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Easy Finance on the Commodore 64: because nothing says "serious investment strategy" quite like planning your financial future on a computer best known for loading games from a cassette tape. If the graph went up, retirement seemed only a few BASIC commands away. Photo shot in my studio.

The Thomson TO7-70 came with a built-in light pen, because in the 1980s the future clearly involved pointing directly at your TV screen. Decades later, after touchscreens conquered the world, it turns out the French were simply a little ahead of schedule.

When 620K free felt practically unlimited memory. For your latest game find, half the battle was winning the war against drivers, TSR and CONFIG.SYS. The other half was actually playing the game. Modern software is more like: "need 2 GB just to open it." Photo shot in my studio

R-Type felt just incredible on the C64. Awesome sound, flawless animation, relentless action, and visuals many thought were beyond the machine's limits. Yet there it was, proving once again that skilled programmers could squeeze miracles out of 64 KB. Photo featuring my C64C

I always found using the Toshiba HX-10 a thrilling experience. It was just between you and your keyboard. In 1983, the MSX offered the most practical BASIC around. Graphics, sound, sprites: everything was ready to use without wrestling the machine first. Photo shot in my studio.

Most games asked you to save the world. In 1989, Populous offered you the chance to become a god. Raise mountains. Create continents. Guide your people. And if you lose, the fault lies with your worshippers, not with your divine management skills. A true classic. Photo shot in my studio, Atari ST.

That moment when the Psygnosis logo fades onto your Amiga CRT. Before the loading screen, before the music, before the game. Just one question: what masterpiece awaits? I don't remember which game it was when I took this shot, but I know for sure it was not a disappointment

Windows 3.0 was a leap forward. Compared to release 2, it had a completely new interface, better memory management and performance. For many users in 1990, this was the first version of Windows they ever saw as Its GUI finally went mainstream. Photo shot in my studio.

Classic among classic. Prince of Persia, original Apple II version. Fluid character animation and sword fights that felt real. In 1989, after 5 years of development, Jordan Mechner showed the world what home computers were capable of, and redefined cinematic storytelling. Photo shot in my studio.

64 KB of RAM and an entire galaxy in your bedroom. Elite on the Commodore 64 wasn't just a game: it was freedom. Trade, explore, fight pirates, dock to space stations... One of the first true open-world experiences ever created. Photo shot in my studio (Commodore 64C + 1571)

Two Amstrads. One tiger. The PC1640’s color display showed off the promise of early PC graphics, while the PC1512's monochrome monitor delivered razor-sharp clarity for serious work. Back when choosing a display meant choosing a philosophy.

The Atari ST’s GEM interface felt like the future in 1985: windows, icons, drop-down menus and mouse control. While many were still typing commands, ST users were already clicking their way through a graphical desktop. Photo shot in my studio.

The Thomson TO7/70 wasn’t just a computer. It was a generation’s first encounter with BASIC, light pens, cassette loading screens, and the dream of a French computing future. Found in countless schools across France, just like the BBC Micro in the UK. Photo shot in my studio.

Ghouls’n Ghosts on the #Commodore 64 was never supposed to rival the arcade… and yet somehow it captured the same dark magic. Haunting music, eerie world, ridiculous difficulty: one more try… then another… then another...

Prince of Persia had an excellent conversion to the Amstrad CPC. No latency, as opposed to 16 bit versions. No ugly tones as on consoles. The stones are a little too blue, that's all. I still can't understand why there wasn't a C64 port until 2011. @jmechner.bsky.social any thoughts?

Come now, who wants to play Tycoon?

For many gamers (including me) Kick Off II wasn’t just another football game: it was one of the first that made you feel like you were truly controlling both the player and the ball, not merely steering an animation. Fantastic gameplay! Photo shot in my studio. Amiga 500

Isn't it sexy? Using one of the first spreadsheet programs on one of the first home computers to list the retro machines that I use as models for the photos on this page. Then exported the sheet on a dot matrix printer and put it on the wall of my studio. The circle is complete.

Before polygonal realism took over racing games, there was Vroom! In 1991 Lankhor released the fastest and smoothest one. Incredible sensation of speed, it pushed 16-bit hardware to its limits. The game later reached the Amiga and MS-DOS PCs, but the ST version remains legendary.

The famous Chess wallpaper in Windows 3.0 here on my IBM PS/1. Photo shot in my studio. Retro setups, CRT scanlines, genuine hardware, floppy disks, ball mouse and wild joystick. For more authentic retro, visit youtube.com/@RetroDream Gear up for #retrocomputing nostalgia!