The Story of Amstrad CPC in Pixels...

[SyX]

The other day, Chris Wilkins, author of The Story of Ocean, The Story of US Gold and finishing the last touches to his last book The Story of ZX Spectrum in Pixels, commented in his facebook page if there was interest in making a similar book about the CPC.

Aside of the typical c64 idjit, the people liked the idea a lot, and a few guys, me included, commented that the game story of the CPC can not be understood without the games from outside of UK, mainly France and Spain. And it would be a great opportunity for aside of the typical Gryzor, Renegade, Chase HQ, ... for showing games as Skweek, Zombi, AMC, BAT, Bumpy, Eden's Blue, Sapiens, ...

He liked the idea a lot and i promised to help him with this task, aside of the game reviews (between 80 and 100 games), he will have a few interviews with CPC personalities, i suggested him: Roland Perry (Check), Richard Clayton (Check and he will try ask him about the ANT), the Oliver Twins (Check), the Pickford Bros (Check), John Brandwood (CHECK, CHECK, CHECK!!! At last we will have an interview of Johnny "Amstrad" ), Richard Aplin, more Ocean/US Gold employes, ...

Am i forgetting any interesting CPC personality to be interviewed???

With respect to the games, i have been thinking in a few possibilities:
1.- 30 best games of UK, 30 best games of France, 10 best games of Spain, 5 best games of Australia/Germany/..., 15 best budget games and 10 best PD/modern CPC games (thinking in Black Lamp, Atomic, ...).

2.-  Or choosing the 3 or 4 most representatives games from the best CPC companies, but including not only Ocean, Gremlin, ... , because we need to add ERE, Infogrames, Ubi, Dinamic, Melbourne House, ...

3.- Or choosing games by category, the best racing games, the best puzzles, ...

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But if i have one thing clear, it's that the games in this book should be chosen by the community. Because that, guys, we are going to make a big game list, put your favourites CPC games here, remember not only from UK, and you are free to choose one or a hundred, choose by categories or what you like... And in two weeks, i will pass to Chris this link and my list of favourite games.

His idea is start a kickstarter campaing early the next year (january or february) and then publish the book.
 

[Carnivius]

Can we not use the word 'best'?   It's rarely ever true and seemingly just opinion deluded into believing it's fact.

[Xifos]

Hi,

You could add :

John o'Brien (coding)
Raffaele Cecco (coding)
David Whittacker (music)
Ben Daglish (music)
David Perry (coding)
Elmar Krieger (coding)

Some guys from Loriciels (i'm french and i can't give their names, quelle honte)

Maybe Demo Makers...

Eric Chahi because he did Infernal Runner !

[dlfrsilver]

- Laurant Weill (ex loriciels boss)
- Eliott Grassiano (microids boss)
- lankhor guys (jean-claude lebon etc..)
- Infogrames ex-boss (Bruno Bonnell)

[villain]

For me Zap't'Balls, Xyphoes Fantasy and Megablasters would be important as some kind of link between demoscene and traditional games industry. The story of R-Type an it's remake would also fit in this context.

Concerning interviews maybe it could be interesting to talk with one of the famous crackers (XOR, Chany, BMC). They also belong to this history, though they represented the other side.

Oh... And I also think Pirates! was a cool game on CPC.

[SyX]

Remember, i will only accept the BEST CPC games, you can love Bionic Commando, but i will not recommend that shameful game to Chris 

@Xifos, @dlfrsilver and @villain thanks for the suggestions, i will pass them to him, but i think the number of interviews is a lot more limited, maybe a dozen or less, because the goal of the book is showing the most representatives CPC games, the interviews are an extra.

Even if i would love a full book of interviews and with special detail in the french CPC developers, the french side of the CPC is for me the most interesting and not very well known out of France, with all those talents guys as Eric Chahi (Infernal Runner is the second game that i recommended Chris to convince him to support more than UK games ).

Dennis and the rest of french people, is there anybody writting a French CPC Story? We need that book and i would read even i would be using a dictionary all the time

For me Zap't'Balls, Xyphoes Fantasy and Megablasters would be important as some kind of link between demoscene and traditional games industry.
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Oh... And I also think Pirates! was a cool game on CPC.

Yes, i feel the same

With respect to the story of R-Type remake or the demoscene and cracker guys interviews, well this is not the definitive CPC book, the idea is to make a nice CPC games book with something more than the usual retro gamer references and there is limitation in space... but Chris is open to make extra books if the first one is a success.

