enter

The history of electronic entertainment

ou go out to the pub and meet up with friends. "How are

Y you getting on with Vice City?" asks one. You explain that
you 've made good progress, and that you really like its numerous
wink-to-camera references to the legendary gangster flicks everyone
in the room has seen. "Yeah, I love that bit that looks like the set
from 'Scarface'," someone offers. Gangster flicks: a topic that's
thrown around between groups of friends all the time.
But twist it another way.
"How are you getting on with Vice City?"
"Yeah, it's great."
"Yeah, isn't it? What's your favourite radio station? I love Wave."
"Mmm. It's really frustrating sometimes, though ."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the fact that cars can disappear is a little bit annoying.
And the Al's occasionally a bit odd. And it's crashed a few times,
too. I mean, for all the progress, with all the characters and the other
elements and what have you , it can be pretty messy. I mean, it's not
like, say, the world of Exile . It's just a bit. .. broken."
And there is silence. No one wants to talk about old games.
'The King Of New York', with that turn by Christopher Walken that
made you feel a little uneasy whenever he walked into a room? Yeah ,
wasn't that just the most intense thing? Sure, yeah , wow, amazing.
What about the genius correlation of the Light and Dark worlds in
Zelda Ill? Uh, yeah ... So who wants a drink, then?
Unlike other forms of entertainment, the history that belongs to
videogaming is routinely overlooked, for various reasons, but this
Edge special is devoted to recognising and celebrating it.
Trading, collecting , retro audio and on and on - everything is
covered. If only Walken had ever been in a Speccy game .. .

003 >
Testscreens

Elite 098 Exile 100 Dungeon Master 102 Rogue 104 Captain Blood 105
Pilotwings 106 Sonic The Hedgehog 107 Powerdrome 108

004 Capcom's Steel Battalion controller isn't the first mammoth add-on: in the early '90s, NEC prototyped the Power Console, a device for use with the PC Engine, complete with a selection of switches, a digital clock, and numeric keypad
 special edition contents

Irregulars
006 The big picture 010 RedEye
True game art for your wall A sideways look at retrogaming

008 Trigger happy 092 Flashback

By Steven Poole Yesteryear's habits die here

062 ••
"'l II Features
;.,: --
012 Obsessive 070 The Rock And Roll Years
.: . n .-.
.. r
Retro looks into the world of the collector The real story behina the C64 music revolution

11
036 The Grandfather 078 Emu Nation
-- n -- Ex-Atari visionary Nolan Bushnell tells all Retro's guide to the best in emulation today

n 044 Friends Reinvented 084 The Making Of... Zzap/64

u -- What happens when old games are remade? How a new breed of game mag evolved

][ 054 Gold Rush 110 The Making Of... Marble Madness

Retro goes in search of US Gold Atari 's 1985 classic under the microscope

062 Eugenius
The creator of Robotron and Defender in focus

Circulation Subscriptions & distribution Production of Retro

Tom Sh aw product manager Future Publi s h ing Ltd H ardwa r e: Power Macu1tust1 GJ_ G--l
R egina Erak circulation manager FREEPOST BS.j9Q0. Somer ton TA I I iBH Software : QuarkXPress. Adobe Pl1otost1op. M;1cro111eck1
Te le phon e 0 1"1~)8 21118•! F,eeffand, and M1crosoft Office Typog raphy: (Adutie •·· J

Advertising Fa x 01225 8??5?3

J ayne Ca pl e deputy advert1s1119 director Em a il edge.sul>s-0 futurenet .cu.uk
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Prn1tt:d 111 tt1e UK t)y TPL Printer~; Ltd. H;ut!d)ury Worcs
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K at erina He th erington recruitment executive D1str1butr>cl ttuouqll tlu: UK r11·v1:;tr,1dt· t)y Seymo ur Future G a m es: th e first c h o ice for gam e r s
Andre w Churc h recruitment executive Di stributio n . 86 Newrn,111 Strt~t.'I l one.Jon W 1P JLIJ R e tro Is brouqtll to you by t t11lot .' Pulll1~;t11nq Ltd. lhf•
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J a m es Binn s publ1st1er Roger Pa rry non -ext!cul1ve ctia1rr11,1r1
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Ta m ar a Lo n g d en pro111ot1ons manager Greg Ing h a m chtef Pxt·cut1vt>
and we \'.'111 bt: t1appy to correct any <;v,:r'.;1qllt
Simo n Wea r overseas hcens111g Colin M orrison ct111~1 op1•r,1l1nq off1ce, & MD. UK
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D avid M a h er-Robe rts group publ1sl1mq director
lnteract1vt• Med1;1 Inc. Used under !1et:11u'

Retro editor Tony Mott was born the same year Atari gave birth to the first commercial coin-op , Computer Space: 1971. Both were ahead of their time but are now beginning to show signs of age 005
The big picture
From: Zelda Ill: A Unk To 1he Past Release date: 1992
Format: SNES Publisher/developer: Ninterdo

M3lt
I
 trigger happy

hate retrogaming. It makes me.sick. And it's course, in the good old days, they didn't have fancy from the history of the medium. And then we
not because I'm some sniffy youth whose first 3D graphics to hide behind - so they really had to would be free to discard the trash. There's nothing
gaming experience was Tekken Tag on PS2 engineer fabulous gameplay!" Well, yes, that would wrong in admitting that 99% of videogames in
and who sneers that old games have rubbish have been ideal, but for every Tempest or Super history have been basically garbage, because it's
graphics. The first videogame I ever played was a Mario Bras for which that is true, there are hundreds true of every artform. We remember the classics
tabletop Space Invaders in a cafe at some point in of lookalike platformers or jerky shooters that are an of 19th-century literature, but we don't remember
the late 1970s. So what's my problem? insult to the memory. · the far more numerous 'penny dreadfuls' that
It's several problems, actually. First, the actual Of course there can be pleasure in revisiting bad outsold them by factors of ten or 100 at the time.
word 'retrogaming'. What's that about? I can read old games, but really the game is only acting as a In any given calendar year, you can count
a novel by Joseph Conrad published 100 years kind of Proustian madeleine - the experience of yourself lucky if there appears one piece of music,
ago, or a Len Deighton thriller from the 1980s, replaying can bring warm fuzzy memories of one film, one book or one videogame that will
and I won't be accused of 'retroreading'. I'm childhood and innocent wonder flooding back. be regarded fairly unanimously as a classic in
not 'retrolistening' if I stick on some Bach or Which is nice. But let's not kid ourselves that the even ten years' time.
Frank Sinatra or Van Halen. Watching classic game itself was any good. What also seems to be The Game Boy Advance has been criticised
Cary Grant films from the 1940s, or 'The Seventh missing the point is how retrogaming culture is very in some quarters for hosting so many updates
Seal', or 'The Empire Strikes Back', is not often at base a simply consumerist obsession. So of 8- and 16bit classics, but that can only be a
termed 'retroviewing'. you have a rare Japanese SNES game in a pristine good thing. If a game from 15 or 20 years ago
These media - cinema, literature and music - box, huh? If the game sucks, who cares? Only can stand up to Advance Wars, then it truly is
are acknowledged a~ artforms with a history, and collectors: the kind of people who like hoarding a great piece of software, and there's nothing

there is nothing inherently nostalgic about stuff regardless of its inherent value. backward-looking about playing it. That's how
appreciating art from any time. But using the term And in social terms, the tragedy of retrogaming it is with the GBA iteration of Gradius: it's a
'
retrogaming does imply a kind of nostalgia, in the having become a 'scene' is that it has attracted the superbly balanced and creative shooter, and
sense of all those horrible 'I Love Some Arbitrary attention of that most annoying of lifeforms, the just a better game than a modern imitation
Date from the Past' television shows. And there is an Shoreditch Twat, the kind of idiotically trendy denizen such as Phalanx.
awful lot of nostalgia in retrogaming . Remove the of the fringes of the City of London who will wear an If the gods smile on me, I might some day be
rose-coloured memory filters and actually play some Atari T-shirt for its 'cool' value but knows nothing able to acquire an original Robotron 2084 arcade
of the games you remember so fondly and it can
come as a rude shock. I shudder to acknowledge The tragedy of retrogaming having become a 'scene' is that it has
that I must have actually spent £5.99 of hard-earned attracted that most annoying of lifeforms, the Shoreditch Twat
paper-round money on something like Tapper for the
ZX Spectrum. In terms of value for money, £40 in about gaming beyond FIFA and Lara Croft. cabinet. And when I'm wrenching those twin
today's money for MGS2 or Halo seems like a Most importantly, using the term 'retrogaming' joysticks around in a frenzy of claustrophobic
bargain in comparison. helps to keep the artform firmly in its unrespected, violence, I won't be retrogaming. I'll just be gaming.
So many products of early videogame history, kiddy niche. If videogames were acknowledged as And that's how it should be.
one rapidly comes to realise, were built around a the important cultural form that they are, playing
single, simple play concept that becomes boring in a games from the 1980s wouldn't be considered Steven Poole is the author of 'Trigger Happy:
matter of minutes. People nod sagely and say, "Of 'retro' , it would just be another option available The Inner Life of Videogames' (Fourth Estate).

• I

The Magnavox Odyssey was rereleased by Philips in 1978 as Odyssey_. Graphically inferior to its competitors at the time, in an odd twist the machine's joysticks were fixed to the base unit
n race from the onslaught of an alien invasion. Now the timeless action videogame returns and in full 30, with non-stop space
special weapons and a ship designed to be an alien's worst nightmare. You are the last line of defence.
You are the Defender™.

J J

~ NINTENDO
:; G.L\MECUBE .
PlayStation®2 www.defender.midway.com
LLC. All Rights Reserved. DEFENDER, MIDWAY and the Midway logos are registered trademarks of Midway Amusement Games, LLC. Used by permission. Developed by caHfomia Seven Sludtos, Inc. Distributed under license by Midway Home Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbo
tlademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. "PlayStation" and the ~ " Family logo are registered badenWIII ol Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "', 9 AND THE NINTBIDD GAMECIJBE LOGO ARE TRADEMARKS OF
NINTENDO. © 2002 NINTENDO. ™,®· Game Boy Advance logo are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2002 Nlnlallo
 redeye

t is December 24, 1991 , the r:,ight before several minutes. But it gets louder, nags, and "Okay! So let's do this." The other two ghosts

I Christmas, and all through RedEye's house, not a

creature is stirring, not even a mouse - a surprise
given the rodent infestation that comes as standard
eventually it stirs RedEye enough to motivate an
investigation. He shuffles off into the gloom,
around the corner, where he finds three hooded
nod. Past puts a tape recorder down on the table,
presses play. "I think we're alone now," sings the
tape. "There doesn't seem to be anyone around. "
with London's cheaper properties. Besides, it's not a spectres sat cross-legged on the floor. They are The ghost, a pink glow warming his hood, fumbles,
house, it's a flat above a grocer's store - presumably staring at a 1V that, depending on how you tilt hits stop, eject, flips the tape over, and presses play
where the mice really are - on a busy high street. your head, is simultaneously displaying Pong, again. The other side contains digital noise, the sound
RedEye, hand on chin, head out of window, gazes Super Tennis, and some 3D tennis game that is of machines dying and dead and yet-to-be stillborn.
at the street below with one part loathing, one part unpalatably futuristic. Each stares at the court, Or it's just a data cassette. /l:3 the binary screeching
whisky, one part disgust. Some silent night, some rapt, clutching a gamepad between bony continues, he shuffles the photos into some
holy night; it fizzes with neon, headlight traces translucent figures. semblance of order.
which turn snow to slush, horns and shouting and "BEEP!" goes the television speaker as a bat "Hear that? That's the sound of tomorrow. See
panpiped carols. Shoppers stumble through the icy makes contact with a ball. these?" He slaps a few of the photos down on the
wind , bleeding and freezing for capitalism, clutching "Aaargh!" screams RedEye, as his fragile heart glass coffee table. 'Toese are photos of dead
bursting carrier bags. Bah, humbug. skips a beat. machines." RedEye recognises a few- a VCS, a
"Evenin', Mr Red Eye!" shouts a voice from below, ''Aaargh!" scream the ghosts, spinning around Vectrex, an Electron, Dragon, BBC Micro, Spectrum,
waking RedEye from his absent-minded seasonal in unison. C64, winners next to losers - but then comes a
loathing. "'Appy 'olidays!" It's Tiny Jim, a nerdish "Aaargh!" screams RedEye again, as their clutch of modern consoles, and more; about 20 sleek,
urchin who works in the grocer's downstairs, and black-hole eyes meet his. angular slabs that RedEye t~es to be the future.
whose lust for yesterday irritates 24/7. RedEye There is a pause, a stand off, and one of 'They're not dead."

nods towards the youngster, who beams back, all them coughs nervously. 'They're all dead, RedEye. /l:3 soon as they exist,
innocence and halos. "Mr RedEye, sir, I was just "Greetings, mortal," it intones with too much they're dead. Even the winners."
wonderin' , it bein' Christmas an' all, if you could sincerity. "We are the ghosts of Christmas Past, "Winners don't do drugs. Stay in school," adds
return my C64? Only the 'ole family fancy a bit of Present, and Future, and we are here to show you Present, cryptically.
a sing-song, see, and I thought that a little tinkle what has, is, and will be." f:v3 it echoes the end of the "But I'm not at sch -"
on the old SID chip might be in order!" sentence, it gestures over-dramatically with its arms "Look, it really doesn't matter," says Future
RedEye absent-mindedly glances back towards and RedEye expects his world to segue to a vision. irritably, glancing at the living-room clock. "Being
his games ghetto. Can't see it. Hmm. Then he
recalls, and wanders away from the window and There's common decency to consider. Playing with dead hardware
through to the kitchen. There it is: the draining on Christmas Day amounts to fetishising the history of losers
board. Not on it; it is it -you wouldn't believe how
good that keyboard is for wedging cutlery upright, It never does. The ghost smiles apologetically, and prissy about time is a waste of it. It's as pointless to
and if RedEye returns it he'll be eating his turkey with reaches beneath its cloak. fetishise the future as it is to dismiss the past. Where
a streaky fork. Myway, there's common decency to "Budget cuts. Sorry," it says, and pulls out a I'm from, everything's retro ... retro ... retro ... "
consider. Playing with dead hardware on Christmas clutch of photos, guiding RedEye to the couch With that the spirits disappear and, in an
Day amounts to fetishising the history of losers. and sitting down next to him. The other two follow. uncertain blink, RedEye is back in bed asleep. When
Gaming is about winners, the future, progression. A dazed Redeye notices that something - well, a he wakes a few hours later, it is Christmas Day. He
He returns to the window, slams it shut, winks at the few things, but one thing in particular - isn't quite gently sponges the suds from the inside of the C64,
tearful youngster shivering in the slush below, and right here: "I thought you were meant to arrive in and loads the cassette the ghosts have left behind.
goes to bed. Bloody deviants. sequence?" The ghost glares from infinity. "uke I It is Wizball, and his world starts to fill with colour.
Lulled by the whisky, sleep comes easily. So said, budget cuts," he sighs. "We've got to get the
RedEye is a veteran videogame journalist. His
quickly, in fact, that the digital cacophony that is same taxi home," adds another, sheepishly. There
views do not necessarily coincide with Retro's
growing in the front room does not wake him for is an awkward silence.

01 0 Atari's handheld Lynx console was originally developed by Epyx, a software company renowned for the likes of World Games, under the working title 'Handy Game'
Rockstar North is the award winning developer behind Grand
Theft Auto 3 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. We're looking for
animators and artists to join our experienced and highly talented
teams working out of the studio in Edinburgh. For the successful
candidate we offer a competitive salary and an extensive
benefits package.

Animators:
Good technical animation skills for the Blending of Mo'Cap with
hand animation for both in-game and scene animation. Desire to
create realistic yet stylised 6 dynamic animation a must. Max,
Character Studio 6 Mo'Cap knowledge beneficial.

Artists:
We are looking for lo/medium poly modelers with previous industry
experience to join a very experienced team. 3DSMax an
advantage, as is enthusiasm. We're looking for environment and
character modelers, good texture skills a definite plus. Amusing
second name an advantage.

CVs with samples of work should be mailed to:

cv@rockstarnorth.com

or posted to the studio for the attention of Kim:

Rockstar North
Second Floor.
Links House.
15 Links Place
Leith,_Edinburgh
EH6 7EZ

Tel: +44 (0)131 454 2000

Fax: +44 (0)131 454 2023
Web: www.rockstarnorth.com
 are books, coins, stamps, records. These are
R just some of the sub-industries that variously
attract salivation or scorn from those who are
respectively in or out of 'the know'. The auction-
house half-truth cliche that an item is worth what
someone is willing to pay is beginning to ring true for
the videogame sector. Week by week the market
watchers see collectable games further edge their
way into the spending stratosphere. But it's no real
surprise. There is a universal truth that the industry
would rather pretend doesn't exist: great gameplay is
timeless. Just as Hollywood would have us believe its
latest spawn improve indescribably on their
forefathers, so the gaming billboards of the world of retrogaming. For what collectors want to buy influences what retrogamers want to play. But before we
declare, 'new games are better'. Well, yes and no. dive in attempting to understand the collector, we must appreciate that gameplay endures. And that's why
Evolution is a good thing but basic primal fun never players want to bottle it. And bottles have always been important.
really changes - just·the places we find it. Each Indeed, it's a very different type of gamer who boots up MAME to get their Defender fix than the
generation of gamers has seen more and more collector who hunts down the original cab and begins a restoration. Almost all collectors are retrogamers,
videogames so it's getting harder to pull the wool but not all retrogamers are collectors. It's an important distinction that's scarcely mentioned. The collectors
CNer their globally aware eyes. For every Gungrave view emulator propagators as the Capulets view the Montagues. They are different breeds, fiercely distinct
there's a Gunstar Heroes. While Gungrave will net but tied to each other by virtue of their passion. Romeos are frowned upon. For the collector subspecies,
tens of thousands of dollars, fill as many second- the thrill is in the hunt for the mint boxed cartridge that just might be at the next boot sale or on ebay this
hand bargain bins and produce even more week. The completist gamers value their packaging more than their graphical frippery. It's much harder to
dissatisfied customers, Gunstar Heroes will make empathise and enthuse with the past when you have no bottle, just a PC file marked 'Romz'.
40p for the local Oxfam and someone very happy. To be a competent collector you need to be feverishly enthusiastic, comprehensively knowledgeable
Great gameplay is timeless. and perhaps a little worryingly obsessive. However, the money hungry toy collector in 'Toy Story' is (in
But this isn't the closing speech at the trial of most cases) unfair when applied to the game collector. All collectors are, or were, fundamentally gamers,
retrogames. This article looks at the collector's not moneymakers. Over the next 18 pages Retro looks at a number of gamers who are helping to forge a
market - a peculiar yet immensely powerful offshoot new industry with an age-old phenomenon by using their retroactive spending.

013 >
 omputer Exchange has ruled the roost
C of secondhand gaming trade shops for
a decade now. The concept of buying a
game, playing it to death and then trading it
back again against a newer title has been
around for some time but it was CEX that
turned the practice into a high-street chain in
1992. Retro spoke to Jon Cronin, marketing
manager of the CEX group and self-
confessed collector, to find out how a chain
of stores based on the principle of trading old
games for new came to open a store for
people wanting to trade new games for old.
"Although CEX has always tried to carry
interesting and collectable games, consoles
and accessories," he begins, "we became
aware that there were sections of the gaming
community, our staff included, who were
always on the lookout for certain rare titles for
their home collections. As a lot of these titles
fell into the retro category, in 1998 we
opened a dedicated retro shop in central
London to cater for this small but growing
and vociferous demographic. The system
works well within the CEX body. We generally
move systems into the retro department
when they are no longer widely commercially
available. Then, when the prices we offer on
the rare pieces are increased, we see a
Jon Cronin, CEX marketeer and self- healthy influx and outflow of desirable titles.
confessed videogame collector The beauty of the system is that we can have
the strange scenario of someone trading in
their newest FIFA soccer title for a Neo-Geo
home cart."
Sweet irony. The CEX Retro store holds
impressive stock, the premier examples of
which shift very quickly. The store gains
unique insight into the types of people who
purchase collectable gaming items. "There Retro ch.ic has become so popular that gamers are trading in recently released titles for antique consoles

seem to be three main types of London shoots. Suffice to say this third profile is a market has levelled off and now the Neo-Geo
buyers," Cronin explains. "Gamers who want very different breed of collector." AES system is by far the most collectable
to access a part of their childhood lost will CEX Retro is perfectly placed to view the format for us. One seller made the mistake of
often buy the more reasonably priced items transient collecting trends in an infant informing his wife how much his Neo-Geo
like Vectrex and NES. For these buyers industry: "In 1998 we saw a massive surge of cart collection was worth and was promptly
issues such as condition and box aren't as RPG collectors specialising in SquareSoft marched down to the shop. He sold his
important as the purpose of the purchase, and Enix. There were cases where word system and games for £7 ,000-8,000 and
which is to revisit gaming places left but not would spread that a rare US SquareSoft title, walked straight out of here to buy a new car."
forgotten. The hardcore collector looking to such as Chrono Trigger, was coming in from Cronin is reluctant and/or prohibited from
hunt down the earlier pieces to a well-loved a seller. It would then be sold to someone talking profits but the fact that CEX is still a
series will be the Neo-Geo buyer or the PC already waiting at the counter. TM RPG blossoming outlet after four years gives some
Engine evangelist. For these consumers price
is not so much an issue as condition. Finally,
and this is probably unique to London, you
have the vogue furniture hunter; those who
Three types of collectors visit the CEX
Retro shop; lost-childhood seekers, buy to give geek charm to the front room. We
hardcore gamers and interior designers have even had buyers for music video

< 014 The original version of Sega's Master System contained a hidden game. To access it, you had to simultaneously press u~ and buttons 1 and 2 after powering up. Volla - your very own snail-wandenng-around-a-maze game
 Pong isn't as rare as you might think, but it still
commands a respectable price tag. Whether you
play on it or put it on the mantelpiece is up to you
indication of its success: "We have buyers The TurboGrafx commands a loyal following
among collectors, so an extremely busy trader's an Atari VCS in really decent
from all over the country. The benefit over market exists, both at retail and on the Internet shape (unlike this one)
Internet purchasing is that the buyer can
check the all-important condition of the item
first." But despite the relative success story simply isn't big enough in this country. We are many years behind the Japanese collectors' scene.
that CEX Retro represents Cronin is Shops such as Retro X and Retrogames have been and gone because it's very hard to break even
pessimistic about the chance of dedicated solely with retro games. That is why we have the main store upstairs in Rathbone Place. It allows
collector and retro shops springing up over mainstream gamers to come into the shop, pick up their Tomb Raider game and then come
the nation in the near future: "The industry downstairs to explore a whole new gaming continent."

Breath of Are (SNES) featured a cameo from Street Fighter /I's Chun Li: talk to a boy magician in the town of Bleak to catch a glimpse of her practlcing her lightning lock. 015 >
 UK Neo-Geo titles came in a hard-shell casing, a feature that has driven up their worth to collectors

NK projects always seem to end up a

S gamer's dream and a financier's success
nightmare. Its decision to enter the handheld
market with a system many times more Pocket
powerful than the Game Boy caused
worldwide ripples of excrtement amongst
Reversi
cognoscenti. The Neo-Geo Pocket Colar
Neo-Geo Pocket collector Graham Honey was a worldwide-released colour format
now considers turni ng to the Dreamcast which stole the hearts of gamers ~h its
gameplay-packed miniaturised versions of
SNK's most prestigious franchises. Although
rt all ended in tears only in late 2000 the Neo
Pocket surely holds the record for the most
rapidly collectable format ever. Graham A copy of Pocket Reversi would have been
Honey, owner of one of the most conclusive worth just £20 a couple of years ago, and yet
Pocket collections in the world, talks Retro one recently sold via the Internet for £13 2
through some of the theory: "I began the

collection unwrttingly with just a few choice collecting communrty growing in size and ever the UK market had something everyone
UK titles about two years ago. I decided to determination tt's indicative of a phenomenon else wanted. The hard-shell casing has
see if I could own every title released in rather than an individual's eccentricrty. definttely driven the prices of the UK games
England. When I achieved that, I investigated Anyone who has owned a recent Neo- right up", explains Honey. ''They are many
the Japanese market and tried to get every Geo AES release will know how satisfying the times more durable than the cardboard
title that was never released in the west". clam lock cases are. This theme was casings traditionally used for handheld
With all 39 UK trtles, 40-odd Japanese only inexplicably miniaturised solely for the UK games. Even the AES collectors want the
trtles and all the box-set systems ever market. The US and, in the main, Japanese hard-cased pocket versions to put next to
released, Honey is missing just one obscure territories had to settle wtth flimsy cardboard their 'grown-up' boxes. This, coupled with
Japanese trtle. His testimony is typical of the cases similar to the ones to which Game Boy the fact that many of the final games were
gamer-made-collector: a trtle innocently owners are accustomed. "For the first time released in the UK but didn't make the US
bought from a high street retailer leads to
interest in the system; this, in turn, can lead
to his commissioning friends to trawl through
Akihabara in search of the last few elusive
titles to complete the set. It's easy to dismiss
Honey as fanatical but wrth the Pocket-

< 016 The word 'Tetris' comes trom the ancient Greek word 'tetra', which means four (there are four small blocks in each falling piece)
 Graham Honey's Neo-Geo Pocket Color line-up is as vast as it is attractive. Seeing a spread
such as this is surely enough to convince the cynic of the attraction associated with collecting

translation, has made the US collector focus his attention on our market. The theory goes that
many of the last titles, like Fase/ei, Evolution, Pocket Reversi and Gals Fighter, were due to Qe
returned to Japan at the withdrawal of the Pocket, to be either crushed or recycled for Japanese
use. Some retailers accidentally put these titles on their shelves - so some escaped onto the
market. If ever there was a recipe for a collectable format, this was it. "I have only ever seen two
copies of Pocket Reversi for sale, both on ebay," says Honey. "One is my copy, the other sold last
summer for £132." This is an outrageous price for a game that would have cost £20 24 months
ago, but it clearly demonstrates two key principles of collecting: first, the retro label is an
indefinable classification. Second, one must never underestimate the completist.
Retro wonders how much of a gamer Honey is. "Well, I haven't even attempted completion
Faselei or Evolution," he says. "To be honest, I prefer the quick-fix games that I can put down after
20 minutes. There is the issue of keeping the carts in good condition, too. You have to protect
your investment. " He remains adamant that he won't be selling his collection. "It's listed under my
insurance. I don't think prices will shoot up that much in the short term now. They seem to have
levelled off and the tttles everyone wants are clear. It is good to know that should anything go
reaily wrong for me I have something to sell which is reaily worth something, but at the moment
prices are so volatile it's not even worth entertaining the thought. Some games go for £50 one
week and £20 the next. I think this is indicative of an industry finding its feet. With no one to
monitor or dictate prices other than the buyer we need dedicated publications covering the
material otherwise its left to people's whims week by week."
Honey is now thinking turning his attention to the Japanese Dreamcast sector: "Some of the
Holding on to every last piece of packaging and documentation is all part of a collector's life eastern titles are sure to go the way of the collectable Saturn shooters." The chase is on, then.

