HuguesJohnson.com

Speedrun Tower

Speedrun Tower is a Sega Genesis demo specifically designed for speedrunning. It's set in a building with pseudorandom floor connections. Your goal is to reach the top floor in the fewest steps possible.

My Loser Phase

Reflections on Video Game Retail from 1992-1997

A look back at the 16 and 32 bit wars from the perspective of a lowly retail clerk. Relive all the highs and lows of the era - from the Sega CD launch to the rise of the Sony PlayStation and everything in-between.

Retail Clerk '89

Retail Clerk '89 started as a personal exercise to learn Sega Genesis programming. It's now a complete, albeit short, game demo.

Killer Frequency - A short game that completely rules

August 23, 2025
I recently tried the game Killer Frequency and enjoyed it enough to crank out this quick review. I wrote this in about an hour and might experiment with more small pieces like this.

My father in-law's backyard observatory

August 23, 2025
In the summer of 2000 my now late father in-law built an observatory in his backyard. Here's a gallery of the construction process and final product.

My favorite NPC in the Ys series

August 23, 2025
After 10 numbered games, a prequel, and numerous remakes I've found my favorite NPC in the Ys series.

Parsing OPML files in Java

August 16, 2025
Example code for parsing OPML files and representing the data as Java objects.

Intellivision: Then and Now

August 9, 2025
The Intellivision was my first game console, yet I haven't written much about it. It's time to fix that. This article is a ranking of Intellivision games with my thoughts on them in the 1980s (as best I recall) vs today. It also talks a little bit about Intellivision collections and plug & play consoles.

A comical and somewhat terrifying attempt to make AI perform age discrimination against me

June 7, 2025
I'm not looking for a job but the choice to be unemployed is rarely yours. To stay prepared for the worst case I'd like to AI-proof my resume the best I can... using AI. The result is about what I expected.

Reading XM Files in Java

May 11, 2025
This is about reading XM (FastTracker 2) files in Java. I am not writing a writer or player, now or likely ever. This is because the goal is to eventually write an XM converter for Sega Genesis demos.

Sega Saturn 30th Anniversary Tribute

May 11, 2025
The Sega Saturn turns 30 today, in the US region at least. By coincidence I own 30 Sega Saturn games. I can't resist writing a 30th anniversary tribute to the Sega Saturn where I briefly review these 30 arbitrary games.

Fan references in Tokyo Xanadu

May 3, 2025
Tokyo Xanadu is a Falcom fan game, one that happens to be made by Falcom. Here is a likely incomplete list comparing the fan references between the PlayStation 4 and Switch versions.

Midwest Gaming Classic 2025

April 12, 2025
Here's a surprise - I went to the Midwest Gaming Classic again this year. Totally shocking, I know. OK, OK, that was sarcasm to anyone visiting this site for the first time. I've gone to every show since 2004, even the ones in the middle of a blizzard. Here's a recap of what I found interesting this time.