Spectrum Games - ZX Spectrum Next - ZX Spectrum Games

Hi Folks.

It's been a long time since I've been active on here, I've had too much reality cutting into my 8-Bits of free daily time!

I'm working my way back into both Spectrum and Amiga gaming, two player Exploding Fist has proven to be a lot of fun lately!

Anyway, I'm rather excited about this upcoming piece of kit. The ZX Spectrum Next looks like it's going to be the real deal. A modern day ZX Spectrum that will capture the essence of the original 1982 machine for the current era.

When you look at the people involved (Rick Dickinson, Victor Trucco, Jim Bagley, Henrique Olifiers and Fabio Belavenuto) you cannot help but become excited.

The ZX Spectrum Next

You can read more about the latest developments at ZX Spectrum Next.

The ZX Spectrum Next:

I already know that I have to have one.
:-)

Spectrum Games - Programmer Interview - Kevin Allison

Kevin Allison
Kevin Allison worked on both the ZX81 and ZX Spectrum in the early 1980's as a games programmer before moving on to other areas.

His most recognisable title for the Speccy was Spectipede released by R&R Software and later Mastertronic.

I managed to get in touch with Kevin via YouTube and he kindly agreed to do this interview with me about his days as a games maker during the 8-bit era.

1: Hello Kevin. How did you get into games programming?
My interest in home computing was first piqued when I went to a party and they had a early model Commodore Pet running, with Space Invaders on, and from there I never looked back. Not long thereafter, I moved into the IT industry (in 1980) as a System Tester for a profession (in the days when a mainframe filled a whole very large room) and I soon bought a ZX81 as a kit and my interest was taken from that time. My first and only ZX81 program was Bomber, launched through R&R Software -
http://www.zx81stuff.org.uk/zx81/showmag.php?mag=SinclairUser/Issue007/Pages/SinclairUser00700039.jpg

Buying the ZX81 as a kit was worth it from the point of view it gave me a great understanding of how the hardware linked together, something I've never forgotten and still use that knowledge today when upgrading/modifying my PC.

2: How did creating Spectipede for R&R Software come about?
I was an avid arcade game player at the time when the Spectrum came out, having a small arcade near the office where I worked. Pacman and Centipede were my two favourite games so I set myself the challenge to re-create Centipede on the Spectrum written entirely in machine code. I learnt machine code programming courtesy of the excellent book - Z80 and 8080 Assembly Language Programming by Kathe Spracklen (I still have the book)

I first of all wrote my own machine code driven real time two pass assembler (KAOS) which I initially hand crafted using REMs to Poke Z80 machine code and then used the early development assembler to further refine the assembler itself and also then used KAOS to build Spectipede.

3: How long did it take to complete the coding of the game?
I can't remember now but probably around 3 or 4 months to fully finish, refine and debug.

4: As far as I can tell, Spectipede is your only ZX Spectrum title. If this is the case can you tell me why?
Later on I also wrote "Ice Attack" in machine code as a spectrum version of the Pengo arcade game. I chose not to market KAOS nor Ice Attack for various reasons, for KAOS it was probably because the market already had a few two pass assemblers in play and I had missed the boat by the time it was fully finished, and it was also a bit more of a product for a niche market rather than mass market - therefore in practical terms no great fortunes to be made !

For Ice Attack, it was finished but I couldn't get a royalty deal I was happy with so it stayed in the box and there it will stay (not sure whether I still have the master tape anyway). PPS - "KAOS" = "Kevin's Assembler and Operating System" (As well as being a two pass assembler, it also took over control (using non maskable interrupts) of the Spectrum operating system and command line prompt to provide for real time input and validation of Rem strings containing only valid Assembly language commands only (table driven).

5: What did you move onto after the game was finished?
See Q4 above. I've done things like build PCs from scratch using my knowledge from building the Spectrum, buying just the PC components but have not not ventured back into software development.

