The 8-Bit Guy Explained

The 8-Bit Guy
Channel Url:UC8uT9cgJorJPWu7ITLGo9Ww
Channel Display Name:The 8-Bit Guy
Location:Kennedale, Texas, USA
Years Active:2006 - present
Genre:Retrocomputing
Subscribers:1.43 million
Views:271 million
Stats Update:May 21, 2024
Silver Button:yes
Silver Year:2016
Gold Button:yes
Gold Year:2019

David Murray (born 1975),[1] commonly known as The 8-Bit Guy, is an American retrocomputing enthusiast and video game developer who runs a YouTube channel under the same name.

History

Murray launched his YouTube channel in 2006 under the username adric22.[2] He worked on repairing and refurbishing iBook G3 and G4 laptops and later on MacBooks, buying and selling them on eBay, and later from his own website. He called himself TheiBookGuy. He made videos to show how he repairs some of the equipment, but had made his living with the actual repairs, as well as resales. In 2011, he shut down his repair business.

Five months after creating his channel, David and his brother[3] made a channel called MyPCHelp,[4] which would mostly upload computer tutorials for any person to understand.

Murray noticed his general videos about computing were attracting more subscribers. In 2015, he renamed his primary channel to "The 8-Bit Guy" and focused on retrocomputing.[5] He says an average episode takes about 15 hours to produce.

Murray ran several different YouTube channels with topics such as keyboard instruments from the 1980s, coin collecting, and airguns, although the latter two did not have as much popularity as his retrocomputing videos so he stopped uploading videos to them.

Murray was dissatisfied with his long used in-home filming studio, so in 2020 he began construction on a small building in his backyard which would hold his new studio. In 2021, the new studio was finished and became Murray's primary filming location.[6] [7]

On January 2, 2024, Murray announced that after two years of falling views and revenue, he will be forced to shift some focus away from YouTube to the X16 project and a job he took at a local arcade venue in Bedford, TX.

Content

The channel is known for its videos on restoration of old computers,[8] and demonstration of old technology.[9] [10] Murray has also developed video games designed to run on old computers, including Planet X1 for the VIC-20,[11] Planet X2 for Commodore 64,[12] [13] Planet X3 for MS-DOS[14] [15] [16] and Attack of the PETSCII Robots for the Commodore PET (which has since been then ported to many other platforms,[17] including VIC-20, Commodore 64, Commodore 128, Amiga, Apple II, ZX Spectrum, Atari 8-bit, MS-DOS, NES, SNES, and Sega Genesis). He has demonstrated the development of these games on his YouTube channel.[18] [19] Moreover, he has developed PETDraw for various Commodore computers, a pseudo-raster drawing software using PETSCII.[20] In addition, Murray is working on the Commander X16, an 8-bit computer inspired by the Commodore 64, made using off the shelf modern parts (although with a few new old-stock chips such as the YM2151).[21] [22] [23] [24] Murray is also passionate about electric cars, and has published videos about them on his channel.[25]

Murray also co-hosts the GeekBits podcast alongside his brother Mike Murray and friend Craig Bowes.

Personal life

Murray lives with his wife and daughter in the Dallas–Fort Worth area in Texas.[26] He has lived in his current house in Kennedale since the mid-1990s. Prior to their buyout, he used to work for AST Research as a tech support specialist.[27] His second cousin was musician Dimebag Darrell.[28]

