Nick Thorpe

@hkt3030.neocities.org

1670 Followers 795 Following

Struggling to pass as human since the mid-80s. Not fussy about my pronouns. Features editor at @retrogamermag.bsky.social with occasional bylines elsewhere. https://hkt3030.neocities.org/

A photo of five siblings in a back yard. The oldest is 18 years old, the youngest is 7 months old, and all of them are ginger.
A close-up photo of a CRT TV displaying Alex Kidd in Miracle World for the Sega Master System. Alex is underwater, swimming through a narrow passage between the ground and green blocks. Due to the aspect ratio squash seen on PAL Master System consoles, the blocks look more rectangular than square.
A PAL Mega Drive copy of WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game. The front cover appears to be sun-faded in places.
A plush Spider-Man, perched on the railing of an external emergency exit staircase.
My copy of the standard edition of Border Down for Dreamcast, which I ordered way back in 2003. It has gone with me as I’ve moved around, so there’s a crack in the front of the jewel case.
Timeless Toni Storm, with worn face paint and smeared lipstick, is slumped in a backstage corner after losing a wrestling match. As an off-screen interviewer holds a microphone to her face, she offers no response, staring expressionlessly into the distance.
A photograph of an LCD TV, showing a VHS recording of an episode of WWE Velocity. Akio, accompanied by Sakoda, is making his ring entrance.
A photo of an LCD TV, showing a VHS recording of WWF Vengeance 2001. Matt and Jeff Hardy stare each other down in in the ring ahead of their match, while Lita stands in the middle as the assigned special guest referee.
The cover of the February 2003 issue of Xbox Gamer, which is "The smarter read for Xbox" apparently. The main cover image is of a lingerie model, laying on her front and looking into the camera, while holding an Xbox Controller S.
A photo of the Gizmondo booth at Game Stars Live 2004, at London Excel. The booth has an "under construction" theme, with barricades surrounding haphazardly stacked pallets with a mock fire in the centre. Scaffolding is visible in the background, as well as a single screen showing a promotional video. No consoles can be seen in the shot.
A screenshot of a YouTube video link from the channel Dear Old Blighty titled "Growing Up in 1990s BRITAIN - We Were The Last To Really LIVE". The thumbnail has the text "1990s - 18 Things only British kids remember" and an image of a child and a Nintendo 64 with Mario Kart cartridge inserted in it.
A photograph of a CRT TV displaying Super Bomberman: Panic Bomber W, a falling block puzzle spin-off for the Super Famicom. Bomberman heads in various colours are stacked on top of blue bricks and bombs, with stars showing that a match has recently been made.
A screenshot of Black Books. Bernard Black is in the shop, forcing an unnatural, over the top smile that would ridiculous on anybody, never mind a reclusive misanthrope like him.
A PS4 copy of NieR: Automata Game of the YoRHa Edition. It is still sealed.
A screenshot of the Volumio control app on an iPhone. The current song is Self Bias Resistor from Fear Factory’s album Demanufacture.
A living room filled with discarded wrapping paper from birthday presents. A young ginger boy in loose-fitting blue and green pyjamas is opening a plain box, which contains a Sega Master System II with Alex Kidd in Miracle World built in. GamesMaster can be seen on the TV in the background.
A copy of The Prodigy - Experience on cassette.
Unlabelled VHS tapes are stacked up in a cupboard, surrounded by boxes for video game stuff including a PS2, a PSP, a Game Boy Micro, and the Sakura Wars Complete Box for Dreamcast.
Unlabelled VHS tapes are stacked up in a cupboard, surrounded by boxes for video game stuff including a PS2, a PSP, a Game Boy Micro, and the Sakura Wars Complete Box for Dreamcast.
A close-up photo of a Time Crisis arcade cabinet's CRT monitor. The game's attract mode is introducing Rachel Macpherson, who looks worried - probably because she's been taken hostage.
An anonymous question via NGL: “Biggest regret from your younger years? Top 3?”
A Japanese copy of Hatsune Miku: Project Diva f for the PlayStation Vita.
Hi @ Stuart, I found your take on our show absolutely hilarious. Myself and Jamie literally came from the world of modelling, to the TV studio. No training, just thrown into the deep end and told to present 209 hours of TV. We learnt as went along. We were and still are best mates. The most important thing we tried to do was have fun and enjoy the ride, because we knew it wouldn't last. The only thing I'll say to those who hated us. We meant no harm, we genuinely loved games, and we did our best to present a positive vibe. I was 28 when this aired, next year I'll be 50 with a wife and 2 kids. I'll always look at this time of my life as a great opportunity to do something I loved with my best friend. Sorry to those we offended. And to those who enjoyed the show, I appreciate the kind words. We didn't have scripts, just bullet points about the games. so lots of adlibs were required to keep the conversation going. Hence why we usually repeated words to fill in gaps. I still play Gran Turismo competitively, and I have a little replay channel of my races. It's still my favourite game, as it was during gamezville. Great video, and thanks for highlighting the show. Even if you didn't like it. Take care all. Daz from Gamezville. ❤
An LCD TV displaying a VHS recording of Gamezville. The title card is currently on screen.