6: With the retro-gaming scene booming would you ever consider creating another ZX Spectrum game?
No, too time consuming for me

7: Is there any chance of a 'Spectipede' 2013?
As Q6

8: What did you like about programming on the Spectrum?
Key point for me and friends in buying the spectrum was the move to colour and more memory !! (my first spectrum arrived faulty and had to be replaced straight away) For programming, key like was that the Spectrum used the Z80 processor which used interrupts easily accessible by the user including NMI and it came with a very rich machine code language, making it quite easy for complex program development.

9: Conversely, what did you not like programming on the Spectrum?
Nothing particular to dislike (other than the slow rubber keyboard !)

10: Which developers or companies impressed you most at the time?
No companies/developers in particular as I recall but my two favourite games were probably Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy.


11: Can you tell us what you are up to nowadays?
I am now retired from work and enjoy travel. Life seems to get more hectic when you retire, and free time less, but I still find time to keep up with modern technology !!! I now have fibre optic broadband with a home wifi network with PC, laptop, Nexus 7 etc all inter-connected - things we take for granted now but could only dream about back in the ZX81 days.

It is difficult to believe how far technology has advanced since the likes of the Pet and the ZX80 (if you remember much that far back - don't know how old you are ?)

I worked in IT from 1980 onwards and interesting to see that the modern handheld stuff now is way more powerful than some of the mainframe stuff we had all those years ago occupying whole rooms.


Once again many thanks to Kevin for taking the time to talk to me.
Cheers folks and I hope you enjoyed it!

Arcade Games, Classic Games and ZX Spectrum Games

ZX Spectrum Games - ZX Spectrum Programming Masterclass - Part 2

ZX Spectrum Programming Masterclass Part 2
Just like part 1 this clip was uploaded to YouTube by Jesus Zafra.

If the Speccy says I'm cool then it must be true!

The video itself was first released back in 1984 to accompany the book of the same name which was published by WH Smith.

This video deals with data management, simple animation, arrays and string manipulation, which handily leads into an example of a simple hangman game.

This is all great stuff and contains the fundamentals of any type of programming.

Take it away once again David...



ZX Spectrum Games, Arcade Games and Classic Games

ZX Spectrum Games - ZX Spectrum Programming Master Class Part1

ZX Spectrum Programming Master Class Part 1
This clip was uploaded to YouTube by Jesus Zafra. Well done that man!

We are PEEKING and POKING!

The video itself was first released way back in 1984 (on VHS format as I'm sure most of you will remember) just as the ZX Spectrum was becoming more popular me on a night out ;-).

Here David Redclift explains various functions in BASIC, the layout of the good old Speccy keyboard, keyboard commands and how to access the various functions using the shift-keys.

This was heavy duty programming to all of us amateur enthusiasts back in the day, and some of us (not me!) would go on to learn Z80 assembler to produce 'arcade' quality games!

Turbo Rubber Duck Shootout

There is a good hours worth of instruction here. It's retro. It's fun (in a geeky kinda way) and it's well worth a watch.

In fact, you may end up quite proficient in the language of Speccy BASIC after watching this. So good in fact, that your next program will probably so polished it wouldn't even have made it onto a Cascade Cassette 50 compilation. Get yer Speccy out, get typing, and get creating.

Look out for Part 2 shortly!

Take it away David...


Classic Games, Arcade Games and ZX Spectrum Games

ZX Spectrum Games - You are a programming genious - ZX Spectrum

You are a programming genious
Yep - the famous 20 GOTO 10 loop that 99% of us typed into our ZX Spectrums. It was our 'hello world', our first foray into computer programming and we loved it.

Your name could scroll and scroll down the screen, as long as kept pressing 'y'.

Showing this technical feat to parents, friends, family members etc was probably the proudest moment of the week. Maybe even the month.

That was until you read an issue of input magazine or some programming section of a monthly Spectrum magazine. Now, with advanced techniques like variables and increments in loops, you were well on your way to writing your first game.

That was until you realised you needed to know about movement, collision detection, frames of animation....

