Let's Type Blockhead from COMPUTE! Magazine - Commodore 64 - Issue 39, August 1983

We type in the Commodore 64 program code for "Blockhead" from COMPUTE! Magazine, debug it, and then play it. The game was originally written by Matt Giwer for Atari 8-bit computers, and then ported to the C64 by COMPUTE!'s Gregg Peele.

In Blockhead, the goal is to pop a row of balloons that are floating across the screen. The player controls a platform using a paddle controller (the game supports Commodore and Atari-style paddles) and needs to keep Blockhead from falling beneath the screen. Popping a ballon awards 10 points and missing Blockhead on the way down costs 15.

This one was a bit of a challenge to get working. There were typos in the COMPUTE! magazine listing that were never corrected. Even after it was re-published in COMPUTE!'s First Book of Games for the Commodore 64, a problem was introduced that would have no doubt caused problems for many potential users. But the Commodore Appreciation Society is all about perseverance, and we figured it out.

This is the first program that has been typed from this issue of COMPUTE! and there are two others in the issue, First Math and Clues. If you're interesting in seeing those get typed in and played, make sure to subscribe to this channel!

You can download this game from Gaming Alexandria, a site dedicated video game preservation and history, here:
https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/2...

Also, if you enjoy these Let's Type videos, there are more! You can check them out here:
   • C64 - Typed in Games and Apps from Magazines  

If you're interested in checking out this issue of COMPUTE! for yourself, you can do so at the Internet Archive:
https://archive.org/details/1983-08-c...

You can also check out COMPUTE!'s First Book of Games for the Commodore 64 here:
https://archive.org/details/Compute_s...

Video Contents:
0:00 Intro
0:46 Blockhead
1:37 Let's Start Typing
4:33 First Run-Through
6:02 Debugging Pass
7:12 Second Debugging Pass
9:16 Let's Play Blockhead!
9:44 Outro

The Clock Animation Stock Video is from Vecteezy.com:
https://www.vecteezy.com/free-videos/...