Don't worry about nit-picking.... I'd rather you guys nit-picked now than after it was printed...
My last stage before final proofing is to go through the chapters and tighten up prose and make sure the grammar is correct.... the chapters I've posted from 1985-on haven't had that yet, so they may be a bit rougher around the edges...
The years covered are about 1982-1992/3... I had room for about 235 games in the book.
1984 requires about another 4 or 5 hours work before it'll be ready for final proof...
This weekend, I'll incorporate all the feedback here and post the new versions...
Just couple of points with the credits on 2 games that I was involved with...
Firefly - Jonathan Dunn has a credit (I assume for music/sound fx). This is untrue. Jonathan Dunn had nothing to do with Firefly (though he did produce the sound for my GBA All Star Baseball 2004 and Looney Tunes: Back In Action).
Hunchback 2 - Christian F. Urquhart is credited but was not involved with this release.
Oopps, I am sorry Jonathan, I know who you are now that I checked your site. I have to tell you that you are a kind of god for us, speccy users, and that you got me playing Cobra more than 1 hour everyday!! and I can't pass the 3rd level!!! Awesome game, thanks in name of the speccy lovers.
Just couple of points with the credits on 2 games that I was involved with...
Firefly - Jonathan Dunn has a credit (I assume for music/sound fx). This is untrue. Jonathan Dunn had nothing to do with Firefly (though he did produce the sound for my GBA All Star Baseball 2004 and Looney Tunes: Back In Action).
Hunchback 2 - Christian F. Urquhart is credited but was not involved with this release.
I've made those changes... If you see any others let me know...
And if you have any interesting gossip/stories about any of the games in the book let me know any I'll try and get them in...
Oopps, I am sorry Jonathan, I know who you are now that I checked your site. I have to tell you that you are a kind of god for us, speccy users, and that you got me playing Cobra more than 1 hour everyday!! and I can't pass the 3rd level!!! Awesome game, thanks in name of the speccy lovers.
Cheers
Ta very much. I'll stick you on my Xmas card list! Reguarding Hunchback II - my only involvement was doing some graphics/animations - not enough to deserve a mention. I've noticed I've been given a WOS credit for the 1st version of Street Hawk (the one never released in the stores). It's true I did some of the graphics on this (and most of the early Ocean in house releases on all formats) but it's hardly worth a mention - let alone a credit.
I've made those changes... If you see any others let me know...
And if you have any interesting gossip/stories about any of the games in the book let me know any I'll try and get them in...
Thanks
Andrew
Oh, the stories I could tell. How much time have you got?
By the way, Jonathan, we want a new game from you!!! Common, let's go for Toki!(or some other!)
Its really a pleasure to have you over here.
Cheers
Been lurking here for years and I must admit I'm getting THE ITCH! Should I do THE SPECCY GAME TO END ALL SPECCY GAMES? My head is SO full of ideas and little short of trepanation, sadly, I have no other outlet.
Oh BOLLOCKS! Lets just go for it!
48k 'PLEB' is now under development. Wish me luck. I'll need it.
ZX Shed is the in-house magazine (or fanzine if you will) created by bored members of the Speccy community. I would have given you a couple of links but strangely I can't seem to find them hosted anywhere! Probably my search skills are just crap.
ZX Shed is the in-house magazine (or fanzine if you will) created by bored members of the Speccy community. I would have given you a couple of links but strangely I can't seem to find them hosted anywhere! Probably my search skills are just crap.
Well if the bored members of the Shedites want to talk then that's okay by me. I'm pretty boring too, so I should fit in quite well.
Been lurking here for years and I must admit I'm getting THE ITCH! Should I do THE SPECCY GAME TO END ALL SPECCY GAMES? My head is SO full of ideas and little short of trepanation, sadly, I have no other outlet.
Oh BOLLOCKS! Lets just go for it!
48k 'PLEB' is now under development. Wish me luck. I'll need it.
That's an awesome news! WIth the development tools we have nowadays its much easier to program, and we all know what you can do for our ZXs.
A couple of things after reading the 1982_jke PDF:
In the section about Don Priestley's 3D Tanx, the second paragraph says: "surprisingly and despite that superiority of his later titles" - "that" should probably be "the".