The first electronic game was arguabfy Tennis for Two. Devised 1n 1958, the game was a simple side~on view of e tennis court, displayed on an oscillator screen, powered by military computers normatty used for calculaltng missile traJectones 017 >
 ideogame importing is no longer the
V realm of the backstreet mail-order
company charging prices as far fetched as
the games they sell. The rise and rise of ebay
has both allowed the gamer hungry for a
retro taste of Nipponese creation to take
matters into his blistered hands and has
created a slew of new job descriptions. A
new breed of bargain hunters have literally
gone the extra mile and become suppliers
themselves. Retro spoke to Steve Bailey, a
British citizen who married a Japanese girl
and made his hobby his business.
"I was originally a Sega fanatic when I
met my w~e in England," he explains. 'We
were married and situations arose whereby I
had to sell my collection. Then a family tragedy
resulted in us temporarily moving back to my
wife's homeland. I needed work to keep us
afloat while we were there. Worthwhile jobs
are hard to find for gaijin so I decided to
make use of my knowledge and buy gaming
collectables in Osaka for export back to the
west." This is not an isolated case. Check
ebay and you'll find many westerners now Radiant Si/vergun is a title just as sought after in Games with art by leading Japanese artists
living in Japan and using the Internet to sell its homeland as over here. But buyers placing can attract buyers from the world over. Front
large orders for /karuga in the hope of making a Mission's Yoshitaka Amano and Tom Sawyer's
the spoils of their treasure hunting.
quick buck may be disappointed Katsutoshi Fujioka are two leading lights
"I have contacts in the UK who alert me
to what titles are selling well back home and
Until Japanese gamers can learn to trust the in America," says Bailey. "I can then go
west, he says, Steve Bailey is still in a job rummaging through the appropriate sections
of the obscure shops to find the titles in
demand. There's often a crossover in that
certain titles that are very collectable to the
westerner are also desirable in Japan. Ebay
darlings Radiant Sifvergun and Sengoku
Blade can cost up to £100 here in their native
territory. Retrogaming and collecting is a far
more evolved industry here in Japan. Neo-

Geo carts go for almost as much here as but there is very little demand in the west simply because people don't really know about them."
elsewhere. Ironically, if you can find them at Indeed, the collectors' market is so evolved in Japan that often Bailey finds shop owners
an import store you can buy items like the holding back stock until its value rises: "I found one shop with some rare special-edition
Sakura WaIS boxset or Super Street Fighter II Dreamcasts and a load of Space Channel 5 boxsets complete with headphones. The titles
X for a similar price in England as in Japan. had a big sign declaring 'Not yet for sale'."
But just as there are titles collectable to With so many westerners trying their hand at this game it's tempting to wonder how things fare
westerners that disinterest the Japanese so financially. Bailey is surprisingly forthcoming: "I work only three to four days a week. My wife does a
there are extremely collectable games in lot of the packaging for me, which frees me to go buying. Currently I can make anywhere between
Japan that the west ignores. The Saturn £400-£800 a week. If someone was truly dedicated and spent a working week doing this they
Japanese shooters such as Battle shooter Stella Assault and the Mega Drive's could easily net £60,000 a year. The demand is there. I seem to be making the most money off the
Garrega net Bailey consistent profits Comix Zone command very high prices here Saturn shooters at the moment. I have sold a copy of Soukygurentai every week for the last six
months at £50 a shot. Dreamcast is set to be the next vogue trend. I can buy a copy of Samba De
Amigo Ver. 2000 for £6 in Osaka and sell it to London for ten times that much in the evening."
With such tidy profits, why do Japanese gamers not play the system? "The Japanese remain
resolutely introverted in their regard of foreigners. In their eyes we are not to be trusted and the
faceless trading of the Internet age goes against traditional Japanese business practice when
dealing with westerners. Until there is a cultural shift in this respect I am still in a job."

<018 Activision was founded In 1979 by programmers who broke away from Atari, annoyed that they weren't receiving credit for their efforts. The first thlrdparty console game developer, it had made $13 million profit within a year
 o, where to start? Well, as with all
S ventures you must first have a focus.
Although most collectors are constantly on
the look out for certain titles, the time,
expertise and effort required to hunt down a
complete series means focus is important.
Choose a game series from Mario to Metal
Gear or a developer from Rare to Square.
Whatever you choose, make sure you really
enjoy the games. This is of prime importance
Ebay sniping because if you are to have the dedication to
hunt down rare items, you'll need to draw on
The fact that many Of the Verf a passion for what you are collecting.
desirable games me driven up In Next, research. Take it for granted that When collecting Japanese disc-based games, inserts and spine cards are all important. If you need
price by competing bidders has convincing, just consider that a Radiant Silvergun spine card alone recently sold for £20 on ebay
there is always someone out there who
resulted in a sub-ebay industry-
knows and collects more than you do. The
auction sniping. The basic premise is
chances are there will be at least one fan site
that you use a thirdparty Web site to
place a high bid on a particular item. for your chosen target. If you're collecting a
The sniping setVer then retains your well-loved series or system then there will be
bid, placing it within the final few many sites dedicated to the games and
seconds of the auction. This practice developers you're interested in. Say, for
can be highly annoying if you have example, you want to collect Metal Gear
patiently bid on an item only to be games. You'll be faced with a mass of
seemingly pitted at the post by an information and links to various avenues of
unknown bidder. The only way
Kojima-san 's universe. Read up and try to
around this - short of joining a
find approximate price guides so that you're
sniping service yourself - is to place
equipped to recognise a fair or foul deal.
a high proxy bid that the sniper won't
have anticipated. Be warned. Don't be afraid to ask around. Admitting
you're a novice will often get you a far better
response than acting like a know-it-all.
There are many places to look when you
embark upon the search in earnest. The
obvious place is ebay where the propensity
to pay over the odds is counterbalanced by
the fact that you're drawing upon a
worldwide marketplace. Although it can
seem daunting at first, its simple interface
and easy access have made it the biggest

.
Website in the world. When you run a search,

~-=--~•-=--
:--7.:--rE.br:f--L-

:~~
·~::°:7'..-::-'

make sure you set it to include all territories A secondary point of call would be the main collectable games shops. The majority of retailers
outside of the UK. Rip-off Britain is a now have at least a small retro section. Obviously the chances of finding the more elusive import
phenomenon that has tarnished even ebay, titles are higher if you go to dedicated stores like CEX Retro or Raven Games. However, there is
and despite extra shipping costs you· re the chance that you'll find a US Chrono Trigger at your local independent. if not a Metal Slug 1.
much more likely to find a bargain in the US The car boot sale is a wonderful place to find old hardware. Bear in mind, though, that your
or Japan than in the UK. A useful tip is to run find will probably be of western origin rather than Japanese, and that the condition may not be that
a more detailed search on completed items. great. Although items in poor condition and slimmer chances of finding really good items are risks
This will allow you to see the current selling you will run, the opportunities of true bargains (and the tales that surround them) keep many
prices for items you're looking for. Pay much collectors coming back.
more than the completed auctions here and Although you must be cautious, many fan sites contain their own trading areas. Even Edge's
you'll probably be paying too much. forums (forum.edge-online.com) play host to a trading post. If you trust the people in the
community, this can be a great place to start - but make sure you always get a recommendation
from other members or that you see the seller's ebay profile On a worst-case scenario at least get
hold of the seller's contact number and home address). If it is your first time dealing with a seller be
sure to start with an item of modest value unless you are certain they are trustworthy.
Of course, a trip to Akihabara, the proverbial gamer's promised land, will be the most
desirable option - but·until then there are those who will supply if the demand is there.

ActivisiOn's 1982 Freeway featured you guiding a chicken across a motorway, a la Frogger. The part~inspiration wasn't the old joke, nor Konami's game, but the fact that the Holtywood Freeway was once famously home to a chicken brood 019>
the most collectable games in the world at Final Fantasy Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
the moment. The pnce guide Is an
tndIcat1on from a UK collector's m
perspective. Pay less than the suggested

The value of the Japanese-originated Anal After the success of the first Metal Gear tor
Fantasy series carts has plummeted in the MSX, Konami released an appalling game,
last two years. Despite the fact that the Snake's Revenge, on the NES, linked to the
original Japanese Anal Fantasy game only series in name only. Kojima-san put things
sold around 12,000 copies, a mint boxed right with this MSX-2 update in 1990
game can go for well under £50 in some US introducing the hallmarks of the series:
auctions. If ever there was a time to buy a crawling, radar and codec. This title is so
cheap and great potentially valuable game rare that it has never been seen on ebay
series then this is it. (or so it's claimed).

Oo Chrono Trigger

Square's clever time travel-themed action

RPG was exceedingly well thought out
and is highly respected within the
development community. Legend has ii that
Super Mario Bras (YM-901 S) Ion Storm required all staff to complete the
game before they could join the company.
The game easily holds a candle to the early
Anal Fantasy games and is better scripted
than just about every recent RPG offering.

Nintendo Game & Watch is an avenue of

the collecting scene that attracts more than
its fair share of takers. Although it is
debatable as to whether this, the 58th Exed Exes
Game & Watch, is the most rare, seeing as
there were only 10,000 or so manufactured,
it is certainly the most valuable if found in
boxed condition with all its documentation.
In 1987 Nintendo held a competition with
four events. Two events concerned mastery
..
of pixel golf courses, the winners of which Based on an arcade game by Capcom and
received a special release gold Famicom licensed by Memetron (released in the US as
disk. For the 30 Hot Rally tournament the Savage Bees) this cart fetches very high
winners won a stationery kit in presentation prices in Japan if found with its Silver
box. However, the top prize was reserved Members sticker. If you attained a high score
for participants who ranked very high in the of over 1m points in the game you were
Famicom FI Grand Prix race game. awarded with a special password. Gamers
Although the game can be picked up loose had to photograph their high score on the
fairly easily in Japan the real Holy Grail is to screen, send it in to Tokuma and were
find the item in its presentation box with rewarded with the sticker. Shortages
certificates, licence and paperwork. meant that not all gamers received their
The all-important presentation box will stickers, hence the collectability. Just
add up to £500 onto the asking price. like MGS2, then ...

< 020 During rts first ten years of home videogame production, Nintendo claimed to be setllng three games a second
 ComixZone

Perhaps the only situation ever where

the Japanese version of a game will cost
a hundred times that of the UK release.
Comix Zone is a scrolling platform/
beat 'em up hybrid. Seeing as it is
possible to buy the UK version for less
than a fiver, this iteration is strictly for
the hardcore collector.

Hyper Duel Bakuretsu Muteki Bangaioh

Developer/publisl1er: Treasure/ESP.

A horizontal scrolling shooter from the A game familiar to Edge readers, it even
makers of the Thunderforce series, this secured a respectable review back in E79.
game has been seen to dwarf Radiant Many will have played the Dreamcast
Si/vergun in terms of prices it can command. iteration, but the superior controls and
The asking has varied a lot recently which fairer gameplay make this the definitive
explains the vague guideline but it is version. That is, ff you can find one of the
undeniably in demand due to the in-vogue 10,000 pieces in existence.
nature of the genre and system right now.

Gunstar Heroes Tengen Tetris

..
The little-known Game Gear handheld Tengen Tetris on the Famicom is collectable
version of Gunstar Heroes was released for more than one reason. Its existence,
nearly two years after the original hit the formed in the midst of a worldwide scandal,
Mega Drive. Tectoy, a subsidiary of Sega is well documented in the history books of
based in Brazil, then released a conversion our industry. Tengen, a subsidiary of Atari,
of the Game Gear version for the SMS was refused copyright for its Famicom
exclusively for that territory. It's a rarity given version of Tetris but proceeded to market
that few fans even know of the Game Gear and distributed it anyway, disrespecting
iteration's existence, let alone this second both Nintendo's and ELORG's rights to the
curio. There has only been one copy ever on name. It was put on the shelves on May
ebay and it was retracted due to the amount 17, 1989 and taken off by way of court
of emails the seller was sent either injunction on June 21 of the same year. It is
requesting he sell outside of the auction for unknown how many titles were sold to the
an undisclosed amount or accusing him of public in this four-week period.
selling a bootleg.

Desprte the relative failure of tts Mega CD, Saga pressed ahead and released the Mega-CD karaoke unrt (complete wrth Sega microphone) ,n 1992 02 1 >
 Ginga Fukei Densetsu: Sapphire Metal Slug

This vertical shoot 'em, along with titles such By 1996 3D was taking firm root in the
as Darius Alpha, is one of the system's arcades and videogaming homes of the
crown jewels. Released in extremely small world. For SNK to maintain arcade operator
quantities, it's one of the hardest games to interest it desperately needed a new hit that
come by. Requiring the last PC Engine could compete in gameplay stakes with
memory upgrade (the Arcade Card). the Sega's newest. In 1996 a diminutive
game features a gorgeous CD soundtrack, developer for the Neo-Geo released two
beautiful anime cut-scenes and probably stunning games on the format: Metal Slug
the best graphics you can ever experience and Neo Turf Masters. Little did SNK know
on a PC Engine or Turbo Duo. that Metal Slug would go on to be the most
successful 2D action game arcade
operators would see since coin-op gaming's
heyday. Nasca was relatively unknown at the
time and this, coupled with the fact that SNK
had some high-profile mies of its own in
Rakugaki Showtime 1996, resulted in the Neo-Geo home carts
being released in such small quantities. This
was especially true for the US market where
SNK's foreign office was entering its death
throes. As a result both the US Neo Turf
Masters and Metal Slug are two of the most
sought-after carts in the world. That Metal
Slug has gone on to be such a legendary
No surprise to find another Treasure title in success has ensured that its value has
the mix. The only PSone Treasure game to skyrocketed and each time the title comes
get an exclusive PlayStation release, this on to the market new records are broken.
graffiti-themed game was allegedly removed Although by no means the hardest to find of
from shelves due to a related lawsuit. the Neo-Geo games this is certainly the title
Perhaps one of the most variously priced desirable to the most people.
games ever, it has been sold online for
anything between £60 up to £300 in the last
two years. The fact that Enix was the
publisher only adds to the game's worth.

Battlesphere Panzer Dragoon Saga

. .l • • • .•.
A true example of the bedroom coding ethic The collectability of this game has been well
in a multinational world, Battlesphere was documented within Edge's pages. It's a
created by a team of three working in their stunning game that has a real aesthetic
spare time throughout the Jaguar's life and quality one can appreciate even as Orta
beyond. Everything about the game smacks approaches. The UK version has been listed
of the maverick from the complete lack of here, as the DVD-style slip casing that
Atari technical support to the fact that profits contains the two game boxes allows
were ploughed back into diabetes research. exceptional extra art to be featured that
The production of the software was in such never appeared in the US version.
small quantities that it has become one of
the most desirable games of all time.

< 022 1989 saw the llN0aS8 of Mattel'& Powe,Glove for the NES. Featured extensively in 'The Wizard', $40m worth sold in the US 1n Its first year on sale
Mail Plane YECTRIDI: CRAZY 97 ,...,,. • Virtual Bowling

For many years the Vectrex collecting Athena's only game for the Virtual Boy is
communtty thought this elusive game, for exceptionally rare and highly sought after.
use with a lightpen peripheral, was lost in Like Gundam Dimension Battle the game
development limbo. Nearly a decade after was made and sold in very small quantities
the game was canned for release Jason and as the platform steadily increases in
Moore's esteemed Retrogames fanzine popularity, more and more collectors push
(pictured) was presented with evidence the price up. Incidentally the price here
that a few carts got out. The lightpen would pale into significance should
component turns out to be a novelty, as prototypes such as VB Wario Land and
apparently this is fairly simple plane simulator. Mario Adventure, which were never
A version of the game was recently put on released, appear on the market.
ebay for $5,000. Although some Vectrex
collectors doubted the authentictty of the
product, an FR Wilk, who apparently worked
on the game, contacted Retrogames and
confirmed its existence. A worldwide
?,
Pocket Reversi
fanzine exclusive, then. ~

~
"f:--:
~·- ~ ••

It is likely that there were 1,000 of these

. made before they were shipped back to
Japan but no one knows how many copies
••• .>.
of the game actually escaped into the hands
of consumers. The niche appeal probably
means it was far less than 50 and maybe
below ten. The Japanese version is worth
very little in comparison.

Snatcher Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout

•
••
I .. ,.. t t . . .
Hideo Kojima's excellent prequel to Inexplicably this terrible game continues to
Policenauts earned its only English appear on the market and consistently
language release on the Mega-CO. demands very high prices. A sealed copy
Gripping, extremely sought after, especially sold for $400 recently. Limited to 10,000
in its UK guise, the plot gives more than a copies the game is a cult classic due to the
respectful nod to 'Blade Runner'. This is a anime tie-in and apparent Japanese
Konami/Kojima-san collector's must-have popularity. Evidence that very poor games
and, alongside Lunar, the main reason to will sell way above their gameplay's worth if
invest in the native hardware. the conditions are right. The Japanese
version is worth a fraction of this version.

To secure an NES devek>pment licence, Rare had to produce a demo. Nintendo was less than forthcoming With the machine's tech specs, so the Stamper brothers imported a machine and reverse-engineered it 023 >
< 024 Atari's Battfezone (1980) was responsible for two firsts: not only was it the first game to feature a firstperson perspective, but It also inspired the military to use games for trainlng purposes
 rcher Maclean (right) writes games for a addictively played all the machines you could
A living. Or at least he used to - Dropzone, think of from Space Invaders in '78 through
the International Karate series and Jimmy to later games in the mid- '80s, it never
White ·s Snooker were all programmed by occurred to me to buy one. Things kicked off
him. After 15 years as a one-man-band, in a small way in 1985, but it's only really
though, he formed Awesome Developments, gone mad in the past few years.
and most recently joined forces with another What I'm doing is paying homage to the
company to become Ignition Entertainment, all the great arcade games that inspired me
a developer-publisher company, where he so much to the point that I believed I could
heads up development on 128bit platforms. make a career out of creating games myself
Once famed for his love (and ownership) - and to create titles at least as good as the
of fast, exotic cars, nowadays his interests best arcade experiences out there. This went
appear somewhat more down to earth. If against all the advice from my uni lecturers,
owning what might well be Europe's biggest friends and family, but I felt like I was pioneering
private collection of coin-ops could ever be great things in the early days, and with
considered down to earth, that is. perseverance I managed to singlehandedly
Retro visited him at his luxurious home write a few number-one games. Now, 20
to see (and play, naturally) his collection years later, I can afford to buy these
firsthand and to discover a whole lot more. magnificent machines to play once again.
Life's sort of coming full circle, if you like.
Why did you begin collecting coin-ops? That all sounds grand, you might think,
It just sort of happened. Even though I'd but as usual l'vetiave bitten off more than I

RadarScope was Nintendo's first arcade game, released in 1980. It was a moderate success In Tokyo but bombed in the US. where the machines were eventually recycled for use as Donkey Kong cabinets 025 >
 POnG

• •

■
■
1. Father and son: Computer Space and Pong. How
many of these have you seen working alongside each
other today? 2. Much of Maclean's collection lives deep
within his voluminous basement. 3. Bored? Nothing
on TV? Simply head downstairs and take your pick
from the entertainment on offer. It may take some time
to make your mind up, though. 4. Having run out of
room at home, Maclean has shipped several cabs to
the he Awesome Developments office, where they live
in a safe ... 5.••. behind a quite substantial door

< 026 Atari's Pong game wasn't just licensed out to Sears for sale as a home game; Nintendo also paid to use the game In its range of home Pong clones for the Japanese market, sold dunng the late '70s
can chew, and now I've decided to spend before occurred to me to try and buy one.
big chunks of my spare time restoring them The machine hadn't been treated very well,
back to as-new condrtion sc that I can end and in those days looking after the side art
up wrth a huge home arcade full of working and sc on wasn't given a second thought.
cabs - and I'm developing all sorts of skills in Amazingly rt lived on for years wrthout
the process. So much sc, in fact, that the breaking, although I did get a bad case of
dedication I now put into the restoration feels 'Defender finger' where I wore all the skin off
remarkably like the good old game- the knuckles of my left hand. This re-grew
programming days when rt was just me much harder - I guess my hand scrt of
acutely concentrating on writing an ultra-tight evolved. [Laughs.] I can remember a few
brt of code for a game. I scmetirnes evenings where I would battle rt up to over
disappear into my basement late at night and 1,000,000 points, which was such an effort
worl< on scmething intensely; the next thing I that you didn't realise how much you were
know the sun's come up and rt's 6:0Qam. sweating or how much damage you'd done
to your hands.
When did you buy your first machine? My whole early career was hugely
Back in 1985, I'd finished Dropzone, nice influenced by Williams arcade games, and as
royalties were coming in, the game was at I later found out this was especially true of all
the top of the charts, and I'd just started the the ones wrrtten by a certain Eugene home, then went back to get my car. So that
wrrting lntemationaf Karate. It was the year Jarvis [see p62] - the legendary author of was 500 miles in one day - it cost more in
that arcades were closing down all over the them all, and before that an amazing pinball petrol, I think. I had to get three mates to
help me get the thing up the stairs into my
flat. It was stupidly heavy. It never occurred to
us to check inside, but after we'd heaved the
thing up I forced the lock on the back only to
find three sand bags in the bottom - I guess
maybe they wanted to stop rt being nicked.
Bally/Midway's Asteroid (top), from
What's nice is that I still have this very 1973, is a super-rare machine. There are
same machine here at home to this day. It's only a couple of others in the UK - and
place, and I was running out of places where bloke. I'd study his games over and over, and also done some time at the Awesome they probably don't even work. Out of
the entire collection, Robotron (above)
I could play Defender, Stargate, Robotron stand and take in at the visuals and sound Developments office, where we have about
gets the most use by Maclean (and the
and so on, and out of frustration one day I effects for ages, working out just how he had ten other cabs right now. It's a UK-spec most commonly replaced joysticks)
picked up the Yellow Pages and started done things. Robotron was another amazing machine, so rt's smaller than the US version.
ringing arcades and asking what they had. example of ultra-tight programming ingenuity. Whilst I'll never sell it, and it isn't restored
Most operators thought I was well odd doing I was always tryng to figure out just how he except for a rebuilt control panel, it's probably
it that way, but one guy said he was about to made sc much move around the screen so worth £1,500 to £2,000 over here now.
chuck out his Defender cab - I was over fast wrth only an 8brt, 1Mhz processor, 48K It's also probably the best classic arcade
there like a shot and bought the thing off him of RAM, and a raster-generated screen game ever written, and I do think it's one of
for the princely sum of £100. I loaded rt into image. It was really inspiring stuff. the most challenging and addictive games of
the back of my hatchback and drove it home all time. Most other collectors would agree. It
wrth it sticking out two feet. It had just never What happened after that? needs both hands doing different things,
After Defender I was hungry for more. I you've got to use both eyes all the time -
then made over a hundred calls trying to blinking is not allowed - and both ears need
track down a Stargate machine, which I to tell your brain stuff, too. Oh yeah, and
eventually found in Blackpool. I think it was you've got to breath and stay standing, too -
qurte a bit more money, too. At first glance especially difficult if you can hit the magic
Stargate seems like it has more control million mark. It took me ages to conquer the
buttons and joysticks than your average machine, never seeming to get past 250,000
jumbo jet - and it's about as complicated or sc, until one day I figured the whole thing
to play, too. But it's ultra-rewarding. out and had a memorable trip up to the
In '85 or '86 it didn't occur to me to go million. Some years later I managed to clock
an buy up scme more, as I didn't even have my own machine (on its default hardness)
the space anyway. But then I was on a past the ten-mill point at which point the
business trip to Manchester in '87 and I was scores reset - at level 350, I think. That took
literally walking down a street in a lovely part four hours and I had to go and chill out in a
of town called Salford and I spotted a dark corner afterwards.
Robotron machine just sitting there on the
pavement outside a scruffy-looking arcade. How did things escalate?
I went in and cheekily asked why it was For maybe ten years I just kept the three
there. They were about to skip it because rt cabs, as well as all my home computers, and
wasn't taking any money and one-am,ed I was more preoccupied with wrrting games. I
bandits were coining it in five times more for can remember around albout 1990/91
the same floor space, sc rt had to go. Two thinking it would be a good idea to hoard a
minutes later I stuffed £50 in the operator's load of them in a barn or scmething because
hand and he put it back inside. I dumped my they were sc cheap, and I was watching how
car and hired a Transrt van, drove rt 120 miles the classic car markets and antiques markets

On seeing the sim11anty of Mane's names,s and its 1929 mov,e 'King Kong', Universal Pictures sued Nintendo and Coleco for copyright infnngement. UniVefsal's case was thrown out when It turned out that Its copyright claim had expired 027 >
 were all being talked up by specialist a pie of a cocktail version of Robotron. I
magazines and 1V programmes. I thought didn't even know such a thing existed and it
about what hoarding a load, then setting up became a sort of Holy Grail for me to find.
Classic Arcade Collector or What Arcade [Laughs.] Certainly none ever came to
Cab, would do to prices. [Laughs.] k:, It has Europe, and there were only 100 or so made
turned out, prices of some of the more 20 years ago. Most have been hacked about
collectible stuff has gone up 1,000% in the operators over the years, and badly
past ten years, and to complete my converted to more profitable games like
collection has cost me quite a bit, and taken Space Invaders, so very few still exist.
me on hunting missions all over USA and Hunting down one for sale has been
Europe. I do know some other collectors something of an obsession for a long time. Warrior is one of Maclean's stupidly rare cabs. It
who are Williams completists and want all the Only recently did I manage to find a nice projects UV light on the playfield and is probably
the only working example in the world right now
really rare Williams cabs like Varl<on and working one in the USA, and I whipped out
Inferno, but I was more interested in my poor old credit card, and even paid for it
buying/trading/swapping cabs to the point to be crated up and air freighted over to the hand, number wise. But I have more or less
where I had just about every one that I UK - which cost a further £500 after VAT and got no room left and I've had to stop
remember enjoyably playing in the '80s. customs, etc. That makes it very expensive - collecting. The next part of my mission is to
but I now have it and rt's one of my most complete the restoration on them all. You'll
cherished possessions. have to give me a few years, though.
I'm still after an original minty Crazy
Climber from Nichibutsu, 1980. They don't Can you work out how much you've
cost much in the USA - maybe $200-400 on spent on this hobby?
ebay or from a collector - but it's just one I I hate to think! Probably enough to buy a very
haven't managed to get. I'd also quite like to decent car. I couldn't really sum it up,
track down a working Carnival - just because because it's been a hobby that's been
What do you do with all the machines? the sound effects were so funny. Again, it's growing for nearly 17 years and in that time
I figured very recently that I have all the cabs not expensive or particularly collectible, but I I've simply accumulated a vast amount of
and pins I want, and now I have begun the have special memories of it. stuff which is gold dust to me and rusty crap
enormous task of restoring them one by one. to everyone else. I've lost count of the
The Black Widow project has been the Some cabs here are rare. What other amount of time and money I've put in. I don't
biggest one to date (see www.ionpool.neV 'Holy Grails' have you hunted down? think you'd make a living out of it, as it really
arcade/atari/bw/bw_restoration.html), Most of my cabs are the popular ones I is more a labour of love-type of thing. Some
although luckily not all will be that severe. remember playing to death 20 years ago, but people train up whippets for racing, others
There is a growing USA-driven market for I also have this collector streak in me which track down some peculiar antique bit of
brand-new replacement control panels, side- wants to trace the roots of the videogame china because great Aunt Maud had one,
art panels, stickers. marquees, T-moulding business right back to day one. After all, it's and my passion is for collecting and restoring
edge strip, and so on, for all the more provided me with the wherewithal to do all arcade games. Simple, really. [Laughs.]
popular machines. And some of the this collec)ing and restoring.
suppliers have excellent items. like k:, for other Holy Grails, well, yeah, I'm So what are you going to do with your
www.arcaderenovations.com. still a huge evangelist of anything Atari. If it collection when you're old and grey?
I've got such a big job on my hands for wasn't for a certain Nolan Bushnell, the entire Me? Old? Grey? No, seriously, I don't know.
the next year or two that I've bought all sorts games industry may never have happened. I I tend to hoard stuff if I have somewhere to
of weird equipment to enable me to make my have certainly tried to obtain all the well- put it while leaving the main living area of the
own artwork, especially for some of the more known ones, and a few of the ultra-rare ones house clear of everything. I used to collect
obscure machines. But also, back in the like Major Havoc (I have an original 1983 and restore classic LED and LCD digital
summer, the studio manager at work, dedicated cab), a 1982 Quantum, and, most watches from 197010 1985 and I haven't
Graeme, and I spent some time scanning treasured of all, a Missile Command sitdown sold them. I quite often wear them, too. So I
and digitally preparing a brand-new control cockpit. I think it's the only one in Europe, don't know. I don't plan on getting rid of
panel overlay for all the tired UK-spec and I only know of a couple left in the USA. them any time soon. Maybe I should set up a
Robotrons out there. I've been let down by all museum! [Laughs.]
sorts of people involved with the printing/ Where did you put your first machines? One thing I am very keen to do, when I
manufacturing process that I recently And what do you do with them now? have more time - yeah, right - is brush off my
decided to buy the equipment needed, Initially I just put the two or three I had right in old programming skills - because they're still
second-hand, to enable me to do it myself at my sitting room. I played them to death, and in there - and actually write a brand-new
Quantum (1982) is the sort of game home. It's not exactly economical but it will most of my friends would come round for a game for the old colour vector game
you'd only really find today in a true enable me to do all my other rare machines, blast, too. Meanwhile normal people - machines. I think I could really do something
collector's line-up. A relatively obscure
Atari title, it uses a trackball to 'capture' given time. It's become a real labour of love. whatever normal is - thought I was nuts. special, and actually end up with a game in
particles and atoms. You can try it via But I'm not alone in this type of quest. The [Laughs.] Nowadays I'm fortunate to have a maybe 32K of ROM that other collectors
MAME, but it's not like the real thing UK's biggest Robotron expert, Dave Langley, decent-sized basement and I've spent years around the world could try out. Just think: a
lives breathes and thinks Robotron all day turning it into a sort of donkey sanctuary for brand-new Atari-style game on the old
long - check out his hugely informative Web arcade games, with all my repair gear and classic hardware, but created in 2003/4!
site at www.robotron-2084.co.uk. workshop bits down there. The fully restored
ones get put in the main house area, and I How much do you actively play?
You must still hanker after some machines. move some to work. Sometimes I'll trade one I play some machines more than others.
There are only a couple more, perhaps. Two restored machine for two scruffy ones or I probably play Robotron once a day.
years ago someone in the States emailed me whatever - and that's how it can get out of Asteroids, Pac-Man, Missile Command,

< 028 Before reaching the final name of Mi'ssile Command. Atari's 1980 game was called 'Ground Zero' and 'Armagl'lddon'
 arcade

Space Invaders - they all get played quite a

lot. And most weekends I'll have a blast on
the Twilight Zone pin.

