The Spectrum 40th Birthday Game Mix Tape bundle is LIVE! :D

[Quantum Sheep]

Hey all, hope you're doing good!

Great news! The ZX Spectrum 40th Birthday Game Mix Bundle has gone live!

You can find it here: https://itch.io/b/1343/the-zx-spectrum- ... e-mix-tape

Yay!

The bundle is $10 for about 34 games worth around $55, which itch.io helpfully informs me is a saving of 82%

All money will go to Special Effect, who are an awesome charity working in games. You can read about their worthy cause here: https://www.specialeffect.org.uk

The bundle will run for two weeks from today (April 16th) till the last day of the month!

I've made a new post so that the list of games included is on the first page. Hope that's ok.

Some notes:

[*]Some games are free (about 30% I think) but some of those have been modified. For example, Where did the Moon Go? has additions that specifically mention Special Effect. Additionally, this game had not previously been released as far as I know, and was put up on itch.io specifically for this bundle!

[*]It's worth downloading the games from the actual game pages themselves. When I download the items in the bundle, sometimes the free stuff is not included. For example, my game Last Train to Tranz-Central has part 1 free, and part 2 is paid for. When downloading from the bundle, only the paid for content is included (which means people might miss part 1 completely). Just a heads up there!

[*]It's worth reading any documentation that comes with a game to avoid frustration. I couldn't work out the keys on one title (not the classic QAOP alas) and had to look them up in the help document!

[*]Some games are 128k only, so watch out for that!


I owe a huge thank you to all the developers who very generously donated their games, both paid and free. This would not have been possible without you.

Thank you so much!

The world can be a horrible place. Everyone has come together to show that even a 40 year old computer can inspire people's generosity. Thank you for your support, and I hope you have fun exploring the bundle!


QS =D


Full list of games at launch:

80s Nostalgia:
Where did the Moon Go?

AppSir:
Prima Dere ZX

Blerkotron:
Unhallowed

Chernandezba:
Cursor Draw Reborn

Cosmium:
Quadron

Pat Morita Team:
Shovel Adventure
Tokimal
Bat Boy
Black & White
Ninjakul
Ninkjakul 2

Bee Bush:
Forg Want Love

Evan Wright:
Retro Adventure Collection

Vintage Software Systems:
Cosmic Space Attack

Javier Fopiani:
Alien Girl

Jim Blimey:
SubBlitz

Jordi:
Misifu Remeow

Mike Richmond:
Vegetables

Minilop Retro:
The Swarm is Coming
Cocoa 2: Twenty Four Hour Parsley People

Packobilly:
Somewhere in Hell

PCNONO:
Trashman Crisis Time
Adventures Continue

Psychic Parrot:
Chopper Defence

Quantum Sheep:
Last Train to Tranz-Central
Main Course
The Seance
The Lava Birds (released on April 23rd)

SloanySoft:
Forward to the Past

Teknamic:
Laserbirds

Toku Soft:
Project Vaelius

World XXI Soft:
Thieves School

Zanklesoft:
Doom Pit

ZX Davies:
Alien Slaphead

Three games have been added to the bundle thank to generous donors!


Chez Maxime ZX by Highrise

Ooze: The Escape by Bubblesoft Games

Robot 1 in The Planet of Death by Prefim

Albatrossity by Jonathan Cauldwell

Edited by PJ at request of QS.

[Mousey]

Thanks so much for organising this. I’m not rich so only paid the $10 (which converted to £7.99) but hopefully a lot of people will get behind this wonderful idea.

[firelord]

Bought it
Very good bundle

Just a note (as I told in another place): I would pay for a bundle that contained only free ZX games only because they we in one easy to get place
I would support a bundle with free games that money were split evenly between developers - not only for charity (in our times every penny/cent counts ).

[Andre Leao]

Thank you for all your effort and for turning this world a little bit better. I just hope this will become a huge success and people join this cause.

[cmal]

Just purchased. Great selection of games and for a good cause. Thanks to all the developers for your generosity and the many hours you spent on developing, testing...and retesting. Also thank you @Quantum Sheep for getting this organized and for your own game contributions.

[Daveysloan]

Love that this is going well! Very much looking forward to having a go on some of these later.

Great work Sheepie!

[Quantum Sheep]

[/quote]

Thanks so much for organising this. I’m not rich so only paid the $10 (which converted to £7.99) but hopefully a lot of people will get behind this wonderful idea.

