An upcoming title from Fusion Retro Books, ZX Nightmares is devoted to the worst of the ZX Spectrum computer. With a planned 232 full-colour hard-backed pages, the book has been compiled and written by author and journalist Graeme Mason, with a foreword by CRASH writer Nick Roberts.
Described as “a book on those games on the ZX Spectrum that kept you up at night,” the initial £7,500 target has been passed by twice as much at the time of writing. Indeed, the first stretch goal has already been met, with an extra 16 pages devoted to the book.
- Stretch #1 – £12k – extra 16 pages – 8 more games covered (this has been reached)
- Stretch #2 – £16.5k – dust cover
- Stretch #3 – £20k – 16 pages more
- Stretch #4 – £24k – bookmark ribbons
As with any Kickstarter featured on these pages, we encourage you to back this. It’s particularly smart to get a move on with this one, however. While Fusion Retro Books usually run 30-day campaigns, this one is just 10 days long – and there are only 6 days left.
The book will be split into dour main sectionsber of chapters:
- Loathsome Licences
- Patience Of A Saint
- They Did What?!
- Simply Awful
These sections cover licensed games for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum that were poorly produced and ill-conceived, and while licensing a popular property was a sure-fire way for software houses to gain recognition, not everything translated well on to the ZX Spectrum; devious and frustrating games for developers, who were limited by the technical constraints of the computer, coding, publishing, and marketing nightmares that defy reason today; how nobody sets out to make a bad game, but with limited experience, intense time pressure, and technical constraints, sometimes things just don’t work out…
To back ZX Nightmares while there is still time, head to the Kickstarter page now to make your pledge.
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Christian Cawley is the founder and editor of GamingRetro.co.uk, a website dedicated to classic and retro gaming. With over 20 years of experience writing for technology and gaming publications, he brings considerable expertise and a lifelong passion for interactive entertainment, particularly games from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras.
Christian has written for leading outlets including TechRadar, Computer Weekly, Linux Format, and MakeUseOf, where he also served as Deputy Editor.
When he’s not exploring vintage consoles or retro PCs, Christian enjoys building with LEGO, playing cigar box guitar, and experimenting in the kitchen.
