When writing down and then entering the password to pick up where you last left off in a game is an endurance test. Oof, that's a *lot* of characters. 📺: Maniac Mansion, Jaleco, 1988 (Famicom version)
Iain Mew
@superchartisland.com
Writing a British history of popular video games one UK sales chart #1 at a time. Now in 1987. Also into pop music and writing on The Singles Jukebox. He/him. http://www.superchartisland.com
I had Joe Blade 2 on the Spectrum very early on, I enjoyed it at the time and frequently loaded it but I was 8 years old! This Coffee place in my town always makes me think of it
After Richard Paul Jones proved too capitalist for Jeff Minter, his Interceptor Micros became an early British games success story. In 1987, its success continued thanks to Colin Swinbourne's smart way with building on Spectrum classics. New post on Joe Blade: www.superchartisland.com/joe-blade
Joe Blade – “Prime the explosives”
The increasing success of Code Masters in 1987 prompted rounds of coverage of the Darling brothers as young business whizz-kids. They were far from the first such story. The next new game at #1 aft…
superchartisland.com
After Richard Paul Jones proved too capitalist for Jeff Minter, his Interceptor Micros became an early British games success story. In 1987, its success continued thanks to Colin Swinbourne's smart way with building on Spectrum classics. New post on Joe Blade: www.superchartisland.com/joe-blade
Joe Blade – “Prime the explosives”
The increasing success of Code Masters in 1987 prompted rounds of coverage of the Darling brothers as young business whizz-kids. They were far from the first such story. The next new game at #1 aft…
superchartisland.com
A trip to Derby for a new blog post about Core Design, creators of Tomb Raider. Thanks to @retrohistories.bsky.social for suggesting this article. whereweretheynow.blogspot.com/2026/08/core... #RetroGaming #RetroComputing #PlayStation
Core Design
whereweretheynow.blogspot.com
Chris Chapman@retrohistories.bsky.social · 4mo agoOkay, no idea about dates, but their first office (after Gremlin Derby, I think, but maybe even before?) was in the city centre somewhere. They weren't there for long and I can't find an address (I don't even know if they shipped any games while there) but it must be in print *somewhere*.
This week: Fifty picks past and present--twenty-five new reads, twenty-five from the archives: critical-distance.com/2026/08/02/a...
August 2nd
Welcome back readers. Before we hop in, I just want to offer a quick reminder that the Friendslop Jam we’re hosting is underway, and you’ve got two weeks and change to get your writing …
critical-distance.com
What goes into designing a video game logo? To get the story behind the creation of the logo for XCavator 2025 — including never before seen early sketches and variations — I went straight to the source: Myself. katewillaert.com/xcavator-2025
KateWillaert.com - XCavator 2025
XCavator 2025 is a previously unreleased NES game newly published for the original hardware, for which I was commissioned to design its logo and packaging. Below I detail my design process.
katewillaert.com
Played it when I was bathing with candles lit in the bathroom once. And can confirm, it was a great bath.
The Great Bath (Turrican 2)
YouTube video by Chris Huelsbeck - Topic
youtube.com
ecco@daiwascarlet.horse · 4d agowhat's your favorite video game water music?
I knew about the link from British microcomputers to modern phones via Acorn/ARM. But I only just learned that some models of the ZX Spectrum were manufactured by Samsung
I don't think anyone has ever had *IT* like no na has *IT*. They are now 3-for-3 on perfect pop songs with genuinely radical production. Now is the time to get on the literal bus
no na - honk! (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by no na
youtube.com
ICYMI, this week I wrote about Grand Prix Simulator. Featuring Dragon 32 listings, Donkey King, sibling specialisation vs interchangeability, Super Robin Hood, Super Sprint, and Ayrton Senna's teammate the 7th Marquess of Bute. www.superchartisland.com/grand-prix-simulator
Grand Prix Simulator – “Cunningly devised circuits”
In its January 1984 issue, Computer & Video Games magazine printed code listings for nine different games, ready for readers to type into their computers and run. Each of the nine programs was …
superchartisland.com
Iain Mew@superchartisland.com · 2w agoMy post this week is on the home computer versions of Renegade. Featuring laserdsic games, Kunio-kun, Knight Rider, Ocean's coding dungeon, and a game with “none of that silly bowing ritual stuff, just thumping people” www.superchartisland.com/renegade
💍NEW VIDEO!💍 Come with us on a dreamlike journey in this 6 HOUR extravaganza where we explore Klonoa: Door to Phantomile and beyond. [With closed captions] www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9AR...
