ROMchip Presents: Jesper Juul on Too Much Fun: The Five Lives of the Commodore 64 Computer
Fri Feb 7, 2025 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST
Online, Twitch
Description
**Tickets serve as calendar reminders for the event; they are not required to attend. Head to https://www.twitch.tv/romchipjournal to join the talk on Feb 7**
Join us Friday, February 7, as ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories hosts scholar Jesper Juul for a talk about his book Too Much Fun: The Five Lives of the Commodore 64 Computer. The event will be at 2PM ET on the ROMchip Twitch channel, https://www.twitch.tv/romchipjournal. Sign up for our newsletter to never miss an update.
About the Book
The surprising history of the Commodore 64, the best-selling home computer of the 1980s—the machine that taught the world that computing should be fun.
The Commodore 64 (C64) is officially the best-selling desktop computer model of all time, according to The Guinness Book of World Records. It was also, from 1985 to 1993, the platform for which most video games were made. But although it sold at least twice as many units as other home computers of its time, such as the Apple II, ZX Spectrum, or Commodore Amiga, it is strangely forgotten in many computer histories. In Too Much Fun, Jesper Juul argues that the C64 was so popular because it was so versatile, a machine developers and users would reinvent again and again over the course of 40 years.
First it was a serious computer, next a game computer, then a computer for showcasing technical brilliance (graphical demos using the machine in seemingly impossible ways), then a struggling competitor, and finally a retro device whose limitations are now charming. The C64, Juul shows, has been ignored by history because it was too much fun. Richly illustrated in full color, this book is the first in-depth examination of the C64's design and history, and the first to integrate US and European histories. Containing interviews with Commodore engineers as well as an insightful look at C64 games, music, and software, Too Much Fun will appeal to those who used a Commodore 64, those interested in the history of computing and video games and computational literacy, or just those who wish their technological devices would last longer.
About the Author
Jesper Juul coedits the MIT Press Playful Thinking series. His previous books include Half-Real,The Art of Failure, and Handmade Pixels. He is Associate Professor at the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen and has taught at MIT and New York University. His first computer was a Commodore 64, on which he wrote games and demos.
Upcoming Events
February 14 @ 2PM: Tom Boellstorff and Braxton Soderman discuss their co-authored book, Intellivision: How a Videogame System Battled Atari and Almost Bankrupted Barbie [TIX HERE]
February 22 @ 11AM-11PM ET: ROMchip Twitch Fundraiser Stream, ft Phil Salvador, merritt k, qdot, Paolo Pedercini, tinahacks, Jason Scott and more! Come through for 12 hours of games, prizes, and historical hijinks. Learn more HERE.
About ROMchip
ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories is a free, online scholarly journal for game history. ROMchip develops, edits, and publishes ad-free, open access game history research for a range of audiences. It supports any discipline of work enlivening the history of games in local and global contexts, and embraces diversity in how game history is studied, documented, collected, preserved, and practiced. ROMchip is a donation-based organization fiscally sponsored by The Hack Foundation (d.b.a. Hack Club), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN: 81-2908499).