I had the pleasure of meeting Malcolm whilst at school. I had to find two week's work experience during my sixth form and I really wanted to write games and had noticed New Generation were based near by in Bath. I contacted Malcolm who explained that he wasn't writing games any more but was still coding for a touch-screen portable computer project and very kindly agreed to have me sit in his office on Lower Bristol Road for a fortnight trying to write some Z80 assembler that would work (not sure I managed that). He had a store room filled with disks, tapes and reams of documentation from his games and the various ports to other computers. A genuinely nice guy. Thanks for the video - it brought it all back.
I think any remake of Trashman should be set at 6am, and you should get bonus points for making as much noise as humanly possible. Extra lives are awarded for artistically arranging recycling bins in unusual positions, and putting 9 of the streets bins in front of the nearest house to where they park the truck.
So glad you mentioned the zx81s crap expansion pack afternoons spent typing in magazine codes only to nudge the machine and lose it all Arghh... Not to mention the argument I had with Smiths for trying to return it on this basis! Keep up the good work much appreciated.
The reason it was so crap was because they used the same RAM pack that the ZX80 had to save costs. The ZX80 had a nice flat back on it, but the ZX81 was angled, so the two didn't mate together as well as they should.
I loved trashman - had it on a ZZAPP cover tape back in the day. Also seem to remember one called Hover Bovver as well about mowing lawns. Gripping stuff :)
Yay the streams & vlog stuff are decent but these retrospective videos are why I fell in love with this channel in the first place & are where Kim really excels. Great stuff
Hi Kim. I've just discovered your channel and everything's gone a bit DeLorean! I used to work with Mike Singleton back in the OG days of gaming, and your excellent videos bring back lots of good memories of the good old days. More power to you.
Great memories, 2 of my favourite games of the era. 3D monster maze used to give me a major adrenaline rush (I was around 12) and got me into programming. Trashman is still a classic game. Nice to see the footage of 3D Defender.
Loved trashman. Spent my pocket money on it and coo'd at the amazing orthographic forced perspective. Beat the socks off Paperboy. Thanks for the video -had no idea all these beloved games were the same author.
Sometimes simple is just better. There's no melodrama to sit through, no equipping characters, no tutorial stage. Just "Welp, try not to die too much! Off with ya!" and you're thrown right in.
Wow 3d Monster Maze - quite an achievement for the hardware. And weird to think it's kind of a great grandparent of the excellent Alien Isolation (surely the best game to use the franchise). Top vid as always!
My Dad had an old Color Computer and we used to play a similar game Dungeons Of Dagorarth. My two kids used to hide their eyes in case the spider came. Now they play Call Of Duty, and I ask them if they are scared of the zombies. "Of course not." they answer "Are you? You big chicken." :-)
This was the first game I bought and played on the Spectrum, I remember my dad taking me to the local Hi-Fi shop(!) to buy this and Manic Miner for £5.95 each in 1984.
Ahhh I still love this game. I got it when I bought my first ZX81 back in the mists of time... I'm still massively impressed by 3D monster maze. :) . I had Trashman too. It was awful. lol. Nice video Kim. :)
at 18 I played 3d monster maze on my zx81...it was great...but I had no idea who wrote it or what motivated him. After that I went on to other things....but at 55 a professional software developer I find the details of who wrote this classic game awesome.
Imagine if a game like Garden Flipper came out back then. We're still picking up trash and trimming lawns in 2019. 8) I never had a Sinclair as the C64 and Amiga were my jam, but there's something absolutely charming about the color clashing. I love the effect. I'm currently designing an 8-bit computer that can use a modulo for the color fetches, allowing for different color block sizes than just 8x8.
Would it have worked as well though? I think they made 3D Tunnel instead, which looked amazing for the time but really lacked in game sadly. Frogs and rats don't really compare to dinosaurs, and the main replacement threat was an occasional tube train rushing by from a fork in the maze. It was a great visual effect but soon became too easy to avoid, so the whole game lacked the same level of tension. As I remember you could never stop in it too, it was constant motion (not played it for years though).
