 Volume 5, No. 9 cover | |
| Creator/Publisher | Roger Robitaille |
|---|---|
| Categories | Computer programming |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| First issue | October 1978 |
| Final issue | March 1984 |
| Company | SoftSide Publications |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Milford, New Hampshire |
| Language | English |
| ISSN | 0274-8630 |
| OCLC | 6656512 |
SoftSide is a defunct computer magazine, begun in October 1978 by Roger Robitaille and published by SoftSide Publications of Milford, New Hampshire.
Dedicated to personal computer programming, SoftSide was a unique publication with articles and line-by-line program listings that users manually keyed in. The TRS-80 edition was first, launched in 1978. An Apple II specific version began in January 1980, followed by more individual versions supporting the Atari 8-bit computers and IBM-PC, as well as one for BASIC language programmers, Prog80. The platform-specific versions were combined into a single monthly edition in August 1980.
In the first few years of publication, users often had problems with the legibility of the dot-matrix program listings. By the time the printout was photographed and printed in the magazine, it had become a bit illegible. One reader commented, "after a short while of typing, you felt like you needed some of the 'coke bottle bottom' eye glasses!" [1] Subscriptions were offered that included the printed magazine and a cassette tape, and later 5¼-inch floppy disks, to be literally "played" into the input port to load the complete program into the subscriber's personal computer.
Like many computer publications of the time, SoftSide faced considerable financial pressure and competition in an industry-wide shakeout of personal computer publications in 1983. As a result, Robitaille reorganized the publication into two new magazines: SoftSide 2.0 (directed towards the computer user) and Code (for the programmer), each with its own disk-based featured software included. Neither magazine found sufficient market to become fully established, and SoftSide ended with its March 1984 issue. [2]
Early on, in 1978 or 1979, SoftSide was joined by a sister company called TRS-80 Software Exchange (or TSE), a software publisher. Many titles sold by this company were magazine submissions that were either very high quality or written in languages that the magazine did not support (which was mainly various dialects of BASIC). Due to a copyright challenge by Tandy, owner of the TRS-80, the business name was changed to The Software Exchange or just TSE. By mid-1979, hardware systems and peripherals of the day could be ordered via mail order/phone order from the newest branch of the business, named HardSide.
It is notable that this magazine launched the careers of many programmers, many of whom are still active in the profession. It also provided experience and support for several entrepreneurs who went on to create companies including MicroMint, The Bottom Line, Campbell Communications, The Gollan Letter.
Scott Adams took out the first ad for a commercial software game ( Adventureland ) in Softside Magazine in 1978.[ citation needed ]
SoftSide published numerous computer games and utilities for the TRS-80, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, and Commodore PET over its six-year history. The following titles were collected in the Apple edition of The Best of SoftSide (1983) and released on accompanying 5¼-inch floppy disks.
Bruce Campbell reviewed SoftSide in 1982 in The Space Gamer No. 61. [9] Campbell commented that "SoftSide has evolved from a pulp tabloid to a slick, professional magazine. A wide variety of programs are featured: arcade games, adventures, economic situations, board games, educational programs, and more. In general, I have found these of higher quality than most listings in books and magazines." [9]
VisiCalc is the first spreadsheet computer program for personal computers, originally released for Apple II by VisiCorp on October 17, 1979. It is considered the killer application for the Apple II, turning the microcomputer from a hobby for computer enthusiasts into a serious business tool, and then prompting IBM to introduce the IBM PC two years later. More than 700,000 copies were sold in six years, and up to 1 million copies over its history.
Centipede is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. Designed by Dona Bailey and Ed Logg, it was one of the most commercially successful games from the golden age of arcade video games and one of the first with a significant female player base. The primary objective is to shoot all the segments of a centipede that winds down the playing field. An arcade sequel, Millipede, followed in 1982.
Softporn Adventure is a comedic, adult-oriented text adventure game produced for the Apple II in 1981. The game was created by Charles Benton and released by On-Line Systems, later renamed Sierra On-Line. Years later, Softporn Adventure was remade and expanded as Leisure Suit Larry series of adult-oriented video games, and the first entry in that series, 1987's Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, was a nearly direct graphical adaptation of Softporn Adventure. Another graphical version was released as Las Vegas for various Japanese computers in 1986 by Starcraft.
