The Joy of Now

We live in amazing technological times where many things can be done instantly at a touch of a button... ordering anything online (food, goods, medicines), online banking, research (Googling it bro), dating (insert the myriad of dating sites here) and watching movies and shows. It makes me think back to simpler times, when I'd load up my monochrome Amstrad CPC 464 and watch the tape deck counter slowly crawl forward before a game (hopefully) loaded.

This old pic of me is sorta connected to the concept of time and nostalgia.

Maybe in these times when everyone wants everything now there's something to be said for days of yore where we enjoyed the games more because we had had to wait. The anticipation was maybe half the joy; watching the loading screen slowly appearing and bathing the bedroom in a green glow while that annoying screeching noise reverberated all around.

No doubt these idle thoughts seem like an old man wishing for a past bathed in the cathode ray tube glow of nostalgia, but recently I bought a new game for the PS4 and had to wait quite a while for the system to update and download a patch and it had me reflecting back to my youth.... The waiting sucked, it did then and it does now! In these busy times who can wait for a hefty day 1 patch to download? I’ve got box sets to get through, digital friends to chat to so I can ignore real pals, tonnes of images of my mates food to appreciate... In my youth there wasn't much to do and the pace of life was slower so sitting, waiting for a crappy port of Double Dragon to load for 20 minutes was fine, but now.... yeeesh it's painful! I could watch an episode of Carmen Sandiego in that time!

I think there is much to be said of slowing down and smelling the roses and that Bueller quote but really, life has so many more options now and waiting is boring. Now making time for yourself, being present and mindfulness are another matter, but we'll save that for another time.

Just to note- this was an off the cuff devil’s advocate piece. My thought are a lot more nuanced than stated*

Let's Go Dizzy: The Story of the Oliver Twins- Book Review

Like most children of the 80's I had a huge love of the micro computers scene that was thriving. I had my first real experience with computers in the mid 80's with the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC 464. The first real games that blew me away were Robin Hood and later Fantasy World Dizzy. Both games were created by the Oliver Twins and at the time they became almost mythical figures, creating the best games including the iconic Dizzy. I used to love reading about the twins but in an era before the Internet there were only occasional snippets or features in magazines so they remained unknowable, unfathomable.

Luckily, I met the twins a couple of years ago at the Centre for Computing History and listened to them as they orally discussed their history and Dizzy games but this book, Let's Go Dizzy: The Story of the Oliver Twins, is a detailed account of their life and game making history.

Over 232 pages, Chris Wilkins, discusses their childhood, early interest in coding and rise to video game super stardom. The book is heavy in interviews and quotes from the twins themselves and so isn't just anecdotal but actually from the mouth of the twins. There are a large amount of photos from the time which help to provide context and the screenshots help to break up the large amount of text. Of all the sections, I found their evolution from the micro computers to the 8 and 16 bit era especially interesting as they discuss the Nintendo vs Code Masters Game Genie lawsuit and why certain Dizzy games weren't released on the platforms. The book is honest and covers the highs and the lows of their careers and for anyone interested in the life and works of the pioneering Oliver Twins, this is a must read.

LINK- Play the Dizzy Game In-Browser Now

Bullet Heaven- Shoot 'em Up Games

I picked up the latest issue of Retro Gamer and was excited to see that as well as featuring awesome art by Oliver Fray (who I have really like)  it had an article on shoot 'em ups. Whilst reading the article and munching on old skool treats I got to thinking about the genre. My first experience at the arcade was when I was 6 and it was at my local video store, there was Pacman and Space Invaders. I suppose that was my first intro to shoot 'em up games, that little sit down cocktail cabinet.

Retro Gamer and retro sweets, a winning combination.

They've always held a special place in my heart as once the enemy patterns are learnt and memorised you can look like a boss completing a game. I have a vivid memory of playing Rtype at Heathrow airport and getting to level 3, that huge base ship. I bought the game on the Amstrad CPC 464 and felt like a bad-ass as my little ship  took down a warship that was bigger than a screen, in fact it was a whole level in and of itself. Over the years I bought RType again on the Master System and then progressed to the Megadrive where I continued my love of shoot 'em ups.
Unfortunately over the last few years bullet hell games have taken over, I like them as I feel Zen when I play them but they are not the same as shoot 'em ups. Bullet hell games, especially the ones that have made their way West in the last few years on console including Deathsmile and Akai Katana have a place but they do feel stagnant compared to Dodonpachi and Ikaruga, the true exciting innovators of bullet hell. But generally bullet hell games have a different feel and mechanics.

So here these are some of my favourite shoot 'em ups, there are no SNES shoot 'em ups as I only had a Master System and Megadrive growing up and only got a SNES later in life. I'm playing some of the SNES shoot 'em ups now so this list will be updated later.

RType

Fantasy Zone

Ranger X

Thunderforce III

Thunderforce IV

Zero Wing