Here is a suggestion for a video: Teletext games. I had a Spectrum. For a week. Then it broke. Then a Vic20 (but radar rat race and some text adventure games provided about 3 hours of entertainment, tops). I had no Tiger games and it was a few years before I got a Master System. But there was one other option... Teletext Bamboozle. That would be a rad video.
for the year and the system they were on, they are really good games, running from the t-rex very simple game, but could get your heart going as you read the text
Back in the day I had 3D Tunnel (you didin't show the tube train effect - the best thing about it!) but I wish I had Knot in 3D instead, it had a much better rep. I never actually played Trashman but for some reason I decided to play its sequel when I came back to the Speccy on a nostaligia binge around 2000. I decided to play Travels with Trashman and Terrormolinos - I must have been needing a holiday I think! I thought Travels had a lot of character and was good value too with the amount of locations. It was perfectly playable (so I'm sure still is today), and I got a real buzz out finishing it. I really reminded me of what those Spectrum games could be like.
I loved Trashman. I never got far because I always got ran over but the game had that sense of exploring a world about it, even if it was pretty linear. Getting the bin man to come and "fix your TV" on his round is a bit suspect if you ask me, I wonder if he was just filling in when the milkman was off :-D
Loving your channel as always Kim, able to take everything I grew up with and make a video out of it. It reminds me of the Christmas I got my C64 and my friend got his Spectrum. Buying new games for £2 at Woolworth and reading reviews on Teletext. Keep up the good work. Since we’ve had a video about trash man, how about a video on Maelstorm (aka Postman Nasty) in the speccy?
I think the rename to Trashman probably helped the success of the game; made it sound American, which just seemed to be 'a thing' around that time. And it's a reminder of the days when the bin men came into the garden to get the bin, instead of having to put it out yourself!
I never played _3D Monster Maze_ (1982) but I did play the similar DOS game _3-Demon_ (1983) aka _Monster Maze_ , hmm… 🤔 There's also the Apple II game _Spectre_ (1982) and I suppose you could also count the TRS-80 game _Dungeons of Daggorath_ (1982) as well. I guess 3D mazes were really popular in the early 80's (of course _Maze War_ (1973) probably started the genre, and a lot earlier than expected).
So a guy enters an industry by doing a thing he likes/wants to do, makes good money and has fun by using his imagination and talent, then just moves on to other things without any bad turns, shenanigans or downfalls. Kind of surprised at this point lol.
It's an altered version of an introduction that used to be on all old BBC VIDEO video-tapes. It's definitely on lots of the old Dr Who ones. Hope that helps.
If you liked this then think about having a gander through my social media, and get yourself on my Patreon: www.patreon.com/KimbleJustice
I had the pleasure of meeting Malcolm whilst at school. I had to find two week's work experience during my sixth form and I really wanted to write games and had noticed New Generation were based near by in Bath. I contacted Malcolm who explained that he wasn't writing games any more but was still coding for a touch-screen portable computer project and very kindly agreed to have me sit in his office on Lower Bristol Road for a fortnight trying to write some Z80 assembler that would work (not sure I managed that). He had a store room filled with disks, tapes and reams of documentation from his games and the various ports to other computers. A genuinely nice guy. Thanks for the video - it brought it all back.
I think any remake of Trashman should be set at 6am, and you should get bonus points for making as much noise as humanly possible. Extra lives are awarded for artistically arranging recycling bins in unusual positions, and putting 9 of the streets bins in front of the nearest house to where they park the truck.
I just want them to come weekly again
@@oxogood9018 They come weekly where I live.
So glad you mentioned the zx81s crap expansion pack afternoons spent typing in magazine codes only to nudge the machine and lose it all Arghh... Not to mention the argument I had with Smiths for trying to return it on this basis!
Keep up the good work much appreciated.
The reason it was so crap was because they used the same RAM pack that the ZX80 had to save costs. The ZX80 had a nice flat back on it, but the ZX81 was angled, so the two didn't mate together as well as they should.
@@d2factotum Thanks, for the info, I only had it for a weekend before taking it back and saving up for a spectrum.
