Shredz64, a Guitar Hero clone for the Commodore 64 March 13, 2008
There is a part 2. Dig those chip tunes!
An official (?) Super Mario World level that plays itself September 12, 2007
Here is a level from Super Mario World that you can finish by simply not touching the controller. Setting this up must have been an immense effort - it’s breathtaking.
The Only Mario Level That Plays Itself - Watch more free videos
(Via Boing Boing.)
Simon Carless on Matthew Smith and Jet Set Willy July 13, 2007
Simon Carless has written a great article about Matthew Smith, mysterious creator of two landmark games for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum: Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy. Mr. Carless (who occasionally reads this blog - hi!) also writes about how Smith disappeared from the face of the earth (apparently he joined a commune in the Netherlands), then came back. But he never made another game… I still remember reading the ads for Attack of the Mutant Zombie Flesh-Eating Chickens from Mars (Starring Zappo the Dog).
Additionally, I learned about the cool mods for the Jet Set Willy games that have been made over the years. ‘The Hobbit’ as a Manic Miner mod? ‘Lord of the Rings’ set inside Jet Set Willy? I love it. Formal constraints can be so much fun.
Polybius July 2, 2007
I had never heard of Polybius before - it sounds a bit like a real-life Lucky Wander Boy:
[A]n unheard-of new arcade game appeared in several suburbs of Portland, Oregon in 1981, something of a rarity at the time. The game, Polybius, proved to be incredibly popular, to the point of addiction, and lines formed around the machines, quickly followed by clusters of visits from men in black. Rather than the usual marketing data collected by company visitors to arcade machines, they collected some unknown data, allegedly testing responses to the psychoactive machines.
Video games hidden in the grooves of LPs June 19, 2007
BoingBoing has an interesting post about the time when software was encoded as audio and video games were hidden in the grooves of LPs.
If nobody beats me to it I will blog about the 80s Dutch radio show that transmitted software, including games for the ZX Spectrum, over the airwaves.
The most frustrating Super Mario mod ever April 18, 2007
The Most Frustrating Super Mario Mod Ever
This is screamingly funny (give it a minute). (Via Kottke.)
Update: Apparently, it is even funnier, if profane, with sound.
Interview with Andreas Varga April 5, 2007
NDSwelt, an ‘inofficial’ online magazine (in German) about the Nintendo DS has an
interview (in German) with Andreas ‘Mrsid’ Varga about homebrew programming for the Nintendo DS in general, and his port of Great Giana Sisters in particular (watch a video here).
(more…)
A short live-action movie about a hamster video game January 31, 2007
YouTube - Live Action Hamster Video Game
Awesome live-action Monty Mole video :D (Thanks, Laurens!)
A homebrew port of International Karate Plus for the Nintendo DS January 24, 2007
Oh look, it’s IK+ homebrew for the DS! (Thanks Andi!)
