Issue 108 - Ideas for Features for Issue 108

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LeeT
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Issue 108 - Ideas for Features for Issue 108

Post by LeeT »

* 'Where Are They Now' on people like Martin Walker, the Rowlands etc. I was gonna say BrayBrook but doesnt he hide from C64 fans now?!

* A trace on former competiton winners who won big prizes such as arcade machines etc - Find out whether they still have them, any now and then photos, and what it meant to them etc...

I suppose I could even restart my interview project and offer a couple of interviews for 108? (Interviews with ex ZZAP! writers - Got a few in the bag already and will maybe get more as they originally promised to help me out)
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Post by Mayhem »

A couple spring to mind...

Cartridges - an often overlooked part of the C64's catalog. I think that would be quite easy for me to put something together there ;)

Software price guide - what's collectable in original form for the machine.
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Post by wazzaw »

Mayhem wrote:Software price guide - what's collectable in original form for the machine.
I'd agree with this as it's often now quite hard to get hold of good original releases, and especially if they were deleted or not many copies released.

I am still shocked at how much my original tape copy of LN2 went for (with shuriken and mask) but I guess as many UK shops withdrew the shuriken and mask from their copies it's something worth beholding.

If you are going to do a price guide though, I would suggest having some form of disclaimer, like they have in the Record Collector Price Guide, which basically says:

"These prices are intended to be for use as a guide ONLY. Like with any purchase, an item is only worth what the purchaser is willing to pay for it, so in some cases you may pay more, some you may pay less."
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Post by Lloyd Mangram »

I'd like to see an interview with the art boys: Oli & Markie (?)
Or does Roger Kean has something to say in retrospect?

It would be awesome (& impossible, I know) to have ex-zzaplads compete in a Zzapreviewers challenge. To see how they're doing now playing the old c64 games.

Anyway, I'm in for a International Challenge with you guys!

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Post by Mayhem »

wazzaw wrote:I am still shocked at how much my original tape copy of LN2 went for (with shuriken and mask) but I guess as many UK shops withdrew the shuriken and mask from their copies it's something worth beholding.
Smiths and Boots didn't stock this version and at the time, they were the main sellers of C64 software. I got my complete copy at a computer show from System 3's own stand.

Someone at BIT Live Germany mentioned this above... I never saw the auction myself though... something about £100 was it?!!! :shock:
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Post by wazzaw »

Mayhem wrote:Someone at BIT Live Germany mentioned this above... I never saw the auction myself though... something about £100 was it?!!! :shock:
Someone put a bid of £110 in but realising they should have put in £11, withdrew from the auction. Having said that, it still went for £58-77 in the end though.

Someone who did buy some of my original C64 disks off me did sell his orig of LN2 (with extras intact) for £70 recently as well, AFAIK. So it's definitely on the up.
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Post by CraigGrannell »

biggestjim wrote:I'd like to see an interview with the art boys: Oli & Markie (?)
FWIW, I'm doing a Markie interview for Pixelsurgeon.com later this summer, as part of a major Zzap!64 feature. As for Oli, he doesn't seem interested in the slightest, as he's not responded to my emails on the subject.
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Post by Iain »

DO tell us more about this major Zzap feature, what does it involve?
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Post by Lloyd Mangram »

What's Oli been doing lately?
Publishing books? Does he still draw?
Or is he only doing things in the kinda underground 'scene'?
Btw, what an amazing whole lot of artistic output this guy had in the 80's,
it's unbelievable.
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Post by gordon »

Mayhem wrote:Cartridges - an often overlooked part of the C64's catalog. I think that would be quite easy for me to put something together there ;)
I like the sound of this quite a bit -- I can't *ever* remember anything being written about carts. As well as the games, it might be nice to have something about history, tech specs, why they never really took off, a top 10, etc -- but i'm sure you have a much clearer idea about an article like this than I do.

So, I'd vote for this. How about anyone else?

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Post by CraigGrannell »

iain wrote:DO tell us more about this major Zzap feature, what does it involve?
It features stuff about Zzap!64... in a major way! ;)

Okay (before I get lynched) it's going to be a four-part feature that will look at Zzap!64, the people behind it, the design of the magazine and, oddly enough, z107...
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Post by Ant »

Been a little quiet but I've been running a few Zzap! related ideas through my head when I'm not doing crazy things like losing my wallet and then finding it again 24 hours later ...

A feature on cartridges is a great idea, Mayhem. Like Gordo, I can't remember a decent (or for that matter, any) article on carts. Some of these forgotten treasures need to receive a bit of polish ... or something.