Farewell Phantomile | A Klonoa Analysis
YouTube video by Transparency Boo
youtube.com
ICYMI, this week I wrote about Grand Prix Simulator. Featuring Dragon 32 listings, Donkey King, sibling specialisation vs interchangeability, Super Robin Hood, Super Sprint, and Ayrton Senna's teammate the 7th Marquess of Bute. www.superchartisland.com/grand-prix-simulator
Grand Prix Simulator – “Cunningly devised circuits”
In its January 1984 issue, Computer & Video Games magazine printed code listings for nine different games, ready for readers to type into their computers and run. Each of the nine programs was …
superchartisland.com
Iain Mew@superchartisland.com · 2w agoMy post this week is on the home computer versions of Renegade. Featuring laserdsic games, Kunio-kun, Knight Rider, Ocean's coding dungeon, and a game with “none of that silly bowing ritual stuff, just thumping people” www.superchartisland.com/renegade
I already used the excellent UK 8-bit chart resource computerhits.org a lot. It now got some cool updates, including timelines and number ones lists! It's given me a couple more games that I missed with my previous methods, e.g. Ocean hitting #1 with an adaptation of Platoon
Unlocked! Belatedly, I look at Vampire Survivors, and lament that everything is gambling now, even when the only thing you're wasting is your time:
Vampire Survivors (poncle, 2022)
If there is a vampire here, it is one that drains us of our time, our life, our joy.
expzine.com
Awright british millennial olds how many of you are activated seeing this
In 1983, a couple of 15 year old programmers with a pragmatic streak made a virtual board game in Basic and won a national TV competition. Four years later, they made their first UK #1 game of many. New post on the Oliver Twins and Grand Prix Simulator: www.superchartisland.com/grand-prix-simulator
Grand Prix Simulator – “Cunningly devised circuits”
In its January 1984 issue, Computer & Video Games magazine printed code listings for nine different games, ready for readers to type into their computers and run. Each of the nine programs was …
superchartisland.com
In 1983, a couple of 15 year old programmers with a pragmatic streak made a virtual board game in Basic and won a national TV competition. Four years later, they made their first UK #1 game of many. New post on the Oliver Twins and Grand Prix Simulator: www.superchartisland.com/grand-prix-simulator
Grand Prix Simulator – “Cunningly devised circuits”
In its January 1984 issue, Computer & Video Games magazine printed code listings for nine different games, ready for readers to type into their computers and run. Each of the nine programs was …
superchartisland.com
#TheN0ughtie5 Day 50 Lady Gaga - Bad Romance (2009, 🇺🇸) 12 POINTS There are defining singles that have split everything more into before/after personally, and ones which have done it more pop-wide. This was the glorious peak of doing both at once www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4...
Lady Gaga - Bad Romance (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by LadyGagaVEVO
youtube.com
Iain Mew@superchartisland.com · 2w ago#TheN0ughtie5 Day 49 Vampire Weekend - Horchata (2009, 🇺🇸) A song about being ambushed by unexpected emotion that does just that in vivid waves. Surprised that among many Vampire Weekend picks no one else has gone for it! (a 2010 album thing?) www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IDN...
My post this week is on the home computer versions of Renegade. Featuring laserdsic games, Kunio-kun, Knight Rider, Ocean's coding dungeon, and a game with “none of that silly bowing ritual stuff, just thumping people” www.superchartisland.com/renegade
Renegade – “There is always time to die”
Yoshihisa Kishimoto was born in Tokyo in 1961. There isn’t a lot of information available online in English on his early life, but he talked several times about getting into frequent fights at scho…
superchartisland.com
Iain Mew@superchartisland.com · 3w agoICYMI, this week I wrote about Run for Gold. Featuring: A-Level maths failure, Punctuation Pete, the British Tyre & Rubber Company, "Why is so much educational software so lousy?", King Arthur's Quest, Henry's Hoard, and the 1987 World Athletics Championships www.superchartisland.com/run-for-gold
My post this week is on the home computer versions of Renegade. Featuring laserdsic games, Kunio-kun, Knight Rider, Ocean's coding dungeon, and a game with “none of that silly bowing ritual stuff, just thumping people” www.superchartisland.com/renegade
Renegade – “There is always time to die”
Yoshihisa Kishimoto was born in Tokyo in 1961. There isn’t a lot of information available online in English on his early life, but he talked several times about getting into frequent fights at scho…
superchartisland.com
Iain Mew@superchartisland.com · 3w agoICYMI, this week I wrote about Run for Gold. Featuring: A-Level maths failure, Punctuation Pete, the British Tyre & Rubber Company, "Why is so much educational software so lousy?", King Arthur's Quest, Henry's Hoard, and the 1987 World Athletics Championships www.superchartisland.com/run-for-gold
#TheN0ughtie5 Day 49 Vampire Weekend - Horchata (2009, 🇺🇸) A song about being ambushed by unexpected emotion that does just that in vivid waves. Surprised that among many Vampire Weekend picks no one else has gone for it! (a 2010 album thing?) www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IDN...
