90s

I have not really been working on Dawnstar since fall, but when I do work on the dev portions, I tend to make large strides in bursts. This is no different.

 

After much feedback from some of the Steam Greenlighters, I was able to use Ren’py’s new tools to make a custom chat box. In this instance, I went with a retro-looking “computron” frame for the box. Gave the name it’s own spot on the top, and everything can flow freely on the bottom, while leaving room for the characters!

 

What do you guys think? Do you prefer this over the original black gradient? Let me know in the comments below.

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One of my most favorite games while growing up was a small shareware game that went by the name of Comet Busters. Having discovered it from my cousin approximately in 2001 off a shareware game CD, I was glued to this game for years until I had gotten ahold of my first AAA game, Halo. This game remained a favorite due to to the multiplayer capability, simplicity and how addictive it was.

LEDft

Fortunately, Steven Hugg was still around and still does development work. He agreed to tell me about his ventures and let me share them.

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Next on my list? A guy who made a very addictive puzzle game that was one of the first PC games for me to play; Bulldozer. I actually had to grab an old computer out of storage and fire up the “24 Games Collection” to find out its original creator, a company by the name of “The Code Zone”.

After finding out that they’re very much alive, I was able to get in contact with them and with John Hattan. Turns out, he was the guy who made the whole “24 Games” collection, including Bulldozer. And interesting enough, this was one of the more interesting interviews I’ve done so far.

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Hi guys,

As the blog slowly gets back on track, I unveil a short-term project for this early part of summer to entertain you! I know a portion of my readers are gamers of some sort, and in a special project digging into my past, I’m releasing a set of interviews I did with a few game developers and artists from the 90’s and 2000’s.

Many of these guys are people who made the games I loved when I grew up. Some are obscure “shareware” games, some are other semi-popular titles you may recognize. A few are some modern developers that have forayed into the modern world making games. As I have moved on and seen little or no information about the people behind them, I made an effort myself to delve into the history of the people and the games they made.

You can consider it a partial historical preservation project, genuinely interested in the people who made these games. I uncover how game design was back in the day, what the average developer faced and the stories behind how these actual games were created and worked on.

My list of guests include:

  • John Hattan – The Code Zone (24 Games Pack)
  • Adam Pedersen – Jetpack
  • Chuck Sommerville – Chuck’s Challenge, Chip’s Challenge
  • Parley S. Neely – Lunar BBall, historical puzzle games
  • Petite Games (William) – Midnight, Destronauts, Wii Game Developer
  • Walk Bilofsky – Original founder of The Software Toolworks
  • Scott A. Murray – Missile Master developer
  • Shane Watson – Artist, Fantasy Flight games, Space Empires
  • Steven Hugg – Comet Busters
  • Petter Henrikson – ClusterTruck developer
  • Louis Carrozzi – Far Gate developer
  • Dan Froelich – Solar Winds & Jungle Jill musician

(List is subject to change based on availability)

Posts are uploaded every Saturday evening. I have most of these interviews done already, so its just a matter of scheduling.
So grab your coffee, a Windows 95 box and be prepared to head back down memory lane to a time when the Internet barely existed and mail-order games were the thing.
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