iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 1h

Looking at the first port for Quantum Hop, it's going to be the Amstrad CPC. I was tempted to do CPC+/GX4000 so I could use it to test my CeePCee SDK, but this means I can reuse a lot of my existing Speccy code and CI

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Failbetter Games | Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 9h

We're hiring! We're looking for a Writer and Narrative Designer to join the Fallen London team at a senior or mid level. This position is permanent, remote, and full time, which for us means 35 hours a week. #GamesJobs

Night. The House of Chimes - a tower which you might immediately think of as Big Ben - is adrift in the River Thames. It still seems to be keeping time. In the background, a large, alien building looms over the city of London.

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 21h

A reminder that with some 3D printing, some electronics and a bit of time you can build your own - yes it's much chunkier, but it also has a keyboard codeberg.org/Jonn-reenthu... #RetroComputing #Maker #opensource

codeberg.org

PortaSpeccy

A portable Spectrum Next running on a Tang Nano 20k

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Ray @sireviscerate.myatproto.social · 29/09/2026

Will you just let women have pockets already?

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 29/09/2026

Yes indie.io the thing that will make me use your service or buy games you manage will definitely be signing me up to a bunch of newsletters that I neither want nor can stop.

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 29/09/2026

That day when I won an Amiga auction that came with a ton of copied disks but an original disk for XCopy

An image of a blue 3.5-inch floppy disk labeled "X-COPY & CYCLONE," indicating it is a special version for power computing. The disk is made by Verbatim and has a label with a serial number and contact information

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 27/09/2026

Trying to use blender to make an animation of a spacestation exploding - it's not going quickly

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 27/09/2026

Ok, I have to start thinking about the art for Herexis. Currently i'm using a few packs from itch.io - and they look ok but there's no consistency. Plus I need a title screen, some kind of intro and a couple of ending screens. I'd normally use Fiverr but its all AI slop now

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 27/09/2026

Today i've been doing some work on the procedural generator for the maps in Herexis. And i've decided on the first end game scenario, i'm adding a space station called The Hive which is the root of all pirate activity, destroying that will be an end state. #IndieDev

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 27/09/2026

I realise it’s for clickbait but all the YouTubers with the “we bought the cheapest F1 car from XYZ” no you didn’t , not every open wheel racer is an F1 car

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Frederic Souchu @fsouchu.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

#picotron port of #doom under way major roadblock lifted today: sprite masking against geometry 😰 a *lot* remains to be done - stay tuned!!

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 27/09/2026

Well that's the What's Ken Making channel unsubbed from. I especially like his comment on how he can't understand all the hate he's getting for showing off the M64 because "its just a game" yes, and because it's just a game you don't need to promote ones from horrific people and companies

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 26/09/2026

After a whole bunch of hours i've knocked the prototype of Herexis into an alpha. It's nowhere near finished of course, I still have to make "the game" portion, but a lot of the systems are in place #indiedev tonsomo.itch.io/hexeris

tonsomo.itch.io

Herexis by Tonsomo Entertainment

Dangerous Mercs doing Dangerous Jobs

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 26/09/2026

I made a sort of identikit system using someone's portrait graphics by splitting them into 4 bands. It produces some of the most horrendous images and I definitely have to fix it before proper launch, but right now I find it very amusing #IndieDev

A snapshot from a game called Herexis, showing a character creator with options for Skin, Forehead, Eyes, Nose, Gear, Hair, Hair colour and Accessories

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 26/09/2026

Designing mouse pointers like it's 1990 #IndieDev (Fortunately, with the aid of the great Aseprite.

A snapshot of an Aseprite window, it shows four pointers in a sprite sheet, including a target, a dotted box, a hand picking something up and a green cross

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EGVroom @egvroom.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A full race gameplay from ZERO this week for #screenshotSaturday ZERO is an upcoming Mode 7 racer for Game Boy Color. #gameBoy #indieDev #retroGaming #fZero

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 25/09/2026

While I was trawling through my old projects on this new laptop, I stumbled on Herexis which is a very simple 2D strategy game in the style of Laser Squad. I don't remember why I called it Herexis, it's sci-fi based and that sounds more fantasy. Anyhoo, I might try and get it to proto state

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 25/09/2026

3000 downloads over on tonsomo.itch.io mostly thanks to the recent rush on Quantum Hop which is now my most downloaded game. Thanks to everyone who has played it, shared it and reviewed it

a snippet from a webpage with writing that says 3,022 Downloads

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QuangDX @quangdx.com · 25/09/2026

FOR SALE: Atari ST Colour Monitor SC1224 Tested and working. £300 Located in London, UK

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Robb from 8/16/32bit @81632bitretro.com · 25/09/2026

Still determined to bring this to BlueSky: #FollowFriday #FF The thread: 🧵

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KateW @kateweb.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

If you're: - a playwright - Scottish or based in Scotland - and have had at least two plays professionally produced, submissions for new work open till 4 October. www.rawmaterialarts.com/raw-potential #theatre

rawmaterialarts.com

Raw Potential — Raw Material

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 24/09/2026

Hmm, going through my godot projects list is almost as bad as my retro ones. A few of these I at least released a prototype of, but a few didn't even get that far. I might revisit Herexis, because it wasn't that far off at least a prototype if I remember rightly. #Indie

A list of folders with names that suggest games

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ChinnyVision @chinnyvision.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Free to access bonus video on here. In fact there's loads of free bonus videos on here. Everything from an essential to own but dreadful joystick to Ballblazer. ko-fi.com/chinnyvision

ko-fi.com

Buy ChinnyVision a Coffee

Become a supporter of ChinnyVision today!

