Carleton Handley
@carletonhandley.bsky.social
I coded Commodore 64 games in the 1980s, 1990s and the 2020s. And plenty of other stuff in between.
Bonfire Night was my favourite night of the year as a child. Fireworks, treacle, parkin, flapjack, black peas (Google it) and a big random fire topped with a guy dressed better than me. Halloween has rather usurped it now though. Probably for the best considering the dangerous stuff we got up to.
October 31, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Bonfire Night was my favourite night of the year as a child. Fireworks, treacle, parkin, flapjack, black peas (Google it) and a big random fire topped with a guy dressed better than me. Halloween has rather usurped it now though. Probably for the best considering the dangerous stuff we got up to.
I did start it a while back.
September 1, 2025 at 7:25 AM
I did start it a while back.
We were there last week. Only had a day, wished we’d stayed longer.
August 9, 2025 at 4:37 PM
We were there last week. Only had a day, wished we’d stayed longer.
I was lucky enough to develop all my C64 games on a PC using PDS (Programmer's Development System). I had an Amstrad PC with a 10MB HDD. Powerful stuff.
There quite a bit of info on PDS here:
lemmings.info/pds-programm...
There quite a bit of info on PDS here:
lemmings.info/pds-programm...
August 8, 2025 at 9:14 AM
I was lucky enough to develop all my C64 games on a PC using PDS (Programmer's Development System). I had an Amstrad PC with a 10MB HDD. Powerful stuff.
There quite a bit of info on PDS here:
lemmings.info/pds-programm...
There quite a bit of info on PDS here:
lemmings.info/pds-programm...
This 720kb disk is my original backup of all the code and graphics for my first four #C64 games, plus the unreleased game Behemoth. The code includes self written tools like map editors. I think the icon on my last iOS game was larger than 720k on its own. My handwriting is as bad 35 years later.
August 8, 2025 at 7:49 AM
This 720kb disk is my original backup of all the code and graphics for my first four #C64 games, plus the unreleased game Behemoth. The code includes self written tools like map editors. I think the icon on my last iOS game was larger than 720k on its own. My handwriting is as bad 35 years later.
I agree, let’s get one on the Walking Circles’ office where I started ;) Glamorous.
August 1, 2025 at 11:40 PM
I agree, let’s get one on the Walking Circles’ office where I started ;) Glamorous.
Mr Do! is excellent. And the only game I remember having an option for left-handed controls. Probably only worked well with those square Atari joysticks. I never tried it because by then I'd trained myself to play right-handed.
July 29, 2025 at 7:26 AM
Mr Do! is excellent. And the only game I remember having an option for left-handed controls. Probably only worked well with those square Atari joysticks. I never tried it because by then I'd trained myself to play right-handed.
We put all the levels from the arcade version into my #C64 conversion of Skull & Crossbones. Ostensibly a pirate game there was also a ninja level and an Argonauts themed level. In the end it was all about the treasure. I think this final level looks quite nice but don't expect many players saw it.
July 4, 2025 at 12:10 PM
We put all the levels from the arcade version into my #C64 conversion of Skull & Crossbones. Ostensibly a pirate game there was also a ninja level and an Argonauts themed level. In the end it was all about the treasure. I think this final level looks quite nice but don't expect many players saw it.
When we converted APB to the #C64 we implemented the full map from the arcade version. It's massive, the equivalent of over 1000 screens when laid out. The map itself is made up of 4x8 character tiles. Even then the map data is 32k. Vertical strips are decompressed in real time to fit it all in.
July 2, 2025 at 9:01 AM
When we converted APB to the #C64 we implemented the full map from the arcade version. It's massive, the equivalent of over 1000 screens when laid out. The map itself is made up of 4x8 character tiles. Even then the map data is 32k. Vertical strips are decompressed in real time to fit it all in.
This one? It does look tricky. These are my favourite kind of levels though and where the rewind feature is almost essential.
June 6, 2025 at 10:42 AM
This one? It does look tricky. These are my favourite kind of levels though and where the rewind feature is almost essential.
Well the good news is my game Millie & Molly works on the #Switch2. I expect a massive uplift in sales with people hoping to push their new hardware to the limits ;) And it’s on sale for less than £2 from the shop courtesy of @thalamusdigital.bsky.social
June 5, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Well the good news is my game Millie & Molly works on the #Switch2. I expect a massive uplift in sales with people hoping to push their new hardware to the limits ;) And it’s on sale for less than £2 from the shop courtesy of @thalamusdigital.bsky.social
My team #BuryFC can become champions today. We’re in tier 9 of the English football league after being kicked out of league one. There are over 8000 fans here. Madness.
