SpeccyJam: The ZX Spectrum Game Dev Challenge
Through some random retweet I saw trickling through my Twitter stream I happened upon Speccy Jam, an annual event to create a game in one week with the rules being simply that the game can be for any platform and developed with any tool but must look like a genuine Sinclair ZX Spectrum game; specifically, the screen size (scalable) must be right and the colours used must be right with bonus points (there are no points) given if attribute blocks – the way every 8×8 block of pixels could only ever employ two colours (there’s a great discussion about this here) – is employed. I could describe how much joy I felt looking through the Speccy Jam forum and Twitter stream yesterday evening or I could post up a few screenshots of some of the games under development right now (although if you read this later then not really right now any longer) and I think it’s pretty clear which way I’m going to go here. Bratty Tim Inspired from Skool Daze if I had to guess and by Ants_And_Aphids. Pest Control Pete A classic-looking platformer by Retro Bungalow. The Accolade A little bit of isometric heaven and a very good-looking game even this early on from Juan. Bruce Leap A few puns abound as Bruce Leap tries to get Mai Wee back in this platformer from Gazzapper Games. Untitled Teddy Bear Game I’m sure this game by Stew Hogarth will have a name but right now it doesn’t although you are a teddy bear and you’re stealing things. Moon Unit Z Another gorgeous isometric game being developed for Speccy Jam by Lewis Lane. Lillian Gish A top down version of Lillian Gish in progress from developer Devi Ever. There are a load more ZX Spectrum-inspired games under development and last year’s entries can be found here too. I was too late in discovering the retro game development event this year but with a bit of luck I’ll remember for next year and have a stab at producing something truly awful and awesome at the same time, just like a real Spectrum...
British Museum Underground Station
A few years old but a great read with some excellent photos documenting the admittedly illegal and dangerous exploration of the London Underground system in search of the now-closed British Museum station. British Museum Abandoned Station, London I ran off down to the Eastbound Piccadilly platform, and nervously hopped onto the platform, and looked for the signs for the Central line. I went through the platform exit, down the stairs, along a short passage, and then into an escalator hall. Powering my way up the non-moving escalators, I came out at the top, and then had to cross another escalator hall. The bottom of these escalators were all taped off with red and white tape. Thankfully there was no one about, and I dropped down the stairs to the Central line. Turning left I was on the Westbound platform. It was empty. I ran for the end of the platform, absolutely shattered at this point. A final look back, and I hopped off the platform, and into the darkened...
Buying A New Car
“…and a signature just here… Lovely. Let me take that from you.” “Your pen?” “No, no, keep that for a moment. We’re almost finished That’s the financial agreement sorted so that just leaves us with the manufacturer’s legal documents.” “Do you need my driving licence for this?” “No, that was earlier. This is specific to the car. Here you go. You might want to read through this and then there are a few checkboxes at the bottom to tick and sign.” “There’s a lot of writing here.” “It’s fairly standard for this manufacturer.” “Okay… ‘I agree to treat the road as if I own it at all times?’ Really? I have to tick that?” “Yes. It’s a legal restriction on ownership. That was covered up, ooh, about here I think, in the third paragraph.” “Well, okay then. ‘I agree to drive at speeds in excess of the limit except when it is more irritating to do otherwise!’ And I have to tick all of these?” “Afraid so. Other drivers don’t seem to have a problem and you’ll find it comes as second nature after a while.” “‘I agree to tailgate or undertake depending on whichever is most dangerous at the time?’ That seems, well, dangerous. I suppose it is. Hmmm. Well, I’m ticking all these but I’m not really sure I’m going to follow them.” “Some people do say that but you’ll be surprised how you feel after a while.” “And does this form cover me from prosecution from the police?” “It certainly appears to be that way, yes.” “Okay, well, I think I’m done.” “Let me check that over… Yes. Yes, that looks fine. I think that’s it then. Let me grab the keys and let me take you out to your brand new...
