The most enduring memory from TI-99 wasn't the games like MunchMan and Parsec. Instead, it was a specific oddity of the TI-BASIC language.

In the free TI-BASIC (built into ROM), the language had no boolean operators like "OR", "AND". Instead, what programmers did was use math tricks to simulate those booleans ... something like this:

Simulate "OR" boolean:

  IF (X=3) + (Y=5) THEN

Simulate "AND" boolean:

  IF (X=3) * (Y=5) THEN

As a child, it was extremely confusing to read those lines of code. Why in the world are we adding or multiplying nonsense like that?!? It turns out the programmers took advantage of any value greater than 0 as "TRUE", and 0 as false. Therefore, if either side evaluated to 0, multiplying the conditions would be FALSE.

However, you paid $100 extra for TI EXTENDED BASIC cartridge[1], that language had extra fancy features like the keywords "AND" and "OR". No more workarounds using "+" and "* " operators. That was progress in 1980s.

That early lesson in "inherent complexity" has affected how I view arguments today about "language simplicity". Not having things like "AND" "OR" makes the language syntax's formal specification simpler on a superficial level but it ends up making it more complex in user code.

[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=ti+extended+basic+cartridge&...