Soft & Cuddly

Description

"A computer game so nauseatingly gory that it came with a barf bag. Bright druggy graphics that sickened scores of proper English parents. Gameplay so violent that it inspired one of Britain's most infamous killing sprees. Soft & Cuddly, released for the ZX Spectrum in 1987, wasn't quite any of these things. But in an age of manufactured moral panics, John George Jones's fluorescent punk manifesto sure pissed off a lot of people. Featuring new interviews with the game's creator, Jarett Kobek's book dives deep into the gritty world of British yellow journalism, snarky computer fanzines, DIY home programming, and Soviet bootleg mixtapes. If Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party was right that "video nasties" like Soft & Cuddly were the epitome of 80s depravity, then this book is headed straight to Hell."--Publisher's website. Black magic on a cassette tape -- The agonizing birth of the ZX Spectrum -- Activate your vision -- To be an iron maiden -- Give it back to the shores of Albion where the mills were first abused -- We all want our time in hell -- Whatever happened to the man of tomorrow? -- The fall of communism and the Łódź city coders -- After seven chapters, the re-emergence of Soft & Cuddly, the apparent topic of this book -- H.E.X. magic with the elemental woman -- I looked into the abyss thinking the abyss would look back into me but I discovered that the abyss is an asshole who won't make eye-contact -- Everything you ever wanted is kept in the refrigerator -- Enough time to sleep, darlings -- Epilogue: Fucker gamer scum get stabbed.