Clearly you had a significant involvement

with computer games back in the '80s.
So how do you compare gameplay
experiences of yesteryear to more
contemporary games?
We were talking about that work the other
day, when I installed my Star Wars sitdown
over there. It has this amazing 26" colour
vector monitor in it and you sit cocooned
there flying through space shooting X-Wings,
and then you go down the Death Star trench
while Darth Vader deep breathes into your
ears and haunting film quotes from Alec
Guinness play out, which makes the hairs on
your neck stand up. Some of the lads are
hooked on it. And some of them were barely
born when the game original came out. But
what makes me laugh is that some of the
modem 'Star Wars' games have the same
basic gameplay plot - about the X-Wings and
the trench, etc - but rendered with millions of
polygons and using imagery directly out of
the films, and yet it's not 'more fun'. I still think
that gameplay is what makes or breaks a
game, not the quality of its graphics on its
own. The basic gameplay mechanic in the
old arcade games was usually very simple
and done by one person, and those A~
designs have stood the test of time. -

1. Twilight Zone is neither old nor particular1y

rare - but it's respected by pinball aficionados as
one of the best tables in existence. 2. Computer
Space's control panel gives a hint about why It
may not have gone down so well back in simpler
times. 3. A living legend. 4. A proper play room
5. Dragon's Lair 11- still working after all these
years. 6. Entertainment as art (to some, at least)

Urban myth: Donkey Kong was called "Monkey Kong" until a garbled fax from Japan changed the first letter to a "D' Wrong - the name was intentionally chosen, Donkey as a syoonym for 'stubborn', and Kong to mean ·monkey' 029 >
Despite Magnavox suing Atari ,n 1975 on grounds that Pong cop,ed en Odyssey game, Ralph Bear (Iha Odyssey's In-tor) was hardly ,nnocenl. his popular eleclronlc game Simon bon, a remari<ablo almilarity lo Atari's Touch Me
 arcade

t's all very well just steaming in and feedback attributes so you get a good feel
I grabbing anything you can get your hands for the person you're dealing with.
on when you're looking to begin collecting I've also gone over to the USA on
coin-op hardware, but it can be a particularly 'holiday' and travelled around to meet some
messy business, especially if you start out of the really huge American collectors -
looking in the wrong places. Surrounded by check out www.vaps.org for collectors all
countless curios in Archer Maclean's over the world and what they have - as well
voluminous basement, Retro sought some as some interesting statistics. I even once
advice from a seasoned expert. bought a job lot from a closing-down
warehouse for a one-off fee covering
From whom do you buy cabs? And how? numerous cabs in various states of disrepair,
What about moving them or shipping and boxes and boxes of 'useful' junk, and
them in from the US? then had some fun and games organising a
Some I buy from friends, or I'll do a swap for container load of it to be shipped back to the
one I've restored and I want something else. UK by sea. The customs men had to X-ray
I've purchased loads from ebay via the US the lot to make sure there were no Mexicans
and the UK. And that's a risk, as I prefer to in it, I think. I usually leave all the paperwork
buy something after physically inspecting it. and logistics to a specialist agent, such as
But 99% of the time ebay's pretty reliable, Frans Maas Worldwide. They can save you a
and its audience is just so huge that almost huge amount of hassle, as it's quite a
everything you want is on there at one point minefield. I've also bought individual cabs
or another. Sellers and buyers all have and the seller will crate them up and then

Computer Space was supplied with sheets of pape, deta•fOlQ the varioUs rno"9S and methods to playfng the game. making it p,obabfy tt,, fora! (and. most hkely. last) arcade game with an instrucoon manual 031 >
 Commodore 64, was near1y turned into a coin-op itself. Maclean explains:
"In 1985 I was approached by an amusement company who wanted to tum the Atari 800
home computer version of Dropzone into a real-life money-taking arcade cabinet. They'd
looked at the game and decided tt was sufficiently challenging and polished to tum tt into an
arcade machine version, and asked if I'd be interested in making it a reality. I didn't need much
persuasion. [Laughs.] I took the Atari version of the code (which was way better than the
heavily cut--down C64 version) and added arcade-style difficulty ramp--ups, and coin-slot logic,
credits messages, and an extended attract sequence, and so on. This was then all put inside a
well-used Williams Defender cabinet, with a Dropzone marquee [the back-lit logo section
above the screen area], and a great big industrial-looking clicky joystick, and it was tried out in
an arcade in Luton, of all places. I
remember being told tt took £300 in first
week, which was as much as Defender
did, so pound symbols ltt up in our
eyes, and we got to worl< making proper
cabinets for it. But the slowdown in the
arcade market was taking its toll
everywhere, and some weeks later the
boss rang up to say they were sadly
unable to proceed due to the rollout
costs getting too high, even if we did
just stick the game in general-purpose
cabs. It was a big shame, really.
"Anyway, I still have that code,
and just recently I've been making up a
brand-new 2002 arcade cabinet in the
shape of the classic Atari cab style of ship them individually. This costs, but usually you'd bought a clocked car made out of
'82, and it's very nearly there. It uses the the total cost of purchasing them, crating, two write-offs. Not good.
original Atari 800 hardware within the shipping, handling, customs duty and VAT is But buying without physically seeing
cab, and does have all the coin-slot still less than the price of what's already over them can be a risk. Once I bought an Atari
logic and extended attract sequences.
here, and also USA-sourced cabs are Space Duel colour vector game cheaply for
It also has stunning new artwork and
generally much better condition than UK $150 on ebay as 'not working'. It looked
some very clever fibre-optic animations
versions, for their age. There are some good enough in the pies, and it cost me
as well. I might do a batch of ten or so,
because some of the other grown-up arcade and pinball warehouse operations $400 to ship - which is still good value when
kids (or collectors) out there went here in the UK, but I'm deeply unimpressed a nice working one in the UK might be
through the same em as me and have with their quality and astronomical prices for £1,000 or more. But when the thing turned
expn,ssed serious interest in buying what they offer, which wouldn't be so bad tt up the seller hadn't bothered to wrap it very
one. Arcade Dropzone will rise from the cabs were at least cleaned out or partially well and it was severely damaged. What's
the ashes yet." restored and made to w0/1<. You could even more galling is that it didn't even have a
come away from some of them feeling as tt vector monitor in it, but a simple raster
monitor which was cracked at the neck, too.
That was all a bit of a disaster. Still, at least
the other bits were salvageable and worth
something to me - and the side panels of the
machine are nailed to a door downstairs.
They look like modem art. [Laughs.]

What skills do you need to collect?

Well, most arcade games were designed to
have a working life of three or four years.
They were made to play about 20,000
games in order for the operator to break
even and then make money. But I very much
doubt anyone could have predicted that
those same machines would survive for 25
years. [Laughs.] Some that I've seen have
coin counters registering 250,000 plays.
Most 'skills' are of the common-sense
variety, but some basic electronics
knowledge is a good start, as these things
Maclean keeps his own supply of processors as There's probably something useful among all can and will go wrong. Being able to do
vttal spares. Many are no longer manufactured this clutter. You may have to dig deep, though some cosmetic repair and apply aftennarket

< 032 The first magazine dedicaled soktly to videogomee was 1981 's El«tronlc Games
Restoring a Star Wars cabinet is hardly a minor
undertaking. But then consider the end result ••.

artworl< is good, too. Knowing your way around

the Internet is definitely a plus point because
there's masses of information, manuals,
schematics and dedicated Web sites popping
up all the time. Most collectors are very Web-
literate and some offer some fantastically
useful information on how they fixed certain
problems ~h certain cabs. Oddly, arcade-
game knowledge is far better supported than
pinball is with that type of collecting.
Maintaining a working cab is another
issue. They were generally made out of
painted chipboard which nowadays
disintegrates to nothing if water or damp gets
anywhere near it, so storing one in a damp
garage is not a good idea. Restoring the
sides and control panels is just one aspect of
it, because the electronics inside are also
simply crumbling back into sand. They
typically have a 25-year old 1MHz 6502
microprocessor, some 1K RAM chips and
16K EEPROMS that all run very hot. And they
simply stop working after running for 25
years. That's ten million minutes of time.
[Laughs.] How many people do you know
with a 1980 colour 1V still working?
So it's a tall order to expect a 25-year-old
cab to still be 100% reliable. The situation is
similar to buying a 25-year-old well-used car
with no service history, all sorts of badged
repair work and 250,000 miles on the clock.
My advice when buying cabs is similar to
cars, too: don't buy the cheapest thing you
find - buy something that's preferably working
and not too abused, as this makes a good
starting point. You don't have to go to some
of the rip-off warehouse operations out there;
instead use the huge and highly organised
ebay auction sites, the various collector
newsgroups and collector sites where the
owner sells them as well as offering advice.
With care, these games can be made to
 "Don't buy the first thing you come across - wait," says Maclean. "Look around, check out what's available, look at various traders' Web sites,
but most of all, perhaps, look around that great melting pot called www.ebay.com. Study it, and see what's available, what's popular, what level of
interest there is, and learn as much as you can from looking around the Web. These are some good sites to start off with: live on for qurte a while yet. There's a growing
army of collectors and small businesses -
www.ebay.com The market place, with 5,000+ arcade items for sale at any one time
especially in America - who now offer
www.ebay.co.uk UK-based stuff, but less than a tenth the size of the USA version
reproduction artwork, control panels, plastics,
www.klov.com The Killer List Of Videogames - a brilliant resource
www.vaps.org The Video Arcade Preservation Society - check out who's got what
and monrtors. Things like electrolytic
www.basementarcade.com A good source of parts and advice and more links capacrtors dry out in the high temperatures
www.spies.com/-arcade/ An amazing source of rare game manuals and info wrthin a cab, and monrtors use loads of them.
www.robotron-2084.co.uk A dedicated Williams site mostly for Robotron These tend to explode or fail, so there's even
www.atarihq.com/museum/coinops/index.html A dedicated Atari Web site an industry in supplying kits of replacement
www.arcadeshop.com You'll find masses of electronic and mechanical parts here capacrtors so you can 'cap' your monitor or
www.dragons-lair-project.com Want to know all about any laserdisc game? power supply and, remarkably, rt brings lrte
jmargolin.com/xy/xymon.htm An example of brilliant vector monitor advice
back to the machine. Most of the chips are
still available, but are dwindling in numbers -
Remember that there's a huge wealth of infonnation about this hobby and there are thousands of sites. I also believe that if you put some hard-
and I've stocked up on loads of rare chips
earned cash into a machine, but wisely, and look after it, you won't lose your money. The enjoyment factor will be far better than sticking it in the
bank. Finally, collectors can email me via arcade@awesome.uk.com." and have drawers full of the things.
I can repair my own circurt boards when
they go pop because it was my degree
subject, but fortunately there are some very
clever electronics people out there in the
collector world, like my mate Phill who can

< 034 Up, up, down, down, left, right. left, right, B, A, start number one: Not DDR moves in this lllSlance, bUt It does relote to Konami - It's a generic cheat for a host of old Konam, games across vano<l9 platforms
 arcade

1. Looking inside Computer Space reveals the complexity of creator

Nolan Bushnell's engineering. "The three PCBs hold pure logic chips
of the TLUDTL variety,• explains Maclean. "The entire game works off a
dedicated logic design and is incredibly ingenious for its time. This was
put together by a very focused mind, without the use of modern logic or
chip design tools.• Look carefully and you can see something rather less
sophisticated: a paint can for collecting coins. 2. Pinball maintenance: not
for the novice. 3. Inside Pong. 4. Spares sit around wailing to be needed

debug and repair just about any problem with

any Asteroids board I've ever thrown at him
when I haven't been able to fix it. These
people are rare indeed, and some of them
commit their knowledge to big HTML docs
on the Web for the benefit of the rest of us,
and they make the hobby more possible and
worthwhile for those fascinated by cabs.

What sort of values would you put on

those machines?
That's a big question which everyone will
have an opinion on. But a collector will pay
what it's worth to him, especially for the more
unusual machines. But with something like a
full-sized yellow Pac-Man cab, there's a
defined marketplace like ebay where dozens
appear and get sold every day, so declaring a
typical price point is valid. I'd say in terms of
USA prices, a working Pac-Man in
reasonable shape but not restored would set
you back maybe $300-500. One that's
reasonably tidy that's had its power supply
modified, and with maybe a new control panel,
is going to be $400-700, and the best ones
fetch nearer the $1,000 point. Over in the UK
they're actually quite rare, but £500-1,750
might cover the same condition points.
As for any of the Atari classics, it's the
same story: a working Asteroids or Missile
Command could fetch anything from £750
up to £1,500 for a mint one. But they don't
tend to come up very often, which is why
stomaching the cost of shipping in a cab
from the States makes sense. Oddly
enough, Pole Position can often be seen
on ebay very cheaply- £100 for the whole
huge thing, albeit tatty.
Moving cabs about can cause all sorts
of problems. The wood sides can come
adrift from each other. Wires finally break,
connectors fall off, loose coins and screws
lying in the base of the cab can lodge in the
middle of the power supply, causing havoc,
monitors might work for a test play but leave
them on and they might go pop due to age
half an hour later. I've sadly seen cabs so
badly mishandled in transit that they've just
been crushed under straps that were too
tight. Once I saw a pinball machine that had
two forklift prongs straight through it.
And that's really not very nice.

Up, up, down. down. left, right, left, light, B. A, start number two: ~ - the sequence does make Its way into DDR, featuring as a set ot moves in the song 'Make a Jam"
 f any videogame industry player Let's begin at the beginning. Eddie there, and there were some

IT] deserves to have his story told ,

it has to be Nolan Bushnell.
Adlum, a journalist in the '70s, said he
met you at a trade show in 1971 when
electromechanical arcade driving games
and things like that , but to have a piece
And told it has been , via countless you were showing off Computer Space about games in a Newsweek or a Time or
magazine articles (both specialist and for the first time. He said you were as Fortune , it just didn't happen, and I felt that
mainstream), books and television excitable as a kid . What was going you not only needed to sell your product to
interviews. He engineered many through your mind back then? the trade, but you also needed to sel l your
videogame hardware miracles. He Well. first of all I was 28 or 29 years old, as product to the public, and I wanted to do a
took on rivals and beat them every green as grass, and all of a sudden I had few things about that . One, I wanted games
time. He even tried to take Japan. my first big invention product displayed at a to be able to go everywhere, so we always
But the Nolan Bushnell story always trade show. It was the first time I'd ever made our games a little more understated
appears fractured, as if there are other been there, and it was just about as much without all the flashing gee-gahs and stuff.
facts hiding behind the anecdotes that fun as you can possibly have because our so that if somebody wanted to put them in
pour fourth freely from the genius machines were so different and so unique a nicer cocktail lounge they could do it
engineer-turned-legend. Retro set and so mesmerising that in some ways it without feeling embarrassed by it. So we
out to fill in some of the gaps. was like... Well , a couple people described were bringing the games to the mainstream.
our booth as being transported there from And it worked; it allowed a lot of people
another planet. And I loved that. [Laughs.] who would never have been around a game
before to be around games, and it allowed
It's been said that the industry wouldn't women to play in huge numbers, which was
have taken off the way it did without your also something that was brand new.
involvement in terms of your charisma. Women just didn 't play pinball machines. in
Do you think that's true? general. They didn't play arcade games.
I don't know whether I viscerally Huge numbers of women played Pong . I
understood this or if I thought it through , think that the videogame would have
but I felt that the coin-operated game happened without me. maybe a few years
business up to that point was almost a later, but I believe that it may have taken on
shadow industry, it was something that a slightly different spin without me, and I
people didn 't really talk about or think think that I was able to capture a lot of
about. Y'know, pinball machines were interest on the part of the press and the

037 >
public in general, which may not have than these clowns and it gave me the because the market chose what they
happened with someone else. Or it may have confidence to go off on my own. And so wanted - which is the best? [Laughs.)
in fact happened much better with someone I thank them for that. [Laughs.]
else. But at least it was very different to the What about your place in history?
business up to that point. Apparently only 1 ,500 Computer Space Does that matter to you?
units were manufactured , but it's been That's a hard question. I'd like to say: what
So you actually went out and purposely claimed that Atari couldn't even sell all have I done for you lately? All this history is
PR-ed the industry. of those. What happened there? all fine and good, but the projects that I'm
Absolutely. In fact I think Atari may have There were all sold. In fact, the number I working on currently are much more
been the first coin-operated game remember is 2,300, but you know it's been interesting to me. But I'm extremely proud of
manufacturer to ever hire a PR agency. widely reported as 1,500, but I'm pretty sure Atari and the place that it had, and I think
tt was 2,300. In fact I've tried to go back and that the way that early videogames were
Computer Space, which flopped, must look at the royalty receipts that I had which created clearly put it into the market four
have been a learning experience for you. would really track that . years before it would have been otherwise
Absolutely. One of the things I learned with because you need to remember that we
Computer Space is that there's such a thing Moving on to Pong , there are many created the first game that had a
as too much innovation. I mean the fibre- rumours concerning its creation. It's been microprocessor in it - Asteroids. We were in
glass cabinet was so different that even said, for example, that it was programmer the business long before microprocessors
though the public loved it, a lot of the Al Alcorn's idea to allow spin to be put on had been invented, so in order to work out
operators couldn't quite understand how this the ball , and to introduce varying ball costings - to get the things to work at what
sort of look could work - it was a space speeds. So who was really responsible? was extremely high speeds in those days -
game, it was supposed to look spacey. I Doing the increasing speed was definitely we had to do some pretty clever tricks. And
mean I can remember how proud I was Alcorn. It turns out that you can't put spin on I'm proud of those clever tricks. [Chuckles.]
when it was selected to go in the movie the ball; it was strictly based on where on the
'Soy1ent Green', and all of a sudden one of paddle the ball hits. So if you hit it on the Atari seemed for a little while in the '70s
to be going down two different paths -

"Ralph Baer is undisputedly the father of the raster and vector, eventually settling with
raster representations.
analogue videogame, and I'm undisputedly In the early days the computer technology

the father of the digital videogame" that was available at a reasonable cost was
just damn slow. So there was a certain set of
games that were simply impossible in a
my children was in a movie. [Laughs.) It was corner it has maximum angulation, and in the raster because memory was extremely
one of those things that allowed the public to middle it comes straight back. I remember expensive, so to do a screen map was just
see things and by extension want to go out that I told Al to do it that way, and he cost prohibitive. And there was a kind of brief
and play them, and I think that it ultimately remembers that he did it by himself, and moment in time between the point that the
helped the marketing and the actual coin I really don 't care. [Laughs.] computers were too slow and memory costs
drop for a lot of the machines. Computer were too high, where the only way you could
Space probably did something that was even It sounds like you don 't really care for do certain types of games was with a vector
more important - for me - in that I had that sort of question. graphics display. The problem with vector
licensed it to a company called Nutting There are a lot of people in the press who graphics displays is that the rasterscan is
Associates, which was a somewhat troubled like to create some kind of controversy constantly updating itself; with vectors you're
coin-op manufacturer. I say that in the between myself and Ralph Baer, who did the actually limited in the number of inches you
brilliant illumination of 20:20 hindsight. Well, Magnavox Oddysey. That machine clearly can draw without starting to induce flicker.
actually, I knew it back then: it was run by a predated Pong. There's no dispute on that. You had to redraw and redraw and redraw in
bunch of clowns. They were really not good The reality is that it was all based on an order to keep the image there because the
businessmen, and I had worked at an analogue technology. And I have never said decay on the phosphors in general was in
amusement park while I was in college at a that I invented ping pong . And I've never said the matter of milliseconds, so you could
relatively senior level - I had probably 150 that I invented an analogue computer game. create sparse kinds of things that were very
people, mostly kids, working for me during I had the patent on a digital computer game difficult to calculate and display rasterly.
the summers. The amusement park was that turned out to be successful and the There's another aspect: the real problem with
extremely well run and so I'd seen well-run analogue one turned out to be a big flop. I vector graphics was colour, because the way
operations and I'd been a part of well-run give Ralph a tremendous amount of credit for you would do colour in those days was with
operations even though I was a very young being innovative with the technology that he beam penetration: you'd actually have to
man. And Nutting Associates wasn't any of understood and used; it was just not switch the high-voltage power supply and hit
those things. [Laughs.) I was an engineer, sufficient. So I don't mind the questions the phosphor harder for red than you would
and my plan was to be a creator of games being asked. I hate the spin that somehow for green. The real problem was that you had
and licensor into the regular coin-op world . there's a dispute on who was the real father the switch high voltage at extremely high
But Nutting gave me a real insight into the of the videogame. As far as I'm concerned, speeds to change the colour and that led to
fact that you could have a certain amount of Ralph Baer is undisputedly the father of the technological issues. We used transistors in
success by basically doing every1hing analogue videogame, and I'm undisputedly those days that were doing that high-speed ,
screwed up. And it gave me the confidence the father of the digital videogame. I don't high-voltage switching, and it was hard to
to say: I can't possibly screw it up any more want to take anY1hing away from him, keep the machines robust. So that was

< 038 > Nolan Bushnell originally called his company Syzygy (coming from a term for planetary alignment) but settled oo Atari (meaning 'check' in the Japanose game Go) oo discovering that he'd been beaten to 11 by another outfit
 the grandfather

Computer Space (1971)

Nolan Bushnell's first commercial venture was this
curvaceous beast, a fibre-glass cabinet housing
a reworking of mainframe favourite Space War.
Players piloted a rocket against flying saucer foes

through 1982-84 Atari lost so much money that its losses stood at $536m < 039 >
another issue that made it difficult. The high- So despite what's been said , you couldn 't kinda warmed-over Atari 400 technology.
speed switching power supply, as clever as it put Atari 's inspiration down to any kind of It was just a debacle.
was in terms of technology, was just 'mood enhancers' .
stressing the hell out of the state of the art, I don't think so. In fact, one of the things that And the 7800 was much later.
so service and reliability was an issue. That's I think was very good about Atari, in creative Yes, that was a long time later. That was
why you generally don't find an operating terms, is that we developed a process of after the company had basically had its
Tempest today. innovation in which a lot of it it was heart ripped out.
everybody's idea: it wasn't necessarily
We invited readers to tell us what they'd anybody's idea, it was a kind of shared What would have done differently if
ask you if they met you, so let's move on teamwork - share the glory, share the fun. you knew then what you know now?
to some of those. What was the first point We actually got a little bit of added The first thing: I would not have sold to
where you thought that games had perception that there was a lot of grass Warner. Second, I would have maintained
advanced significantly past Pong? smoking going on because we had a the innovation space. I actually think we
It's kinda funny because Computer Space research lab in a place called Grass Valley, would have had online gaming in the late
was much more complex and more difficult California. It had nothing to do with '70s, because we had a high-speed modem
than Pong, so in some ways Pong was a marijuana, it was just named that , but when project inside Atari. We were in a world of
step back. The next game that used more it comes out in the press, saying, 'The 300-baud modems in those days, and we'd
difficult technology and was incredibly fun thinktank's based in Grass Valley', a lot of actually developed one that was up into the
were the Trak series of driving games. It was people thought that that was clearly an 2200s. If you look back into the patent
those with which I felt like we were starting to allusion to marijuana. registers you'll see that Atari have some
get the technology to the point where we
could do some very, very interesting
simulations. Even though Pong was a
"We would have had online gaming in the late
simulation of a ping pong game - kinda - it '70s. We were in a world of 300-baud modems;
was sort of of its own, whereas the Trak
series were actually racing simulations, so I
at Atari we had one that was up into the 2200s"
kinda considered it to be the first of the
simulators, if you like. The collaboration you talk about makes it extremely forward patents on
sound utopian, almost hippie-like. telecommunications. This all started
Here's an unusual one: what role do you It was. before Warners got involved, and when
think marijuana and booze had in terms they saw what we were working on they
Atari's inspiration back then? So when did the egos come into play? couldn't understand what the hell we were
What a lot of people don't understand is Was that when the company grew to doing in the telecommunication side, and
that we were perhaps one of the early become a lot bigger? they didn't see the whole link-game thing,
companies that really tried to be employee- I didn't think there were a lot of egos in ~ecause they weren't really gamers. And
friendly, so we were very much of a carrot, the company until after Warner got hold they didn't understand that there are
not a stick, kind of employer. And the of it. And then things changed drastically. games that are Solitaires and there are
reason that we got the reputation for the Significantly for the worse, I think. I should games that facilitate human interaction.
backlot beer busts is because everybody point out that there was no major innovation And we were just aimed in that direction
knew that if we hit our numbers at the end that came out of Atari after my core team so heavily... All that got killed. If I hadn't sold
of the month that they would be a company- left. Nothing. And that, of course, led to it I would've definitely had a replacement for
thrown beer bust. And so the fact that the debacle in 1983 where it basically the 2600 probably three years after we
we were personally having beer busts hit the wall going at 120 miles an hour. introduced the original machine.
said that we were constantly hitting our
numbers. There was actually a strong How did that make you feel? You had the technology in mind?
business aspect to it. I was very sad because it was totally Oh, absolutely. I even knew the cost!
Marijuana at that time was considered to predictable. In fact it was one of the parting [Laughs.] And I believe that Atari- probably if
be something that helped you creatively, and salvos that I had: I told the Warner it hadn't been sold to Warner - I think Atari
that sort of stuff, but I'm not sure whether or management that the 2600 was dead, they easily could've been Apple Computer and
not it helped, with 20:20 hindsight. We had a just didn't know it yet. And they'd just Nintendo wrapped into one. Maybe not.
management team who were all in their late bought the company and here we were just Maybe there would've been a whole bunch
20s, early 30s, and when we'd have planning starting to market the 2600, and I said if we of other things ... But the people I had
sessions some of us would - actually, some don't start developing a replacement for it assembled could've easily .. . I could go into
of them would ... [Laughs.] right now it won't be ready in time to take up why Apple was able to beat the Atari 400
the slack and to have an easy transition. And and 800, and it came right down to software.
Ah, so you didn 't light up ... they thought somehow that I was committing Y'know, after somebody's bought a 2600,
Hey, I now have teenage boys so I have to heresy. They were absolutely against the early adopters, they've had it for three or
send the right message. I actually think that developing a replacement for the 2600. And four years, and they're clearly ready to get
at the very least we thought it was making us then when they finally kinda woke up they something better. And with just pumping out
creative. Certain studies since have said that created what I consider to be a relatively the software, no matter how profitable it is,
that's as far as it gets - it makes you feel like horrible product in the 5200. It was totally you've got to get better hardware; this
you're being creative. [Chuckles.] We rushed , it wasn't based on really good wasn't like the record player, it wasn't like a
definitely felt that. technology at that time, it was based on VCR, it was something that you had to move

< 040 Atari made $70m after suing Saga and others for infringing its copyright on the 9-pin Joystick port . Because of the sha(ed hardware, controllers are backwardly compatible: Mega Drive pads can be used on Atari's VCS, for example
 Pong (1972)
Having been burned by Computer Space's
disappointing performance, Nolan Bushnell
went back to basics for this, the seminal
coin-operated videogame of bat and ball

• PLAYER 1 • PLAYER 2
•
• DC POSIT DUARTCA
• BA LL W I L l S FAVI:: A U TO M AT IC AL.LV
• AV OIO MISSING BALL FOR 1-IIG l---t S CORE

• syzygy engineered ATt\RI I NC

SANTA Cl .AAA. CA

Dreamcast aside, ontine console games were never the domain of the 21st century: launched in 1983, Atari's GameLine service allowed users to download games, and even promised access to cheat databases and message boards 041 >
with the technology or you died. And fight. We felt like we were being blocked by entertainment. And so they ended up pricing
I think that's been amply proven since. a bunch of neanderthals at every step. themselves out of the market on one hand,
but on the other hand they did another thing
How did you find dealing with the What do you think the Atari brand that was even worse, because when costs
Japanese side of the industry? represents as it exists today? go high, risks go up, and so innovation
We had a lot of trouble selling the 2600 into I believe that the Atari name, unfortunately, suffers. And risky things aren't tried. And
Japan. If you went into a Sears Robuck you today is strictly a historical icon. I don't think risks are where you get the new,
could generally buy a 2600 for $149. We it means anything other than the name of a reinvigorating product. So if you really look at
actually sold into the Japanese market at our company from the '70s and early '80s. I the games that have been developed for the
cost, a little bit cheaper than we were selling don't think anybody takes it very seriously as arcade business for the last five years, you
to Sears, but if you went into a Japanese a competitor, as something that's relevant see driving games and you see shooting
department store to buy an Atari 2600 you'd any more. I personally would love to own the games, and very little else. With the driving
have to pay over $300 for it. And there were name, and market new, innovative products games sometimes you're driving a car,
so many barriers that were put up against an with it, because I think that it could mean sometimes a bike, sometimes a truck, or a
American company selling into the Japanese innovation again. It just doesn't now. snowmobile, but they're still damn driving
market that they essentially held out games. And, y'know: been there, down that
competition until one of their own, namely You fathered the coin-op industry and - sorry, don't want to do it again. Saying that
Nintendo, came along with their unit , so that then went on to father the console the arcades are being killed off by the home
it was a virgin market for them . market. So you created two sons. What games is tantamount to saying that the
do you think about the younger one movie theatres are being killed off by the
Which fights did you enjoy the most? killing the elder? VCR and television, which didn't happen.
I never really felt that any of the legal issues I don't believe that the arcade was killed by But the arcade business is no longer an
that we were a part of was ever a big part of the consumer market. I believe that the interesting experience because there's
Atari. We had a few legal skirmishes, but arcade business committed suicide. And nothing happening there.
they were not a big deal. The fight~ that they committed suicide by forgetting who
were fun were the ones for market share, they were. And what really happened was How can it be rescued?
the coin-op business. And that was one the arcade thought they were in competition That's actually what I'm doing right now. I
where during the first three years of our with the home, when in reality they weren't. believe that games need to be different in
existence we were up against companies The arcade market didn't understand that public places. That is, a lot of the games that
that were much better capitalised, with there 's an out-of-home experience and you play at home now require tremendous
much better factories, and much better there's an in-home experience - and they're amounts of concentration, and to have that
systems and procedures, because we were quite different - and the arcade business concentration in a situation where
making it up as we were going along. And to killed itself because the economics blew up somebody's talking in your left ear, and
be able to go from zero to an 85 per cent on them, and it blew up on them because drinking beer in your right ear, isn't that much
market share was highly rewarding to us. they felt that they had to do bigger-faster- fu,n . So if you try to do home-style games in
a bar, it will fail. Or even home-style games in
a noisy arcade. It 's not as satisfying an
"I don't think anybody takes Atari seriously as experience. One thing that the public places
a competitor today. I'd love to own it. It could have that the home doesn 't have are groups
of people who want ways to compete with
mean innovation again. It just doesn't now" each other, with their friends, so that games
become a social experience. And so that's
And I think the next fight that was fun, but better. So as a result they were trying for what I'm doing. I'm building a series of
difficult during the time - I mean, when more MIPs than you could get out of a home games that create social structures within
you're in the middle of a fight, it's really game, more polygons, etc, and this meant bars, restaurants and arcades.
difficult - but it was the fight to get that the hardware that the coin-operated
distribution for the consumer game. I mean , game business was using was constantly And that mean making things simple?
we went to the toy show with the first moving so that there was no economies of Absolutely. Because what you want to do is
consumer Pong and sold none. Zero. And scale, and so all of a sudden you had coin- to enfranchise the least capable of the group
then we went into the consumer electronics operated games with engineering budgets of while keeping the most capable of the group,
world, the appliance world, and sold none. It five and ten million dollars. Well, the arcade in terms of gameplay, challenged and having
wasn't until we finally hit the Sears sporting business isn't big enough to pay for all that fun. And you want to take the dynamic a little
goods department that we were able to get engineering. So what happened is that there bit off the game and on to the socialisation
a retail channel. We went to Radio Shack, was huge price escalation, and pretty soon that's going on.
we went to everybody, and got turned down instead of costing two or three thousand
100 per cent. And yet we knew that there dollars arcade games were costing ten and And , as with the Atari of old , presumably
was demand on the part of the public. But 15 thousand dollars per seat. Well, in order there's no violent content.
there were no channels. I mean , think about to make that amortise all of a sudden you're That is correct. And you do that not for
the problems that Apple had with the first having to charge a pound a play, maybe any prudish reasons, it's just that if you have
consumer computers - there were no two pounds to play. And if you look at how too much violence you lose the female
channels. Radio Shack at the time thought of much inflation that was, the cost escalation portion of the population. And, in bars or
themselves as a hobbyist store - it was was so dramatic that two pounds for four- restaurants, if you lose the females,
tough to get distribution. And that was a real and-a-half minutes is really, really high-cost you've lost the males too.

