We are hosting the Foundations of Digital Games 2026 conference August 10-13 in Copenhagen. Fabulous keynotes by Valentina Nisi, Tim Garbos, and Miguel Sicart. See you in August! Read more and register here: fdg2026.org

Happy to share that my book Half-Real is out in complex Chinese, titled "電玩的本質 - 遊走於真實規則與虛構世界的藝術"!

Get the book here: jesperjuul.net/c64/

Stafan Höltgen has kindly reviewed Too Much Fun (in German). "What is astonishing is both the breadth and depth with which the author presents the platform." www.hsozkult.de/searching/id...

What are the European alternatives to Google Docs and Microsoft 365 for students, writers, and project workers? I couldn't find any good answers, so I have reviewed the four top packages and provided my recommendations. I hope you find it useful! www.jesperjuul.net/ludologist/2...

Seems backup software is about toying with immortality.

We are happy to welcome Matthew Farber and Tracy Fullerton's wonderful new book "The Well-Read Game" in the Playful Thinking series! mitpress.mit.edu/978026255223...

[Launch event in Danish.] Kom til bogrelease, diskussion, og fejring af Commodore 64'erens danske historie! 11. marts 2025, kl 17:00-19:30. Kongelige Akademi, København K Detaljer her: jesperjuul.net/c64/dk/ #c64 #c64games

"A History of the Commodore 64 in Twelve Objects". Object #12: The Commodordion – two C64s = one Accordion Full story at www.jesperjuul.net/c64/history/... The surprisingly long history of the C64 shows that old tech can still create something entirely new. www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBCY... #c64

"A History of the Commodore 64 in Twelve Objects". Object #11: Turrican II - Keeping up with the Amiga Full story at jesperjuul.net/c64/history/... Coming Jan 17th: Object 12 – The Commodordion – two C64s as musical instrument #c64 #c64games

In 2009, I tried extrapolating budget trendlines and thought it preposterous to think that by 2031 some games would cost $500 million to develop. Yet it happened, and much sooner than that. (Consoles came out at a slower pace.)

Deux Ex Machina solid textured rotating objects

Deux Ex Machina elegant transition from desktop

The Commodore 64’s commercial life ended before the internet, so early C64 culture was mainly material. The lucky few got *paper* invites to a demo party. Full story at www.jesperjuul.net/c64/history/... Coming Jan 10th: Object #11 – Turrican II - keeping up with the Amiga #c64

The Commodore 64 came with glaring flaws like slow tape, slow disk drive, and missing BASIC commands. Commodore newer fixed these problems but Final Cartridge did. Full story at jesperjuul.net/c64/history/... Coming Jan 3rd: Object #10 – You are invited to a Demo Party #c64

"The History of the Commodore 64 in Twelve Objects". Object #8: Floppy disk (with pirated games) Full story at www.jesperjuul.net/c64/history/... Coming December 27th: Object #9 – Final Cartridge; fixing the C64's flaws #c64

"The History of the Commodore 64 in Twelve Objects". Object #7: The SID Chip – Commodore 64 Music Full story at jesperjuul.net/c64/history/... What was your favorite C64 music? Coming December 20th: Object #8 – Floppy disk (with pirated games) #c64

My book "Too Much Fun: The Fives Lives of the Commodore 64 Computer" about games and computers, is out today! "The surprising history of the Commodore 64, the best-selling home computer of the 1980s—the machine that taught the world that computing should be fun." jesperjuul.net/c64/

"The History of the Commodore 64 in Twelve Objects". Object #6: Wizball and other Scrolling Games The C64 invention of the scrolling action-adventure game. Full story at jesperjuul.net/c64/history/... What scrolling games did you play? Coming Dec 13th: Object #7 – The SID Chip / #C64 Music

"The History of the Commodore 64 in Twelve Objects". Object #5: Zzap!64, Compute's Gazette and 64'er magazines - game reviews, code, and type-in programs Full story at jesperjuul.net/c64/history/... Coming December 6th: Object #6 – Wizball and other scrolling games #c64

"The History of the Commodore 64 in Twelve Objects". Object #4: Impossible Mission and Tapes "Another Visitor. Stay a while, stay forever!" What are your memories of C64 games and tapes? Full story at shorturl.at/6XycJ Coming November 29th: Object #5 – Zzap!64 and other magazines. #c64

"The History of the Commodore 64 in Twelve Objects", posted weekly from November 1st, 2024. (On the occasion of my new book.) Object #3: "We promise you won't use the Commodore 64 more than 24 Hours a Day" - advertising What C64 ads do you remember? www.jesperjuul.net/c64/history/... #c64

"The History of the Commodore 64 in Twelve Objects", posted weekly from November 2024. (On the occasion of my upcoming book.) Object #2, 10 PRINT “HELLO!”: GOTO 10 Full story at: shorturl.at/Kf4CH Next week: Object #3: “We Promise You Won’t Use the Commodore 64 More than 24 Hours a Day” ad #c64

"The History of the Commodore 64 in Twelve Objects", posted weekly from November 1st, 2024. (On the occasion of my new book.) Object #1: The Commodore 64 itself, known affectionately as "the breadbox". Launched in 1982. Full story: shorturl.at/6vrF2 Next week: Object #2, 10 PRINT “HELLO”: GOTO 10

The cover for my new book is here! (Actual book coming December 10th.)

We are proud to present Peter McDonald's new book in the Playful Thinking series, "Run and Jump: The Meaning of the 2D Platformer." available in open access. mitpress.mit.edu/978026254739...

We are hosting the next *Spilbar* Copenhagen game industry meetup on November 20th, about "Paths to Success & Pitfalls to Failure". Hope to see you there!

Great.

Mad Magazine's 1985 spoof "Computer Company President of the Year”, chose as target not Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, but Commodore's Jack Tramiel. The Commodore 64 was a big deal, sometimes criticized for being a "game machine".