More of your favourites games please or i will make the list and put THE BEST CPC GAMES EVER as Mobile Man or Billy La Banlieue I and II or Johnny Quest or ...

[TotO]

Ask to iXien, he should help a lot about french videogames and editors stories on CPC...
beside of that, some french developpers as "cpcplusplus" (on the cpcrulez forum) should relate his story about EXIT and Defender of The Crown.
(and his "size 6" floppy protection)

[villain]

With respect to the story of R-Type remake or the demoscene and cracker guys interviews, well this is not the definitive CPC book, the idea is to make a nice CPC games book with something more than the usual retro gamer references and there is limitation in space... but Chris is open to make extra books if the first one is a success.

I would say that it´s a must that a book dealing with the best CPC-games mentions this great remake. :-) So it would also be a must that it refers to the original. But of course I also understand your arguments.
There are a few other games in my mind atm, that I (! :-)) like. But that´s of course subjective. Winter Games is a great multiplayer, Super Cycle is a really fast racing game, Paperboy was a nice arcade conversion, P47 was fast and well designed... If I remember more, I will post them here and then it´s your choice.

[Gryzor]

Wait - this is actually happening? ? ?

[SyX]

Wait - this is actually happening? ? ?

Yes, Chris asked in the FB and the CPC facebook guys answered with a sound YES!!! ... but put those pesky nisky frenchie games (and spanish, australian, ...). As the rest of Chris's books, the process is Kickstarter it, to see if it's viable and then GO TO PRINT!!!

I would say that it´s a must that a book dealing with the best CPC-games mentions this great remake. :-) So it would also be a must that it refers to the original. But of course I also understand your arguments.

I can not be partial, because i put my grain of sand in R-Type. But i'm positive and i will think that this is the first book of many more and not only from Chris

There are a few other games in my mind atm, that I (! :-)) like. But that´s of course subjective. Winter Games is a great multiplayer, Super Cycle is a really fast racing game, Paperboy was a nice arcade conversion, P47 was fast and well designed... If I remember more, I will post them here and then it´s your choice.

Hehehe, but i'm not the person choosing, i will pass the list to him, with the links for he can test them, and then he will take the decision about which games go to the book (Captain Blood, Le Manoir de Mortvielle, Prince of Persia, ... pleaseee xDDDD).

PS: Even Mev Dinc thinks is a good idea, hahaha. He has put in the FB this: "Chris Wilkins, it seems Amstrad CPC deserves a book of its own! "

[Gryzor]

Guys, I really suggest everyone gets on that Facebook thread and express their interest. Unfortunately, as always when there's a thread about the CPC c64 and Speccy fanboys are jumping in to trash the machine. I really just can't understand the level of complex these guys have, trying to turn every CPC discussion into a flame war...

So: get on there and ask for it

[Puresox]

Just looked at some of the comments on there . Had to piss my self laughing at the Comment Crystal Castles was good on the Amstrad !   Did I miss the sarcasm or what . That game is fucking abysmal on the Amstrad.

[chinnyhill10]

Guys, I really suggest everyone gets on that Facebook thread and express their interest. Unfortunately, as always when there's a thread about the CPC c64 and Speccy fanboys are jumping in to trash the machine. I really just can't understand the level of complex these guys have, trying to turn every CPC discussion into a flame war...

So: get on there and ask for it

I'm not going on Facebook.


Here's an idea, why doesn't the books author come here and ask us?

[Carnivius]

Yeah I don't use my Facebook thing for my geekier interests like I do with my Twitter (my FB is mainly just for my acting group and staying in touch with my 'family').  And by sounds of it I'd probably get annoyed with those jerkasses on that thread.  As mr chin says, ask him to come here (not on the topic there or else the fools may follow)


edit: POST 777  *flashbacks of Amsoft's Fruit Machine*

[boyo]

Hi Chaps - thanks for the input . I have been reading this thread throughout the day. I would rather keep discussions on here as that group is one I made for the Spectrum book and I was questioning interest in the Amstrad - thus the heated debate. It does look though that the Amstrad has a great following.

[TFM]

Guys, I really suggest everyone gets on that Facebook thread and express their interest. Unfortunately, as always when there's a thread about the CPC c64 and Speccy fanboys are jumping in to trash the machine. I really just can't understand the level of complex these guys have, trying to turn every CPC discussion into a flame war...