< 042 > It was almost the Atari Amlga: Jack Tramlel left Commodore and bought the crippled Atari, ploughing money into a rogue project to secure a passible future buyout, but Commodore sneakily snapped it up as its own 16bit computer format
 the grandfather

Atari VCS (1977)

Later to be renamed the 2600, Atari's first multiple-
cart console launched alongside nine games. The
architecture was revised many times, its quaint
fake-wood veneer eventually being scrapped

Various 'Expansion Modukls' were released for the ColecoVision, the most interesting being 'Expansion Module 1', which allowed the console to run VCS games - much to Atari's displeasure < 04 3 >
044
You know what it's like. You haven't seen them for wenty years ago, remaking or
cloning existing works was standard
commercial practice for the
years, and then they turn up out of the blue, looking embryonic videogame industry. Before the
emerging trade was truly a global business,
different, more grown up, and often more interesting. before exploiting IP and maintaining the racial
purity of lucrative franchises became pillars of
the publishing business, appropriating another
Retro looks at what happens when games are remade company's design brief rarely led to a litigious
\
denouement. Knocking off an established
coin-op, early console game or title from
another computer format, then, was a relatively
no-fuss recipe for a retail release. All a coder
needed to do was to clone a game to the best
of their ability (and the capability of the target
format in question) and judiciously adapt a few
elements (particularly names). Many were
awful. Some were competent. A few,
impressively, actually improved or successfully
adulterated an original template.
As the videogame industry matured,
however, licensing IP became the norm by
virtue of legal necessity. When Nintendo locked
horns with Rainbow Arts in 1987 - bull versus

045 >
 snail being an apt analogy - over the latter's problem adapting to Klass of '99, recalling months in development. When Retro asks
shameless Super Mario Brothers lift Great keyboard commands and gameplay tenets as how happy he is with the final version, Jordan
Giana Sisters, the outcome was inevitable. The they go along. Granted , most resurrections of is understandably upbeat. "I'm very proud of
excellent GGS was withdrawn from sale, its ageing titles begin as labours of love, or the game - it's not very often I actually finish
Spectrum version reviewed but unavailable to technical challenges - but, as an ancillary one," he admits. "From a programming point
gamers until the advent of Sinclair emulation. bonus, they get to clutch the coat-tails of an of view there were many challenges along the
As commentators opined at the time, the most established brand. 'Preaching to the way, but nothing too difficult because a PC can
surprising thing was that Rainbow Arts thought converted' probably isn't the best description, easily cope with such a simple game. How
that it might get away with it. but it's the first that springs to mind . Microsphere crammed it all into 48K of
Throughout this article Retro presents a Spectrum is beyond me. "
Taking it to the public gallery of some of the most noteworthy "Looking back," he continues, "I wish I'd
Due in part to indifference (be it calculated or remakes currently available or in production. Of spent just a couple more weeks adding a few
otherwise) from software houses, the varying quality and ambition, it's interesting to nice touches here and there, but after 11
'unofficial' , non-commercial remake - from compare and contrast them with their original months it was beginning to drag on a little.
elementary, often substandard clones to the incarnations, which are also featured. As a That aside, it ended up pretty much how I'd
occasional lovingly crafted and evolved bonus, there's also an appraisal of the most hoped it would. The feedback I've received
homage - was allowed to became a mainstay notable remakes that have appeared on GBA. has been excellent, it really makes it all
of the 16bit public domain community. As worthwhile. Three years after its release I'm
mail-order PD libraries were supplanted by the A history lesson still getting requests for help and ideas for
modern Internet, the efforts of backroom While the industry as an entity at best improving the game. I would like to think it's
coders found a larger (and expanding) tolerates, and at worst abhors, emulation of gone part way to encouraging other people to
audience. With interest in retrogaming buoyed old formats and their games, veteran coders start their own projects. "
by emulation and the widespread, if frequently are often reported as being flattered by the As a footnote to this particular story, it's
illicit availability of old games, low-rent clones attention lavished upon their old works. At the worth mentioning that coder James McKay is
have been rendered practically obsolete in very least, they're prepared to turn a blind eye. working on a conversion of Klass of '99 for the
recent years. Why play such efforts when you "I tried to make contact with Dave Reidy from Spectrum 128, and that a GBA port (although
can download the original in a trice? Microsphere, but to no avail," says Jordan. stalled at present) is also in the pipeline.
Modern 'tributes' to classic games must "During the game's development I did hear Directions to both can be found in the links
either replicate their subject matter with from a guy at a videogame magazine who had section, with McKay's diary a must-visit for
outstanding accuracy, or offer clever (and interviewed him. He told me that, off the fans of noble yet insane causes.
complimentary) enhancements in order to gain record, Mr Reidy had no objections to the
recognition . One such example is Richard project. That's all I know." Life outside of school
Jordan 's outstanding Klass of '99 - an "The only reason for doing Skool Daze," An exceedingly popular game with prospective
improved adaptation of Microsphere's Reidy once told Sinclair User magazine, "was remake coders is, quite understandably, David
fondly recalled Skool Daze. "Enjoyable games [that] I wanted to see lists of all the dates of Braben and Ian Bell's Elite. Not only is it
don't have to be glorious 3D affairs written by battles in English history appearing in the hint blessed (unlike many formerly lauded titles)
huge development teams," Jordan opines. pages of magazines." On the success of with a design that remains appealing to this
"It's still possible for the bedroom game Reidy's attempt to educate the gaming public day, its source code and other such
programmers (or lounge, in this case) to by stealth, history is silent - but the obvious information is freely available for study. The fact
get a little bit of attention." affection felt for Skool Daze and its sequel, that it has appeared on formats far too
Herein lies, at least in part, the reason Back to Skool, abides even now. numerous to mention here means that the few
behind the recent proliferation of retro Jordan's Klass of '99 is a pseudo follow-up gamers who haven't played it will certainly
remakes: attention. For an amateur coder, to Reidy's original, and easily one of the most know of it by reputation.
creating an original game involves much effort sophisticated and enjoyable fan remakes From the multitude completed, aborted or
with little chance of recognition by anything released to date. Part of its obvious appeal is in progress, two Elite remakes are worthy of
more than a tiny audience. Begin Game X Graham Goring's clean, colourful yet eminently particular attention. Elite: The New Kind is a
Redux, though, and you can immediately authentic graphics; complementing these, faithful recreation, based on the BBC original
acquire an online following of people who Jordan's recreation of Skool Daze's and created by reverse-engineering its code.
fondly recall its inspiration. Remakes have the atmosphere and feature list is spot on . The Author Christian Pinder's only alterations have
inestimable benefit of familiarity: former Skool restrained manner in which new teachers and been mocest visual enhancements: primarily
Daze graduates, for example, will have little a fresh adventure have been introduced is also replacing the wireframe visuals with filled
eye-catching. All too often, remake coders vectors and elementary 'skinning' of the
either interfere too much or too little, but Klass planets. For the purist, this is most assuredly
of '99 achieves a nigh-perfect equilibrium . the best version available.
"Well, it wasn't really my decision," replies Arguably more impressive, though, is
Jordan when Retro enquires as to why he Derrick Dixon and Gary Dunn's Maverick.
chose Skool Daze. "I posted a message to the Having begun its life over two years back with
newsgroup comp.sys.sinclair asking the folks an isometric engine, Dixon returned to the
there which Speccy game they'd most like to project six months ago, having taught himself
see enhanced for the PC. If I remember OpenGL coding and 3D mathematics
correctly, everyone who emailed me mentioned especially for the task. Maverick in its present-
Skool Daze somewhere in their wish list." day form is highly attractive - although the
Given that a fu ll diary from Jordan can caveat 'for a remake' obviously applies -

The originality and quiri<iness of the original Skoo/ be found on the official Klass site, there's and quite amazingly large. Although Elite
Daze made it first choice on fans' update wish lists little point in relating anecdotes from its 11 was its inspiration, it has steadily grown

< 046 > September 9: the US launch date for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (1991), Sony PtayStation (1995), and Sega Dreamcast (1999)
 friends reinvented

Super Mario World DX Turrican (Hurrican) Sabre Wulf

BB Software's Super Mario World DX opts for aesthetic authenticity Although its authors are keen to state that the present version of This Sandwell Software version of Ultimate's Sabre Wulf, a harsh yet
over enhancement, and understandably so. A work-in-progress, it's Hunican - a Tunican tribute, unsurprisingly - is simply a tech demo, charming maze game, offers a simple, sensible enhancement:
already a superbly well-observed piece of cloning. Cynics may scoff it's moderately slick and eminently playable. With no joypad support scrolling. With the action viewed from a greater height than in the
and suggest emulation instead (or, better still, the original game), but as yet, its keyboard-only control system can be awkward, but not Spectrum original, it's fairly easy to find pieces of the amulet Sabre
neither can offer BB Software's easy-to-use level editor. prohibitively so. Man seeks; surviving to finding all four is a different matter entirely.

Atic Atac Chuckie Egg (Chuckie Egg - The New Batch) Chaos (Chaos GBA)

Unlike the Sabre Wulf remake, this revised Atic Atac features Nigel Alderton's famous Chuckie Egg has inspired at least half a Visual finery be damned. Thoroughly ugly, this maddeningly addictive
completely redrawn sprites. Unfortunately, controlling your onscreen dozen modern-day reiterations. Retro's particular favourite, though, Chaos clone for the GBA (or a suitable emulator) is a true labour of
charge - be he serf, knight or wizard - is complicated by over-zealous is John Blythe's The New Batch, a solid, Blitz Basic-powered clone love. It even offers the option to enable or disable bugs present in
use of inertia. It would be unfair to suggest that this spoils Minionsoft's replete with thoughtful tquches. This includes - and other backroom Julian Gollop's original code. With multiplayer support, it's a must-
game, but it could certainly benefit from a little tweaking. coders should take note - a 'music off' control. have for anyone with access to a Flash Advance cartridge.

Gradius (Gradius '99) Bruce Lee Maziacs

... ~
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Tffl · Ii N lfilif
Gradius '99, a remake of Japanese origin, does not offer any form This ostensibly pixel-perfect recreation of 8bit favourite Bruce Lee Before Don Priestley made a name for himself with remarkably large
of visual enhancement, but that's probably for the best. Its spartan could certainly have benefited from a little aesthetic adulteration. sprites in the likes of Popeye and Trapdoor, he created Maziacs - a
approach allows players to pick their way though wave after wave Indeed, its only superiority over an emulated version is a hi-score simple but absorbing maze game. This excellent remake has two
of bullets without the distraction of eye candy. For office-based table, and relative ease of use. As a technical exercise and a game modes (one revised), a choice of new or original 1983 graphics,
players, there is also a handy Java version. nostalgic diversion, however, it cannot be faulted . and support for user-created tilesets.

Manic Miner Death Chase 30 (Death Chase 2002)

Neil Walker's Styx - an update of a relatively little-known Matthew Of the various Manic Miner clones, this Andy Noble effort is enduringly Deathchase 30 was one of the finest Spectrum games - some
Smith game - is rather hampered by the limited nature of its subject popular. In terms of play, it's absolutely spot on - indeed, better, due to would argue the finest - ever created. Andrew Layden's update is
material - it was never one of the Spectrum's best. Devotees of the a slight (and thoroughly well-judged) increase in game speed. It even pleasant enough, but somehow lacks the feel of the much-lauded
original will find little to fault, though, and the addition of an has the original title screen, although - and this is a minor gripe - the original. Retro awaits a truly definitive recreation of Mervyn Estcourt's
approachable level editor is a fine touch. keyboard doesn't 'play' itself. For shame, Mr Noble. classic with a considerable degree of impatience.

Fairlight Harrier Attack . The Legend Of Zelda

.
l':ll l':ll l':l!

________
------ ,,

Richard Jordan - creator of the outstanding Klass of '99 - is currently Another pixel-precise clone: this time, as gaming veterans will no This recreation of The Legend of Zelda - the original NES version - is
working on an update of Bo Jangeborg's acclaimed adventure, doubt have already discerned, of Mike Richardson's famed Hanier a faithful, versatile piece of coding. With a level editor and support for
Fairlight. At the time of writing, only a rolling demo exists for Attack. The ability to save high scores is fine, but Retro hankers for a thirdparty additions - including tilesets - it's an ongoing project that
download, but what's already been achieved is highly promising, true remake - and the bigger and brighter the explosions, the better. may eventually become more than a clone. A demo already exists
and the prospect of slowdown removal makes this one to watch. Richardson 's originals have lost their one-time lustre, oddly ... featuring the engine using the more attractive graphics of BS Zelda .

The first fully 32bit coin-op was Williams' Narc (1988), the vividly violent anti-drugs shooter featuring digttised graphics < 047 >
 beyond the boundaries of its conceptual sire.
New features include the addition of orbits for
planets, new spacecraft and weaponry, plus a
more involved trading system. Better still, it's a
work-in-progress, with 17 missions promised
in its next update.

Commercial breaks
Even the most advanced remakes, as a rule,
lag years behind commercial releases in terms
of visual panache and technical sophistication .
Cult success and the occasional game
Though clearly hardly a new project, Klass of '99 nevertheless remains an impressive feat of homebrew coding.
magazine news article is the most that many
The introduction of new characters may have been something of a risk in such a remake, but it all works out fine
can hope for. The occasional project, though ,
grows beyond its initial limited vision. One such
game is Vega Strike , an open-source, space-
LINKS
based shoot 'em up/ trading game. Originally
Retro-Remakes Jet Set Willy designed as a Wing Commander clone, it has
www.remakes.org retrospec .sgn.net/games.php?gamelink=8 grown to a point where it is merely influenced
The excellent Retrospec Mercenary by Origin's epic, with a dash of Elite for taste.
retrospec.sgn.net membres.lycos.fr/vesta/mercframes.htm With a new beta having been released at the
Klass of '99 Cybernoid time of writing , its development team has
retrospec.sgn.net/users/rjordan/klass/index.htm www.sunteamsoftware.co.uk/mainframe.html announced a new direction for it: multiplayer
functionality. From the smallest seeds ...
Gridrunner ++ Cybernoid 2
www.llamasoft.co.uk retrospec.sgn.net/games. php?gamelink=42 One point that has Retro noted is the
relative scarcity of truly collaborative projects.
Maverick - Elite remake/tribute Freedroid - Paradroid remake
maverick. dodgyp?sse.com/gallery.php freedroid. sourceforge.net/ Many games are entirely one-man affairs;
numerous others involve a single coder, with a
Vega Strike G-Type
modicum of visual and audio assistance as
vegastrike.sourceforge.net/ www.voo.to/cnc/
and when required. Given the number of
Elite: The New Kind F-Zero people working, in teams, on maps and mods
www.cjpinder.clara.co.uk/elite.html www.div-arena.com/gwshow.phtml?val=3&table=remakes
for major PC game engines, it's surprising that
Super Mario World DX Sentry - Sentinel remake for Windows recreating classics remains mostly a solo
www.bbsoftware.net eicart.free.fr/sentry/
passion. Retro began this article by, foremost,
Hurrican (Turrican) M.U.L.E. remakes looking for adaptations - projects that expand
www.poke53280.de/ www.ee.oulu .fi/%7Etaur/ rather than merely recreate a given title. Such
www.gilligames.com/ Space_Horse/TheGame.asp
Sabre Wulf games exist, but are relatively rare.
www.dexfx.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ss/ Thrust Deluxe Still, with an enormous back catalogue to
members.home.nl/wdw/thrust.html
Atic Atac cover, there is little danger that the retro remake
minionsoft.co.uk/home.htm Ultimal community will run out of steam. Indeed, with
www.peroxide.dk/ultima/
much-visited sites like Remakes.org assisting
Chuckie Egg - The New Batch
www.dreamcaster.f9.co.uk MM21XX (Mega Man) the authors by popularising their work, and
www.stroutsink.com/mm21 xx/downloads.htm Retrospec's sterling output and support, it's
Chaos GBA
www.quirky.remakes.org/ Way Of The Exploding Fist fair to predict that games of KO99's quality
ses.mgbr.net/ will soon appear with greater regularity. In a
Gradius '99
www.ht-net21 .ne.jp/ -sider/ DirectX/ Deadly Weaponz (Stunt Car Racer) sense, there's a certain tangible irony to the
www.sseccia.com/ html/fr_main_51.htm growth of the remake scene: many of today's
Bruce Lee professional developers began their careers by
www.planetflibble.com/ blitz/ Jumping Jack
retrospec.sgn.net/users/ nwalker/jack/index.html making 8- and 16bit titles. How many game
Maziacs PC industry careers will be launched by ~
www.peejays.remakes.org Blazing Trails (Trailblazer)
www.allan.bentham.btinternet.co.uk/blazingtrails.htm recreations of those very same games? ~
Styx
retrospec.sgn.net/users/nwalker/styx/index.html Cookie
www.nelefa.org/cookie/
Manic Miner
retrospec.sgn .net/games.php?gamelink=11 Racing Destruction Set
www.planetflibble.com/ rds/screens.php?id=41 &u=1
Deathchase 2002
www.gansteeth.freeserve.co.uk/dchase.htm Quazatron
www.rebelstar.co.uk/quazatron. htm
Fairlight
www.maderic.co.uk/fairlight/main .php More Paradroid
paradroid.sourceforge.net/index.html#what_is_it
Harrier Attack
www.alchemist.remakes.org/ Rick Dangerous GBA
spoutnick.free.fr/ rda/index.html
Classic Legend of Zelda
www.zeldaclassic.com/ Kung- Fu Master Returns
www.alexandremoreira.hpg.ig.com.br/games/kfmr/english.htm Starting out as a Wing Commander-inspired title,
Vega Strike is a hugely ambitious piece of homebrew

< 048 The Fairchild Channel F (1976) was the first home console to use programmed game cartridges featuring ROM chips. (While the Odyssey arguably had cartridges, all they really did was act as units to complete the circuitry)
 friends reinvented

Prolific retro remake coder Andy Noble describes his Jet Set Willy MOOG/one is a work-in-progress, all-in-one remake of Paul Woakes' Michael Milne and Paul Weller's Cybemoid is a Blitz Basic-powered
project as " ... the version of the game that would have appeared in classic Mercenary series. Currently, it offers perfect versions of recreation of Raffaele Cecco's Spectrum hit. While remaining true to
1984 if such things as 256 colour displays were about. " A colourful, Escape From Targ and The Second City in a compact window that the original's look and feel , it does have one notable addition: an
professional piece of work, JSW PC also has one very attractive lends itself to office hours abuse; Damocles and The Dion Crisis extras menu, in which new features can be unlocked by finding a
addition: a load and save function . will be included in future releases. new collectable during play. ·

Cybernoid 2 Paradroid (Freedroid)

A playable but tame reworking of its forebear, Cybernoid 2 is rather For Retro-reading Linux users, Freedroid is a remake of Andrew More an accomplished tribute than a remake per se, G-Type is a shoot
flattered by the existence of this competent, if marginally flawed Braybrook's excellent Paradroid. With enhanced graphics and a level 'em up that features the ship, weapons systems and selected
remake. Its enhanced graphics are pleasant enough, but its range of editor, it's well worth investigating. Windows users keen to revisit gameplay elements of lrem's seminal R-Type. It has five levels (two
explosions can frustrate: behind many pyrotechnic effects lurks a Braybrook's timeless design brief should see the forthcoming more than many people reached in R-Type, it could be said), and is
hidden projectile. Quazatron remakes, links' for which are included in this feature. well worth the effort of navigating its Japanese-only homepage.

F-Zero Mule (Space Horse)

.......
Paul Hamilton's F-Zero recently achieved second place in a recent Once a technical opus, Geoff Crammond 's The Sentinel is reborn as a Often namechecked by developers as both inspiration and a former
DIV programming language remake competition. It's a surprise it desktop toy in the form of Sentry. Its feature-packed design and ease favourite, there are a few M.U.L.E. remakes to be found . The best
didn't win: the programmers has obviously spent enormous amounts of use are notable; this is no mere common-or-garden clone. That its version is Space Horse (pictured), while a cheaper option is the alpha
of time honing its control mechanism, which is just as flexible yet textures are scruffy is but a temporary irritant; locked in a war of wits release of Mule. Surely much more could still be done with Ozark's
unforgiving as the SNES original. with the formerly titular guardian, it's as absorbing as ever. original design, though. Any takers?

Ultima

With six extra levels, the addition of pilots to rescue, a hi-res mode Ultima I is a remake of the first in Richard Garriot's long-running RPG Occasionally, largely forgotten game designs resurface in commercial
and even a Rob Hubbard title tune remix, Thrust Deluxe is an excellent series. Although at an early stage - a tech demo lets you explore a releases. Rage's Hostile Waters - which apparently, and sadly, sank at
remake of a remake (the original Thrust owing Atari's Gravitar a limited area - the use of a full 30 engine is highly ambitious. Given the retail - is regarded by many as a modern-day remake of Rainbird's
significant debt of gratitude). It may have a few irritating bugs, but slow pace of development so far, however, it's fair to speculate that innovative Carrier Command in all but name. Look around and you
Deluxe is a very fine update: it even has a demo mode. the project will lose its impetus sooner rather than later. should be able to pick it up at a bargain price.

Way of the Exploding Fist Stunt Car Racer (Deadly Weaponz)

MM21XX is a substantial, occasionally stylish PC recreation/ While this resurrection of Gregg Barnett's Way of the Exploding Fist is It's perhaps cruel to say it of a homegrown title, but Sylvain Seccia's
adaptation of Capcom's Mega Man X. It's not quite finished, but the far from finished (it currently lacks a oneplayer mode and scoring Deadly Weaponz is thoroughly unappealing to the eye. A few minutes
dedication of author Arne Strout is praiseworthy: it has characters to routines) , it does allow for twoplayer matches, with a pair of of play, however, reveals it to be a fine homage to Stunt Car Racer. It
unlock (with differing abilities) and features assailants from various combatants hunched over a single keyboard. This isn't especial!¥ partially captures the feel of Geoff Crammond 's opus, even if it lacks
MM games, along with Strout's own creations. practical, of course, so expect joypad support in a future release. some of the more awe-inspiring jumps and tactical subtleties.

The original Donkey Kong featured a face-off in a cement factory, but the location never made it to the NES port of the game. However, a slightly similar set piece was the focus of the 1983 Game & Watch, Cement Factory 049 >
Mr Remake: Jeff Minter
aving recently coded and launched Gridrunner ++, the What elements of the update turned out best?

[8J legendary Jeff Minter is no stranger to the remake scene.

His homage to a former hit differs from most of the games
I like the way it 's immediately accessible: the interface is good (you
can play just gently moving the mouse; firing is auto, so you don 't
mentioned on previous pages in that it is a commercial release (it hurt yourself playing it; mouse control is responsive) and there are
costs an eminently reasonable £5, with orders via the Llamasoft site) some neat touches in there like the Sheepie Save. Basically it just
and , additionally, it's exceedingly rare to find an author returning to a plays well , has a nice hook, and builds in intensity nicely. In a simple
game created two decades previously. Retro asks him why. game like this it's all about feel and gameplay.

What was the original inspiration behind Gtidrunner? What has player feedback been like?
The inspiration for the original was obviously mainly Centipede. Thus far feedback has been good. Inevitably there are a few people
Around then everyone and his dog was banging out Centipede who think it's too simple, who only get off on mega 30 epics and
clones, though , and I wanted to do something a little different, a bit such, but most people who like a good shooter really seem to like it.
faster and more hard-edged than Centipede , which was a bit cute I knew it was going to be a decent game when members of the
and fluffy. It still had to fit in 3.5K, though, so I couldn 't go mad Llamasoft board started developing serious addictions to a really
adding stuff. I made it faster, made the pods that eventually turned simple no-graphics-to-speak-of three-level demo I released while l
into bombs, and introduced the 'x:'{ Zapper, whose regular was working on it. I've even had people who never play shooty
destructive pulse became one of the defining elements of Gridrunner. games get into GR++ , and that's always an encouraging thing - if
I knew I wanted the game to be played on a grid of some sort, and I you see people who don 't normally like your game style getting
was down the Tube at about the time 'Blade Runner' came out, saw drawn in regardless.
a poster for it .. . and decided to call the game Gridrunner.
Do you plan to continue working on remakes?
Why did you choose to resurrect it? Well, I'm busy on something else right now, but I may yet
Well , I'd just done a couple of puzzley kind of games for the PPC, have the odd tinker at weekends, being as I have the LVM
and I felt the urge to do something shooty. It's 20 years since the [L/amasoft Virtual Machine] all set up and all. I wouldn 't mind
founding of Llamasoft, 20 years since the original Gridrunner, and I doing an updated version of Llamatron .
thought it would be nice to do a modern version , and that there was
scope to put in some good gameplay while retaining some kind of Retro remakes are becoming increasingly popular. What
The original Gridrunner (top) played out its
essence of the original game. do you think about that?
shooting excesses across several 8bit formats.
I think people enjoy the simple but exquisitely refined gameplay of Its sequel (above) is a Pocket PC release. Due
How long did it take you to produce the remake? the old classics, and if a remake is done properly, marrying that to its nature, it's not one of the most sedate
experiences you could choose for a train journey
It took about three or four months to make GR++ . A lot of lovely gameplay to modern graphics and audio can be a very
the last couple of months of that was just making levels and effective thing . Too many of them don 't work, though, because
tweaking the gameplay. The code is actually pretty simple - they go too far with the new stuff and manage to lose the original
it's only a sprite-based shooter, after all. feel of the gameplay, which kinda defeats the object of doing a
remake. One has to keep the essence, something I tried to do in
my Tempest remakes. One has to love and respect the original
game, and add stuff thoughtfully, rather than just shovelling loads
of new stuff in willy-nilly.

