Metranaut

This was my third and final Commodore 64 (C64) game, and looking back, it was the best one I made. By this point I'd learned from the mistakes of the previous two games and wanted to try something more ambitious.

The Level Editor

I decided to give players the ability to create their own levels. This was fairly advanced for the time - most games had fixed levels, and here I was building a level editor into a budget game. It was the kind of feature that made the game stand out.

The technical challenge was interesting. You had to make the editor simple enough for people to use but powerful enough to create genuinely playable levels. All within the memory constraints of a C64.

Finding a Proper Publisher

After the hassle of chasing royalty payments from Scorpio Games, I knew I needed a different publisher. I made six clean cassette copies of the game, carefully packed them into jiffy bags, and sent them to publisher addresses I found in magazine advertisements.

Most publishers did respond, but Bubble Bus Software was the most promising. I was already a big fan of their pool game, so it felt like a good fit. More importantly, they had a solid reputation.

Getting Paid Properly

The royalties were good for the time, and there were no issues getting paid. After the experience with Scorpio, this was a revelation. Turns out working with a professional publisher makes a difference.

Bubble Bus even discussed me relocating to their office and hiring me as a staff programmer. It was tempting, but I'd already had offers from local Manchester companies. Staying local was the easier choice, and honestly, staying near family and friends mattered.

Moving On

Metranaut marked the end of my C64 game development. I was 18, and it was time to move into professional programming. The games had taught me how to ship software, how to deal with publishers, and how to actually finish projects. That foundation stayed with me throughout my career.

Looking at the videos now, it was a solid effort. Not perfect, but decent work for a teenager learning on the job.