Many of the 'bedroom programmer' brigade eventually made it commercially from roots like this - and that is what made the ZX Spectrum Games scene such a joy. On many (good) arcade games only one programmer did everything: graphics, logic code, sound effects, music, title screen...

The BASIC installed on the ZX Spectrum wasn't even the best around, but it was usable and relatively easy to learn, and it would sometimes even make you laugh.

"What do ya mean Nonscense in BASIC!" I was known to shout at my tv screen from time to time. Whoever programmed that little bit of the ROM sure had a good sense of humour.

Some of us (not me!) even made the leap to assembly language and developed smooth and fast moving classic games.

Anyway, simple little snippets of BASIC code like this could keep us amused for hours...

ZX Spectrum Game - Horizons - ZX Spectrum

ZX Spectrum Horizons
It was all connected up - the cassette recorder linked to the Spectrum, the ZX Spectrum linked to the TV, and after half and hours messing around the TV was finally tuned in (usually on channel 8) and the following was displayed:

(C) 1982 Sinclair Research Ltd

Excitedly you press the rubber 'J' key, the soft click sound that accompanies the word LOAD appearing invokes both awe and wonderment.

After working out how to add "" you finally had what you wanted. You inserted the Horizons tape and pressed play on your tape deck.

Multi coloured lines, strange screeching noises, was this normal? Was the tape ok? You wait for a few seconds, then magically a picture of a rainbow appears. How nice it looks. A few seconds later it is replaced by a picture of a ringed planet and the words 'PSION'. This is it - you're in the space age. Already you are a technological wizard.

A menu with eight options appears, and one leaps out at you and catches your eye.
Top of the list is

• Thro' the wall

The classic game of breakout re-created on a ZX Spectrum. Written in BASIC with little in the way of sound effects, for many users this will be the first ever game they play on their new and trusty rubber-keyed friend.

The game is simple yet you probably played it for hours and hours. The other programs on the Horizons tape probably intrigued you too, but you probably kept returning to Thro' the wall - desperate to knock out those two 1/2 blocks that were almost impossible to hit.

Once you had played the likes of 3D Deathchase and Manic Miner the Horizons cassette was most likely consigned to the back of the cupboard, slowly gathering dust as it was left behind to the advances in gaming and your own ZX Spectrum prowess.

But you know what - despite their simplicity and being written entirely in BASIC, the Horizons programs weren't half bad...

Thankyou Psion for making my introduction to the wonderful ZX Spectrum just that little bit easier.

Not bad for a BASIC progam - a nice a simple version of classic breakout, this classic arcade game kept us going for hours on end...

ZX Spectrum Games - The wee small hours - ZX Spectrum

You know the score...

It's half past nine at night and you've been playing your latest arcade game for four hours. The game is good, you're getting good (at it), and it's been a worthwile purchase at £6.95.

For three weeks it has kept you occupied, and you just know you are nearing completion. You keep playing, your hands majestically flying over the keyboard or manouvering the joystick, reactions and mind melded together in 100% concentration.

You realise how dry your mouth is - it has been hours since you last had a drink. You hit the pause key and head to the kitchen to grab a glass of anything. A quick glass of diluting orange is quickly gulped down - you can't be 'out of the zone' for too long otherwise you will lose your gaming rythm.

A quick glance at the clock reveals it is now ten thirty - but not to worry, the end of the game is nigh.

You return to your still warm seat, the game is un-paused, and you continue on.

Enemies are destroyed, obstacles are evaded, and another end of level boss is defeated after a long, hard battle. Surely the end?

Eleven thirty comes and goes, as does yet another level. One life remains. One level remains... perhaps.

Midnight has come and gone... but you barely noticed. You are pre-occupied desperately clinging to your last life.

It's here at last, the final, final battle. Dodging and weaving you blast away, moving and leaning in your seat as you move up, down, left and right. Almost there, just a few more hits will ensure victory... the computer unleashes a surprise move.

No way you could see that coming. Your last life is gone and GAME OVER is displayed.

It's half past one. So near yet so far....

But it's only half past one, time for one more go before bed.