"Too many remakes don't work because they go too

far with the new stuff and manage to lose the original
feel of the gameplay, which kinda defeats the object"
Are there any specific retro remakes out there that have
caught your eye? Have any made you feel particularly
impressed or disappointed?
As I said , successful remakes are few and far between, and there
haven't been a lot so far that I'd prefer to play rather than just firing
up MAME and having the original. Some of the ones I've anticipated
the most have been disappointing. With Virus they tried to simplify
the control method and in doing so lost the purity and beauty of the
original controls. And Sinistar Unleashed was too far from being
Sinistar to really satisfy. I do like the Pac-Man update on the GBA
Pac-Man Collection - I was never a massive fan of Pac-Man back in
the day (I was more of a shooty man) but I find myself playing that
little GBA version quite a bit (now I have an AfterBurner kit and can
actually see the bloody screen). They've actually improved the feel of
the game, it controls really well , and the gameplay is recognisably
Pac-Man , with nice new mazes and graphics, and a few deft extra
touches. It's only a little game, but it's an example of an update done
nicely. Now, can someone please do a version of the original Virus on
the GBA? I know getting the controls right would take a bit of ~
work, but I'm sure it could be done. Ooh, Virus to go .. . Mmm. ~

< 050 > New York, 1940s: parts and machinery from pintables were donated to the war effort when mechanised games were outlawed following links to organised crime. The city's mayor gladly helped dismantle machines and throw them into the sea
 friends reinvented

Bubble Bobble Old And New Konami Arcade/Atari Anniversary •·

lt)i.)Ol)

-------------
---·__
___________
---. ---.....,__~
,___,
. . ---- . . ---
=-= 10~)~)

- -~· ..,,
...

• .~ .~ .~

Taito's rerelease wears its heart on its titular sleeve, hoping to stand astride the generational gap by Using the handheld to run classics of old is a staple of the homebrew dev scene, and not something you
offering both classic and updated versions of Bubble Bobble . These two modes succeed and fail expect from two of gaming's big names. But press on with it they have. The Atari pack contains classics
respectively. When a port is done well it shines, and the graphics of the original game are as sprightly as that were both loved and lauded, but one game is conspicuously absent: surely a twoplayer linked Pong
they ever were, at the same time highlighting the ugly garish mess that is the 'Nu Bubble Bobble : like was too good an opportunity to miss? Scramble and Yie Ar Kung Fu age badly on the Konami pack, but
watching a 'Michael Jackson: Now and Then' documentary, but without any decent music. face is saved with Gyruss, Rush 'n Attack (aka Green Beret) and the enduring Time Pilot.

SFII Turbo Revival/SF Alpha 3 Sonic Advance

When the gaming press decided that the GBA offered 'twice' the power of the SNES, uninspired types Designed and marketed as the antithesis of Mario , 1991 's Sonic The Hedgehog was a triumph of
pegged many of the 16bit platform 's success stories for new material and, Mario aside, Street Fighter was tuned hardware, slick speed, and smart level design. It's oddly patronising, then, that Sonic's debut on
an obvious choice. Turbo II Revival is a mess, playing more like demo code than anything else, with bugs Nintendo hardware is clunky, bogged down by a collect-'em-up subplot, and cheapened by gimmicky
all over. Alpha 3, on the other hand, is perfection. Beautifully rebuilt and perfected (the GBA's lack of six snowboarding bonus levels. Sonic Advance likes to imply that its levels are vast, but you 'll soon
proper buttons does not hinder the action), it's a triumph of balanced play and thrills. discover that the promise doesn 't actually stand up. Go for the Sega Smash Pack instead.

Game & Watch Gallery Advance D&D: Eye Of The Beholder

Graphically improved updates are odd things , often appearing simply a case of brand over brain, and in Old-school RPGs are never going to translate to handheld exactly - without a mouse or keyboard
this instance the treatment just doesn't suit the precise nature of the original G&W series. Visual updates something has to give - and thankfully for the update of TSR's claustrophobic classic it was the combat
seem to have got the better of Nintendo (the 'classic' versions have garish backgrounds) but the originals system. The new turn-based battle format is Advance Wars-esque, and, although the immediacy of the
presented in this gallery are as good a replication of the original LCD games as you could expect, with original is lost, this traditional slant helps retain its depth . It can seem tedious at times, but the new Eye
audio cues surprisingly capable of evoking the handheld hardware of old. of the Beholder nevertheless manages to cast that trusty black magic.

Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts Metroid Fusion Publisher: Nintendo Developer: In-house

It's difficult. Very difficult. In fact, Capcom 's Arthurian spookfest was always a tricky customer, and the The Metroid series has always been one of subtle extravagance, from the revelation that Samus was
teeth-grindingly frustrating pixel-perfect jumps are replicated here sprite for sprite. Little has changed female through to the huge box of the PAL SNES version. The GBA version keeps up the tradition , and is
since the early '90s and the gaudy-gothic design and pulpy B-movie music from the platforming legend as colourful and atmospheric as the home console iterations, with that familiar jigsaw-puzzle design ethic
have made a faithful conversion . Perhaps these superficial bonuses are in fact to its detriment, because, that always leaves just enough breadcrumbs to lead the player on. As a continuation of the series, it is
while a save function is a welcome addition for gaming on the move, the harshly dark level design is not. indicative of a delitjerate attempt to keep a past alive that other developers are often too quick to forget.

The design for 1982's Vectrex console arose solely from the fact that designer Jay Smith had to find a way to use up a supply of surplus vector monitors 051 >
Super Mario Advance 2: SMW Publisher: Nintendo Developer: In-house SMA3: Yoshi's Island

Still hailed by many as the greatest game ever some 12 years after its original release, and with good Unfairly tagged with a 'Super Mario World 2' subtitle on its original SNES release in 1995, despite being
reason. This pocket-sized version may have drawn unjust criticism for being slightly dumbed down in a very different game, Yoshi's Island always had a lot to live up to. The platforms remain , but gone are
comparison to its SNES forefather, but it remains 2D platform gaming at its very best. Seeing Mario the time limits, power ups and non-linear level progression in favour of a more leisurely yet often more
fall to his death for the 100th time in a row will infuriate, but this is a game that demands to be beaten , challenging romp through Yoshi 's domain. This arrived a little too late in the SNES's lifetime for some
refusing to let go until every last secret is unravelled. to enjoy it, making it one of the most welcome GBA reinterpretations to date.

Advance Wars

Unbeknownst to some, this GBA title is an update of the long-running Wars series that began on the NES, Another SNES hit makes it to the Game Boy Advance, but refreshingly Super Circuit is an original game
but that until now has never seen the light outside of Japan. A turn-based strategy game in its purest rather than a straight conversion (although the SNES tracks are present as unlockables). Taking the best
form, Advance Wars is not an experience that will instantly appeal to all tastes. This is a shame, as for elements from the series' previous two outings - notably the impeccable 16bit handling model and
those prepared to put the time into mastering its finer points and scaling the admittedly steep learning improved power ups from the 64bit iteration - this is a worthwhile update. Even when you finally nail the
curve it remains perhaps the most compelling reason to own a Game Boy Advance. oneplayer game, a GBA link cable and some willing opponents will ensure priceless multiplayer longevity.

Defender Publisher: Midway Developer: 7 Studio Manic Miner Publisher: Big Ben Interactive Developer: Jester Interactive

Midway's latest recycling of one of its best-known franchises is a big disappointment. While a full 3D Nostalgia has to be a key word in any appraisal of Jester's 21 st century update of the 8bit platform-
reworking will shortly be arriving on 128bit consoles, GBA owners have to make do with this patchy jumping favourite. It may have been a huge success in the '80s, but on playing this version it can be
makeover of the original game. A selection of new ships and weaponry combined with some gaudy difficult to appreciate. Jester likes to call this a 'reinvention' of the original game but, as with many lazy
backdrops do little to truly enhance the value of the underlying gameplay mechanics. Those looking for GBA updates, for 'reinvention ' read 'increased colour palette and stereo sound '. Weak control and
something more pure will find it in the original version which is also added as an option. dubious collision detection painstakingly conspire to tarnish all those happy memories.

Defender Of The Crown Publisher: Blackstar Developer: Cinemaware Broken Sword: Shadow Of The Templars

TOV~£NT
GO
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R£Al)
MAP
VISIT
ROBIN
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Cinemaware's Defender Of The Crown was a revelation when it first arrived in 1986, incorporating tight Mauled by critics shortly after release for some unfortunate bugs that in some cases could render the
strategic elements with daring swordplay and stirring tournament set pieces. Its popularity ensured its game impossible to complete, Revolution 's handheld reworking of its PC and PS adventure is otherwise a
appearance on a huge range of formats in the following years and now it finally makes its debut on the brilliant example of how a conversion of this kind should be handled . The point-and-click interface of the
GBA. It arrives almost unchanged from the Amiga original, with simplistic gameplay (by today's standards) original is faultlessly transposed to the GBA's D-pad, while the story and dialogue (some cringeworthy
feeling perfectly suited to a new generation of wannabe empire-builders. lines excepted) are as entertaining and engrossing as ever. Read up on the bugs first and then enjoy.

< 052 Pokemon and e·cards are not Nintendo's first foray into card games: the company began life in 1889 as a manufacturer of Japanese 'hanafuda' cards, only deciding to branch out into other entertainment in 1963
 friends reinvented

Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe Final Fight One

Almost 12 years of gaming history separate The Bitmap Brothers' legendary future-sport title from Teased from their original 1989 arcade form via the SNES's two distinct incarnations, Final Fight One's
its GBA incarnation, and upon initial inspection it looks like little has changed , although Dan Malone's three selectable characters punch and kick through Metro City in familiar vigilante style. By retaining the
distinctive artwork is marred by excessive colour and a more constrained in-game view. This latter mix of huge, if slightly stilted sprites and the unabated side-scrolling fighting that inspired a generation
point, in fact, has an enormous impact on gameplay: with so much high-speed action going on all of imitators, Capcom 's old master continues to shine on the Game Boy Advance, making this an ideal title
around you, the windowing creates a new element of confusion, which ultimately turns to frustration . to play when circumstances dictate a less delicate approach to combat than is required in SF Alpha 3 .

Castlevania: COTM/HOD Publisher: Konami Developer: In-house Doom/Doom II

The number and variety of titles that comprise Konami 's Castlevania franchise is testament to the allure of In concentrating on whether it could be done rather than why, the essence of Doom has perhaps been
the series. Characterised by a gothic blend of sumptuous visuals, platforming excellence and stylistic lost. Like Jurassic Park's unruly T-Rex, the seminal FPS doesn't conform to the role of modern-day
RPG-lite, they epitomise slick 2D videogaming, and the GBA instalments are fine additions. The recent sideshow attraction with any grace; what absorbed before now merely amuses; what once immersed and
Harmony Of Dissonance evokes powerful Symphony Of The Night memories, and addresses the dark terrified now only raises a passing technical interest. The restrictions of the GBA cage too much, and
palette of Circle Of The Moon. Both bring a touch of sprawling, scrolling class to Nintendo's handheld. despite strong audio and well-worked controls, the Doom series now fails to wow jaded crowds.

Super Dodge Ball Advance Rockman & Forte

A product of the Japanese penchant for both schoolyard competition and Americana, Super Dodge Ball Aka Mega Man & Bass, a port of the 1998 SNES game, unreleased outside of Japan, but praised as the
Advance has a long history. A remodelled remake of Technos Japan Carp's Kunio no Nekketsu Toukyuu last and greatest 16bit Mega Man title before the descent into the X iterations. With Capcom's series now
Densetsu for the Neo-Geo, it loses the Street Fighter stylings and pairs trademark Atlus sprites with an numbering at least 17 titles, the Mega Man plotline boasts numerous subplots and twists: Mega Man &
addictive sports mechanic, based on the arcane high-school gymnasium game. A world tour and Bass sees the blue robot hero fighting alongside former enemy Bass in polished side-scrolling style. More
individual player statistics complete a title that is attractive, enjoyable, and perfectly at home on the GBA. institution than videogame, Mega Man & Bass is a true slice of history in your hand.

Publisher: Atlus Developer: In-house Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure Publisher: Activision Developer: Pipe Dream

If any game screamed for life on a handheld, it was Quest's Tactics Ogre . Knights of Lodis follows a side Perhaps trading on name alone, this SNES port retains the flailing animation and busy backgrounds
story, but essentially duplicates the stat-heavy strategy-RPG gameplay that embodies the Ogre Battle of the 16bit gilded lily. That an internet Shockwave version of David Crane's original Atari 2600 game
series. The sprites fall short of SNES standard, and both enemy Al and the strategic possibilities open to provides more amusement highlights the superfluousness of Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure, and, by
the player seem similarly slimmed for the GBA, but a mid-battle save option and absorbingly epic extension, this GBA version. That it makes an old-school classic feel like a cheap licensed title is
showdowns ensure days of battery replacement and eye strain for fans of the genre. reason enough to leave it well alone.

1989 saw the release of 'The Wizard', a movie co- funded by Nintendo starring child star Fred Savage. The moral of the story? Nintendo brings families together 053
 Wllf J l 5 S Pf F D S l ORI- HJ Gtl ..>C Ol-ll
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BRITISH COMPUTER
GAMES RULED THE
WAVES IN THE '80s.
UNTIL, THAT IS, THE
AMERICANS WADED
IN WITH THEIR OWN
BOMBASTIC BRAND
OF ENTERTAINMENT.
RETRO GOES IN

SEARCH OF US GOLD
054
 ack in issue 92 Edge looked at some
indigenous gaming greats of the past;
the Crowthers, Minters and
Braybrooks; coders from a fondly remembered
era when slapping your name on the box
meant the product was truly all your own
work, and publishers bent over backwards
to encourage undisciplined genius. The early
'80s was a time of unprecedented growth,
productivity and optimism, but also one
where programmers made the rules simply
because software was in such short supply
that rules had yet to be formulated. Naturally,
this state of affairs was not to last. By 1985 -
the year computer magazines like Crash and
Zzap/64 began to polarise opinions rather than
merely reflect them - it was virtually all over. In
the words of Philip Larkin, never such
innocence again.
In today's market - a seamless mix of
European, Far Eastern and American
influences, where a quality title will usually find
its way across the globe in up to six different
formats - it's hard to recall just how
fragmented and insular the games industry
was way back when. From the UK's
perspective, Britsoft ruled the world, safe in its

055 >
 hermetically sealed bubble and boasting a
generation of self-taught boy wonders who
could squeeze just about anything from a ZX
Spectrum and still have change for a minor
miracle on the BBC Micro. In reality, such
complacency was often based on ignorance of
what was going on elsewhere and convenient
amnesia over the Japanese inspiration that lay
behind so many early Spectrum's titles. But
everything changed in 1983 when a forgotten
superpower began to flex its muscles for the
first time since the Atari VCS's heyday.
Appropriately enough, the invasion began
with a game called Beach Head.

The second battle of Britain

In 1982, Bruce Carver was working for a
consulting engineering company in Salt Lake
City. He persuaded his wife to let him spend
$800 on a C64, promising faithfully to pay
for it by selling software he'd create. He
came up with a graphics utility called
Spritemaster which the family sold from the Born in the USA: Ace Of Aces (top), Carver's mega-hit
Beach Head (above), Crane's groundbreaking Little
basement of their house. Computer People (right), and Fight Night (below right)
"We had good success because there was

"THERE WAS NOTHING LIKE BEACH HEAD

FROM THE UK. I TOLD ONE PUBLISHER HE
MAY AS WELL SCRAP ALL HIS PRODUCTS"
little software of any kind available for the history. Unknown to them, and largely down
C64 at that time," Carver remembers. to the actions of others, it would also change
"Commodore was famous for introducing the UK game industry.
hardware without significant software to Beach Head was not only louder and
support it. But it gave us a great opportunity brasher than most home-grown product of the
to get our foot in the door. We started our time, it came packing its own state-of-the•art
company for less than $25,000." hardware. The Commodore 64 was a classic
Carver formed Access Software in the piece of grunty Americana, proud to boast it
same year, although he still kept up a full-time had better sound, colour and memory than
engineering job. Neutral Zone, the company's any of its rivals and able to prove it with the
first game, sold modestly. Chris Jones then kind of killer applications simply impossible on
joined Access, and, after a mere three months the ZX Spectrum. And while it was something
of intensive work, the pair came up with the of a culture shock to realise British might not
title that would secure their place in gaming be best after all, it also provided a significant
business opportunity for anyone brave enough
to fly a different flag. The first to take up that
challenge was Geoff Brown, head of
Centresoft and newly partnered with David
Ward of Ocean. Together they created a

*** monster that would eventually reshape the way

software was published and careers managed.
"The vision for US Gold came one night as

* CJ * a sort of flash of inspiration along with the

! @J1 a : name and the strategy!" recalls Brown. "My

background was in music and I sort of
conceived US Gold as a record label with
~,All~ lots of artists on it. I believe the brand was

~c.~can5~ seminal and influential in the whole growth

of the UK industry we know today because
of its absolutely incredible roster of products,
its packaging, marketing and advertising
and dominance of the UK software market
through the 1980s."

< 056 Sierra was the chosen publisher for Ult1ma II because it was the only company willing to produce the expensive cloth map packed in with the game
 --- -
----=- All good ideas have to start somewhere
and in the history of seismic first deals signing
home computer. Suddenly it was acceptable
to play computer games - even at work -

J.L
Beach Head from Carver, an introverted leading to a rash of office-friendly titles
Mormon, ranks alongside Virgin snapping up culminating in Doom. In due course,
'Tubular Bells' from a reclusive hippy named Leaderboard begat Unks which continued
Mike Oldfield. The impact was immediate. to generate sequels right up to the current
"It immediately took off," agrees Carver. Unks 2003 - all but the last with Carver still
"I think the graphics and the depth of play in the driving seat.
were Beach Head's main selling points. Of course, he was not alone in this new
Suddenly, we began receiving calls from vanguard. There was Dennis Caswell, whose
distributors, who wanted to buy quantities of Impossible Mission broke new ground with its
2,000 to 4,000 units (at a negotiated price use of speech synthesis ('Ah, another visitor ...
point, of course). As I recall, Beach Head Stay a while ... Stay forever!') and was
ended up selling over 500,000 copies immediately snapped up in 1985 by the
worldwide over the next year and a half and now-omnipresent US Gold.
basically changed my life forever." "It was a landmark product in lots of
Brown remembers the game with respects," says Brown. "It had fabulous
similar respect, although his figures don't quite animation, great complex challenges and
tally: "There was nothing remotely as good speech. I would consider it one of the best
coming out of the UK back then. I remember games ever released for the C64. Caswell
one of the publishers at the time saying he also collaborated on another classic game -
might as well scrap all his products in Pitstop from Epyx."
development as they looked so amateurish And then, of course, there was David Crane.
next to Beach Head. It sold well over a million If anyone in the videogame business can
copies! I also converted it to the Spectrum and justify comparison to Orson Welles, then Crane
Amstrad where it was equally successful. It is surely it. Jealously protected by Activision
was just a great concept." and one of the first to enjoy star billing on a
videogame box, he was a precocious genius
A hole in one who crossed platforms seemingly at will and
Buoyed by fanatical interest in Beach Head, even now sees his ideas borrowed, often
Access produced two sequels (Raid Over without due credit.
Moscow and Beach Head 2) as well as a "Looking back on my childhood in the late
range of acclaimed but commercially modest '50s and early '60s, I realise that I was always
Tex Murphy games. However, the company's a game designer," Crane says now. "I was the
next title proved to be even more influential. kid who would interpret - and rewrite, if
Leaderboard was important not just for being needed - the rules of classic board games. I
the first accurate representation of golf, but for also lived and breathed technology. This was
luring all those middle-class, middle-age before the PC, and to feed my hunger I had to
enthusiasts to something as frivolous as a build circuits, rewire televisions, and so on. I
could envision something that had never
existed, and immediately know how to
translate that vision into reality."
From a mundane beginning as an engineer
at National Semiconductor, he was asked by a
friend to proof read a recruitment ad for game
programmers. "Later that night I went in to
work and I typed up a resume," says Crane. "I
interviewed the next morning, got a job offer
from Atari by noon, and gave notice at
2:00pm. A videogame is a consumer product
that requires artistic skills, design ability, and
tremendous technical proficiency. So I decided
to give it a try for a couple of years."
His first game on the Atari 2600 was The
Activision Decathlon, but his second (Pitfall!)
managed to redefine a genre - the platform
game. "So many of my proudest moments
revolve around technical details so obscure
that there are only a handful of people who
ever fully appreciated them," recalls Crane.
"I had an image on the screen when the
•
n man who designed the 2600 chipset walked
into the lab. He stared at my screen for a
Counter-clockwise from top: Raid Over Moscow, Pitstop
II, Winter Games, Impossible Mission, and Boulderdash. while and finally gave up. After I explained
These titles defined an era for 8bit computer gaming what I was doing, he just shook his head

McDonalds in The Sims, Dole in Super Monkey Ball ... but product placement isn't new to games: James Pond featured heavy branding from Penguin biscuits, and Theme Park was almost based directly on Disneyland 057 >
 and said, 'I designed the chip and I had no Liepa looks back, however, it was not the
idea it could do that!'" golden opportunity it may at first appear:
Despite all this success, US labels were "At the time, Boulder Dash seemed far from
just as prone as UK publishers to overlook the a global craze. In fact the games industry
talent upon which their success was built. In seemed to be going into a downturn. And if
fact, the reasoning behind this was part of there was indeed a global craze I suspect it
American corporate culture. Richard Spitalny, must have been fuelled by piracy."
still president of First Star Inc (Boulder Dash, The main problem for Liepa, which he is
Spy Vs Spy), suggests this made good modest enough to admit, is that great
business sense at the time, avoiding the programmers rarely made great businessmen.
embarrassment of star names (Mathew Certainly the likes of the Darlings and
Smith) failing to deliver on time - or at all. Stampers managed to forge significant
"We follow rock stars and musicians here, business empires but, by and large, the
regardless of their current label," he says, longevity of the lone coder was determined
"and I think US software publishers were more by serendipity than shrewdness.

ARGUABLY THE FIRST SURVIVAL HORROR

GAME, FORBIDDEN FOREST OFFERED
PIXELLATED BLOOD AND A DAY/NIGHT CYCLE
reluctant to (publicly) build their business "I didn't hook up with an agent who could
based on personalities and, with few notable have concentrated on finding the best market
exceptions, they purposely minimised the for my games," Liepa explains. "Nor was I
importance of the 'artists'." entrepreneurial enough to hire others to
One such artist was Peter Liepa, who develop games. I found the process of
broke on to the scene in 1983 with a modest developing a game and selling it to a far-away
little phenomenon called Boulder Dash. publisher rather lonely, and felt that I needed
Although in essence it was a reinvention of to find something that involved a workplace
Atari's Dig Dug, its bold, chunky sprites and with several co-workers."
fiendishly scripted traps were ideally suited to
the C64 - once again providing a more Seeing the wood for the trees
thoughtful challenge than the Space Invaders Another example of promise not quite
and Centipede clones being pumped out for matching performance is provided by Paul
the Spectrum. Nonnan. Like Beach Head and Impossible
"I wrote Boulder Dash over the course of Mission , his first game, Forbidden Forest,
six months in 1982, first in FORTH, and then contained a stream of memorable firsts. ·
in assembler," says Liepa. "It was one of the Arguably the first survival horror game
most satisfying things I've ever done, because (fighting for that claim with Sandy White's
it drew on so many parts of me, from musician 30 Ant Attack), it was also perhaps the first
and artist to mathematician and programmer." to feature pixellated blood, day/night cycles

---
According to First Star, it sold over two and a musical score that evolved as the
million units of Boulder Dash . A recently action progressed. Surprisingly, the audio
released GBA version made it one of the track was penned by a professional guitarist,
longest-running franchises in existence. As then better known for touring with
Steppenwolf, Chicago and Taj Mahal.
"In '82 - I think- I bought a Commodore
VIC-20," says Norman. "I've always been a
First Star, Activision and Cosmi: three very American names with rosters of very
sci-fi buff and so expected personal

---
American software. They didn't always hit the mark with their artwork, though ...
computers to show up sooner or later. I taught
myself BASIC and immediately began building
games. Of course, one must remember that
the VIC-20 had all of 5K of RAM to work with
and I couldn't do anything too spectacular
until I expanded that to SK and landed my first

--- job. I upgraded to a Commodore 64 and I

taught myself 6502 machine language by
creating Forbidden Forest. I had three
months in which to write it."
The game was an instant hit, and once
again owed much of its kudos to US Gold and
success in a far-flung land. Norman: "I think
the UK reaction really started the ball rolling
and certainly spearheaded demand for the

< 058 Acclaim once had its own animated series . 'The Power Team', from 1988, featured characters from Acclaim games such as Narc, Arch Rivals, Wizards and Warriors . Kwirk the tomato and Bigfoot the monster truck also appeared
 For some time, Epyx was synonymous with
grade-A software, like a latter-day Nintendo.
Its Games series, in particular, delivered
benchmark multiplayer experiences.
Boulder Dash, meanwhile, beguiled '80s
gamers with its convoluted puzzles. Its
patently obvious US branding (below)
ensured that it rode an influential wave

Double Dragon saw brothers Jimmy and Billy Lee rescuing the latter's kidnapped girlfriend. If both characters made it alive to the end of the game, they had to fight each other for the damsel's affections - a first in gaming 059 >
 next few games like Aztec Challenge and computer gaming. After games like Beach
Cavern Of Khafka. Each year at CES in Las Head, Forbidden Forest, Impossible Mission
Vegas, the majority of buyers I met were and Boulder Dash, being cute and smart
from the UK and Europe." was no longer enough. You had to be
Unfortunately, as with Liepa, commercial loud and sexy, too.
success failed to trickle down to the little In the long run, of course, the desirability
people: "What I can say is that in hindsight, of all this Americana came into question. By
business then was not very different from any jumping on the licensing bandwagon, labels
business ever. The people in charge take what like Ocean and Elite rubbished their own
the workers make, get as much money as names by churning out cash-ins on licences
they can for it, lie to the workers about the such as 'Knight Rider' and 'The Dukes of
gross and keep as much of it as they can. I Hazzard'. While it worked, however, the mid-
know now that, while I made a decent living '80s was a true golden age, combining the
for the time, I never received a fair percentage best of British marketing with the slickest of

Paul Norman's Forbidden Forest was

"I NEVER RECEIVED A FAIR PERCENTAGE revolutionary in many respects: it
featured a day/night cycle and an
OF THE REAL PROFITS. ALL I CAN SAY NOW audio score by a professional musician

IS: CEO GEORGE JOHNSON, KISS MY ASS!"

of the real profits. I blame myself for not American production. In an age when
participating more intelligently in the business publishers are multinationals and development
end. All I can say now is: George Johnson of a major title involves participation from three
(ex-CEO of publisher Cosmi), kiss my ass!" continents, it's unlikely that one nation will ever
have such an impact again.
From trickle to flood "It was the quality," concludes Brown.
Throughout the mid-'80s the flood of imported "At a time when we had one block shooting
software continued, creating smaller rivals to another and called it a game, they had real
US Gold such as Electric Dreams and Elite tanks and spaceships. Their programmers
Systems, and reawakening sleeping giants like were older, more structured, they had more
Activision which moved from bust to boom on technical expertise. And, of course, they had
the strength of slapping stars and stripes on all the best hardware. The Japanese only
packaging as a seal of approval. Indeed, from started to take control in the '90s with their
1984 to 1989 American coders largely set the own machines. Back in the '80s the
trends and called the shots in the world of Americans had it all."

Bruce Carver David Crane Pieter Liepa

Paul Norman Dennis Caswell Geoff Brown

< 060 There is a real Monkey Island. Mono Island ('mono' being Spanish for monkey) is located in the Caribbean. Its residents are not believed to be cannibals
Magenta Software
is a well respected company in the games development market,
working on high profile licensed properties for major international
publishers.

As a result of our continued success we are looking for talented

and creative individuals to join our existing highly motivated team .

Successful applicants will be working on AAA games based on

forthcoming blockbuster movies.

Programmers
Experienced C / C++ and assembly programmers. Must have
a track record of one or more completed games.

Artists
Experience in 3DS Max or comparable packages required. Candidates will
require a strong portfolio, freehand drawing and conceptual art skills.

Designers
Candidates must have the creativity, attention to detail and communication
skills to bring a game from conception to release.

Animators
Experienced 30 animators required . A good knowledge of 3DS Max
and Character Studio would be preferred .

