Productions

Atari 8-bit

Atari 8-bit is a family of 8-bit home computers manufactured by Atari from 1979. The most popular models include the Atari 800XL (1983), Atari 65XE, and Atari 130XE (1985). These machines were powered by the MOS 6502C processor clocked at 1.79 MHz (PAL) with RAM ranging from 64 KB (800XL, 65XE) to 128 KB (130XE).

Sound generation was handled by the POKEY (Pot Keyboard Integrated Circuit) chip, offering 4 independent channels with 8-bit resolution, capable of producing sounds at frequencies from 0 to approximately 62 kHz. POKEY enabled synthesis of square waves with variable duty cycles, noise generation, and channel pairing for 16-bit frequency resolution.

Graphics were managed by the ANTIC chip (a display processor supporting text and graphic modes up to 320×192 pixels) and the GTIA chip (a colour generator offering a palette of 256 colours in NTSC mode). The computer supported hardware sprites (known as Player/Missile Graphics) and hardware scrolling.

The Atari 8-bit demoscene developed intensively from the late 1980s, particularly in Poland, and remains active to this day. Coders push these machines far beyond their original specifications using advanced programming techniques such as Display List Interrupts (DLI) and cycle-exact timing.