GamesYouLoved at Play Expo 2014 - day one

Day one update - www.playexpo.net 

Manchester - 11th October 2014

Magic. Absolute bloody magic. Whether we’re talking atmosphere, cutting edge gaming or arcane retro technology, Play Expo has it all. The team at GamesYouLoved enjoyed today so much, we really had to give you an update tonight.

We had a great time even after a fairly disastrous beginning. After cramming in a quick breakfast with the Funstock team (full English, of course), we jammed a bunch of old school consoles and equipment into the car and headed off. Immediately upon reaching the venue however, our car window refused to close, the mechanism had broken! We hadn’t even set up yet, so picture those stress levels going through the roof. Suddenly we’re in hard mode; getting the stand put together while trying to get the AA on the phone!

Fortunately everything was fixed and good to go soon after the doors opened. What struck me about Play Expo was the amount of space given over to gaming itself, almost half the venue was dedicated to games already released for people to actually play rather than obsessing over new and upcoming releases. This idea of gaming in the present and of course, the past, instead of a fixation on future gaming really speaks to me, the expo certainly lives up to its title.

 

Loads of floorspace was filled with every game under the sun, many of which were multiplayer set ups, you felt like you could start a game with anyone. There were a couple of consoles I hadn’t even heard of before, I tried an FM Towns Marty for the first time, there goes my credibility eh?

There was still a strong presence from the new console generation though, the big three were out in force.

The real hype was radiating from the arcade section: an absolutely mindblowing collection of cabinets, shoot’em ups, racing games, all that good stuff set to free play so you could game as much as you want. Personally the chance to play some real shooters by CAVE on an actual arcade cab was just awesome. With all the score competitions going on there were opportunities for all that bedroom practice to be seen by fellow gamers who genuinely appreciate it too. I’ve got a score to settle with Typing of the Dead tomorrow, that’s for sure.

It was all about playing the games, but also the retro community that surrounds us all. Retro Joe, Tooty UK (Stuart), Rich King Retro, Cybersnake (Jason), Dave 'imagamegeek' to name but a few where there. The GamesYouLoved crew and these guys and others took time out to chat and do some mutual filming too. All in a days work for these massive retrogaming fans. Not only this but we hooked up with Sam (@MrSidC64) to chat about his Commodore book on the www.funstock.co.uk stand - where we fitted in a short interview of this and his new Amiga Kickstarter which begins Monday 13th October.

A little walk through the venue presented me with crazy cosplay karaoke competitions going on in one corner next to a casual Smash Bros tourney run by the Bristol boys who’d come up for the weekend. Alongside this Retro Collect had their many competitions on and kept the energy up all day - great job guys.

There were enough stands selling retro games, quality prints and other merchandise to make me believe my wallet had a mind of its own. There was even a bloke selling swords, but thankfully the cosplayers weren’t all armed to the teeth.

So the end of the day found me back on an arcade cab playing Progear, just dying to finish my credit (it was a good run!) while being asked repeatedly by security to finish up as it was closing time. Eventually I had to relent and abandon my plane to its fate. See you all tomorrow though yeah?

By Ben Cataldo

GamesYouLoved

Commodore & Amiga - EXCLUSIVE

We caught up with Sam Dyer at the point of printing his new Commodore 64 book at the printing press to see what his views on the Kickstarter success are and to the future with his Amiga book

Q. now you are at the proof stage how real does this all feel to you now? 

Sam:

It still feels massively exciting and I can't wait to hold an actual book. I think it will be surreal to actually hold one as I've dreamt of doing for so long! But I've loved every minute of the campaign. From initial concept,  promotional stuff,  kickstarter and the actual design it has all been a blast! 

Q. seeing the proofs now are there any spreads / games in the books that really stand out for you? 

Sam:

My favourite spread had always been Total Recall. Stephen Ian Thomson's pixel art in that game is stunning. Too see his image of Cohaagans eyes popping out on Mars across a double page spread is a joy to behold! The game maps have also come out really well and the detail picked up by the print is fantastic.

Q. how do you as a designer feel about this being your own hard work that is coming to light - a reality now?

Sam:

It feels very odd to be honest! I've worked on the book every night for the last 6 months in some form or another and it really has been a labour of love! To answer your question,  it's a mixture of excitement (and relief!). But most of all I feel proud of what I have created. 

Q what would you like to say to the community out there who has supported you? 

