@vga256@dialup.cafe
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

vga256

@vga256@dialup.cafe

indigenous canadian, recovering academic โ†’ game dev & interactive media artist with a penchant for dial-up modems, the 4o3 bbs scene, 1-bit art, trackers/mods, classic macs, and 80s and 90s gaming. curator of internet, canadian & gaming obscura.

game development: tomodashi studio
https://tomodashi.com

current major project: tomo, a decentralized discussion group network that's better than reddit https://tomo.city

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ
#nobot #nobots #noindex
(profile pic: a 1988 red fox 6ยข canada stamp)

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vga256, (edited ) to Fonts
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

oh hell yes. i think i just found the original typeface used: it was LTC Spire by the Lanston Type Company

edit: it led to a fascinating web preservation backstory about the origins of the font itself:
https://dialup.cafe/@vga256/112460660100094359

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@joshuaelliott ๐Ÿ˜† TIL that too!

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

yep, that's the font alright.

๐Ÿ˜Ž dare to dream

#geoworks #fonts

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

i am fascinated by this typeface history. as it turns out, Gerald Giampa was the owner of the LTC Spire typeface when it was licensed for use in the GeoWorks operating environment.

i had no idea that he was canadian, and moved his foundry to Prince Edward Island before it was destroyed in a tidal wave. P22 bought his font faces, and designed this absolutely gorgeous traditional web site called The Giampa Tour. it disappeared from the web over 10 years ago, and this is probably the first time it has been seen in a decade. it's full of incredibly nerdy typeface history, including some fantastic rants on how shitty Adobe was to deal with, even back in the late 1980s. ๐Ÿ˜†

this is what the world wide web was made for, and i'm so glad WBM managed to preserve a working copy, as P22 has been out of business for many years - and its website gone with it.

i've rebuilt the entire site using the WBM's snapshot for public viewing here, where it will remain as an online museum and tribute to Gerald Giampa's incredible work:

https://www.dialup.cafe/~giampa

#fonts #typefaces #history #canada #retroComputing #indieweb #smolweb

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@diogo_matias i just learned that term too - i had no idea those had a name until now

vga256, to random
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

fellow geoworks lovers and related operating system outcasts:

does anyone know how/where the GeoWorks 1.x/2.x system bitmap fonts are stored?

i'm speaking specifically about the fonts used throughout the UI, and the one used on the splash screen for "Ensemble 2.0"

i've spent hours trying to figure this out, and i'm not much closer

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@sillygwailo haha, that's @ernie - my favourite piece of his writing over the years ๐Ÿ˜„

vga256, to gameboy
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

every few weeks in the back of my mind i hear the echo of a kid yelling 'i got qix! this is the game! this is the game!'

that shrill voice haunted me for over 30 years, and i never was able to find its source, until 2 minutes ago

it was a game boy commercial from 1990

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeLixGKaij4

kirkman, to random
@kirkman@digipres.club avatar

Anyone else use MacPorts out there?

I can't install MariaDB right now, apparently because of an changes in libxml2 2.12+ (https://trac.macports.org/ticket/69428)

I'm trying to figure out if there's a way to install an older "formula" before this breaking change. Anyone know how to do that?

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@kirkman i assume you've already considered installing mysql8 instead?

ThreeOhFour, to random
@ThreeOhFour@mastodon.social avatar

I started a new sketchbook this week, I think it will be nice to post it page by page as a thread.

image/jpeg
image/jpeg
image/jpeg

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@ThreeOhFour these are just fantastic. research?

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@ThreeOhFour i really like the imaginary worlds expressed there. very evocative and easy to imagine my way into.

and honestly, i'm a sucker for any illustration that can pull this look off

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@ThreeOhFour haha. i wish they had done more with the flat silhouette cinematics. they're a bit sparsely used in the game. i think i only remember 2 or 3 altogether.

anyway, excited to see you embarking on some new images and styles!

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@ThreeOhFour ๐Ÿ˜

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@ThreeOhFour great sense of movement and weight with the oil monger!

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@ThreeOhFour ahhh wonderful

NunavutBirder, to random
@NunavutBirder@mas.to avatar

Darren Dutchyshen passed away? Godspeed Porcupine Plainโ€™s greatest son.

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@NunavutBirder holy shit. i had no idea.

billgoats, to random
@billgoats@bitbang.social avatar

Iโ€™m on a boat! As the old saying goes.

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@billgoats on the ferry to the islands?

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@billgoats looks like a perfect evening for it. not choppy at all. i am envious!

vga256,
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@pierrenick @billgoats haha
i've never yet had a sailing where we didn't speed to make it on time, only to find out that (a) we missed the ferry, or (b) the ferry was full an hour before we arrived

radiofreelunch, to random
@radiofreelunch@mastodon.gamedev.place avatar

@newtontalk A friend said people here might be interested in Newton devices. I think I will keep the 2000 (so I can theoretically run my software) but the others are available to anyone who wants to pay shipping from Tacoma, WA. (Preferably as a set.) #newton #messagepad

Newton MessagePad with charger and memory card

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@radiofreelunch argh, i'm like a moth to the flame. i thought about it all afternoon, and i can't resist a beautiful newton ๐Ÿ˜‚

count me in for the entire set. will arrange shipping with you via PM ๐Ÿ˜…

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@radiofreelunch ๐Ÿคฃ that was honestly one of the first things i thought about: BBSing from a newton

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@radiofreelunch thanks for the offer, but i think that one's beyond my skillset for repair ๐Ÿ˜…

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@radiofreelunch my friend had a very similar model. it was over an inch thick, and you could hear the fan running while he was taking notes in class. the handwriting recognition was surprisingly good.

radiofreelunch, to random
@radiofreelunch@mastodon.gamedev.place avatar

@vga256 Probably not your thing but I have a bunch of old Newton devices. I think I want to keep one to see my software but want a home for the others. (My very minimal search didnโ€™t turn up anywhere that people were wanting them.)

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@radiofreelunch fwiw, #newton and @newtontalk are followed by many newton fans, and a free newton would be scooped up in minutes

vga256,
@vga256@dialup.cafe avatar

@radiofreelunch @newtontalk interesting story behind that one. found its entry in the UNNA:
http://www.unna.org/unnasearch/entry.php?pkey=326

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