Send your CV and samples of work to:

Magenta Software Ltd. ,
34 The Colonnades, Albert Dock, Liverpool , L3 4AA.
Or email jobs@MagentaSoftware.com
 §D
L========::.I

= 111111 1
(:: cor-nr-noclore
M ~ "' I T

.________, C]
~J
CJ CJ CJ CJ CJ CJ 11
 sclos in computer game music) were sc well said, in his thick Lancashire accent, "There's no
received that he imbued the job of freelance market for 't BBC round 'ere, lad, what d'yer know
musician with the scrt of acclaim to which about the Commodore 64 ?" I sad I didn't know
'proper' muses become addicted. "Everyone much but I could try, sc they loaned me (without
else at the time were schoolkids except Rob," any contracts) a C64 assembly language dev
says Ben Daglish, another C64 musician. system to take home and mess with. "
"He was a great expermentalist." Where Hubbard's work was busy, Galway's was
Hubbard's influence ran deep, as Richard measured, trancey and abstract. When Hyper
Joseph (now head of audio at Elixir Studios) Sports and later Rambo appeared, he was
relates: "I hadn't heard of any musicians until Pete elevated to rock god status. The adulation soon
Stone at Palace played me Rob Hubbard's Monty spread. "I had a lot of publicity in magazines,"
On The Run and said: 'Make it like that'." recalls Joseph. "On several occasions I got
David Whittaker, another tunesmith taking his spotted in WH Smiths looking at the mags. You
happy soundtracks of David Dunn were rare first steps at the time, was blown away by the don't get that now, folks! They don't want
examples of game music being treated as work of the industry's leading lights: "I didn't know indMduals to be stars. Just the name of the
scmething more than a simple afterthought of any other computer musicians until 1985/6, publisher, and a list of as many credits as they
(althcugh serious electronic pieces such as when I first heard Galway and Hubbard music, can fit in the manual."
Gray's later work remained inconceivable). which really impressed me. They were doing stuff
That all changed in 1985, when game music much better that my simplistic fare. I then Digging the dirt
discovered its twin deities: Rob Hubbard and the immediately realised that I had to pull my The 8bit era is primarily remembered as a quite
aforementioned Galway. The latter had been seeks up - and started to do better." innocent, fun place to be. Of course, there were
established at Ocean since 1984, but Hubbard's occupational hazards. "There were a couple of
entry into the scene reinforced Galway's conviction Feeling like Buddy Holly peculiar set-ups - Mirrorscft being an example, in
that game music was an art form. "At that time I If Hubbard was the groundbreakng EMs of the the heyday of Rober1 Maxwell," recalls Daglish.
realised I had scme competition," he remembers. scene, then Galway was Buddy Holly: his music "I seem to recall we had problems getting paid ..
"I thcught I was the only one taking it seriously. " was more studious, introverted and technical - though we did get tickets to the 'Biggles'
prerniere from them ... "
"Robert Maxwell fell off his boat to his death,
Monty On The Run was so well received leaving Mirrorscft ovvng me £1 ,000, which I never

that Rob Hubbard imbued the job of got!" attests Whittaker. ''The fuckers!"
However, despite cowboys running rampant

freelance musician with the sort of acclaim over certain people, the biggest names seemed to
be treated well. Their reputations were vvdespread
to which 'proper' muses become addicted and even budget-game companies recognised
that a title was more or less naked withcut a
Hubbard's entry into computer music was as though his sales technique was surprisingly scundtrack from one of them.
driven by the same conviction that computer scphisticated: "In March 1984 I was doing the If you weren't a big-name composer, though,
music was ripe for revolution: "Originally I viewed audio for this BBC Pac-Man rip-off that my school things could be less rosy. "I suppose all my stuff
game music as simply dire, with wrong notes all friend Paul Proctor was programming and we has been freelance," says David Hanlon (ex-
over the place and just bad musically. That's why I agreed that if I coukJ sell it, we would split the Bullfrog and composer on the Druid series),
started: I thcught I could at least get the notes money. I looked on the back cover of Personal "although given the money I received, you might
right! I didn't think of it as pioneering. We simply Computer Weekly and there was an Ocean ad - as well just read that as I worked for free!"
got on with it and had a lot of fun. And it was alsc for Kong, I think. Since they were in Manchester I When musicians weren't working for nothing,
additional income to help pay the bills, too." gave them a call. Once we got to Ocean, they they were in the pub together getting drunk - or at
Hubbard underplays the impact he had. bought the game easy enough, and sc like any least that's the easiest thing to believe. "Once, I
But he changed the rules. Thing On A Spring salesman I delved into my pocket for the number spent three days drinking absclutely non-stop -
(for which he was apparently paid £25) and Monty two product. I played my BBC tunes on their and I mean non-stop - in Glasgow with Tony
On The Run (featuring the first violin and guitar system there and they liked 'em, but David Collier Crowther and Dave Whittaker at a wedding. That

< 072 Fancy starting your own videogame empire? All you need is $500 (£320). Atari (1972) and Sony (1946) were both founded with that amount as capital
The men and their music
What the men themselves looked like back in the '80s (er, with the possible
exception of one) and starting points to get a flavour of their individual styles.

Rob Hubbard

Crazy Comets, Master Of Magic,

Sanxion, The Last VB

Ben Daglish

Trap , 1he Last Nirja ,

Dellektor, Krakout

Martin Galway

Parallax, Comic Bakery,

WIZball,Rambo

Tim Follin

Black Lamp, LED Storm,

Agent X2, Bionic Commando

Dave Whittaker

Red Max, Gider Rider,

Panther, Loopz

Fred Gray

Mutants , Enigma Fotr:e, Shad<N.tfire,

Batman 1he Caped Crusader
 the rock and roll years

was just a haze of pubs, dubs, beer, women, swung into action and cajoled Hubbard and sat at work all day staring at a blank screen. I only
Dave's flash car and his flash suit," Daglish Oust Whittaker to produce piss-takes of Leitch's labour had the tune idea at about ten o' clock in the
about) remembers. of love. Hubbard threw in the 'Eastenders' theme evening, and sat up all night in my bedroom
"When I was a game musician I used to drink and 'The Power of Love', too, each worse than wming n. And It sounds like It ~ you listen to It."
white wine by the pint," recalls Gray. "My the last. Daglish and Crowther even came up wnh Some composers were more resourceful when
colleagues would often encourage me - until one alternative lyrics. Musicai storiles have a fine It came to beating composer's block. "I did have a
New Year's Eve party when I drank about six pints tradition, but this one was surprisingly public. few dry spells where I couldn't come up wnh
and ended up pebble-dashing someone's (It's worth noting that Leitch took It all on the anything," says Whittaker, "so I'd usually borrow
bathroom. I don't remember whose house It was, chin, overcame this early humiliation, and later icleas frorn others [ie, plagiariise) and even frorn
but ~ you're out there, I'm sorry." became a respected composer and sound myself. One example was Red Max, which is rny
"It's very difficult to do anything pissed - unless technician. He's now relieved that people didn't rip-off of Rob 's Commando - but more of an Press Play On Tape have taken the C64
you work at It, that is," claims Hubbard, looking to hold It against him.) homage, reaily." tribute concept to a new level. You can see
their 'Comic Bakery' vid on the PPOT site
set the record straight about his supposedly oong
under the influence while programming the (badly A quick buck An easy living from your bedroom
received) music for Geoff Capes Strongman. In the haicyon days of 1986, games could be very "I worked in the wee smal hours in a tiny
quick to produce, and by only one or two people. bedroom," says Gray. "I wrcte a jazz piece once
Work or play? Creating audio could certainly be swift, and called 4am -yes, you guessed It, I wrote It at
"It was a job, but certainly not a reai job like quickdraw musicians were legendary for their 4:00am, as was the case wnh most of my game
what real people do - we were having too abilny to turn jobs around in timescales that would music. The best part of It all was the selection of
much fun," says Daglish. "There was a certain barely cover one 'product meeting' today. In these snazzy cars - Porsdnes and the like - that arrived
amount of picneer feeling to It, though - at the circles, time had a different meaning. outside my door. I think the neighbours thought
time when there were only a few full-time Daglish: "Certainly there were a couple of tunes I was a drug baron."
computer musos in the country, It seemed very that I did overnight. As to the iongest ... that Though game music did not pay drug baron
leading edge. And we were mixing with people probably was Trap-It was ages before I was wages, It was a good living, as Jcseph recalls:
that were pushing back the boundaries of happy with It - a couple of weeks, at least." "For the first few years It just got better and better.
technology and coding - sprnes in the border Asked for his fastest turnaround, Joseph says: It got to a point where I was earning mcney that
oong a famous example on the C64." "Rimrunner. That took about half an hour." made my successful music biz friends green with
envy. Then somewhere in the mid-'90s people
started arriving in the games industry straight frorn
"The best part of it all was the selection college and the fees plummeted. It's been a slow

of snazzy cars - Porsches and the like - journey back."

It had also been an escape frorn the many

that arrived outside my door. I think the worse ways to earn a living at the time. "I was
living very cheap and making a decent living for a
neighbours thought I was a drug baron" gigging musician, but It was never going to be
enough to rnake reai long term plans, like house
To natural performers like Daglish, oong a But the king of the quick knock-off was blf0ng, holidays, etc," says Hubbard. "I'd been
freelance game musician was a way of l~e. Not Whittaker: "I know that I've done tunes in just a doing lots of gigs and the change was very
content wnh selling music, he also produced few minutes, as they were so short in those days." welcome indeed - and also extremely stimulating."
demos wnh iong-time friend Tony Crowther for Even the perfectionists could pull It out of the But underpinning everything was the same
distribution on the legendary C64-only BBS bag when the need arose. "There's an interesting insecurity behind all the great rock 'n' roll stars:
Compunet. It was Daglish who was responsible for . story behind Commando," Hubbard recalls. that It wouk:J all end as quickly as It had begun .
one of the most legendary tales of the time: 'The "I went down to Elite's offices and started working "We all worked 16-hour days, seven days a
Chicken Song' story. on It late at night, and worked on It through the week," says Hubbard. "After all, It was hard to
The extensive Zzap/64 magazine coverage night. I took one listen to the originai arcade turn down any work."
played a very large part in building hype around version and started working on the C64 version. "I felt that anyone couk:J come along and take
musicians, and this attracted wannabes, who I think they wanted some resemblance to the my job," recalls Joseph. "It was conditioning frorn
would contact wor1<ing musicians. Hubbard later arcade version, but I just did what I wanted to do. my music industry days. I wasn't worried about my
bitterly regretted putting his plhone number into a By the time everyone arrived at 8:00am I'd loaded contemporaries - they were all tied to major
promotional demo that later found Its way to the main tune on every C64 in the building. I got companies so there was no threat there - but I
Compunet. One of the most persistent wannabes my checue and was on a train home by 1O:OOarn." was always wary of newcomers. I would address
was Barry Leitch, who started off his rnusic career And, in the right mood, some notoriously the problem by hiring some of them to do
with some awe-inspiringly dreadful versions of pedantic composers could pull It out of the bag on conversions of my work on other formats. In that
'The Chicken Song' and the 'EastEnders' theme. occasions- even one of the true 'artistes', nm way I made allies rather than rivalls."

The story would have ended there ~ he hadn't Follin: "I remember composing Black Lamp "At the time I was glad of the hard-earned
been continually phoning composers to bother overnight. I had to have It finished for the following money," says Gray. "All the time I was wming for
them. When Daglish heard 'The Chicken Song' he day. I took my work equipment home because I'd games I lived on a council estate - I never ever

It was possible to find the original Space Invaders arcade cabinet in two variants: the original Taito machine had a two•direction joystick, whereas the cheaper Midway version used two buttons for control < 075 >
 saw n as glamorous. John Heep at Dentons told Hubbard on Commando: "I took one listen to
me I had won an award once for some Spectrum the originai arcade version and started working on
music I wrote. I just said 'Oh', and carried on ~h the C64 version. I think they wanted some
what I was doing. If anyone knows what n was resemblance to the arcade version, but I just did
then I'd love to find out." what I wanted to do."
If they were famous Galway: "Most of the arcade games we worked
Mutton dressed as lamb on had simpler sound chips than the C64's, so I
M a ~ - - .. .
Just as Elvis should have been above singing was able to beef up the music."
.....,d!N~blt •fh
11111tv•dhC8'Q11111fflllli: some of the material that was put in front of him,
. . . 11111 ...... rock . . . . so game music composers often found The end
themselves wrning music for titles which left Like Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis, Brian Eno or
RlltNIMIMl &ilA..,
(lhll<IIV something to be desired "I felt like n was mutton Phillip Glass, the major figures from that time had
.......... aidct/Hdtf dressed as lamb," says Galway. "I thought some more impact than they reaiised when their ideas
......... 11111~
O.......,CIIRlctall of those games should have been scrapped, they fell upon naive but imaginative teenage ears. The
(lhl dal-M'G Vlllllan d 911111 never should have been released. Don't you know and musicians alike. "The sound I was converting second wave of musicians from '88 onwards,
... Dlglllll UllleRlctall Ocean gained a reputation of putting shn on to the from was nse~ a conversion of the arcade cabinet, such as Jeroen Tel, did not name legendaiy
(Down wctty Pllbmerl
11111,....-nHnttK market? Using the customers as toilet paper, they which I have never seen," says Galway about his tradnional musicians as their inspiration, they
ICffl)lpulgll'bt were. They thought they could put crap out and n work on Y,e Ar Kung Fu 2. "It sounded like n was a named the C64 composers they idoiised.

---JaaMallk
~mllll ......
would still sell because they were Ocean." lame conversion, too - the MSX's music only used The end of the Bbn rock 'n' roll years was

DMI Duim l.cmll Oomlgan One of the defining features of the era is that the two notes at once, for example- so I easily did a painful for some, but for others n was a welcome
~ music became a very definne selling point of the better-sounding version." chance to do something more adult. "I tried to get
FNdGlar M . . . games. This can be traced primarily to the huge And even when musicians did have access to back into game music at one point but realised
f3cuvtrocknl'orlal
RlalwdJoalpll RlctallJollpl influence of Zzap/64, and especially ns lead the orginai cabinet, the problems weren't over. "In that things had moved on, what ~h the advent of
(Bacaatw-apiogrock*b',_. reviewers - Gaiy Liddon, Gaiy Penn and Julian rncst cases we had the machine to hand although games consoles and the 68000 chip. I felt I had
Rignall - who made a special point of provding I didn't like doing the conversions because I found had my chance and n was time for new blooc."
music critiques for each procuct, and in naming, n difficult to work out the tunes, " recalls Mark remembers Gray.
shaming, praising and interviewng individual Cooksey, who provided audio for C64 Ghosts 'n' "I was out of n aiready, reaily," says Daglish. "I'd
composers. This house style continued ~h Goblins and Space Harrier. "I didn't have perfect done a couple of years on 16 bn machines, but
subsequent Zzap/64 scribes.
"In 1986, in the depths of the shn-releasing
phase, they get Highlander and Miami V,ce out of
"In the depths of Ocean's shit-releasing
the same out-of-house company. These guys had phase I had to do a game a week for two
no idea what they were doing at the time in terms
of procuct quainy and were delivering games to weeks. And the games appeared to sell
Ocean ~hout any sound," remembers Galway,
grimly. "I had to do both games in about a week
well on the strength of their music alone"
each. The tunes happened to be rather natty on
each one, and the games appeared to sell well on pnch so working out the tunes by ear was a pain." then I got into other stuff - theatre music, etc."

The MOS 6581 chip (aka SID) has also the strength of the music. I remember our sales His solution was elegantly simple: ditch the originai Joseph is actuaily better remembered for his
been used in non-C64 projects. Fancy four manager singing, 'We love you, Mart, you saved soundtrack and procuce originai music. Paperboy 16bn work ~h Sensible Software than for his Bbn
of them in tandem? Some musicians do
our arse this month!'" and Ghosts 'n' Goblins both featured music canon: "We were doing such cooi stuff back then
It was a common occurrence, but pragmatism unique to the C64 conversions: "I found that a lot and everybody wanted to know us. I remember
eased the pain, according to Gray: "I never had a of the tunes used many channels of sound. In phoning someone up to introduce ~ and the
due what Denton's games were about - I just took some cases the tunes used six- or eight-note guy at the company told me: 'We only use the
the pay dheques! But my music and their games polyphony. Therefore n was a lot easier to flavour of the month'. I thought he was such a
seem to work okay together." compose originai tunes designed around music twat that the last thing I was gcing to do was tell
Whittaker: "I vaguely remember some decent that was based on three-note polyphony." him that that was precisely who he was talking to."
tunes going into some crappy budget games (from However, some musicians just couldn't help but Now there is a retro music scene to carry a
Mastertronic, etc), but, ~ I got paid for n, I just attempt to improve upon the original arcade torch that by commercial reaify should have
didn't care." version. Like Follin, for instance, who procuced been extinguished long ago. "Looking back n
Bionic Commando's dazzling music: "It's an doesn't surprise me that the fans are there but I
Converting the unconvertible arcade conversion ... or let's say n started like an would hardly have expected n while I was working
Thanks to the licensing explosion of the mid-'BOs, arcade conversion! What happened was, I started out of a bedroom in Denham in the mid-'BOs."
composers spent a sign~! amount of time converting the tnle tune, and n just developed, says Joseph. "One chap said to me recently that
creating music for arcade conversions. Clune slipped out of my grip and became something that his mum listened to The Beatles but he listened
often, they had to don ~hout seeing the arcade was very different from what I had in mind at the to us game musicians. That reaily brought
cabinet, which taxed the ingenufy of programmers beginning. It was qune messy." n home for me."

< 076 Sam and Max started life in a comic strip drawn by creator Steve Purcell and his brother, as children. Before making the transition to computer game, a regular strip featuring the duo featured in LucasArts' internal newsletter.
How's that dynamic implementation
proposal plan coming along, Geoff?

Erm, yes, we're nearly there. I just

have to, er, finish something else
first, and then I'll get right on to it
 Emu Nation
Emu_l ntro ~ El

Once a coding curio, emulation now has a

massive, thriving community, making your
computer's desktop a bewildering source of
countless riches. Retro examines the scene

mulation has come a long way since None of this has stopped coders from

[I] Edge first looked at it back in 1997.

Back then it was still widely regarded as
actually writing emulators. Pick a system, any
system, and you're likely to be faced with a
a fairly pointless gaming backwater, an exercise broad range of options. It has become similar to
in nostalgic recreation of obsolete platforms with the demo scene, with hundreds of authors trying
little real use. Things have changed. MAME came to outdo each other with the slickest, most
along and resurrected wave after wave of arcade authentic emulator they can craft.
titles and is still being developed today; big But thanks to the ever-present lawyers,
business got a sniff of intellectual properties finding the games themselves is becoming
being distributed online and started stamping its increasingly troublesome. Some sites host a
feet; and a couple of programs called Bleem! and selection of guaranteed-safe ROMs - for long-
UltraHLE showed up and caused waves by dead platforms and with multiple disclaimers -
emulating the very much alive and kicking but for the most part ROM hunting is on a level
PlayStation and N64. While no one seemed too with online porn - it's there if you know where to
bothered about the emulation of long-dead lock for it, but be prepared for a barrage of pop-
consoles and computers, Bleem! in particular up ads. Usually for porn, funnily enough.
caused ructions within Sony and led to a series Despite the legal issues, emulation isn't going
of legal battles. away. On the contrary, it's going strong and
Thanks to all this, the emulation scene today providing a vital service; in a way the coders and
is a changed beast. Whereas five years ago you ROM sites are curators of a vast, interactive
11
could easily find all the ROMs you wanted at a museum of gaming. Through emulation you can
multitude of sites, the situation today is a bit revive games that you simply don't stand a
trickier. The Net has long since been a niche chance of ever playing in their original physical
pastime: bands of lawyers are clued up to form, games that would otherwise have been lost
matters online, and hosting ROMs on your Web forever. Yes, emulation can be about playing old
site is a sure-fire way of attracting a flurry of games for free. But it's also about history.
cease-and-desist orders. Here, Retro locks at today's leading emus.

100% IPage: 2 [ill◊l 1 ·················································n

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 File Edit Style Item Page Uiew Utilities Help

II
EMS02.emu

Systems_l

Coin-ops
t tt iese years ttiere's--stift--7'-r"mT.7Vl1"7"h7'<i"f'<lS"ml"c:m"=tts---r---;,,,-..,...,...,..,..,.
emulation, and that's MAME. There are other emulators
around for specific and later machines that'll probably do a
better job than this gargantuan jack of all trades, but if there 's
an arcade machine from the '80s or early '90s that isn 't
supported by MAME then you're probably imagining it. The
latest count shows it to emulate around 3,500 games. What
more could you want? A proper front end, possibly. Your
basic MAME package requires you to talk to it through arcane
command-line instructions, so unless there's only a handful of
titles you want to play, you 're going to need to download a
front end for it.

NES
Nintemtoiirstmadei tsmarkwitlT(3ame-&-Watctrani- --~-
then headed into the arcades with Donkey Kong , but it was
the NES that pushed the company into the premier league.
There are a good few NES emulators doing the rounds , but
your best bet is likely to be FCE Ultra . It's an open-source
project with a list of contributors as long as your arm , and it
performs all the tricks you'd expect. It's compatible with most
games, enables you to play networked multiplayer, and
there's even limited lightgun support. The real bonus, though
- at least for the more cack-handed among you - is FCE
Ultra 's built-in Game Genie emulation , enabling you to cheat
your way to victory.

Master System
Sega'siirstwortdwide-consolITTrtieastiookectnicertha
Nintendo's box and it had a few more tricks up its sleeve, such
as the support of 30 glasses. But that's about the extent of
the Master System 's advantage, and while Sega had Wonder
Boy and Alex Kidd, Nintendo had Mario. Game over. You'll still
find plenty of people willing to swear blind that the Master
System ruled , however, and one of them 's Omar Cornut,
author of Meka. It's a Master System emulator, but that's not
enough for Cornut, who's also built in emulation of obscure
sycho Fox Wonder Boy Ill: The Dragon's Trap R-Type
Sega systems that never made it over here - the MSX-based
Sega Game 1000, for example. And for reasons best known
to himself he's also built in a Coleco Vision emulator. This is
heavy-duty stuff, but Meka 's fairly unflappable, with a solid front
end. The only downside is that you might find the actual
emulation a little bit slow on older PCs.

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EMS02.emu.openJi n Edte :2003 schedule.PDF

Systems_2

Mega Drive
NintemtITTJWrrettthei3bttconsD1"ITTnarket;-b

the advantage of appearing first, but like the NES its success
was largely thanks to a marketable character. Sonic The
Hedgehog made the Mega Drive an essential for many, but
the cracks soon appeared . First came the Mega CD, which
few cared about, and then Sega tried to extend the Mega
Drive's life with the disastrous 32X. Genecyst's still a
reasonable emulator, but for Retro 's money it's been
ectorman Sonic The Hedgehog Thunderforce Ill
supplanted by Gens, which does vanilla Mega Drive
emulation as well as Mega CD and 32X emulation with a fairly
high success rate. The Gens people reckon it runs 93% of
games perfectly, and running in full-screen mode it uses nifty
filtering to stop the action looking blocky on your monitor.

SNES
itti11g tl 18 I liar ket tongciftertheivt~e-Sf',.I
though technically superior with some dazzling effects
achieved through Mode 7, and later thanks to the Super FX
chip - in many respects fell in at second place behind Sega.
In emulation terms right now there are two front runners for
the SNES: SNES9X was a long-term favourite but hasn 't
been updated since late 2001 , and a few compatibility gaps
exist. On the other hand , ZSNES is still updated and, despite
a fuzzy front end (which translates to a not-unpleasant filtered
filotWings Super Mario Wo rld Chrono Trigger
look in-game), appears to have pulled ahead compatibility-
wise with only a small and obscure list of games known not
to work. As a bonus, it also supports Game Genie, Pro
Action Replay and GoldFinger codes.

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eds meet

Systems_3

PC Engine
olt classrc-rath-erthan b-esr-se11er, NEC'~e-1::ngine was-an-
oddball machine that attracted a good many admirers thanks
to a combination of 8- and 16bit proc·essing. The diminutive
console's graphics approached arcade quality in many
instances, making it the perfect home for a seemingly endless
procession of shooters. In all, over 700 PC Engine titles were
released, but the format failed to ignite mainstream tastes. In
emulation terms it has a similarly low profile - the best you 'll
find is MagicEngine . However, in an almost unprecedented
approach to emulation Magic Engine is not free; in its
unregistered state it only works for five minutes at a time.

Neo-Geo Pocket Colar

-he handtmtdihat--shoulct-tTave-been king'?-p>erhaps . Wher,-- --.ilii~"4li~~~~~~~ :-r-S

the pocket market from the ageing Game Boy and its young
sibling , the Game Boy Colar. The NGPC was a brilliant
handheld with a decent-sized TFT screen and a genuinely
great game line-up. It looked like such a sure-fire hit that Sega
deigned it suitable for a version of Sonic. Two emulators -
NeoPocott and NeoPop - now lead the field , with the latter
coming off best, offering near-perfect emulation and
Crush Roller Meta/Slug
supporting multiplayer through TCP-IP. Keep an eye out for
MHE, however - the Multi Handheld Emulator is currently in
development and, if it lives up to expectations, will emulate
just about every handheld game console.

Jaguar
· mrntihB7,rCJsttlt=fated-consoles everdevrsed; thB-jagua
was Atari's last chance, and the company blew it rather well
despite having a powerful piece of kit. It's memorable for three
main reasons: a distinctive-looking bundled game in
Cybermorph, a strange and unwieldy joypad that smacked of
the lntellivision's controller, and Tempest 2000. Until recently
attempts to emulate it haven't gone well - RealityMan,
developer of the UltraHLE N64 emulator, for example, has
been working on one with little apparent success. But in the
last couple of months Project Tempest has appeared and it's
doing the business. Unsurprisingly its main aim seems to be to
run a damn good game of Tempest 2000 , and original author
Jeff Minter has already given its performance in that area a big
thumbs up. Compatibility with other titles is being worked on -
Aliens Vs Predator is next on the list. But Jaguar emulation
doesn 't come cheap : you 'll need a top-end PC in order to get
any reasonable frame rate out of Project Tempest. It's an i;£f!
emu well worth keeping an eye on, though. c__s::.-

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- ., Further info I

The obvious legal bit Doing it 'properly'

Legality issues clearly surround emulators, although it remains a If you 're serious about arcade emulation, what are you doing running
quite messy grey area. In this article Retro has concentrated purely MAME on your PC and playing all those classics with a keyboard or
on the emulation of dead systems, which seems to be a trouble-free even a joypad? You might be able to run Robotron 2084 on your home
area. It's when you emulate a console that's still alive and kicking machine, but you 're not really playing it unless you're wrestling with two
where legal problems enter the fray (take a look;at the B/eem!/Sony joysticks and running the risk of a heavy cabinet toppling forward and
fiasco to see how complicated things can get). crushing you to death. You could buy the real thing - or you could just
Even if the console manufacturer doesn't have a legal leg to go the whole emulation hog and buy some proper hardware. Digital Links
stand on, it can still try to bankrupt emu developers by dragging them Tables (www.digitaltables.co.uk) will build you an authentic cocktail
through the courts. ROMs, of course, are another matter altogether. setup, filled with a PC, MAME and more games than you could ever MAME: www.mame.net/
Nothing 's changed in this department: copyright still applies and hope to play, for just·under £3,000. If that's too pricey, the company MagicEngine: http://magicengine.com/uk_index.html
you 're still, technically, breaking the law if you download and keep a can supply the shell so that you can fill it yourself. If you'd rather do it NeoPop : www.emuxhaven.net/- neopop/
15-year-old Master System game that you don't physically own. So yourself, take a look at Ultimarc (www.ultimarc.com), where you can Project Tempest: pt.emuunlim.com/
you won't find any links to ROM sites around these parts, and naturally find all the parts and plans for everything from making a proper arcade Meka: www.smspower.org/meka/
Retro cannot condone the downloading of illegal ROMs. stick through to building a full-sized arcade cabinet. There are over 500 Gens: gens.consolemul.com/
projects listed, so you're more than likely to be able to find something FCE Ultra: fceultra.sourceforge.net/
to suit the skills and budget available. ZSNES: www.zsnes.com/
 22/11 / 85 k
zzap logo

22111/85 m

-tI \_

The
In 1985, the face of game journalisrn changed thanks to one rnagazine. Retro
caught up with the people behind the pages in order find out how they did it

--
< 084 >
 as the world of computer and

H videogaming ever had its own

celebrities? Well, there was Dominik
Diamond, of course. Oh, and Violet Berlin. Plus,
at a stretch, Big Boy Barry would probably be
remembered by some impressionable young
game-geeks in the making. But these names hail
come from a relatively modern era. Before
videogames made it on to mainstream television
shows, their followers had only the press from
which to pluck their idols.
Open up just about every videogame
magazine in existence today and you'll come
across a page featuring photographs of staff
members pulling faces for the camera in an
attempt to humanise the content that follows.
'This month', says Johnny Whippersnapper in
his little bit, 'I've been mostly playing Ratchet &
Clank. It's a game lull of nuts, you see - and
I'm absolutely nuts about it!'
If you want to lay the blame for this
anywhere, look back at Zzap/64, a trailblazing
publication dedicated to the Commodore 64
launched in 1985. The combined efforts of its
big-haired staffers, with their even bigger egos,
played an integral part in shaping how the
specialist press catered for a young, often
quite dumb, and always never anything less
then eager audience.
Retro caught up with five of the key players
who made it a must-read during the mid-'80s.
Each was interviewed separately, which may
account for some differing testimonies ..