Sam:

You are ALL amazing. I have been seriously touched by the support I've had from all corners of the retro gaming community. Everyone has been so kind and to be honest, none if it would have been possible without this support. I must also say a huge thank you to a few people that have given up their own time and have been giving me advice along the way. So huge thanks to everyone at GYL, Andy Roberts, Mat Allen,  James Monkman and Steve Jarratt.

Q what is it about the Commodore 64 book that made it your first gaming book to focus on? 

Sam:

It was my first computer as a child and the one I remember with the most fondest memories. Also I felt there was a gap in the market for a visual book on the C64. It hadn't been done before and that appealed to me massively. I also knew that the C64 had a very active scene so drumming up interest would have been easier than picking a niche computer with a limited fan base. And most importantly,  I'm a HUGE fan of pixel art and the C64 has some of the best ever (in my opinion!)

Q. what have you learnt managing the kickstarter - positive and negative - any tips? 

Sam:

Ive learnt LOADS. I made some mistakes but I've learnt from them. Starting a small publishing business and running a Kickstarter was a huge learning curve for me and I must give a huge thanks to Tim Nicholls here. Tim ran the hugely successful Artcade book campaign and he very kindly gave me lots of advice at the start. This advice gave me the confidence to 'go for it'. Cheers Tim!

As far as tips go... I would say: Before launching your Kickstarter, spend a couple of months, drumming up interest,  join relevant forums, gaining a following on social media and produce a promo video. That way, when launched, you will already have done a lot of hard work around promotion and getting the word out there. People will not find you,  you have to find them. Get your numbers right! Do all the maths before you begin and set your total. Take into consideration all outgoings and TAX etc... by getting your numbers right, it means you won't have to stress about this side of things and can concentrate on enjoying the campaign.

Don't rest once funded! The C64 book was funded after only 1 week and it is natural to maybe take your foot off the gas and think 'Ive done it!'. It was at this point I had some fantastic advice from a friend that I should push on and make the campaign even bigger and better. "Don't stop now" he said. "Release some exciting stretch goals, more pledges and keep pushing the campaign 100%". Im so glad I took this advice as it really gave me that final push to make it as successful as it was.

Q give us some juicy gossip about the forthcoming Amiga book you have planned?

Sam:

OK! The Amiga book will be next book in the Commpendium series. It will follow the same style as the C64 book book and will act as a kind of big brother (or sister) to it. As far as gossip goes,  I have been working behind the scenes with Matt Wilsher on ways to make the Amiga campaign even bigger and better then the C64 one. 

All I will say is that we will be resurrecting a famous unreleased game as a physical product. Printed box, instructions and actual floppies. That is all I can say at the moment, all will be revealed soon!

To order the C64 book go here: http://www.bitmapbooks.co.uk/
To follow Sam on twitter to find out more about the C64 book and hear the latest on the Amiga book go here: https://twitter.com/MrSidC64

Grandmother buys old building in Japan, finds 55 classic arcade cabinets

Grandmother buys old building in Japan, finds 55 classic arcade cabinets

If you wanted to experience arcade games any time over the last forty years then you had to visit the Far East!. The game centers are still there lit up with neon lights all very attractive and Blade Runner like! But you have to go back 20 years to see them at their prime. Now one very lucky arcade fan is experiencing just that right now due to a surprise purchase by his girlfriend’s grandmother.

The grandmother agreed to purchase an old building in Chiba, which is just outside of Tokyo. When they arrived to check out their  building they found out that the first two floors used to be a game center in the 1980's!!. Whoever ran the arcade back then left all the cabs behind when it closed, and it is full of classic and now highly sort after games!

In total there are 55 arcade cabinets, most of which are the upright Aero Cities cabs, but it’s the game boards that they contain that’s the most exciting discovery. The list of game includes the following:

• Columns
• Donkey Kong
• Galaxian
• Magical Tetris Challenge
• Metal Slug X
• Pengo
• Raiden 2
• Super Puzzle Fighters 2 X
• Street Fighter 2 Championship Edition
• Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Zero 2)
• Street Fighter EX 2

There’s sure to be more games discovered as not all of the cabinets are in working order, with monitor damage being the main fault but whatever they find, this lucky gamer has just cashed in his extra credit!!

