAN'T SEE YOUR SHIP ½ THE TIME.

First time I programmed a "shot" function!
REALITY: YEAH, THE WHOLE GAME STOPS FOR IT TO WORK.

First time I made a starfield background (this was half the fun - give it a listen and see how truly demented I was!)
REALITY: SINCE WHEN DO STARS EMIT SOUND?

My first Hi-Res graphics!

First time I programmed sounds!
REALITY: ONLY IF YOU CALL CTRL-G "SOUND EFFECTS".

Unlike most of my later efforts, this game was not a copy of anything I had played already.  I remember when I was programming this game that I couldn't wait to use the Apple paddles for its input.  I was playing On-Line Systems' Threshold (by Warren Schwader) at the time and loved the smooth paddle movement in it. 

Needless to say I couldn't duplicate that achievement in only my third game, but at least learning how to program the paddles would start me on the right path!  Unfortunately, I didn't know how to make a fun game and thus you have Dodge 'Em.  I challenge you to find the fun in it!

I would soon carry much baggage from this pathetic excuse for an entertainment product and soon put to use all the shiny new things I learned from coding this masterPIECE into my next magnum opus.  Little did I know that my next game would lead to a series of three sequels and one aborted fourth sequel years later!   But that's all to come: continue along my game-making journey and select Alien Attack next.

Imagination Corporation!

As you can see by the program listing of Dodge 'Em, my first little software company was named Capitol Ideas Software.  I don't know why, but I just felt like I needed to have my own company since I was actually creating software and planned for it to be my career.

I got the name Capitol Ideas Software from the computer store in Roseville, CA, just up the road from where I lived in Rocklin.  The computer store was named Capitol Computers and they were an Apple dealership.  The managers there were very cool with me coming in constantly and playing with their wall of ziploc baggie games.  Oh yeah, there were no boxes whatsoever back then - everything was in a ziploc baggie hanging from the wall and  the entire wall was covered in ziploc baggies!

I pirated a few games from them and didn't get caught.  Oops, my bad.  One time I was running LOCKSMITH 4.1 on some game and one of the sales guys came over and asked me what I was doing.  I told him I was running a Train Conductor Simulator and he shrugged and walked away.  I guess he believed me since the screen was totally full of TRACK/SECTOR information!

Game Ads

Back when I started doing a lot of game programming (1982), I was completely immersing myself in gaming on the Apple II. So much so that I papered my bedroom with all the cool game ads that I ripped out of my computer magazines. Where other teenagers would have their favorite band poster or hot chick poster on their bedroom walls, I had Castle Wolfenstein ads, Infocom ads, Wizardry, Drol, pretty much all my favorite game ads all over the walls.

It stood to reason that I would eventually start making my own imaginary ads for my games as if they were going to be published and marketed. Dodge Em is the earliest game I've written that I drew a fake advertisement for - and here it is!