Homebrew Extra - Retro Gamer 267
- andrewrfisher
- 3 minutes ago
- 14 min read
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Halloween had just occurred at the time of writing – bringing lots of new horror-themed games and very appropriate for our feature on Midnight Brew Games. A legendary duo is working hard to bring us a new game for the Spectrum Next, and shoot ‘em up fans will love the look of the SNES title we are previewing. With three high-scoring and diverse reviews, it’s another packed column as we head towards the end of 2024.
ALLAN'S MIDNIGHT MAGIC
Interview with Allan Turvey of Midnight Brew Games
What got you into Spectrum programming?
I first got into BASIC programming around Xmas 1982 with my first computer a Dragon 32, and moved onto the Spectrum a couple of Xmases later. But what got me back into it was definitely the Spectrum Show, which I discovered about seven years ago. I actually live in Kazakhstan, Central Asia so it was nice to discover that people were still using the machine and that there were ways to learn how to code in assembly language.
What is your development environment and the major tools you use?
Oh, I'm pretty old school. It's really just Notepad++ hooked up to an assembler alongside ZX Paintbrush and a couple of emulators. I also have a few custom tools that I coded to run on the Spectrum itself for working on maps and so on.
Are you testing on real hardware as well as emulation?
As you might imagine, there's not a lot of hardware available out here so I generally work with emulators. That said, I do have several friends with real hardware that I send the games to for testing.
What drew you to producing accurate arcade conversions?
Two things I'm really passionate about are the golden age of arcade games and the early days of the Spectrum. The golden age stuff for the way that coders were experimenting and trying to figure out just what video games were, and the early Spectrum for the 'anyone can do it' punk ethos that it inspired. Copyright was looser then, and this meant that these two worlds collided, and every kid and his dog were having a go at converting these early arcade games. Very few of them were great, some of them were a real waste of pocket money, but they were learning their craft and breaking ground, so you have to love them for giving it a go. So it's a lot of fun to return a couple of generations later to see if it's possible to make some of those early dreams a reality and do things on the machine that were never quite done properly before.
How do you approach a new project and try to make it as accurate as possible?
The first thing is always the love - if I convert a game, it has to be one I really love because aside from my interest in game history, I know I'm going to be getting to know it intimately. The next thing is to play the original game a lot and really get a feel for the mechanics. You have to see the game through the eyes of the original coders and identify all the various challenges they faced - in some ways it's almost like digital archaeology in that respect - learning to actually play the music of master composers gives you so much more insight than just listening to their compositions. That whole process is another thing that drew me into it. As for the accuracy, it goes with the territory really - you're taking it on as a challenge to yourself, so you can't take shortcuts, and you also have to respect what you are working with as something that is an important part of gaming history.
What made you decide to become a publisher?
I've spent most of my life working freelance and running small businesses so publishing my own games on my own label really appealed to me. I also like the idea of creating everything from scratch and collaborating with other creative people in the community - artists, musicians, and coders. I'd like to think that the label brings like-minded people together and gives a sense of purpose, something to aim for. Everyone involved wants to raise the bar with what can be done with homebrew gaming and what we can offer the community.
How did you come up with the name and the look for Midnight Brew?
The word 'midnight' of course has a special meaning for Spectrum fans, but the main reason is more literal - it's what we old school coders get up to isn't it - cooking stuff up in the middle of the night! As for the look, well, there are plenty of publishers out there that go for that colourful and cartoony approach so we wanted to do the exact opposite - a very minimal, mostly black-and-white style that of course ties in with the name, but also gives us a simple style that makes it easy for us to work with other people whilst maintaining that look. Black goes with anything right? The final decision came when I heard the song 'Midnight Brew' by Melvin Carter - Once I heard that groove, I knew it was for us.
You are selling physical games via Ko-Fi – how easy is that?
Overall it's a pretty simple process. They charge a small monthly rate and don't take commission which is great. The only downside is that whatever you sell has to be either physical or digital - you can't combine the two which is odd because we'd like to give anyone who buys a physical copy instant access to the digital version. For that reason, we may well switch over to our own website as the label grows.
How are you producing the physical editions?
Tape duplication has seen a real resurgence in recent years, so you no longer have to print individual labels and record each tape one by one. There are companies out there that provide a really good service with lots of options at reasonable prices. There is still a lot of work involved, however, but it means that time and effort can instead be put more into the creative side, as well as ensuring the products are more polished and professional. What people expect from their 'retro' physical media in 2024 is quite different to what it was a decade ago - it's a more mature market now with a lot more competition for your retro readies.