Gaming - the 'Art' of Collecting and playing

My first console was an atari 2600 which I unfortunately do not still have. I've been collecting since I got my SNES when it first came out and I have never traded or sold any SNES game I've bought over the years

My first gaming experience I can remember is on my Uncle's pc not sure what it was exactly but it had big floppy discs. I'm 32 now and been gaming since I was about 6 or 7,  Super Nintendo is my favourite console followed by PS1

I'm currently looking online for arcade cabinets like Point Blank,  Street Fighter 2,  Tekken 2 and a few Others. When it comes to gaming art - Drawing wise,  I just like to draw.

My best games:

Atari would have to be Space Invaders or Asteroids as they were the games that got me started.  The sound effects on space invaders were very basic but had you in a blind panic once they started to speed up.

Sega I think Sonic 2 or Jet Set Radio and Sonic 2 because of the speed of it Sonic 1 was good but this game took it to another level. Chemical Plant Zone was unbelievable and Jet Set Radio because it was unlike anything else at the time and still stands alone today in originality of character and level design, 

I've got it on Dreamcast,  Xbox and PS3 it's that good, but it's Sony for me.  Metal gear or FF8,  metal gear because of the unbelievably realistic atmosphere at that time only Resident Evil came close to really thinking about the character and how to not alert any of the bad guys in the game, and FF8 because of everything; story,  graphics,  gameplay,  the card game (which I must have spent at least 30-40 hours playing alone).

When it comes to a SNES best game, this is the hardest for me as I could easily have a top 50. 

Legend of Zelda,  Mario World,  Goldeneye,  Mario 64, Zelda mainly because after playing it on NES originally and seeing the graphics then putting in the cartridge on my SNES and seeing Hyrule for the first time was amazing and then to top that - when it changed to the Dark Hyrule it opened up practicality another game.

Mario World as it was the first game I played on a SNES at a friends house and I knew that I had to have a super nintendo,  the level/character design was quality and still prove to be a challenge to this day,  

My sons both love playing this the most on the SNES and play it daily,  Goldeneye is a fantastic game because of the multi player,  no connecting consoles and having 4 tvs all in one room plus the fact of it being awesome in 1 player as well! Finally with Mario 64 because of the mass there is to it, levels,  challenges,  stars to collect just a massive quality game.

And I don't care what any one on the net says about emulating any of these games there's nothing better than playing them the way they are meant to be played with the proper pad and the original console.

Thanks the Daniel Beech for his Guest Blog
You can follow Dan on Twitter to at @Danny_Beech1981

Retro Domination. A World of Gaming in Australia and beyond

GamesYouLoved go in the World of Retro Domination in Australia and speak to the team who tell us about their huge passion in life. Retro Games.

Retro Domination Team at PAX AUS 2013

GamesYouLoved 
So Pete - for those who don't know you - tell us about why you started Retro Domination?

Pete The idea came about 2 years prior to starting the site, having worked within the gaming industry for close to 6 years at the time running Console Domination I had always had a strong desire to expand the site out to cover retro gaming as well.

It wasn’t until late 2011 that I came across a YouTuber called RetroGamerTim which sparked an idea on how I could expand out the brand which has been created. Originally Retro Domination was to be a small feature on the current generation gaming site Console Domination. That was short lived as I was introduced to a fantastic and dedicated team that have a genuine passion for pop culture and of course retro gaming. 

As the saying goes from there the rest is history and Retro Domination is now a standalone site and part of the Console Domination Gaming Network.

Tim's MVS Cabinet

GamesYouLoved 
How did you get involved with Retro Domination?

Tim: Well prior to RD starting I was doing a few videos on YouTube on my RetrogamerTim Channel, as id watched a lot of retro gamers through the years and wanted to give something back to the community.

Oddly Peter found my videos interesting enough to have them feature on his gaming site, Console Domination. So for a few months, I’d be tucked away in the lower left corner of the site with my own little section of Retro Gaming vids.

I was also invited along to their podcast, and being that I enjoyed gaming podcasts, relished the opportunity. From that point, we lured in Mark, Daz and Matt and we drummed the idea of doing a Retro Podcast. Would it work? Would anyone listen? Will it be a great way for friends to catch up and have a good old yarn about classic gaming?

Yes, yes and yes.

Daz's Game Room

Darren: Doing the odd article and helping out with media events for Console Domination, Peter asked if Tim and I were interested in doing a Retro Podcast seeing Tim’s YouTube retro videos were doing well. After the first Podcast was recorded I knew this was I wanted to do.

Mark: Daz and I have been friends since we were but wee lads and we had known Tim for a couple of years before RD was started. Prior to starting with the team, I had basically muscled my way on to an episode of the original Console Domination podcast (via Tim) and was introduced to Pete. I guess he liked what he heard, because I was then asked back to help out with a Nintendo E3 special. Fast forward a few months, Pete asked me if I'd be interested in joining the RD team permanently and the rest is history!