I loved trashman - had it on a ZZAPP cover tape back in the day. Also seem to remember one called Hover Bovver as well about mowing lawns. Gripping stuff :)
Yay the streams & vlog stuff are decent but these retrospective videos are why I fell in love with this channel in the first place & are where Kim really excels. Great stuff
Malcolm Evans was like 'reverse John Carmack', from aerospace development to game coding.
Hi Kim. I've just discovered your channel and everything's gone a bit DeLorean!
I used to work with Mike Singleton back in the OG days of gaming, and your excellent videos bring back lots of good memories of the good old days. More power to you.
Wow I must check out Trashman; I hadn't even heard of it until watching this video!
Monster Maze omg classic ! well done great to hear the story behind the games we all knew so well
Great memories, 2 of my favourite games of the era. 3D monster maze used to give me a major adrenaline rush (I was around 12) and got me into programming. Trashman is still a classic game. Nice to see the footage of 3D Defender.
Loved trashman. Spent my pocket money on it and coo'd at the amazing orthographic forced perspective. Beat the socks off Paperboy. Thanks for the video -had no idea all these beloved games were the same author.
Sometimes simple is just better. There's no melodrama to sit through, no equipping characters, no tutorial stage. Just "Welp, try not to die too much! Off with ya!" and you're thrown right in.
Wow 3d Monster Maze - quite an achievement for the hardware. And weird to think it's kind of a great grandparent of the excellent Alien Isolation (surely the best game to use the franchise).
Top vid as always!
These retrospective videos on specific Speccy developers/coders are fantastic. Keep up the good work!
Excellent video but ... I was eating when you came out with that line about last night's tuna pasta. Bleurgh.
My Dad had an old Color Computer and we used to play a similar game Dungeons Of Dagorarth. My two kids used to hide their eyes in case the spider came. Now they play Call Of Duty, and I ask them if they are scared of the zombies. "Of course not." they answer "Are you? You big chicken." :-)
This was the first game I bought and played on the Spectrum, I remember my dad taking me to the local Hi-Fi shop(!) to buy this and Manic Miner for £5.95 each in 1984.
Couldn't help seeing Octav1us running around that Maze being chased - great vid as always Kim & hers too 👍
Yeah with Horace by her side - I was thinking that as well.
Ahhh I still love this game. I got it when I bought my first ZX81 back in the mists of time... I'm still massively impressed by 3D monster maze. :) . I had Trashman too. It was awful. lol. Nice video Kim. :)
What a jog down memory lane this was, I had 3D Monster Maze as a nipper.
at 18 I played 3d monster maze on my zx81...it was great...but I had no idea who wrote it or what motivated him. After that I went on to other things....but at 55 a professional software developer I find the details of who wrote this classic game awesome.
Imagine if a game like Garden Flipper came out back then. We're still picking up trash and trimming lawns in 2019. 8)
I never had a Sinclair as the C64 and Amiga were my jam, but there's something absolutely charming about the color clashing. I love the effect. I'm currently designing an 8-bit computer that can use a modulo for the color fetches, allowing for different color block sizes than just 8x8.
always wondered why "3D Monster Maze" never made it onto the ZX Spectrum
Would it have worked as well though? I think they made 3D Tunnel instead, which looked amazing for the time but really lacked in game sadly. Frogs and rats don't really compare to dinosaurs, and the main replacement threat was an occasional tube train rushing by from a fork in the maze. It was a great visual effect but soon became too easy to avoid, so the whole game lacked the same level of tension. As I remember you could never stop in it too, it was constant motion (not played it for years though).
Here is a suggestion for a video: Teletext games.
I had a Spectrum. For a week. Then it broke. Then a Vic20 (but radar rat race and some text adventure games provided about 3 hours of entertainment, tops). I had no Tiger games and it was a few years before I got a Master System.
But there was one other option... Teletext Bamboozle.
