As if you didn't already have enough game coding to do with the Minigame compo, I saw on c64.sk mention of the 1^st Annual 2k Classic Text Adventure competition. The idea is to write a text adventure in under 2k of RAM. Sounds like a challenge. I've only looked quickly at the page, but the rules do appear to be a little lenient - perhaps you could use the ROM and write an adventure game with characters called GOSUB and RETURN? Hmm.

Taking a break from my lunchtime reading of Retro Gamer, I decided to check out a couple of the links mentioned with the CGExpo article. I realise this is a ZX site, but my theory is that if you're into the ZX then you'll be interested in Retro computers in general, so here are a couple sites that may tickle your wotsit: Binary Dinosaurs and UK Retro. Read on for a bit more information...

Thanks to Yerz for sending on a message he got from Will (I'm assuming this is Will of ZX-Party fame?). Over on the Polish Classic Computers Online site you can find a video interview of Matthew Smith (he of the Miner Willy... uhm, perhaps I should rephrase that...). The program is called "Spectrum Diamond - The Myth and Legend of Matthew Smith". I can't check out the film coz of firewall problems (I'll look at it when I get home), but Will is looking for people to translate the English subtitles into their native language. If you're interested in doing this, drop me a mail at raww.org and I'll pass on the message. Yay.

Classic Computers Online have for download a 50-minute Italian documentary entitled "Spectrum Diamond: The myth and the legend of Matthew Smith". It's a captivating bit of filmmaking, filled with interviews with Miner Willy devotees, and friends and colleagues of the man himself, accompanied by masterful photography and a mysterious soundtrack. The server's been somewhat overloaded in the last couple of days (and deservedly so...) - so people with BitTorrent access might want to try the torrent instead.

A couple recent updates to emulators - version 2.5 Release 1.1 of EmuZWin has been released, which adds and corrects a few features - mainly regarding display functionality.
Also, Spin has had an update to go along with it's rather rudimentary website. There are no details on the site of what's new in v0.5, which is being released as a beta, tho' there's a thread on the WOS forums which you can check for details of bugs in this release. You may also like to check out the file area belonging to Dunny, which features a couple new screenies of Spin themed, and stuff.

Those of an inquisitive nature will be pleased to know that there's been an update to the CSS FAQ over on SinclairFAQ.com. If you didn't already know the FAQ contains a wealth of information about the humble ZX, from low-down-dirty technical details, to resources and where-are-they-now's. Version 1.1.5 is on the 'net for your perusal, with the following changes (I can go through these in more detail if I get a chance this evening):

I've been having a very Retro few days - I managed to get the latest two issues of Retro Gamer on Saturday, so I've been reading some very interesting and well-written articles that, frankly, remind me of my childhood. Good reads all. Also a looking to be a good read, and the reason for this post, is a downloadable book by C Woodcock of ZXF fame. "The ZX Spectrum on your PC - Emulators, utilities and more" comes in at a sizeable 82 pages and appears at first glance to be as well-written at ZXF itself. I don't have the time to read it all right now (I'll print it out at work *cough*), but a skim through reveals a lot of detail, covering some basics that you can point beginners at, through to emulating additional hardware and clones. There's also a neat section on utilities.
The book focuses on the Spin and Spectaculator emulators, with mention of a large range of others, including some obsolete programs. These days it's tricky to list them all. Weighing in at a handy 4.5Mb, it's certainly a worthy download - you may even learn something new.
And there's mention of raww.org being constantly updated again. *cough*. I'm working on it.

After a couple of months in suspended animation, Demotopia is now back up to date with the latest demoscene releases (and quite a few older ones too). Additions this time come from TCG, Power of Gentile AY Chip, Agent-X and EA.

The list of clones and the information about them at Sinclair Nostalgia has been updated after a way too long time.

A quick post here to mention that the Optical Bros' website is down due to some problems with a site upgrade. I'm looking into a server-side solution (I'll spare you the technical details, but it's something to do with SQL and things), so the site will hopefully be fixed by this evening.
A quick note to Spectre - I don't have access to my email while I'm at work, but I can at least try to work out what's gone wrong.