Matt: It was a combination of my love of retro video games and my friendship with Darren Borg. Darren introduced me to the owner, Peter Biu and the rest was Retro history.

Matt's Game Room

GamesYouLoved 
What are some your highlights of running the Retro Domination brand?

Darren: Where do I start? Being the Media contact for the site, I get to speak to many people in the scene. Some of the main highlights include speaking with Ben Daglish, Jeroen Tel, Andrew Hewson and Ryuichi  Nishizawa (Wonderboy Creator).Hosting the Classic Console Area at PAX AUS 2013. But the biggest highlight for me is the support and encouraging words from our fan base. They make it all worth it.

Tim: I could say chatting to “industry legends” or “YouTube heroes”, but honestly, the thing that’s kept me here, is the friendships I’ve made with the guys on the team. Chatting at length about the Sega Master System or the Neo Geo, and seeing the passion that all these guys have is amazing. I mean, we have a fantastic fan base on Facebook and our podcasts get a lot of hits… but at the end of the day, the best part is my friends.

Mark's Cabinet

GamesYouLoved 
Why did you start a podcast and what type of things do you cover?

Darren: Due to the popularity of retro gaming, Pete thought it would be a great idea to form a team. We needed a couple more people to join, Mark and Matt were childhood friends of mine and I knew they would fit in perfectly. We cover everything from retro gaming, movies, toys, memories as kids and heaps more. We also have guests on the show consisting of Youtubers and game industry people.

Tim: It’s a medium I’ve always enjoyed, I loved listening to guys like Radical Rascals or the Operation Killscreen podcasts, and felt it was a fantastic way to convey our love for classic gaming.

What do we cover? Well there are currently forty odd episodes so…a lot!

GamesYouLoved 
What’s the Retro Gaming scene like in Australia for those outside the country - give us a flavour and insight?

Mark:  One word: Expensive. Take a game that will sell for $5 in the US and you'll be lucky to get it for under $20 here. I also find that there is definitely more loyalty to Sega over Nintendo here (although Nintendo still gets its fair share of love!) as opposed to the US and there is definitely a ton of love for the vintage computer scene here too. We seem to mirror Europe more than we do the US.

Tim: It was good back in the day, but in the advent of “YouTube game hunting pick up frenzy”, it’s made it really costly here.  Considering we are a PAL region also, this makes the prices even higher.

So lately all of my purchases have been off shore, either from Japan (as I am a bit of a Sega Mark 3 fiend), the UK or America.  So any retro collectors expecting to come here for a holiday expecting bargains…trust me, they’re cheaper where you are!

Darren: It’s a double edged sword, first you have serious collectors who are happy to chat about all things retro, but the worst part are the prices and what resellers are charging for retro gear is ridiculous. I do purchase my gear from the UK and USA as it’s still cheaper for me even with shipping on top.

Mick Gordon and Pete

GamesYouLoved 
Any exciting plans for 2014?

Pete: Last year we co-hosted “The Classic Console Area” at PAX in Melbourne. This year we are working on bringing fans of the golden era something much bigger. With planning already under away for the show that will take place again in Melbourne in late October our aim to showcase the most impressive display of playing Consoles and more. I can’t go into too much detail but let’s just say it will feel like you have travelled back to the 80’s that’s for sure.

GamesYouLoved 
Tell us about some of the interesting people you have met on social media?

Matt: We have been fortunate to meet some really great people: Gregg Hansen from Arcade Impossible, who came to Australia for PAX 2013! Johnny Millennium (Happy Console Gamer), Rob Man, Billy & Jay aka The Game Chasers, Bajo and Hex from the Australian ABC TV show ‘Good Game’, Jon Hare,  the founder of Sensible Software, Andrew Hewson from Hewson Consultants, and Walter Day from Twin Galaxies!

Darren: Where do I start? My C64 heroes Ben Daglish, Jeroen Tel and Andrew Hewson. Walter Day was a huge honor to have on the show! Meeting Tim Schafer,  Bajo from ABC’s TV Show Good Game and Mick Gordon (Killer Instinct music creator (Xbox One). I’ve also become very good friends with fellow retro gamers like Alex from Aus Retro gamer and Aleks Serblander from Weird and Retro.

