Steve Hales interview

[Kaz atarionline.pl]

The interview with Steve Hales was available on atarionline.pl in Polish only, but Karol Wisniewski compiled his and Steve's emails and released original, English version of interview today. Read and enjoy.

[carmel_andrews]

wasn't Dimension X the first commercial tape game to using high speed loading

[WizWor]

I wasn't a huge fan of any of his games, but he still has his hardware and encourages preservation of the games -- including download sites. I wonder if Steve ever comes here?

 

KW: What is the current status of your early games? Are they freeware?

 

SH: I actually own the rights to "Fort Apocalypse", "Dimension X" and "Slime". I bought them in the late 80's.

 

KW: In that case - what do you think about "abandonware" as a game creator?

 

SH: I'm incredibly supportive of the the emulator scene. Without it, all of these games would disappear. Its the history of our industry. I believe that abandonware should be treasured and persevered. Imagine, if we lost all of the early science fiction stories.

 

KW: That wouldn't be fun. So, you have nothing against the websites from which people can download your old games for free?

 

SH: As along as they obey my

creative commons license

. See the

page

.

Edited May 24, 2009 by WizWor

[mos6507]

I'm surprised the issue of his health didn't come up and how it impacts(ed) his career. He has macular degeneration. When I met him at Jim Nitchals' funeral he seemed quite depressed about it. That's a tough thing to deal with.