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 22/09/2026

I really hate the Android test track system, there just seems to be so many moving parts before you get anything working

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 22/09/2026

Ok, very early beta of cIRCe, my attempt to make an easier to use, multiplatform, IRC client. It's not entirely there yet, the UI/UX needs a bunch of work and there are almost certainly a ton of bugs but the basic functions work. I also haven't been able to test the Windows or Linux builds 1/2

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 21/09/2026

Oh yeah, that's where I was with Jurl on the Vectrex

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ChinnyVision @chinnyvision.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Later on here and Kofi. 4K JY2 action.

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 21/09/2026

So i'm thinking of porting Quantum Hop 1 to the Amstrad CPC - but I have an issue in that the original artwork for the loading screen was bought from Fiverr and is almost certainly AI generated. I used it for the Speccy port because i'd already bought it but it feels wrong to use it again.

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 21/09/2026

Well i've found at least one reason why I suddenly got a load of Quantum Hop downloads, a Brazilian Spectrum blog said some rather nice things about it.

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 21/09/2026

Released this today, it's the Next port I started a while back. It's not finished, it works, you can play it to the end but it was a bit of a rushed Speccy port with the Gameboy Advance graphics. Plus I don't have a next so i've only tested it in emulation tonsomo.itch.io/jurl-spectru...

tonsomo.itch.io

Jurl: Spectrum Next edition by Tonsomo Entertainment

Asteroids meets Pacman game where you have to collect all the space diamonds whilst avoiding the various aliens.

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The National Museum of Computing @tnmoc.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

🚨 ONLY 4 DAYS LEFT TO BOOK! 🚨 We’re thrilled to collaborate with Spencer - RC2014 Assembly v2.0 at TNMOC on Sat, Sept 26! 💻 Z80 & retro kit demos 🔌 Trader/exhibitor tables Full museum aceess 🎟️ Secure your slot: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/199255968365… #RetroComputing #RC2014

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Kim Justice @kimjustice.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Here's a new video announcing my newest book :) the official companion book to the Rubber-Keyed Wonder, celebrating 45 years of the ZX Spectrum! www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp2B...

youtube.com

Announcing A NEW ZX Spectrum Book! The Rubber-Keyed Wonder

YouTube video by Kim Justice

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 20/09/2026

Today I am doing manual labour, specifically I’m applying some Lime plaster to a wall. I’ve never done it before but I can already feel my in-built engineering confidence tell me it’ll be fine and I’ll work it out as we go along …

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28DavesLater @28daveslater.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

A bit of a hack to fit a momentary switch inside the accesory port to power on and off this Wonderswan Color. I've got some plans to get the buttons working properly again but this is a good temporary solution and with a 3D printed housing could be an ok option for others.

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 19/09/2026

What the absolute fuck??? I especially like the way that because they haven't setup an email address I can't use the "take me off this list link"

An email saying that the user has been invited to join a trial of an AI ad app in testflight

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 19/09/2026

There's been a sudden boost in people downloading my games from itch.io. Primarily Quantum Hop which has doubled it's downloads in just the last two days. I can't find anything new sharing it, but it's nice to see.

itch.io

Download the latest indie games

itch.io is a simple way to find, download and distribute indie games online. Whether you're a developer looking to upload your game or just someone looking for something new to play itch.io has you co...

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 19/09/2026

This might be a little big-headed of me, but I think Jurl should have a wikipedia page. Surely the number of ports makes it notable enough in terms of game articles? If anyone wants to submit one i'd be grateful (I can't do it myself, there are rules around that)

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 19/09/2026

i was very anti-flutter when I was first forced to use it at work, being a native dev. But honestly, i'm afraid i'm a total convert now. Unless you're trying to build some hyper specialised app then it really is the best way to make a multi-platform product.

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Erica Miller @ericam.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I’m going to Exit 6 Film Festival today. I normally just attend via online, but today I’m going to actually go. I’m not a natural networker, but I’m going to go see films etc. Yes, send good vibes, because in this case I’m British enough to want to hide instead.

static.klipy.com

Simon Pegg: Cheers Beer at The Winchester

Alt: Simon Pegg: Cheers Beer at The Winchester

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 19/09/2026

As I’m a little blocked on Pockity until I can afford to pay for the next PCB revision and now I’ve got a laptop again I’ve been working on cIRCe, a simpler IRC client that should run on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows and Linux. Maybe web but that’s a bit more complex

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 18/09/2026

We did consider actually putting together a proposal for Dr. Who but the numbers don’t really add up for a small production house, plus I hate Dr Who. I’m also guessing Basingstoke doesn’t meet the regional constraints

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The Centre for Computing History @computinghistory.org.uk · 18/09/2026

We are getting ready for tomorrow’s big day! 🙌🏼 Domesday at 40 - come join us in celebrating 40 years of the BBC Domesday Project! The full itinerary is available to see on our website, book your tickets and find out more here: www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/77318/Do...

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 12/09/2026

Well fuck, my laptop just died. So that’s that then until I can afford to replace it

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Dr Johnny Blanchard @onlyretrofans.com · 12/09/2026

Making a new simplified IRC app called cIRCe. Trying to think of a logo design. 90% of the images I see when I search for Circe (the witch/goddess) is AI generated.

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Erica Miller @ericam.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I’m writing this publicly, because I’m lazy & inconsistent in terms of exercise. Very much a burst of enthusiasm & then it dies for years, until… Trying to convince myself to keep going. But since 19th Aug’25 when I started C25k (& finished), I run at least once a week.Today is run two, so bonus. 🏃🏽‍♀️

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