The author and his Silicon Dreams

Ever since I plugged in my ZX81 I have dreamt of making 3D graphics in one form or another. About 9 years ago I wrote a program called 'Model Universe' for the Amstrad 8 bit home computer. For a while it transformed my meagre equipment into a top of the range graphics super computer - at least in my eyes. One magazine journalist once said, 'my jaw dropped as I saw my spindly collection of sticks come to life' (I think it was meant as a compliment).

Things have come a long way since then. I have been working on Genesis for about 18 months on and off from my corporate headquarters (1 bedroom/living room, kitchenette and bathroom used to store laundry) in the south coast town of Bournemouth UK.

Where I live pic

With money I raised from contracting at IBM's labs in Winchester, I started my project. The aim - to transform everyone's machine into a graphics super computer. OK - a bit ambitious, but the intention was there.

So who works for Silicon Dream Ltd?

Me (Spike) Dennis Anyone else who...
Spike's mugshot Dennis's mugshot Other mugshots
28 year old programmer Company mascot ...wants to join me

Actually I'm quite serious. Anyone who can't resist the overwhelming desire to develop tools or applications for Genesis is as much a part of Silicon Dream as my frog! However, (you guessed it) funds are running low and soon I might have to take another contract to raise some more money. What I'm offering though is this; anyone who develops anything for Genesis (for their own, or commercial reasons) which is useful to others and robust can send it to me and I'll include it in future releases. Then as money comes in from royalties and unlocking fees etc. it will be shared out among those who contributed based on effort put in and the value it adds to the package as a whole. Then hopefully we could turn it into a real commercial product.

Why?

Good question. It has long been an ambition of mine to make a contribution to the world of low cost computer graphics. I drew inspiration for Genesis from two excellent programs; Deluxe Paint, a truly revolutionary Amiga program by Dan Silva. It was one of those dying breed of programs that you could use without reading the manual, and FractInt, the well known public domain fractal graphics program. By virtue of its open architecture it grew almost overnight into a vast package contributed to be hundreds of people the world over.

I have two wishes for Genesis. Firstly that you find it as easy to use as I found Deluxe Paint. Secondly that it escalates in the same way FractInt did. I have done, and will continue to do everything I can to ensure this happens.

Bugs

Any good program is not complete without a sprinkling of bugs, so in keeping with tradition I have left a few in. Nothing too serious, but if you find them, let me know.

What next?

Go on holiday (an important part of the development cycle). Then continue... new tools... fix bugs... and support for Microsoft's Direct 3D interface. For more details press me.

PS. Thanks for listening.