What are you currently working on?
I'm currently finishing up Scramble RX, which is a Spectrum conversion of Konami's grandaddy of horizontal shooters and one of my personal favourites, as well as coordinating everything for our first Midnight Brew Special release, which is a 40th-anniversary tribute to Colin Stewart's Frank N. Stein.
What have been the most difficult parts of recreating Scramble?
Spectrum hardware has no support for the two things that make this game what it is - lots of scrolling and lots of sprites, so doing both in a way that avoids what I call the unholy trinity - flicker, tearing and jerkiness, was a real challenge, but this is what makes coding on the Spectrum so appealing - rather than fulfil a requirement, you find a way to eliminate it, and replace it with smoke and mirrors! A simple example of this would be the scrolling in Scramble RX. The landscape is interlaced, so you only draw every other line (inspired by Wheelie), and screenwriting is limited only to the changes that are needed, rather than redrawing everything. Simple enough concepts but getting them to work and integrate with everything else was probably the trickiest part. This is how many of the great Spectrum coders of the past created the games that they did, and those who know a little bit about how the Spectrum hardware was designed will know that this is also what Clive's engineers were doing in order to get the machine down to an affordable price. All of those guys provide a lot of inspiration.
What made you decide to publish Dr Acula and Frank N Stein Reloaded on the label?
We were approached by Mark Harrison, who had done some work with the original author Colin Stewart on the previously unfinished Dr Acula, and he approached us to see if we would be interested. The original Frank N Stein is a perfect example of a great, early-era Spectrum title that never really got the credit it deserved. Colin also rewrote the game from scratch about ten years ago and that too went a little under the radar.
With the 40th anniversary approaching we quickly realised we could do something really interesting and unique by uniting an original 80s bedroom coder with those of us who are still burning that midnight oil. We didn't want to just publish a game, we wanted to celebrate that enduring creativity and spirit of homebrew.
That's why we went the extra mile and had some original artwork restored, as well as showcasing some of the original graph paper that Colin used to design the game in 1984. When we started the label, we always said that we would never resort to using tat to bump up the price of a game, but we still wanted to give people more, so what we've done instead is recreated various pieces of artwork and ephemera that tell the story of games. What adds to this is that Colin will also be attending Crash 2024, so that people can come and meet him as well as the other people involved as well.
Are you looking for new titles and programmers to work with at the moment?
Absolutely, but perhaps not in the way you might expect, in the sense that we don't actively encourage people to submit stuff to us. What we like to do is keep an eye out for people who share our ethos and see if they are open to collaborating. As I said, that's really what the label is all about - we look for people whose work we admire, not necessarily games we can publish.
Is there someone you would like to work with, or a dream project you want to try and make?
Well, it's been great working with Colin, so I'm sure I would enjoy working with others like him. In fact, this year I've become great pals with Bob Hamilton, who created the 'Ziggy' series - another example of that pioneer spirit. We're planning to do remakes of his early games as well as completing the Backpacker trilogy. As for a dream project, well, I suppose there is a whole list of games that only ever made it to the planning stage that I'd love to resurrect. I loved Tir Na Nog and Dun Darach and always thought it should have been a trilogy - same goes for Marsport, which was planned as one. And, of course, whilst there is already a nice little tribute version of Mire Mare out there, it would be wonderful to help create an official one that would write a final chapter in the 'Ultimate' story.
