Original Running Man Program for the Mattel Aquarius

I’ve been playing with the first computer I received for Christmas when I was 5 years old.  It is a Mattel Aquarius.  It’s a bit obscure and was not well-received by the general public when it was new but I had many years of enjoyment from it and it really sparked my interest in computers.  Luckily I saved the manuals because there is not much documentation out there for it.  One of the first programs I entered when I was 5 was the Create A “Running Man” program.  I didn’t particularly understand how it worked back in 1983 but looking at it again, the concept is pretty easy.  It clears the screen and prints 2 stacked sprites that look like a man in one position.  Then it clears those sprites and prints 2 alternative stacked sprites one space over, then clears those.  Rinse and repeat.  To prevent the program from running so fast that you can’t see the man running, there is a subroutine called after the man is draw in a particular position that kills a bit of time.  Here is the original program:

10 PRINT CHR$(11)
20 FOR X=0 TO 38 STEP 2
30 A=12328+X+11*40: B=A+40
40 C=A+1: D=C+40
50 POKE A,21: POKE B,22: GOSUB 110
60 POKE A,32: POKE b,32
70 POKE C,23: POKE D,24: GOSUB 110
80 POKE C,32: POKE D,32
90 NEXT X
100 GOTO 20
110 FOR P=1 TO 30: NEXT P: RETURN

Modified Running Man Program for the Mattel Aquarius

I wanted to spice this program up a bit and add some color and variation.  I decided to make the man run at different speeds by randomizing the timer on the subroutine.  I added some color by having the man leave random colored rows of “dots” behind.  I know it’s not terribly innovative but I found the excercise amusing.  Here is the modified program:

10 PRINT CHR$(11)
20 FOR X=0 TO 38 STEP 2
25 IF X=0 THEN COL=INT(15*RND(1))
26 IF X=0 THEN SPD=INT(200*RND(1)+20)
30 A=12328+X+11*40: B=A+40
40 C=A+1: D=C+40
45 POKE B+1024,COL
50 POKE A,21: POKE B,22: GOSUB 110
60 POKE A,32: POKE b,32
70 POKE C,23: POKE D,24: GOSUB 110
80 POKE C,32: POKE D,32
90 NEXT X
100 GOTO 20
110 FOR P=1 TO SPD: NEXT P: RETURN

I’ve tested it on my real hardware and Virtual Aquarius now so it should work for you as shown.  If you have your own fun variations to this program or other fond memories of this computer, please post a comment down below.

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