Commodore Free 35/Commodore_Free_Issue_35_2009_Commodore_Computer_Club.d64/iv neil

Text File | 2023-02-26 | 12KB | 419 lines

*************************************
     Interview with Neil Reive
   Editor of Retroaction magazine
*************************************
 http://www.retroactionmagazine.com/

Welcome to Retroaction

The new digital retro games magazine
is here.

- Reviews and previews of new games
  on retro platforms
- Features and articles on classic
  retro games
- Interviews and articles with people
  in the retrogaming scene
- Fully interactive links: website,
  emails, bookmarks, downloads, and
  other links at the click of a mouse
  button
- A logical digital PDF layout and
  design
- A global collective team of
  retrogaming enthusiasts

The magazine is released quarterly
(one issue for every season).
Retroaction forum is also up and
running with topics including
Magazine Talk (discuss the magazine
here), Retrogaming (talk about all
things retro: homebrew, old games,
retro remakes, emulators), Retro
Games News (new retro games news and
info can be discussed here), plus
there are other topics such as
Current Generation (where you can
talk about the current generation of
consoles and PCs), and Off Topic
(anything: football, life, politics,
and so on...).

Q. Please introduce yourself to our
readers. And do you use Commodore
machines?

A. My name is Neil Reive,
Editor/Designer of the digital
retrogaming ezine Retroaction. I also
edited and designed the Amstrad
Action tribute magazine that was
released in 2008. I have been
interested in retrogaming (as well as
having a big interest in retro mags)
for a good few years now. And I live
and work in South West Scotland.

Unfortunately, my C64's joystick port
failed on me some time ago, so I
can't play on the actual machine (as
such) any longer. I do still play C64
games (sadly this is ) through
emulation though.

Q. Can you introduce the rest of the
"team", what each person does, and if
they have any "special powers"!

A. My Deputy Editor is Gnome (who has
a very popular gaming blog at
http://www.gnomeslair.com ) and was
the first recruit for Retroaction
magazine. Gnome is a great writer who
contributes with articles,
interviews, helps out with the
planning of each issue (content
wise), proof reading and promoting.
Unfortunately, Gnome is currently
away on mandatory military service in
his native land of Greece, so his
spare time is limited, if not zero,
for the time being.

I was very pleased to get a Sub
Editor on board from issue 3 onwards.
Alan Leffingwell sorts out our dodgy
spelling, grammar and punctuation. He
collaborates with myself on the copy
editing of all articles and reviews.
He is currently living and working in
South Korea, although he originally
came from the United States.

Our regular writers are Duncan Rule
(who I headhunted from various DOS
forums, as I wanted someone with good
knowledge of DOS), Mark Hall (someone
I contacted after a suggestion from
my AA tribute cohort, Ali Halabi),
Duffman (an old school friend of mine
that I coaxed into doing some
homebrew reviews), Matty
((http://mattyongames.wordpress.com )
also helps out with the homebrew
reviews, mainly involving his beloved
Spectrum), Ack (joined us for issue
two, following discussions about the
lack of 32/64-bit coverage in issue
one) and CaptainD
(http://captaind-pc-gaming.blogspot.
com/ )joined the team from issue3 and
has contributed articles on Amiga and
Atari ST). We also have various
writers that pop in every now and
then to help out with the odd article

Q. How did Retro action start, and
what prompted the magazine's
production?

A. Retroaction came about because
there were so many great ideas that I
had during the production of the
Amstrad Action tribute magazine. They
just wouldn't have looked right, or
have got the full potential out of
them, if they were published in a
one-off tribute magazine. Hence,
Retroaction was born. The name is
basically a take on the Retro Action
section in the AA tribute magazine,
which in turn, is a take on the
Amstrad Action name. I joined the two
words together after I discovered
that Retroaction means something that
happens because of past events or, as
in my forum signature at the moment,
"actions influenced by the past", and
I couldn't describe our magazine any
more perfectly than that.

Q. How is the magazine delivered?

A. The magazine is available to
download (for free) from
http://www.retroactionmagazine.com/ .
The main download is the PDF file,
while the ZIP archive is basically
the same file, but the archived
filename has no underscores in the
spaces. There is also an option to
view the magazine online with the
ISSUU (on-line PDF website) link.
This is something I added after
completing issue one, and it looks
pretty good online, although it is
best to download and view the PDF if
you want the full use of the
magazine's interactive features
(bookmarks, anchor links, etc.).

Q. How do users know an issue is
ready to download?

A. There is an email subscription
service where readers can sign up to
get notified of any new issues. Other
options include subscribing to the
website's RSS feed - new issues are
announced through our news section.
The forum also has a thread on each
issue's production progress. We also
post announcements in a select few
websites of the issue's release. And
of course, staff members and readers
post their own blogs, news, reviews,
forum posts, etc.

Q. You cover all retro machines in
the magazine, but could you explain
the term "retro" and what you think
makes a machine "retro"? For example,
would you class an IBM 286/386 or 486
as retro machines? Would the Sony
PlayStation 1 and 2 fall under the
term "retro", and what about the
classic Amigas?