So: get on there and ask for it

Well, Facebook Zombies!!! Thanks god I don't have an account on that CcIiAa owned platform.
Funny story at the side (someone told me): Kangaroo got even kicked out there.


Can't you guys move the discussion to a serious space? Maybe even here?
So people who are actually interested could contribute. 

[MacDeath]

From what I read, rich Stevenson sure has a lot of stories to share as well, would be nice to get some proper interview, if he has time...

[chinnyhill10]

You can't do the story of the CPC without Amsoft. They published the first games and totally dominated the CPC software scene for the first 18 months of the machines life. Everything from Harrier Attack to Lords of Midnight was published by Amsoft. Even big US Gold games like Raid went out on the Amsoft label.


Which brings us to Sorcery and Sorcery +. Sorcery + being the CPC exclusive version. Any of the Gang Of Five able to speak?


The Oliver Twins started out on the CPC. The Pickfords did some great games on the CPC as well. Feud on the CPC is the best version and Ste Pickfords CPC graphics even made it to the IBM PC version (although whoever ported them used some very bizarre colours).


The Freescape system was first demoed on the CPC and Driller wowed when it first hit the scene. The Freescape games arguable worked best on the CPC with good use of colour combined with speed.


The CPC was the top selling home micro in France for many years and so many high quality games were published for it there. Some of them came out in the UK as well. North and South, Get Dexter, Iron Lord are all big French CPC names.


The GX4000 is part of the CPC story. Many of us remember when we first saw Burning Rubber both in print and actually running. Hard to believe it was our humble CPC


The C64 and Speccy are just games machines. The CPC was never intended as just a games machine. You have to consider if you want to include some serious packages. Art Studio, Protext and remember Open Office started life on the CPC as Star Writer (which later became part of Star Office).


And add ons. The CPC was bristling with expansion capabilities. The Spectrum had one expansion port and that was on. On a CPC 6128 you have 3 edge connectors and the possibilities were endless. Hard disk, Rom boxes, digitisers, printers, 2nd disk drives, RAM expansions, silicon disks, you name it, the CPC had it.

[Zoe Robinson]

If this book is going ahead, I'd love to see some space devoted to the PD/demo coders. Some of the most powerful software came out of those scenes and really pushed the CPC to its limits. I know Zap'T'Balls has already been mentioned (and damn, that game still holds up well today) but back in the day things like the Ultimate Megademo were amazing.

Oh, and no book about the CPC is complete without talking to the AA people about the pantomime they performed in one of the Christmas issues. I'd love to know what the hell they were smoking to come up with that.

[Munchausen]

I wonder if Cliff Lawson might be interesting to talk to? Was he involved in the plus machines? He may know something about why they chose the particular feature set that they did?

[MacDeath]

The GX4000 is part of the CPC story. Many of us remember when we first saw Burning Rubber both in print and actually running. Hard to believe it was our humble CPC

Well, can't really call a PLUS an humble CPC, more like a CPC somewhat on steroid...

= the huge 4096 palette simply goes well with Mode0 and is incredibly richer than the classic 27 colours. THIS s what visually makes all the difference. Mode0 can now really look like Atari ST graphics. For other modes, too few colours on screen so it doesn't change a lot actually, just you can do proper grey mode1 perhaps or whole monocolour Mode0 as well.

= some interrupts can help, some things here and there...


But yeah, still some sort of "CPC".

The C64 and Speccy are just games machines.

wasn't Sir Clive pissed off that his creation would only serve for snotlings to play Manic Miner ?
Clive intended the speccy to be somewhat bizness oriented... but hey, 640x200 is where it's at concerning CP/M.

[chinnyhill10]

Well, can't really call a PLUS an humble CPC, more like a CPC somewhat on steroid...

It's only a larger palette, a few hardware sprites and some DMA sound. Hardly what I would called "steroids". If it had been that ground breaking they might have actually sold some!

[TotO]

CPC (464, 472, 664, 6128)
PCW (8256, 8512, 9512)
PLUS (464, 6128)
GX (4000)
PCW (9256,  9512+)
PCW (10, 16)

[Zoe Robinson]

Does the PCW really fit into a story about the CPC? To me it's a completely separate line of computers.

[TotO]

It not. The same for the PLUS... 
Except, if peoples wants to write the Amstrad story.