The Def Tribute to Zzap!64 FEEDBACK!

Discussion of the Zzap special by Mr. ZzapBack

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Mayhem
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Post by Mayhem »

My Rob copy arrived today as well... might keep the envelope heh. Least it didn't get folded in two! Liked the "welcome to Ludlow" part ;)

So now with a complimentary copy as well from Martyn, I have THREE complete issues of #18 here heh. One might be spoken for, still got one to sell off...
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Post by Professor Brian Strain »

Hehe, I now have three copies of the tribute and two copies of RG18...
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Post by So Long Ago »

Just read the Def Guide

Nice to see the words Zzap 64 again on the selves in Smiths this afternoon.

Great work by everyone involved. Defintely had the flavour of the once great mag.

Only criticism:

no JR - really needed something from him. Personally have always felt his contribution to Zzap was overrated but the readers loved him so he should have been there.

reviews - didn't really see that they added anything. Z107 did them better. Like the Overrated Underated page but the rest of the reviews just felt like filler.

Anyway great stuff
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Post by So Long Ago »

So Long Ago wrote:
Nice to see the words Zzap 64 again on the selves in Smiths this afternoon.
oh btw next to it on the shelves was the Retro special that has same cover artwork as the 1st issue of crash (still my favourite cover of any computer mag)
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Post by CraigGrannell »

So Long Ago wrote:Only criticism: no JR
For what it's worth, I know Rob really tried to find JR, but no-one knows how to contact him (even Roger). I agree that it would have been great to get him involved, but at least Gary Penn offered a few choice words (as did Gordon, who wasn't entirely traumatised by editing 107!)
reviews - didn't really see that they added anything. Z107 did them better.
I think the difference is that this was a tribute/special based on the Zzap!back concept, whereas 107 was meant to be just another issue of the mag, like the publisher had just "forgotten" to put it out for seven or eight years. Should 108 ever happen (never say never) then the reviews will almost entirely be of new games. (I think the flat-plan had Archon as a Past Blaster, but everything else was stuff that hadn't been covered before—well, apart from the Zzap!back pages, which were, IIRC, going to cover issues 25 and 26.)
oh btw next to it on the shelves was the Retro special that has same cover artwork as the 1st issue of crash (still my favourite cover of any computer mag)
Is it me, or will that Retro special never go out of print?
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Post by So Long Ago »

CraigGrannell wrote:For what it's worth, I know Rob really tried to find JR, but no-one knows how to contact him (even Roger). I agree that it would have been great to get him involved, but at least Gary Penn offered a few choice words
i can appreciate that - but just as Pink Floyd is more of an event with Roger W Zzap has more reader appeal with Jaz (though I've never understood why). If more of the ex-newsfield staff had known it was going to end up in print I bet more of them would have come out of the wood work; print tarts that they are.

Just felt that there were too many reviews and whilst I can understand various people wanting to get involved I don't think that the review contributions from non-Zzap people really added anything, sorry guys.

Anyway just to reiterate - enjoyed seeing it on the shelves and for the 1st time in many a year felt some excitment in opening a computer mag. Felt like being a kid again.

Right I'm off for a Bar B now - tonight music is courtesy of a playlist on my Ipod called "Now That's What I Call Sticky". My own personal tribute to the Starline - I can still remember Gary L pissing himself at the Farmers dancing.
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Post by Lloyd Mangram »

So Long Ago wrote:
Only criticism: no JR - really needed something from him. Personally have always felt his contribution to Zzap was overrated but the readers loved him so he should have been there.
Well, I've asked over 30 ex-newsfielders about his whereabouts, Chris Anderson hinted using Google (Duh!? :roll: ) and Roger Kean tried to contact JR through his brother Jonathan (who lives in Portugal now as a grapefarmer) but it didn't happen. Of course I was dissapointed, and of course he's sorely missed, being one of *the* faces of Zzap!.
I had this interview with Jaz from 2000, which isn't online anymore since a couple of years, but it wasn't much, and it didn't contain any looking back, so I decided not to use it, in the end.
I couldn't sit there and weep though, so I went on without JR.
I'm just glad that Steve J, and Gary P and Chris A were so enthusiastic.
What's quite frustrating is that in the same couple of weeks I was looking for him, Jaz logged in on the Mean Machines froum to say hello. I believe he even did an interview for the site, soon to be published.
Maybe he shows up around here one of these days, in that case I'd always could try to squeeze him into the pdf version, launched later. 8)
So Long Ago wrote:
reviews - didn't really see that they added anything. Z107 did them better. Like the Overrated Underated page but the rest of the reviews just felt like filler.
Wot Craig said.
So Long Ago wrote:
Anyway great stuff
Thanx! I still wonder who you are though, Mr. Uffindell. :wink:
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Post by CraigGrannell »

