Amstrad - a visual compendium

[invent]

Hi everyone,


Not sure I have noticed a discussion on Sam Dyer's Bitmap Book Creations via Kickstarter. I hope for our Amstrad community will one day have a book to cover our platform. Currently he is raising money for the Nintendo/Famicom Compendium book and is doing rather well.


I was curious what the Amstrad Cover might look like, so here is a quick design. 
More importantly, what would you like in such a book?

[arnoldemu]

I would like to see some mode 2 pictures too - there will not be as many but I think it would be good to see some.

I would like to see lots of pictures from games, perhaps some sprite sheets from some of them, pictures of in game, maybe some maps of others, a mix from graphical infocom adventures all they way to arcade shoot em ups. i think it would be interesting to have mostly the commercial games then a section of some more recent games.

include loading screens if nice.

demo screens are nice but i think your audience is gamers.

oh, and a section for cart games too.

[Bryce]

Hmmmm, a Spectrum port in the top row???

Bryce.

[arnoldemu]

Oh, btw, the biggest market I think will be France, so plenty of games from French publishers.

[Skunkfish]

And French games are generally pretty gorgeous to look at!

[seanb]

I can't think what else I would like to see but I'm sure others will come up with great suggestions.
I would just like a book like the others already out there or coming out and would like to be involved some how.


It's a shame the community doesn't get together to make one.

[Skunkfish]

They've done one for the C64 AND the Speccy, it would be discrimination if we don't get one too!

Someone contact this Sam Dyer blokey...

[chinnyhill10]

Never seen the appeal of looking at a load of pictures from emulators in books.

[invent]

Thanks for your ideas so far. Maps are an interesting idea but hard to know which ones to choose.
Interviews from past and current developers would be great this is what I found interesting in the ZX Spectrum book.





I have to say I haven't followed the Amstrad Demo scene but over time I will look into this more.
It certainly would be nice to be covering current developments such as new hardware/software.

[Gryzor]

I like them because, if it's well done, the screenshots can point to something interesting I had never noticed or explain some things, point out games to me that I wasn't aware of and they just plain look nice.


Of course there are books out there (no names mentioned...) that are really poorly done, with very basic info and just simple screens thrown in gathered from the web (I've even seen a screenshots stolen from Mobygames, for instance!).

[Bryce]

For me it's the equivalent of printing out the internet. I see no point in it.

Bryce.

[Gryzor]

...unless it's got material NOT found on the internet. In a good book, you don't have only screenshots.

[Bryce]

...unless it's got material NOT found on the internet. In a good book, you don't have only screenshots.

And where exactly are they getting their content from then? The local library?

Bryce.

[Gryzor]

Oh I don't know, where did people get their content before the Internet? Their brains, sometimes?

[Bryce]

Even I haven't come up with a way to print pictures from my brain yet. Installing the centronics connector proved to be too painful

Bryce.

[Gryzor]

...unless it's got material NOT found on the internet. In a good book, you don't have only screenshots.

:p

[||C|-|E||]

In a book like that, we could contribute with our own concepts and graphics from our own games... many of us are doing (or did) things for the CPC that are still for sure not well documented and maybe would be entertaining for others 

[chinnyhill10]

many of us are doing (or did) things for the CPC that are still for sure not well documented and maybe would be entertaining for others 

Commercial suicide I'm afraid.

[Bryce]

In a book like that, we could contribute with our own concepts and graphics from our own games... many of us are doing (or did) things for the CPC that are still for sure not well documented and maybe would be entertaining for others 

Or you could upload those things here?

Bryce.

[Gryzor]

The wiki is already perilously enough close to sentience. I'll not be the one to bring the world down.

[Sykobee (Briggsy)]

The other books are full of articles and interviews with game programmers and so on from back in the day. They nice to flip through when you don't want to be looking at a screen any more :-)

[ivarf]

Hmmmm, a Spectrum port in the top row???

Bryce.

What is the name of that game we see there? I remember having great fun playing it. You was sitting in a spaceship or something on a another planet, gravity and trusters. Was it released by Durell

[seanb]

The wiki is already perilously enough close to sentience. I'll not be the one to bring the world down.

Someone has to

[invent]

Hi Ivarf,


The games from left to right in top row are:


Head over Heels, Exolon, The Covenant, Thrust, and Turrican II

[invent]

Greetings Amstrad fans


It's been sometime since I have posted or even worked on some Amstrad pixels sadly but (its still on my todo projects list of course)


Sam Dyer, the very talented Director/Graphic Designer of Bitmap Books asked me today about interested in helping out with an Amstrad Bitmap Compendium Book.
At this moment in time I am swamped with work (game projects and personal art projects)


Do any of you know other Graphic Designers who might like to help Sam on this potential project.  If so could you contact Sam Directly. 


Twitter: https://twitter.com/MrSidC64
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