In the world of retrogaming, Ghostbusters is one of the few video games that I enjoyed a lot as a child. The game was inspired by the famous 1984 movie. In this exclusive video interview for the ValorosoIT channel, recorded at Varese Retrocomputing 2024, Karl Voltolini (Vintanerd), guides us on a journey into the world of the Ghostbusters game and 80s computers, in particular the Commodore 64 and the Apple II.
Ghostbusters: from the big screen to the joystick
Ghostbusters, created by David Crane for Activision and launched in 1984, marked a generation of young video game enthusiasts. Based on the movie of the same name, the game has been released for several platforms. It was first developed for the Commodore 64, later it was also ported to the Apple II, ZX Spectrum, and later to the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Master System. Crane, already known for his work with Activision, was able to capture the essence of the film by turning it into a video game that allowed players to feel like real ghostbusters, driving the legendary Ecto-1 car and facing ghosts on the streets of New York. The game involved buying equipment, capturing ghosts, and a quest system inspired directly by the movie.
During the interview, Karl Voltolini recalled with emotion when he played Ghostbusters on the Commodore 64. After watching the movie in the cinema, the experience of returning home and reventuring into the world of Ghostbusters via the joystick was almost magical. This game, Karl says, was a cultural phenomenon: its diffusion was based on floppy disks shared between acquaintances which, in his area, were duplicated and exchanged by mail. Even in computer stores, at the time, you could find pirated copies of the most famous games.
Commodore 64 and Ghostbusters
The Commodore 64 was a very popular home computer in the 80s. Equipped with a MOS 6510 processor and the VIC-II graphics chip, the Commodore 64 guaranteed remarkable video quality and immersive sound via the famous SID audio chip. For this reason, David Crane developed Ghostbusters on the Commodore 64, initially. The features of this home computer contributed to the success of Ghostbusters, enriching the gaming experience with nice sound effects and eye-catching graphics for the period.
According to Vintanerd, the Commodore 64 was the ideal platform to fully enjoy the Ghostbusters experience, thanks to its video and audio capabilities. In fact, even I, as a child, played Ghostbusters on that computer and then, later, also on the Commodore 128, but in 64 mode.
The Apple II and the opportunities for small businesses
Another significant moment of the interview concerns the Apple II, another computer released in 1977, for which Karl confesses a particular affection. The Apple II, manufactured by Apple Inc., was a revolutionary computer for its time, known for its reliability and flexibility. Thanks to the numerous expansion slots, it allowed you to add peripherals and accessory cards such as disc controllers, sound cards and much more. This feature has made the Apple II essential for small business and professional activities. Karl Voltolini recalled how this computer represented a real open platform, which offered small businesses and professionals the possibility of customizing the system to meet specific needs.
What does this have to do with Ghostbusters? The video game was also ported to the Apple II, although with differences from the Commodore 64 version. Players using the Apple II could still experience the game and its missions, although the system did not have the same audio and video capabilities as the Commodore 64.
Ghostbusters as a cultural phenomenon of the 80s
The film Ghostbusters (1984), directed by Ivan Reitman, is a great film success of the 80s. The cast was of the first order, with Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourny Weaver, Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis. The story, which follows a group of scientists who become ghost hunters. He mixed comedy, horror, and action, creating a mix that captivated audiences of all ages.
The protagonist, played by Bill Murray, has become a film icon, and the famous phrase "Who you going to call? Ghostbusters!" has entered common language. The success of the film has given rise to a real cultural phenomenon that has crossed different forms of media: from animated series to toys, from comics to video games. The latter, in particular, have allowed millions of people to enter the world of Ghostbusters and "hunt ghosts" through the joystick, continuing the cinematic experience directly in the living rooms. Thus, the Ghostbusters saga became a symbol of an era, helping to define the decade of the 80s: a period in which technology, music, cinema and video games intertwined to create a collective imagination that still remains alive today.
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