In the same section, the following paragraph says "When a tank was destroyed, the debris in the roadway, blocking the way through." Maybe it should read "the debris remained in the roadway, blocking the way through" or "the debris in the roadway blocked the way through."
In the discussion of Horace Goes Skiing, the last paragraph says "a stronger game that the first one in the series". "That" should be "than".
In the Slippery Sid game, paragraph 1 appears to be missing an apostrophe "the game s level of polish".
I feel very nit-picky doing this, because I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the book, but I'll take a look through the other chapters too.
By way of a general comment, I really like the layout and the writing style. I do have some reservations with the comma usage, but that could be just my own personal taste. Excellent work, though!
Some from the 1983_edw PDF file. I apologise for the length of this, but I did used to do a lot of proof-reading before. When I get the bit between my teeth, it's hard to stop!
In the write-up for the Alchemist, the last paragraph says: "the game played like a small self-contained arcaded adventure", I presume this should be "arcade".
In the section about Bear Bovver it says "Batteries had to pushed down several levels", which I guess should be "Batteries had to be pushed down"
In The Birds & The Bees, "Software Project" should be "Software Projects"
On the page about Cookie: "which had to coerced into contributing", should probably be: "which had to be coerced"
Corridors of Genon: "As the player's psychic abilities are depleted, it became harder to figure out the door codes". This line seems to be a mixture of tenses - I would suggest: "as the player's psychic abilities are depleted, it becomes harder" or "as the player's psychic abilities were depleted, it became harder".
Doomsday Castle: "All hell broke look", obviously "broke loose"
Groucho: "in order to the identity of the mystery star." Maybe "in order to find the identity of the mystery star" or to "identify the mystery star".
Jungle Trouble: "To do this, he watched his wife run, jump and fall and then using the results to animate the main character." Again, a mixture of tenses - maybe "and then used the results to animate the main character."
Two more in Jungle Trouble: "Once across the put, a widening chasm had to be jumped across", should be "pit" instead of "put" and: "this had to be one of the most frustratingly yet addictive games for the 16k ZX Spectrum." Maybe replace "frustratingly" with "frustrating".
Mad Martha: "the murderous Martha had noticed the absense of her husband and was hot on his trail." Just that "absense" should be "absence".
A couple of spelling mistakes on the Penetrator page: "the aliens had instaleld batteries of ground-to-air missiles" and "being sure not to colide with any of the walls, bullets or enemy ships".
Pitman Seven: "Judicious use of ladders, crawlspaces and overhead beams provided method for the player's miner to avoid rocks", "provided a method"? Maybe?
Stonkers: "Likewise, the enemy is trying to do the same to the players units", missing apostrophe in "players".
Stop The Express: "until got to the engine carriage and managed to shut down the engine." Perhaps: "until he got to the engine carriage"
Terror-Daktil 4D: "Terror-Daktil 4D was published Melbourne House after their seminal adventure title, The Hobbit" Just needs to be "published by Melbourne House"
TranzAm: "a distance of t 3300 miles", the "t" I guess is just an editing artefact.
Wheelie: "watching the player's characted hurtle over the handlebars", should obviously be "character"
I feel very nit-picky doing this, because I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the book, but I'll take a look through the other chapters too.
Good! Here are a couple more from the 1985_sif chapter:
On the Chaos page it says: "the WMD that ias the gooey blob" instead of "was".
The headline for The Covenant: "Take An Old Biblical Story, Mix And Some Sci-Fi Mumbo Jumbo" - should that be "Mix In Some Sci-Fi Mumbo Jumbo"?
Spelling mistake in the last paragraph of Robin of Sherlock: "irreverant" should be "irreverent".
This may be not an error, it might just be my own taste, but on the Three Weeks In Paradise page, it seems a bit strange to have "tribesman" in italics.
Lastly, a couple of points for Wriggler. "Wriggler an extremely sensitive speed-loader routine", should probably be: "Wriggler used an extremely sensitive ..." And: "There were even of new labels being stuck over old cassettes" would read better as "There were even reports of new labels being stuck over old cassettes"?
I'm enjoying the read, but I don't think I'm getting much other work done :)
Cauldron: "it is made double difficult", should that be: "doubly difficult"?
Dan Dare: "Grant Morrison published an excellent 90's-angst dark future version of the original 50's Dan Dare brought an unsettling air to the saga", maybe: "which brought an unsettling air to the saga".