Creative Computing was one of the earliest magazines covering the microcomputer revolution. Published from October 1974 until December 1985, the magazine covered the spectrum of hobbyist/home/personal computing in a more accessible format than the rather technically oriented Byte.
Arena of Octos is a single-player, turn-based combat video game for the Apple II and TRS-80 computer families. It was created by Steve Kropinak and Al Johnson in 1981 and published by SoftSide magazine. The player assumes the role of a human space pilot, captured by an aggressive race of green-skinned aliens known as Octons after straying into their space. To win freedom, the human must become a gladiator and engage in physical combat with numerous Octon warriors.
The Count is a text adventure written by Scott Adams and published by Adventure International in 1979. The player character has been sent to defeat the vampire Count Dracula by the local Transylvanian villagers, and must obtain and use items from around the vampire's castle in order to defeat him.
Escape from the Dungeons of the Gods is a single-player text adventure written by Ray Sato for the TRS-80. The original and versions for the Atari 8-bit computers and Apple II were published in the August 1982 issue of SoftSide. It was subsequently republished in The Best of SoftSide (1983) and released on accompanying 5¼-inch floppy disks.
Quest 1 is a single-player role-playing game originally written for the TRS-80 and translated for the Apple II and Atari 8-bit computers. Published by SoftSide Magazine in 1981 as a type-in program, it is the first-known published game by Brian Reynolds. Quest 1 was republished in The Best of SoftSide (1983) and released on accompanying 5¼-inch floppy disks.
Operation Sabotage is a text adventure game by Ray Sato for the TRS-80 and published by SoftSide Magazine in 1982. It was ported by Rich Bouchard to the Atari 8-bit computers and translated for Apple II by Ron Shaker and later the IBM Personal Computer by Fred Condo & Kerry Shetline. The game was republished in The Best of SoftSide (1983), which also included the program on an accompanying 5¼-inch floppy disk.
Microsoft Adventure is a 1979 interactive fiction game from Microsoft, based on the PDP-10 mainframe game Colossal Cave Adventure, and released for the TRS-80, Apple II, and later for the IBM PC. It was programmed for the company by Gordon Letwin of Softwin Associates.
Air Raid is a fixed shooter video game published by Small System Software for the TRS-80 Level I or II in 1978. It is an adaptation of the game TARGET, developed for the Sol-20 by Steve Dompier.
FS1 Flight Simulator is a 1979 video game published by Sublogic for the Apple II. A TRS-80 version followed in 1980. FS1 is the first in a line of simulations from Sublogic which, beginning in 1982, were also sold by Microsoft as Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Simutek Package One is a compilation of video games for the TRS-80 developed by Simutek of Tucson, Arizona and published by Adventure International.
The Human Adventure is a game written by William F. Denman, Jr. and published by Med Systems Software in 1980 for the TRS-80 and Apple II.
Microworld is a 1981 text adventure published by Med Systems Software for the TRS-80. An Atari 8-bit computer version followed.
The Eliminator is a horizontally scrolling shooter video game written by Terry Gilman and Wayne Westmoreland for the TRS-80 and published by Adventure International in 1981. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit computers and Apple II. The Eliminator is a clone of the Defender arcade game.
Klondike Adventure is a video game published in 1982 by SoftSide for the Atari 8-bit computers. It was the February 1982 Adventure of the Month, and the ninth in the series.
Clowns and Balloons is a circus-themed video game written by Frank Cohen for Atari 8-bit computers and published in 1982 by Datasoft. The game was also released for the TRS-80 Color Computer, written by Steve Bjork who had released a similar game called Space Ball for the TRS-80 in 1980. Clowns and Balloons is a clone of the 1977 arcade game Circus. A variant of Breakout, the player moves a trampoline left and right to catch a bouncing clown who pops rows of balloons at the top of the screen with his head.
Apparat, Inc., was an American software developer, peripheral manufacturer, mail order company, and retailer active from 1978 to 1988 and primarily based in Denver, Colorado. They are best known for NewDos/80, an alternative operating system to TRSDOS for Tandy Corporation's TRS-80 line of home computers, sold through their Radio Shack stores. Apparat themselves sold modified TRS-80s through their mail order catalog. The company pivoted to selling peripherals for the IBM Personal Computer in 1982, continuing in this market until Apparat went defunct in 1988.