Ñ ANDREW CAMPBELL INTERVIEW ------------------------- Iam sure that many of you AMOS'ers out there have heared of the name Andrew Campbell some point in time. With such excellent games as Black Dawn, Polymorf and the excellent short stories compilation, Dark Portal i thought it was time for us to meet our Andrew and discover what he has done, what he is doing next and anything else that i can squeeze out of him. So "Exclusive" to WAC is the definate Andrew Campbell Interview ª Here are those questions for you AJC. Answer honestly now! (okay, okay, keep your jockstrap on). (WAC) What got you first interested in programming and what was your first program? Ï (AJC) Hmm, that's rather a good question. Ever since playing games on my ye olde C64 I've been itching with the desire to make my own. When S.E.U.C.K came out (the "Shoot Em Up Construction Kit" for those who've been in a coma for the last decade) I was able to put together some half-way decent shooters, but the program was too limited so I started doddling around with code. At first I found it much too complex and difficult, but once I upgraded my C64 to an Atari ST (ouch! Don't tell anyone!) and bought the excellent (though now very dated) STOS, things started looking up. As for my first programs... on the C64 it was "Madballs" - a shoot-em-up done with S.E.U.C.K. On the ST it was "Maze Master" - an utterly crap maze-game, and on the Amiga it was (take a deep breath) "Paradox" which was accepted by CLR Licenceware! Wahey! Stick that up your ass and melt it! ª (WAC) What was the inspiration that made you program Black Dawn and what can we expect to see differently in Black Dawn 2? Ï (AJC) I've always loved RPG games. Unlike most, I didn't play "Dungeon Master" first. No. I got a demo of "Bloodwych" for the ST and that just totally hooked me - I bought the full game and even tried to make my own dungeons using the "illusionary wall" spell which, as you can probably guess, was a totally sad and useless idea. Years later, "Captive" provided the inspiration for "Black Dawn". I'd tried for ages to code some kind of 3D maze-game but never really understood how they worked. Eventually, as my ever increasing coding abilities, er, increased, a 3D dungeon-engine (which I quite nicely named "Viewfinder") was born. I originally intended "Black Dawn" to be a licenceware game, but CLR turned it down, so I just released it into PD and forgot about it. A few months later the Goddamned thing was reviewed FIVE times and I haven't made a single penny. Bugger. Ooooh, "Black Dawn II" is one hell of a game compared to that old PD effort everyone's been raving about, let me assure you. The PD version only has 3 levels, 3 types of alien and is VERY slow indeed. Dawn II is lightning fast, has 20 different aliens, 30 missions (some indoor, some outdoor) and nearly 100 items and weapons. It's got wicked 32-colour graphics which are being done by a superb graphic artist and is really good fun to play - I'm going to put this on the titlescreen: "WEAR RADIOACTIVE UNDERPANTS" because some of the effects will scare the crap out of you. Seriously. ª (WAC) What has been the most successful program you have written? Ï (AJC) My most successful program in the Shareware scene has to be "Artistix"; a fun art package for kids. It was reviewed in 2 magazines including CU Amiga (highly rated) and has made me over £350 in registration fees. Not bad for a guy who hasn't even GOT any kids, eh? My best PD game has to be "Black Dawn". According to Amiga Power it's the "7th best PD game ever". I'm saying nothing! And lastly, my most successful Licenceware program is "Paradox" which has earned me over £250. ª (WAC) Have you ever had a program that has not turned out to what you hoped it to be? Ï (AJC) Yes, millions of them, perhaps the most recent is "Illusions" - another art package aimed at the young, but this time featuring some quite wonderful colour-cycling effects. I released the package in February and haven't had much feedback at all; about 10 registration fees, but no reviews. My game "White Rabbits" (another CLR Licenceware title) is much better than Paradox and was reviewed in "The One" (81%) but nothing much has come of it. (note: I reckon people just don't like seeing fluffy rabbits being strung up by their necks and splattered by crushers. Shame because it's really quite a good giggle). ª (WAC) Do you set yourself any deadlines for finishing certain programs or do you feel that just adds to the pressure of programming? Ï (AJC) Ha. Deadlines? Get real! I like to get programs finished, but I never set myself any time limits or completion dates. It would really make me sweat. For me, coding is like writing, or having sex; I've got to be in the right "mood" or I'll get nowhere. ª (WAC) What competition does AMOS face with the other popular programming languages such as Blitz Basic? Ï (AJC) Quite a bit, probably. Blitz is all very nice and fast, but I'll be a rampaging sexual tyrannosaurus if it's more user friendly than AMOS Pro. Hell no; AMOS Pro is a wonderful programming environment, that's what keeps me faithful to it. You can do some amazing things with just about any programming language. It's just a shame the AMOS logo has become so related to crap PD games that look