Dynamite Dan: "the hero once again reprises his role as secret agent Dynamite Dan is his never-ending task" - "is" should probably be "in".
Starglider: "Claire Edgeley, formally a Sinclair User reviewer". "Formally" should be "formerly".
On the Twister page, there was a mention of "shooting demon", which should be plural.
Lastly, a missing apostrophe (shock! Horror!) on the Way of The Tiger page: "Gremlin Graphics licensing endeavours", should be "Gremlin Graphics' licensing endeavours".
Sorry and all that.... this is why people dump proposals on my desk and then run like hell!
In Ghouls and Ghosts, 1989:
"The ZX Spectrum fared pretty well when it came to arcade conversions, at least until arcade machines progressed to 3D (+GRAPHICS ?) beyond the capabilities on the humble 8-bit computer."
IN Dizzy 1989:
"Fantasy World Dizzy represented the first appearance of Dizzy's extended family and friends. One of these, Dizzy's ovoid girlfriend Daisy (INSERT A COMMA) had managed to get herself kidnapped by the Troll manservant of an evil king, who is holding her captive (+AT ?) the Cloud Castle in Fantasy World."
In Myth, 1989:
"In each zone, the player was required (+TO) collect period weapons and fight off supernatural enemies such as skeletons, trolls and other period nasties. At the end of each zone was a large boss monster than(=THAT) must be defeated to proceed to the next level."
In Stormlord, 1989:
"Other more dangerous foes required serious action. Fortunately (+COMMA ?) the player was armed with a magical sword and lightning bolts to fight off some of the more persistent enemies."
Sorry for the nit-picking. It's a LOT of work you've done, Andrew, and it looks great.
Off to read the rest...
Oh, but wait: I see you included Rex :), but no R-Type?!?!??!?!?
In Ghouls and Ghosts, 1989:
"The ZX Spectrum fared pretty well when it came to arcade conversions, at least until arcade machines progressed to 3D (+GRAPHICS ?) beyond the capabilities on (=OF) the humble 8-bit computer."
As for R-Type... I know, I know... I wish I could include everything...
But don't you think that R-type deserves more of a mention than Maze-Mania? To me, your synopsis basically says: "this game is a piece of turd." It is especially obvious when you compare it to the technical achievement of the rest of the 1988-89 crop.
Comments
Don't worry about nit-picking.... I'd rather you guys nit-picked now than after it was printed...
My last stage before final proofing is to go through the chapters and tighten up prose and make sure the grammar is correct.... the chapters I've posted from 1985-on haven't had that yet, so they may be a bit rougher around the edges...
The years covered are about 1982-1992/3... I had room for about 235 games in the book.
1984 requires about another 4 or 5 hours work before it'll be ready for final proof...
This weekend, I'll incorporate all the feedback here and post the new versions...
Just couple of points with the credits on 2 games that I was involved with...
Firefly - Jonathan Dunn has a credit (I assume for music/sound fx). This is untrue. Jonathan Dunn had nothing to do with Firefly (though he did produce the sound for my GBA All Star Baseball 2004 and Looney Tunes: Back In Action).
Hunchback 2 - Christian F. Urquhart is credited but was not involved with this release.
Love the style - keep it up!
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/frobush/
How were you involved in these games?! Are you a programmer of that golden time?
Regards
Cheers
Thanks very much :D
I've made those changes... If you see any others let me know...
And if you have any interesting gossip/stories about any of the games in the book let me know any I'll try and get them in...
Thanks
Andrew
Ta very much. I'll stick you on my Xmas card list! Reguarding Hunchback II - my only involvement was doing some graphics/animations - not enough to deserve a mention. I've noticed I've been given a WOS credit for the 1st version of Street Hawk (the one never released in the stores). It's true I did some of the graphics on this (and most of the early Ocean in house releases on all formats) but it's hardly worth a mention - let alone a credit.
Anyway - back to the lurking.
Oh, the stories I could tell. How much time have you got?
...if you're interested.
That would be really interesting!
By the way, Jonathan, we want a new game from you!!! Common, let's go for Toki!(or some other!)
Its really a pleasure to have you over here.
Cheers
Showing my ignorance now but I have no idea what ZX Shed is - I'm game for anything.
