interview

Interview With Retro Rich: A Neo Geo Superstar

January 12, 2016 By ausretrogamer

We’ll start this by thanking Twitter. I know, it is a strange way of starting an interview piece, but the context must be set. If it wasn’t for the social media Goliath, we would never had met so many fantastic people in the retro gaming community, just like our very good friend from the UK, Richard Evans (aka: Retro Rich). After many conversations, limited to 140 characters of course, we decided it was high time we got Rich in the ausretrogamer interview hot seat! Grab your favourite snack and beverage, kick back and let’s see what Rich has to say for himself…

AUSRETROGAMER [ARG]: So Rich, hope we can call you Rich, tell us how you got into gaming?
Retro Rich [RR]: You certainly can call me Rich! Well my first memory of gaming was at my cousin’s house when I was very young. He had what I now know to be an Atari 2600 with the game Combat. Whenever I went there I always asked him to play Combat with me. I loved the tanks! Around the same time I visited another cousin of mine and she had Grandstand Astro Wars. I wanted both the Atari and Astro Wars so badly, but it wasn’t until some years later I was lucky enough to own a computer of my own. My father decided that we needed a BBC Micro at home because that was what we had at school. I don’t really ever remember using it for school work, but I do remember playing Granny’s Garden and Magic Adventure at school. The first games we owned at home were Acornsoft titles Planetoid and Arcadians which were good clones of arcade hits Defender and Galaxian. I grew up with the BBC and ended up with it in my room, so I bought games myself. The ones which I remember and loved the best were Elite, Citadel, Chuckie Egg, Repton 3 and Codename: Droid. I only really replaced the BBC when I got a Sega Master System Plus many years later and it spiraled from there. Next came a Mega Drive, then the Playstation, Playstation 2, N64 and so on.

ARG: Are you equally both into retro and modern gaming?
RR: Not really, it’s mostly all retro nowadays. I do own an Xbox 360, but my son Ethan plays that most of the time. He plays FIFA and Minecraft a lot. The last games I played on the 360 were Skyrim and Fallout 3 which I think are amazing games. So immersive, especially in Dolby 5.1 surround. Bethesda are awesome! The trouble is I find I don’t have the time to get into those longer games, and that’s where arcade games fit in since I can just play one for 10 minutes without having to spend an hour remembering where I was.

ARG: What is it about retro gaming that you most like and enjoy?
RR: There is obviously a significant nostalgia value to these old games since I grew up with them. But more than that I think some of the games still hold up against the games of today. Gameplay truly is more important than great graphics and sound. I also really enjoy the social interaction of the retro gaming scene, which I mostly participate in through Twitter. I’ve made so many friends! It’s like becoming a member of a really large club where there are so many cool and interesting people with similar interests. A group of us have created our own gaming organization / club called the Gaming Illuminati which started from an informal high score competition. There are five of us now, and we have the website coded by one of our members (Rob). The site features our scoreboard where we compete against each other for fun. Finally another attraction for me is the engineering side. I love fixing things and vintage gaming provides opportunity for that in large amounts!

ARG: Tell us about your games room setup?
RR: Unfortunately I don’t have a proper games room as I’m limited by space, so my games share the lounge (Den, family room). If I move house I intend to buy a place with enough space for a proper games room.

My console collection consists of: Mega Drive (PAL), Megadrive 2 PAL (modded to allow 60Hz and NTSC and NTSC-J), a jailbroken Neo Geo X, SNES, Playstation 2 – 1st Gen, Nintendo Wii, XBOX, Nintendo Gamecube, Sega Dreamcast, Xbox 360, Atari 2600 Jr, Nintendo 64, Game Boy, Nintendo DS and a Nintendo DS Lite.

All the consoles that support stereo sound end up going through my surround amp in one way or another. I try and connect them to the TV using the best picture method, so where supported they have RGB Scart or component cables.

The arcade collection is as follows: Neo Geo MVS 6-slot Electrocoin Arcade and a JAMMA cabinet I built from a flat pack kit – which is wired for JAMMA+ and has various arcade systems installed; a Hyper Neo Geo 64, 2 x Neo Geo MVS 1-slotters and a GameElf with both horizontal and vertical game card (which has about 1000 arcade games).

ARG: Do you have a fave retro system? If so, tell us which one and why it is your fave.
RE: It’s really difficult to pick one only! I think my favorite console is the SNES. The SNES has some of my favorite games including Legend Of Zelda, Super Mario Kart and Super Mario World and I love the control pads on the SNES – small but perfectly formed with loads of buttons. I feel I also need to mention my Neo Geo X as it’s rather special. It has a Jailbreak by OMG-SNK installed which means it plays all but 2 of the 148 official Neo Geo games, and has emulators for Capcom CPS too. It also plays ROMs from most 16-bit and below systems including Mega Drive, Master System, SNES, NES, Game Boy, GBC, GBA and Atari. It has literally hundreds of games on it and is a great emulation system with the addition of being completely portable when the handheld is removed.

ARG: From chatting with you on social media, we know you are a huge Neo Geo fan – why do you have such an affinity for SNK’s Neo Geo?
RR: I’m actually quite a latecomer to Neo Geo would you believe? I never played or owned one as a kid. I saw games for sale in magazines and couldn’t understand why they were so expensive when compared to other games systems of the time. It was more a myth, with one of my friends claiming they had another friend who owned one. When I started getting interested in arcade games I watched John’s Arcade on YouTube and when I saw his Neo Geo 4-slot “Big Red”, I knew I wanted to get one – it just looked so awesome! I still want a US spec Neo Geo like that one, but I’m very happy with my UK spec machine. I love the architecture from a technical point of view, and it has in my opinion, some of the best arcade games ever made. I could literally list tens of games here as the best ones, but I particularly like the Samurai Showdown and King Of Fighters series, the Metal Slug series, Pulstar and Blazing Star.

