GamesYouLoved want to create a world where games of every description unlock your memories, open up nostalgic thoughts and bring people together.
With remembering the games you loved when you were younger we hope you can have some great feelings about the good times now!
We spoke to HD Retrovision about their now 'Live' Kickstarter project - its goals and expectations, and why its so important to support retro gaming systems of days gone by.
Tell us why you choose to work on a Sega & Nintendo retro gaming product - rather than a new generation console accessory? We grew up on these consoles and they're the reason we're gamers today. It saddened us to see them threatened by the lack of support on modern TVs. Who are the products designed for?
The products are really designed for anyone who wants a simple, affordable, yet high quality solution to playing their old consoles on new TVs. It's true other solutions exist, but they can be expensive and messy, or require people to have hardware skills they don't have. What was is about the Genesis and SNES that makes it so special? The games on those consoles represent the pinnacle of gaming to us in a lot of ways.
The games had enjoyable story lines without hours of cutscenes, and designers were focused more on awesome gameplay than making the game have movie-quality graphics. They also feature some of our favorite video game music of all time. I still hear the Desert Strike theme in my head regularly.
How important are playing games for you when you making a product like this? Very important. We've tested our cables across on many many games to make sure we don't run into anything unexpected. It's really the only way to know if you're going to run any issues if someone plugs a Sonic 3 into a Sonic & Knuckles into a Game Genie. How has your background and experience contributed to the development of this Kickstarter?
Besides being avid gamers, we're both electrical engineers and mathematicians by training. This has contributed to us being very precise and methodical in our development of the cables. Tell us a bit about the technical details to feature in the product? The concept behind our cables is not new, but the implementation is radically different. Through careful engineering, we are able to fit our custom electronics into a tight, enclosed space without an additional power source. This approach lowers the cost and headache compared with competing solutions, which we hope will give more people access to high-quality retro-gaming.
Left - composite video, Right with component from HD Retrovision cables
What are your favourite 5 Genesis games of all time? Streets of Rage, NBA Jam, Kid Chameleon, Toejam & Earl, Earthworm Jim What are your favourite 5 SNES games of all time?Megaman X, Chrono Trigger, Super Castlevania IV, Shadowrun, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past What does retrogaming /gaming mean to you?
It's the a link back to our childhood. Retro-gaming brings us back to an era where some of our best memories were formed, often while playing these games with a good friend or sibling. Back the Kickstarter here:
Everyone loves a good movie licence game tie-in. Back in the day, all it took was a mildly popular film and before you knew it a game was released. Sam Dyer - Author. www.bitmapbooks.co.uk Here are my top 5.
5. Platoon (C64)
Ah, an 18 rated film made into a video game for kids! Set in the Vietnam war, Platoon was an Oscar winning film directed by Oliver Stone starring Charlie Sheen. A classic war film that is full of violence, guns and death. Sounds like the perfect ingredients for a children's video game. The Commodore 64 version of Platoon was programmed by Zach Townsend and the awesome soundtrack was by Jonathan Dunn. The the actual game is a series of mini-games. The first is a platform shoot em up where you must find your way out of the jungle maze whilst killing enemies that come at you from all directions. Its really tough but great fun. The later levels then turn into a really impressive first person shooter style game. Platoon on the Commodore 64 offers great graphics, expert programming, plays really well and overall; does not feel rushed. Lost hours playing this pretending I was a war hero in the Vietnam jungle. Platoon was also released on Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari ST, PC DOS and ZX Spectrum. All of which look like pretty decent versions.
4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (C64)
If there was a fast buck to made and a game to be rushed, you know that US Gold would have to get in on the act. In 1989 they released Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on the back of this hit film which starred Harrison Ford and Sean Connery. Now I may be wearing my rose tinted spectacles, but I really like this game. Its a platformer that sees you control Indy and must go in search of the Holy Grail. The plot stays pretty faithful to the film and it sees you start in a series of caverns. You must make it to the surface in the pitch darkness but collected torches that enable you to see where to go. The torches burn down so you much grab another before it does. You can you your whip to kill enemies. Once you make it out of the caverns you must then make your way across a train roof. The game style changes slightly towards the end which adds variety. It plays great and is really good fun. So it it's not massive (4 levels), the sprites are poorly drawn and it feels a bit sluggish. The magazines didn't rate it either but for some reason it holds a special place in my gaming heart. I have not seen any other conversions but oddly, the Amiga version was an excellent point and click by LucasArts. Well worth checking out.
3. Robocop (C64 and Spectrum)
Another ultra violent film made into a game for 9 year olds! Released in 1987, the film of Robocop saw cop Murphy brutally (almost) killed by a gang of criminals and is then brought back to life and turned into a robotic policeman. Robocop then embarks on his one man fight against crime. A great film and a real classic. Released in varying forms on pretty much every system known to man, it was the Commodore 64 version that I actually owned. The games also changed across each system too. The arcade version is a different game to the home 8-bits. The Spectrum, Amstrad and C64 versions have differences. The NES and Gameboy versions also differ. Now, in hindsight the Spectrum version of this is much much better but back in the day, the C64 is the version I played. Jonathan Dunn is responsible for the epic soundtrack. It stays pretty faithful to the film plot. It even mimics the rape scene in the second level where you have to shoot the bad guy whilst missing the woman. Overall the presentation is great. The sound, gameplay and graphics all felt polished and well thought out. The Commodore 64 version got played so much when I was younger, it had to included in this list. A really cool film and a really cool game to go with it. Robocop stayed top of the game charts for months and months and was a massive hit when released.
