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 types of 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 insanely 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. Highly recommended!!

Grab the download off AtariMania and why not also play Starburst (another corker by Chris Skellern).

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

Beware, these humble-looking tiny blighters are actually infuriatingly intelligent and fast!

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