Who remembers the Sinclair Spectrum?
I am having so much fun working on the iPhone Game Programming tutorials and whilst I’m writing the base classes I think I need for a game, I’ve been looking around for inspiration of a game I could write.
One of the key things I have learnt from both experience and reading LOTS of blogs is to start simple. You may well have ideas to create your own full 3D MMORPG, but if you have never written a game that’s maybe more that you can chew to start off with.
For this reason the game I’m looking to write is a 2D game and will be simple to start off with. To help with inspiration I’ve gone back to my childhood to look at games I played as a kid. My first computer was a Sinclair Spectrum 48k and I thought it was the most amazing thing ever. Over time I also played with Commodore 64s, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga etc, but the Spectrum has held a place in my heart.
While looking around I found a great site that lets you play tons of Spectrum games from a web page. I really had forgotten how bad the graphics and sound were on these, but they are the grand daddy of the games we have now.
So if you want a laugh and some fun or even inspiration for a simple 2D game then check this out.
Have Fun
Mike
4 Comments
mike on March 5th, 2009
Hi Joe
I do remember Archon and I also remember that when I was playing it I was not very good :o)
When I have played at writing games in Java, I’ve normally taken an idea which I’ve seen or played from these older platforms. The reason being the graphics are not that hard to copy and the game concept is also normally not too complex.
Having said that, I have an incomplete version of Atic Atac I was re-writing in Java and its not until you get into writing the game that you come across all sorts of problems you have to solve to make even the most basic game work at times. It can be surprising.
Another good game to look at is Xenon: Mega blast by the bitmap brothers. This game gave me the inspiration to have a go at writing a game on the iPhone. As the tutorials progress I’m going to be using sprites from this game, one because I like them but also because I suck at creating gfx :o)
The second Tutorial should be posted soon.
Mike
Pickle Pumper on May 1st, 2009
I’ve got a Timex Sinclair 1000 on my desk. First computer I owned (not the actual one, but the same make/model).
Don’t know if this link will work but here’s a pic:
mike on May 1st, 2009
Hey Pickle Pumper, now that is a cool photo and brings back all sorts of memories. I am going to have to get out my Spectrum 48k now and put a photo up :o)
Mike
Joe on March 5th, 2009
Hello Mike,
When you have played with the C64 or Amiga you will remember Archon. This game features a 2D battle field.
Though I think somebody is already implementing this for the iPhone it should be fun to program.
Can’t wait to read through the 2nd part of your tutorial. Thanks for writing it.
Cheers,
Joe