About Atariteca

Our little blog is dedicated to those who, like us, had an Atari 800XL and/or Atari 130XE at home. Here you can find and download guides, reviews and more about emulators, games and interesting facts about these first home computers...". That is the phrase with which we originally summarized the presentation of this blog.

The truth is that Atariteca is a sort of homage to objects and people: first of all, to the gift my father gave me when I was about 13 years old - I had just turned 13, if memory serves me right. He came home with a huge silver box, from which emerged an Atari 800XL along with an XC-12 tape deck. This duo allowed me not only to be the envy of the neighborhood - since at that time there were very few people who had a video game console in their repertoire - but, more importantly, I think, it planted in me a strong curiosity about computers; an interest that I maintain to this day.

Since that time I have fond memories of playing Pitstop, Matchboxes and Caverns of Mars with my family, preceded by endless waits while the computer loaded the data from the noisy cassette. These delays, coupled with the lack of places to stock up on new games, made me gradually lose my appreciation for the 8-bit machine.

Salvation came at a Home Fair in Lima, where I was amazed by what Chilean "businessmen" exhibited pirated on a Sony tape: "Draconus." The meeting not only served to rediscover the surprising graphic and musical quality of the Atari, but also to meet other users who recommended sites to expand my repertoire of more programs.

These places were a commercial house on Avenida Aviación and a chaotic office in Santa Beatriz, close to a television station. Thanks to the classifieds in the newspaper "El Comercio" I located the business of the "Chinese" Tang in Pueblo Libre, where I got several gems of the time, such as "Elektra Glide" and "The Extirpator."

The heyday came at Christmas, with the Atari 1050 disk drive. Buying individual units became a desire to collect. And the temptation was in the newspaper, where every Sunday new games from Europe were announced. So I decided to venture alone to a remote stand in the "Centro Lima" shopping gallery, where I became friends with good old Pocho - I never knew his real name, much less his surname.

At that time, I started drawing graph paper maps of Draconus, Black Lamp, Montezuma, and The Infiltrator. I also prepared guides - on a typewriter! - for simulators such as Silent Service and Super Huey. Unfortunately, all these documents have now been lost and will probably have been recycled ad infinitum.

Beyond nostalgia, Atariteca is also a tribute to other people who years later served as inspiration for my professional career as a journalist. I am referring to the legendary and now deceased journalistKao Megura, who I had the privilege of counting among my firstnetfriends, known for its thorough FAQs. And, of course, to Henry A. Moriarty, owner ofThe MadMan's Cafe, a model of striving for perfection and usability in how information is presented on the Internet.

In honor of all of them, here is the Atariteca. Enjoy it.