I love the idea of a Dev Diary. I noticed over on the Lemon forums that MTR1975/FunkScientist Productions are in the process of doing a diary for an upcoming game. I checked it out and it's quite an entertaining read not too dissimilar to Walker's Way (though it's a little short at the moment). Maybe we should express some interest?

I'm also keen on seeing an RPG section ... would Protovision's Newcomer be an option here? Or perhaps we could look back on the most popular (Ultima, Bard's Tale, Wasteland?), most tactical (Knight's of Legend, Wizard's Crown?) or the most esoteric (Mandragore?).

Of course an adventure section is a must. Perhaps there could be a final showdown between Ol' Whitey and Chuck? In fact this has given me another idea but I'll mull that one over for a while ...

As a possible member of the yet-to-exist 108 art team it would also be interesting to know if we're going to need a whole batch of redrawn reviewer heads or not. Certainly any new reviewers will need something (of course, if they're ex-Zzap then we can recycle like in 107). It'd be nice to keep at least some of the old 107 drawings for a little continuity.

Well, there are a few little thoughts. A few other ideas still floating around up here *taps head with pudgy finger* but we'll see.

Almost forgot. A Zzap! Challenge is a must. Perhaps Gaz and I could have our own mini-challenge here Downunder? With just a small insert sitting somewhere within the "real" challenge? Your awe-inspiring Streetfighter skills won't save you if the chosen game is Ghostbusters, my recently-engaged friend!
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Post by gordon »

Ant wrote: I love the idea of a Dev Diary. I noticed over on the Lemon forums that MTR1975/FunkScientist Productions are in the process of doing a diary for an upcoming game. I checked it out and it's quite an entertaining read not too dissimilar to Walker's Way (though it's a little short at the moment). Maybe we should express some interest?
This sounds like a neat idea, if they could compress their work into a couple of pages, and it's something we didn?t have in 107.
Ant wrote: I'm also keen on seeing an RPG section ... would Protovision's Newcomer be an option here? Or perhaps we could look back on the most popular (Ultima, Bard's Tale, Wasteland?), most tactical (Knight's of Legend, Wizard's Crown?) or the most esoteric (Mandragore?).
Again, something not in 107, so nice ideas. Would you be willing to do it? It'd be quite nice to combine both a general roundup of RPGs on the C64 with a review of Newcomer, again on a double page spread.
Ant wrote: As a possible member of the yet-to-exist 108 art team it would also be interesting to know if we're going to need a whole batch of redrawn reviewer heads or not.
Do we need any new reviewers? I'm sure some (if not all) of the old ones would be willing to write again, in which case we should keep the old heads (despite Andy's long hair :) . And I might take on some reviews if I'm not doing the editorial work ? so we've already got heads for those. I agree that from a continuity point of view we should keep what you've done.
Ant wrote: Almost forgot. A Zzap! Challenge is a must. Perhaps Gaz and I could have our own mini-challenge here Downunder? With just a small insert sitting somewhere within the "real" challenge? Your awe-inspiring Streetfighter skills won't save you if the chosen game is Ghostbusters, my recently-engaged friend!
I agree. I only had a short space to spew the Scorelord's bile last time, so it would be nice to have a couple of pages to really have a go at people. :) ...And a global challenge would really give 108 a different feel from the old mags, combining the old and the new.

So, in short:

2 pages for a Developers' Diary / tips on how to make a game
2 pages for an RPG section / Newcomer review
2 pages for a global challenge (format to be decided)
...and keep the old reviewer heads

Plus the other ideas from above:
- a feature on cartridges (1 or 2 pages)
- a Where are they Now section (1 or 2 pages)
- Competition winners (only problem I can see is that it might be difficult to find them, or get them to cooperate with a feature)
- interview(s) with former Zzapers! -- the bigger the name, the better (i.e. Roger, Jaz, Gary Penn would all do nicely).

Comments, anyone?

g.
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Post by Iain »

How about a short PD FIle section (after your days Gordon, it was a section checking out demos and pd games)

There are still some great demos being produced for the C64!
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Post by gordon »

iain wrote:How about a short PD FIle section (after your days Gordon, it was a section checking out demos and pd games)

There are still some great demos being produced for the C64!
..and this would tie in nicely with the greatest demos feature from last time, too, so I'm all for it -- a 1 or 2-pager I'd suggest.

Anyway, I suggest we gather all these ideas together, see how much space we end up with, then chuck out the least popular if we need to.

g.
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