Chris Crawford on Game Design

Enter the KIM-1

I continued polishing and tuning the game on the 1130, but I was already turning my attention to a strange new technological development: microcomputers. It's difficult for people these days to appreciate just how exotic microcomputers were back then. Only a tiny number of people, perhaps a hundred thousand in all, were even aware of the technology. But those of us who caught the bug were passionate in our optimism for this technology. I realized that I'd have to make the jump, so I set to work teaching myself digital electronics and microcomputers.

After a few months, I bought myself a KIM-1 single board computer for $249. That was a lot more money than it seems; adjusted for inflation, it comes to $750 in today's money. This ...