I was lucky enough to have joined the 8-bit computer revolution rather earlier than most of my friends of the time. My Dad built a UK101 Compukit machine (based on the 6502 processor that was later to power the BBC Micro) in 1978. So I had a two year head start on my peers, I can remember the astonishment that greeted the acknowledgement that we had a ‘computer’ in the house!
As the 80s dawned the more primitive machines gave way to machines with colour and sound. The main contenders were the BBC Micro, Commodore-64 and the ZX Spectrum.
Originally the Spectrum was the cheaper machine, well supported by software and games. The Commodore was more technically capable, but lacked the software and the BBC was the one used by many educational establishments and, of course, the BBC themselves!
However, in September 1984, a game was launched that redefined the art of the possible on these primitive computers. Up until now, games had had 3 lives, a score and a typical five-ten minute playing time. Suddenly a game arrived with no score, a single life, open ended game play and immersive 3d graphics, its name?
“Elite.”
Here was a game that simply gave you a very basic spaceship, a small amount of money and set you loose in a universe filled with traders, pirates, police and alien warships. You simply ‘made your own way’ from here, trying to amass enough money to upgrade your ship with higher powered lasers, more cargo space, defensive systems, missiles, bombs and more energy. Whether you choose to trade honestly, or enter the blackmarket, or simply prey on other vessels was entirely up to you. Each route had its pros and cons.
Incredibly, there was a universe of systems to explore, 8 galaxies, consisting of 256 systems in each one and all this was, including the graphics, game and universe was crammed into 32k, (32,768 bytes of memory) – that’s about the same as this blog entry.
Originally only available on the BBC, the authors quickly bowed to overwhelming pressure to put this iconic game onto other platforms. I was able to play it shortly afterwards on my trusty ZX Spectrum…
I, along with many other members of the IT community, spent days, months and even years playing this game. Its compelling nature, inviting you to decide who and what you wanted to be, rather than simply shooting, finding or solving things, drove you further into the game, encouraging you to loose yourself in imagination.
In another clever move, the game was promoted with a Novella, called The Dark Wheel, written by Robert Holdstock. You can still read it here. This gave some important background on the social and political universe in which ‘Elite’ existed, giving you reasons why things worked as they did.
This week, Elite has reached its 25 anniversary. Elite 4, the much anticipated sequel has yet to appear, but tens of thousands of people are out there, patiently waiting for it. The interest remains astonishing after so many years have gone past.
Elite has inspired many imitations, but none have really managed to capture the essence of Elite. Today, there are a number of tribute games available in the public domain. My favourite is ‘Oolite‘, which updates the graphics for modern PCs and Macs, yet remains true to the original gameplay.
I have a particularly soft spot for this one, as I wrote a couple of novellas for it myself back in 2006.
Happy Silver Anniversary Elite – and thanks for the fun, games and memories. Looking forward to ‘Elite 4′!
how did i miss this, im a huge elite fan!!
Hi, Drew!
I just wanted to thank you für your Oolite novels. Things like that really add flavour to a game!
One request: Could you add an item to the Tianve OXP? That one can buy a (otherwise useless) piece of equipment with the name “A Sticker labelled ‘I have been in Tianve and seen the Pulsar!’”