Star Warrior
A space shooter handwritten in MSX BASIC by a 12-year-old in 1989, never actually run until reconstructed in 2026.
In 1989, during mandatory study halls at a South African boarding school, the entire game was written by hand in pen across five pages of a school exercise book. The notebook survived 35+ years before being photographed and faithfully reconstructed into a playable HTML5 version.
Features 16+ progressive stages with increasing difficulty, five distinct enemy types with homing AI, a shield mechanic, and a retro CRT aesthetic with scanlines and green phosphor glow.
Controls: Arrow keys or WASD to move, Space to fire, S for shields.
Screenshots
Title Screen
The reconstructed title screen with retro CRT aesthetic
Gameplay
Battle through progressive stages with homing enemies
Stage Clear
Advance through 16+ stages of increasing difficulty
The Original Notebook
The 1989 exercise book containing the handwritten BASIC source code
