ahoy

2001.

2001 was a monumental year for video games. A year that saw the formation of the modern console landscape.

It's the inevitable follow up to the 2000 video - the first video did quite well, so I'm testing further viability. I'd quite like to cover the entire noughties eventually.

Next up: I'm not sure yet. The Molyneux series ought to continue, so I'll lay some plans for that. But equally, I think it's time for RetroAhoy to return. I can't rule out something off-the-wall, either. I guess I'll see what takes my fancy over the next week or so.

In the mean time, Merry Christmas!

Vlog December '25 (Music Special)

In which I produce a counterfeit version of Linkin Park.

The 2001 vid is near completion, I'm hoping to release it this week!

In the meantime, the full 2001 soundtrack is here: https://soundcloud.com/xahoy/2001-soundtrack

(.FLAC Downloads will be provided soon)

Vlog playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_HMHCOFcqy6jpNK3JhmN7Pd1j2uq7VY_

Bonus.

It's back.

It's just me rambling into a microphone, but it's back.

I'm bringing back Bonus.

Bonus was an informal Q&A series on my second channel (Ahoy² ), originally made with leftover clips from the weapon guide. It ran from 2010 until 2017, shunted out of priority by the pressures of parenthood. I know some of you mourn the loss. It's time to bring it back.

Leave your questions in the comments of this post and I'll pick them up at the end of this week.

(I've posted this on YouTube as well, but I'll pick up your questions here too)

The Return of the Vlog

It's about time.

I have some good news about Krush - after some time rewriting the graphics code, it's actually in an operational state again. I'll package and distribute a build soon.

Vlog playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_HMHCOFcqy6jpNK3JhmN7Pd1j2uq7VY_

Molyneux Soundtrack

Here's the lossless soundtrack from the first part of the Molyneux doc. More parts to follow, naturally - and I'll release an album once the series is complete.

Next up: I'm starting work on part two of the Molyneux saga, which will cover his transition to the PC during 94-99, and may possibly extend to cover Black and White (although that may end up being part three). I'm also going to do a follow up to 2000, rather unimaginatively called 2001.

MOLYNEUX: The Nobody

Part one of a reappraisal of Peter Molyneux's career - and reputation.

Originally I planned a long video on the entirety of Molyneux's career, but production realities have forced me to reassess my approach. Instead, I'm splitting the video into a series - with each part focussing on an era of Molyneux's career that helped shape his reputation.

First up is 'The Nobody', which looks at the very start of his career. A tale of perserverance, if anything, as Peter found his footing and struck gold with Populous. We end with the death of the 16-bit machines, and the precipitous leap to a new era.

Part two (released when it's done!) will focus on his work from 94-99, and his eventual departure from Bullfrog.

The graphics for this video were fun - they're linocut prints!

Brat Soundtrack

Here's the music I did for Brat. It's a remix of the game's background music, originally done by Bjørn Lynne (also known as Dr Awesome).

Here's the original, for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmzMCdnYKpc

It's some of his early commercial work, right off the back of his demoscene work. In 1992 he joined Team 17 and went on to do the soundtracks for Project-X, Qwak, Worms and Alien Breed 3D.

I can't say I'm a huge fan of the music from Brat, though. It's a little toytown for my tastes, and there's only one track in the game - so it gets a bit repetitive. The waterfall arpeggio in the middle is perfect, though.

Brat.

It's the sunglasses: The leather jacket; The gold chain. This isn't just some cute baby - it's a cute baby with attitude.

I wanted to do a RetroAhoy-like format that could work for less well known games. The trouble with RetroAhoy is it's quite comprehensive, which often means long runtimes and a rigid chronological structure. I thought I'd try a lighter, more freeform approach - focusing on the interesting aspects of a game rather than trying to cover all of them.

And so here's Brat. The structure's a little loose, but there's a nice story in there somewhere.

Flatline Soundtrack back on Spotify

Good news! After a brief absence (it was pulled due to artificial streams beyond my control), the Flatline soundtrack has returned to Spotify.

2000 Soundtrack

I've finally got around to compiling the soundtrack from the year 2000 video - the full tracks are in the ZIP file attached.

Unmixed, lossless, and definitely not entirely original.

2000.

A year in gaming. Some of you might even remember it.

I've been wanting to do a chronological cross-section like this for a while. An attempt to make a cohesive narrative across the myriad releases and events of a single year. It's challenging for a number of reasons, the least of which is that history seldom has hard edges and cutting off at the end of a calendar year isn't always natural.

Anyway, it's a chance for me to set off a nostalgia bomb and lean into the aesthetic of the era. I also have a theory that broader topics with a simple premise tend to do better, but we'll see about that.

Chainsaw.

The sound, the blood - the fun!

It is time for another Iconic Arms.

RollerCoaster Tycoon was the last of its kind.

A midlength look at Chris Sawyer's career, particularly focused on Chris' style of development and a games industry that left him behind.

I've been going off-piste a little with recent videos, taking a more freeform approach to format. While it's good to experiment (I find established series a little constraining at times), I do plan on returning to some fan favourites soon.

Nobody Knows How Many Amigas Commodore Sold

The lack of accurate Amiga sales figures has always bothered me. They became particularly apparent when I was writing 'Flatline' back in 2018. I knew the Amiga had a slow start, but it was impossible to quantify with any real data - Commodore were not forthcoming with unit sales.

There was only one hope for any official information on the matter - Commodore's annual shareholder reports. Sadly, I was unable to locate them.

