THE MAKING OF SIR LANCELOT
1983 was an exciting time for Spectrum 16K owners, with the year producing a bonanza of brilliant releases. Think of Deathchase, Jetpac, Harrier Attack and there are guaranteed warm and happy memories for the majority of Spectrum gamers. But despite these wonderful games, the future had arrived, and the future was 48K. Luckily, no one had told teenager Stephen Cargill, whom but for a twist of the educational fates would not have even become a programmer in the first place. “For my O-level choices in school I really wanted to do metal work,” admits Stephen. “But the course was full! I was pretty upset as they put me on their new computer studies course instead.” This moment turned into a positive move for the young student. “I soon got the hang of it – they made the right choice for me. I loved experimenting and the excitement at getting some code working and optimising it.”
Stephen’s early experiences of computing were on a Commodore PET, complete with its small keyboard and built-in cassette recorder, and he was still tinkering around with