BRILLIANT BREWS
Five top-notch potions from the wizards at Midnight Brew Games - www.midnightbrewgames.com
LUNAR RESCUE RX (ZX SPECTRUM)
The classic Taito coin-op from 1979 is brilliantly remade here and can be also found in the Arcade RX pack. https://bit.ly/lunar-zx
NIXY & THE SEEDS OF DOOM (ZX SPECTRUM)
The second game featuring Nixy the Glade Sprite, there is currently a C64 conversion underway by Haplo. https://bit.ly/nixy-seeds and https://bit.ly/nixy-seeds-c64
OOZE: THE ESCAPE (AMIGA)
Midnight Brew published Haplo’s excellent Amiga conversion on floppy disk, based on the Spectrum original from Andy Johns. https://bit.ly/ooze-amiga
PAC-MAN RX (ZX SPECTRUM)
Getting an RG Sizzler in issue 262, this superb recreation marked the arcade game’s 44th anniversary and is part of the 2024 collection – https://bit.ly/pacmanrx
ROUST (ZX SPECTRUM)
2022’s set of five tapes included this amazing update of the Williams classic. https://bit.ly/roustrx
NEWS BYTES
AMIGA: Electric Black Sheep remade Tower of Evil and has created an unofficial sequel Tale of Evil. https://electricblacksheep.itch.io/
ATARI 7800: A superb port of Bubble Bobble is in development, check the AtariAge thread at https://bit.ly/bb-atari7800
BBC MICRO: Bitshifters updated the classic Ghouls with two new modes, 60 new levels and a level editor. https://bit.ly/ghouls-revenge
C64: The hit card game Balatro is on the way from Ko-Ko, with PleasureBytes Games planning a physical release. https://bit.ly/balatro-c64
DREAMCAST: OrcFace Games is organising Dream Disc ’24, a game jam with the winners appearing on a CD compilation. https://bit.ly/dreamdisc24
GAME BOY: Edward La Barbera released The Director’s Cut of his fun RPG Frasier Fantasy (originally reviewed in RG253), with new locations and characters.
INTELLIVISION: Oscar Toledo G. unleashed his new Halloween game Pumpkin Bakery. https://bit.ly/pumpkin-bakery
NES: Famidash – the brilliant conversion of Geometry Dash previewed in RG262 - has been released and updated. https://rhpz.org/famidash
PICO-8: Heracleum converted the Intellivision game Thunder Castle. https://bit.ly/thunder-p8
STEAM: The Edge Of Allegoria from Button Factory Games is a 2D RPG with Game Boy-inspired graphics and adult themes. So it’s not for kids. https://bit.ly/allegoria-pc
ZX SPECTRUM: Climb the Magic Tower in this game from Seagal, with music by Lee Bee. https://bit.ly/magictower-zx
VARIOUS: Between The Scanlines is a fortnightly retro gaming and media fanzine you can download from https://betweenthescanlines.itch.io/
CHAMPION CODER - TONY WARRINER
From: Kingston upon Hull, England
Website: https://ufospares.itch.io/
Format: Spectrum Next
Previous game: Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars (various)
Working on: UrbX Warriors (Spectrum Next)
Industry veteran Tony is working with artist Stoo Cambridge on UrbX Warriors.
What got you interested in programming the Spectrum Next?
I’d always been excited by the idea of the Next and backed the first Kickstarter for it (KS1). When it arrived it was actually a lot more impressive than, I think, most people ever imagined it would be. The team actually over delivered. I played with it a bit but wasn’t sure of a way into commercial development. But then, in November 2023, I attended CRASH! Live and was blown away by the enthusiasm and obvious momentum behind the project and really wanted to contribute. At this point I gave the idea a lot more thought and started talking with Chris Wilkins of Fusion Retro about taking on a project.
What games inspired your new game UrbX Warriors?
What we talked about in the early days was how much we liked the simplicity of arcade cabinet games - they were very easy to get into, but threw the player straight into the action and got them hooked. We also played Gauntlet a bit on the MegaDrive because it stood out as not just a great game but one which could perhaps evolve further. That took us to the 8 bit Arcade Adventure genre (related to today’s Metroidvania) and we wondered whether all these things could be mixed together and reborn on the Next.
What is the plot behind the game?
The game is set in the modern day and centres around the trend for ‘urban exploring’. Our heroes take a trip out to the jungle and hunt down some odd looking remains they’ve seen on satellite images. They’re expecting to breeze in and out and return with all manner of valuable ancient artefacts, but instead they are dragged into a nightmarish hellhole and have to combine brain and brawn to have any chance of escaping to tell the story!
What is your development environment, and any major tools used?
Well, I’m prototyping the code using Love2D/Lua on a Mac. Then, when it works and looks like the right thing, I switch to a Windows PC and code it into Z80 using SublimeText + sjasmplus, testing on Mike Dailly’s CSpect emulator and then, once in a while, running it on a real Next. I am hoping someone produces a Next version of the PDS system we used for 8 and 16 bit development to really complete the picture.
How does the Next compare with your 1980s experience of 8-bit programming?
It is considerably more complicated! The Next is a clever thing - on the one hand it’s still a Spectrum, but the additional functionality - hardware sprites, tile maps, hardware scrolling, and so on - turn it into the Super Spectrum we all dreamt of back in the day. Coding a full game that uses all this new stuff in Z80 assembler is not for the faint hearted though!