ARG: Any plans on getting an AES? If not, what other potential retro gaming items are you targeting for 2016?
RR: I don’t have any immediate plans to get an AES because I own several MVS systems and obviously I still have a long way to go to get all the games I want. That coupled with the fact that MVS games are generally cheaper anyway, means I’m unlikely to start collecting for AES any time soon – unless I come into large sums of money obviously! I would like to make either a consolized MVS, or better still, a SuperGun with a cool custom enclosure and control panel. That might be a better option since I could then plug in other arcade systems including an MVS. I kind of like the idea of making this myself and I certainly have the technical know-how needed. The more challenging side of it would be making it look cool, but I have friends who could help me with that. On the console side, I would really like a NES and a bunch of games. Will probably start looking out for a good deal this year. Finally, I really want an original R-Type arcade board, or better still, a Nintendo R-Type arcade cabinet. I love this game which I first played on the Sega Master System as a kid. I would like to go for the Twin Galaxies world record on R-Type, but keep that to yourself… sshhh… ARG: Your secret is safe with us! *winks*

ARG: You recently put up a YouTube video (which our readers can see below), what are the plans for your channel?
RR: I’m going to keep it simple to start with and not over complicate it or try to come across as a pro when I’m obviously not. I will continue to record using my iPhone 6s for now, but if things work out I will get a dedicated camera later. I’d also like to aim to stick to one-take videos so that I don’t end up delaying a release due to editing time etc. I have enough to think about remembering all the stuff I need to say, and trying to stay focused as it is when I’m recording – not to mention how nervous I am! As far as content goes, I aim to keep it all focused on retro gaming. I will continue to upload my Twin Galaxies world record attempt videos. I also have a list of requests to cover and things I’ve added myself, which include: more restoration videos, including my Neo Geo MVS; videos on the Xbox Steel Battalion plus the controller; my JAMMA cab and it’s various systems and technical setup; the scan-line generator (in the JAMMA cab); my Hyper Neo Geo 64 and the four fighting games; my consoles and demos of the modified Mega Drive 2. I’m also going to do a video on the Neo Geo X jailbreak. I will cover some of the Neo Geo games, and will probably tweet out before I record it asking for suggestions from my followers for games they would like me to include in the video, and then I will credit them with a mention!

ARG: Now we get to the hard hitting question – do you have an all-time favourite game? If you have more than one, that’s cool, we will allow this privilege only this once *winks*
RR: Well, as predicted, that is a tough one! I have always loved the Legend Of Zelda games, and if you had to push me to pick one it would probably be A Link To The Past on the SNES, but I do really like the gameplay on the Wii versions. The Skyward Sword game with the Motion Plus controller really works for me. I also really love shmups, so Pulstar, Blazing Star and R-Type have to get a mention here too.

ARG: Where can people get in touch with you or check up on what you are up to?
RR: They can follow me on Twitter or subscribe to my YouTube channel. Oh yeh, check out http://gaming-illuminati.net. I love seeing and hearing about other collections and gaming related stuff, so just get in contact!

We wanted to keep Rich in the interview hot seat and ask him a heap more questions, but we had to allow him to get back to his family and his many retro gaming goodies. We can always ask him follow up questions on Twitter – so watch out Rich!

A big thank you to Rich for agreeing to this interview and allowing us to take a peek at his awesome gaming collection. I wonder who we will put in the interview hot seat next…………

Scott ‘Skooota’ Kellett On Pinball At PAX Aus 2015

December 10, 2015 By Ms. ausretrogamer

Check out Episode 167 of New Games Plus (a TV show about videogames, culture, anime, movies and more which airs on community channels around Australia and New Zealand) for an interview with the awesome Scott ‘Skooota’ Kellett about how he organised the very popular pinball section of the Classic Gaming Area at PAX Aus 2015. Skip to 12:18 for the start of the interview – great work Skooota!

Video source: New Games Plus on YouTube

Source: New Games Plus

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Ms. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

Good Game Pocket Visits PAX Aus Classic Gaming Area

November 2, 2015 By Ms. ausretrogamer

So PAX Aus is over for another year, the event was a huge success and the Classic Gaming Area was more popular than ever!

We had a ball and were especially excited when the super-friendly guys from ABC TV’s ‘Good Game: Pocket Edition’ stopped by to enjoy the nostalgic vibes.

Nich Richardson with Alex ‘ausretrogamer’ Boz, Retro Domination’s Daz Retro, Pinball Wizard Scott Kellett, and Kerith ‘ms ausretrogamer’

It’s great to see retrogaming getting some serious air time – now watch ‘Pocket Edition’ presenter Nich Richardson (@NichBoy) explore PAX Aus, and most of all – skip to 3:23 for an interview with our very own Mr Alex ‘austretrogamer’ Boz!

Video source: Good Game on YouTube

Behind the scenes:

Lights, camera, action ausretrogamer!

Interviewing Alex Kidd aficionado Braden

Interviewing pinball prodigy Jordan Tredaway

Interviewing Donkey Kong maestro Ryan

Stay tuned to ausretrogamer.com for more stories about our adventures at PAX Aus 2015 over the coming days.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ms. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

You Don’t Know Jack! Interview with Jack Tramiel from PC’89!

August 15, 2015 By ausretrogamer

Considering that August is all about the Commodore 64 (#C64Month), we thought we would revisit an interview with Commodore (Ed: and Atari Corp.) founder, Jack Tramiel (born: Idek Trzmiel). The interview took place at Darling Harbour in Sydney, Australia, while Jack was here to officially open the PC’89 exhibition. As per usual, Jack is candid in his responses and provides us with an insight into his early life that shaped him as a ruthless businessman. If you are a Commodore fan (Ed: or an Atari fan), grab yourself some popcorn and read on……

Presenter: Jack Tramiel is here in Australia to open the PC ’89 exhibition at Darling Harbour which starts today, and he’s given us a little bit of time in the studio this morning. Good morning.
Jack Tramiel: Good morning.

Presenter: We work our guests hard when they come to Australia and you’re finding that out, aren’t you?
Jack Tramiel: I do yes.

Presenter: You’ve had a very busy time.
Jack Tramiel: But I’m enjoying it.

Presenter: Are you?
Jack Tramiel: Yes.

