Commodore VIC-20

This article is a work in progress. …well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editors’ notes.

Commodore VIC-20-tan
Character Information
Common Names	VIC20-tan
Other Names	VC-20, VIC-1001, Vixen, Volkscomputer
Human Name(s)	Victoria
Faction	Wanderer Class, formerly of the Commodore Family
Lineage	8-bit Commodore
Rival(s)	The Sinclair-tans (particularly ZX81)
Appearance
Height	143 cm (4'8")
Hair Color	burgundy
Eye Color	orange
Weapon(s)	M1903 Springfield rifle
Design
First Appearance	Aug 2008
Technical Information
System Personified	Commodore VIC-20 (hardware), Commodore BASIC 2.0 (OS)
Developer(s)	Commodore
Debut	1980 (VIC-1001), 1981 (VIC-20)
Latest release	circa 1985

Technical details

The Commodore VIC-20 was first released in Japan (as the VIC-1001) in 1980 and later released to other countries in 1981. It is the first color computer from Commodore, and the first home computer in history to sell 1 million units.

Character details

Physical

VIC20-tan is represented as pre-teen girl with wavy burgundy hair and fairly intimidating orange eyes, and wears part of her old uniform combined with some modern pieces. Her eyes have a piercing glare like PET-tan's.

She still wears her military tunic with her insignia and Brodie helmet from her old Commodore days; her full uniform is modeled after the WWI-era Doughboys, and thus she was involved in more land-based and close-quarter fighting than her sisters, who were all primarily naval captains. Her tunic is light grey with black trim, colored after the original VIC-20 unit. On the trim of her tunic are rainbow stripes modeled after the rainbow-striped nameplate of the later (1982-85) VIC-20 model. On the upper sleeves of her tunic are a gold VIC-20 insignia, modeled after the gold-colored nameplate of the early VIC-20 model. She added many pockets onto the sleeves to store more ammo.

Her main weapon is an M1903 Springfield rifle, which she also used in service of the Commodore fleet. She also carries a bayonet, which she prefers to use as a melee weapon.

In full dress, she wore dark pants and boots with her uniform, but now instead wears a skirt, long socks and high-heeled shoes; these recent additions are feminine and dainty, contrasting with her old-fashioned military attire. To her, it's a symbolic way of showing that deep down, she wants to be more feminine and be a part of modern life, but her memories won't let her do that outright.

Personality

VIC-20-tan has always been hotheaded. In service, she was prim and proper to conceal her aggressive streak, which she unleashed in battle, and was used to fuel her patriotism. She used to be very tomboyish, not caring at all for fancy things, reflected in her less fancy choice of uniform than her sisters', and her self-imposed minimalist lifestyle.

She was fiercely idealistic at first, but obsolescence, in-fighting, and Commodore's downfall all took their toll on her idealism. Since Commodore's downfall, she turned cynical, and and travels the world to try and forget about her hardships, but still laments the loss of her company and heritage. Her attitude is harsh towards others, but hides a yearning to be a part of the modern world, and the feeling that she can't. She has cheered up somewhat in the past few years since the first Commodore family reunion.

Abilities

VIC-20-tan is physically and magically frail, because while the VIC-20 supports color and has better sound than the PET, the VIC-20 was an underpowered machine upon debut with less RAM. She is able to make up for some of her innate limitations with fierce training and hot-blooded determination. She has several spellbooks, referencing the VIC-20's large software library. However, she needs assistance casting most of her spells, since the more advanced VIC-20 software needs the 16K RAM extension. Her non-magical abilities are her experience in melee combat and sharpshooting.

Family and relationships

PET

VIC-20-tan never had much of a rivalry with PET-tan, since they focused on different niches. PET-tan was more into education, and VIC-20-tan was more into gaming. VIC-20-tan took after her, wanting to be as prim, proper and intimidating as her.

C64

She and C64-tan used to have a fierce sibling rivalry when in service. VIC-20-tan was upset at becoming obsolete (her technical capabilities being vastly outclassed by C64's), having to hand leadership of the fleet over to her, and felt her own popularity and power get threatened. (VIC-20's sales declined after the debut of the C64)

After Commodore's bankruptcy, they didn't see each other very much and ended up parting ways.

C65

For a long time, she and C65-tan got into fights when they saw each other. She never met C65-tan until well after the family disbanded, so she thought that C65-tan was a bootleg Commodore-tan. It wasn't until recent years that a family reunion was arranged, and the other Commodore-tans found out the truth about C65-tan and accepted her into the family.

Linux

Referencing that the VIC-20 was the first computer that Linus Torvalds programmed on, Linux-tan and her oldest daughters admire her. She isn't aware of the idol status she has among the early Linuces, but if she did, she may have the self-confidence she needs to feel like she can finally be a part of the modern world.

ZX81

VIC-20-tan was a rival to the Sinclair-tans, who occupied the low-end niche among the home computer-tans. Her rivalry was stronger with ZX81-tan, and they engaged in price wars, which were a tie, but VIC-20 retaliated with shady tactics that siphoned many of ZX81-tan's followers away.

History and background

This article is a work in progress. …well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editors’ notes.

Her older sister, PET-tan, was successful in securing territory in the education market, but not the home user and gaming markets where she lost many battles against the Atari-tans. VIC-20-tan was created with the technical abilities needed to compete against them, and avenge PET-tan's losses, so she and PET-tan didn't have much of a rivalry. While having the requisite ability needed to compete (color support), she still turned out to be an underpowered computer-tan, but PET-tan and Minuteman-tan were able to train her to maximize her capabilities...

See also:

• Wikipedia article
• VIC-20 on Old Computers