indigenous canadian, recovering academic → gamedev & interactive media artist with a penchant for dial-up modems, the 4o3 bbs scene, 1-bit art, classic macs, and 80s/90s gaming. curator of internet, canadian & gaming obscura.
current major projects:
→ tomo: a reddit-like decentralized discussion group network built on NNTP https://tomo.city/
→ exigy: a VB/Hypercard-like shareware game creation kit https://exigy.org/
nobot #nobots #noindex
(profile pic: a 1988 red fox 6¢ canada stamp)
@[email protected] this is exactly the kind of shareware adventure game i'd love to see made with #exigy some day. thank you!
@[email protected] amazing that they've maintained player accounts for this many years. my launch account is still there.
and fwiw, here's the Ultima VIII: The Lost Vale plot. i had no idea it existed in any form:
http://sherigranerray.com/?p=13
"the premise behind Lost Vale was a group of people had been locked away from the rest of Pagan and were still following the “old gods.” These gods , the villagers believed, lived in a city at the top of a cloud shrouded mountain. It was forbidden to attempt to climb the mountains to see the gods. Two young boys, however, decided to see if they could do it, and attempted to climb the mountain. They fell to their deaths. At the same time, the Gods seemed to stop answering the prayers and withdraw their support for the people of the valley – taking away the seasons and causing crops to wither...."
edit: lost vale design documents in their entirety
https://gallery.ultimacodex.com/the-lost-vale-plot-documents/
i just stumbled upon Sheri Graner Ray's old livejournal entries that document some of the days in which she worked at Origin Systems in the 90s. some of the anecdotes are gold... this one, from the
i just stumbled upon Sheri Graner Ray's old livejournal entries that document some of the days in which she worked at Origin Systems in the 90s. some of the anecdotes are gold... this one, from the Ultima VII development period:
“Spark... the little boy in Trinisic who follows you around in the beginning of Ultima VII was written by Raymond Benson and based on his son. The idea was cute, but the character got annoying really fast.. particularly for the testers. They would regularly dress him in a dress and then starve him to death until he became a ghost following you around."
http://sherigranerray.com/?p=10
#ultima #dosGaming #retroGaming
@tommythorn this is a fascinating problem. i can't tell if any of the C source was ever released - I don't think it was.
if you want links to the decompiled source and binaries for Knight Lore, WBM managed to snag a snapshot of them:
disassembled source:
https://web.archive.org/web/20211023004219/http://members.iinet.net.au:80/msmcdoug/zx/knightlorev100rc7.lst
amiga:
https://web.archive.org/web/20191104082634/http://members.iinet.net.au/msmcdoug/amiga/klamigaos.zip
neil may be willing to share the C source based on an email address he supplied in the downloads area:
@[email protected] cool! Zaxxon was my first isometric game too - 40 years ago!
succinct and surprisingly deep writeup on the depth sorting technique used in the wonderful isometric ZX Speccy game Knight Lore
succinct and surprisingly deep writeup on the depth sorting technique used in the wonderful isometric ZX Speccy game Knight Lore
16 year old blog post still as relevant as ever!
https://bannalia.blogspot.com/2008/02/filmation-math.html
#zxspectrum #retroGaming #math
@[email protected] it's amazing how much exploration there is packed into that little diskette. i've thought about that game - and its map of Holm - for decades
huge thanks to @talin for uploading his Faery Tale Adventure (amiga) source to github
huge thanks to @[email protected] for uploading his Faery Tale Adventure (amiga) source to github
several users are already hard at work digesting the source tree and getting things working. one of the best is Xarklabs' ongoing SDL2 port, located here:
https://github.com/XarkLabs/faery-tale-amiga/tree/macos
talin's original source here:
https://github.com/viridia/faery-tale-amiga
#gamePreservation #retroGaming #amiga
@[email protected] you're the first person to ever have suggested that, afaik! that would have been a fascinating opportunity.
i never did like the new areas added by their ongoing expansions. some felt tackily glued-on (ninjas), others just more of the same.
Savage Empire in particular would have been beautiful to see in high-res!
i wish i had been the kid with the pluck to don this 10/10 spazwear in my 1990s junior high school
i wish i had been the kid with the pluck to don this 10/10 spazwear in my 1990s junior high school
the Worlds of Ultima: Savage Empire manual is a pulpy comic book that suits the game perfectly. no one talks about this manual sadly.
one of the most underrated ultima games - it got a lot less attention than Martian Dreams, and it was a far more interesting setting.