A. "What is retro?" This question has
always been the subject of discussion
amongst retrogamers the world over.
It is a grey area that I've tried to
avoid discussing. At Retroaction,
we've got an unwritten rule that goes
something like "is it over ten years
old and not supported by the
manufacturer anymore?" We also had a
discussion on our forums where the
question "What is PC retro?" was
posted. We tended to focus on the
PC's operating system rather than the
hardware, but I would say that the
286, 386, 486, and Pentium I and II
are retro. While there were opinions
going back and forth, we kind of
agreed that Windows 95/98 are retro
platforms as DOS is inherent within
the system. Going with the "ten year"
and "unsupported" guidelines, I would
have to say that the original
PlayStation is now retro, as is the
Dreamcast (which celebrates its tenth
birthday), but the PS2 is not. I
would also think of the classic Amiga
computers as retro.

Q. Some people would object to the
term "retro" classing only 8-bit
machine as "true retro". I know these
debates get quite hot and steamy, but
would you like to comment on this?

A. It's a shame that some people get
so hot and bothered over this
subject. To me, retrogaming covers a
vast period of time, from the 70s to
the 90s. While everyone is entitled
to their own opinion (although this
is probably biased to the time when
they grew up), they are really
missing out on some fantastic retro
machines and games.

Q. Do you have a favourite machine,
and why?

A. No, I don't really have a
favourite machine, as I tend to focus
on the games rather than the
platforms. I do have a fondness for
the Amstrad CPC as it was my first
computer. Respect is due to the PCs
that I have had, which provided
access to emulators and the
production of Retroaction.

Q. Do you have a "retro" game that
always gives you the WOW factor? For
myself I still look at Elite and get
that WOW factor, even now.

A. I'm always amazed at the
playability that Laser Squad can give
after all these years. Such depth in
a game that looks very simplistic. A
great example of gameplay over
graphics.

Q. Retro is becoming quite a big
business; machines are selling for
larger and larger amounts as time
goes on. Has this spoiled some of the
fun?

A. Yes, it probably does spoil things
a little, although rising prices for
ageing product is inevitable,
especially as they become more rare.

Q. Do you think Emulation has helped
raise the profile of "retro" machines
or do you think the Emulators
detracted from the machine in some
way?

A. Emulation has been (and still is)
very important to the retrogaming
scene. Without BlueMSX, I would not
have been introduced to the MSX.
Also, many homebrew coders use
emulators to produce their games.
Eventually, the actual machines will
disappear through failure or
clearouts and emulation will become
the only way to play games that were
designed for these machines.

Q. Running the machine under
emulation can't compete with running
the machine in the flesh can it?

A. You're right, that's one thing
that emulation can't recreate (at
least, not at the moment): the
feeling of physically using the
actual machine.

Q. Do you follow new developments in
machines like the MINIMIG and the
1541 Ultimate and Uiec projects?

A. I have noticed the Minimig and was
very impressed. The 1541 Ultimate and
Uiec also look like great projects.
It's great to see people keeping the
old machines alive with projects like
these.

Q. OK, can I put you on the line
which machine is best, or if that
makes you feel uneasy can you give me
a top 10 of machines you prefer and
why?

A. PC is a must for me, mainly for
its emulation capabilities, DOS
access and Windows games. The Amstrad
CPC and C64 are two 8-bit computers
that I have great affection for, as I
owned both machines in the past. They
are also capable of producing some
fine games, still. Out of the 16-bit
computers, I preferred the Amiga for
games such as Speedball 2 and
Sensible World of Soccer. The Sega
Mega Drive was the only console I
ever had, and some fine games were
released for it.

Q. Do you think a lot of machines
have failed that were technically
superior, but lacked software, and
are there any so called "failed"
machine that has a large following?

A. Oh yes, there have been many
machines that have failed, despite
being superior to their peers (the
3DO, Jaguar and Neo Geo spring to
mind). There are also machines like
the MSX that failed in the UK and USA
but had a large following in other
parts of the world (Netherlands,
Brazil, etc.). Lack of software is a
major factor in a machine's failure,
but there's also marketing,
popularity, pricing and brand loyalty
to consider.

Q. Where do you see your team and
magazine being in 5 years time? For
example, could you see the magazine
being commercially printed and sold
through retail distribution?

A. Hopefully, we will still be around
in five years time. There are no
plans to release a printed version
and I don't see it ever being
commercially available. When I dreamt
up Retroaction, it was designed to
take advantage of the interactivity
of PDF (bookmarks, anchors and
hyperlinks). Retroaction would
require a complete redesign to fit
into a print format and would not be
the same magazine.

Q. I know I struggle for articles and
text, so if a reader wanted to help
Retroaction, could they send
something to you for inclusion in the
magazine?

A. Yes, I'm always willing to listen
to any offers of help, especially
regarding homebrew reviews, as
Duffman will suffer burn out if he
continues at this rate. No Duffman,
no Retroaction. Also posting news in
our forum of new homebrew games is
welcome as we can sometimes miss a
game's release.

Q. Are you Commodore Free Readers?

A. Yes, I download each issue and
have a great read through the
articles and interviews (I enjoyed
the recent coverage of C64 Forever).
Gnome also reads CF when he can get
the chance. We also post news of new
issue releases in our forum and news
section.

Q. Do you have any other comments you
would like to add?

A. I would like to thank the whole
Retroaction team for their work this
past year. Thanks guys. Plus kudos to
everyone who helps keep the retro
scene alive by coding homebrew games,
producing ezines (like Commodore
Free), hosting retro websites, etc.
Also, thanks to everyone who has
responded to Retroaction. It's been
nice to see the scene's response to
each issue, even if it isn't always
complementary. I just love doing the
mag and if people like reading it
then that's an extra bonus.

=====================================