Presenter: Well I’m glad to hear that. In fact we’ve got a line of Americans in this hour of the program which is interesting because it’s a lot of people from your part of the world making their way to our shores. Commodore 64 is big here, it’s big just about everywhere isn’t it?
Jack Tramiel: Yes it is.

Presenter: Did you really invent it?
Jack Tramiel: No I’m not the engineer. I’m a businessman, but I do know what the public wants and I know how to bring technology and people together. And by living in Silicon Valley where the technology was born I know it’s available, I know how to bring like I said people together and sell volume to bring the price down that the average person can afford to buy. In this we’ve made the 64 so successful.

Presenter: Commodore started out as a fairly small company I think didn’t it? What did they start out as?
Jack Tramiel: Well I founded Commodore and that was in 1955 in Toronto Canada.

Presenter: Where did you get the name from?
Jack Tramiel: From the back of a Opal Commodore of a car.

Presenter: It was as ordinary as that was it?
Jack Tramiel: I was sitting in a taxi cab and I was trying to get the name for the company which I was building, and I was really looking to make it call it General, I’d just come out of the army and I was in the army for three years and seven months, so I was looking for something strong, so I was looking for a name like General which I couldn’t get because it was taken. Then I was looking for a name like Admiral, and that was taken, and as I was talking to a friend of mine in the cab right in front of me this car with the name Commodore. I said well let’s try this one.

Presenter: And that was it?
Jack Tramiel: And that was it.

Presenter: What a wonderful story, I love it, I love it. We’re back in 1955, let’s go a little bit further back, life started for you in Poland, is that right?
Jack Tramiel: Yes I was born in Poland, I was born in 1928, in 1939 the war started and that’s the time when I to a certain extent left Poland. Auschwitz was still in Poland but it was not Poland for me.

Presenter: When you were in Auschwitz?
Jack Tramiel: Yes.

Presenter: For how long?
Jack Tramiel: I was in the camps altogether for five years and a few months.

Presenter: And then America?
Jack Tramiel: Then I spent two years in Germany from April 10th 1945 till November 19th 1947. In November 1947 I left Germany and went to the United States.

Presenter: Did you have a lot of money?
Jack Tramiel: I had absolutely no money at all when I arrived in the States, I’m Jewish, that’s the reason I was in camp, and a Jewish organisation paid for my ticket and they also gave me 10 dollars spending money. And when I arrived I was in a hostel like which was done by the Jewish Immigration Association and for three weeks I had to find my own way and I started to work for whatever job I could find. But when I did arrive in New York I did not believe that I’m in the United States.

Presenter: Why?
Jack Tramiel: Because it was just like being back in Poland, same language, the area I was in it was lots of immigrants and it had the same smell of pickles and of herring and all that which was very nice but this is not what I came for. And I made a decision that the United States was extremely good to me, I was liberated by the Americans and I felt I wanted to learn more about America so I joined the army.

Presenter: Where did you fight, or did you not fight? Did you go to Korea?
Jack Tramiel: No I didn’t go anywhere.

Presenter: You just joined the army?
Jack Tramiel: I joined the army and it did me a lot of good to learn all about America because it was a peopledom. Washington State, from California, from Texas and from New York and black and green and white – all kinds of different people, and I found that America is not New York City only, there is much more to it. Then I left the army and after two years and the Korean War started and I was recalled, but I was still lucky that I was not shipped to the front and there the second time around I made a decision that I’d better learn a trade, and the army gave that opportunity to start repairing office equipment like typewriters and adding machines etc. And before I left I was in charge of the First Army Office Equipment Repair Department which we had something like 25-thousand pieces of equipment in there for repairs. And when I left the army I actually continued working in the same field.

Presenter: And that was the genesis of your interest in computers?
Jack Tramiel: Correct. And so during the day I was working in an office equipment repair shop, at night I was driving a cab to be able to feed my family and after a while I decided I’d better use my allowance which I received from the United States Army I was entitled to borrow 25-thousand dollars from the bank with a government guarantee. And I actually took that money and I started my own business, my own little shop. And after I had done that I found that New York City in which I was in the Bronx, it was just a little too big, people were too smart and 25-thousand dollars which is not enough. And my wife had lots of family, she’s also a survivor, also from Poland, and she had a lot of family in Toronto and we used to go there every once in a while, so we decided to move to Toronto. And there I repaired again the typewriters and adding machines in a company by the name of Sears Roebuck liked my services and they asked me if I’d possibly could find a way how I could assembly a typewriter for them. Being young enough and foolish enough I figure it’s an easy task, as long as you have money you can do almost anything. Well I get 176-thousand dollar loan from Sears and I started to try to find a license to build typewriters. Well no American or West European country or company wanted to give me a license, so I wound up getting a license from Czechoslovakia.

And I actually brought 50 technicians over the counter, we started building typewriters. And we built so many that we could not sell them all in Canada and I had to start exporting them back to the States and that’s the way Commodore started.

Presenter: That’s a fantastic story and it tells me because you haven’t said this, but it tells me that you’re a man of great determination, that you don’t think that any obstacle can get in your way. Do you feel that?
Jack Tramiel: I don’t feel that. When I look back you know there must be something you know. In the camp that I told you I was in there was 10-thousand people in 1944, and we moved from Auschwitz to Hanover and when the war came to an end of these 10-thousand there was only 60 left.

Presenter: 60 individuals?
Jack Tramiel: 60 individuals from 10-thousand people. I was one of those 60. So from there on, nothing was difficult to me.

Presenter: No, having survived that.
Jack Tramiel: Right. So I believe when a person has a goal, when a person is willing to work hard, the person does not want to become rich the same day but he looks at it in the long term, he can make it. The key is to give first and receive after. We live in a society today that’s just the opposite.

Presenter: Everybody wants to take, take, take don’t they?
Jack Tramiel: Right now.

Presenter: Instant gratification?
Jack Tramiel: But if you are willing to invest your time, your effort and you’re willing to serve society, society will reward you in time.

Presenter: Extraordinary, an amazing story. And you’ve got a very happy face. Are you a happy person do you think?
Jack Tramiel: Well a very happy person because I, I’m just looking at that in 1945 I was reborn, I don’t look back, I do remember but I don’t have any hate in me. I have built a company, I have built a family, I have three sons and four grandchildren and they all know about my background and about success and they’re all working together with me, my three sons are part of my company, and we are very happy with what we’ve accomplished.