How did Stoo Cambridge become involved?
I was on a panel with Stoo at ZZAP! Live back in August 2023 and we got on like a house on fire. It slowly dawned on us that we should get together and do a project as the fit was perfect - me on code, and Stoo on art.
How easy is it to collaborate with Stoo?
Very easy! We both have roots in the 80’s and 90’s and have achieved some good stuff; me with Revolution and Stoo with Sensible. We like to do things a certain way and to a certain standard. It seems like we’re speaking the same language so the process has been very easy.
How many levels will the final game have?
The map is pretty big - it’s a good job the Next has tons of memory to pack it all into!
Are you planning a physical release?
Yes, absolutely. Being able to create beautiful packaging is a big part of what we’re doing with this project. This is not a game that will suddenly disappear because some licensing arrangement has ended, or some servers somewhere got switched off. We are all part of the movement back to owning real things that have been crafted into life.
Do you have any other Next (or indeed retro) projects in development?
I have another project called Wormhole Dungeon, which is another Arcade Adventure, but PC based as it’s quite complex. It probably needs another year of work which is looking tricky given we plan to port UrbX upwards through the Amiga to PC and then perhaps Mega Drive and Dreamcast. I’m going to be extremely busy far into the future!
Are there any Next games that have impressed you?
When I saw Head Over Heels (Michael ‘Flash’ Ware) I knew it was something special, and set the standard very high.
DATABURST - REVIEWS
Inspector Waffles: Early Days
Format: Game Boy Color / Steam
Credits: Goloso Games (developer), Broke Studio (publisher)
Price: TBC digital/physical
The follow-up to 2021’s point-and-click adventure Inspector Waffles, when a rare videogame is stolen, Waffles and his partner Pancakes must work out who is responsible – the first of six cleverly interlinked cases. It is ... an enjoyable and realised world, with animal-related puns and real-world references that help build believability. An enjoyable addition to the detective genre.
[Score] 86%
Marlow in Apocalyptic Acid World
Format: ZX Spectrum (128K)
Credits: Amaweks
Price: $6 (digital download)
Inspired by The Great Giana Sisters, Marlow must fight back against a computer AI by defeating the Landlords in their Panoptic Towers. Cue superb flick-screen platforming action across 17 different levels and five boss fights. Split into two separate loads, there is great detail and style in the surreal graphics accompanied by a brilliant soundtrack. This is Amaweks’ best game for your Spectrum yet.
[Score] 90% - Retro Gamer Sizzler
Flea 2
Format: NES (reviewed), Dreamcast (TBC)
Credits: Lowtek Games
Price: $9.99 (digital download) / physical cartridge TBC
Fiendish level design means the game has a good learning curve and gets trickier gradually. There are also clever forced-scrolling levels as you flee a flight of wasps. Jump on this tough, top-notch sequel today.
[Score] 88%
PROCESSING - SUPERDAN PREVIEW
Kannagichan is working on SuperDan, a technically impressive vertically-scrolling shoot ‘em up for the SNES.
What games did it take inspiration from?
Mainly Raiden and Dodonpachi.
A bit like Super Aleste in some ways, but more for the technical side, not really in the gameplay.
What is your development environment?
I'm on Linux (MX Linux).
For the code I use Geany which is a small IDE that is easily configurable and lightweight.
Audacity for the sound.
And GIMP for the graphics.
Tiled to make maps and place enemies.
I code with a language that I created "Higueul", it is faster than C, and higher level than asm, it is a language between C and asm.
The problem with the SNES is that there is no good C compiler for this machine.
And the machine is not very powerful, so you need a very optimized language.
That's why I created my own language that optimizes pretty well for the SNES.
Are there any tricks or special techniques that the game uses?
It doesn't really use any, except that it will probably be the first SNES shmup that displays 100 bullets on the screen!
In total, you will have 128 sprites on the screen.
I had to optimize quite a bit to get this result.
Otherwise, it also uses transparency and some palette effects, it's not a rare or special technique, but I think it gives a good visual effect.
When do you hope to release the game, and will it be both physical and downloadable?
I don't know exactly when the game will be released, there will be a Kickstarter in 2025.
The game will be released either in late 2025 or 2026.
But I won't wait for my game to come out to continue the next project, so I hope my next SNES project will be around late 2025 or before.
And of course, the game will be available in cartridge and digital versions.
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