\C2\LN\LF\CT\F6\C3World of Commecial software\C2\LF\LN\LF\F7\FU\C1by Animal and Goofy of Digital Illusions\LF\LF

\F8Now four months after the release of our first game, we are now
sitting here in Seattle, USA working on the sequel. That first
game took almost 3 years to finish, from the first ideas that came
to us at a summer house in the deep south of Sweden on a summer
day in 1989 until the release day of March 13, 1992.\C2  Was that
three years of pain or total happines?\C1  When we look back we have
to say both.  There were times when we sat there with our
calculators, eagerly trying to find out exactly how much money we
would make in the end. But there were also moments of total
despair,\C2 when nothing worked and it all seemed to be for nothing.
\C1I have to say that in retrospect, it was for sure worth the effort
we all put in, not because we got loads of money (even if that
helped ease the pain) , but because we could \C2read the reviews in
the mags, hear people talk about it and play it like mad at the
copy parties\C1 in April, 1992. Being able to walk into a computer
store half way around the world from where we live and see it on
the shelf for sale \C2gives you a real kick.\C1 The game that I am
talking about is of course the now well known\LF\LF

\C2\CT\F5PINBALL DREAMS.\LF\FU\F8\LF

\C1We felt that the experience we have gained from this product and the
upcoming sequel \C2PINBALL FANTASIES\C1 (red: Just released) is something we
could share with you and maybe get some more of you talented people out
there on the Amiga scene, to use your talent on something that will pay
back alot more than what you're doing right now:  Trackmos, Music disks,
slide shows etc..\C3 (I do not count the cracking as a part of the scene as
the only thing it does for it is destruction. It might not be obvious for
you now, but belive me it will in time.)\C1 First of all we would like to express a wish to the entire scene:\LF\LF

\C2"If you play the game - Buy the Game!".\LF\LFThis is the ONLY way we can keep
the Amiga alive!  If the consoles take over belive me a lot of you out
there will be sorry!\LF\LF

\C1Ok, from moral to oral! (BAD ONE I KNOW!)\LF\LF

As a start you have to have a game idea. It doesn't have to be
\C2revolutionary,\C1 just look at Lemmings. Everybody is saying "Oh
Lemmings it's such a\BF NEW idea!\NM" It is NOT, its a puzzle game with a
very good and thought-through user interface for solving the puzzles.
Of course it's great if you have a brand new idea, but you can get a
long way with just doing something old in a new way. The main thing
at this stage is that you sit down and brainstorm around the basic
concept.\C2 Write any idea down on a paper\C1 (Do not think about
limitations at this point). After this, go through it all and take
out the things that are possible to do. Repeat this and once you feel
you have enough of ideas for the game, it's over to the programmer...\LF\LF

\C2Let's see things from the programmers view: \C1 (The only view that
really changes a lot when making games as the graphics and musics are
more or less the same as in good demos). I can tell you one thing:\C2  I
would never be able to make a demo like "Guardian Dragon II"_/_Kefrens or
"Hardwired"_/_Silents. They contain too much tricks, precalculations
and fast routines. \C1 To code a game is something completely different.\LF\LF

First of all, you have to program routines that interact with each
other in a whole new way. From the frustrated users hammering on the
keyboard you will have to sort out the relevant stuff without your
code going nuts. You'll have to \C2make a user-friendly interface\C1 that
doesn't fail because someone tried the wrong button. You'll have to
make code that runs on any machine and configuration (within your
memory limits that is). You'll reach a much wider range of users,
which are critic in a way you've never experienced before. \C2 If a demo
fails or buggs out, who cares?\C1  You and a couple of other guys, at the
most. If you make a game that fails, you wont sell it. And selling
the game is what you need to be able to continue. Not that you won't
get enough money, but what you do is what you are. A bad product will
give you a reputation as well as a good one.\C2  Just look at the scene.\C1
The groups that makes good things are known for it, and everyone gets
eger to find out what their latest production is. I'm not telling you
that if you fail with your first one you'll be gone, but every success
will give you better deals, and a better reputation. The chance that
your first game will be a german budget-release is quite big, but it's
nothing bad with that. \C2 When you've finished your first game\C1 and you
see it in the store, that's what really counts. You have then helped
to proove the capabilites of the Amiga to its World, \C2not just its
scene.\LF\CT\LF\C3<TURN PAGE>\XX