Presenter: Well welcome to our country, I hope you have a happy stay, and I hope they don’t work you too hard, not in this humidity anyway.
Jack Tramiel: Thank you.

Interview source: commodore.caImage source: 8bitlegends

Britsoft: An Oral History

June 9, 2015 By ausretrogamer

When it comes to books about video games or micro computing history, no one does it better than Read-Only Memory.

The creators of The Sensible Software 1986 – 1999, Mega Drive and the recently crowdfunded Bitmap Bros books) are publishing a book this August made up of interviews from the original From Bedrooms to Billions film. Ant and Nic Caulfield (creators of From Bedrooms to Billions) have given permission to Read-Only Memory to look through their film transcripts and then use them to construct a unique and awesome book. Nearly a year in the making, the clever layout oozes Read-Only Memory quality! It’s great to see such wonderful interview material find a home such as this and it does also include a new interview with Andrew Braybrook!

Britsoft: An Oral History, a collective story of the early British games industry

Composed of interviews with thirty-five people who shaped the modern videogame, including David Braben (Elite), Peter Molyneux (Populous), Rob Hubbard (Commando) and Jeff Minter (Attack of the Mutant Camels), Britsoft: An Oral History documents the start of a new form of entertainment – created in bedrooms and living rooms on ZX Spectrums, Commodore 64s, Amigas and Atari STs.

The book is a companion piece to the 2014 documentary, From Bedrooms to Billions, and uses exclusive cuts from the hundreds of hours of interview footage to carve its original story. Through the voices of programmers, musicians, journalists and business people, it traces the making of games such as Dizzy, Elite, Paradroid and Kick Off; and birth of publishers, magazines and software houses, from Codemasters to Zzap!64.

Britsoft: An Oral History is edited by Alex Wiltshire, former editor of ‘videogame Bible’ Edge magazine, and its striking page layouts are designed by London-based studio Julia. It includes rarely-seen archive images, such as candid period photographs and magazine ads, which perfectly set the Britsoft scene. Pre-order your copy now!

Features
• Exclusive anecdotes and stories from 35 industry luminaries
• Brand new interviews with Andrew Braybrook (Uridium) and Sean Cooper (Syndicate) conducted specially for the book, plus new stories from Mike Montgomery, Julian Gollop and Jon Hare
• Archive photographs, adverts and ephemera
• 39 original illustrations of the cult hardware, consoles and home computers of the era

Specification
• Hardcover
• 160mm x 230mm
• 422 pages
• Lay-flat binding
• Multiple paper stocks
• 125,000 words

source: Read-Only Memory

2015 C64 SEUCK Competition Winner

June 5, 2015 By ausretrogamer

A few weeks ago there was a call to action for the game playing public to cast their votes for the C64 2015 Shoot’Em Up Construction Kit (SEUCK) Competition. Among the many talented candidates was our good friend, Anthony Stiller. Anthony’s entry, Abyssonaut, a horizontal scrolling shmup, was well received and deserved its entry in the competition.

Well, the votes have been counted and we can now proudly reveal the winner – drum roll please……. And the winner is, Abyssonaut (171 points) by Anthony Stiller!

Take a bow Anthony, this is a well deserved win and a great reward for all your hard yakka! As the Champagne starts flowing, we corner Anthony to ask him about the win:

AUSRETROGAMER [ARG]: Congratulations Anthony, and well done! Has the win sunk in?
Anthony Stiller [AS]: Thanks, Alex! Last night’s shock (Kev, the editor of Reset C64, gave me the heads up) has finally settled down a little. I was buzzing at 1am this morning after reading the results!

ARG: You beat some seasoned game creators, how does it feel to be crowned the winner for 2015?
AS: There were some really great entries this year and, while I was very happy with Abyssonaut and knew it was in with a good chance, I really wasn’t expecting first place. Alf Yngve, who’s been the reigning champion, is a lovely, talented guy and Gigablast was an excellent entry. Really, though, everyone who makes the time and effort to enter a solid game deserves to be commended.

ARG: What was your inspiration to make Abyssonaut?
AS: Great question! I was at a party and my eyes fell on the label of a bottle of Kraken spiced rum (true story!). Also, once I had decided to use Sideways SEUCK I was thinking of what the player sprite should look like. I wanted to see the player’s figure but I needed to work within the two frames of animation you get for the player sprite. So the player had to be riding a vehicle of some sort. I was almost immediately hit with the image of someone in SCUBA gear riding a seascooter into a seabase. I may have watched a few too many James Bond movies growing up. And the rest is history.

ARG: How long did it take to create Abyssonaut?
AS: About three months elapsed time and over 100 hours actual effort. That includes concept, design (I like the idea of using sketches for design work), testing, and a little marketing, but doesn’t factor in the time my playtesters put in.

ARG: What were some of the challenges creating the game?
AS: Like my previous SEUCK game, Sopwiths & Pterrordons (S&P), I really wanted to make a “proper” game – with gameplay flow, foreshadowing, and a subtle story built into the game itself. All that takes time and effort and lots of testing. I also wanted Abyssonaut to be on a grander scale than S&P. It has a far greater number of different enemies and the actual length of the game is more than twice that of S&P.

Finally, I wanted to ramp up the difficulty. S&P is quite easy. Level 1 of Abyssonaut is gentle but the curve ramps up dramatically in Level 2. There’s a proper end of level boss in Level 2 and at this stage I don’t think anyone’s reached it without cheating.

Oh, I also should add that getting all the animation right was a huge challenge. I need to stop using bio-organic creatures in my games!

ARG: Have you got any new SEUCK projects in the pipeline?
AS: Well, there’s a rumour that there’s going to be a Sideways SEUCK compo later this year and I’ve got this really interesting idea … ARG: Your secret is safe with us. It’s in the vault.