#ultima #retroGaming
@[email protected] i can definitely see how some code from those projects found their way into this game!
https://sarahjaneavory.wordpress.com/2024/10/21/new-rpg-update-21-10-2024/
someone's working on a new C64 game inspired very heavily by Ultima III: Exodus
#ultima #commodore64 #retroGaming
TIL La Abadia Del Crimen got a 256 colour remake several years ago under the name "The Abbey of Crime Extensum", and the animation and pixel art is gorgeous
TIL La Abadia Del Crimen got a 256 colour remake several years ago under the name "The Abbey of Crime Extensum", and the animation and pixel art is gorgeous
the controls have been modernized a bit, and it's a joy to explore.
free download and/or steam link here:
https://www.abadiadelcrimenextensum.com/en/the-game-2/
#retroGaming
to demonstrate the difference between painted and scanned (and auto-dithered) art, versus digitally painted art using dpaint, here are two screenshots from Gateway
to demonstrate the difference between painted and scanned (and auto-dithered) art, versus digitally painted art using dpaint, here are two screenshots from Gateway
left: painted with traditional media, scanned in and retouched at 256 colours. note the completely uniform dithering
right: painted in deluxepaint in 256 colours. note the careful manual dithers around the edges of the lilypads
#retroGaming #dosgaming
another example of the achingly beautiful art of frederik pohl's Gateway
another example of the achingly beautiful art of frederik pohl's Gateway
several different artists worked on the backgrounds for the game. some backgrounds, like this one, were painted directly in deluxe paint. others were painted using traditional media, and then scanned in and auto-dithered to 256 colours.
#retroGaming #dosGaming
@[email protected] it’s freaky finding sealed games that are 30 years old
@[email protected] it is superb!
sometimes you have no choice but to drive 300km to a boondocks antique store to rescue a bunch of abandoned dos games 😍
sometimes you have no choice but to drive 300km to a boondocks antique store to rescue a bunch of abandoned dos games 😍
#dosgaming #bigboxgames #RetroGaming
@[email protected] agreed - the soundtrack even got a remaster a few years ago
https://dreamweb-remastered.bandcamp.com/album/dreamweb-the-soundtrack-remastered-side-a
Dreamweb is full of these ten second bespoke animations that breathe so much life into the world.
#dosgaming #adventuregames #retrogaming
20 years ago i stumbled upon a "top dog" entry on Home of the Underdogs in the adventure section
20 years ago i stumbled upon a "top dog" entry on Home of the Underdogs in the adventure section
part point and click adventure, part american gothic themed thriller, and part horror story; i've never found a comfortable label for it.
all these years have passed, and i'm still mesmerized by how unique the game is. some of david dew's bespoke animations still reign among the best i've ever seen in a 2d game.
it's still hard to imagine this entire experience was crafted by only three people.
here are a couple of minutes of the intro and gameplay from creative reality's DreamWeb (1994)
#dosgaming #retroGaming
i can't believe this is a real thing, and this is the first time i've ever heard about it
i can't believe this is a real thing, and this is the first time i've ever heard about it
Seal: Magic Eye is an adventure-RPG for MS-DOS
Soft-World, a korean RPG and adventure game publisher/developer, did an amazing job of cloning Ultima VII's style, interface, sprites and tiles
it's cloned down to the smallest detail: the "journer onward" on the title screen, the pixel palette rotation effect during the load screen, and even the wonky isometric-ish projection.
it plays more like the SNES/SFC port of Ultima VII: The Black Gate - interactivity is stripped away, and it's mostly point and click dialogue.
the fact that this exists at all is incredible. now, whenever someone asks, "is there a game like Ultima VII?" i finally can say, yes!
sadly, it has no mobygames entry. work for a fellow software archivist who can translate, some day.
credit to /u/petrifiedpigs for pointing this game out
source: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultima/comments/1gdufp3/games_similar_to_to_the_black_gate
great interview with Ultima manual and cover artist Denis Loubet that i somehow missed years ago
great interview with Ultima manual and cover artist Denis Loubet that i somehow missed years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttcuJXBh754
#ultima #retroGaming
@[email protected] interesting. its late appearance is probably why i missed it - by 95 i was on the internet instead of BBSing (where I found most of my shareware)
@[email protected] i'm fascinated that i somehow missed an Apogee shareware game over all the years. surprisingly beautiful and bizarre. thank you!