Hey, thank you for supporting the bundle!

Bought it
Very good bundle

Just a note (as I told in another place): I would pay for a bundle that contained only free ZX games only because they we in one easy to get place

Thank you!

As far as I can tell you cannot make a bundle of entirely free games on itch. I may be wrong! However, I made a quick collection of about 100 free games for you you can find here: https://itch.io/c/2436970/free-speccy-games

There are many more, but hopefully that's a good start for you!

Thank you for all your effort and for turning this world a little bit better. I just hope this will become a huge success and people join this cause.

Fingers, toes and eyes crossed!

Just purchased. Great selection of games and for a good cause. Thanks to all the developers for your generosity and the many hours you spent on developing, testing...and retesting. Also thank you @Quantum Sheep for getting this organized and for your own game contributions.

Thank you for your support!

Love that this is going well! Very much looking forward to having a go on some of these later.

Yep, me too! When I finish responding to people I may have a sit down and a cup of tea and a play of these games!

Some other good news: There are some developers that I didn't hear back from in time to include in the bundle who are now saying they'd like to be part of it! So, with any luck, we'll be able to add a few more games to the list if all goes well!

Thanks again everyone for your kind words and your kind support!

QS =D

[Daveysloan]

I have zero qualms bumping this thread.

Just completed Adventures Continue from the bundle & it's a brilliant puzzle game & one of the few games I hadn't already bought.

Over the moon to see how well this bundle is doing, if you haven't already got it, it's well worth snapping up.

[merman]

Purchased, great selection of games

[scoppack]

Playing through this lot, I'm never going to get time for any coding!

[highrise]

hey guys

I didn't see the message from QS until a couple of days ago. As well as donating my latest game, Chez Maxime, I've called up a few coding buddies and they've agreed to add games to the bundle. Admittedly some of them are free already but I thought it would be great if the total number of games was 40 games for 40 years - so watch this space for an update!

[Quantum Sheep]

Hey all!

I just wanted to thank everyone for their support - the bundle has so far (at time of writing) raised over $2500 for Special Effect!

That's incredible, and there's still 10 days left!

The current target is $4800 so we're over half way there! If we reach that, the next target will be 16k and then 48k. I'm sure you see the pattern!

While I don't think we'll hit those heady heights, I am buoyed by everyone's generosity and enthusiasm for the bundle so far!

Thank you all for that! I hope you enjoy playing through the games as much as I have!

As a reminder, you can grab the bundle here:

https://itch.io/b/1343/the-zx-spectrum- ... e-mix-tape

Another massive thanks to the Speccy developers who've contributed games to the bundle. It literally would not be possible without you!

Thank you!

As Highrise mentions, we're hoping to add more to the bundle while it's live! While some are indeed free, some have been uploaded to itch.io for the first time just to participate, which is fantastic!

If we can get Chez Maxime in, and when my own game The Lava Birds goes live on the 23rd, the value of the bundle will have increased to around $60!

Again, thank you all! I'll update you on when the new games go in - there's some real crackers in there to add to the ones already available!

Cheers, from the heart of my bottom, and the bottom of my heart!

QS =D

[firelord]

Can the bundle time be extended so we can reach 40 games or -even better- 48 ?

[Quantum Sheep]

Just a quick update!

Three games have been added to the bundle thank to generous donors!


Chez Maxime ZX by Highrise

Ooze: The Escape by Bubblesoft Games

Robot 1 in The Planet of Death by Prefim


Thank you, you three! Much appreciated!

Dear admins - is there any way to add these fine fellows and their games to the original post please? Thank you!

We're currently up to 38 items - 36 games, 1 tool, 1 charity page - in the bundle with a value of $59 - and more to come! You can find them all here:

https://itch.io/b/1343/the-zx-spectrum- ... e-mix-tape

We've currently raised $2794 with nine days to go. Hopefully we can hit the $4800 target!

Waiting on a few more items, and I'm still hoping to hear back from Amaweks and Sequentia Soft - I did send them messages before the bundle went live but have not heard anything back

If anyone is in contact with them (or any other devs) and they'd like to contribute, could you point them here please?

I think (hope!) that the bundle represents good value for money and that those that have it already are enjoying it!

Many thanks to you all!

