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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 15h

NES Silver Surfer review in Electronic Gaming. Difficulty rating AVERAGE. Yes, Average!

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 18h

Indeed. I used tape storage for several years on 1980s home computers. Disk drives weren't always an option, or were very expensive.

Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 1d

More digging in my old BBC Micro and Acorn Electron development disks. This time I've finally managed to re-produce the workflow used to get the sprite editor working. My friend Paul Proctor used the Computer Concepts Graphics Extension ROM to create the sprites for the Electron version of Galaforce

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 1d

You may find this interesting if you didn't know already...
boingboing.net/2019/11/18/h...

Horace Goes Copyright Striking

How an obscure game character from the 8-bit era ended up at the heart of a very modern YouTube takedown fight

boingboing.net

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 1d

Amazing!

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 1d

Check out 'Orion Patrol' for the BBC Micro. A very clever 'Zarch-a-like' game by Angus Hughes ( 2025 ).

www.bbcmicro.co.uk/game.php?id=...

Orion Patrol

Self-published in 2025

www.bbcmicro.co.uk

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 1d

I never saw a Sword / CGL M5 in real life. I always wanted one.

Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 1d

A thing of beauty! The Commodore PET 2001 with chiclet keyboard and integrated monitor + tape deck. 8K Bytes of RAM was more than enough. The first computer I ever used. I learnt BASIC and 6502 machine code on it. Thanks to Pete Davidson, my amazing Computer Studies teacher. Post your first computer

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 1d

Canadian Charcoal Pit, Spud U Like, the local chippy and various chinese take-aways did big business from programmers in the early/mid 80s.

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 1d

That sounds very familiar. My first published game was also in 1983. Stayed in the videogame industry as a developer until 2020 when it was time to focus on other things! Been through all of the storms along the way and managed to come out the other side with lots of great memories.

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 1d

It helped pay for our take-aways and new technology! Most of the money went to the publishers and retailers of course. The programmers would typically get about 10% of the retail price, if they were lucky!

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 1d

Advertisement on the back cover or inside covers was SO expensive back then! Premium spots that only the big companies couldd afford.

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 1d

Indeed. The Apple II was a very expensive machine and in the UK was mostly bought by businesses or wealthier individuals/schools. A similar story later on with the Mac - a great business machine. Apple 'TAX' is incredible these days, but many are happy to pay it!

Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 2d

Here are the computer hardware and software charts from November 1983 - PCN Magazine, UK. There were so many computers to choose from back then. Many disappeared without a trace, but the Spectrum, Commodore and BBC Micro sold really well. Great games available from Ultimate, Imagine, Bug Byte etc.

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 3d

There's plenty of reference code in my GitHub repository, including simple 2D collision checks - rectangle against rectangle. Sprites are just stored as a binary blob of data representing the screen video memory pixel format. You just copy the blob of data to the video memory.
github.com/KevEdwards

KevEdwards - Overview

UK based Video Game Developer since 1981. Technology Programmer. Creator of games for NES, SNES, BBC Micro, PC, PS3/4, XBox, Mobile. @KevEdwardsRetro - KevEdwards

github.com

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 3d

Sorry to hear you're unable to attend. I have a sprite editor, ED5, that was used to create the sprites in Crazee Rider. I'll bring that along to demonstrate, if I can remember how to use it!

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 3d

I will of course bring along buildable source code for Galaforce and Crazee Rider. I have adapted this to build using modern day tools and can demonstrate how easy it is to develop BBC Micro games in 2025! I can also bring the source code for Ultimate Beeb games, including Knight Lore and Alien 8.

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 3d

I'm currently working out what to show at next month's Retro Computer Festival ( Gaming Edition ) at the Centre for Computing History. I'm bringing along a Master 128 or BBC Micro and will focus on game development for those machines. Does anyone have any suggestions?

bsky.app/profile/comp...

The Centre for Computing History @computinghistory.org.uk · 4d

The exhibitors are telling us what they're bringing to the RCF - and, wow, what a line up! PDPs and oscilloscopes from the dawn of gaming to brand new projects for the Sega Mega Drive - and into the future with the Spectrum Next! Tickets are selling fast - www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/74558/re...

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 4d

Thank you!

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 4d

Happy 39th Birthday to Galaforce - I'm a bit late. Seems like only yesterday when I was working on this game. Launched in September 1986 for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron, published by Superior Software. Music and SFX by Martin Galway, our 2nd game together. Addditional artwork by Paul Proctor.

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 4d

I just found 'Success in Software' by Richard Hanson online for anyone that's interested.

archive.org/details/succ...

Success in software : Hanson, Richard, 1959- : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

32 pages

archive.org

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 4d

I'm sure there are some parts that are still relevant. However, nearly 40 years have passed and the world of gaming is a very different place!

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 4d

That's great. I think it was given out to anyone that responded to this advert or got in touch with them at the time.

Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 4d

Superior Software placed this advert in several computer magazines in 1987 to find new software to publish. 8-bit home computer software sales were in decline and it was hard to find the right software. Their book 'Success in Software' was a very informative guide for would-be game developers.

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Kevin Edwards ( Retro Videogame development ) @kevedwardsretro.bsky.social · 8d

Mike created some great projects over the years. He's done lots of new ones for the Rasp Pi too!

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