April 19, 2025 at 1:48 PM
My team #BuryFC can become champions today. We’re in tier 9 of the English football league after being kicked out of league one. There are over 8000 fans here. Madness.
I still have my copy of issue one. Actually my brother bought it, he was working and I was still at school. Sadly it's not in the best condition because we both read it cover to cover. I've never considered the influencer angle but it's true, I trusted these reviews when spending my pocket money.
April 8, 2025 at 7:39 AM
I still have my copy of issue one. Actually my brother bought it, he was working and I was still at school. Sadly it's not in the best condition because we both read it cover to cover. I've never considered the influencer angle but it's true, I trusted these reviews when spending my pocket money.
Here's my collection of games I've worked on which had a physical release. It doesn't look much for 37+ years but I have a few missing. I've also coded a load of games which were digital only. J2ME and smart phone games mainly. And then there are the unreleased games. There are lots of those!
March 14, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Here's my collection of games I've worked on which had a physical release. It doesn't look much for 37+ years but I have a few missing. I've also coded a load of games which were digital only. J2ME and smart phone games mainly. And then there are the unreleased games. There are lots of those!
Spinning Image is a free #C64 puzzler I coded and released last year. It's based on the #GBA game Guru Logi Champ, with some twists of its own. Later on it's a fairly tricky game but now thanks to user mailhunter there's a guide to all levels on YouTube.
www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
March 12, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Spinning Image is a free #C64 puzzler I coded and released last year. It's based on the #GBA game Guru Logi Champ, with some twists of its own. Later on it's a fairly tricky game but now thanks to user mailhunter there's a guide to all levels on YouTube.
www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Fell on my run today. 30 years of running and no incidents. Reckon this may hurt in the morning.
March 1, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Fell on my run today. 30 years of running and no incidents. Reckon this may hurt in the morning.
First try of Runn ‘n’ Gunn running on a real Spectrum Next. Everything seems good. #C64 #SpectrumNext
February 6, 2025 at 1:09 PM
First try of Runn ‘n’ Gunn running on a real Spectrum Next. Everything seems good. #C64 #SpectrumNext
I’ve been looking into converting one of my #C64 games to the Spectrum Next. Runn ‘n’ Gunn is the most suited to the hardware. Pretty pleased with the early progress. Currently using the C64 GFX but that’ll change.
Forgive the flaky video, I was filming and playing at the same time.
Forgive the flaky video, I was filming and playing at the same time.
January 30, 2025 at 9:34 PM
I’ve been looking into converting one of my #C64 games to the Spectrum Next. Runn ‘n’ Gunn is the most suited to the hardware. Pretty pleased with the early progress. Currently using the C64 GFX but that’ll change.
Forgive the flaky video, I was filming and playing at the same time.
Forgive the flaky video, I was filming and playing at the same time.
I'm considering doing some Spectrum Next coding. Had a bit of a look today and it seems nice enough. Does this seem familiar to some? I'm struggling to get a nice VSCode set-up, any pointers welcome.
January 11, 2025 at 1:25 PM
I'm considering doing some Spectrum Next coding. Had a bit of a look today and it seems nice enough. Does this seem familiar to some? I'm struggling to get a nice VSCode set-up, any pointers welcome.
Just completed Lorelei and the Laser Eyes on Switch. What an amazing game and just the right level of difficulty. Made me feel occasionally smart which is no small feat. Recommended if you like puzzle games.
January 5, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Just completed Lorelei and the Laser Eyes on Switch. What an amazing game and just the right level of difficulty. Made me feel occasionally smart which is no small feat. Recommended if you like puzzle games.
Shame. I think it was probably for this preview in Your Sinclair. The picture of Graham’s desk looks to be from the same set. The reason I remember this article is because it’s the first time I saw my name in print, it was quite exciting at the time. Although spent incorrectly.
January 4, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Shame. I think it was probably for this preview in Your Sinclair. The picture of Graham’s desk looks to be from the same set. The reason I remember this article is because it’s the first time I saw my name in print, it was quite exciting at the time. Although spent incorrectly.
As it’s nearly Christmas I’m reminded of the time a Zzap64 reviewer referred to one of my #C64 games as a ‘vector graphics turkey’. Proud moment. It scored a massive 16% overall.
December 18, 2024 at 9:11 PM
As it’s nearly Christmas I’m reminded of the time a Zzap64 reviewer referred to one of my #C64 games as a ‘vector graphics turkey’. Proud moment. It scored a massive 16% overall.