Al's Spectrum Annual 2020

[Alessandro]

2019 was an exceptional year in terms of both quantity and quality for the Spectrum homebew scene. Wishing to have a say about the titles that impressed me the most, I was going to make a video for my YouTube channel. When the new year came, however, I thought I would have liked to do something different. Something more lasting and detailed than that. Thus I conceived the idea of an annual magazine hosting my views about 25 games that I picked from those released in 2019.

I also wanted to do something a bit wider in scope and asked for an interview to the groups behind El Mundo del Spectrum and Bitmap Soft, which they both kindly accepted. And since I obviously cannot review my own games, I wrote a feature about Sophia II and Ad Lunam, a behind-the-scenes view with facts and insight.

Finally, I added some anticipation about my Spectrum-related projects for 2020.

This is what you will find in Al's Spectrum Annual 2020, a 32-page A4 PDF magazine for Spectrophiles everywhere, simultaneously published in Italian, English and Spanish. Download it for free from:

http://www.alessandrogrussu.it/annuario.html

Enjoy!

[vanpeebles]

Lunchtime reading sorted

[DouglasReynholm]

Thanks Alessandro, reading this over breakfast. Great quality and the English version is very much appreciated. Also a couple of titles that I missed so far to try out (Comeme el Chip/Redshift).

[Adrian_Singh]

Excellent, this is really well put together Alessandro with great insights and reflections from both a developer's perspective and knowledge of spectrum games in general. I'll be taking my time reading through given the time and thought you've clearly put into the writing and production of it.

Great work!

[Alessandro]

Thank you all

Meanwhile, I made a couple of corrections to the English version, nothing really serious - some names/titles now in italics instead of normal letters, "dungeon" replacing "underground" in the Sophia II feature etc.

[stupidget]

Fantastic read Al and presented really well.

Some of that SpecArt is stunning

[Morkin]

Thanks Alessandro, a great read, appreciate the effort putting together these publications and making the multi-lingual versions

Assuming it's a recent photo, that rubber keyed Speccy looks absolutely pristine...

I like the tone of your rating system, seemed a nice way of giving your opinion without discouraging anyone from trying the games.

The Ad Lunam article was an interesting read, I now feel a bit guilty because I didn't really give the game a proper go when it was announced. I guess I was a bit rushed and didn't have a great deal of time to get into it.

Will endeavour to try it again, as I don't remember seeing too many strategy homebrews in recent times (though I'm sure there have been a few I've missed).

[8BitAG]

Very cool. Nice to see a text adventure reviewed, too.

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Had a quick view of the mag and looks cool. I'll read it later.

[Alessandro]

Thanks again

[mention]Morkin[/mention]: That photo was taken in 2010 for the Spectrumpedia, but that Spectrum is really in that condition even nowadays It is a 48K, Issue 3 model, with the composite mod and a new keyboard membrane. It was the first I bought on Ebay of my current collection. I use it to test my programs before release.

The rating system was not designed from the start, but actually after I wrote the reviews. I recommend playing all of the games, but at the same time I wish to express how much they impressed me.

[mention]8BitAG[/mention]: Yes, best text adventure of 2020 for me, and one of the most pleasing and intriguing I have played in years. I even wrote a walkthrough of it for the Tipshop.

[Manu128k]

Wonderful job, Alessandro! I've enjoyed every page of it!

[Alessandro]

In just a couple of days, the feedback has been universally positive. Yay!

I am considering the possibility of a printed 32-page, full color A4 stapled magazine with a glossy cover. The cost per copy - considering the magazine would be printed in very small numbers - would be, on a rough estimate comprehensive of postage, around € 7-8 for Italy and € 10-12 for Europe.

What about it?

[PeterJ]

Very nice [mention]Alessandro[/mention]

Big thanks for the English version.

[djnzx48]

If you're doing a print run, you might want to know that the text at the top of the English version's page 10 is in Italian, perhaps by mistake.

[Alessandro]

If you're doing a print run, you might want to know that the text at the top of the English version's page 10 is in Italian, perhaps by mistake.

It was a mistake in fact, thanks for pointing that out.

A printed edition will depend from the demand for it, maybe I should create a poll about it. I'll let a day or two pass so that people could read the annual thoroughly and decide whether they would also like a paper version or not.

Unfortunately the magazine is likely to be read outside of Italy mostly, and this means high costs for postage. The cheaper shipping option costs about € 6 for 100-250 grams weight sent through international ordinary mail to Europe.

[patters]

Nice magazine, was an interesting read - thanks. It's curious that 2019 was such an active year for the Spectrum. I wonder if we've hit some natural peak time-availability for man projects in the demographics of 1980s Spectrum users, or could (as in my own case) media exposure like Black Mirror's Bandersnatch have appealed to collective retro sensibilities.

I'm also intrigued by your own academic and professional background from your CV. I have this default assumption that anyone who shares this interest (and especially someone who develops titles) is a scientist, probably works in tech etc., but it appears you don't fit that generalisation.

[Alessandro]

[mention]patters[/mention]: thank you, not only for reading the magazine, but also for taking the time to read my personal information Actually I agree with what you say, most of the times people actively creating something new in the retro scene have an IT background. I am glad to be one of the exceptions

Several of the titles I selected for the reviews were made for competitions, as it was the case with my own Sophia II. I think the idea of competing with other developers is a strong enough motivation to create something.

[PeterJ]

I got to sit down and enjoy this over the weekend [mention]Alessandro[/mention]. A very good read. Thank you.

Some of these titles you review I missed, so its good to be reminded of them.

[Alessandro]

Thank you [mention]PeterJ[/mention]

This was an experiment, made in three weeks, including translations. Feedback was very positive so I hope to publish a new issue next year, and to begin earlier this time