Lunchboxes
The always entertaining Flashbak website presents a large of collection of lunchboxes from the 1970s across two articles here and here. As a taster, here’s my favourite from the selection: I wasn’t familiar with the Doctor Dolittle story before and had never had any intention to change the state of affairs but now I know there’s a giant pink sea snail in it I might just have to keep an eye...
The Notting Hill Carnival
We hadn’t planned to hit the Notting Hill Carnival because, not living in the capital, we don’t really tend to follow events happening up there. However, at fairly short notice we had a reason to visit London on Saturday and wanting to make the most of the trip we had a look around to see what else was going on in the city. Neither of us had been to a carnival before so this was going to be a new experience. How would I describe the Notting Hill Carnival? Crowded. In parts, very crowded. Loud. Very loud. Almost everywhere. And quite messy. Ankle-deep in discarded meat, corn cobs, containers, cans, and bags is not unusual. And the people – at least in the first area where we found ourselves – didn’t seem particularly happy. My wife wasn’t particularly pleased with the crowds or noise (although she said she could have tolerated them; they’re pretty much expected for carnivals, after all) or the lack of fun apparently being had by most people but it was the mess that she just couldn’t stand. Sadly, this meant that I grudgingly agreed to keep the visit to the carnival quite short but my “quite short” isn’t exactly the same as her’s. Our exit route would take us through quite a lot of the carnival as it turned out. All the things that my wife hated were the things I loved. Lots of people just being people in public is exactly what I like photographing. The floats and flashy outfits that everyone associates with a carnival parade do nothing for me but the grit and grime attract my eye. The following constitutes a very small selection of the photos I took of the Notting Hill Carnival in London on August 24th 2014. You can see the full selection of photos here: Notting Hill Carnival Photos. A little bit of that mess that disgusted my wife. And a smidge more. Usually when I see someone sleeping while surrounded by loud noises and lots of people I assume they’ve had too much to drink but it’s probably not the case in this particular instance. I hope. One of those lucky shots fired off while the camera was at waist height that caught a ray of sunlight through a woman’s sunglasses and a happy moment of carnival strangulation, possibly in retaliation for blowing that horn the kid’s holding. I get the feeling that my wife wouldn’t have minded so much experiencing the carnival atmosphere in a similar way; far above the crowds. I liked being in the thick of things. I’m not even going to hazard a...
Street Photography By Marie Laigneau
Someone who almost always gets a +1 from me whenever her photos appear on her Google+ stream and I spot them, Marie Laigneau is a prolific street photographer based in Chicago. Just recently she’s been shooting in Japan too, an area of the world I really need to get back to in order to get my street photography vibe back, and I felt compelled to showcase some of her pictures from there as well as a few older ones too. An outstanding composition and even if your eyes are drawn to the face bottom left instantly you can still spend a few seconds staring everywhere else looking at the layers in the reflections and through the glass. My greatest desire and greatest fear in one photo: night street photography and eye contact! Another one in a similar vein and this one looks like there’s a story waiting to be told from the moment after the shot. It also highlights that I really shouldn’t be so hung up on getting sharp shots myself. Where to start? There’s light, there’s shadow, there’s fabulous framing, there are great lines drawing the eyes this way and that, there’s a wonderful subject, there are great contrasts between the near-monochrome background and the vibrant colours in front. I like this shot a lot. This photo reminds me so much of film photographs from the 1970s and 1980s and that speaks warmly to my retro heart. The subject matter is excellent and there’s just something about the woman on the right facing away from the camera that stands out. Another beautifully-framed shot and a great moment of concentration captured. To finish with, another one of Marie’s black-and-white shots and the reason I like this is because it looks to me like the subject is forming some thought bubbles. It’s a great pose and a great composition. All of Marie’s photos can be found on Google+ and there’s more to see on her website http://marielaigneau.com/...
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