Occasional ramblings on games, generally retro related
​When my parents brought home a ZX81 one day (complete with wobbly 16K RAM pack, of course) I discovered the joy of programming. But it wasn't until I got my hands on a ZX Spectrum that my obsession with games really began, which continued with the C64, Amiga, right through to this day. The 80s and early 90s were an amazing time for games, not just for the games themselves but for the fascinating people behind them - it was truly a time of pioneers and creativity.
I myself have spent the last (almost) 20 years working in the games industry on all manner of platforms, most recently iOS. Ziggurat Development Ltd is my company here in NZ that provides contract programming services.
The remake of "Slightly Magic" by Colin Jones is almost ready for release and can now be pre-ordered. Earlier this year Colin ran a sadly unsuccessful Kickstarter for it, so it's great to see this will indeed see the light of day.
The game features the original's graphics and a remastered soundtrack by Allister Brimble.
Chris Wild, who was behind the excellent iOS remake of "Lords of Midnight", has announced that his company is now taking on a brand new version of another Mike Singleton classic: "Midwinter". "Midwinter" received considerable critical claim but slipped by unnoticed by many (including myself). A sprawling open world game originally released on the Amiga in 1989, "Midwinter" was an early, influential example of sandbox gameplay.
The game is currently in pre-production, with a Kickstarter campaign expected to start in the next few months. The concept art looks great and they have Dave Gautrey on board, who was a programmer on the original, so this should be an interesting project to watch.
Rather exciting news: a remake of the excellent Amiga game The Chaos Engine has been announced for PS, Mac and Linux. This game has always struck me as an obvious candidate for an update, so it's good to hear it's finally happening. Development duties are being handled by Abstraction Games who most recently ported Hotline Miami to the PS3 an Vita. Fingers crossed it'll have been worth the wait.
More details can be found over at Retro Asylum.