Blastar

Blastar. A shoot 'em up video game written in 1984 by a young Elon Musk and published in the South African magazine PC and Office Technology. The game involves navigating a spacecraft through a hazardous field of alien spacecraft and space stations while managing a limited supply of smart bombs. Its source code was sold for $500, marking an early commercial venture for its creator and foreshadowing his later work in technology and space exploration.

History

The game emerged during the peak of the home computer revolution, specifically for the Commodore VIC-20, a popular platform in markets like South Africa. Its publication in PC and Office Technology provided a rare glimpse into the early software development scene within that region. Following this early success, Musk would later co-found Zip2 and X.com, which evolved into PayPal. The code for the game resurfaced decades later when Ashlee Vance, a biographer, discovered it while researching for the book Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. This discovery prompted Musk to share the code publicly on his social media platform, Twitter, in 2015, creating a renewed wave of interest in this piece of software history.

Gameplay

Players control a spacecraft viewed from a side-scrolling perspective, tasked with destroying various enemy constructs. The primary adversaries include hostile alien spacecraft and dangerous space station installations that fill the screen. The player's ship is equipped with standard laser weaponry and a limited stock of powerful smart bombs, which can clear large sections of the screen when deployed strategically. The core challenge involves precise navigation through dense enemy fire, often referred to as a bullet hell environment, while conserving the special ordnance for critical moments. Success requires mastering patterns of enemy movement and attack, a hallmark of the shoot 'em up genre popularized by contemporary titles like Galaxian and Galaga.

Development

The game was developed by a twelve-year-old Elon Musk, who taught himself BASIC programming by studying manuals for the Commodore VIC-20. The development process was detailed in a 1984 article in PC and Office Technology, which included the full printed source code for readers to type into their own machines. This "type-in" program method was a common form of software distribution in early computer magazines like Compute! and RUN. The sale of the source code to the magazine for $500 provided Musk with his first significant income from technology. The technical implementation involved managing sprite graphics, collision detection, and real-time input within the severe memory constraints of the VIC-20, which typically had only about 3.5 KB of usable RAM for a program.

Legacy

While not a commercially distributed title, *Blastar* holds historical significance as a very early project by a figure who would later found transformative companies like SpaceX, Tesla, Inc., and The Boring Company. Its public republication in 2015 served as a cultural touchstone, highlighting the humble beginnings of a prominent entrepreneur in the technology industry. The game is often cited in discussions about Musk's early aptitude for computer programming and his lifelong fascination with space exploration. It remains a curiosity for historians of video game development and for those studying the intersection of pop culture and technology entrepreneurship. The story of its creation and rediscovery is frequently featured in profiles by media outlets like The Guardian and Business Insider.

Category:1984 video games Category:Commodore VIC-20 games Category:Shoot 'em up games