A photo of an LCD TV showing Excel Saga. Excel is looking on quizzically as Cosette shakes Hyatt’s hand, causing her to gush blood from various points on her body. The Sci-Fi Channel logo and a small text promotion for The Twilight Zone are visible in the top left corner.
A photo of an LCD TV, showing Gail Kim walking to the ring on WWE Raw in 2004.
A UK Blu-Ray copy of Roujin Z.
A Neo Geo MVS connected to a Samsung LCD TV via Supergun. The Super Sidekicks 2 title screen is displayed, with prominent graphical corruption in the form of evenly spaced vertical lines running through all sprites.
A Neo Geo MVS connected to a Samsung LCD TV via Supergun, playing Metal Slug. A Neo Geo joystick and Super Sidekicks 2 cartridge are also visible.
A screenshot of NiGHTS into Dreams for the Saturn. NiGHTS is flying through the air collecting stars in the Frozen Bell stage, and has accumulated a 34 Link.
A clip from Peep Show. Jeremy complains “we’re getting fucked with the brush” as a pizza delivery driver slides slices of pizza through the letterbox of a locked door, while Mark looks on despairingly.
A photo of a CRT monitor displaying the attract mode from the arcade version of Gunblade NY. A muscular enemy with a ginger mohawk, metal mask and combat gear stands in Times Square, brandishing a rocket launcher.
LOOKEING FOR A ARGUEUEMENT? NOTHINGE BETER TO DO ? TRYING NOT TO PUNSH SOEMTHINGE FOR ONSE? CAL US FOR A GOODE TIEM* & SHOUTE UNTILYU PASS OUTE fon figts *GOODE TIEM NOT GAURANTIED
A boxed Japanese copy of Screw Breaker for the Game Boy Advance.
A thumbnail of Henning Wehn & Otto Kuhnle - 1000 Years Of German Humour.mp4
NQ64 Soho, London. Arcade machines can be seen in a dark room with neon-painted walls, including Daytona USA 2, Point Blank, Star Wars Trilogy Arcade, Space Invaders and OutRun 2 SP.
Batista making his entrance on WWE Raw in 2002, with “Dave Batista” as his name on his entrance graphic.
Crowd watching Johnny Gioelli performing at Sonic Con UK, 2025.
Sellers and their tables at Sonic Con UK, 2025.
TJ Davis on stage at Sonic Con UK, singing the hits from Sonic R.
A screenshot of an iPhone playing the song Never Enough by Aesthetic Perfection.
A screenshot of WarTech: Senko No Ronde for the Xbox 360. Two robots are fighting in the air, high above a city. Changpo is being hit by Cuilan's yellow projectiles.
A screenshot from episode 7 of Danganronpa 3: Future Arc. Monaca Towa, dressed in a Monokuma hoodie, looks towards the screen with a wink and her tongue out, as she says "I'm sick of Earth, so I'm going to become a NEET in space!"
A screenshot of Ninja Gaiden II for the Xbox 360. Against the backdrop of Tokyo at night, Ryu Hayabusa slices through an enemy ninja, his bloodstained sword creating a visible arc as he does so.
A screenshot of the first mission in Halo 3, for Xbox 360. The player is aiming at various enemies in a grassy area next to a large, grey building.
The BBC poll tracker for 2010-2015. Labour leads the Conservatives for the majority of the period, most notably by margins of 10 points for most of 2012-2013. The leads gradually begin to narrow after May 2013, until the parties are neck and neck by the time of the general election. Graph from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/poll-tracker
A cropped photograph of Final Fantasy VIII being displayed on a CRT TV. In a scene from the FMV intro, Rinoa Heartilly is standing in a flowery field, looking at a white feather as it blows past her and toward the camera.
An anonymous question submitted via NGL: “why is the best Sonic game, Sonic Free Riders?”
A boxed copy of XI [Sái] Little for the WonderSwan Color, above a wine red SwanCrystal console playing the game.
The exterior of The Cheese Barge, a restaurant on the river near London Paddington station, at night.
A screenshot of Sega Rally for the Xbox 360. On a muddy section of the first Safari track, a blue Subaru Impreza caked in dirt chases the racer in second place, with chunks of mud being thrown into the air behind both cars.
A screenshot of Tekken 6 for the Xbox 360. Eddy Gordo staggers Feng Wei with a right-handed punch, in a futuristic city environment.
Best of PlayStation Network vol.1 for PS3, a compilation containing When Vikings Attack, Sound Shapes, Tokyo Jungle and Fat Princess.
A PAL copy of WarTech: Senko no Ronde for the Xbox 360. The blue and grey cover depicts two large robots in combat, without being overt about the anime-style characters and designs seen in the actual game.
A screenshot of Virtua Fighter 5 for the Xbox 360. It's a cold, starry night in a town square, and Jacky Bryant his hitting his sister Sarah with a jumping kick. Siblings, eh?
A partially dissassembled laser printer in a university computer lab, with scattered tools on the table to the right.
A screenshot of Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved for the Xbox 360. Coloured sparks pop and fizz against a dark, starry background as the player's claw blasts neon enemies.
A PAL copy of WarTech: Senko no Ronde for Xbox 360. The blue and grey artwork, depicting two robots in combat, gives only the slightest hint as to the true nature of the game within.
A screenshot of Ninku Gaiden for the Game Gear. In an icy stage, Hiroyuki has just lined up three diamond blocks without touching the stage's outer walls, earning 10,000 bonus points and temporarily stunning all enemies.
A low-resolution composite screen grab of the supermarket stage in No One Can Stop Mr Domino for the PlayStation - as seen in a real PlayStation magazine!