That would be a rad video.
for the year and the system they were on, they are really good games, running from the t-rex very simple game, but could get your heart going as you read the text
Every time you upload it makes my day, thanks Kim
Trashman was a great game which I played a silly amount as a kid and still return to occasionally now :)
Back in the day I had 3D Tunnel (you didin't show the tube train effect - the best thing about it!) but I wish I had Knot in 3D instead, it had a much better rep. I never actually played Trashman but for some reason I decided to play its sequel when I came back to the Speccy on a nostaligia binge around 2000. I decided to play Travels with Trashman and Terrormolinos - I must have been needing a holiday I think! I thought Travels had a lot of character and was good value too with the amount of locations. It was perfectly playable (so I'm sure still is today), and I got a real buzz out finishing it. I really reminded me of what those Spectrum games could be like.
I loved Trashman. I never got far because I always got ran over but the game had that sense of exploring a world about it, even if it was pretty linear. Getting the bin man to come and "fix your TV" on his round is a bit suspect if you ask me, I wonder if he was just filling in when the milkman was off :-D
3D Monster Maze!!!!!!!!!
This was the first game I ever played on the ZX81 :)
Another brilliant video Kim 👍
You need a TV series!
Loving your channel as always Kim, able to take everything I grew up with and make a video out of it. It reminds me of the Christmas I got my C64 and my friend got his Spectrum. Buying new games for £2 at Woolworth and reading reviews on Teletext. Keep up the good work. Since we’ve had a video about trash man, how about a video on Maelstorm (aka Postman Nasty) in the speccy?
I think the rename to Trashman probably helped the success of the game; made it sound American, which just seemed to be 'a thing' around that time. And it's a reminder of the days when the bin men came into the garden to get the bin, instead of having to put it out yourself!
Total agree. Great time playing them. They got me into computing.
Wow I remember Trashman! Another similar and really good Speccy game is Mailstrom. Did you ever play that one?
Good stuff 'he flushed his latest creation' - great dialogue!
I never played _3D Monster Maze_ (1982) but I did play the similar DOS game _3-Demon_ (1983) aka _Monster Maze_ , hmm… 🤔 There's also the Apple II game _Spectre_ (1982) and I suppose you could also count the TRS-80 game _Dungeons of Daggorath_ (1982) as well. I guess 3D mazes were really popular in the early 80's (of course _Maze War_ (1973) probably started the genre, and a lot earlier than expected).
Monster maze was released in 1981
Love the fact that cyclists were considered evil and a hazard to be avoided back in 1982. How prophetic.
Good to hear of a games programmer who got out alive and sane! it does seem to be a remarkably damaging profession.
I miss your old outro music, but great video!
So a guy enters an industry by doing a thing he likes/wants to do, makes good money and has fun by using his imagination and talent, then just moves on to other things without any bad turns, shenanigans or downfalls. Kind of surprised at this point lol.
Oh man I had that 3D tunnel game as a kids. I didn’t really get it at the time though, maybe it was too abstract...
Trashman is the best game ever on the Speccy.
Always enjoyed travels with trash man but like lots of spectrum titles it was horrifically hard
Programme intro music was great in the 70's/80's .
Chaos is one of the all time greatest games
3D (T-Rex) Monster Maze reminds me of 3D Glooper. Could you get to the exit without ever encountering Mr Rex?
Had trashman on a Zzap cover tape in the early 90s
Great vid, great games! Thanks!
What's the intro music to this video, I know I know it, but it's driving me crazy trying to remember what it's from? :)
Old introduction to BBC Video video-tapes.
great vid, thanks!
WHAT SHOW WAS THAT MUSIC FROM AT YOUR INTRO?
It's an altered version of an introduction that used to be on all old BBC VIDEO video-tapes. It's definitely on lots of the old Dr Who ones. Hope that helps.
@@paulnash9851 yes of course, thanks. I think it was the old BBC intro, I think it was on my Young Ones tapes.
@@gavinpeters949 it was, it was also on the Star-Cops ones too !!!
Kim, nobody makes videos on this shit quite as well as you do.
I want to meet this man.
Unemployed journalist - 'learn to code'
Malcolm Evans - 'Say what now what now?'
many things were created while sitting on the toilet