ARG: Just like any award ceremony, is there anyone you would like to thank?
AS: Oh, that’s a long list! First, thanks to Richard Bayliss. Not only does he run the competition, but he is also amazingly helpful and supportive. Stacey Borg, who is the best playtester ever! Cam, Rob, Raj and Kale, my brains trust. There are a whole lot more people out there in the retro scene whom I only know online and are always lifting me up! You know who you are! And, lastly, thanks to everyone who’s played Abyssonaut!

As we toast his achievement and clink Champagne glasses, we leave Anthony to enjoy his deserved win. For those of you that haven’t yet played Abyssonaut, what are you waiting for!

Interview with Aaron White: Chiptune Maestro

May 29, 2015 By ausretrogamer

I know we have said this time and time again, and with the risk of sounding like a broken record, we’ll say it again – there are wonderful people around the world on social media. One such lad that fits in this ‘wonderful people’ category, is Mr. Aaron White from the UK. Since engaging with Aaron on Twitter, we have learned that he has some seriously great talent in creating chiptune music on his beloved Amiga. Ms. ausretrogamer and I have become fans of Aaron’s compositions, so it was only natural for us to sit down with the chiptune maestro and put him through some rigorous questioning. Get your headphones on, tune-in to some cool chiptunes and read on!

AUSRETROGAMER [ARG]: When did you get into video gaming and what was your first games system? Do you still have it?
Aaron White [AW]: My first ever system was a Commodore 64 which I got on Christmas Day 1984. I still have vivid memories of waking up that Christmas morning & unwrapping this huge box and to my amazement, there it was, sitting right in front of me, a beautiful C64. I also received three games along with it which were Roland’s Rat Race by Ocean Software, Ghostbusters by Activision and World Games by Epyx/US Gold. All three were wonderful games. Stupidly, I sold my original C64 along with 100’s of games back in 1992, but I have since acquired two more C64s, one being a traditional breadbin model and the other being a C64C.

ARG: Were you a musician (if so, what instrument(s)?) before you got into making chiptunes? What made you get into music on computers?
AW: I had a keyboard and a guitar when I was younger (I still have a keyboard) even though I can read music, I was never that good at playing either instrument. I just used to try and jam along with my favourite records of the time, listening by ear and trying to play in tune. I suppose I first got into chiptune music when I got an Amiga 500 for Christmas 1989 (The Batpack edition). I would listen in amazement at the sounds and tunes this brilliant computer made. I’d often wonder how it was all done, until early in 1990, a friend of my father’s came around clutching a bunch of disks which contained Soundtracker. I listened in awe when he played back the Axel F theme tune from the hit movie Beverly Hills Cop. This tune, along with many others were on the ST-00 disk, which was the programme disk. They weren’t modules back then, they were songs, so first you had to click on that file to start loading it, and then it would ask you for various instrument disks such as ST-01, ST-02 and so on. This proved to be a pain as I only had five instrument disks, so there were quite a lot of songs that I couldn’t listen to. Still, it was the programme that had me hooked. Before I went onto composing tunes of my own, I started ripping songs/modules from various demos and games to play back and see how they were all put together (effects, commands and so on). Then one day I plucked up the courage to finally try composing something myself and I’m not ashamed to admit, my early efforts were truly awful (some of my very first tunes still exist to this day!). I didn’t understand timing, nor notation really, until I started to teach myself how to read music. Over the years I’ve stopped and started creating music on the Amiga, but over the past couple of years I’ve got back into it becoming a lot better and making my chiptunes sound ok. I think I keep improving all the time and to date, I’ve done over one hundred compositions (some original/some covers). Just as a side note, my programme of choice is Protracker 3.15.

ARG: We are huge fans of your compositions, do you have any favourites?
AW: Thank you for your kind words. It always gives me encouragement and spurs me on to create more chiptunes when I receive feedback like that. As for favourites, this changes all the time, I think I’m still improving all the time and with each one that comes along, it tends to be my new favourite till the next one.

ARG: Who is your favourite chiptune/music artist?
AW: I have several favourite chiptune artists: 4-Mat of Anarchy, Nuke (also of Anarchy fame), Matt Furnis who went on to create a huge amount of game music, and one of my old friends Mub (a member of LSD), who lived not far from me in the same town. I loved Mub’s compositions and some of which he actually created at my house. I can only ever wish to aspire to be as good as these guys!

ARG: Best music in a video game?
AW: Hmm, that’s a toughie. I love the tunes in Pinball Fantasies, I also love the in-game music to Aladdin, Supercars II and Monkey Island 1 and 2.

ARG: Tough question, ZX Spectrum or C64 (and why you chose that computer)?
AW: There’s no competition, C64 all the way for me! No colour clash, and far superior music. It was also my first computer I ever owned, and I will always be in love with it for that reason alone. ARG: Great answer! *winks*

ARG: What is your favourite game or gaming genre?
AW: Again another toughie. I have a few favourites – on the Amiga, it has to be The Secret Of Monkey Island, Ruff N Tumble, Aladdin, and Toki. On the C64, I’d say – Batman: The Movie, The Untouchables, Platoon and for sentimental reasons, Roland’s Rat Race – as that was the first game I ever loaded up on my C64. I’m also looking forward to a few new games on the C64, two of which being Maze Of The Mummy and Jam It, which could well become new favourites of mine. As you can tell, I do love platform games, but I’m also a massive fan of adventure games (point & click) and sport games also.

ARG: Do you have an all-time favourite system?
AW: I have three all-time favourite systems – the C64, Amiga A1200 and the Sega Saturn. The first two are for the vast array of games that were available on both systems, as for the Sega Saturn, well, to finally get arcade perfect conversions of popular Sega titles running at home in front of my very eyes, it just blew my mind.

ARG: Finally, where can people go to listen to your awesome chiptune compositions?
AW: If people would like to check out my chiptunes, then they can – follow me on twitter (@aaronub4t) or check out my YouTube channel where I upload some of my compositions. Also, people can download Amiga disks I have created in ADF format which can either be used on a real Amiga or via emulation from vintage is the new old, and from Commodore Is Awesome. As long as people keep enjoying them, I’ll keep making them. Enjoy!

