Bacteria

COMPUTE!'s Gazette · Issue 69 · March 1989 · C128 Native Mode · 40-Column

C128 — 40-Column Display

    **** COMMODORE 128 BASIC V7.0 ****

 122365 BYTES FREE

READY.


 [ EMULATOR NOT YET LOADED ]

 CLICK START GAME TO BEGIN

Joystick Controls — Port 2

Up	`↑` Arrow Up
Down	`↓` Arrow Down
Left	`←` Arrow Left
Right	`→` Arrow Right
Fire	`Space` or `Left Ctrl`

To start: Click Start Game. After the C128 boots, a Gazette disk notice appears — click inside the screen, press Enter for the menu, then press 1 to load Bacteria. Loading can take up to a minute — please wait. If the mouse cursor disappears, press Escape to release it.

About Bacteria

Bacteria is a Commodore 128 arcade game written by Leonard Morris and published in COMPUTE!'s Gazette Issue 69, March 1989. The game runs exclusively in C128 native mode using the 40-column display.

Players use a joystick (Port 2) to control their character and battle enemies in fast-paced action gameplay. Leonard Morris served as both coder and graphics artist on this title.

This game is preserved here as part of the Morris Games Archive, a family preservation effort maintained by Jaymes Morris (Leonard's grandson).

How to Play

Starting: Click Start Game to initialize the C128 emulator. When the BASIC prompt appears, load the game from disk using the LOAD command shown above the screen.

Movement: Arrow keys move in four directions (joystick Port 2).

Fire: Space or Left Ctrl.

Objective: Defeat enemies and survive as long as possible. Specific scoring and game rules will be visible in-game.

Tip: Click inside the game screen after loading to ensure keyboard and joystick input are captured. Press Escape if the mouse cursor disappears.

Publication History

Publisher: COMPUTE! Publications — COMPUTE!'s Gazette

Issue: Number 69

Cover Date: March 1989

Platform: Commodore 128 (native mode, 40-column display)

Disk Image: 1989-03.d64 (Gazette Issue 69 companion disk)

COMPUTE!'s Gazette was a major American computer magazine dedicated to Commodore computers, published from 1983 to 1995. Each issue included a companion disk with programs submitted by readers and contributors.

Attribution & Rights

Game Author: Leonard Morris

Roles: Code, Graphics

Originally Published In: COMPUTE!'s Gazette, Issue 69 (March 1989)

Archive Maintained By: Jaymes Morris (grandson)

Leonard Morris was a hobbyist programmer who published seven Commodore 128 games in major American computer magazines between 1988 and 1989. He passed away in 2018.

This archive is a personal preservation effort. The games are presented here for historical and educational purposes, to document Leonard Morris's work and make it accessible to future generations.

If you have questions about the archive, permissions, or knew Leonard Morris personally, please reach out: jaymestmorris16@gmail.com