iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

In 2002/3, while at Zed Two, I coded two complete Pocket PC games that were never released. One of these was and official conversion of Tetris. Here's @stepickford.bsky.social's hand-drawn design for the layout and how it looked in the game.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Ha! It was a good small studio. Far from the best but we got stuff done. And we got to see Prisoner Cell Block H the stage play (I’m sure you came). What’s not to like?

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

I really liked Matt Furniss’ tunes and nobody could accuse it of being a brown game. Had all the levels. I think the gameplay can fairly be described as moribund though.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Wasn’t expecting to get a burn off @retrogamermag.bsky.social on my Sunday morning read! 😉 I thought our home conversions of a mediocre arcade game were OK.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

At the #britfest in Altrincham. Came mainly for Sleeper who didn’t disappoint. May as well continue drinking in the sun and watch the Happy Mondays later.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

I've been revisiting the #C64 source code for Millie & Molly for reasons. In there I found some old prototype screens from when I was using Rainbow Island sprites and Rick Dangerous backgrounds. And the even older 8x8 char version with my very own programmer art.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Lovely condition. This is my issue 1, and somehow it looks in better nick in this photo than real life. I only have issues 1-3 and the ones which featured reviews of my games.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Appears to be this place. Google Maps image is from 2024 so it seems to have been added between then and the filming of RAtW. I've got far too obsessed with this! I want to know how it got there. maps.app.goo.gl/wtPMP13Vwgnj...

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Watching Race Across the World and pretty sure this Mongolian coffee shop has ripped off the 80s video game Elite’s logo.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

We played so many as kids. Pitstop II, Hypaball, International Basket Ball, Kikstart and Rocket Ball just off the top of my head. There can only be one winner though... ;)

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Pleased to say Millie & Molly is built into this, looks like a fun bit of kit. Nice mix of new and old #C64 games on there.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Think I’ve finished the extra levels and features for my #SpectrumNext conversion of my #C64 game Runn ‘n’ Gunn. The game is 80% bigger and there are a couple of surprises. Need to do the boring tidying now.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Who doesn’t love the glamour of a late 80s UK game dev studio? Google can keep their town halls and break out areas. Here’s Walking Circles at a similar time.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

Went to a retro gaming market in Bolton today. Crazy busy and I didn’t manage to fill any gaps in games I’ve written but don’t own. Picked up @merman1974.bsky.social ‘s book (signed!) and @jazrignall.bsky.social ‘s book though. Plenty of of reading there.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Looks like the #C64 Black Mini Edition is 20% off on Amazon at the minute. Four of my best games are on there along with 21 other amazing modern 8bit games. I'm still playing through - and being amazed by - Sam's Journey.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

Don’t tell me I don’t know how to treat my wife on Valentine’s Night. We’re in the Pixel Bar in Manchester. To be fair it was her idea. Some pro-gamers are on the TV earning more money than any developer I’ve ever worked with.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

I had two Game Gear games published. One was the original FIFA game. The other was the official Winter Olympics game of 1994. Sadly we didn’t do Curling which is a fave of us Brits as we’re good at it. Otherwise I think it’s a pretty solid effort.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

I’ve set up the #C64 Mini Black and I’m suitably impressed. Always wanted to play Sam’s Journey but never got around to it. I’m stuck on the second screen!

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

I’ve eventually got hold of a #C64 Mini Black Edition. It includes 25 modern C64 games, four of which I coded. @stepickford.bsky.social‘s version of Millie & Molly also adorn the box. Looking forward to trying out some of the other games on there. Quite a few look amazing.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

In 2019 Grid Pix was the first game I coded for the #C64 in the modern era. It led to some amazing physical versions and a glowing review in Retro Gamer. No wonder I got back into coding for the old machine. I've released eight games since then and worked on plenty of abandoned projects.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

I reckon 2026 is the year I complete the #ZXSpectrumNext #ZXNext port of my #C64 game Runn 'n' Gunn. I made some rapid progress early in 2025 but didn't have see great change later in the year. This is known to programmers as the 90/90 rule: w.wiki/A6MJ

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

I'm sure it wouldn't behave anything like it did on the advert but it looked amazing.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

I was reading an interview I did for @retrogamermag.bsky.social back in 2015. @merman1974.bsky.social asked this question. Obviously I changed my mind from the answer given. I think I’ve written 8 #C64 games since then.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

I don’t think so. I spoke about it briefly in my Retro Gamer interview (issue 140). It was an amazing break to get onto it and has basically given me the career I have to this day.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Bonfire Night was my favourite night of the year as a child. Fireworks, treacle, parkin, flapjack, black peas (Google it) and a big random fire topped with a guy dressed better than me. Halloween has rather usurped it now though. Probably for the best considering the dangerous stuff we got up to.

