First Video Game I Ever Made

When I was 7, my parents upgraded from a TI94/A to a then-mid-range Apple//c. Keen to learn how to develop software, I spent some time reading the ProDOS and Applesoft BASIC User Manuals from cover to cover before trying to program some really simple things. I started with an interest in applications and ended up doing a little with database management, but eventually, I found myself wanting to get into video games. With no other tools or information available to me at the time, I started from scratch in Applesoft BASIC

This is the first thing I ever created that can in any way be considered a "video game". Apparently, the last time I modified the original file for whatever reason was my 12th birthday, August 11 1991. It's messy, it's short, but it's a start! It has lose and win conditions. Basically, white lines are up elevators, blue lines are down elevators, and the T's are supposed to be "pipes". Pipes lead to other screens, and the flashing lights are switches that change some pipes' destination. Pressing button 1 teleports the player a few pixels ahead, and button two teleports a few pixels back, for navigating around elevators, pipes, and hazards without touching them. The red and yellow striped block is the goal. The brown boxes seem to be both bonuses and hazards (I can't remember, but it's kind of arbitrary which ones do what for whatever reason), and there are two green bars in one area that I know were "money", although they don't actually do anything. As for the title screen... ...I have no excuse

As of this writing, it's been around 24 years since I last saw this. I was able to hold on to the disk I used when my parents got rid of the Apple that long ago, but until now, I had absolutely no way to access the content. My wife and I just bought an Apple IIgs for fun, and I was surprised to find that this disk still works!

I couldn't have known then that I'd actually be where I am now, but I know I sure did want it