Notes and References

  1. Murray, David . 2017-07-27 . Commodore Calculator Repair . 2023-11-19 . 10:40 . ...1972...three years before I was even born. . YouTube.
  2. Web site: The 8-Bit Guy - YouTube. www.youtube.com.
  3. Web site: r/8BitGuy - Comment by u/TheGeekPub on "Did you know 8 Bit Guy had a channel as early as 2006?" . 2022-08-01 . reddit . June 3, 2020 . en-US.
  4. Web site: MyPCHelp - YouTube . 2022-08-01 . www.youtube.com.
  5. News: Michuad. Scott. 2015-10-22. "The 8-Bit Guy" Discusses Game Audio. 2021-07-27. PC Perspective. en-US.
  6. Web site: New 8-Bit Guy Studio Construction - Part 1 . .
  7. Web site: How the Apple 1 computer works . .
  8. Web site: Grossman. David. 2017-02-24. Watch an Old Macintosh Plus Brought Back to Life. 2021-07-27. Popular Mechanics. en-US.
  9. News: Dormehl. Luke. 2017-01-04. YouTuber 8-Bit Guy Shows How The NES Zapper Gun Worked. 2021-07-27. Digital Trends. en.
  10. Web site: Limer. Eric. 2016-11-02. The First Real Webcam Is Laughable In Hindsight. 2021-07-27. Popular Mechanics. en-US.
  11. Web site: Murray . David . David's software . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221001203302/https://www.the8bitguy.com/download-davids-software/ . October 1, 2022 . October 1, 2022 . The 8 bit guy.
  12. Web site: Murray . David . PLANET X2 FINISHED! . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221001203850/https://www.the8bitguy.com/planet-x2-announced/ . October 1, 2022 . October 1, 2022 . The 8 bit guy.
  13. Web site: Planet X2 (Commodore 64) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221001204226/https://www.mobygames.com/game/planet-x2 . October 1, 2022 . October 1, 2022 . Moby games.
  14. Web site: Murray . David . May 22, 2019 . PLANET X3 IS HERE! AND WITH NEW VIDEO MODES! . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221001204403/https://www.the8bitguy.com/4032/where-is-planet-x3/ . October 1, 2022 . October 1, 2022 . The 8 bit guy.
  15. Web site: Planet X3 (DOS) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221001204855/https://www.mobygames.com/game/planet-x3 . October 1, 2022 . October 1, 2022 . Moby games.
  16. Web site: Tarason . Dominic . June 4, 2018 . Planet X3 is a brand new CGA DOS game in development . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221001204403/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/planet-x3-new-dos-game-kickstarter . October 1, 2022 . October 1, 2022 . Rock paper shotgun.
  17. Web site: 2021-01-14 . Attack of the PETSCII Robots . 2021-08-14 . thandor.net . en.
  18. Web site: Griffiths. Josh. 2017-12-01. The 8-Bit Guy Demonstrates the Process of Making a Commodore 64 Game. 2021-07-27. Cliqist. en-US.
  19. News: Horti. Samuel. 2018-07-09. Meet the dev making his first DOS game -- in 2018. 2021-07-27. Gamasutra. en.
  20. Web site: David's Software .
  21. Web site: Project Commander X16 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221001210526/https://www.retrosummit.com/2019/09/24/project-commander-x16/ . October 1, 2022 . October 1, 2022 . Retro summit.
  22. Web site: Murray . David . February 19, 2019 . Building my dream computer - Part 1 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221003145449/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayh0qebfD2g . October 3, 2022 . 2022-10-03 . . en . February 19, 2019.
  23. Web site: Murray . David . September 12, 2019 . Building my Dream Computer - Part 2 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221003145459/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg-6Cjzzg8s . October 3, 2022 . 2022-10-03 . . en.
  24. Web site: Murray . David . October 12, 2022 . The Commander X16 has finally arrived! . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221028140720/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcWqMGju7fk . October 28, 2022 . October 28, 2022 . YouTube.
  25. Web site: Cole. Jay. 2016-10-07. BMW i3 REx Road Test, Charging And Fuel Tank Coding - Video Review. dead. 2021-07-27. InsideEVs. en. July 27, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210727174605/https://insideevs.com/reviews/332102/bmw-i3-rex-road-test-charging-and-fuel-tank-coding-video-review/.
  26. (S1E6) 8-Bit Computers, Mental Health. We Are One. Tom & Melody. March 7, 2021. July 27, 2021.
  27. Web site: Murray . David . August 14, 2019 . AST Computer - Tales from Tech Support . 7:05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221003145914/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hdazA-VUf0 . October 3, 2022 . YouTube.
  28. Web site: August 1, 2016 . Casio Superdrums Keyboard Review MT-500 MT-520/205 . April 8, 2023 . . en .

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