QS =D

[PeterJ]

OP edited @Quantum Sheep.

[Quantum Sheep]

OP edited @Quantum Sheep.

Thank you!

I knew as soon as I mentioned something we'd have to add something else!

Jonathan Cauldwell has generously donated his game Albatrossity and his Speccy game making tool, MPAGD.

Sorry to ask again so soon, but can we update the original page again? :O

I use MPAGD to make my own Spectrum games, so can recommend it!

Now everyone that has the bundle has no excuse to not make games

Anyway, that take us up to 40 items! And though the value hasn't gone up, it should break $60 when I add my own new game on Saturday! Made with MPAGD

Hopefully we'll get a bit of a boost then as it's the Speccy's Birthday!

Thanks again!

QS =D

[PeterJ]

All done @Quantum Sheep. Just PM me directly if you want any more updates.

[R-Tape]

A good bundle for a good cause. Purchased

[Quantum Sheep]

A good bundle for a good cause. Purchased

Thank you!

Just an update here on the Speccy's 40th Birthday - we have so far raised over $3500, which is bloody amazing! Thank you!

Here's a little montage of everything you get in the bundle so far!



Beautiful, isn't it?

*wipes tear from eye*

Once again, thank you to all those that purchased the bundle, to all the generous developers that donated their games, and to the Spectrum itself.

Happy 40th, old friend. Lovely to see you being a positive force in the world still after all these years!

QS =D

[Quantum Sheep]

Another update!

At time of writing we've collectively raised over $4100 for Special Effect and have four days(ish) left till we hit our target of $4800 :O

Thank you all! That's amazing!



A reminder of what Special Effect does: https://www.specialeffect.org.uk/what-we-do/our-work

And a link to the bundle itself: https://itch.io/b/1343/the-zx-spectrum- ... e-mix-tape

A couple of notes:

Itch.io have been awesome, but I've not heard back yet about adding a couple more items to the bundle. I'll chase them up - it'll be nice to have them, though right now we have 40 items in the bundle!

Please do tell everyone you know who may be interested about the bundle! Time's running out and I'd love it if we could hit the target!

Many thanks to all of you for your support. The old guard, giving something back. Wonderful!

QS =D

[Quantum Sheep]

WE DIT IT! \o/


This evening, we hit our goal of $4800 for Special Effect thanks to a very generous purchase of $85

Honestly I think I'm till in shock so I won't write much right now, just enough to say THANK YOU!

Also, again, a reminder of what Special Effect does: https://www.specialeffect.org.uk/what-we-do/our-work

And a link to the bundle itself which still has 3 days to go!: https://itch.io/b/1343/the-zx-spectrum- ... e-mix-tape

Thank you to everyone that contributed to the bundle itself, and to all those that bought it.

I like to think that Sir Clive himself might have been a tad pleased that his 40 year old machine was still doing good this many years later!

Thank you!

QS =D

[Quantum Sheep]

Hello! Me again!

Couple of exciting things!

At time of writing, we have reached $5053 raised for Special Effect, which is amazing. I keep saying this, and it becomes more sincere each time - thank you all!

The second thing is that we finally managed to get a couple of extra items into the bundle - namely ADGX+ via Highrise and Dungeon Raiders by Andy McDermott (who kindly uploaded the game to itch.io so it could be included in the bundle!).

We now have a life, the universe, and everything 42 items in the bundle, so if you got it early, make sure to check back and download the rest of the added stuff!

https://itch.io/b/1343/the-zx-spectrum- ... e-mix-tape

Again, thank you!

TWO DAYS TO GO!

*sheepyhugs*

QS =D

[Quantum Sheep]

Less than 12 hours left, with $5405 raised for Special Effect so far! :O

https://itch.io/b/1343/the-zx-spectrum- ... e-mix-tape

Let's get it ti $5500, eh?

QS =D

[Quantum Sheep]

Hello again! Just me, talking to myself as usual

Well, the bundle is now over, and our grand total at the end was $6310 for Special Effect (https://www.specialeffect.org.uk) which is amazing!

Thank you all so much, whether you bought the bundle, donated a game to it, promoted it - or all three! Thank you!

We'll do this all again in 10 years time, eh? And if you make games, that should be enough notice to get something done for that

Thank you all again!

QS =D

[firelord]

Congratulations

We can do it again at anytime when there are 48 or 128 ZX Games -free or not