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Around the World with the Sorcerer of Exidy

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Game History and the Local

Part of the book series: Palgrave Games in Context ((PAGCON))

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Abstract

In an analysis of international computer user group newsletters, the authors explore locative dimensions of the use and reception of the Exidy Sorcerer microcomputer. They find that while user groups began with a hyper-local focus, they rapidly acquired regional and international readers with their editors entering into formal networks of reciprocal exchange to share content that was in perpetually short supply. This international growth often came at a cost to newsletter founders and brought them into contact with the challenges of international communication in the pre-Internet era. By design, the Sorcerer’s specialised programmable graphics architecture made graphics “as easy to use as text,” and the archive reveals how users exploited this technical affordance to undertake word processing and microcomputing in languages other than English.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For a discussion of the importance of clones in teaching programming, see Swalwell (2021).

  2. 2.

    Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to find the results of the survey.

  3. 3.

    A key which is pressed and released without printing a character but which changes the meaning of the next key pressed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Michael Borthwick

  2. Transformative Media Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Melanie Swalwell

Authors
  1. Michael Borthwick
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  2. Melanie Swalwell
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Correspondence to Michael Borthwick .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Transformative Media Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Melanie Swalwell

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Borthwick, M., Swalwell, M. (2021). Around the World with the Sorcerer of Exidy. In: Swalwell, M. (eds) Game History and the Local. Palgrave Games in Context. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66422-0_7

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