Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story
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| Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Digital Eclipse |
| Publisher(s) | Digital Eclipse |
| Series | Gold Master |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | March 13, 2024 |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story is an interactive documentary and compilation video game developed by Digital Eclipse. The release chronicles the software of British developer Jeff Minter and over 40 of his programs developed between 1981 and 1994. It is the second release in Digital Eclipse's Gold Master Series that began with The Making of Karateka (2023) and was succeeded by Tetris Forever (2024).
Like Digital Eclipse's Atari 50 (2022) and The Making of Karateka, Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story features an interactive timeline that allows users to play games as well as view text, documentary footage, and photography involving the games. Some games, such as 3D 3D, have updated control schemes and can be played in their original form or with enhancements such as modern control schemes and updated frame rates.
It was released on the March 13, 2024 for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. General reception towards the game was positive, with critics praising it for a high quality and standard for a retro game compilation while criticizing its lack of games made after Tempest 2000 (1994).
Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story highlights Minter's first fifteen years of game development, ranging across platforms that were primarily popular in Europe.[1][2][3][4][5] It goes through 42 games from 1981 to 1994 across eight different video game platforms. Among the games are two of Minter's "light synthesizer" programs: Psychedelia and Colourspace.[1][2] Digital Eclipse adjusted several games to be playing on contemporary control pads.[6] Some games such as 3D 3D are playable in their original form, as well as being updated to have boosted frame rate and contemporary First-person shooter-based controls.[7] The most recent game on the list is Tempest 2000 (1994), with Digital Eclipse's editorial director Chris Kohler saying that the Atari Jaguar was the extent of what they could emulate, as material for systems like the Nuon was "a bridge too far".[8] The game also includes a list of every Llamasoft title released, including titles not available on the collection.[9]
The games are displayed in four interactive timelines which offer the games in along with video interviews, photos, and text quotes about the games.[2][3][4] Minter included much of his own collection of Llamasoft-related material in the release, going through his own catalogue of British video game magazines as well as reaching out to others to find material not in his own archive.[10] Video footage in the features Minter, industry peers, YouTubers, journalists such as Gary Penn of Zzap!64, Gary Whitta, Harold Goldberg and Bex Trista.[10][11]
Development
In 2023, Digital Eclipse announced they would adapt the interactive documentary and historical timeline format used in their Atari 50 (2022) into further products under their Gold Master Series branding. Kohler stated that the audience immediately picked up the idea of going through a timeline within Atari 50 and following the history, which gave the team at Digital Eclipse the confidence to continue with the format. The first Gold Master Series release was The Making of Karateka (2023), which chronicled the history of Karateka (1984).[12][13] Around the period final stages of development on Atari 50, Digital Eclipse signed on with Jeff Minter for a title documenting his studio Llamasoft.[14] Unlike Jordan Mechner with The Making of Karateka, Minter did not have as many of his older design documents, leading to Digital Eclipse to focus more on showcasing his games first.[15]
Digital Eclipse announced on Double Fine's Day of the Devs livestream in December 2023 that the next release in the series would be titled Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story focusing on the career of video game designer Jeff Minter.[16] Digital Eclipse's studio head Mike Mika described Minter as "the last indie developer", and that he was the last generation of bedroom coders that founded the British computer game industry. While most developers started in this way and went on to form large companies, Minter continued to develop games on his own. Mika also stated that before entering the game industry, Minter had reached out and helped him get started.[2]
New work was done to create emulators of computers such as the VIC-20, ZX Spectrum, and ZX81.[10] To emulate the Atari ST games, work was done to port these games to the Jaguar as they both share hardware. These ports of the games are originally fan works.[6] Kohler said that without the fanbase for these games archiving and creating fan ports, these games Llamasoft would not be able to keep working as it was just a two-person operation.[6] The Konix Multisystem, a British console that never released was emulated based on technical specifications of the system and Minter's source code for Attack of the Mutant Camels '89.[6]
Unlike previous projects, Digital Eclipse partnered with filmmaker Paul Docherty who was developing a documentary titled Heart of Neon about Minter. Kohler and Docherty collaborated on collecting footage to apply into this release.[17] Minter commented on one item to be changed during development, involving a stock image of tea, which depicted a milk-free cup with the bag left in, which prompted Kohler to correct this with a newly made image per Minter's specifications "you would never even need to know that I used PG Tips to make the tea in that shot, but I guarantee you that's what's in there."[10] Other games, such as the political commentary in Bomb Buenos Aires are addressed and released in a form described as "less controversial" by Retro Gamer.[6]