How fast does 25 years pass? In the blinking of an eye, I fear. For it really was 25 years ago that my game Slightly Magic was released. I'm always a little nervous when I release something new, but in Slightly's case I needn't have been. He's done me proud over the years, and so I couldn't let this anniversary pass without throwing a magical bean feast. Actually there'll be more than one magical event this year, but I'm sworn to secrecy on the others for a while. However, as a party-starting taster for the awesomeness that's yet to come, a new full-colour art book is available now on Amazon. It's called 'The Making of Slightly Magic' and features some fascinating insights from myself together with the marvellous artwork of Chris Graham. It's well worth a look if you've an interest in games, retro or modern.
It only seems right that I should mention my latest artistic endeavour - let's be honest, no one else is going to. Hold on to your hats, and set your alarm early for Wednesday, 1st of June. From 8.10 in the morning (don't ask), the world's music streaming services will echo to the silence of people not playing my new EP. Nôl is a 3 track EP from Sŵn Colin Jones - The Colin Jones Sound, featuring two traditional Welsh melodies (Ar Lan y Môr and Suo Gân) together with my new composition Nôl. I'm very happy with it. If you do have an idle fifteen minutes I'd say it's worth a listen.
Here’s the thing. Nobody tells you that you’re retro, and you never quite know when it happens. I spent my early working life writing computer games for the ZX Spectrum, C64 and Commodore Amiga. I had some success, writing and programming Slightly Magic, Rock Star Ate my Hamster, both released by Codemasters. I also programmed versions of the ground-breaking Deus Ex Machina for Mel Croucher and Automata. The computer games industry in the UK contracted dramatically just when I was at my zenith, and I found myself becoming a tutor and writer. Time passed. It hit me when Retro Gamer Magazine contacted me for the second time to do a second article on one of my games – Ah, I get it. I’m now officially retro. You can’t change that, you’re no longer hip, cool, or even vaguely cutting edge. That kind of hurts. But then, another realisation hits like a careering mobility scooter on a dark pavement – You might be retro, but there’s one thing worse than being retro, and that’s being forgot...