2019-04-01_Retro_Gamer

WIZBALL (ZX SPECTRUM)
Q Simon Butler helped me with the initial layout
when we worked out how to translate Bob
Wakelin’s artwork to fit the Spectrum’s display. It
pops up when retro gamers are asked what their
favourite Spectrum loading screen is, which I’m
terribly chuffed about.

Steve left while Wizball was still

incomplete. One day he just didn’t turn

up for work and was never seen by

anyone at Ocean again. The game was

finished off by Paul Owens, another

Z80 programmer, and released late.

It had plenty of features that hadn’t

been implemented and went out to

the shops, in my opinion, unfinished. I

wasn’t happy... but it was my first, and

definitely not my last, lesson in the

unpredicable nature of the industry, but

that’s a story for another time.

All art and images belong to Mark R

Jones, look out for his first book about

Ocean Software later this year.

» I translated Bob Wakelin’s amazing Wizball ar t to the Z X Spectrum’s

display, and feel I did a great job.

was still

ust didn’t turn

er seen by

he game was

s, another

eased late.

hat hadn’t

from the screen in order to translate
them onto the Spectrum. The only
headache I was currently having was
trying to get the impressive Mount
Rushmore graphic translated across.
The C64 version looked amazing so
my Spectrum equivalent had to be
spot on as well. After a few hours
of tinkering about my version was
looking rather pathetic. Having spent
a whole morning trying to do it by
hand I had a brain wave and found a
solution that involved a bit of cheating.
I affixed a piece of acetate to the
Commodore 64 screen, played the
latest Wizball demo and paused it
when Mount Rushmore appeared.
I then traced the graphic onto the
acetate with a pen then stuck the
acetate onto my Spectrum monitor
and drew round the traced image onto
the blank screen. Once I had drawn
the main shape on the Spectrum
I then filled in the detail using the
traditional method. It was crude, but
it worked.

UMMM)

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ate Bob

m’s display. It

ed what their

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» I translated Bob Wakelin’s amazing

display, and feel I did a great job.

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translate

The only

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RETRO GAMER | 49