The game Millie & Molly with a skull layout and dancing skeletons.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

We were there last week. Only had a day, wished we’d stayed longer.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

I was lucky enough to develop all my C64 games on a PC using PDS (Programmer's Development System). I had an Amstrad PC with a 10MB HDD. Powerful stuff. There quite a bit of info on PDS here: lemmings.info/pds-programm...

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

This 720kb disk is my original backup of all the code and graphics for my first four #C64 games, plus the unreleased game Behemoth. The code includes self written tools like map editors. I think the icon on my last iOS game was larger than 720k on its own. My handwriting is as bad 35 years later.

An old three and one quarter inch floppy disk labelled with C64 source files

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

I agree, let’s get one on the Walking Circles’ office where I started ;) Glamorous.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

Mr Do! is excellent. And the only game I remember having an option for left-handed controls. Probably only worked well with those square Atari joysticks. I never tried it because by then I'd trained myself to play right-handed.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

We put all the levels from the arcade version into my #C64 conversion of Skull & Crossbones. Ostensibly a pirate game there was also a ninja level and an Argonauts themed level. In the end it was all about the treasure. I think this final level looks quite nice but don't expect many players saw it.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

When we converted APB to the #C64 we implemented the full map from the arcade version. It's massive, the equivalent of over 1000 screens when laid out. The map itself is made up of 4x8 character tiles. Even then the map data is 32k. Vertical strips are decompressed in real time to fit it all in.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

Spelling Bee editors are clearly not fans of Jeff Minter’s early #C64 work.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

This one? It does look tricky. These are my favourite kind of levels though and where the rewind feature is almost essential.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

Well the good news is my game Millie & Molly works on the #Switch2. I expect a massive uplift in sales with people hoping to push their new hardware to the limits ;) And it’s on sale for less than £2 from the shop courtesy of @thalamusdigital.bsky.social

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

I turn 54 on Saturday. Coincidentally the issue number of my only #Zzap64 Sizzler and Oliver Frey cover. I was 17 then, time flies. #C64

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

My team #BuryFC can become champions today. We’re in tier 9 of the English football league after being kicked out of league one. There are over 8000 fans here. Madness.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

I still have my copy of issue one. Actually my brother bought it, he was working and I was still at school. Sadly it's not in the best condition because we both read it cover to cover. I've never considered the influencer angle but it's true, I trusted these reviews when spending my pocket money.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Here's my collection of games I've worked on which had a physical release. It doesn't look much for 37+ years but I have a few missing. I've also coded a load of games which were digital only. J2ME and smart phone games mainly. And then there are the unreleased games. There are lots of those!

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

Spinning Image is a free #C64 puzzler I coded and released last year. It's based on the #GBA game Guru Logi Champ, with some twists of its own. Later on it's a fairly tricky game but now thanks to user mailhunter there's a guide to all levels on YouTube. www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Fell on my run today. 30 years of running and no incidents. Reckon this may hurt in the morning.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

First try of Runn ‘n’ Gunn running on a real Spectrum Next. Everything seems good. #C64 #SpectrumNext

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

I’ve been looking into converting one of my #C64 games to the Spectrum Next. Runn ‘n’ Gunn is the most suited to the hardware. Pretty pleased with the early progress. Currently using the C64 GFX but that’ll change. Forgive the flaky video, I was filming and playing at the same time.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

I'm considering doing some Spectrum Next coding. Had a bit of a look today and it seems nice enough. Does this seem familiar to some? I'm struggling to get a nice VSCode set-up, any pointers welcome.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

Just completed Lorelei and the Laser Eyes on Switch. What an amazing game and just the right level of difficulty. Made me feel occasionally smart which is no small feat. Recommended if you like puzzle games.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

Shame. I think it was probably for this preview in Your Sinclair. The picture of Graham’s desk looks to be from the same set. The reason I remember this article is because it’s the first time I saw my name in print, it was quite exciting at the time. Although spent incorrectly.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

Here are some of my #C64 games. Brown indeed.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

As it’s nearly Christmas I’m reminded of the time a Zzap64 reviewer referred to one of my #C64 games as a ‘vector graphics turkey’. Proud moment. It scored a massive 16% overall.

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Carleton Handley @carletonhandley.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

I've had quite a few games published over the years and probably just as many cancelled. The PlayStation One movie tie-in #Waterworld was the scrapped game I spent most time working on. We also had quite a big team for the time. At no stage did we have a game good enough that it could be released.

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