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How did you first become involvedin creating computer games and did you produce any games for the earlier 8 bit computers?
Gary Dunne (GD):
I guess it's always just been a hobby, starting with the
VIC-20 before moving through the Atari 800XL onto the Commodore 64 before
getting an Amiga. I created a few C64 demos whilst learning 6502 assember, but
nothing substantial, and certainly no games on the 8-bit. Back then
distribution seemed much more difficult and the PD scene hadn't really taken
off yet. It was when AMOS came along that I saw that things could be put
together really quickly and with the PD getting stronger, it became easier to
release your own stuff.
Did you have any unfinished or unreleased Amiga games?
GD:
No, I wrote three games in total - Toobz, Infection and
Confuzion (which was a remake of a game by Paul Shirley [Spindizzy] years
earlier). At the time, I found myself out of work so had some free time, after
which work sort of took over and I've ended up developing full time but not in
the gaming world. All three of these were released at the same time.
How did you come up with the ideas for games Infection and Toobz and how long did they take to make?
GD: I saw a magazine article years before for Infection, but it
never came to market, and I've no idea why as the principle of the game was
perfect, although maybe back then the turn based approach just wasn't in vogue.
So after Toobz was finished, I decided to have a crack at writing it. Turns out
it only took a short while before it was up and running.
Toobz was originally intended have the balls dropped in from the top, and you had to adjust them on the way down. It quickly transpired this was pretty naff and the levels would be over very quickly, so I decided to put the launchers anywhere and it went from there. How long? A good few months, but that included the level editor.
Toobz was originally intended have the balls dropped in from the top, and you had to adjust them on the way down. It quickly transpired this was pretty naff and the levels would be over very quickly, so I decided to put the launchers anywhere and it went from there. How long? A good few months, but that included the level editor.
Did you produce Infection and Toobz completely on your own or did you get other to help you with any aspect of the game creation?
GD:
I got a little help on the sound effects for Infection, but
beyond that, it's all my own work. I not sure the concept works nowadays
because you become very blinkered/biased as to what works in a game or not. You
need more than one person, or at least a range of testers who can be critical
and honest to bring the gameplay out.
Both Toobz and Infection were released as cover disk games on Amiga Power, do you remember how this came about?
GD:
Confuzion was written in about 3 weeks after Toobz because
it uses the same movement path code, so was pretty easy to write. I sent all
three to a PD library (I think it was 17Bit) on one disk and they all seemed
to get picked up by Amiga power at the same time. I think they were included on issue 49 and the issue contained reviews of the games too.
Was the idea always to release Toobz and Infection as public domain or did you try to get them released as budget / shareware or licenceware titles?
GD: Absolutely,
I never really saw it as a way to make a living, I don't think they quite cut
the mustard. Back then, there just wasn't the scope for one man developers to
make any serious money (although there were a few), but for me, the best part
is in creating the game.
Toobz - Gary Dunne
Which games did you enjoy playing most on the Amiga and were there any particular software houses or programming teams which inspired you or that you particularly admired their work?
GD:
Both on 8-bit and the Amiga, everything by Sensible Software
was pure gold - they just got it right, the Bitmap Brothers and I loved Sir
Geoff Crammond's F1. Sensible Software was just Chris and Jon, so they were
proof that small can make an impact, as did Jeff Minter.
Were you employed by Electronic Arts to work on Syndicate and if so what was it like working on this project?
GD:
No, I just did a week's experience at Bullfrog in Guildford
play testing Syndicate and Populous 2 raising issues around gameplay, etc. They
were beginning work on Theme Park at the time, but for me, it was a case of
getting up at 5am to catch a train down to Guildford every day. Loved it - it
was a really good environment, but it was just a week.
Thank you
AmigaPd would like to thank Gary Dunne for taking the time to answer these questions.
AmigaPd Charityware
We hope you enjoyed reading the interview - remember AmigaPd is charityware - please visit our just giving page to support our chosen charity Mencap.