With its efforts on Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration and The Making of Karateka, developer Digital Eclipse is cementing itself as a real pioneer within the interactive documentary house. Fact be instructed, it’s a distinct segment that the studio fully owns at this level, and although we’re stunned different main gamers within the online game trade have but to dive into it themselves, we will’t think about anyone tackling the shape with out sneaking a number of cheeky glances at Digital Eclipse’s work.
Following on from Karateka, Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story is the second within the Gold Grasp Collection and takes a deep dive into the profession and thoughts of Jeff Minter (generally known as ‘Yak’), an English online game designer and programmer who based Llamasoft. Although well-known throughout the trade and by veteran gamers, you can be forgiven for not understanding an ideal deal about Minter past a few of his extra well-known works, together with Tempest 2000, Gridrunner, Akka Arrh, and Assault of the Mutant Camels. That’s the place Digital Eclipse is available in.
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Even if you happen to’re not conscious of these aforementioned titles, Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story does an distinctive job of bringing you in control and laying out the historical past of what’s undoubtedly certainly one of video gaming’s most fascinating and inventive minds. Ranging from Minter’s days in highschool sixth-form studying find out how to code BASIC on a Commodore PET, the documentary takes you thru his life as he creates Llamasoft, experiences an explosion of recognition, begins to experiment with gentle synthesisers, and finally grapples with the rising corporatisation of the trade all through the ‘90s.
That is all dropped at life splendidly by means of a mix of textual content, picture galleries, archival movies, new interviews (together with the likes of Gary Whitta, Harold Goldberg, and Bex Trista), and sure, playable video games. Within the now-familiar vogue, The Jeff Minter Story’s timeline is separated into 4 chapters, every of which represents a major interval within the creator’s profession. Inside every chapter, you’ll be able to discover the timeline to your coronary heart’s content material, with the overwhelming majority of entries containing a number of visible accompaniments or anecdotal quotes. The whole lot’s been given a beautiful private contact to spotlight Minter’s pursuits and quirks, so whereas the expertise isn’t as broad as Atari 50 or as targeted as The Making of Karateka, Jeff Minter’s is a way more intimate story.
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Along with the primary timeline, the package deal additionally lets you view Minter’s full ‘gameography’ from begin to end, with every entry offering a quick overview of the creator’s sport initiatives together with a handful of in-game photos, from 1981’s Deflex to the 2023 revamp of Akka Arrh. 42 of Minter’s video games are absolutely playable, and whereas these are all discovered periodically all through the timeline itself, you’ll be able to browse the whole assortment at your leisure.
You’ve obtained the aforementioned Tempest 2000 right here, in fact, however there are additionally a number of extra area of interest titles, together with the sunshine synthesiser Colourspace, the lawn-mowing sport Hover Bovver, and an unofficial model of Centipede.
If that’s not fairly area of interest sufficient, the gathering additionally features a demo for Assault of the Mutant Camels ‘89 for the unreleased British console, the Konix Multisystem, with Digital Eclipse utilising Minter’s supply code for the sport alongside particular technical specs of the Konix to drag off the emulation. Very similar to the inclusion of titles like Aquaventure and the unique Akka Arrh in Atari 50, the addition of Assault of the Mutant Camels ‘89 won’t deliver unbridled pleasure to each gamer on the planet, but it surely’s a win for sport preservation and a captivating behind-the-scenes glimpse into what might need been.
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One notable omission from the choice, nonetheless, is Defender 2000 for the Atari Jaguar, which is right down to the truth that neither Minter nor Atari (who, keep in mind, acquired Digital Eclipse in late 2023) owns the rights to the sport. A disappointment, however not the top of the world.
In fact, not each sport included right here is nice, and a few, like 1982’s Ratman, are notably egregious even by Minter’s personal admission. And certain, if you happen to go into this assortment and simply dive straight into the checklist of playable video games with out experiencing the essential context that the timeline itself gives, then you definitely would possibly battle to seek out the enjoyable. However studying the background behind every title included lets you respect the thought and intent behind every sport; to not point out Minter’s love of llamas and sheep.
As soon as once more, Digital Eclipse has offered an effortlessly slick interactive expertise. The whole lot from the timeline itself to the emulation of the video games is pitch-perfect, and the mix of the delicate psychedelic timeline backgrounds with appropriately cool, ambient music gives a splendidly skilled and welcoming wrapper. In fact, if you need one thing a bit extra upbeat, a fast faucet into the choices menu will allow you to swap in ‘The Minter Combine’, a number of digital tracks that really feel completely suited to the expertise.
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We solely got here throughout one vital flaw all through our time with The Jeff Minter Story, and it’s when the audio throughout video segments would often fall out of sync with the visuals. This didn’t occur typically, and a fast faucet of ‘L’ to barely rewind the section solves the Change-specific situation. Fortunately, Digital Eclipse flagged the issue and intends to repair it shortly with a post-launch patch.
Conclusion
Like Atari 50 and The Making of Karateka earlier than it, Digital Eclipse’s newest interactive documentary is an excellent glimpse into the thoughts of certainly one of gaming’s most fascinating figures. Even if you happen to’ve obtained no prior information of Minter or his video games, the number of movies, picture galleries, quotes, and playable video games included right here will offer you a newfound respect for this area of interest but immensely necessary section of gaming historical past. Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story is one other triumph for Digital Eclipse, and we won’t wait to see what the studio tackles subsequent with its Gold Grasp Collection.