As we say our goodbyes, we can’t help but be in awe of Aaron in what he has achieved with creating chiptune music – if only we were that talented! We’ll definitely be enjoying his next creation. For now, we’ll let Aaron get back to playing one of his (many) Ocean games.

Interview With Steven Cousins: The Retro Gaming Gun From The West

February 24, 2015 By ausretrogamer

I love social media. I keep on banging on about how awesome it is to connect with like-minded people, and social media provides the perfect platform, especially when people are on the other side of the country! The world certainly is a smaller place with all these online channels allowing us to meet great people.

Steve ‘Steevo’ Cousins is a classic example of meeting a down-to-earth, like-minded dude who is also a very cool gamer. We hit it off immediately with our passion for retro gaming and common love for Double Dragon and anything and everything to do with Atari. In recent times, Steve’s love of retro gaming has branched to the Neo Geo MVS! Since the SNK beauty is close to my heart, our online friendship has hit a new level. Once Steve showed me his games room, I knew that I had to ask him to join us for an interview and share his love of gaming and his awesome setup with you all. Here we go!

AUSRETROGAMER [ARG]: Hey Steve, thank you for your time. Let’s get straight into it – when did you get into gaming? What was your first home system?
Steve Cousins [SC]: Gaming has always been big in my life. It all started with some people I knew that had an Atari 2600. All I wanted to do was go around and play the system, though I never got to play it much as I was never allowed. I could only watch! So each year I begged my parents for one and finally when I was 7 they ventured out and got me my first ever gaming system for Christmas. I still remember that Christmas morning, I opened the wrapping and out came a magical Atari XEGS system. I was very excited to get an Atari system, although I was confused as I asked for an Atari 2600 and never heard of this system. My parents assured me that this was a superior system as that’s what the man at the store told them. It did become a problem a year later though, as games were stopped being made for them. My parents felt bad about this, so I remember us searching high and low at retail stores in Tasmania and found a store an hour away that sold the games for the system and they were all bargain basement as no one was buying them. My parents ended up buying nearly all the games for me. I was set!

ARG: Do you have a favourite game (of all time) or genre?
SC: For most gamers this must be the hardest question of all! I seriously cannot name a single game or genre as hard as I try. I go in phases as I have my whole life, so I will answer the best I can by answering this way – my favourite games as a child, were: Lode Runner, Dark Chambers, Double Dragon and Streets Of Rage. Double Dragon holds a very special spot for me as I was playing it at home and would make special trips to the arcade just to play it [ARG: Good man!]. Even when it was outdated when NBA Jam and Mortal Kombat were the coolest to play at the arcades, something about Double Dragon just kept me coming back to it. From there I went onto Street Fighter II and then on to Tekken. I still play Tekken to this day. Games like Road Rash, Super Off-Road, Rock N Roll Racing and Micro Machines kept me occupied for ages! I even got into the stealth style games like Metal Gear Solid. I got into FPS as well, thanks to Doom! I’ll stop there, otherwise I can go on listing heaps more!

ARG: What is your favourite old school home system(s)?
SC: There are 4 I hold dear to me, with the main one being my Atari XEGS. I have also found another collector who loves the XEGS as much as me, Weird and Retro. We are both after the final piece of the puzzle to complete our XEGS collection – Karateka! Ah, one day! I also hold the Sega Master System, Mega Drive and the sexy add-on, the 32X, dear to my heart.

ARG: What made you start collecting?
SC: It was about 5 years ago. I still had a lot of consoles, but I always wanted to get back the consoles I mentioned above as I sold them to fund a very expensive console at the time, the PlayStation! Even then, I said to myself that I would re-buy these machines again one day. Finally I decided to and the retro gaming train just kept going and I cannot stop it.

ARG: What is it about collecting that brings you the most joy?
SC: Just finding the game you sort of forgot about and then finding it dirt cheap! Just searching for the console but knowing the price you want to pay so you pass 1000 chances to get it but then you finally find it and get it at the price that’s not breaking your budget – that is just so satisfying! Many collectors will hate me for this, but I’m not a sealed collector type of guy. So I have busted open seals to play the games knowing it will decrease the value but doing so still brings me joy, just like when I was a kid! I believe that, if I have it, then it is meant to be played! Now it’s just casually going to potential places and trying to find some console or game treasures. They aren’t always there, but when they are, it just makes my day!

ARG: Do you have a prized gaming possession (if so, what is it)?
SC: I do. Actually, I have a few to be honest. One of my favourite games for the Master System was Power Strike – I have 1 and 2 complete for the system now. Both pretty rare games and both were cheap! Another is my Atari 2600 Sunnyvale Heavy Sixer! I got that one via eBay. The seller had it listed as an “Atari” with a Buy It Now price of $20USD with $25USD for shipping – I snapped it up immediately. It works like a charm! My collection of Atari XEGS games and boxed system will always hold a special place in my heart! I could go on, but recently I purchased a 6-slot Neo Geo MVS arcade cabinet! The machine came with 7 games, all in a workable state. I am relatively new to the Neo Geo machine, so I had some help from the man, ausretrogamer! He was certainly very helpful along the way. [ARG: Aww man, you are making me blush. It is always great to introduce someone to the big red SNK beast.]

ARG: What item (or items) do you have your eye on to add to your collection?
SC: I’m still after the elusive Karateka for the Atari XEGS. As mentioned previously, I know that Weird And Retro is also after it. It will be a long time before either of us complete that set, but it would be brilliant if we both did!

It’s also time for me to grab myself a Commodore 64. I still remember playing it to death with a friend. I still can’t believe I haven’t got one in my collection (yet). I also would like a Neo Geo AES, but the PAL version – I’m guessing because it’s harder to find. So that will take a fair while to get.

Slowly I am trying to get all PAL Sega 32x games. It is probably unlikely I’ll complete that set because the prices are super crazy! So many more but you will see them over time if you follow me on Twitter.

ARG: You recently got yourself a Neo Geo MVS 6-slot arcade machine – what made you choose this machine and what do you think of it so far?
SC: I played the Neo Geo games at the arcades as a kid. I always wanted an arcade machine, so this is just the perfect machine – you just interchange game cartridges! It’s like having multiple arcade machines in the one system. I am absolutely loving it! It came with a 100 in 1 game cartridge, so I am playing many games I had never got to play before. Seriously one of the best, if not the best thing I have in my games room!

