★ AMSTRAD CPC ★ ARCHER MACLEAN ★ |
| Archer Maclean | Games - Auteurs |
Archer Maclean (2005) was in attendance here signing a Commodore 64 >> This 26 year-old handsome hunk of a land doesn't deal soley with bits, bytes and opcodes – oh no. A bit of an Action Man with realistic hands and gripping hair Is our Archer. Vou're more likely to find him strapped beneath a Microlite or a hang-glider, or running around shooting people In Skirmish or even water skiing. Archer's been there and done that, which partly explains why he's only ever written three computer games. << Archer Maclean (1988) His first success was Dropzone – an outstanding horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up loosely based on Williams'equally classy coin-op. Stargate (to all intent and purposes, the follow-up to Defender). He then turned his hand to the beat'em up genre and notched up a major hit with International Karate (Atari and Commodore 8-bit) and International Karate 1 – produced because as far as he was concerned, IK was far from finished. He was also unimpressed with Andromeda's version of IK. which is why he wrote the ST version of IK+ – despite the fact he had never touched an ST and "had to learn it inside out in a couple of months." So what's next? "I'm considering doing ST and Amiga versions of Dropzone. and I've got four new game designs in mind – which I won't say anything about in case someone rips them off. I've also just got into the knitting business: "Quality Knitwear made to your requirements". It's a small company called Spinoffs and we can make any type of knitwear with almost any design on it. Call Fiona on 01 445 6587 and ask for details... Oh – and surfing. I want to have a bash at surfing. Preferably somewhere like California or Hawaii..." What a guy! IK+: Archer's (1988) own creation gets the better of him ... he he. "It took roughly four months to write - on and off," he declares modestly. There's roughly 400K of source. 200K of binary files and 96K of two-channel 8-bit sampled sounds ... a bit of trivia for any technically minded bods. . . >> The One Issue 01 (1988-10)
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Perception can be a bad thing. Computer games are generally perceived as childish, and the programmers are Invariably perceived as bespectacled, acne-ridden, scruffy youths with more money than sense. Of course, we all know that nothing could be further from the truth. Take Archer Maclean ...
