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Scumways

@scumways.bsky.social
285 followers 510 following 38 posts

I make software. Mostly silly software. scumways.com

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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
In San Jose, in the GDC 2000 audience as Bill Gates gave his keynote speech, and raising a very skeptical eyebrow at the demos they showed. Which, oddly, never showed up in the suite of developer kit examples they eventually shipped... www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCj0...
youtube.com
GDC ( Game Development Conference ) 2000 Microsoft keynote ( Prototype Original Xbox Unveiling )
YouTube video by OG-XboxMods
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
@benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org I can't believe you've overlooked this song which was _obviously_ written to introduce a Lawfare Daily segment before slipping through a rift in space/time to become a smash hit in the '80s, hitting number 2 on the NZ charts! www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a6h...
youtube.com
Shona Laing - (Glad I'm) Not A Kennedy
YouTube video by KneesTease
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Oh, that's easy: Rhys Ifans.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Real cats or pixel cats? Which is better? scumways.com/blog/2026-07...
A photo of a black cat, sitting in a flowerpot.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Puny Earthling #screenshotsaturday (even if it's already Sunday here *waves hello from the future*) Sentrybots and Stompers. Spent ages tuning this screen so the Sentrybots whizz around the loop just avoiding the Stompers. No collision code for that, but it looks cooler :- ) #c64 #indiegamedev
A pixel cat on a 8-bit platform game screen. There are platforms and big metallic stompers and angry-looking flying robots.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Smash the cups, save the world! After all, how can the aliens pull off a successful invasion of Earth if they can't take a decent tea break? #c64 #indiegamedev #screenshotsaturday
A commodore 64 game screenshot, with a cat in a simple maze, populated by patrolling sentry bots. There are two cups in the middle of the maze, just crying out to be smashed.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
I feel that giant updraft fans are criminally underutilised in platform games.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Recommend looking at the modern audio SDL API(s)... maybe save some faffing about with the callback? Example from a project of mine, using SDL2 SDL_QueueAudio(): github.com/bcampbell/sc... The model has been refined in SDL3 (SDL_PutAudioStreamData()?), but still similar concepts, I think.
github.com
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Man, I'm terrible at posting updates. Puny Earthling is progressing, and I'm really happy with how it's shaping up! #commodore64 #retrocomputing #screenshotsaturday I wrote a quick update with a screenshot: scumways.com/blog/2026-07...
scumways.com
It's been a while...
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
It was tense and very exciting watching the Artemis launch. But I am quite sad to see humans taking jobs from hard-working robots :-( #LetsGoExploreAlienOceansOnIcyMoonsDammit
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Jackson Lamb, Berlin, 1987
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
I was at the GDC 2000 keynote where Bill Gates showed off that big prototype X. And I'm pretty damn sure it wasn't an Xbox inside that X, running those demos. AFAIK, us Xbox devs never got to see them again. Instead, we were shipped a set of really dull examples. www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsbP...
youtube.com
Prototype Original Xbox - Ping-pong Tech Demo
YouTube video by OG-XboxMods
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
$D000 is the awesomest of all memory! Graphics in the RAM, which is under the character ROM, which is under the VIC/SID/IO chips. In a time of more ruthless marketing, it would have been called the Commodore 88 or something.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 28/09/2025
I've added a Schrödingermajig to Puny Earthling. I had to. scumways.com/blog/2025-09... #c64 #indiedev #gaming
scumways.com
The Schrödingermajig
The Schrödingermajiged does what it says on the box.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
In other news, I'm utterly incapable of consistently using the correct name for my game. It's "Puny Earthling". Not "Puny Human". When the aliens dial the Scan-o-Tron to "Superior Lifeform", of *course* they're going to be beaming up a cat!
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
I've been designing screens for Puny Human. Some are clever puzzles, some are fiendish tests of dexterity. But, inevitably, it's always the extremely dumb screens which are the most fun. #c64 #retrogaming
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
Yup - I've got a bunch of variations (scumways.com/blog/2024-11...). But for the terminal thingy, everyone knows aliens always use early-80s green monochrome displays.
scumways.com
Smashables
Everyone knows you can't mount a good interstellar conquest without regular tea breaks.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
Scumbotron, obviously! cx16forum.com/forum/viewto... Source code: github.com/bcampbell/sc...
cx16forum.com
Lost game from the '80s: Scumbotron! - Commander X16
