CompuServe Messages

Yes, the C64 has eight sprites ("movable object blocks") which size out at 24 x 21 pixels; with these dimensions, you might pack more than one character into a sprite. The count of 8 sprites is not a hard limitation. By using raster interrupts, sprites can be reused several times within a screen. This gobbles up processor time, of course. Re-using sprites is difficult to do in game situations where the objects may wander anywhere on the screen (the bookkeeping gets tedious), but it's convenient for text displays where visual material is clearly separated into horizontal strips. It's also good for games like FROGGER (if you can remember that far back). –Jim