2. Batman the Movie (C64 and Spectrum)
A member one of my family who is no longer with us brought me this for christmas 1990 so it's very nostalgic for me. I remember been really impressed with the striking box art and couldn't wait to give it a go. I have reviewed this game before and i'm sure everyone knows it well. As a whole package, I think its the best game on the C64. After recently seeing and playing the Spectrum version, this is also very very good if not better than the C64 version. From the box art to the music to the graphics to the gameplay, it really stands out as a game that pushed these systems to their limits. The most impressive part was that it followed the film plot almost exactly. Level by level it followed the film. This showed great attention to detail and real creativity. The Amiga version is also worth a shout out as it looks amazing. Batman games are still been produced to this day on modern systems which really shoes the strength of this movie franchise.
1. Goldeneye (N64)
As a massive bond fan, none of the Bond games that preceeded Goldeneye really did it for me. From the average View to a Kill to the awful The Spy who Loved me.They were ok but just not amazing. There was a gap in the market for a video game that actually was as good as the amazing films. So when Goldeneye came along in 1997 on the Nintendo 64 it blew me away. The only first person shooter id seen previously was Doom and Duke Nukem and Goldeneye was a massive step forward. The graphics were out of the world and the playability was so addictive. I was a little older when it was released so I would hang out with my mate, usually up to no good and spend hours and hours playing muliplayer battles. It featured characters from the film and also classic bond good and bad guys. Its a classic game that behind Mario 64, defined the N64 and helped sell them by the bucket load.
So that concludes my top 5 movie licence games. Do you agree or disagree with my list? Thanks, Sam
For those growing up in the early 80s in the UK the Commodore 64 was a monster of a computer in so many ways. Sure we owned a ZX Speccy and even an Amstrad CPC 464 - but this was an American Dream machine.
From the look of the computer to the amazing array of games and fun they gave us - this was the closest we could get to the arcade.
So when Sam Dyer – he of Commodore addict and Retro Asylum key member, announced his Commodore 64 Book Kickstarter - we were pretty excited to say the least. After result of a very Kickstarter successful campaign we had the final printed version in our hands and what a great feeling this was to see this come to life. Over the last few days we have poured over this respectful and entertaining tribute to the C64.
From amazing graphics used in the
artwork,the games chosen of which there
are many - to the mini-review write ups. This is a C64 fans dream. In terms of coffee table luxury books on the art and the subject - there isn’t anything like this out there of this quality and
it's great to hear there is a next book on the Amiga too to follow up for another Kickstarter beginning on 13/10/14. For more info on this Amiga book go to: www.bitmapbooks.co.uk
Some of our favourite spreads in the book (as well as the GYL spread of IK+) entries are as follows:
•Activision's
Ghostbusters – which has the commentary ofthe game written by its creator David Crane
•Wizball
– which is a crazy and fun game with cool graphics in the entry described by
Jon Hare of Sensible Software
Alongside
the pixel art on many gaming spreads is original artwork by Oliver Frey provided
by Games industry Legend, Roger Kean of Newsfield Publications and Zzap!64. This all adds to the quality and endorsement of industry games people who still really care about the Commodore 64 and its legacy.
Finally its worth mentioning the quality of
print and finishing on this job. Sam is clearlygraphic designer who cares about the final detail of colour repro, the
paper stock and quality binding of this job. It even uses spot UV varnish both
on the cover and dust cover to great effect.
GamesYouLoved remember Greg Martin as great contributor 80’s and 90’s graphic design and gaming.
In gaming’s infancy the cover was
usually the only thing we had to go on to get any insight into what a videogame was
about. Many a game would be bought on the merit of some brilliantly detailed
fantasy or sci-fi box-art and well designed logo title, and often it would be
infinitely better graphically than the very game it was promoting.
Back in my early days of gaming I
would often pop down to my local games store to browse the various games
available for both the system I owned (Amiga) and other platforms of the time.
I spent a great deal of time as a teen, mooching about in the classic games
outlets, vying for a go on an imported Super Famicon (And rarely did I get a
go!). I consequently spent a lot of time looking at the box-art for games and
this imagery has stuck with me.
As with most media, be it album
covers, film posters, or video cassettes, much of the best early video game art
was hand-drawn, painted or airbrushed. In this was pre-Photoshop era
eye-catching design was crucial if you were to try and stand out in the crowd
(or the on the shelf). One key artist whose art did stand out from the crowd
was Greg martin.
Unfortunately, Greg Martin has recently passed away. He was the man behind box and promo
art for countless classic titles for Sega, Hudson, Capcom and Namco for many
8bit and 16bit platforms. His art has been used for covers for games for such
famous franchises as Sonic, Pac-Man, the Adventure Island series and cartoon
licensed games from Disney and Hanna Barbera.
Early on Martin had worked for
Hanna Barbera's studios, learning the the form and characterisations for their
most famous characters from Flintstones to Yogi Bear, even working in the same
office as a young Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame.
Influenced by other illustration
greats such as Frank Frazetta, he would produce beautiful
24 to 30 inch airbrushed paintings that took nearly a week to complete, often
working through the night to meet the tight deadlines demanded by the
distributors. This didn’t seem to compromise the quality of his work.
I feel that we often took the
boxart for granted, overlooking the skill and craft involved in producing
something so integral in selling the product. The graphic artists behind such
imagery are the unsung heroes of retro gaming, giving many of our favourite
retro titles their character and identity; and this is what we remember the
most.
Greg Martin was certainly one
such craftsman. His art, although often regarded as ‘just pop-art’, is
important for us older gamers. His beautifully detailed art is stamped on my
mind reminding me of those days of ‘mooching’, and such reminiscing makes me
smile.
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 RyuichiNishizawa (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, CastlevaniaSymphony 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'
Who are the products designed for?