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
I've added a scanner terminal. These are dotted around the UFO and give the location of any un-smashed crockery. scumways.com/blog/2025-06... #indiedev #c64 #retrogaming
scumways.com
Scanner terminals
I've added some handy scanner terminals, to show rooms containing unsmashed smashables.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Even if progress is slow, work still continues on "Puny Earthling", my C64 game, and I've got some new stuff to show off. First off... lasers! #indiedev #c64
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
A low-resolution picture of a grumpy robot with a menacing-looking claw.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
The menu "Edit..." => "Change format..." lets you pick another palette size (or switch to RGB or RGBA). It used to be power-of-two size palettes only (heh - coders!), but I'm in the process of loosening that restriction.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
Might I suggest github.com/bcampbell/ev... ? I wrote it because I missed Deluxe Paint (and the keybindings!) and wanted an equivalent with modern sensibilities...
github.com
Releases · bcampbell/evilpixie
Pixel-oriented paint program, modelled on Deluxe Paint - bcampbell/evilpixie
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
My game now has an introductory cutscene. Prime world-building stuff here, I tell you! #c64 #indiedev #retrogaming scumways.com/blog/2025-03...
scumways.com
Cutscenes
It's been a quiet few weeks on the Puny Human front. My weekends have been spent jumping down a cutscene rabbithole.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
I know. I was fine at graphics until they invented more than 16 colours!
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
I've been working on style tests for screens in my C64 game. The good thing about Commodore 64 graphics is that "programmer art" is just fine :- ) #c64 #retrogaming #indiedev scumways.com/blog/2025-02...
scumways.com
Background graphic style tests
I've been experimenting with background graphic styles.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
CAN YOU GET AROUND BETTERIDGE BY SNEAKILY LEAVING THE QUESTION MARK OFF YOUR HEADLINE
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
My preference is simple do-one-thing tools in platform-neutral C/C++, which I can integrate into my own build process (Makefile, whatever). Python's fine, but always seems to take a bit more care and feeding. Please not node. Node installs always seem so brittle!
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
I've just uploaded a playable build. OK, so "playable" is doing some heavy lifting here, but try it out and let me know what you think of it so far! Versions for C64 (yay!) and online browser (boo, hiss!) scumways.com/blog/2025-01-18-preview1 #retrogaming #commodore64 #gamedev
scumways.com
Puny Earthling - Preview 1
It's not a game yet, but you can play it.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
You can, but they're very expensive and come with a free TV.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Added these little wall-scuttling CrabBots a couple of weekends ago. I think they're going to be really a useful gameplay element for both puzzle-oriented and action-oriented rooms. scumways.com/blog/2025-01... #gamedev #retrogaming #commodore64
scumways.com
Crabbots
Crabbots scuttle across platforms, up and down walls and along ceilings.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Oh wow, that reminds me - back in the day I worked on an OG XBox game that was published by Microsoft. When they finally sent us (green) devkits, one of them had a near-final Halo build on it. So we got to play through the first Halo a few weeks before it was released. With debug logging.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Dammit. That looks so great. Now I want to run off down a rabbit hole and do something like this for the titlescreen of my c64 game... I'm only saved by the certain knowledge that I need that memory for other stuff!
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Thanks! It'll take a while because it's a spare-time project, but I'm really enjoying it: I'll add something then find myself giggling like a maniac for the rest of the day :-)
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
Bug? nonono! It's a *feature*! mmm-hmm. yup. scumways.com/blog/2025-01... #gamedev #commodore64 #retrogaming #sproing
scumways.com
SproingPads
When I first added the giant fan, there was a little bug in the player movement code.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
scumways.com/blog/2025-01... #retrogaming #commodore64 #gamedev
scumways.com
My Biggest Fan
I've added a giant fan, which blows air all the way up a central shaft of the UFO.
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
I'll be blogging about it at scumways.com
scumways.com
Scumways.com - Index
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Scumways @scumways.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
For some reason I figured it'd be fun to write a Commodore 64 game in my spare time. It's been entertaining so far and is shaping up to be a really fun game, so I thought I'd start telling people about it! scumways.com/blog/2024-09... #commodore64 #retrogaming #gamedev
scumways.com
Puny Earthling
I'm writing a game for the Commodore 64. Because that is a perfectly sane way to spend your spare time in 2024.
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