At the #britfest in Altrincham. Came mainly for Sleeper who didn’t disappoint. May as well continue drinking in the sun and watch the Happy Mondays later.

I had plenty of games cancelled during development. It was even worse when something was complete and still didn’t get published. Chun’s memories here are all too familiar.

Incredible. Sarah is so talented.

I've been revisiting the #C64 source code for Millie & Molly for reasons. In there I found some old prototype screens from when I was using Rainbow Island sprites and Rick Dangerous backgrounds. And the even older 8x8 char version with my very own programmer art.

Monte’s stuff just gets better and better. This looks like a belter.

There was a surfeit of brilliant #C64 conversions around this time, before arcade machines got more powerful. Mr Do, Up ‘n’ Down, Spy Hunter and this all jump to mind.

I’ve been reading @jazrignall.bsky.social’s excellent book Games of a Lifetime. The early chapters are evocative of the OG arcade years. I’m now in Aberystwyth where most of Julian’s memories are from. I’m hoping some kind of portal to the past opens so I can see Asteroids arrive for the first time.

Crystal Computing became Design Design became Walking Circles. The latter was my first job. We had boxes of these games in the back room. Wish I’d kept some. Along with a rather splendid T-shirt. Not that it’d fit me now.

At the Manchester Palace for Karate Kid. They’ve just cancelled it in a pretty perfunctory way. Lots of upset families. Pathetic.

Watching Race Across the World and pretty sure this Mongolian coffee shop has ripped off the 80s video game Elite’s logo.

I recorded the Retro Titans podcast recently. I've not listened back myself yet but hopefully I don't go off topic too much. This one's a bit different in that it focuses more on modern retro. And I'm sure when I do these things they add a northern accent filter. retrotitans.libsyn.com

Pleased to say Millie & Molly is built into this, looks like a fun bit of kit. Nice mix of new and old #C64 games on there.

Mike's conversion of my Unity version of M&M looks to be coming along very nicely.

Battling being old to stay up for the Artemis II #splashdown. Even though I’m 54 these events are few and far between. I flash back to my 80’s Space Shuttle bedroom wallpaper, and the Voyager II project we did in primary school. This stuff shows the best of humanity in a time of some of our worst.

I worked on both Skull and Crossbones and Spitting Image, albeit the #C64 versions. The former was an Atari arcade game which I don't think even had a UK release. It did OK though as mags liked the pirate theme so it got a few front covers. The game is bang average on all formats, including arcade.

Think I’ve finished the extra levels and features for my #SpectrumNext conversion of my #C64 game Runn ‘n’ Gunn. The game is 80% bigger and there are a couple of surprises. Need to do the boring tidying now.

Who doesn’t love the glamour of a late 80s UK game dev studio? Google can keep their town halls and break out areas. Here’s Walking Circles at a similar time.

Wanderer on the #C64 was my first ever professional product. Coded when I was 16yo I basically converted the Speccy code and mostly didn’t know what I was doing. It scored 16% in Zzap and was described as a ‘vector graphics turkey’.

I recorded a Podcast with @retrotitans.com last night. As always good fun to ramble on about games development. Phil noticed I still play video games, something rarer than you’d think in the industry. I tend to agree, I’ve worked with loads of game devs who don’t actually play games. Wonder why.

Completed the excellent Öoo earlier. I wish I had the kind of mind that can come up with these kinds of concepts. Have to say you could probably make an excellent version of this for the #C64. youtu.be/tSJyHEjyGuA?...

Went to a retro gaming market in Bolton today. Crazy busy and I didn’t manage to fill any gaps in games I’ve written but don’t own. Picked up @merman1974.bsky.social ‘s book (signed!) and @jazrignall.bsky.social ‘s book though. Plenty of of reading there.

I don’t normally do politics on here but my word this man says everything I wish I had the nerve to. Let’s all be kinder to each other.

Looking forward to this, some of my favourite gaming memories are playing against my friends on two player #C64 games. Rocketball, Kikstart, Hypaball and probably my favourite Pitstop II. I have no interest in online gaming and I miss playing games together like we did back then. I’m old.

Looks like the #C64 Black Mini Edition is 20% off on Amazon at the minute. Four of my best games are on there along with 21 other amazing modern 8bit games. I'm still playing through - and being amazed by - Sam's Journey.

How has somebody who worked on one of my favourite ever games (Lemmings) ended up converting a random homebrew I wrote for the #C64 in 2020? Amazing.

Don’t tell me I don’t know how to treat my wife on Valentine’s Night. We’re in the Pixel Bar in Manchester. To be fair it was her idea. Some pro-gamers are on the TV earning more money than any developer I’ve ever worked with.