But around a year after Flatline's release, a chance listing on eBay meant that I was able to acquire four such reports - and they were from a crucial period of the Amiga's lifespan. Since then, they've been sat on a shelf, silently begging me to plumb their tables of data and financial spiel to uncover the secrets within.

This video is the result.

I'm not sure if it's the most interesting thing I've ever done, but the quest for historical truth is seldom glamorous. In any case, I'll probably do something lighter next - and I'm just happy to close the loop that my research for Flatline originally untangled!

MODERN WARFARE: How Call of Duty 4 Changed a Genre Forever

Surprisingly, I've never made a Call of Duty 4 video. It's featured in plenty, but I figured it's probably about time I gave it more devoted attention.

It's also 17 years old - a painful realisation - but also an excuse to consider it retro enough to write about its history. I was most curious about the transition from the WW2-era Call of Duty games to the modern setting of COD4, and I wanted to capture some of the contemporary reaction to this reveal.

This video focuses primarily on the period between Call of Duty 2's release in 2005, through the development of COD4: Modern Warfare to its release in 2007. Think of it as a slice of RetroAhoy - a more detailed, focused subset that doesn't need a 4-hour video to cover every aspect of the series at once.

Cannon Fodder Remixes

Cannon Fodder had a great soundtrack, of course. The intro track, War (Has Never Been So Much Fun), is particularly memorable for its vocals. The Boot Hill theme is called Narcissus, and it's actually a remake of a song Jon Hare did back in 1984 (you can hear the original here: https://soundcloud.com/jonhare-1/narcissus-cannon-fodder-hill )

Anyway, I remixed them for the latest video - here's the audio.

POPPY GAME INSULT TO OUR WAR DEAD

War has never been so much fun. (It's a Cannon Fodder video.)

Doom Remixes

I did a few remixes of the Doom soundtrack for my most recent video (as ever, I needed some background music). I'm not likely to release these through any official channel - so, for your listening pleasure - downloads are attached.

MOLYNEUX - The Nobody [Preview]

A preview of part of a forthcoming documentary on Peter Molyneux.

MOLYNEUX is a detailed examination of the events during Peter Molyneux's career that have come to define his reputation - and an attempt to reconcile the mind behind games like Populous, Theme Park, Magic Carpet, Dungeon Keeper with his public perception today.

This is the first part (excluding the introduction) that details Peter's early career - and his rise to fame during the 16-bit era.

A couple of more parts to be done yet - I've yet to cover Peter's transition to the PC, and everything that happened post-Milo. I expect this will end up as quite a long video!

What genre is DOOM?

'I know what you're thinking. It's a stupid question - it's an FPS. It's the definitive FPS!'

One of my goals this year is to produce more regular, shorter content - 10 minutes or so. The grander feature length productions are great - but they can take many months to complete. Work continues on the big Molyneux documentary - but in the meantime, you can expect some shorter (and perhaps more experimental) videos to fill the gap.

This one is a look at the formation of a genre: How the first-person shooter coalesced into a new category of games; And how the terminology changed during that evolution. It's a healthy mix of video game history with absurdism, which I think is the only way to treat the mess which is video game genres.

G36.

A modern assault rifle made for a modern Germany.

MOLYNEUX - Milo [Preview]

A preview of part of a forthcoming documentary on Peter Molyneux.

MOLYNEUX is a detailed examination of the events during Peter Molyneux's career that have come to define his reputation - and an attempt to reconcile the mind behind games like Populous, Theme Park, Magic Carpet, Dungeon Keeper with his public perception today.

This is the fourth self-contained part, titled 'Milo' - the story of the ill-fated 'Project Milo', and Molyneux's involvement with Microsoft's Kinect.

Final documentary will have six parts in total (probably).

MOLYNEUX - The Acorn [Preview]

MOLYNEUX is a detailed examination of the events during Peter Molyneux's career that have come to define his reputation - and an attempt to reconcile the mind behind games like Populous, Theme Park, Magic Carpet, Dungeon Keeper etc. with his public perception today. 

This is the third self-contained part, titled 'The Acorn'. It details Peter's involvement with the development of Big Blue Box's Fable - notable for his pre-release hype of features within the game that didn't make it to release.

 Final documentary will have six parts in total (probably).

Four-Byte Burger

"Can I show you my favourite piece of pixel art?"

I had originally planned a video on some of the technical peculiarities of floppy disks, but during the early stages of that project I was struck with inspiration for another. 

Four-Byte Burger is a bit of an odd one - there's a blend of tech history, with some deep analysis and practical demonstration. I'm not sure it will hit the fancy of my traditional subscriber base, but it's good to indulge in the unusual sometimes.

Barrett .50 Cal.

Every rule has exceptions – and sometimes you need an exceptional rifle.

RetroAhoy: X-COM

Trackers: The Sound of 16-Bit

Let me take you back to around 1984 - the dawn of 16-bit computing, and the emergence of a new style of computer music.

Ever since I did 'A Brief History of Graphics', I wanted to do a similar treatment for sound & music - but rather than attempt to cover everything in a single video, I thought it would be better to focus on a single topic. This time it's trackers - a format dear to me as it was my introduction to computer music.

Flamethrower.

You ought to be afraid. Iconic Arms returns with the flamethrower.

Patreon Vlog №25

Slight change to the usual Q&A format as I fancy doing more experimental stuff - also my usual recording space is in disarray due to ongoing work.

Vlog playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_HMHCOFcqy6jpNK3JhmN7Pd1j2uq7VY_