@[email protected] 😆 good idea
@[email protected] it is indeed. not very many high-res dithered 16-colour games out there.
doing some visual design research on isometric tile-based games and came across this incredible screenshot from Celtic Tales: Balor of the Evil Eye
doing some visual design research on isometric tile-based games and came across this incredible screenshot from Celtic Tales: Balor of the Evil Eye
that entire screenshot was drawn with just sixteen colours
#gameArt #retroGaming
@[email protected] very much Abrash-level depth
@[email protected] 😆 it really does look like a 3rd party published 3e book
after lusting for a copy of andré lamothe's Black Art of 3d Game Programming for years, i finally found an affordable copy
after lusting for a copy of andré lamothe's Black Art of 3d Game Programming for years, i finally found an affordable copy
it does not disappoint. one of the fatal flaws of 95% of 3d game programming books is that they jump straight into mathematical proofs, instead of explaining in human terms how concepts are relevant to making a game. lamothe's programming concepts are clear, easy to understand, and provide real-world examples before diving into code
to my delight, the book doesn't limit itself to just 3d. it covers every conceivable topic for building a game engine from scratch in MS-DOS - and includes some great chapters on FM and wavetable synthesis!
#programming #c #retroGaming
![A page from the book, showing how FM synthesis works on so
@[email protected] 😆 that's the one i was most excited about too. i've had a GH FFIX for ages that i've been dying to replace
@[email protected] no idea what kinds of games you like to play. FF7 was my first.
i haven’t found good PS1 games in the wild in nearly 20 years
i haven’t found good PS1 games in the wild in nearly 20 years
today i scored for $3 each!
#retrogaming #playstation #psx
i am in love with the cover art on al sweigart's python game programming book
i am in love with the cover art on al sweigart's python game programming book
it was switched out with some more corporate art a year later.
#programming
in 25+ years of retro gaming and sierra, i've never once seen someone mention Hoyle's Book of Games
in 25+ years of retro gaming and sierra, i've never once seen someone mention Hoyle's Book of Games
despite its small stature, it was one of the most financially lucrative sierra titles, and spawned an entire series of games.
what makes it special is that opponents are (for the most part) characters from sierra titles, each playing in a style expressive of the character's personality. graham and rosella are friendly and not overly competitive, larry is silly and aggressive with his cards.
the dog? the dog is a real shithead.
#sierraOnline #retroGaming
happy 27th birthday Ultima Online.
happy 27th birthday Ultima Online.
on september 24th, UO launched with a massive subscriber base, after two public beta tests and a pre-alpha a year earlier.
this is the UO launch page in september of 1997.
following that is the "chest opening" animation for the game login (with the Stones midi playing in the background).
the first year of UO was one of the most active and fascinating experiments in player-driven democracy, and live-patching exercises i've ever seen. the skeleton crew who was kept on to update the game ran "House of Commons" chats directly with players to get feedback on the game, and help make decisions on how to deal with problems with griefing/exploits/gameplay.
the cat-and-mouse game of players discovering exploits and developers patching them became a meta-game itself, forcing patches that changed gameplay on a weekly basis.
within a couple of years, the experiment in player-led design and open-ended gameplay would more or less be over: EverQuest and (to a m
although i've finished Conquests of Camelot several times, i've never thought to sit through the credits to the end.
although i've finished Conquests of Camelot several times, i've never thought to sit through the credits to the end.
i find a few things fascinating about this. first off, the game never prompts you with sound effects showing that you've received points for solving a puzzle or winning a battle, contrary to almost every other sierra adventure title.
second, unlike sierra adventures that lump all points together into a single score, this one has been stratified into three categories.
third - and this is more in comparison to RPGs where playable characters are created for at the beginning of the game, this title inverts the process. "your" king arthur is really the outcome of the choices you made over the course of the game: my particular playthrough seems to have valued soul over skill or wisdom.
#adventureGames #retroGaming #sierra
did i just drive 300 km one way in the middle of the night to pick up fifteen big box games.
did i just drive 300 km one way in the middle of the night to pick up fifteen big box games.
yes.
yes i did.
#bigboxgames #retrogaming