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Mostly made by apes logo ...In the time of AI there are games that still are... mostly made by apes

About me

Career

Born in the late 70s and growing up in the magnificent 80s and 90s, I was able to experience many golden moments of consoles and "personal" computers myself.

My earliest video game experiences and consoles included the Vectrex, the Atari VCS, the NES, SNES, Master System, and Megadrive. At the same time, I "programmed" a small text adventure using Basic on the C64 with the help of the quite good manual, but unfortunately I was too stupid to understand that whole sprite thingy so game development was out of focus past then. Friends had Amigas and Ataris, siblings had basically every Nintendo console and Playstations and it was basically a console centered world until the classic PC finally prevailed and from then on that was my prefered platform of doing "everything".

I occassionally tried different tools to make games since then, like the infamous "Klik&Play" from KlikTeam, later branded "Games Factory". It was limited but quite fun, unfortunalety with flaws that I were unable to workaround.

I started my real programming carreer around 2000 studiing informatics and since 2004 I am a professional developer. There wasn't much time for game development though (a few smaller test projects here and there) and then comes life ;-)

Out of fun, around 2021, I decided to make a very small "Asteroids" clone based on the original Vectrex version named "Exoroids", but that escalated quickly and has turned into something far more complex. So this is the project that I plan to finish around 2027 / 28.

Favorite games

I have played countless great games in my life, but the following games will always have a special place in my heart:

Pong (VCS)

Yeah, it's Pong, what else to say? Watching Night Rider on TV and playing Pong on the Atari VCS is one of my earliest Video game memories... Those "knob" controllers were kinda weird though.

Asteroids (Vectrex)

I didn't own the vectrex and my neighbour must be pretty pissed that I've used every opportunity possible to play a round of Asteroids on it. The sweet vector graphics on dat monitor...

Break Out (C64)

One of the many clones of "Arkanoid", but easily one of the best ones. That strange chiptune and the "enemies" were really special IMO and one of them reminds me of the german Bundeskanzler Helmut Kohl (lol).

BubbleBobble (C64)

Unforgettable Chiptune, quirky gameplay and two player coop, two super sweet dragons and good enough gameplay... It was really a gem at that time.

Loderunner (C64)

One of the very few games I've played with my father. Hard as fuck, especially from level 10 onwards, but really good gameplay for that time.

Galaxy (C64)

A quite nice Galaga clone that I was very fond of.

Commando (C64)

There were others like this, but to me it was the best mix between challenge, graphics and sountrack. One of the games you were actually able to beat, which was not that common to that time.

Super Mario 2+3 (NES)

Originally designed as a totally different game, Mario 2 was so strange and different from the first and third part, that it really sticks to me until today. It was different, but good. The third part is just a classic - what a sweet combination of fresh ideas, perks, graphics and perfect gameplay at that time. A classic that I will still play from time to time when nostalgia hits hard.

Mega Man 1-3 (NES)

The first part was possibly the hardest gaming experience that I had as a kid. No save or password systems and rock hard, unforgiving gameplay. I remember beating it in a long night with a friend of mine and it was awesome. Though I don't remember playing it again all the way through after that. Part 2 and 3 were much easier, but better in some ascpects, and they were all really good.

Maniac Mansion (NES)

It was a present for my younger brother, but I couldn't wait until his birthday so I played it secretly beforehand. The NES version was especially strange and IMO adds something to the atmosphere

Other Notable Games

  • Super Mario Land (Game Boy)
  • Super Mario World (SNES)
  • F-Zero (SNES) - One of the best OST in the world, change my mind.
  • Super Street Fighter Turbo (SNES) - Are you Ken?
  • Super Castlevania IV (SNES) - Wiggly whips and awesome OST
  • Mario Kart (SNES)
  • Zelda - A Link to the past (SNES)
  • Super Metroid (SNES)
  • Zelda - Ocarina of time (N64)
  • Golden Eye (N64)
  • DOOM I+II (PC)
  • System Shock I+II (PC)
  • Ultima 9 (PC)
  • Diablo I (PC)
  • UFO - Enemy Unknown (PC)
  • Deus Ex (PC)
  • Half Life (PC)
  • Counter Strike 1.6 (PC)
  • Quake I-III (PC)
  • Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
  • Minecraft (PC)
  • Fall Out New Vegas (PC) - Okay, Caesars legion reborn with laser gatlings against a robot secured New Vegas set in a ultra sarcastic distopia? Yeah, why not?
  • Prey (2017, PC) - The only Action RP I played through 3 times in a row.
  • Hollow Knight (PC) - A metroidvania can't be THAT hard, right?
  • Noita (PC) - Anarchy and Chaos manifested as a game. If you are looking for a nearly perfect pixel based engine: Here it is.
  • Doom 2016 (PC) - They said Domm can't be reinvented. They were wrong.
  • Zelda - Breath of the wild (Switch)
  • Half Life Alyx (PC, Index) - Thank you for this experience, Valve! This is what VR can be, the best VR experience till today. It's a true milestone in gaming history.

Honorable Mentions

  • Summer Games (C64)
  • Moonstone (Amiga 500)
  • Resident Evil I (Playstation)
  • Tekken 3 (Playstation)
  • Soul Edge (Playstation)
  • 7 days to die (PC)
  • Portal (PC)
  • Guitar Hero (PC)
  • Inside (PC)
  • Ori and the blind forest (PC)
  • Path of Exile II (PC)