GEM Desktop Music

Music while you work!

Over the decades, I've seen many neat programs that play a piece of chip music in GEM as a background task. I always thought this was cool and wondered why there wasn't more. Well, it turns out there are a lot on several Budgie UK disks. (I don't think I ever saw these programs on any other floppy disks?)

I've spent some time going through my disks to gather a quick, no-frills compilation. Some of these tracks were made by Goth, but I'm not sure who else to credit for the rest - possibly Budgie UK? There's also an intro included, which is a scroller text by me using a utility coded by Dogue de Mauve of Overlanders.

I hope my floppy disk is of some interest to you, ST Nutters? Like it? Let me know in the comments!

(my download is updated to v1.1 -thanks to Tronic of Effect for his new addition!!) :-)

Evasion II

Ignore the looks - play it!

Evasion 2 was developed by Chris Skellern for Budgie UK and is a maze game where we run around collecting pills whilst being chased by the nasties. Yes, I know this sounds all too familiar, but the structure of the gameplay's mechanics is different for a frantic rush. Each level offers a chance to collect power-ups - to freeze the baddies, drop smart bombs, and gain extra lives. Heck, you can even drop mines in their path, which is a brilliant touch, I thought. The enemy's AI is really good and makes the game demanding.

There might only be 8 levels, but completing them grants the chance to do it again, with extra-zippy baddies!! You know, this is a perfect example of how cool Atari ST retro gaming is. Evasion is maddening, and I enjoyed the frenzied challenge. It's brilliant, and I'm sure you will love its adrenaline rush.

• Grab the download at AtariMania, and play Starburst (another corker by Chris Skellern).

Ignore how it looks. Yes, it isn't 1982, but since when did aesthetics matter?

These humble-looking tiny blighters are actually infuriatingly intelligent and fast!

I came so close to finally completing the game - and without cheating! :o)