ARG: Tell us about your gaming room – how long did it take to get it setup and are there going to be further additions / modifications?
SC: Well,I had a lot of the systems all hidden away in boxes and I just wanted to display them. I convinced my lovely wife to get some shelves and it went from there. We moved house almost 2 years ago now and I now have my ultimate games room / man’s cave! There is a massive bar, billiard table, foosball table, arcade machines and a bucket-load of consoles! [ARG: Oh man, party at your place!] My thing with the consoles is I have to have every system (not multiples or variations) hooked up the the TV, so basically I can play any game I have, on the one TV. Sometimes it just takes me 10 minutes to remember which switch box I have set up to what console. I really have to organise it all a bit better. [ARG: You should do what I do, create a diagram of what is connected to what].

The games room will have many more modifications to it, as I know I will be adjusting my console section to make more room for even more games and more consoles. I will be sharing my progress on Twitter, slowly, but surely! My wife wants a pinball machine, so one day, that will be in there too!

ARG: Like all of us that collect, we struggle to find time to enjoy it all – how do you find time to have fun with your gaming collection?
SC: For me, I still play my PS3 and PS4 the most. I do get the urge to play some older game system, especially when I get a game for it – then I’ll fire it up and play most of the games I have for it. I love it when my nieces or nephews come over because they love playing it all! I am lucky as my lovely wife understands my love and lets me get lost in all the nostalgia any time I wish. So, whenever I have free time and have the urge, I’ll duck away to the games room and just play some games.

ARG: Thank you very much for your time, Steve, and for sharing your thoughts and your awesome games room with us all.
SC: Cheers Alex! Sorry it’s taken ages to get this interview done, I have been mega busy with real life stuff and I also needed to clean up the games room for the photo shoot [laughs].

As we leave Steve to play his beloved Atari XEGS, we thank him once again for his time and for providing us with a heap of mouth-watering photos of his brilliant games room. Next party is at Steevo’s place!

Interview With Chris Wolfe: Cosplay Creator Extraordinaire

October 14, 2014 By ausretrogamer

I have said this numerous times, but I will say it again, you meet great people on social media, and Chris Wolfe is no exception. Recently, we were chatting to Chris on our Facebook page and learned that he was into cosplay and was also going to attend PAX Aus 2014! After we saw a few of Chris’ jaw-dropping creations, we knew we would have to corner the creator extraordinaire and put him in the interview hotseat. So here we go!

AUSRETROGAMER [ARG]: Hey Chris, please introduce yourself to our readers.
Chris Wolfe [CW]: My name is Chris Wolfe and I am from Combustible Props. I work full time in IT and spend my free time in the workshop building props. As you can imagine, I don’t get out very often. I have worked on a heap of theatre productions and a few low budget movies (‘Theatre of the dead‘ was the stand-out) and do a few custom commissions as time permits.

ARG: So how did you get into cosplay?
CW: Believe it or not I haven’t officially cosplayed at a convention as yet! Some small things around the place but I am mostly kitted out for making things for cosplayers who want to commission small to medium scale items. I should start at how I started prop building: A long time ago… I came across a guy named Harrison Krix (you may know him as Volpin Props) making a portal gun and was pretty stunned at what he was able to achieve with his own skill set. I figured I would give it a go as I felt I had the same skills; I grew up in a house with a carpenter and sculptor. The real reason? I wanted an Aliens Pulse rifle (laughs)! At that point you couldn’t import them due to Australian Customs restrictions. Long story short, I have continued to build items and have branched out to a small number of commissions, and as an extension of this, found that I would love to showcase things I make but doing it in person at the conventions.

ARG: What is it about cosplay that draws you to it?
CW: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. For me, I think if I have been moved personally by a movie/game/TV show and I kind of want to be able to continue that feeling. Or maybe it’s even paying respect to a certain character I like. It’s hard to say for sure, but as so many people love it, it’s not surprising I’m getting into it.

ARG: What inspires you when making a new cosplay/costume?
CW: It has to be something that made a big impression on me personally and it has to have a large mechanical aspect. For example, I’ve come to the conclusion that I like power armour of all sorts so if I were to make something like an Iron Man costume, I would sit down and watch the movies and add anything with stomping robots, Pacific Rim, certain anime, you name it. I have to add Edge of Tomorrow to this list as well. People either love or hate Tom Cruise, but those who refuse to watch the movie due to him, are losing out on something amazing! Power armour, guns, aliens!

ARG: Do you make your costumes or buy them or a combination of both?
CW: I can and do make pretty much everything for a costume except the sewing part. Well I can join material together but it’s generally not sewing when you use hot glue (chuckles). I can machine sew ‘almost straight’ lines but making a pattern and sewing it together neatly is beyond me unfortunately. So if there is a good pre-made base to buy, I will go with that option. Alternatively, I know a few good seamstresses that I can commission to make something custom.

ARG: How much effort goes into creating cosplay costumes? Could you walk us through the process?
CW: With props and costumes I start by collecting as many reference images as I can. These can be in-game screenshots, artwork, film grabs or anything that shows the detail of the build. Once I have an idea of the detail level, I can gauge the build from there. For example, If it’s for a commission, the effort and quality stem from the client’s budget. If the item is for myself then I generally work on it to a point I am almost happy with it. If it’s a base for a cast, then I spend countless hours preparing it to be cast as the mold picks up *every* detail, like scratches and dings you may have missed.

ARG: Do you have a favourite theme, style, or characters when creating cosplay(s) costumes?
CW: I have always liked the post apocalyptic themes along the lines of Fallout 3. I guess after I played the game I fell in love with the 50s retro post apocalyptic environment. It might be in the same way as you imagine/plan what you would do when the zombies arrive.

ARG: What costumes are you working on at the moment and for which event?
CW: I am actively working on a fully 3D printed Star Citizen civilian space suit, helmet and main weapon. For later, I have a Fallout 3 Vault Dweller (hopefully with a working pipboy) and a Hardsuit from the old anime Bubblegum Crisis 2032 (this one is going to be interesting!).

