Games
To me, an old fart from the age of three TV channels, the magic of being able to control an interractive world on a TV, still fills me with a sense of wonder and fascination. And while I appreciate modern gaming (albeit to a limited few - you can shove your Battlefields and Call of Duties up your sniper scope for all I care), it's the simple games that stretched the limits of hardware and imagination that will always pique my interest.
So, every now and then, when I have the time and the kids allow, I'll dabble with creating a game of my own. They don't have to be original, they don't have to appeal to the masses, and they don't have to earn money (thank heavens). I just have to enjoy making them.
And for that, I make no apology for what follows.
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Styx (2020)
A remake of Mathew Smith's first released game of the same name. Guide your hero, Stig, through the labyrinth and river before coming face to face with the Grim Reaper himself.
Created during the Coronavirus lockdown and while home-schooling the kids.
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Classic SpaceInvaders (2007)
I tried to replicate the feel for the original Space Invader arcade game here. To a certain extent I think I succeded, but there are a few issues concerning bullet speed, visibility, graphics, etc.
As ever, I think I got bored before I thoroughly checked it for bugs and polished it up. But at least the number of shots you had to fire off before the UFO appears is the same as that of the original.
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Manic Tobo (2007)
An old-school foray into the classic platform games of old. Run / jump / avoid / collect... etc. Different blocks had different effects - conveyor belts, springy, disappearing blocks, etc.
A terrifying 5 or 6 screens of bouncy mayhem. Made with Gamemaker
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Find the Sixpence (2005)
This turd of a game was written in Blitz Basic (which I understand is now free!) and was my entry to some 7-day coding challenge or other. Find the sixpence in the christmas pudding without getting touched by the mice. Gripping stuff.
Back in the day, I had a thing about creating stuff which didn't require any other media - sprites, sounds, etc. It enabled me to turn out rot like this.
Here's the source code. |
Stink (2005)
Another game written in Blitz Basic for the above mentioned project. A simple affair of a ball that changes colour as it bounces around an enclosed screen. Your job is to ensure the borders are the same colour shade of grey when the ball bounces off of them.
Although this version is a bit naff, it's something I think I'll have another bash at sometime. Here's the source code.
As for the name, Stink, the game reminded me a bit of Pong... but worse. Hence - Stink!
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Sam the Man (1995)
This game was written for an old British computer called the Sam Coupé. It was included on a disk magazine at the time called 'Fred' who were good enough to accept a couple of my efforts.
To run this, you need to first need to run a Sam Coupé emulator (simcoupe-1.0.exe 470kb) and then load in issue 71 of 'Fred' disk magazine. It's easier if you stick the magazine in the same directory as the SimCoupe install.
Sam the Man can be found at position F
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Sweets for my Sweet (1995)
This game was written for an old British computer called the Sam Coupé. It was included on a disk magazine at the time called 'Fred' who were good enough to accept a couple of my efforts.
To run this, you need to first need to run a Sam Coupé emulator (simcoupe-1.0.exe 470kb) and then load in issue 65 of 'Fred' disk magazine. It's easier if you stick the magazine in the same directory as the SimCoupe install.
Sweets for my Sweet can be found at position F
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