Tim: Most notably, Walter Day the founder of Twin Galaxies. He was certainly a character and one of the few interviewees I was in awe of!

Aside from Mr. Day, amazing industry guys like Mark “TDK” Knight and the very generous and very humble Ryuichi Nishizawa (Sega/Westone).

YouTube guys like Johnny Millennium, Rob Man and Gamester 81 were also fun to chat to, always interesting to hear how someone else was brought up through the early days of classic Gaming.

Who’s on my wish list? Yu Suzuki.

GamesYouLoved 
Tell us about some of the events you guys have attended in Australia and even overseas?

Matt: Darren & I were able to attend the Game Masters exhibition 
Which was held in Melbourne. It was a celebration of Arcade and gaming through the years and the keynote speaker was none other than Lucas Arts great Tim Schafer, responsible for some of the best Adventure games of all time. Of course the highlight light for 2013 was helping to run the Classic Console gaming area at PAX Australia. Darren & Tim were also able to attend some media events for THQ and other publishers on behalf of Console Domination, and team were also able to attend Shadowloo Showdown, an Australian fighting game tournament that attracts some of the best players in the world!

Unfortunately, we haven’t yet had the opportunity to attend any events overseas, but hopefully 2014 will change that!

The Retro Domination Team

GamesYouLoved 
Who do you guys follow in the retro scene - any shout outs?

Darren: Big fan and dear friend Gregg Hansen of Arcade Impossible, Johnny Millennium, Luke Morse, Ausretrogamer , Weird and Retro and GameSack

Matt: I particularly enjoy watching AVGN (aka James Rolfe), Arcade Impossible with our good friend Gregg Hansen, and I also listen to the Radical Rascals podcast.  

Mark: Locally, our good friend Alex from Aus Retro Gamer, our boys over at Retrospekt and those cool dudes from Weird & Retro. Otherwise, I'm a big fan of Luke Morse. His repair videos and game play videos are great and informative, but I particularly love his Japanese cultural videos too. Of course, the Johnny & Rob Man from the Happy Console Gamer channel get a big shout out. Johnny Millennium’s enthusiasm is just too damn infectious! Last, but certainly not least is the ever so handsome Green Hansen from Arcade Impossible!

GamesYouLoved 
What are some of your favorite games of all time and why?

Tim: Yu Suzuki’s’ Shenmue. It was a game that I loved. You were drawn into this amazing world with a sense of freedom to explore in gorgeous 3D. Where you could walk in to a shop and look and pick up every item for sale. It just was, and still is an absolute treasure of a game, and genre defining too.

Aside from that, I hold the very early Neo Geo titles close to my heart. I was always impressed by the graphics, beautiful sprites and larger than life characters. Games such as Magician Lord, Samurai Showdown, Fatal Fury really blew me away back in the early 90s.  They just seemed a step above the average Capcom or Konami brawler.

Darren: Of all time, it’s definitely Wonderboy in Monsterland (I own signed copies of the cart and have a dedicated arcade board) and I’m a big fan of the Street Fighter series. Many C64 games like Myth, Mayhem in Monsterland, Creatures 2, Hammerfist and the Last Ninja Series. Shinobi series, Midnight Resistance, Heavy Barrel, Karnov, Silent Hill, Castlevania  Symphony of the Night and anything Neo Geo, I could go on.  Atari 2600,C64 and Sega Mega Drive are my fav platforms of gaming. C64 and 2600 because I grew up playing them and Sega Mega Drive for the fact it was my next big jump in gaming and that it felt like I had an arcade in my home.

Mark: The Street Fighter series is number one. The impact  that it has had on my life is really hard to put into words, but I love fighters in general (both 2D & 3D). Prior to Street Fighter II, i was a huge fan of Final Fight and Double Dragon. Guess I'm just a fan of animated violence! I’m also very much into World of Warcraft and have spent countless hours questing, raiding, etc. Finally, I also have a soft spot for shmups, despite being really lousy at them!

Matt: Wow, hard question! I have always enjoyed adventure games, specifically from Sierra and LucasArts. Sierra being the pioneers of the text based adventure game and creating some of the best games of its kind, such as Kings Quest, Police Quest and the Leisure Suit Larry Series. I also really enjoyed Maniac Mansion, Loom and the Monkey Island Series. I liken these games to the “Choose your own Adventure” books, being able to mould the ending based on your decisions. Even though there was only one ending with these games, it still felt personalised.

Thanks guys - keep up the great work! 'GamesYouLoved Team'