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Interview with Ian Price the Author of Super Burger Bar January 06, 2005 I'm sure no one knows this, but I have been beta testing the game for you and I can personally say it totally kicks major ass. The sound, the graphics and game play are just great. I can honestly say you have done the original game much justice. Also let me say Happy New Year. Q> Mind if we get a little background info on you? A> No Problem. An honour, even :D Q> First how old are you? A> Born 14th January 1971 (It's my birthday next week, so I'll be 34). Q> How long have you been making videos games and working with computers? A> I first started coding on an Amstrad CPC464 way back in 1984. I got the computer for Christmas and all that came with it was a magazine that contained a few games listings (printed lines of code). I had no games or any other software, so I typed out the listings in the magazine and found I really enjoyed it (even the SYNTAX ERRORs!). I adapted little bits of the code to see what they did and changed them into games of my own. Q> What country and area are you from? A> I live in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Home of concrete cows (really!), many roundabouts and Europe's largest shopping Centre and home of the world's first in-door real snow ski slope (real snow 365 days a year!). It's also the only place I know of where a bus journey can take 7 times longer than driving to get to your desired location. Q> What made you want to remake Burgertime? A> When I was at school I had a friend that had a yellow handheld version of the arcade game BurgerTime. Knowing that I loved games he lent it to me. I'd never heard of the original arcade game before so didn't know what to expect. However, within the first minute of playing this mini-handheld marvel, I was hooked! I never forgot about that game, and by chance another (C64 owning ) friend had a listing for a BurgerTime clone in a magazine (all in weird machine symbols etc.)- after spending many hours, coding his C64, it failed to work - but the screenshot in the magazine looked exactly like the game I had played a year or two before. I was disappointed, so decided there and then to attempt to do a version on my Amstrad. Just after I started my AMstrad version my C64 owning friend and I went to Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire and in one of the small arcades dotted around the park was an actual BurgerTime arcade game. I seem to recall spending more time playing the arcade games (especially BT) than actually riding the attractions! Q> How did you come up with the name Super Burger Bar? A> I wanted to create a BurgerTime game that looked and played slightly different to the arcade version, but was concerned by potential problems of naming it BurgerTime (due to copyright issues and the fact that I didn't want it to be directly compared to the original). From the start I had planned better graphics, but the power-ups came later - originally it was just going to be a clone, called BurgerBar, not an improved version. I then felt the power-ups enhanced it significantly so added the "Super" tag, so that it appeared enhanced. The graphics that you seen in this near finalized game vary considerably to the Amstrad CPC version and it's subsequent Amiga iteration (which I sadly no longer own - I sold my Amiga, to fund my pc purchase, as well as all the software I had ever bought and created. I'd pay mega money to get that lot back again :( Development started in Div Games Studio on pc, but then moved to BlitzBasic. This is my first Blitz game (the reason it's taking so long - the language is totally different to what I had used in the past). Q> When was the first time you played Burgertime and on what system Arcade, computer, home console? A> As mentioned above, my friend's little yellow handheld (Thankyou Terry Newson: I salute you!) Q> What is your favorite video game of all time? A> That is a very easy question: Boulderdash on Amstrad CPC. I was in heaven when the BoulderDash Construction Kit was released (and it was better than the C64 version, as you were able to have Amoeba AND slime on the same level). I have lost hundreds of man hours to Boulderdash, and the creation of my own tribute, RockRush - available all over the net (I discovered my game on Czech site (http://plnehry.idnes.cz/arkady/rockrush.html) - this was certainly high-praise that one of my games had traveled to somewhere that I never had!). I then followed up RockRush with a Christmas themed version called XmasRush. Both g games are listed on the Boulderdash Database (http://boulder.cl4.org/index.php) :D A little piece of me shall live on forever (I hope!) Q> Are there other classic arcade games you have thought about remaking or might be remaking now? A> To date I have written about 20 remakes (all in various states of completion, ranging from 100% down to 30%). I enhance all my remakes with new graphics, sound, levels etc. My completed games include PowerPac (strangely enough, most of the power-ups from BurgerTime come from this game), Xmas Lemmings, Balloonacy, Hangman, JetPak, Centipede, Super Mario Picross and Snake to name a few. I have also worked on a remake of Super StreetFighter 2 Turbo, Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, and Robocop the first (and best) arcade game. I am always on the lookout for a new game to remake and always have at least one game being worked on. When I'm not working on making a remake, I'm thinking about it! It's a strange addiction... I have also worked on original games that have have received very positive feedback. Q> Are there any Easter Eggs hidden in your Super Burger Bar and if so are you willing to share any info on them with us? A> Well there is the level editor and a level skip, but other than that, no there aren't any real hidden features. I always leave level editors in my games and most do have some hidden features, but as SBB is not finished yet (sorry!) I haven't decided on an Easter Egg just yet. Can you suggest one? Q> Ok here is a cheap plug for my website. How did you find out about www.burgertime.info ? A> Having played with the MAME version of BurgerTime, I was actually on the look out for any and all information, screenshots sounds etc. that I could find that I might require for my version. I did a quick Google search, and BurgerTime.info was second in the list (IIRC). I checked it out and have honestly been a regular visitor (shame that there's not more regular input, but I suppose the subject matter is kind of limited). Q> Is there a website people might be able to find out more about the games you have made or are making now? A> Most of my games are available at www.div-arena.com or from my own website (which hasn't been updated for a long, long time) http://mysite.freeserve.com/div/index.html All my games are free and will continue to remain so. Three of my games are also in the process of being ported to Dreamcast (RockRush, JetPak and Balloonacy). I also have someone working on a remake of JetPak for a programming degree! Q> Now I would like to ask you is there anything you would like to add to this interview that I didn't touch on that you also wanted to talk about? A> Nothing springs to mind, but I would like to say a great big "THANKYOU" to my ever-supportive (and oft ignored) wife who has put up with my obsession to bring old games back to life for the new generation. (Why she puts up with me I really don't know!) Old games must not be allowed to die. And a big "THANKYOU" to you too, CK. For highlighting a game that I have spent nearly 20 years trying to make and very nearly completed. And Rockfistus. He deserves a large one too! His remakes of the Super Burger Time tunes are superb and took him so little time to do (despite 7 versions of the main one). To each and every one of these people and countless others that I haven't mentioned. Especially all the other remakers at www.remakes.org Cheers! I would like to add that the game WILL get finished, but time is limited at the present time. There's still more I want to add to the game and improve some bits already in (AI needs work, as does ladder climbing - others criticised this, requiring pixel perfect timing). If you wish to help in anyway, then please do! Ian Ok I'm going to rap this up now. I want to thank you for taking the time to do this interview and for making such a cool remake of a great classic video game.
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