Thirty years ago, a little computer with rubber keys, a handful of colours and a squawking soundbox changed the world. The ZX Spectrum inspired a generation of British enthusiasts not only to play games but to create them.
Free from the pressure of today’s global markets and blockbuster budgets, eager young coders gathered in bedrooms and offices above shops to see just what these new-fangled “computer games” could do.
The result was a flood of games with a unique British flavour that has never been equalled. The British games industry would go on to create such hits as Tomb Raider, Grand Theft Auto and the Lego series, our innovation and imagination the envy of the world, our programmers the most sought after talent in the fastest growing entertainment medium in history.
And it all started here. Welcome to the Speccy Nation.
Join veteran games journalist and author Dan Whitehead on a journey through fifty classic games that helped define the golden age of British gaming, from timeless classics to unlikely cult favourites, and even the games so bizarre and eccentric they could only have flourished on the ZX Spectrum in the 1980s.
Part nostalgic look at the past, and part critical eye on the present and future, Speccy Nation is essential reading for all retro gaming enthusiasts.
For the authentic retro experience, Speccy Nation includes a foreword by Your Sinclair’s Phil “Snouty” South.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Availability: Speccy Nation is available now in paperback from Amazon and as an e-book for Kindle, published by The Zebra Partnership.
Price: RRP £3.99 (print) or £1 (digital).
ISBN: 9781479193929
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dan Whitehead has been writing about games professionally since 1991, when he first started out as a staff writer for Amiga Computing. Since then he has written for dozens of publications, including PlayStation Pro and the Official Xbox Magazine, worked as a specialist writer for Guinness World Records and sits on several gaming juries for BAFTA. In 2004 he edited the Retro Gamer Your Sinclair supplement. He currently writes for Eurogamer and Big Issue In The North, and runs Word Play, a scriptwriting consultancy for games developers.
