On Wednesday 04 December 2002 07:16 am, Aaron Bergstrom wrote:
> Hi... it was suggested to me on Atari Age that I sign up for this
> mailing list, as it's the list for 2600 developers.
Welcome aboard! We're always glad to have new members, both developers and
enthusiasts alike.
> I've been told by a couple of guys at work... and specifically by a guy who
> is supposedly an expert programmer that I don't have the skills to do
> assembly programming and I'm wasting my time.
Nonsense! I came into 2600 programming having only a few weeks of PC
assembly programming that I had seven years ago in a Computer Organization
class. Assembly programming isn't what's difficult, it's trying to think in
new ways (structured programming goes right out the window when you're
limited to 4K) and dealing with the peculiarities of the 2600 (pausing your
A.I. processing to go draw the screen, for instance).
Anyone with an aptitude for programming, an ability to learn, some
creativity, and some patience can do it. When you get stuck - both in code
problems and in gameplay - the Stella members are here to help. Never
hesitate to ask! My Euchre game wouldn't exist without the support I've
gotten here.
On Wednesday 04 December 2002 01:46 pm, Joe Wiencis wrote:
> Where can one find a 6502 programming book these days? I took VAX assembly
> in college and did rather well in it, I need to write one Atari game and
> put out one 7" single, and since the songwritings not going so well maybe I
> should shift my focus. But where to start?
"Machine Language for Beginners" by Richard Mansfield (COMPUTE! Books, 1983,
ISBN 0-942386-11-6) is a good first book. It's targeted for 8-bit computer
users, but it's a good introduction to the concepts of registers and
addressing modes, and it has a nice reference for all the opcodes. It is out
of print.
I also recommend the web site "Assembly in One Step" - which I think was
already mentioned - at http://www.geocities.com/oneelkruns/asm1step.html.
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