Home Page of Anthony Burns

 

 

Born 1979. Have now finished teaching English in Beijing, and am back in Cardiff, Wales, temping, procrastinating, and occasionally flexing my creative muscles. Listening to Leonard Cohen, Peter Hammill, Genesis (Peter Gabriel years), Maddy Prior, and watching "Lost" far too obsessively for such a deeply flawed show... Everything on this site is free for your perusal and use, but credit where credit's due, please (either to me, or to whomever I stole my ideas from ;) ).

I also design costumes for "The Sims2", and am open to requests.

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FREEWARE GAMES...

Set in the same world as Imperial Zeppelin (below), this game arose partly from my need to create a game with two-way parallax scrolling (in the vein of the great, though barely remembered Flimbo's Quest), and partly from a sore lack of female engineers in the whole world of video games and fantasy-fiction. The game play is essentially similar to retro puzzle games such as Fantastic Dizzy, albeit with a tad more carnage and the ability to fly.

Once again, my protagonist resembles a creature from mythology (a vampire / succubus), whereas she is in fact the product of military experimentation in a devastated no-man's-land of a parallel universe. The idea being that such mutations from long-dead societies gave rise to our ancient legends (and I'm sorry to say that Tolkien was there way before me...). 

 

Not to beat around the bush, Space Invaders with bells and whistles...

If I may be allowed a little beating, however, I would add that this game also incorporates classic elements from some of my other all-time arcade favourites such as R-Type (the charge-up plasma beam), Ghouls 'n' Ghosts (the armour system), and just about any shoot-em-up featuring a duel with a dirty great mothership as an obscenely unevenly-matched climax.
This game is set in a world that was once sophisticated and high-tech, but a centuries-old war of attrition has reduced it to an anarchic wasteland populated by mutated lifeforms resembling mythical creatures (none of whom intend to make friends with you). Even your "ship" resembles a Victorian-style fairy, but don't let that fool you into thinking she doesn't know how to fling a plasma bolt. The title of this game, incidentally, was pinched from an old Peter Hammill song. Since I'm not anticipating any profits, I'm sure he won't mind...
 

A private eye adventure set in Aztec-era Mexico. I've taken a few historical liberties, which is nothing compared with the liberties I've taken scientifically... However, the authentic detail is lurking in there somewhere, and if you enjoy platform adventure games in the classic style (Monty Mole, Dizzy, and their many imitators), this might be a welcome dose of nostalgic escapism.

For all those who remember the golden age of computer gaming and especially the adventuring exploits of Dizzy the egg, here are my tiny homages:

"Dizzy in the Pits"
My first Visual Basic game, loosely based on "Quatermass and the Pit". Nothing too complicated, but the climax ought to be fairly surprising...
"Dizzy and the God's Vengeance"
Introduces the overland map: a concept I borrowed from classic RPGs such as "Phantasy Star", but also with a hint of Dizzy arcade games such as "Kwik Snax" and "Fast Food", hence the music. This game sees the return of a very old "friend", not to mention the return of some really quite dreadful poetry...
"Dizzy and the Curse of Spirit Island"
(Or "Treasure Island Dizzy Gaiden", to make this sound almost professional) This is set between Dizzy II and III in the official series, and is (very loosely) inspired by the ABC series "Lost". Introduces new controls, cut-scenes, and alcohol, not that Dizzy hasn't fallen off the wagon before. Remember that bottle of whisky?
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FICTION...

The following novel is complete and free for your reading pleasure. Feedback is welcome. (Guestbook below)

Gloriana's Mask

Fairytale noir. The brilliant and very nearly benevolent Gloriana, self-appointed ruler of the daemon race, has devised a plan that will restore the world to a golden age of peace, and the pursuit of simple, guiltless passions for all and sundry. This will at first require the total destruction of modern society, but as luck would have it, she has a plan for that too. Lord-Delator Calderon - executive of the Lucinian senate, sent to investigate her highness's sudden and mysterious ascent to power - might put a stop to her deranged machinations, if he can possibly fit it in before his next committee meeting. In the likely event of his failure, Gloriana's own reluctant allies - the feudal and isolationist Albinor - might call a halt to her delusions of god-hood, if they can look beyond their hatred and distrust for the Lucinians and their bloodthirsty domestic rivalries. Or failing that, the future of civilisation might rest in the hands of Xitlan - a wealthy craftswoman of the bronze-age Sun Empire - and her close friend Deacon Itzco, who are not above a spot of cold-blooded murder when social stability is at stake.

Many are opposed to the regent's fanatical ambitions, but all have their excellent reasons for taking such limited and useless action that her success begins to seem inevitable. This is much to her amusement and delight, not only for the sake of her own faltering grip on power, but for the human race she both despises and pities. But in a fairytale world where good and evil are clothes loosely worn by circumstances, would she or anyone else even recognise a happy ending if it hit them in the teeth?

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LINKS...

The Wuthering Heights Sims Story Site

This version of the classic Bronte novel uses characters from "The Sims 2" (wearing custom costumes designed by moi) to play the parts of Heathcliff, Cathy, and all the ones who didn't make it into the Kate Bush song... If anything, this is made more hilarious by the limitations of a life-simulator designed for a 21st century American suburbia look being used instead for an 18th-century gothic England. Lots of images, so mind the bandwidth, and keep a note of your page.

Programmer's Heaven

Programmers Heaven - Where programmers go!

The Sims Resource

Where legions of highly-talented designers selflessly labour to produce clothes, houses, and all manner of goods and chattels for little electronic people. And yes, I have considered getting a life...

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ajdburns@yahoo.co.uk

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02/04/08