Gateway to Apshai - Sega Genesis Upscale

Epyx’s Gateway to Apshai is a game I grew up playing on my Commodore 64 back in the 80’s. It was the first dungeon crawler I ever played and is still fun to play today.

These are my initial thoughts as to what I would like to see in a 16-bit port. Palettes need to be resolved, graphics need further refinement, and additional detail will be added as I get a better sense of what is possible.

This is not the first time I have done a rescale of this game, last year I mocked up a 1-bit Arduboy port.

View fullsize

1-bit Arduboy descale.

View fullsize

Gateway to Apshai hero - Lot’s of opportunity to infuse character into this sprite.

View fullsize

Dungeon Map.

This project is in it’s infancy so I don’t want to advertise the potentials just yet, but as always, there is a chance that this project could continue to grow. Here’s to hoping!

GameMaker Development - Bedroom added

I really had a feeling that if I rendered Faux’s place in pixels, it would be perfect stage for a game that focuses on our relationship and our ongoing efforts to grow a life together.

The next step in this project will be to start mapping out the exterior garden. Plenty of photos were taken at peak season to ensure a grand interpretation. With fall fast upon us, the colder weather should provide plenty of incentive to want to revisit that warmth. I am excited to start growing our pixel garden in the warmth of the studio.

I promise I will also have more papercraft projects coming soon!

View fullsize

Faux really knows how to put a room together and she also made the quilt on the bed!

Commodore 1541 Disk Drive Papercraft

I was about 10 when I first saw Hover Bovver on my friend's C-64. He had a disk drive and fists fulls of games. I had a 64 for a while at that point but had been limited by the few cartridge games I could find in my small town and a very slow Datasette.

View fullsize

The iconic 1541 drive I pined for as a kid.

View fullsize

This drive would make my C64 a killer games machine.

I begged my mom for a disk drive for years before finally getting one towards the end of the Commodore's run. I bought a shiny new 1541-C (don't worry, the papercraft is a period correct 1541). Even though the scene in town had dwindled to about three kids, I quickly "amassed" hundreds of games. I was often more interested in the "cracktos" featured at the beginning of the games than the games themselves.

View fullsize

Now I can shout out Hokuto Force!

This papercraft is dedicated to the times I spent experiencing exotic greetings from overseas in a time before the internet made such worldwide shout-outs commonplace.

The download is here. The papercraft model includes:

• New Commodore 1541 disk drive

• Two 5.25" floppy diskettes

• Swappable screen faceplates

• Improved Commodore 64 pattern

• Updated Commodore 1701 monitor pattern

View fullsize

A couple of 5.25" floppy diskettes with a few games I owned back in the day.

Thanks so much for all the recent attention. I am glad these projects are providing enjoyment for others as well. Anticipate more updates in this Commodore papercraft series on this site. There are a LOT of accessories and I am also very nostalgic for these times.

View fullsize

Now you can represent your favorite Demoscene with four interchangeable faceplates.

Hallway, Studio, Bathroom Outlines Complete

Very excited to see continued progress on this project. I promise colour and details will follow but I must first outline the kitchen and the bedroom. I force myself to stay at this limited level of detail in order to remain flexible in the overall design. Also, it has been said, that you can't help but get better as you practice your pixelwork. By the time I have completed outlining, I am hoping I will have gained enough skill to fill in the gaps.

The trailer is beginning to take shape!

Here is a sample of the in-game door functionality. Doors allow for "privacy".

The final two rooms are smaller than the "first two" but are both full of interesting details so I will avoid the impulse to start rushing. This is a labour of love!

My Home Circa 1990

I grew up with a Commodore. One of my favorite things to do was draw pictures of my house using the PETSCII characters on the keyboard. Back in the day there was no way to easily save this drawings so the image above is a modern take using the very cool PLAYSCII editor.

Puyo Puyo SharpSCII

Puyo Puyo Tetris is available for the switch, but this Madou Monogatari spinoff got its start back in 1991 for the MSX and the Famicom Disk System. I think Puyo Puyo would look pretty handsome as a MX-700 port.

Sharp MZ-700 Super Mario Bros Mockup

I grew up making PETSCII illustrations on my C64 so I had to try my hand at some SHARPSCII.

BC's Quest for Tires - Arduboy Mock-up

BC's Quest for Tires is another favorite I can enjoy on the Commodore 64, Colecovision, and the Atari 8-bit. I am really happy with how my Arduboy mock-up turned out.

Jumpman Arduboy Mock-up

I recently got an Arduboy and I think it's a pretty fantastic little device. Inspired by the very low resolution display (128px x 64px) I decided to do a few mock-ups. My Jumpman port looks doable if only to punish the gamer's eyes. I LOVED Jumpman on the C64, Atari 8-bit, and Colecovison.

Retro Challenge 2016/10 - Day 31 - FINAL

It was a lot of had work but I have finally completed the Retro Challenger for 2016. It was a fun experience as always. Perhaps one day I will team up with a programmer and Super Mario will find another home on the Commodore.

But that'll be for another Challenge. Thanks a million for all the support!

Retro Challenge 2016/10 - Day 29

Thought I was finished? So did I, well almost. The SMB3 experience would not be complete without the Battle Game which is a shout out to the original Mario Bros. game.

Retro Challenge 2016/10 - Day 27

I felt Canadian's in the 80's were quick to abandon old computer tech in favour of game consoles and eventually PCs. I was playing with my Commodore 64 for years after it had fallen out of favor. The 16-bit computer era practically passed us by. There is a lot of beauty wrapped up in limitation so I believe I will continue to appreciate what 8-bit and 16-bit system do.

Retro Challenge 2016/10 - Day 25

I remember playing Super Mario Bros 3 for the first time. I rented it from out Canadian Tire (CT rented out games in our small town). I remember it like it was yesterday. My younger sister and I sat in front of our television and were transfixed as we played through the whole experience. I always had similar times with the Commodore so it only seems fitting to pay tribute to two of my favourite systems.

Retro Challenge 2016/10 - Day 23

Mario reaches the final bonus stage before reaching the castle.

Retro Challenge 2016/10 - Day 21

The leaf is green on the map screen and in the Mushroom Houses but red in the game. I wonder why this is?

Retro Challenge 2016/10 - Day 19

The NES uses 2x2 tiles (16x16px) to define its world whereas my Commodore version uses 3x2 tiles (12x16px). This can make certain objects, like the rotating hammer especially challenging and interesting to translate.

Retro Challenge 2016/10 - Day 17

Mario takes a break from stomping Goombas to play a card game with Toad.

Retro Challenge 2016/10 - Day 14

World 1-6 represents the final numbered level in the Grass Lands. Do you remember all the other areas hidden in World 1? Stay tuned for the answer!

Retro Challenge 2016/10 - Day 12

Mario goes spelunking, takes a dip, and flies into coin-filled clouds in World 1-5.