like they've been flushed out by inexperienced playschool kids. It's the coders that know how to handle AMOS that go on to prove it's no weed when it comes to languages. Just take a look at F1 Licenceware's "Relics..." adventure game or "Fortress" - a God game. Both brilliantly professional and coded with "humble" AMOS. Blitz Basic... HA! Get a life! ª (WAC) Is there any command in AMOS you find difficult to use? Ï (AJC) Yes, loads, but I'm very impatient so I find a way around them. I don't have a very intimate relationship with sprites of any kind, oh no, because I hate their crazy limitations and weird behaviour patterns. I prefer bobs, and use them whenever I can. Yup, Bobs Rule. I love Bobs. Kissy-kissy, (etc) ª (WAC) What do you wish to see in an Update to AMOS in the future? Ï (AJC) There seems to be so many add-on accessories available for AMOS I really don't know what to say in case it already exists! Of course I'd like to see that promised AGA extension, but then again, who the hell wouldn't? ª (WAC) What is going to be your next project after Black Dawn 2? Ï (AJC) After Black Dawn II I'm going to put myself in a coma for six or seven years to recouperate, then wake up in the future and look for some seriously raunchy female attention. Ha! Jokes, aside, I haven't really considered life after Dawn II. I've been coding the damned thing on-and-off since Christmas and it's beginning to drive me insane. I do have plans to release "Dark Portal 2" (another short-story compilation) but other than that, I'm dead. One idea came to mind not so long ago; another 3D RPG, this time with 3D mazes too (ie: you don't just walk around the maze, but also go INSIDE it too - up, down, round, in, out, etc) but I have dismissed this complicated brainwave as being (a) too hard to code, and (b) an absolutely ridiculous idea anyway. ª (WAC) Could we ever see Andrew Campbell deserting the Amiga in favour of the ever growing popular PC's? Ï (AJC) Oh no. No, no, no, no. No WAY. Uh-uh. Forget it. Not a chance. The only thing I like about the PC is "Doom" - a rather smart Shareware game by ID Software that's been quite an influence on the development of "Black Dawn II". Other than that, I'd rather French-kiss a baboon's ring-piece than become a devoted PC-er. ª (WAC) Could you list the programs you have written here for me: Ï (AJC) Oh Jesus, do I have to? Alright then. I'll list them in the order I coded them as well: PARADOX (Licenceware)- my first AMOS game was good enough for CLR to distribute, now doesn't that piss you off fellow coders? It's basically just a sliding puzzle game with some cute GFX and comical sound FX. 100 levels of perplexing fun!! WHITE RABBITS (Licenceware) - my second ever production was also Licenceware! This game's another puzzle affair, but involves the rescue of a cute little bunny via some very tricky puzzles indeed. There's 60 levels and some very cruel traps to watch out for. CLR DEMOS (PD)- I released PD demo versions of Paradox and White Rabbits to try and increase sales. It worked, too. IMAGINE SLIDESHOW (PD)- Imanaged to get all my A-Level Art work done on the school computers over to the Amiga via some bloody confusing converter software and a PC disk. I touched them up with Dpaint, stole some music from a demo and hey presto, I had a slideshow - my first PD release. Nothing's ever become of it. THE FUNHOUSE (PD)- a collection of 2 games - THUNDERTRON and ENIGMA - and a slideshow. Nothing special, but it got reviewed in Amiga Computing so I was pleased. SEVERE HEADACHE (PD)- more games, including POLLYMORF which eventually wound up on a "The One"coverdisk. Yaaaay! BLACK DAWN (PD)- I originally coded this 3D Roleplaying game for Licenceware, but it was rejected (don't ask me why) so I threw it angrily into PD. The response was trully amazing. Loads of magazine reviews and even some nice letters! ARTISTIX (Shareware)- learning a lesson from Black Dawn, I coded this kid's art package (something I'd always wanted to do) very quickly indeed and released it less than two months after Black Dawn as SHAREWARE!!! It's become very popular indeed. THE FUNHOUSE 2 (PD)- yet more games - BRAINSHAVE and CHAOTIC WARS - this time accompanied by a sick demo converted from my C64 program,"Termination Demo". Get this for a larf... or should that be barf? IMAGINE THIS (PD)- another slideshow with a tron game tacked on the end. Nothing special. SHADOWS (PD)- an atmospheric animation, slideshow and a platform game which I'm never going to finish. ILLUSIONS (Shareware)- the sequel to Artistix, hasn't been out long enough to get much feed-back. Maybe a failure? DARK PORTAL (PD)- a short-story compilation which hasn't been out long but is proving rather popular. I'm glad too. DRAGON CREW (PD)- a rather nice slideshow called ART VISIONS and a pretty sick collection of animations/jokes called DEMONIC TOILETS (perhaps the craziest name ever?). DRAGON SOURCE (PD)- the AMOS source code for just about all of my PD games. If you're an AMOS coder you might find this worthy of a purchase. Available from NBS PD. I've done one or two more slideshows, but they're too weird to mention. ª Many thanks Andrew for answering those questions and we all look forward to seeing some more of your excellent work. Paul Gumsley