< 085 >

 What are your favourite memories? changed much - and having fun at the
consumer shows of the day - the Personal
Back then was all so new - Computer World Show in Olympia was a
and it was all ours. It was particular favourite. My job before I moved to
time of rampant hormones England had been working as a backroom boy
and the emergence of a new in the local newspaper in my home town ijust
entertainment industry. Games for us were outside Dublin), so I was very impressed with all
rock 'n' roll. We were usually doing exactly of the new and exciting people that I met
what we wanted , when we wanted - and all we · through the magazine. That's what I enjoyed
did was work, play, get wasted and work and most - the people.
play some more. There was always something

i
to learn first-hand. Sleep didn't enter into it. Just being in a vibrant, chaotic
Fuck, I wish I could remember more than office, where pretty much
disparate fragments. anything went and the more
As much as I enjoyed all the attention from creative you were, the more
publishers and players and working with some fun you had. There was office crap everywhere
passionate and talented people, I'd say I most and it stank of food and smoke, but it was
enjoyed the sense of freedom. We were left just so cool - kind of like how they portray
alone as long as we delivered the goods on manic newspaper offices in those old black-
time. It was a special time - the right people and-white movies.
doing the right thing with the right stuff in the
right place at the right time for the right people. It's all a bit of blur. The whole
1
. thing was a dream come true
Rushing in to work at Zzap/64 for me. Meeting all of the 'star

I ~
every day (and even the
weekend) so that I could go
!~rough the mail and see what
new games had come in that
morning. It was a most exerting time for the
industry back then. Thanks to minimal
programmers' of the day -
Archer Maclean, Jeff Minter, Andrew Braybrook
and Tony Crowther - was definitely a kick
These names had almost godlike status in those
days and I was (am still am) a fanboy at heart.

development costs, there were tons of new You had a lot of influence back then. How
releases each week, and because the did you perceive your role in the industry?
acquisition and manufacturing costs were so
low, many companies/individuals were not I never gave my role in the
scared to try out new ideas. Sure, there was a industry any thought. If I'd
ton of crap released during that period, but also realised how I was perceived I'd
many amazing games (for their time) that broke have been an even bigger dick.
new grounds in terms of concepts, gameplay I just accepted the perpetual daydream as
and technology. Each month, there seemed to reality. I had a burgeoning moral agenda - we
be some new 'big thing' that we could wet our all did at Newsfield. We'd do things like only
pants over My absolute fondest memories are reviewed finished games in boxes, just like the

: ,;>'
~ mi
~
Just playing games morning, noon and night
and wnt1ng about them. As a hardcore gamer,
•<=sd-~em,,
player bought - to keep us on the same level,
to keep us grounded.
We were enthusiastic, knowledgeable,
arrogant, opinionated, hardcore players with a
I remember the tremendous platform. We had so much power. We didn 't
...
satisfaction of actually getting a realise how much. Well, I guess we knew but
magazine finished and off to the we didn't really appreciate rt. We could make or
I
printers - I suspect that hasn't break sales - smaller companies even.

< 086 Contractions: Sega {Service Games), Namco (Narnakura Manufacturing Company), and Coleco (Conneticut Leather Company)
Zzap164 once ran its own 'making of' feature,
with a selection of dodgy mono photographs

" perpetual buzz - always something in the air.

The industry was a village. Everyone knew

everyone else and every aspect of their

business - especially when it came to who was

fucking whom. The trade magazine C7Wwas

like a local newspaper. The shows were great -

like local fetes or enormous family get-

togethers with development people and

publishers and, more importantly, players

converging in a common space and with a

common interest.

i
I believe the overall feeling

was better. People didn't

have ulterior motives or hidden

agendas (well, apart from a

few of the 'wider' PR people).

i
We were the great and the because of the bad reviews, no distributor I guess it was a fairly young and naive

good, passing judgement on wanted to touch his games with a ten-foot industry, but it was very enjoyable. It was
games and saving the reader pole, and his company was out of business. great being on one of only two serious

money by preventing them from felt really bad for him, but what are you gonna C64 mags - especially when the other

buying the crap ones. I never really considered do? They were unbelievably crap games, and it one was rubbish.

it much beyond that, really.

. I've always felt that, as "BECAUSE OF OUR REVIEWS, NO ONE

reviewers, we were the bridge

between the consumers and WANTED TO TOUCH HIS GAMES, AND

the manufacturers. A group of

hardcore gamers whose recommendations

HIS COMPANY WENT OUT OF BUSINESS"
would hopefully help the gaming public

I
spend their money on games that offered a was our duty to tell our readership that they There are positives and

great gaming experience (and thus made them weren't worth buying. I've had numerous negatives to every period in

want to go out and buy more games), rather situations like that over the years where people time. Things weren't better or

than buying a crappy one that would be a have called up to yell at me for giving a bad worse back then - just

waste of their cash (and thus put them off review. But at the end of the day, if you 're stupid different. One big positive, though, was that

buying other games). On a personal note, all enough to release a shit game, then you should because software development was much

I ever wanted to do was share my excitement be the one to lose out, not the consumer. cheaper back then , companies weren't afraid

of playing great games - something that's still to take risks. This resulted in a lot more creative

with me 17 years later. What was better back then? Or was and original games than we see today. A lot of

I remember the first time I really began to everything worse? games were the personal expression of

understand what kind of influence we had. gamers-turned-programmers, rather than

We'd reviewed a trio of absolutely awful games It was pretty much the same simply being endless iterations of

(Gertie Goose was one) from a fledgling but different. Much of now is licenses/franchises that revolve around a huge

software company whose name escapes me, then only more distorted or marketing budget. That's not to say that great

and we had totally trashed them in ways that diluted - like cigarettes, sadly. games aren't made today- to be honest, I

you just can't get away with these days. A few The industry was far less professional then - can 't play old games for five minutes without

days after the magazine hit the newsstands, and it 's not exactly slick today - but more getting bored - it's just that 'risky' and 'original'

the poor bastard who owned the company entertaining for that. Everyone seemed to feel ideas are few and far between these days, and

called us up to yell at us. He basically said that they could make a difference. There was a I think that's bad for the industry.

1984 's Sega Mark Ill (the Japanese v8fsion of the Master System) was the first dual-format console, running not only newer 8bit cartridges but also old8f games from predecessors SG-10CX) and SC-3000 087 >
 Working with small motivated and eventually Amstrad PCWs to write, edit called Cameron , who took the games into a

teams where you have a lot of and 'mark up' copy. The basic typesetting dark room and did something mystical with

autonomy to do what you like is language was a distant cousin of HTML. A local them which I wasn't allowed to see - even

an awesome experience. That's firm in Ludlow took floppy disks from us and when I had reached the heady heights of
what it was like at Newsfield and the general converted the files to pass through a glorified editorship. I believe that he turned the lights
principle is true whether you're making a printer to produce the type for layout purposes. out, pointed a camera at the monitor screen
magazines or a game. We had a lot of fun and I Both layout and film were produced in-house and pressed the shutter button a few times.
think that came through in the work we did. It and that gave us a much tighter control over

was a little rough round the edges but the

sheer enthusiasm of the staff shone out in
how the magazine was prepared. 'Spot' colour
was easily added to the final film because the
·. a.
• If;
. ;-/
Fortunately, Newsfield was
pretty much state of the art in
every issue. production team could cut and incorporate those days. We all wrote on
areas of acetate. Amstrad PCWs, and the text
How did you produce the magazine? Oliver Frey was invaluable, incredible. Most was transferred over onto an Apricot (the
of his illustration work was off the cuff. He'd just editor's computer), which had an orange-on-
In 1985 most of the magazine do it. There were always awkward spaces to fill black VDU. Very cool. The editor would then
publishing world was using and he'd knock up suitable imagery in minutes. add embedded commands to tell the
clunky old typewriters to All screenshots were taken with a large typesetting machine how to output galleys. One
produce double-spaced words format film camera and processed by our in- of the production minions would leg it down
on A4 paper. A red ballpoint was the official tool house photographer. We took great pride in our town to the typesetters who would then output
for editing the words and writing special codes screenshots and spent time making sure we galleys of hi-res black text on white paper. This
in the margins to denote what was to be done got the best possible pictures. That was was then cut and pasted on to boards in the
art department before being shot to film.
Screenshots were taken using a camera
"WORDS WERE OUTPUTTED IN STRIPS. propped up in front of a monitor in a darkened

COLUMNS WERE CUT UP AND STUCK room. Games without a pause mode always
looked crap and blurry. However, if you got it

DOWN WITH GLUE. THIS IS TRUE. THIS right , you could get really nice, very hi-res

HAPPENED IN THE 1980s, NOT THE 1880s" shots which you could blow up quite large.
We had a photographer whose sole job was

screenshotting. I suspect this is why he

to the text. The 'marked up' copy was sent to especially important with so many black-and- was a bit bonkers.
another company to be retyped into a glorified white pages to fill.
printer to create 'type' in a paper form suitable Pretty basic is the quick
for layout on a page. The - ahem - technology that answer. Fancy schmancy
A scalpel and a glue spray were used to cut we used was crude, to say the screen grabbing equipment
and paste the type on sheets to create a page least. The words were mostly was the sort of thing only
layout including placeholder picture and written on Amstrad PCW word NASA would have in those days. Screenshots
illustration positions. Pictures were prepared processors (although the editors of each were taken with a standard 35mm SLR on a
separately through other companies. Notes on magazine did have a DOS PC to underline their tripod about two feet away from a monitor with
how the printed page should look were marked status) and the words were outputted to strips cameraman, camera and monitor all covered in
on the layouts before they were sent to yet of bromide at a local typesetters. These a big black blanket. Nice.
another company and transferred to a negative columns were then cut up and stuck down on Copy was written on Amstrad word
and then positive film suitable for printing. It to paper pages with glue. This is true. This processors in plain text. To change font
was a long-winded, mostly archaic process. happened in the 1980s, not the 1880s. I can styles you had to embed cryptic commands
Newsfield were more forward thinking and . remember coming close to deadline and in square brackets throughout the text. Your
practised, what was at the time, a flexible, working with the designers to slice out file would then go off to a local printers who
powerful, interesting and exciting process. We individual words to make paragraphs fit - we after a couple of days would send back
used PCs running a Borland text editor plus were poor, but we were happy. As for printed-out versions of your file and in my
some swanky portable word processing units photographs, we had a resident photographer case usually with completely the wrong font

< 088 Nintendo was displeased with the NE$ version of Maniac Mansion; it featured a sequence involving a microwaved hamster. The game had been manufactured and shipped, but au subsequent copies have the section edited out
 ~
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1 1 11
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styles as 1·d mucked it up. o·oh! ensuring your magazine generates the ad be rock ·n· roll in Ludlow. Shropshire. You could
Layout was a purely physical exercise from revenue to keep it in business. get drunk down The Bull. I suppose.
then on using real cut and paste. There were
lots of cartoony drawings in the borders - these Was it ever very rock 'n' roll? I remember me. Julian Rignall
were hand drawn directly onto the final laid-out and Gary Penn being mobbed
page. usually by Gary Penn. Every now and Jesus. as if 1·d remember. All I by about 50 prepubescent kids
again the editorial staff would even do a little can recall is that most of the at a PCW show. all after our
bit of layout. time I pretty much did what the autograph . I suppose that·s only rock and roll in
fuck I liked - and that tended to coincide with a Gary Glitter way. though.
What were the biggest challenges? producing a magazine. I did all the predictable We actually had a Zzap/64 groupie. Is that
hedonistic things you do shortly after you leave rock and roll enough for you? I think Julian
Nothing ever seemed too big. home - sex. drink. drugs (mostly a lot of puff) Rigna11·s beautifully coiled hair (a sort of
too outrageously challenging. and computer and video games - sometimes Limahl-meets-Nick Taylor affair) was the
Deadlines were always tight but to excess but nothing 1•d consider rock ·n · roll. initial focus of her attention.
that was the norm. I was like a It was great being recognised in the street or This sounds a lot more exciting than it
big dumb dog. I just got on with it. I did what I in pubs or at shows and signing autographs actually was. and in truth it's a messy and
wanted - what I thought I wanted. what I and posing for photographs. We were sent fan horrible story that ended up with a few people
thought others wanted. 1·d often be working mail. hate mail. drawings .. There were having a visit to the local genito-urinary clinic.
through the night. sometimes playing. groupies to make us feel more like real stars - I probably shouldn·t have said even that so
sometimes just to get things done and but there were never any cocaine-fuelled all- 1·11 shut up now.
sometimes for the machismo. The worst stint I night orgies culminating in trashed hotel rooms.
remember was working straight through two It amazes me that I still meet people - Was th ere corruption back then?
nights running to be woken up the morning usually in the strangest of places - who
after the third night. slumped on a beeping PC recognise me from their youth and Zzap/64 and It was no more or less
keyboard and a screen full of shit. What a twat. greet me with an enthused familiarity I shallow than it is today. At
appreciate but can ·t reciprocate. Newsfield it fluctuated
Just the workload. really. which between publishers wanting to
was overcome by working .• None of it was very rock •n • roll. suck us off and cut us off. There was a lot of
hard. late nights and weekends. Although I do remember a few friction but we didn·t give a fuck what anyone
I didn·t much care as it was just weekends when the gaming outside our office thought. Except for Roger
a great thing to be involved in . Bear in mind stars of the day (Sensible. etc) Bennett who was our advertising manager at
that just a few months previously I'd been arrived for no better reason than to get drunk the time. He·d shit himself over some of the
working in a dingy chemical plant in the and smoke weed. Nice. reviews and politely ask if we could be a little
Tips played an enormous part in
Midlands. earning a pittance; now I was in more considerate but that just made us dig
any mag's success in the '80s.

~
a (relatively) pleasant office. working in the Groupies. drunken parties with our heels in. Zzap/64's POKEs led the way

media. on double the wages. My mates people puking out of windows ...
were dead jealous. and getting caught urinating in
public. and other such

I
1·ve had all sorts of ti~es when malarkey happened at Newsfield. But that
1·ve had to talk to pissed-off wasn·t really rock ·n · roll. That was us being
' manufacturers who were young and stupid.

threatening to pull ads or sue

i
us because we·d given a bad review that they Penn and Rignall were pretty
didn·t agree with. You wouldn·t think that rock ·n· roll. at least ,n dress
diplomacy was a fundamental requirement of sense. Penn went a bit postal
being a successful games magazine editor. but with a knife one night when his
it is. At least. it is if you want to successfully girlfriend left him. I recall. He also shaved his
walk that very fine line between being able to eyebrows off and also ate a tin of dogfood
say what you think while at the same time once. but that was much later. It was hard to

The first game commercially available for the PC platform was a Microsoft title. Its Adventure was included with the initial set of applications sold for the system in 198 1 089 >
 Those kinds of rumours There were gargantuan

I have dogged the magazine

industry since the very first
videogame mags came
along , and still continue to
circulate about today's publications. I mean ,
you guys at the Edge take bribes, right?
amounts of booze chucked at
us as at various shows and
events but to be honest that
didn 't affect reviewing policy very much .
Towards the end of my tenure as a journalist
the amount of freebies and jollys being
You must, 'cos you sometimes write good chucked at reviewers was definitely on an
reviews of games that don't deserve it, so upward swing. That was a stupid time to
you must be taking bribes? Right? Heh make a career switch, then.
heh. Here's the simple fact of the matter: I remember a whole clutch of UK reviewers
whenever someone buys a game that you being whisked away by one particular publisher
recommended and they hate, that results in to Bangkok for a week of unbridled hedonism.
one pissed-off reader and a serious dent in A month later this was followed by some jaw-
your credibility. If that happens a couple of droppingly excellent reviews despite the game
Colour was used on big reviews.
Screenshots were taken by a The bigger advertisers were always times, they'll simply stop buying your still having another six months of development
photographer under a blanket threatening to withdraw advertising because magazine - and usually tell all their friends to run - and it being, er .. shit. Reviews during
of our comments and ratings. That was like about it too. If your magazine's reviews the early- '90s seem to be particularly PR-junket
blood to the hounds. We'd go out of our way are not credible, people won't buy your driven and I know some journalists from those
to buy games for review if publishers wouldn't magazine - end of story. So you have to times who 'd basically score the meal they'd
supply them. be honest and say what you think. I have been bought by the publisher's PR rep rather
There were plenty of people in and out of the and always will happily take any number than the game itself.
industry who thought the big publishers owned of freebie goodies, press junkets and T-shirts The only payola I ever got were some Monty
us. One minute it was supposed to be or whatever. But when it comes to a review, On The Run tracksuit bottoms.
Activision, then US Gold, then Ocean , then you have to be honest if you're going to keep
Firebird , then .. As if. We thought we were your readership intact and your credibility How did the team work together?
so hard that we were above being bought. unblemished. Readers make or break you, so Was it always harmonious?
I don 't remember anyone ever offering me a your first duty is always to them if you want to
bribe. If there was any corruption I was too be successful as a magazine reviewer. It was seldom harmonious.
arrogant to see it. In terms of publisher relationships, it was Everyone got on like a big
We were chums with everyone - well, the same then as it is now. If you write a bad family. Almost everyone worked
everyone we thought worthy of coverage. We review of a game a publisher is betting bank and played together. The
hardly ever needed to leave Ludlow. The on, you 'll take shit from them. If you write a relationships varied from love to hate, honest to
industry came to us. We were more interested good one, they love you. The only big deceitful - any extreme you care to name.
in the people who made the games so we difference these days is that there's a lot There were the usual cliques and everyone
treated the developers like artists - as if we more money riding on a lot less games. usually bitched about everyone else.
were all in a bigger, more established Oh, and there are a lot more people working Sometimes paranoia ran rampant. There
entertainment industry. We made the in the industry who know fuck all about games always seemed to be someone who had too
people behind the 'product' accessible when than there used to be. But hey. That's close a relationship with The Management.
other magazines seemed to stop at the marketing for you. By the time Zzap/64 and Crash were at their
publisher's feet. peak the relationships between most of the
I've seen and heard staff were beyond breaking point. There were

i
It was all very cosy, really. I of much more corruption more factions than ever before, more rumours,
don't think there was much in the last few years than whining, bitching , backstabbing - more than
corruption (certainly none that I I ever did during my time at most of us could bear. The company's tribal
saw), but I do think that people Newsfield. In all my time strength had gone beyond weakness and
on both sides of the fence were more naive or on games mags I have never been offered a become a sickness. In the end I was feeling
innocent than they are today. We were making bribe - which is a shame, because I would tired, bored, angry and puerile, so I quit. It was
it up as we went along, really. probably have taken it. like leaving an adoptive family. I wasn't gone for

< 090 Thought 2001 's 'Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within' and 'Tomb Raider' were rubbish? Then make sure to avoid 1993's 'Super Mario Bros' (featuring Bob Hoskins as Mario) and 'Double Dragon' (with Robert Patrick as the evil Mr Big)
long, though - a few weeks later I came back EMAP had a more professional front, loving what they did. I don't want to sound like
to launch The Games Machine with Graeme which I couldn't get to grips with. I was some sappy, misty-eyed twat, but it was a lot
Kidd. That lasted one glorious issue. We were expected to behave - not to be my juvenile of fun, and times I remember very fondly, good
sacked and Newsfield went on to ... I don't self. Somehow a compromise evolved and times and bad.
know what, but they managed to keep the ball lasted for over two years but ii wasn't
rolling for years. enough. In the end I was feeling tired , What did you think of your readership?
bored, angry and puerile so I quit with a
I think Penn and Rignall had resignation letter that secretly spelled out They were us. We were
their fallouts because they 'FUCK YOU' down the side. What a prick. them. We never saw any
were both so full of attitude I clearly had a lot of issues to work out difference. We straddled the
and arrogance. Most of the at the time. divide between the industry
time I was just having a ball..
You don't get called a 'chummy Brummie'
for nothing. "THE STUFF THE READERS SENT IN WAS
We were a bunch of teenagers
NEARLY ALWAYS FUNNIER THAN ANYTHING

I WE COULD COME UP WITH, SO WE'D JUST

who had never had a job
before, and we were all learning
how to grow up and be
NICK THEIR IDEAS AND TAKE THE CREDIT"
professionals and work with
one another. Sure, we had some stupid spats It was smoky and utterly and the players. We were at the heart of

i
and silly politics, but despite the occasional bit chaotic.There was stuff a scene with the notion of a brave new
,..
of personal nonsense, it was all about the everywhere. Fucking hundreds medium unfolding. We had an active
magazine, and we all shared a very common of tapes and discs stacked up readership, adulation ... Zzap/64 and Crash
vision about what we needed to do to make on any vaguely horizontal readers were so devoted to the magazines.
the magazine great. If we didn't, we certainly surface. It was great! The magazines and the bulk of the readership
wouldn't be here talking about it today. were so in tune.
It was shit, really. The offices
We worked pretty well did whiff a bit and were a I have no idea. I couldn't

i
.
together. I used to piss mess. To be honest that was care less: I was playing
1
about too much and I think probably in a lot of ways · games and reviewing them

that caused some friction at down to me and Julian - we worked long and trying to generate cohesive
limes. I don't think Oli Frey hours and exceptionally hard. You can see copy. Worrying about readers'
liked me very much and this manifested itself in that by the sheer quantity of text in those needs was the editor's job.
the issue 14 cover - look at that gut! I'm a bit old mags. I'd say there 's about two to three
of a porker now but Oli definitely piled the times the editorial content you'd find in any I think they were and are
pounds on my mid-regions in that cover. That of the modern mags. To be fair, the production still excellent. I have to say
'
was no doubt in return for some beer-fuelled values and prose quality was more like a that as I was a huge Zzap/64
minor spat down the boczer. fanzine back then, but I think that was part fan before I even began
of its charm. working on the magazine.
What were working conditions like? The stuff that the readers sent in was nearly

I
It were the olden days always funnier that anything we could come up
They were ... variable. It didn't when you could get away with, so we'd just nick their ideas and take all
matter. We lived to work. The with paying teenagers a the credit. Hoorah!
pay was pocr but we weren't pittance to slave away for 12 And quite a few of them are hardcore
exactly experienced and, hours a day in a dark, smoky sweatshop. fans for life. I still get mail on a weekly basis
anyway, it was enough to live on - enough to Actually, it was a load of fun. Great office along the lines of 'didn't you used to be Gary
buy beer, fags and so on - and we were usually environment, evil, sick humour, gossip and Liddon from Zzap'64?' This is 16 years
too busy or stoned to care. jokes, and a bunch of like-minded people after

Apart from the profitable Nintendo franchises (Zekia, Mario, Pokemon, ate), lots of Japanese videogames have made the transition to animation, including Mega Man, Fatal Fury, Tekken, and even Panzer Dragoon 091
Flashback
Vdeo;Jama magazires tcday rot onty get p-evievv ard
revievv cxx:le fran software publishers, bJt rraps, tips ard
solutions too, 'Mich can be pinted mnediatety, rrea'lirg
that tre frustrated CCTlSLIT'er can get help riglt from tre off.
(rdeed, dedicated tips publcatms rave p-olnerated CNff
tre last ten ,€a"S n recx:g,mon of a charglrg gamrrg
derrogar:nic.) Yesteryear's rrost harderoo garras V\O..Jk:f
suety sooff at su:;h deveklprrents, p-eferrirg instead to
irdulge in some serous DfY. Retro dL..g rut a geruine
example of tre fan's tippirg craft from 1993 - a map of
Sum lv'ietrdd (replete 'Mth all rnarrer of mistakes).

i
.

I
092 The rarest Game & Watch is the YM-901S, a variant of the standard Super Mario Bros LCD game in a limited-edition case. Only 10,CXXJ were made, as prizes for a competition; units have since sold at auction for over $2,000 each
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093
For the past nine years, Edge has consistently and extensively showcased the best and most significant developments
from the global multiformat videogaming scene, providing reliable, intelligent and independent coverage

It isn't for everyone.

The world's most respected videogame magazine.
Eite • Format: BBC • Publisher: Acornsoft Developer: Ian Bell and David Braben • Release: 1984

ost readers would hope that we've

M only been given a taste of what
Mostly harmless after all computer and videogames can do. While it's
difficult to imagine more frenetic action than
Elite inspired everything from David
Braben's own Frontier sequels to Chris Eugene JaNis' Defender or a game more
Roberts' Wing Commander series and beautiful than Don Bluth's Dragon's Lair, the
Gametek's flawed masterpiece fusing of these and other elements will only
BattleCruiser 3000. But no game has improve with technology.
ever come close to the freedom it Dragon 's Lair graphics on a system fast
offered. The hopeful now look online to enough for instantaneous action is one
Westwood's Earth and Beyond and possibility - a living, interactive cartoon . But
CCP's Eve, but it seems unlikely that
perhaps Elite , running not on an arcade box
kid-strewn MMPOGs will suspend
but on that schoolroom favourite, the BBC
disbelief in the same way Elite did.
Micro, offers a truer glimpse of the future.
What is Elite? It 's a space-opera shoot
'em up. It's a trading game with a pan-
galactic economy obeying the laws of supply
and demand, a game so deep it comes with
its own novella. According to Acornsoft, the
book is to stop players feeling totally at sea.
For it 's a game with no levels and an obscure
one-word scoring system that runs from
Harmless to - it 's rumoured - Elite.
Elite may have no end but it has a
beginning. You start with a Cobra Mark Ill - a
good all-round ship - and some credits on a
space station orbiting the planet Lave. What
happens next is up to you. The obvious
strategy is to begin trading: ferry abundant
goods to resource staNed outlying worlds,
sell your wares, and buy whatever is cheap
there. While Elite was created by two
Cambridge University students, it's hard not
to believe the prime minister had a hand in it.
Indeed, it's the epitome of Thatcher's
laissez-faire economics . As a freelance space
trader, it's up to you, not the game or the
government, to upgrade your ship with beam
lasers or a fuel scoop that lets you skim gas
from a nearby sun, while an armada of rival
traders in exotic craft (Pythons, Anacondas,
more) compete with you. by immediately scattering pirate forces. students, to the apparently vindictive police
Scrapes are inevitable. Traders will be All this is superbly realised by Elite's or the first time you jump between galaxies,
ambushed by pirates or - and this is the joy breathtaking 3D vector-graphics engine. Elite astounds. Edge's own commanders -
of Elite - you may decide to become a pirate There are spinning space stations, distant the best rated Deadly - have barely been
yourself. That fuel scoop can gather the planets, and other traders going about seen for weeks. Then there are the missions.
Bell and Braben have done an astonishing
job of creating a universe which is both cargo of a disintegrated ship or even its pilot their business to admire. Defender comes Ironically, Elite's closest cousin is
immersive and credible on the BBC Micro who you can sell into slavery. (Other to mind again, but while it implemented the perhaps D&D-style roleplaying. Never
unsavoury contraband includes narcotics first offscreen world, in Elite you get a before has a computer gamer been able to
and firearms - but fugitive status is difficult snapshot of a universe. so fully inhabit an alternative self. Scanning
to live with even given a galaxy to hide in). When confronted by such majesty, the cockpit while climbing out of laser shot
Combat takes practice. Forget Space quibbling seems petty. Elite's physics-defying with a cargo of goods, you forget you 're
Invaders , think more of the naval battles of laser blasts are surely preferable to silence. playing a game. Not even a Beeb's 32K
attrition of old. Energy is split between And docking - requiring synchronised can hold a universe - but giving in to the
shields and weapons, and the final killing rotation with a spinning space station - is illusion is effortless. There's never been
shot can come as a surprise (though not if hard, but why shouldn't it be? (An automatic a game like it. In the future, all games
it's your own ship). Missiles and ECM anti- docking computer is available for the lazy.) will be like Elite.
missile measures add to the tactical options. From its Douglas Adams-esque planetary
Using a missile early can save your skin later, descriptions of blue volcanoes and rabid arts Edge rating: Ten out of ten

098 Before breaking its Famicom in the US, Nintendo offered Atari the chance to license the machine. The offer was rebuffed, however, on the basis that Nintendo had licensed the home version of Donkey Kong first to Atari rival Coleco
 testscreen

!!!!

