Dominik Diamond, the former host of GamesMaster, has described the profound joy of holding a ZX Spectrum cassette for the first time in 40 years. The game in question was Daley Thompson's Super Test, which he received at Forgotten Worlds, a retro gaming store in Stewarton, near Glasgow. Diamond, who recently returned to the UK after 17 years abroad, said the experience felt like coming home.
Diamond was at the store for a book signing that stretched from one hour to nearly five, as he chatted with fellow retro gaming enthusiasts. He contrasted the genuine interaction with the often impersonal nature of comic conventions, where fans queue for hours and pay for a signed photograph with little meaningful exchange. 'Proper chatting,' he called it, noting that the conversations reminded him of his childhood gaming days.
Reflecting on his visit to Pleasureland fairground in Arbroath with his brother, Diamond noted that the physicality of old games created lasting memories. 'You have a physical relationship with the old games that you don't have with a 15GB update,' he said. He recalled the ritual of saving up money, buying a game from Woolworths or Dixons, and reading the inlay on the bus ride home.
At the OLL 26 Video Games Show in Norwich, Diamond and his brother touched a ZX Spectrum for the first time in decades, marvelling at how they managed two-player games using only keyboard controls. The event culminated in Diamond's Retro Rumble show, recreating GamesMaster challenges with participants now in their 30s and 40s. 'We sidestepped the grisly panopticon of the 2026 world for a few hours,' Diamond said, describing the gathering as a safe, reliable place where most problems could be fixed simply.
