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The Spanish independent label Retro Works has uncovered and released two games at once for the 48K and 128K Sinclair ZX Spectrums, respectively. The one from 1991 is called The Chard, and a title based on it developed in 2014 called The Charm.

The original game tells the story of a brave knight of the realm known as Sir Oup, who has been summoned by King Chardy to defend his kingdom and repel evil from it for ever more.

Both versions are presented as an explorer-type 2D platform game, which has many roaming nasties to negate or dismiss with a limited supply of magic; simply cast a spell in the direction of the foul creature. You're also on the lookout for various charms strewn about the place, which will either replenish your magic or go towards finishing the game.

The original 1991 release that wasn't has some shortcomings. For instance, sprite flicker restart points (after energy is lost) sometimes aren't very helpful.

The new version resolves some of the problems with what are, in my opinion at least, more pleasing visuals (without flicker), no set-in-stone restart points and an excellent title and in-game tune utilising the AY chip of the newer machines.

Antonio Carayol Martinez was responsible for the programming and development of The Charm, with design and music provided by Juan Carlos Soriano R. Further information about this release may be obtained from retroworks.es/php/game_en.php?id=12.

I write this column on the eve (according to time.com/69316/basic) of the 50th anniversary of the computer programming language BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code), the mainstay language of at least the first two generations of personal computer, from the Commodore PET through to the Sinclair QL.

Apart from the fact that BASIC is what you're greeted with on nearly all of the computers that I've ever written about through these pages over the past twelve years (even making cameo appearances on the Atari 2600), it had great influence on my formative years.

I got to know it better than any other aspect of my Commodore 64 or its collection of games, and I would type away for hours in the hope of being able to create a playable game for the small group of peers who were interested in programming. We'd swap tips, and through them and the BBC Micros at school, I learnt other dialects as well.

BASIC, along with the affordable computing that Jack Tramiel, Chuck Peddle and Sir Clive Sinclair insisted on, spurred my interest in computing and computer science, eventually leading to this column and my current gainful employment as a web developer. Happy birthday, BASIC. Here's to another 50 years!

RGCD has launched its fourth 16K games programming competition for the Commodore 64, which invites independent developers to create entertainment software that will fit and run on a C64/128 cartridge.

Each entrant who completes their project will have the privilege of seeing their title physically published and available to buy from the RGCD website.

The competition has proven to be very popular, and has become an important event for C64 developers, collectors and enthusiasts alike, with brownie points given for support for the C64GS and C128 (okay, that last bit won't get you any further in the competition - the brownie points come in the form of my adoration). To find out more about this, head over to rgcd.co.uk/2014/04/c64-16kb-cartridge-game-development.