ARG: You mentioned to us that you will be at PAX Aus 2014 – are you attending as an exhibitor or as general cosplay?
CW: Hell yeah! However I will only be there on the Friday wandering around in cosplay, so come say hi to the guy in the red space suit! Maybe next time I’ll be there for the full 3 days or with a vendor/exhibitor stall. CIG, the designers of Star Citizen will be around the entire convention, and they are releasing the FPS module on the Saturday at an external event to PAX Aus – so I will be there as well (hopefully in full costume again). I would love to get the Star Citizen rifle signed by Chris Roberts and the crew!

ARG: Finally, where can our readers go to see more of your work?
CW: I post most of my updates to my Facebook page and I can also be reached on Twitter. I also have my blog for entire build projects, but that is seldom updated. Oh yeah, I also post images of my work on Flickr.

ARG: Thank you very much for taking time out of your day and answering our interview questions.
CW: Thank you too. I’m always happy to answer questions.

As we turn down the heat on the interview hotseat, we allow Chris to disembark and get on with his awesome creations. As you will agree, Chris has an amazing talent and we look forward to seeing many more of his great creations!

Andrew Owen: Custom Toy and Games Creator

April 29, 2014 By ausretrogamer

While the American’s may have Dan Polydoris (Chicago Toy Collector), we have Andrew Owen – Australia’s creative genius! If you don’t believe us, just take a look at Andrew’s custom made creations – amazing stuff! And just think, these are the tip of the iceberg!

We met Andrew at last year’s Computer Games Boot Camp (CGBC) event and got talking about vintage toys and of course, retro gaming. During our discussion about all things nostalgia, Andrew showed us a few of his creative works – to say we were gobsmacked would be a massive understatement. We knew then that we had to bail up Andrew for an interview.

AUSRETROGAMER [ARG]: Andrew, thank you for making time for this interview. Let’s start – were you creative/artistic from a young age?
Andrew Owen [AO]: Yes, I have always been creative. I would always be making my own play sets to compliment my toys. I made a multi level Death Star out of fridge packaging. It was massive and had LED lights and other electronics. Also train and slot car sets with a mini town (full of lights). I was always expanding my toy experience. This continued into Super 8 movies with models, mini sets and masks. Paintings, drawings and animations included. It was an amazing time for a very young kid. Star Wars in the theatres, Battlestar Galactica on TV and Space Invaders machines at the local shops. I didn’t have a computer to make my own games but that didn’t stop me. Around that period Pop Up books were popular! So I made my own arcade games in Pop Up format. All with pull tabs and levers. All hand drawn and painted. The other kids would play them and I learnt a lot about game play. The Pop Up version of Defender was very popular.

ARG: How did you get into creating custom made items?
AO: When I was kid, I was always looking at how something could look better (to me anyway). Also replacing broken or missing items. Necessity at first and later people would ask me if I could recreate something or add a creative element.

ARG: Where do you get your ideas/inspirations from?
AO: I often wonder what one product would look like in another packaging format. I just go and build it. I do a lot of research first, especially if it will be a replica.

ARG: How long does a ‘typical’ creation take? Do you have a process?
AO: Sometimes I get an idea and 45 minutes later it’s finished. But other projects can take a few days. This time will mostly be made up of research. I like to try and recreate something to the smallest detail. For example, small logos need to be recreated from scratch. Photos online are very low resolution and not print quality. Plus recreating graphics and logos guarantees a clear print. Also I put an imperfection in everything I do, that way people know it’s a custom or replica. Nothing beats an original!

ARG: Do you have a favourite item you have made?
AO: That’s a tough one! The large six million dollar man and C3PO packaging – I was very happy with how they turned out. The Empire Strikes Back Atari reproduction box. The retro history of Epyx cards and box is a stand out, more so than the retro game Lego packages [ARG: We love your Lego creations a lot!]. The card series is still being produced and will be over a 100 cards. It’s like going back in time while you are researching and creating. I would have loved to have seen this in a shop as a kid!

ARG: What creation are you working on right now?
AO: Working on many projects and some will be on going. Multiple retro movie and game card sets. More reproduction stickers, packaging and badges. Also a large series of toys – all based on retro titles. The house is starting to turn into an alternative retro universe. Also food packaging and t-shirts.

ARG: You are also the creative mind behind the Computer Games Boot Camp (CGBC) – could you tell us more about this event?
AO: CGBC started 6 years ago and the event is a 7 day interactive experience for high school students. We cover everything connected to ICT , games and multimedia. It’s part interactive experience, trade show, tournament, careers with hands on workshops, presentations with a pop culture experience. It gives high school kids a real world experience and adds community and social aspects. People travel from all over the world to attend. We have a lot of retro gear at the event too. The event is streamed live and later added to YouTube. It’s proving to be a very popular event.

ARG: Now we will be asking the hard hitting gaming questions. What was your first video gaming system?
AO: Hanimex VC4000 console. German brand Interton Electronic. Played it for hours!

ARG: What is your all-time favourite video game?
AO: Galaga! That’s a tough question. Raid over Moscow , Impossible Mission, Space Invaders. I could be here all day.

ARG: And finally; Atari, Sinclair, Colecovision, Intellivision, Amstrad, Commodore, Nintendo or Sega – which would be your pick and why?
AO: Amstrad! Made my first games on the 128K. Some of the other systems may have had superior graphics (some) but it was a great system. Mini Disks (built in drive). It was well supported with multiple magazines. One magazine had the “Sugarman” cartoon strip! Practical for school assignments and for home movie credit sequences. It had it all! Lord Sugar was a pioneer and had a major influence on home computing!

Well, all good things come to end. As we wipe away our drool in awe of the Lego Galaga (amongst other jaw dropping items), we leave the talented genius to his latest creations. A big thank you to Andrew for participating in this interview. If you don’t already do so, you can follow Andrew on Twitter.

If you haven’t had enough of Andrew’s creations, here are a few more random picks to whet your appetite. Enjoy!

image source: Andrew Owen

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