Tom Frost Profile
Tom Frost Profile
Having done a lot of research recently on Tom Frost's games for various archives, I've put together a process on the talented Scottish coder & "Britain's Best Adventurer"...
http://8bitag.com/info/tartan.html
http://8bitag.com/info/tartan.html
- Juan F. Ramirez
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Re: Tom Frost Profile
Nice read!
Re: Tom Frost Profile
Interesting read. He seems to be much older than your average teenage programmer from the 80s. Wonder what he's doing today.
Re: Tom Frost Profile
He would be in his 80s now, if he is/was still around.
Text adventure authors came in all ages and genders back then... they weren't just all spotty teenagers. Jack Lockerby, one of the most prolific adventure authors for the Spectrum,.. and he was in his sixties back then, iirc. There was certainly a huge age range attending the UK Adventurer's Convention back in the 90s, many of whom were programmers.
Re: Tom Frost Profile
Great read and makes we wish I'd spent a bit more time on GAC. It was the usual thing, where I had all these grand ideas about an adventure game, but, when it came to actually building it, it was such a daunting task even in GAC i'd just go back to a copy of Razzle
Re: Tom Frost Profile
Nice read.
I think I remember seeing those 'split' screen games, quite a nice idea.
I think I remember seeing those 'split' screen games, quite a nice idea.
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Re: Tom Frost Profile
Nicely presented and interesting bio. Enthusiasm, patience and determination required in bucket loads to successfully create a text adventure using those utilities all of which I have at least briefly explored! I remember 'Micro Adventurer' with fondness, it didn't last very long but it was one of my favourite computer magazines. I won a Stranglers tape 'Aural Quest' from one of their competitions. Never got very far with it though.
Re: Tom Frost Profile
Haha, yeah..! Having failed at The Hobbit, I remember trying to play Lord of the Rings, and trying to keep track of who I was/what I was doing...
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Re: Tom Frost Profile
Terrors of Trantoss was a 'sort of' split screen adventure where you controlled two characters:
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=7089
Interestingly Crash Issue 29 not only has a review of Terrors of Trantoss but also Spy Trilogy by Tartan Software:
https://ia902907.us.archive.org/8/items ... n_1986.pdf
Re: Tom Frost Profile
Trantoss wasn't really split-screen, it just had it's graphic window on the left of the screen rather than at the top, like most text & graphics adventures do. Technically you could say they're all split-screen too. The tool used for Trantoss, Ramjam's The Biro did allow for some more interesting screen layouts than the GAC or the PAW, though. As you can see from that game, Twice Shy, and also several of the unreleased projects that were going to use the system, like Three Days in Carpathia.stupidget wrote: ↑Fri Aug 23, 2019 11:43 am Terrors of Trantoss was a 'sort of' split screen adventure where you controlled two characters:
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=7089
There were quite a few multi-character text adventure games, but Tom's were interesting with the two viewpoints being represented side by side.
- Einar Saukas
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Re: Tom Frost Profile
Do you mean Twice Shy was also authored with The Biro?8BitAG wrote: ↑Fri Aug 23, 2019 12:14 pmTrantoss wasn't really split-screen, it just had it's graphic window on the left of the screen rather than at the top, like most text & graphics adventures do. Technically you could say they're all split-screen too. The tool used for Trantoss, Ramjam's The Biro did allow for some more interesting screen layouts than the GAC or the PAW, though. As you can see from that game, Twice Shy, and also several of the unreleased projects that were going to use the system, like Three Days in Carpathia.stupidget wrote: ↑Fri Aug 23, 2019 11:43 am Terrors of Trantoss was a 'sort of' split screen adventure where you controlled two characters:
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=7089
There were quite a few multi-character text adventure games, but Tom's were interesting with the two viewpoints being represented side by side.
Re: Tom Frost Profile
We've got it listed as having been so, on CASA. I will see if I can find the reference.Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Fri Aug 23, 2019 3:19 pm Do you mean Twice Shy was also authored with The Biro?
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Re: Tom Frost Profile
Good enough for me, there's no need for a reference.8BitAG wrote: ↑Fri Aug 23, 2019 3:29 pmWe've got it listed as having been so, on CASA. I will see if I can find the reference.Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Fri Aug 23, 2019 3:19 pm Do you mean Twice Shy was also authored with The Biro?
This information will be in the next ZXDB update. Thanks!
Re: Tom Frost Profile
Well... as I've just dug it out anyway...
Here's a reference to Twice Shy being created with the Biro
https://archive.org/details/Computer_Ga ... he+biro%22
And here's a nice big article on RamJam and The Biro (with a Twice Shy review) if anyone is interested.
https://archive.org/details/ComputerAnd ... he+biro%22
The Biro was an interesting utility. Developed for in-house use by RamJam. It was offered out to the general public to use with the proviso that anyone who made a game with it had to first get their game approved by RamJam before it could be released! Unsurprisingly, people didn't exactly rush to take them up on the offer when the Quill was available without such strings attached.
The creator of the system was interviewed by CASA, but he seemed to not know any of what RamJam went on to do with his tool.
http://solutionarchive.com/interview_tony/
Here's a reference to Twice Shy being created with the Biro
https://archive.org/details/Computer_Ga ... he+biro%22
And here's a nice big article on RamJam and The Biro (with a Twice Shy review) if anyone is interested.
https://archive.org/details/ComputerAnd ... he+biro%22
The Biro was an interesting utility. Developed for in-house use by RamJam. It was offered out to the general public to use with the proviso that anyone who made a game with it had to first get their game approved by RamJam before it could be released! Unsurprisingly, people didn't exactly rush to take them up on the offer when the Quill was available without such strings attached.
The creator of the system was interviewed by CASA, but he seemed to not know any of what RamJam went on to do with his tool.
http://solutionarchive.com/interview_tony/