Bitmap Books have been absolutely astonishing in their level of output. In 2014 they funded two different high-quality coffee table books: Commodore 64: a visual Commpendium and Commodore Amiga: a visual Commpendium. Now they’ve moved beyond showering the Commodore in affection and have moved to another retro computer – the ZX Spectrum. Even more than the previous pick, it’s likely that far fewer U.S.-based gamers are aware of the ZX Spectrum at all. With that said, the European retro gaming community is downright massive. This book was already funded on its first day. That’s downright impressive when the goal was over $30,000 (converted from Pounds).
So what can readers expect from ZX Spectrum: a visual compendium? About the same as each of Bitmap Books’ work. Basically every page will include gorgeous high resolution artwork from the games (screenshots, concept art, posters, etc). Although some may find this pixel art less endearing than the more defined Commodoare art, it definitely has its own charm. Of course, those who grew up with the ZX Spectrum will have the greatest appreciation for the book’s presentation. Written contributors include names from classic development teams such as Codemasters, Elite, and Ocean).
If you’re a fan of the ZX Spectrum and haven’t yet looked over the campaign I have a big tip for you. At the time of this writing there’s something very special you can pledge toward. At the approximately $94 level you can own one of 100 copies of Metal Man Remixed. This is actually a ZX Spectrum game on cassette! Or, you can simply nab ZX Spectrum: a visual compendium itself for $16 as a PDF (or $39 for hardback copy).
Track the progress of the ZX Spectrum: A Visual Compendium Kickstarter in our Campaign Calendar.
As cool as this and the Commodore books are I’m holding out hope for a campaign for an Atari ST compendium. I’d drop a good deal of money for one of those. 😀
I’m really pulling for a “Crappy 286 running Dos 5.0” compendium 🙂