Hi I wrote about the making of classic platformerChuckie Egg and talked to its creator Nigel Alderton. Please give it a read as I want to show there’s an audience for this gaming history stuff 🙏 www.theguardian.com/games/2026/a...

A quick heads up; The UK government is currently holding a consultation on the Online Safety Act. The consultation lasts until the end of next month. Please fill it out if you live in the UK and/or share it around to get more eyes on it. www.gov.uk/government/c...

I was halfway through typing my “Cherikinkladze” post too…

I really feel for all the actual human programmers named Claude

Akira is still a bit good, innit? Just watched it on the big screen and loved every second. The soundtrack is astonishing. Only the second time I’ve seen it at the cinema since I first went to see it, based on this flyer I picked, up 35 years ago. I was so impressed I kept the flyer.

It's funny (not funny) how this ubiquitous symbol screams 'beware, incoming trash!' I have an instant reaction of revulsion whenever it pops up.

I don’t know what a pull list is, but does it help you buy British comics?

It's finished! The Sentinel, Geoff Crammond's epic game, is now fully documented. * 41,902 lines of lovingly annotated source code * 51 deep dives (116,240 words) * Buildable repository * 100% handcrafted AI-free content * 7 months’ work thesentinel.bbcelite.com #retrocomputing #C64 #BBCMicro

Er, shouldn't all phones be in AIRPLANE MODE? One rule for us, one rule for the astronaut elite.

Just had to look something up to help me out in Pokopia. So tomatoes are sour, and beans are sweet? That seems completely the wrong way around to me. No wonder my little fellas have been giving me such strained and subdued thanks for the food I’ve been shoving down their gullets.

I do a podcast thing with @gavcross.bsky.social called Haunted Book Club. Gav reads you a short spooky story (45 mins or less) one week, then we get together and discuss live online the next. Please check it out, and if you enjoy it, let others know. If you don't enjoy it, then keep that to yourself

This looks amazing. I reckon this would have been judged to look a bit rough and clunky at the time, whereas it looks really stylish today.

Localization is about making a lot of careful, considered decisions and especially then *keeping that consistent for hundreds of thousands of words* and communicating this clearly. LLMs cannot make considered decisions about language, and even if they could they'd run out of context.

Mackenzie Crook’s magical suburban folk tale, #SmallProphets published by #PenguinBooks and #PuffinBooks down the years. A 🧵 1/

And we are LIVE! The funding campaign for ALEX AUTOMATIC #7 is now LIVE on Kickstarter. Check out the page! BTW, please repost if you can, we're basically running promo only from Bluesky for the first time, so any help is appreciated! www.kickstarter.com/projects/fra...

The AI economy looks...really precarious. So @matteowong.bsky.social & I did a bunch of reporting to try to figure out what happens when a potential bubble collides with a war in Iran and a potential resource shortage. The answer is...arguably the most dire stuff i've heard from smart ppl in a while

I was really confused yesterday about reports that they were making a live action version of Mr Bean, with Jack Whitehall. I mean, I know there was a cartoon spin off, but it’s already live action… and has Rowen Atkinson died or something?! Anyway, I’ve worked it out today.

everyone in the games industry understands this with no added context

my thought with all those at Epic today. it should be illegal to lay off 20% of your workforce on a whim. it's not perfect, but there are more protections against this sort of thing in Europe. support politicians with legitimate connections to labor unions.

Not watched this yet, but @chinnyvision.bsky.social ‘s videos are usually great. This is a game I worked on about, ulp, erm… 39 years ago. It was good for the time.

See also: nursing, teaching, any of the rest of the arts, local government, academia…

Nico!!

The immensely talented artist Philip Castle died recently. He created the posters for A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket as well as album artwork for the many great bands. Retro gamers will know him for his work on the original Elite box artwork. RIP.

Stockport Tourist Board’s new slogan is a winner. Snappy AND mostly accurate. It’s the new “I <3 NY”.

The campaign for ALEX AUTOMATIC #7 goes live two weeks today, Friday 27th March! Sign up at our preview page for a launch notification! Reposts appreciated! www.kickstarter.com/projects/fra...

@geekdadgamer.bsky.social Did you DM me? I saw a notification on my phone, but can't see DMs on here due to age verification stuff. Apologies if it wasn't you.

But when is it International Ditto Day?

Not me!

In a few hours in Gorton and Denton - you have the opportunity to transform our politics. A vote for Hannah Spencer & the Green Party will entirely change our national conversation. And Hannah will be brilliant for Manchester. Check her out 👇🏼 youtu.be/uCy0VdHTVvs?...

Happy 40th birthday.

New release from the Windsor Mint. Get yours now! 😜

I had to sketch that amazing photo from yesterday, to make sure I never forget it.

I had to sketch that amazing photo from yesterday, to make sure I never forget it.

Dreadful news.

To be fair to AI, I would totally eat Capra Demon Cheese.

For the nostalgics once again, painted in gouache #gouache #zeldaoot #n64 #retrogaming

Going through old photos and this surfaced. A useful reminder that the games industry ‘good old days’ were a mixed bag, same as it ever was.

Music Monday: We have several scintillating soundtracks up on itch.io - get at 'em! Roguecraft: thalamus.link/rogue-ost Cecconoid: thalamus.link/cecco-ost Bezier: thalamus.link/bezier-ost Starseed: thalamus.link/starseed-ost

Feeling very perky this morning. Must have been that splash of Alpro Qat I put in my coffee.

Are the officials deliberately getting decisions outrageously wrong on purpose to make VAR look good? (In the Villa Newcastle game.)

Not sure if Man United owner Jim Ratcliffe will see this being as he literally migrated to Monaco to avoid paying tax in the UK, but we wanted to put this up outside the stadium anyway…. 📍 Old Trafford, Matt Busby Way

Enjoyed the first episode of Lord of the Flies on BBC. Can’t judge it as an adaptation as I’ve never read the book. I started it as a kid right after I finished Lord of the Rings as it was next to it on the shelf, but gave up in disappointment after 2 chapters when I realised it was about posh kids

Wow. This reminds me of late-era Mick McMahon.

If anyone wants to see the whole Elden Ring Journal (it only covers Limgrave, really), then here's a downloadable PDF of the booklet that I put together of the first 64 pages, scanned and cleaned up. A printed version of this was given out as a free gift for @lostincult.co.uk Lock On subscribers.

Aww, this is nice to see. My Elden Ring journal is on display now as part of a museum exhibition in Melbourne, Australia.

If anyone wants to see the whole Elden Ring Journal (it only covers Limgrave, really), then here's a downloadable PDF of the booklet that I put together of the first 64 pages, scanned and cleaned up. A printed version of this was given out as a free gift for @lostincult.co.uk Lock On subscribers.

Aww, this is nice to see. My Elden Ring journal is on display now as part of a museum exhibition in Melbourne, Australia.