Been lurking here for years and I must admit I'm getting THE ITCH! Should I do THE SPECCY GAME TO END ALL SPECCY GAMES? My head is SO full of ideas and little short of trepanation, sadly, I have no other outlet.
Oh BOLLOCKS! Lets just go for it!
48k 'PLEB' is now under development. Wish me luck. I'll need it.
Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
Well if the bored members of the Shedites want to talk then that's okay by me. I'm pretty boring too, so I should fit in quite well.
SPAM me to hell here...
joffa.smifff@REMOVETHISYOUBORINGIDIOTStiscali.co.uk
That's an awesome news! WIth the development tools we have nowadays its much easier to program, and we all know what you can do for our ZXs.
Good Luck!
Ooh... about a week... feel free to pm/email me with any info..
Karingal, get in line :D
Great. How about the second week in November? Suits me.
Joking. Of course. I'll PM you. In the second week in November. Joking. Oh God, this could go forever.
In the section about Don Priestley's 3D Tanx, the second paragraph says: "surprisingly and despite that superiority of his later titles" - "that" should probably be "the".
In the same section, the following paragraph says "When a tank was destroyed, the debris in the roadway, blocking the way through." Maybe it should read "the debris remained in the roadway, blocking the way through" or "the debris in the roadway blocked the way through."
In the discussion of Horace Goes Skiing, the last paragraph says "a stronger game that the first one in the series". "That" should be "than".
In the Slippery Sid game, paragraph 1 appears to be missing an apostrophe "the game s level of polish".
I feel very nit-picky doing this, because I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the book, but I'll take a look through the other chapters too.
By way of a general comment, I really like the layout and the writing style. I do have some reservations with the comma usage, but that could be just my own personal taste. Excellent work, though!
--
Matt
CGC2006 - www.mattrudge.net/cgc2006
Cant tell whether hes joking or not !!! Hope hes not, a new game from Joffa Smith would be amazing !
Cobras one of my all time favourites ever. If that game was released now the PC brigade would go crazy when you had to shoot prams etc with an uzi !
In the write-up for the Alchemist, the last paragraph says: "the game played like a small self-contained arcaded adventure", I presume this should be "arcade".
In the section about Bear Bovver it says "Batteries had to pushed down several levels", which I guess should be "Batteries had to be pushed down"
In The Birds & The Bees, "Software Project" should be "Software Projects"
On the page about Cookie: "which had to coerced into contributing", should probably be: "which had to be coerced"
Corridors of Genon: "As the player's psychic abilities are depleted, it became harder to figure out the door codes". This line seems to be a mixture of tenses - I would suggest: "as the player's psychic abilities are depleted, it becomes harder" or "as the player's psychic abilities were depleted, it became harder".
Doomsday Castle: "All hell broke look", obviously "broke loose"
Groucho: "in order to the identity of the mystery star." Maybe "in order to find the identity of the mystery star" or to "identify the mystery star".
Jungle Trouble: "To do this, he watched his wife run, jump and fall and then using the results to animate the main character." Again, a mixture of tenses - maybe "and then used the results to animate the main character."
Two more in Jungle Trouble: "Once across the put, a widening chasm had to be jumped across", should be "pit" instead of "put" and: "this had to be one of the most frustratingly yet addictive games for the 16k ZX Spectrum." Maybe replace "frustratingly" with "frustrating".
Mad Martha: "the murderous Martha had noticed the absense of her husband and was hot on his trail." Just that "absense" should be "absence".
A couple of spelling mistakes on the Penetrator page: "the aliens had instaleld batteries of ground-to-air missiles" and "being sure not to colide with any of the walls, bullets or enemy ships".
Pitman Seven: "Judicious use of ladders, crawlspaces and overhead beams provided method for the player's miner to avoid rocks", "provided a method"? Maybe?
Stonkers: "Likewise, the enemy is trying to do the same to the players units", missing apostrophe in "players".
Stop The Express: "until got to the engine carriage and managed to shut down the engine." Perhaps: "until he got to the engine carriage"
Terror-Daktil 4D: "Terror-Daktil 4D was published Melbourne House after their seminal adventure title, The Hobbit" Just needs to be "published by Melbourne House"
TranzAm: "a distance of t 3300 miles", the "t" I guess is just an editing artefact.