Elite's stupendous wireframe 30 engine

generates an elegant 30 universe replete with
planets, space stations and other spacecraft.
Docking {centre left) can be a tricky procedure
when you're just starting out - but stick with it

It's well known that Donkey Kong's hero, Jumpman, was renamed after Mario Segali, Nintendo's rent collector in Seattle, but what of the maiden he was to rescue? Originally, she was named Pauline, after the wife of Nintendo employee Don James 099
 ExJe Format: BBC Publisher: Superior Software • Developer: In- house (Jeremy Smith and Peter Irvin) Release: 1988

xile's diary-style novella details the

E game's well-worked plot in lavish detail:
· an exploration party lands on the wind-swept
moon of Phobos and discovers primitive
sentient life in a network of underground
Familiar fortunes caves. When the party's only means of
escape, its spacecraft, is disabled by an
Exile was startlingly ahead of his
unseen intruder, scientific intrigue turns to
time, so it shouldn't really surprise
claustrophobic fear; when the inhabitants of
that, if you forgive the 8bit graphics
the moon's lower caverns prove to be
and jerky scrolling, it's still eminently
lovable: So why the (practical, in significantly less benign than those
relation to its theoretical importance) encountered near the surface, fear turns
anonymity? Misfortune, Retro to terror turns to chilling bloody horror writ in
supposes: its appearance on a dying B-movie prose. The player, as weary space
fonnat hampered its chances of adventurer Mike Flynn, is sent to investigate
infonning the future of gaming. and to rescue any survivors.
Critical acclaim followed conversion So it begins. Given Exile's genre is
to the ST and Amiga, but sales were
nominally that of an arcade adventure, it
unconscionably weak, and Exile
would be reasonable for players to expect it
remains an experience unchecked
to take the same form as the Oliver twins'
by an industry that often needs an
education in focused freedom. Dizzy series, or Superior's own Citadel.
Superficially there are similarities. Flynn
must take objects from one part of Phobos
and use them to solve puzzles in another,
and there are certainly arcade elements
which could be analogised to pure
platforming tests of judgement. But
comparisons with Exile and any previous
game are essentially redundant, because
the leap in technology and subtlety here is
so immense as to be frightening.
For example, every item, from individual
bullets to the largest of enemies, has a distinct
size and weight, and acts under gravity and
inertia. Some can be picked up and thrown
at any angle; others will only move inches
The game's protagonist cannot die. His when Flynn hurtles at full speed against
suit can remember up to four locations them. This approximation of real-world
and when Flynn is about to expire he is
transported to the last one stored physics must be used to solve the game's
puzzles, causing previously linear solutions to
open up to freeform improvisation, but it also
impacts on the sumptuous control system. mushrooms, fish , slime, robots, different Which is really why Exile is so different
There is such a perfect weight and balance species of bird; again, Exile offers the player from everything else. Previously, adventurous
to Flynn 's jetpack flight that his movement is the freedom to experiment in a world whose gamers followed one-zero patterns to their
almost balletic. Just avoiding enemy fire is a rules are completely natural. Cross- reward screens. Exile opens up the
skilful, graceful, unique experience. referenced with the novella, it is as close to dimension of choice, and all of a sudden it
Another key point: it is impossible to a living world as gaming has ever come. seems like we've been made fools of for
die in Exile. Flynn 's suit can 'remember' up Such intricacy could overwhelm, but 15 years, following strict solutions to
to four locations simultaneously, and when while the player almost always has problems set in stone. Here, everything is
the player character is at the point of death somewhere else to go, something else to logic and skill, and it's truly so far ahead of
the suit teleports him to that most recently do, there is, equally, always a focus. It's a everything else that it's practically a vision
stored. Experimentation is actively demonstration of how stories within of the future. Like the objects within its
encouraged, because even if trial and games should be told - there is no text particle-physics pixellated world, it is Exile's
error proves fatal and no location has within the game, just an unstated guiding weight that is truly important. It is so huge
been saved, the player simply returns to hand, and situations thrown up by and unbelievably dense, its imprint on
the safety of the orbiting ship. circumstance which the player captions computer game development should
And another: Phobos is teeming with with their imagination. The prelude - Exile's be appropriate to that.
life of varying levels of intelligence, and novella diary - comes prepackaged like a
everything interacts. Flies, monkeys, trailer. Everything else you create. Edge rating: Ten out of ten

- - - - - -'Star
-- --------------------------------------------------------
• 100 Wars'-licensed games were not always the product of LucasArts: until 1992, Broderbund owned the rights. Since the original movie's release in 1977, nearly 100 'Star Wars' -licensed games have been produced
 testscreen

Exile's attempt at creating realistic physics is wholly successful. Simply moving protagonist Mike Flynn around the screen is an
endeavour that just has to be experienced. Simply moving around your ship (above) presents a number of interesting elements

Learning from its mistakes with Computer Space, Atari 's promotional material for Pong made the 'simple-to-operate controls' and 'low-key cabinet, suitable for sophisticated locations' key selling points 10 1
Dungeon Master • Format : ST, Amiga • Publisher: Activision • Developer: FTL • Release: 1987

ome indication of the brilliance of

Revisiting the dungeon

S Dungeon Master can be conveyed by
· the fact that you can spend hours simply
Tony Crowther's excellent Captive choosing your questing heroes. And blissful
ripped off Dungeon Master wholesale hours they are, too. From the opening of the
back in 1992, but the futuristic setting very first iron-clad door that leads into The
and slightly repetitive goals arguably Hall of Champions, Dungeon Master sweeps
made it less enthralling than FTL's you away into a spellbinding universe.
classic. Play Dungeon Master today The first challenge is to select four
and it still contains a charm and
heroes for your party, and it is vital at this
intricacy that remains once the
stage to choose wisely, blending characters
nostalgia has worn off. Sure, the
together with aggression, healing, magical
environments look sparse and the
creatures are far less threatening than abilities and powerful weapons to suNive
you remember, but the pacing - a the many trials ahead. And although all
beautifully judged element - cannot be puzzles and scenarios can be beaten with
undermined by the passing of time. any combination of heroes (or indeed just
The puzzles, too, feel as fresh as the one character if you want a very stern
day they were conceived, especially challenge), balancing the team will make
when compared to the simplistic progress more swift.
broken fusebox-style problems
FTL's title is such an intelligent,
encountered in many a modern
labyrinthine and sophisticated game that
survival horror title.
it's impossible to do every one of its
ingenious aspects justice in a single review.
The most noteworthy feature is that all the
exploration, combat and spell casting takes
place in realtime, effectively revolutionising
the genre and making stodgy party-based
RPGs, like The Bard's Tale , look archaic.
The tension as you wander down gloomy
corridors illuminated by your sputtering
torches is palpable. When a monster
suddenly lurches around a corner it can
be truly shocking.
The illusion of a fully working universe
is never shattered. Torches burn down
slowly until they fizzle and leave you in imagination on the part of the player. Your the simple things like discovering that a
shadow and darkness; knives will make no strategising will evolve as you play, and your coin placed in a fountain might open up a
impression on wooden doors, which will level of reward grows exponentially. secret passageway.
break open under heavy blows from an axe; The spell system alone displays a level of The puzzles in the game are clever
creatures can be killed with traditional ingenuity that encapsulates the Dungeon but never illogical and the levels are
weapons, destroyed with magic or lured Master philosophy. Arcane symbols are sympathetically designed to lead the player
into pit traps. There's never one solution to learned as the game progresses and are by the hand early on and then gradually
neutralising a threat or overcoming an combined together to produce effects as crank up the level of challenge incrementally.
obstacle: Dungeon Master's major varied as fireballs, healing potions and spells Though the monsters are minimally animated
achievement is providing the player with a that allow you to see through walls. Often and emit meagre sound effects, it's a
plentiful number of tools , and each found on scrolls, or sometimes discovered testament to the game's atmosphere that
The Couatl is encountered midway
through your Dungeon Master quest and individual will use them differently. through experimentation, the spells are a they can generate so much fear in the
is capable of inflicting a deadly poison. Almost every object and environmental powerful tool to overcoming the puzzles and beholder. Meeting a new creature type for
Predictably, your cleric is able to cast the first time is both intriguing and
detail in the universe can be interacted with , creatures encountered in the deepest,
cure-poison spells· or create cure-poison
potions by using the correct equipment. picked up, burned, thrown , added to the darkest dungeons. intimidating; finding new tactics to deal with
There is never just one solution to a inventory, eaten or used to solve one of the Indeed, Dungeon Master does the threat is superbly stimulating. The
problem in FTL's game. It encourages game's many conundrums. Every item has a something extraordinary for an RPG: it compulsion to reach the lower dungeons to
independent thinking at nearly every turn
value: throw an apple at a mummy and the actively encourages the player to experiment encounter yet more fearsome foe is strong.
creature will take minimal damage, but trap - to dabble with magical runes, to mix FTL has created an evocative world,
the same monster under a portcullis and you powerful new potions, to think up fresh ways thick with atmosphere and suffused with wit
can watch as it is crushed to death. Never of dealing with creatures, and to try using and imagination. Dungeon Master can ~
has such a vital and tactile world been objects in new and exciting ways. Often the be summarised in one word: beguiling. ~
created , and the level of detail calls for an reward in the game doesn't come from
unprecedented level of spontaneity and hacking down hordes of enemies, it's in Edge rating: Nine out of ten

1 02 Early text adventure Zork was littered with in-jokes and references. Inputting the words 'xizzy' and 'plugh' (magical phrases from Adventure/Colossal Cave) was met with the response: 'A hollow voice says "Fool"'
 testscreen

mr.; ~

--- • •• •

;-· ------
I I

r . . --·-
·1;; .:..

L:INFLAS

.- , [2J

Bringing a champion back to life is an exciting moment.

Stats don't reveal everything: some characters' perceived
weaknesses are more than made up for by a powerful wand or
a brutal battleaxe. Once you have taken your heroes through
several deadly encounters you 'll begin to feel a strong bond
forming between you and their digital personalities

An old Asteroids tip from Martin Amis: 'Don 't go mad and reduce the whole screen to rubble - you'll find yoursett dodging bricks, and will be stoned to death like an Iranian rapist ' (from his 1982 book, Invasion of the Space Invaders) 1 03
Rogue Format : PC Publisher: Public
II
Developer: Ken Arnold and Michael Toy (converted by Jon Lane)
Jl
,r..
Release: 1984 ]

t 's incumbent upon any developer that ensured a novel experience every time it indomitable dragons and trolls the better. The
I hopes to produce a first-class adventure was played, and the balance of exploration game also boasts some neat Al tricks to add
game to stimulate the imagination as much and combat was delicately engineered to to the impression of a living, breathing
as it challenges the intellect. It 's not enough produce an addictive rhythm of progress. dungeon - ores will rush to defend their gold,
to simply present players with a succession This PC conversion preserves these hallmark fqr example, w hile ice monsters tend to
of puzzles; these need to be amplified by a features, expanding upon them with an remain characteristically inert.
well-considered turn of phrase, or a even brighter, more pleasing visual Indeed this consistently depicted
graphically depicted scene. component - though by modern-day universe adds immeasurably to the
The Amulet of Vendor is likely to stay out However, when the original UNIX version coin-op standards the graphics are still experience of exploration , which remains as
of reach of most of those who pass of Rogue was developed in 1980 it turned relatively spartan . beguiling as it did on BSD UNIX. Navigating
through-the Dungeons of Doom, but a the genre on its head. By using ASCII Players are once again charged with the undiscovered geography of new levels
hi-score table does offer some solace
characters to depict the overhead navigating the Dungeons of Doom in order to remains compelling in its own right thanks to
topography of a subterranean dungeon - secure the coveted Amulet of Yendor. the wonderful balance of risk and reward .
and consequently by presenting the player However, the course of adventuring never did And though only the most devoted players
with a thirdperson experience rather than the run smooth; a host of dangerous traps, are likely to make their way to the deepest
Roguish charms more conventional firstperson adventure - nefarious beasts, and magical obstacles bar levels of the Dungeons of Doom , the Amulet
players were guaranteed an experience that the path to the lower levels of dungeons. of Vendor will , in all likelihood, remain a M
The historical significance of Rogue engaged the senses. Strength-sapping rattlesnakes, for example, long-lasting goal for the rest. t.,,"":.--

has perhaps been overlooked by most The real charms of Rogue , though , were or light-fingered leprechauns each present
videogame histories. Although it's little that its randomly generated dungeon their own difficulties, while the less said about Edge rating: Eight out of ten
known today, the game had a
disproportionate influence on almost
every subsequent exploratory title,
from Doom to Diabfo. Indeed, the
recent success of Diabfo, an almost
verbatim Rogue remake, is a
testament to exactly how compelling
the game was and remains to this day.
Despite the rudimentary visuals, it's
nevertheless hypnotically addictive,
partly due to the emergent
possibilities, but also due to the
always-revelatory exploration. The
Amulet of Vendor remains an enticing
goal - and is still discoverable on PC.

Judged by contemporary coin-op standards, the graphics aren't exactly cutting

edge, but the emergent, explorative gameplay at the heart of Rogue certainly is

II

II
104 On online pioneer, it was possible to play 1989's Populous over a modem . Most surprisingly, PC and Amiga versions were compatible in this connected mode
 testscreen

Captain Bood Format: ST, Amiga Publisher: ERE lnformatique Developer: Exxos Release: 1988

aptain Blood's delirious novella - which 120 icons corresponding to a word. As game allows, and indeed requires, the
C may or may not explain why the characters speak (literally, with an intricate destruction of entire planets at the touch
eponymous anti-hero is dying, and must find sampled alien dialect) it is translated into of a button (accompanied by a silent,
and kill his clones in order to survive - sets blocks of icons, to which a suitable Pidgin ghoulishly beautiful fractal apocalypse). It's a
high expectations for the game. The English response can be formulated . credit to the game's atmosphere that your
presentation certainly doesn't disappoint: Although progression relies on identifying genocidal odyssey is so clinically detached,
from the sampled Jean-Michel Jarre keywords, a surprising amount of interaction so tangibly alien, that it never becomes too
soundtrack to the cold blue-hued is possible, complimented by an impressive harrowing to play.
Gigeresque interface, the production design illusion of intelligence from the more talkative There are flaws: missing a vital
is faultless and replete with inspired touches. characters. It's a remarkable mechanic that conversation clue or set of coordinates can
Although initially overwhelming, control of successfully conveys the nuances of different bring the plot to an irretrievable dead end.
your biomechanical ship's systems is as species and characters while maintaining the The game's underlying linearity becomes
functional as it is stylised. sense of remoteness. more apparent after several failures, or
Beneath the slick exterior, Blood's search Thematically, Captain Blood is rich conversely, a single success. And the desire
for his clones is at heart a graphic adventure. with French pulp sci-fi sensibilities: sex, to explore and experiment is handicapped by
Space travel is hands-off; planetary landings violence, and, most notably, a profound the imposed time limit of Blood's
require player control only for an exhilarating, moral ambiguity. At turns sweet-talking, deterioration. But even if it fails to realise the
Unfortunately, you don't get to fly your
spacecraft. However, brief control is
but brief fractal-generated canyon run . bullying and manipulating your way through full potential of its concept, Captain Blood

~
permitted when landing the ship (above) However, dealing with the inhabitants of the galaxy can become an intensely remains a unique and strangely
these planets is easily the game's strongest paranoid and isolating experience. In addition affecting space oddity.
feature. Communication is conducted to disintegrating individual characters - the
through an iconic interface, with each of the fate in store for your wayward clones - the Edge rating: Seven out of ten

Yoko (below), a peaceful alien who tries to help

Captain Blood, is one of the lzwal race. There are 120
icons in the game, each one corresponding to a word .
Together they produce an illusion of intelligence

Alien nation
They don't make them like they used
to. Almost 15 years since Captain
Blood's release, there is little to
compare it to (largely ignored 1994
and 1997 PC sequels fell short;
arguably only Origin's Bioforge has
come close to replicating the sense of
alienation). Experienced today, its
shortcomings are more glaring, and its
influences dated, but the bold self-
assurance and polish stand up to
scrutiny. Dedicated followers of eye
candy owe it to themselves to see the
infamous hyperspace sequence at
least once.

As well as being the first 'proper' computer game, Space War was also the first to use a joystick for its operation: two of the game's most avid fans wired up devices to replace the keys and switches 10 5
Pio-Wngs • Format: Super Famicom • Publisher: Nintendo • Developer: In- house • Release: 1990

ilotwings is an effortless demonstration down to you : the game's structural layer of complexity; landing areas become
P of the Super Famicom's power: the appeal lies in the way it allows you the increasingly smaller; the room for error
moment you slide the power button on the freedom to capitalise on the skills you fare decidedly narrower. You'll relish your
logo comes spinning out of the horizon as a better at in order to compensate for your increasingly demanding role, however,
Mode 7-engineered bitmap. From thereon in weaknesses elsewhere. continually looking to improve your score, to
only the post-level scoring screens are Regardless of the various minimalist hone your skills. When they occur, mistakes
devoid of this sparkling technique. control method for each of the activities, the are invariably attributed to your lack of
Far more than just an aesthetically principle remains the same: complete the task coordination, never the game. Very few
gorgeous, highly impressive technical in the shortest time possible (eg, fly through · developers are capable of toying with a
demo, however, this is a sublimely rings dotted around the sky or under perilous player's frustration threshold the way
Typical Nintendo comical touches grace (re)playable and exquisite slice of interactive arches on the ground in the plane; skydive Nintendo can, its designers possessing
the game's more tragic moments. Forget entertainment. Based around a flight school through a sequence of similar rings before an innate understanding of how much to
to open your 'chute and see for yourself
concept, you face increasingly difficult tasks opening up your chute; ride the thermals in push, with an acute awareness of the point
initially involving skydiving and light aircraft your glider until a specific height is reached; at which challenge turns to anger, of just
control, but soon also incorporating hang- float through targets closer to the ground how far is too far. Even fewer developers
gliding and jetpack flying. Progression to the with your jetpack), then touch down as close manage to introduce an entirely new
next level is granted once a certain points to the centre of the landing zone. gaming concept and make it this
target is reached . With each category The higher you soar up Pilotwings' eight supremely entertaining.
Top fun allowing a maximum of 100 marks, how you flying classes, the harder NCL's designers
achieve the required final overall score is push against you: wind adds a significant Edge rating: Nine out of ten
Visually the game has clear1y aged in
12 years. The elementary nature of-the
flight dynamics is also unquestionably
apparent although you could easily
argue a strong case for the jetpack
missions which still convey a sense of
inertia unrivalled by the majority of
contemporary games. Perhaps the
most indicative facet of the classic
status of Pilotwings is the fact that
over a decade later, other than
Nintendo's own (arguably significantly
different) sequel, there really hasn't
been anything to match it, either in
terms of context or, even more ' r ,- .--u-Y - ,,.., ,,.. i1f'tt
remarkably, playability. 1111"\ ◄ t 1111 IIP

One of two 'bonus' combat missions - the only

time the game's balance comes under question.
The jetpack missions (right) also allow the view
to be switched to topdown, particularly useful
when judging your exact position during landings.
Most levels offer moving platforms for the more
daring pilots looking for the extra challenge.
Nintendo has made brilliant use of the Super
Famicom's Mode 7: environments are excellent

1 06 Since the launch of the Game Boy in 1989 some 450 million games have sold for the format (in both mono and colour variants). Over 1,000 games were developed for the machine between 1989-1999
 testscreen

Sonic The Hedgehog • Format: Mega Drive • Publisher: Sega • Developer: In-house (Sonic Team) • Release: 1991

eet the new face of Sega. Losing the productions here, though much of the hit and allowing you just a few seconds to
M 8bit race to arch rival Nintendo - the immediacy of Sega's arcade heritage is regain as many as you can.
Kyoto giant now firmly personified in the evident. Sonic dazzles you with its speed and The game's six zones are split into three
minds of players by the image of a short, fluidity, entire levels scrolling by at a hitherto acts each, with a battle with Dr Robotnik at
moustachioed plumber - has spurred Sega unmanageable pace - the blur of colours the end of every third act. Dotted around the
on to come up with a Mario nemesis and, leaves you precious little time to admire the areas are power-ups (speed up, shield,
given the unprecedented marketing support obvious proficiency of Sonic Team 's artists. invincibility, extra life) and secret areas that do
Sonic The Hedgehog is enjoying, the The designers haven't lagged behind, much for the game's longevity. Another layer
company seems set on adopting the swift, though , presenting a control dynamic as to the experience is the Secret Zone, access
spiny, blue mammal as its official mascot. elegant as it is simple. While additional, to which is granted once a certain number of
The rivalry runs deeper, of course: Sonic context-specific actions do emerge, you are rings has been collected. Six of these surreal
clearly and quickly reveals itself as its parent's essentially limited to two actions: either roll rounds exist, each offering the opportunity to
answer to NCL's phenomenally successful Sonic into a ball to negotiate rollercoaster collect a Chaos Emerald. You won't finish the
Mario Bras franchise, while Yuji Naka, head sections of levels at higher velocities than the game properly without them.
of the newly formed Sonic Team internal hedgehog's (already) speedy legs will carry While its charms can be superficial,
development studio, is rapidly gaining a him or jump into a ball in order to deal with Sonic The Hedgehog delivers an exhilarating
reputation within videogaming circles as the enemy - animal robots created by the evil experience packed with charming, novel
Sega's answer to Shigeru Miyamoto. Or Robotnik. When spiked these release touches to ensure that it distinguishes itself

~
Novel touches are predictably mixed in However, their styles naturally influenced rings that you're charged to collect, both for from its competitors. All Mega Drive
with trad itional platforming elements by their respective corporation's gaming points and protection: unless you fall off the owners should sample its delights.
(top). Spring Yard Zone (above) is a
giant pinball-inspired and occasionally
philosophies differ significantly. You 'll find little screen, into lava or drown, collected rings act
frustrating level. Secret areas abound of the depth associated with Nintendo as a safety net, dispersing every time you 're Edge rating: Eight out of ten

Levels have clearly been designed to exploit Sonic's

speed (above). The dream-like bonus round (left)

Away victory
So it turns out that he did become
Sega's mascot. Sonic is credited as
being the catalyst for Mega Drives
finding their way into so many western
homes, ensuring Sega would go on to
claim victory of the 16bit era there, and
the franchise became the company's
premier brand, spawning a healthy
number of sequels and spin-offs.
Happily, the years have been
good to Sonic's first adventure. Its
heavily stylised nature ensures that
the visuals have barely aged and,
while the gameplay feels shallower
now, it remains an enjoyable - if
nevertheless limited - ride.

Sega's Mega Drive and NEC's TurboGrafx-16 were beaten to the punch by almost ten years by Mattel, whose 1980 lntellivision was the first home console to feature a 16bit processor 1 O7
Powerdrome Format: ST, Amiga Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer:Michael Powell Release: 1989

et's make one thing clear: Powerdrome Powerdrome, it's that it may be too clever for frustration has one too many hairpin bends
L is an enormously clever game. its own good. Controlling your ship is such and looping tunnels. Those joining
·conceptually it shunts the racing genre into an unrelentingly precision affair that your first Powerdrome for the long haul, however, will
the space age; mechanically, it brings true attempts will involve careening from wall to find it an ultimately rewarding experience far
three-dimensional movement to the three- wall and becoming familiar with the damage in excess of any previous racer. Every blown
dimensional racer. Despite the futuristic model all too quickly (scraping off the wings, engine on an afterburner slide through an
trappings, there's a solid race model naturally, exacerbates the handling underground chicane, each second shaved
underneath, immediately evident from a tune- problems) . There is no arbitrary levelling off of off a lap time, each race started in pole
Tunnel sections provide stern challenges up menu where your craft's handling can be altitude or facing, often resulting in complete position after a split-second qualifying round
early in the game as you attempt to get tweaked to suit track conditions and play disorientation after colliding with a section of victory - these are sublime gaming moments.
to grips with Powerdrome's handling style. The half-dozen tracks range from a track. While the Amiga version makes some But they are also well concealed by the
reassuringly flat speed-run oval to redress with optional flight aids for centering punishing initial impressions - it's obvious
progressively more labyrinthine offerings . the craft (at the cost of reduced speed), ST from the outset that Powerdrome is a great
Happily, a solo practice mode is available for owners are left in the deep end without so game, but somewhat less so that it's a fun
each track before committing to a race much as a cheery wave . game. Less patient players would be advised
A tricky business against the four computer-controlled craft. Indeed, the complete absence of player to look elsewhere, but may find themselves
So far, so great. And the in-game reward in these early stages - it's catch up or disappointed with the earthbound
The cantankerous grandfather of the
graphics convey the sense of speed and the give up - turns the learning experience into nature of comparable racers.
future-racer genre, Powerdrome will
vertiginous depths of tunnel sections one of grim perseverance. Many players may
be an exercise in unremitting sadism
from start to rapid finish for the admirably. If there's a fault to be found with find the line between challenge and Edge rating: Eight out of ten
modern gamer. Returning old-school
pilots will be pleased to know it's like
riding a (tenuously balanced) bike:
after a few hours' acclimatisation the
old thrill resurfaces. While its po-faced
aesthetics are far removed from the
neon lights and clubland anthems that
now define the genre, it has much to
offer that's sorely missing from the
racers of today. The difficulty, though,
might be best left to history.

In an odd way, Powerdrome's visuals bring to mind Geoff Crammond 's Stunt Car Racer. But this is an altogether
more futuristic experience, and one that could pave the way for similarly styled airborne actioners in the future

1 08 The first media backlash against violence in gaming concerned Exidy lnc's Death Race in 1976 (inspired by the Roger Corman film 'Death Race 2000' from the previous year), in which players mowed down zombified pedestrians for points
 Unleash the beast ... PROBE I GAMES

www.probegames.com

I The Biggest Retrogames site In the world

With over 5000 items in stock, the Retrogames website has
become the best place to find those rare games you are
looking for, and now with thousands of added pictures, it
is a pretty good place to browse too.

-
So Many Formats It Hurtsl
From classic UK formats like the ZX Spectrum and C64 to
cult Japanese formats like Super Famicom and PC Engine,
it is harder to think of formats we don't stock than those we
do. We stock for over fifty formats in total , with more being
added all the time.
New Dedicated Mini-Sites
As the expansion of the Retrogames site continues: we are
pleased to announce the introduction of dedicated mini-sites.
Simply click on the icons on the homepage to get to them

•••
••••
•- andh~ld eaven
•••••
•• ) ~T.~.R!,™ ~

The Full Colour Retrogames Magazine

The Retrogames magazine continues to uncover consoles
and videogames you'll have never seen before. Written in
an adult. informative way, by a writer who's previous work
Includes writing for Edge, C&VG, and PC Zone. Issue 23
out soon.
International Orders Always Welcome

www.RETROGAMES.co.uk
The Worlds first Retro retailer - e s tablished 1995 - Beware of Imitation s
 o you particularly liked the part

S of Retro's Obsessive feature

that focused on collecting
coin-ops for your own home. You've
had a quick scan of ebay. You've
shortlisted a few cabinets that'd
look especially at home in your
gaming room. But what's that? That,
dear reader, is the sound of your
parents/partner/conscience (delete as
appropriate) smashing your plans into
little pieces. Because, let's face it,
there can be more important things to
spend money on than something as
frivolous as your own coin-op.
But wait. Here's your opportunity
to install a whopping great machine in
Arcade Warehouse assures Retro
your own home without having to pay
that this Die Hard Arcade coin-op
for the privilege. Thanks to Retro's
will fit through a normal doorway.
friends at Arcade Warehouse, we're
It's fully JAMMA compatible, too.
giving away a stand-up Die Hard
So what are you waiting for?
Arcade machine (with twoplayer
capability, a 26" screen, and full
JAMMA compatibility) to the reader
who can: a) identify each coin-op
pictured left from the tiny section of
screenshots shown, and b) convince
us why you deserve to win it.
About Arcade Warehouse First, get your screenshot answers
The coin-op retail business from the together. Then, in no more than 20
public's perspective has a reputation words, complete the phrase: 'That
for being something new, but Arcade Die Hard Arcade cabinet simply
Warehouse has been around for seven must be mine because .. .'
years. Eighteen months ago the Now write it all down and send it
company moved to a new HQ which to 'Retro competition' at the usual
serves to underline how serious it is Edge address (30 Monmouth Street,
about providing a comprehensive Bath BA 1 2BW) or send it via email
service to those wishing to collect their to edge@futurenet.co.uk.
own slabs of arcade hardware - it Who knows? In a relatively short
covers 5,000 square feet and contains space of time you could be taking the
pinball tables (60 were in stock at the first tentative step to building a
time of writing), jukeboxes, cocktail collection to rival that of Archer
and upright cabinets, and even Maclean's himself. Good luck. trt-
specialist machines like dance games.
The company's main custom
comes from sales of genuine retro Competition rules
items such as Asteroids, Defender and 1. Employees of Future Publishing or Arcade
Pac-Man, although it has recently Warehouse, or their families, may not enter.
taken delivery of what it calls USA 2. Closing date for entries is Jan 11, 2003.
Classic units, which are tabletop 3. Multiple entries are not allowed.
machines featuring a 20" monitor and 4. A coin-op of equivalent value will be
the capacity to run hundreds of given in the event of Die Hard Arcade
JAMMA titles. You can see it, and not being available.
countless others, at the company's 5. The editor's decision is final and no
Web site: www.arcadewarehouse.com. correspondence will be entered into.

11 4 Asteroids was the first game to allow players to input their initials into a hi-score table. The highest possible score on Pac-Man is 3,333 ,360. Robotron 2084 was the first arcade game with a nine-figure scoring system