Cover of the January 1985 issue of RUN
RUN was one of the most popular Commodore 8-bit computer magazines, mostly covering the Commodore 64. It was also one of the magazines I bought the most growing up. The January 1985 issue includes:
Features
- Trapped in the Maze - Creating a maze game in BASIC on the VIC-20.
- Writing Word Games - A guide to creating word games (like Hangman).
- Smoking Joe - Some tips and a program for creating sprites.
- Quatro - A type-in tic-tac-toe game for the Commodore 64 with the twist that you have to get four in a row instead of three.
- Don't Forget! - A type-in program for the Commodore 64 that gives you a calendar and the ability to create appointments.
Table of Contents from the January 1985 issue of RUN
Table of Contents from the January 1985 issue of RUN (continued)
Departments
- RUNning Ruminations - A look ahead to what is in this issue and a request for articles on the new Plus/4 and Commodore 16.
- Magic - Short programs for recovering an erased program, extracting lines from an existing program, tracing the execution of BASIC programs, reading raw data from tape, using a voice synthesizer for debugging, and more.
- Software Gallery - Reviews of Questprobe: The Hulk, Kidwriter, Saucer Attack!, Space Taxi (one of my all time favorites though it only gets a 'B' rating here), abd Word Processor - Professional.
- Clubs - A list of Commodore computer related clubs and user groups.
- Commodore Clinic - Questions answered about documentation for the Commodore B128, compiling BASIC programs, word processing programs on cassette, CP/M on the Commodore 64, 1541 disk drivr problems, blowing fuses on the VIC-20, keypads for the Commodore 64, and much more.
Back cover of the January 1985 issue of RUN
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I still have fond memories of RUN! Magazine. It was such an ahead of its time publication, similar to Gamefan later on. It just stood out so well against the competition of the time, it felt like it was written for fans rather than industry professionals.
I didn't start buying RUN until pretty late. I had been buying Commodore Magazine but when that folded, some of their regular columns made their way to RUN and the place I had been getting Commodore Magazine from started carrying it. I think that was some time in 1988. RUN was around a few more years and I think I bought almost every issue during that time.
I remember my brother buying RUN from the early days. He would sometimes let me read an issue that was older but would horde the newer issues (and the type in programs he typed up) so I had to wait.
I would have bought my own copy but the only store that carried RUN, any computer magazines in general, kept them with the adult magazines - porn. They literally had that area of the store roped off and if they saw kids in that area, or near the ropes, they got mad or even kicked you out. They refused to get any mags for me too because "nothing but magazines you don't need to be reading over there". 😂
Do you remember when Compute!'s Gazette came with disks with the programs on it? I wanted several so bad but man, they were so much higher than just the issue.
For some reason, I never saw Compute!'s Gazette near me. I do remember that they kept a disk only subscription going for a while after the magazine itself folded though.
The computer magazines with the porn is pretty funny. Maybe a clue as to what they used their computer for.
I only saw Compute!'s Gazette at a local Safeway in Norther California, I saw Compute! at many locations though. It always struck me weird, even at a young age, that stores would not stock EVERYTHING possible (basic understanding of space limitations was something I had not learned yet at 7 to 9 years old).
I do remember that store did sell games for computers like the various strip poker games and they even had that Custer's Revenge game on Atari 2600. I remember that specifically because my dad would take me there from time to time and he would get the mag I wanted, though it seemed he took longer thant it should to get the issue, even if you were not sure what exactly it was - the name would stand out. As I got older, I realized that was probably one of the few times my dad didn't have mom or one of us three kids nagging him so he took a moment to enjoy life a bit. 😂 I know the the "normal" stuff was along the wall that you could see from the roped entry - stuff that would not really look out of place at Walmart (bath robes, slippers, various tobacco products, etc). The stuff an 8 to 10 year old would giggle at was further back out of view.
I remember them having adult games because my dad asked me if that was why I wanted an Atari 2600. That was my first exposure to there even being adult games on it. Of course my imagination went wild only to set myself up for severe disappointment when I finally saw how bad all those titles were for platforms back then. I mean, I guess if that is all you had and all you had available was an Apple IIe or Commodore 64, it was somehow better than nothing? 😂
I think Strip Poker was the only "adult" game I ever played on the Commodore 64. I had a friend that had a copy so of course I had a copy. Eventually, I learned that you could just rename some of the files in order to see the naked girls...in all their glorious 16-color 320x200 resolution, lol.
When I started digging through the floppy disks I found at a thrift store a few years back, the very first one I looked at was full of porn. More amusing than arousing but I guess it hit different when the technology was new. Here's that post (warning, definitely NSFW, lol): https://peakd.com/retrocomputing/@darth-azrael/digital-archaelology-codex-floppy-disk-1?ref=darth-azrael - Geez, I can't believe that was like 8 years ago.
Just checked a couple out and left some support for you. I didn't upvote because last I heard, upvotes only matter the first 6 1/2 days, has that changed?
Wild seeing early porn on computers. It certainly has come a long way.
These are very nostalgic. Even though I never owned a commodore, I appreciate the style of early computing. !BBH
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