Wheelie: "watching the player's characted hurtle over the handlebars", should obviously be "character"
--
Matt
CGC2006 - www.mattrudge.net/cgc2006
Not a problem... nit-picky is good...
Good! Here are a couple more from the 1985_sif chapter:
On the Chaos page it says: "the WMD that ias the gooey blob" instead of "was".
The headline for The Covenant: "Take An Old Biblical Story, Mix And Some Sci-Fi Mumbo Jumbo" - should that be "Mix In Some Sci-Fi Mumbo Jumbo"?
Spelling mistake in the last paragraph of Robin of Sherlock: "irreverant" should be "irreverent".
This may be not an error, it might just be my own taste, but on the Three Weeks In Paradise page, it seems a bit strange to have "tribesman" in italics.
Lastly, a couple of points for Wriggler. "Wriggler an extremely sensitive speed-loader routine", should probably be: "Wriggler used an extremely sensitive ..." And: "There were even of new labels being stuck over old cassettes" would read better as "There were even reports of new labels being stuck over old cassettes"?
I'm enjoying the read, but I don't think I'm getting much other work done :)
--
Matt
CGC2006 - www.mattrudge.net/cgc2006
Some from the 1986_jdl chapter:
Cauldron: "it is made double difficult", should that be: "doubly difficult"?
Dan Dare: "Grant Morrison published an excellent 90's-angst dark future version of the original 50's Dan Dare brought an unsettling air to the saga", maybe: "which brought an unsettling air to the saga".
Dynamite Dan: "the hero once again reprises his role as secret agent Dynamite Dan is his never-ending task" - "is" should probably be "in".
Starglider: "Claire Edgeley, formally a Sinclair User reviewer". "Formally" should be "formerly".
On the Twister page, there was a mention of "shooting demon", which should be plural.
Lastly, a missing apostrophe (shock! Horror!) on the Way of The Tiger page: "Gremlin Graphics licensing endeavours", should be "Gremlin Graphics' licensing endeavours".
Sorry and all that.... this is why people dump proposals on my desk and then run like hell!
--
Matt
CGC2006 - www.mattrudge.net/cgc2006
Or rather... maybe you should... He's v. good.. :)
(I'll be replying to your PM sometime soon... I'm a bit slammed with Real World (TM) stuff right now...)
No. He's too good. I'd rather live with my mistakes. Ta very much.
PM when ever.
Natural born pedant (my wife will be delighted I'm finally admitting it - whaddya mean "this isn't group therapy??"), thanks anyway :)
It's really heightening my anticipation for the book too - I can't wait to get my hands on a proper printed version now.
--
Matt
CGC2006 - www.mattrudge.net/cgc2006
In Ghouls and Ghosts, 1989:
"The ZX Spectrum fared pretty well when it came to arcade conversions, at least until arcade machines progressed to 3D (+GRAPHICS ?) beyond the capabilities on the humble 8-bit computer."
IN Dizzy 1989:
"Fantasy World Dizzy represented the first appearance of Dizzy's extended family and friends. One of these, Dizzy's ovoid girlfriend Daisy (INSERT A COMMA) had managed to get herself kidnapped by the Troll manservant of an evil king, who is holding her captive (+AT ?) the Cloud Castle in Fantasy World."
In Myth, 1989:
"In each zone, the player was required (+TO) collect period weapons and fight off supernatural enemies such as skeletons, trolls and other period nasties. At the end of each zone was a large boss monster than(=THAT) must be defeated to proceed to the next level."
In Stormlord, 1989:
"Other more dangerous foes required serious action. Fortunately (+COMMA ?) the player was armed with a magical sword and lightning bolts to fight off some of the more persistent enemies."
Sorry for the nit-picking. It's a LOT of work you've done, Andrew, and it looks great.
Off to read the rest...
Oh, but wait: I see you included Rex :), but no R-Type?!?!??!?!?
Nit-picking? Great... More please :D
As for R-Type... I know, I know... I wish I could include everything...
Andrew
or proof-read my sci-fi book! I'll be rewriting for another 10 years!
But don't you think that R-type deserves more of a mention than Maze-Mania? To me, your synopsis basically says: "this game is a piece of turd." It is especially obvious when you compare it to the technical achievement of the rest of the 1988-89 crop.