Steve Wetherill

I was told I was “on the chopping block” in my first job in games.

Chapter 5 of my memoir is now live.

This continues my time at Software Projects in 1984, with no real idea what I was doing and nobody there to tell me otherwise, learning fast as I went.

It includes a wiped Tatung Einstein boot disk and porting *Manic Miner* and *Jet Set Willy* without the original source code.

It also marks a turning point. Getting those first games shipped, and realizing I could actually do this.

Posting on a Saturday this time instead of the usual Monday. We’ll see how that goes.

https://stevewetherill.substack.com/p/chapter-5-the-caveman-and-the-pirate

#GameDev #RetroGaming #SoftwareDevelopment #Programming #80sComputing #ZXSpectrum #Amstrad #ComputingHistory #VideoGames #Memoir #Writing #Substack

Chapter 5: The Caveman and the Pirate Ship

"The cavemen didn't need paintbrushes." Tommy Barton, 1984

Steve Wetherill
Apr 11 at 4:38pmWeb
Show threadJames Jefferies4d ago
@stevewetherill gosh, I’d forgotten all about the Tatung Einstein - I’ve a feeling we borrowed one briefly , will need to check with my Dad whether it was actually ours or not 🧐
Show threadSteve Wetherill4d ago
@jamesjefferies I might have used one as a dev kit a few years later. Companies such as Ocean in Manchester used them quite a bit, I believe.
Show threadMatthew "Smiffy" Smith3d ago

@stevewetherill Thank you for a fascinating read - I had Jetset Will II on my Spectrum, when I was about 14-15. I was terrible at it, because I was terrible at all games (and then gave up, as writing software is way easier than using it). Thanks for the memories, and the fun. The music on mine was I Dovergubbens Halle, to give it its original Norwegian name. I recall a friend who had, I think a Commodore, with music I did not recognise, but can still recall - and now wondering if that was yours.

Thanks to @arclight for boosting this into my feed.

Show threadSteve Wetherill3d ago

@grumpysmiffy @arclight thanks for your comment. If I am not mistaken, when Derrick ported the game back to the Spectrum, the music from the original Manic Miner, “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by Grieg was used. I think that’s the English version of what you wrote. :) I do vaguely recall somebody from Software Projects asking me to port the in game music I’d written for the Amstrad version back to the Spectrum after I’d left, but I never did that, so presumably they just ripped the music from Manic Miner and went with that.

The music I did sounded something like this (done on a lazy Sunday morning in Garage Band a few years back). Obviously the amount of sound processing in Garage Band is massive compared to the humble AY chip in the Amstrad. :)

Show threadMatthew "Smiffy" Smith2d ago
@stevewetherill That's the one! Thank you for one of my oldest earworms - considering that I only heard it the once. @arclight
Show threadQuazar1d ago

@stevewetherill Another great read Steve!

I can remember vividly my birthday in 1985. With a fresh tenner in hand I went to John Menzies and bought JSW2 and the current issue of Your Spectrum which had hacked the game to bits with a variety of POKEs and room teleporter, plus the full map of the game.

Later, I had to rebuy JSW2 on its budget re-release as I'd lost the inlay with the massive code card!

MM/JSW/JSW2, some of the best games on the ZX Spectrum. While we had a port of Manic Miner for the SAM Coupe in 1992 (with 60 caverns!), but JSW was never licensed/ported over. I filled the platforming gap with my 'Money Bags' Trilogy of games, originally releasing them between 1996-2004. (1 and 1.5 have since been re-released on the coverdisks with SAM Revival magazine and I'll shortly be re-releasing 2 as an updated edition)

Show threadSteve Wetherill1d ago
@quazarsamcoupe the Sam Coupe was very colorful! What is it, 16 colors from 128?
Show threadQuazar1d ago
@stevewetherill Yeap, that's right.
Show threadQuazar1d ago

@stevewetherill Although a lot of tricks to get more colours on screen at once, changing the palette registers at specific scan lines to suit your needs, which a lot of demos and games did.

Just as an example here is the Flash art software that was bundled with the SAM showing the entire palette as well as having it's own tool colours separate from the screen being edited...

Show threadPsychicParrot 🦜 (Jeff) 😷1d ago
@stevewetherill Sorry Steve, it sounds like an interesting story in your post but the AI slop images put me off reading any of it.
Show threadSteve Wetherill1d ago
@psychicparrot42 thanks for the feedback.