I think there will always be a problem getting some people involved in this sort of thing. With 107 we had a hell of a time convincing people to get involved, because a lot of ex-Newsfield people were very suspicious of us and thought we'd end up with some fan-boy Word document (in fact, I think that's what Kati suggested when she was wondering why on Earth Gordon was spending so much time on the project). While 107 ended up being "proof" that such a thing could work and also look rather professional, I imagine some still didn't want to get involved with Rob's project for whatever reason. And, as we said, no-one knows how to contact Jaz—it's not like people didn't try.

Chris was, for me, the biggest surprise of the tribute. I really wasn't expecting him to contribute. Gary wasn't a shocker—he's always been proud of his past and up for helping out (although he always seems terribly busy). As for Steve J, I'm also not surprised that he contributed. He was actually up for writing for 107, but, for whatever reason, we screwed up and forgot to get back to him (sorry again, chap, if you're on here and reading this—blame that dodgy Aussie dude who organised that issue!). While I've only had a few brief email responses from Steve about various things, he's always struck me as a thoroughly nice guy and, again, is someone who seems perfectly happy talking about the past (although, interestingly, in an email interview I did with him a while ago, he seemed to have very little truck for nostalgia and most definitely didn't think games were better in the "goold ol' days"!)
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Post by Lloyd Mangram »

So Long Ago wrote: If more of the ex-newsfield staff had known it was going to end up in print I bet more of them would have come out of the wood work; print tarts that they are.
Like I said, I emailed over 30 ex-newsfielders *personally* and I did mention to them that it would be likely to end up in print as I told them that I would offer the final product to either Retro Gamer or Games ™.

'Only':
Roger Kean (sharing lots of material)
Gary Penn (giving some nice feedback on the old reviews)
Chris Anderson
Steve Jarratt
Gordon Houghton
responded with enthusiasm.

While
Paul Glancey (being too busy)
Robin Hogg (without saying so)
Ciaran Brennan (not having that much memories)
turned down the privilege via email.

I have never heard *anything* from the rest.

With a lot of net and forum searching and creative cutting, pasting and editing text (and asking permission here and there) I could just pretend that
Gary Liddon
Jeff Minter
Dominic Handy
Martin Walker

were actually conciously contributing to the mag. 8)

I also ripped some quotes out of different magazines (old and new) to fill up some holes.

Gladly Andreas Wallstrom offered his exclusive Jon Hare interview (out of nothing!) to me, so I could include it. And that turned out excellently! IMHO.

I'm not complaining though, I'm very happy with the final product, I do agree though that JR should have been there.
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Post by LeeT »

You fooled me Rob with the GL and Jeff Minter comments - I assumed you had interviewed them! :)
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Post by gordon »

Just got back frm a week's holiday to find my copies in the post. Cheers, Rob. You and Craig (and everyone else) did a fantastic job.

What's best of all is that it's really very, very interesting. :) I'd reached page 17 before I put it down to come online.

Great stuff, guys.
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Post by PaulEMoz »

gordon wrote:What's best of all is that it's really very, very interesting. :) I'd reached page 17 before I put it down to come online.
Did you get a porn version or something? :shock:
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Post by So Long Ago »

PaulEMoz wrote:Did you get a porn version or something? :shock:
No that's why he had to put it down and go online :lol:
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Post by gordon »

Har-de-har @ both of you. ;)
debit

Post by debit »

Hi guys,

Finally got hold of a copy of Retro Gamer with the Zzap! special yesterday...guess after the events on Thursday it took a while to get around London Town, but...

I like it. No, I love it. It was weird to see a Zzap! logo on a newsstand after all this time and it turned a married Dad of one in a cool job into a geeky 13 year old again!

Awesome stuff. Not that the Missus agrees.

PS where's Lloyd, eh? Just one picture of him in a new bag might be have been nice.
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