Well, 2011 was a busy year for us at www.rgcd.co.uk. I thought I'd give a quick heads-up regarding this year's strategy.

First up, as from April this year I'll be running RGCD as a proper and considerably more professional business, and all of our recent (and future) cartridges will be available to buy on a permanent basis. Although I appreciate that this makes them less 'collectable' as they'll no longer be limited items, but at least it will mean that everyone gets a chance to buy one. As it is, I receive emails every day asking when/if certain games will be available again.

Our accounts will be transparent for the developers, and any profits made will be split amongst the team behind each game - so your money will be directly supporting the development of new games

We will not be raising our prices unless postage costs go up in April, and instead of four postage options we'll be using just two; Europe and Rest of World. For people wanting to buy more than one game at a time, we'll recommend that you contact us directly for a quote to ensure that you don't over pay on postage (or if the value of the package is high, that it is adequately insured).

I'm currently updating and improving our 'shop' system, and we already have 6 new releases lined up and more or less ready to go (with others being worked on).

We'll also be working closer with Psytronik, bringing our debut 64kb cartridge release out very soon. Hopefully, we'll be releasing some of our future products out on disk and tape through Psytronik as well.

There will be another RGCD game-dev compo this year, running the same period as last year, and yes, it will be limited to 16kb. 16kb is a cool limitation as it forces people to think outside the box to create a decent game within such a small space.

And that's not all - we are branching out to other platforms and will possibly be looking into hardware development as well.

Anyway - 2011 was a great year for the C64 scene, and 2012 looks to be even better

Sounds exciting stuff.

Best wishes for the future.

Way to go. I wish you good luck and hope it all works out good for you and your team

Iain
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Lots on your plate then mate... can't wait
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Oh, this is still a 'in my spare time' and not 'full time' job - it's just that it makes sense to do it all properly from now on with accounts and such instead of as a hobby.

Thanks for all the good wishes. Psytronik & RGCD will be blowing up the C64 scene this year

I cannot wait to get a look at all you have to offer!





Lite

Looking forward to having a spending spree soon then!!

We ALL are waiting for your future releases !!!!!!!!!!
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Without giving too much away, the immediate releases (and dates) look to be:

April

* Fairy Well (at last). Flemming Dupont is working on the box, manual and sticker art (85% done).
* Soulless, our first 64KB game cartridge (and first collab with Psytronik). The game is pretty much ready to go, just needs recompiling for the cart and the package of extras to be put together. If not ready by late April, it will be early May.
* The Mollusk Redux. New improved version of The Mollusk (by Achim) from the RGCD compo with streamlined controls and more high-score orientated arcade gameplay. The game is complete, just waiting for Flemming to do the box artwork

We'll also be putting out an Atari Jaguar game by our friends over at Reboot

May

* Space Lords (improved final version). This has had a complete overhaul, and is pretty fantastic as a result. Still being worked on, but it should be complete in May.
* Get 'Em (Deluxe). Endurion will finish this little game with all new gfx, music and possibly even a two player mode after Soulless. I'm really looking forward to it
* On The Farm III (improved). Achim is currently updating the scoring system as a result of player feedback for this neat little TND arcade game, and then it's box design time...

June and Beyond...

In addition to a number of TBA projects in negotiation, going forward we'll also be releasing...

* Smila & Endurion's Catnipped (again in collaboration with Psytronik).
* another TOP SECRET and AUTHORISED indie/C64 scene crossover game by Paul Koller. And no, it's not VVVVVV (although we also have permission to release that as well).

I wish I could tell you more, but that's your lot for now

It's a new pcb developed by Tim Harris and Ray from Arkanix Labs, based on Hucky's design (with his permission) with a few fixes. The same design can be used to make 128kb carts as well, and has a jumper to allow for multiple configurations.

Tim is currently dealing with RGCD exclusively, as he doesn't want cracked copies of commercial games being illegally sold on cartridge and IP holders then tracing the pcbs back to him. This is the main reason for setting up RGCD as a proper business - to ensure that our activities are fully auditable and that developers get the best deal possible.

However, if people are willing to obtain the rights to do so (as in through the original developer and publisher - like Psytronik did with Mayhem in Monsterland) then yes, these carts are perfectly suited for a commercial re-release.

Oh, and yes, all ordered carts are now on route to their destinations

It's looking like it's gonna be an exciting year ahead and I'm looking forward to collaborating with RCGD on future releases - it's great to be able to offer new titles on cartridge format as well as the usual tape / disk!
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To my shame I've never bought a single "new" C64 game.
Might be the year for me to change that...

PS: there's a stray full stop in your url so it doesn't work.

Sounds like some great plans, good luck! Will have to set aside some cash to grab some of the new cartridge releases.

The C64 Cartridge Competition is the best thing that happened to c64 game scene in recent years promoting the number and quality of developments, but IMHO the only fault is to limit it to 16Kb.

Why not allow a 64Kb (or no limit) category cartridge games?? so we could enjoy some new gems like Soulless

Wow, that's a lot of cool updates! I'll do my best to make the covers for Fairy Well, Mollusk Redux and On The Farm III as nice looking as possible

@Carlos: I think that the keyword here is 'Competition' more than just great games being made for us players to enjoy (although this is a nice bonus side effect!). The limit of 16kb really makes it a challenge, which is what's makes it more fun for those who enter the competition. Also, the focus on 16kb limits the projects scope and therefore makes it more realistic that the games will be completed in time for the deadline.

@Heavy Stylus: After reading the latest issue of Retro Gamer, i think you should try and contact Andrew Braybrook (if possible), as it sounds as if he is ready for programming games again. Would be nice if he would give the C64 another go, instead of the iPhone...


Flemming AKA 'Fandenivoldsk'
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Fantasitic Heavy Stylus, 2012 and we have cartridge label for 1982 computer. C64 alive and kicking for 30 years!
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Link

Very nice package. When will it be available?
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Early April

I really dig everything you are doing to keep the C64 going. I think 2011 was one of the biggest retro-revival years ever.. this is based on the massive influx of releases + my goings-on (of course). Keep up the good work!
p.s. I really love Uwol, my favorite new-c64 game.

best regards,
- dink