RIP Sir Clive Sinclair…Thank you for inspiring so many.

Just taking a moment to remember Sir Clive Sinclair. A man who inspired many (like me) to get into computing at a young age.

I was never a #zx80, #zx81 or #ZXSpectrum boy myself but my many of my friends were. I personally went down the BBC Micro then Commodore Vic20/Plus4/C64 and Amiga route), but the ZX range inspired many and innovated / kick started the affordable computer games era.

The ZX Spectrum was the successor of the mono coloured ZX80 and ZX81 which had (limited) colour graphics and the unmistakable tinny audio and really was the beginning of the UK games industry. Whilst (IMO) not as good as the completion, it was significantly more affordable than the likes of Commodore and BBC Micro which drove demand and got droves of teenagers into computing. The “hello world” Basic programming era was born!

Who remembers the noise when the games loaded (from tape) as the splash screen was ray traced? Couldn’t resist sharing this video..

Close your eyes and step back in time…

ZX Spectrum Game Loading


Those games that took longer to load than play, the see though graphics, and games like jetpac and Elite will be continue to be legacies.

RIP Sir Clive Sinclair.
#computing #innovation #1980s #gaming #videogames

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