Horchata
YouTube video by Vampire Weekend - Topic
youtube.com
Iain Mew@superchartisland.com · 2w ago#TheN0ughtie5 Day 48 Los Campesinos! - The Sea is a Good Place to Think of the Future (2009, 🇬🇧) I already picked some of the big theatrical emo hits of the decade. I also love their downcast indie counterpart www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoIr...
Absolutely nothing could have prepared me for Acclaim Entertainment, Inc’s musical sizzle reel from E3 1995
Video Game History Foundation@gamehistoryorg.bsky.social · 2w agoNew in our digital archive: We're taking you back to E3 like you've never experienced it. Explore thousands of pages of ephemera and nearly 24 hours of video from the history of the Electronic Entertainment Expo Read more: gamehistory.org/e3-history/
#TheN0ughtie5 Day 48 Los Campesinos! - The Sea is a Good Place to Think of the Future (2009, 🇬🇧) I already picked some of the big theatrical emo hits of the decade. I also love their downcast indie counterpart www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoIr...
Los Campesinos! - The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future (Official Video)
YouTube video by Los Campesinos!
youtube.com
Iain Mew@superchartisland.com · 2w ago#TheN0ughtie5 Day 47 Shakira - Loba (2009, 🇨🇴) The best loping moonlit disco pop. Awoo! www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7ss...
Had to look it up in the '97 vids, and yep, it's there for the first time for all of E3 to see.
Video Game History Foundation@gamehistoryorg.bsky.social · 2w agoNew in our digital archive: We're taking you back to E3 like you've never experienced it. Explore thousands of pages of ephemera and nearly 24 hours of video from the history of the Electronic Entertainment Expo Read more: gamehistory.org/e3-history/
#TheN0ughtie5 Day 47 Shakira - Loba (2009, 🇨🇴) The best loping moonlit disco pop. Awoo! www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7ss...
Shakira - Loba (Official HD Video)
YouTube video by shakiraVEVO
youtube.com
Iain Mew@superchartisland.com · 2w ago#TheN0ughtie5 Day 46 Lady Gaga - Paparazzi (2009, 🇺🇸) The sound of a lot clicking into place. Fame and fandom as both terrific and terrorifc; music to live up to both; words and performance to draw out the tragedy in the gap in between. www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2sm...
Combat School for Spectrum is currently defeating my attempts to play it via emulator, because nothing I have to hand can recreate doing circles of the joystick quick enough. (The arcade version is fine as I just need to hammer one button)
#TheN0ughtie5 Day 46 Lady Gaga - Paparazzi (2009, 🇺🇸) The sound of a lot clicking into place. Fame and fandom as both terrific and terrorifc; music to live up to both; words and performance to draw out the tragedy in the gap in between. www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2sm...
Lady Gaga - Paparazzi (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by LadyGagaVEVO
youtube.com
Iain Mew@superchartisland.com · 2w ago#TheN0ughtie5 Day 45 Girls' Generation - Gee (2009, 🇰🇷🇺🇸) 11 POINTS Not quite my first K-pop love story, and yet it still sounded like a fresh herald for something massive and new, arriving in immaculate staccato www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7mP...
That was a nice read. I wonder what the sprite masking technique was? Don't think Xoring on a 1-Bit screen would work? I'm sure I chucked it through the disassembler not long ago, and IIRC the sprites had interleaved masks but weren't zigzagged.
Iain Mew@superchartisland.com · 2w ago“As he steps out of the local subway station, he soon realises what a plonker he is to venture onto this turf”. The story of how Ocean successfully translated the first Kunio-kun game onto home computers for the UK. With only one set of legs! New post on Renegade: www.superchartisland.com/renegade