The document discusses the history and impact of the ZX Spectrum home computer and the seminal space trading game Elite. It describes the ZX Spectrum's launch in 1982 as the first computer under £100, its specifications and peripherals. Though not initially intended for games, it became a hugely popular gaming platform, inspiring over 24,000 titles. Elite was a breakthrough 1984 game for the BBC Micro that defined the space flight simulation genre and influenced online worlds. Its sequel Elite: Dangerous recently achieved record funding on Kickstarter.

1. John Laibach
2013
ZX Spectrum Universe

2. Agenda
 Part I: ZX Spectrum
– The birth of a UK classic
– Specifications
– Peripherals
– Not intended for games
– Later models
– Software
– Market
– Games
 Part II: ELITE

3. Part I: ZX Spectrum

4. The birth of UK classic
 ZX Spectrum was released on 23 April 1982
 The first personal computer under £100
– ZX Spectrum 16K for £125 (later reduced to £99)
– ZX Spectrum 48K for £175 (later reduced to £129)
 Its working title was “ZX82” but
later changed to “ZX Spectrum”
 It was the Big One.
The machine which revolutionized
home computing

6. Specifications
 The hardware design is by Richard Altwasser of
Sinclair Research Ltd.
 16 color graphics, 256x192 pixels
 One channel beeper sound with 10 octaves
 Memory 16 kB (16x1024 bytes) or 48 kB
 Zilog Z80A CPU running at 3.5 MHz
 Designed to use TV set as display and cassette
tape for loading/saving software

7. Peripherals
 Sinclair Research followed it up with a few
peripherals:
– ZX Printer
– ZX Interface 1: allowed you to connect a vast range of
add-ons
– ZX Interface 2: had two joystick ports and a ROM
cartridge slot
– ZX Microdrive: magnetic tape data storage system
– Kempston joystick interface: allowed joysticks complying
with the de facto Atari 2600 standard
 Everything they designed had a stylish look

9. Not intended for games
 Sinclair Research was a cutting-edge technology
company doing serious, world-changing work
 ZX Spectrum was sold as a mainstream computer
for education and home use
– BASIC programming language in ROM
– Keyboard with built-in BASIC operators/functions
 Rapidly became a gaming platform
 Clive Sinclair didn't much like the ZX Spectrum

10. Keyboard

11. Later models
 ZX Spectrum+ (June 1984)
 ZX Spectrum 128 (1985-1986)
 Amstrad models:
– ZX Spectrum +2
– ZX Spectrum +2A
– ZX Spectrum +2B
– ZX Spectrum +3
 A lot of clones in the USSR (80th-90th)
 Speccy2010

12. Sinclair models
ZX Spectrum 16K / 48K ZX Spectrum+
ZX Spectrum 128K

13. Amstrad models
ZX Spectrum +2
ZX Spectrum +3

14. Speccy2010

15. 30th anniversary in 2012!
 St.George + ZX Spectrum in a Google Doodle 

16. Software
 Strong hardware limitations
 More than 24000 titles till now
 Diverse of software library:
– Programming languages
– Assemblers
– Databases
– Word processors
– Drawing and painting tools
– 3D modeling software
– Demos
– Games

17. Market
 It looks dated now, but it was the business in
1982
 Established the UK mass market
 Established a huge market in software
development
 Provided an ecosystem for peripheral
manufacturers
 Responsible for development
of home PC market

18. Games
 The first ZX Spectrum games weren‟t too
inspiring
 A lot of them were written in BASIC, but machine
code quickly increased in popularity
 Sequels, arcade, simulation, strategic games, etc
 Later game development in the ex-USSR
 Most of the >24000 titles are games
 It‟s hard to believe now that Clive Sinclair had
always intended it to be a business machine!

19. Games
 There were loads of games on ZX Spectrum…

35. Games
 No end of games 

36. Part II: ELITE

37. ELITE the game
 Written by David Braben and Ian Bell on
BBC Micro computer in 1984
 In 1985 appeared on ZX Spectrum, and this
version was a bestseller
 The game's popularity became a national
phenomenon in the UK
 The breakthrough title that defined the modern
space flight simulation genre
 1985: “Best Game Overall” and “The best game
ever” for the BBC Micro, many other awards

39. ELITE: influence
 Elite is influential upon gaming as a whole:
– The first truly open-ended game
– Named #1 “Top Retro Game” and #1 “Best game of the
1980s”
– Opened the door for future online persistent worlds such
as Second Life, World of Warcraft and EVE Online
– It opened people's eyes to the very idea of epic,
free-roaming open world titles in general
– One of the most popularly requested games to be
remade

40. ELITE: gameplay
 Player initially starts with a lightly armed ship
called “Cobra Marked III”
 Travelling to various star systems and trading
with their inhabitants
 Military missions, bounty hunting, asteroid
mining and even piracy
 Upgrade ships, equipment, weapons
 Earn ranks to reach the rank „Elite‟

41. ELITE: technical innovations
 3D wire-frame graphics
 Procedurally generated 8 galaxies with 256
planets each (2048 planets)
 Braben and Bell checked all generated names for
profanity

42. ELITE: sequels
 Official sequels
– Frontier: Elite II (1993)
– Frontier: First Encounters (1995)
– Elite: Dangerous, recently was crowdfunded through a
Kickstarter campaign
 A lot of unofficial clones and similar games

43. ELITE: now
 “Elite: Dangerous” has been pushed to the
Kickstarter project by David Braben
– Launched on 5 Nov 2012 with the goal £1.25 million
– Ended on 4 Jan 2013 with more than £1.5 million
– Sets the Record for Highest Kickstarter Goal to Be
Successfully Funded
– 21st century sequel to ELITE is currently expected to be
ready to fly in March 2014

44. Summary
 ZX Spectrum was released in 1982
 Became the most popular home computer despite
of limited hardware capabilities
 Not intended for games but became the very
gaming platform
 ZX Spectrum has a vital impact on software
market
 Many game titles are living nowadays

45. Questions

46. Thank You!
Copyright © 2013 SoftServe, Inc.
Contacts
E-mail: john.laibach@gmail.com