I had two Game Gear games published. One was the original FIFA game. The other was the official Winter Olympics game of 1994. Sadly we didn’t do Curling which is a fave of us Brits as we’re good at it. Otherwise I think it’s a pretty solid effort.

I never knew Skull and Crossbones was included on a compilation. One more on the list of physical releases of my #C64 games I don't own.

From when part of creating a game was also making your own bespoke utilities. I coded at least five map editors and a couple of sprite tools BITD. Degas Elite (ST) and DPaint 2 (PC) changed some of that but even in my Zed Two days (early 2000s) I wrote a map editor for a PS1 game I was developing.

I’ve set up the #C64 Mini Black and I’m suitably impressed. Always wanted to play Sam’s Journey but never got around to it. I’m stuck on the second screen!

I’ve eventually got hold of a #C64 Mini Black Edition. It includes 25 modern C64 games, four of which I coded. @stepickford.bsky.social‘s version of Millie & Molly also adorn the box. Looking forward to trying out some of the other games on there. Quite a few look amazing.

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In 2019 Grid Pix was the first game I coded for the #C64 in the modern era. It led to some amazing physical versions and a glowing review in Retro Gamer. No wonder I got back into coding for the old machine. I've released eight games since then and worked on plenty of abandoned projects.

I reckon 2026 is the year I complete the #ZXSpectrumNext #ZXNext port of my #C64 game Runn 'n' Gunn. I made some rapid progress early in 2025 but didn't have see great change later in the year. This is known to programmers as the 90/90 rule: w.wiki/A6MJ

I received an @evercade.co.uk for Xmas. I fancy picking up one of the Indie packs as my first cart. I can't decide which is the best. I see there's a #C64 cart, wouldn't have minded getting some of my games on there. Perhaps if the do another I can pitch ;)

Vinny was a real help during the development of RnG. He gave a load of helpful feedback on Beta versions. There was only one difficulty level, now classed as hard mode, before I sent it to him. Developers get good at their own games and can lose sight of the challenge.

The quality of modern #C64 games is sky high and I never come out on top in these lists. So it's nice to be number one (and seven!) in this one. 2025 is a stretch though, M&M and RnG are from around 2020. Almost retro-retro. www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQm1...

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes was such a good game I’ve bought this without knowing much about it. £11 and change feels a real bargain.

I went for an interview as a #C64 dev at Ocean after I left Walking Circles. I don't think I even heard back from them and ended up getting a job at Tiertex. This photo reminds me of how young nearly everybody working in computer games was in the 80s.

It's that time of year. Get you thinking Santa hats on an try to solve the 24 Christmas Picross puzzles in my free #C64 game Grid Pix Advent. thalamusdigital.itch.io/grid-pix-adv...

Back in the day I bought so many issues of the Official PlayStation Magazine just to try out the demos. It’s even easier to try stuff before you buy these days. Obviously I’d recommend Millie & Molly but there’s lots of good stuff here.

This Spitting Image news is from Dec '86, when I was still a schoolboy. It took them a long time to find a publisher because I started coding the #C64 game in the second half of '88. I think the only reason Domark ended up with the licence was over the controversy of Split Personalities.

What a thoroughly lovely thing to do. It looks in pretty good nick in the later video as well, better than mine was in the 80s. I had some Kit-Kat foil as a fuse for a start. #C64

What an amazing job Chun and his wife did to make M&M the game it is. I don't think either of use thought it would lead to having this kind of swag. A signed copy of the #C64 disk version as well, rare. 😜

I was reading an interview I did for @retrogamermag.bsky.social back in 2015. @merman1974.bsky.social asked this question. Obviously I changed my mind from the answer given. I think I’ve written 8 #C64 games since then.

I was given this poster along with other goodies at my YTS job interview with what became of Design Design. Quite exciting for a 16yo with no idea of what to do with himself having left school. The picture is of Ellesmere Port and was hastily taken by one of team from a nearby bridge.

My first job was at what was formerly Design Design. We worked on another game which was submitted to the Crash competition Kat Trap won. It was called Sewer but was never completed. We also had loads of the other entries in a big folder which were fun to read through. I'd love to see those again.

Bonfire Night was my favourite night of the year as a child. Fireworks, treacle, parkin, flapjack, black peas (Google it) and a big random fire topped with a guy dressed better than me. Halloween has rather usurped it now though. Probably for the best considering the dangerous stuff we got up to.

Nice to make into onto this list with my best received #C64 game of that era. And my only Zzap Sizzler back then. It was also a Oli Frey front cover. There are things I'd change now but it's a good effort.

Very nice. Don’t have one myself yet, I was hoping the postie might drop off a free one!