kiwilove Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 This is mentioned in the Ray Kassar passing topic. Doing a quick Goggle search - it seems it was at age 64 - and he was born in December 1953. He did brilliant work - particularly in his Encounter game. While at the Sol III Star Trek Convention in Birmingham - I did drop in at the Silica Shop there - and was fortunate to see Paul Woakes demoing his Encounter game there. With my poor memory I can't recall details about Paul Woakes - as I was stunned by his Encounter game running. Something I wondered about - did he have anything to do with a quick tape loading method for the C-64? Was it Novaload? Maybe this is not connected with Paul Woakes at all? Harvey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargie Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Yes - Paul invented Novaload. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbaeza Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Sad to read the creator of Encounter has passed away. Encounter is one of my all time favorite games. Other games by Woakes are Mercenary - Escape from Targ and Mercenary - The Second City. http://www.atarimania.com/screenshots_games_atari-400-800-xl-xe-woakes-paul_team_1436_8_G.html Regards, Louis BQ 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nezgar Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Definitely sad news. I'm sure there's some very interesting Atari computing history that has left with him. I'm sure it could have been a great interview if it made it to the Antic Podcast... Further shows the value of that interview work being done. Yes - Paul invented Novaload. Other games by Woakes are Mercenary - Escape from Targ and Mercenary - The Second City. Now I see the 'Nova' connection... Mercenary was 'Novagen' Software. Man I spent so many hours playing Mercenary, that was an amazing open world, and an immersive story and open ended 3D world on the 8-bits! And later with the sequel Damocles on the ST also by Novagen, so I presume he was involved with that too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vyper68 Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Very sad news indeed, he was a really good programmer but also an intensely private person.I spent so many hours playing Encounter!, Mercenary and Second City i have lost count. I remember going out the wrong door in the Palyar Colony Craft into open space it took a long way to fall down to earth How many people would out two versions of their game on tape so all Atari owners could play ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emkay Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Encounter! He made THE game that showed impressive, what's going on with 8 bits From a side aspect, Encounter! wasn't even one of the 1st EGO-view shooters, the way it changes from level to level could be a predecessor of the "Portal" game idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Here's a dream team with the elusive Paul Woakes at the right end.. What a game those three could have made.. Back to Serena.. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foebane Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 I'm sorry to hear about Paul Woakes passing away, but I'm not certain why Encounter! is the game everyone remembers him for - for me it was his Mercenary/Damocles series of games, which blew me away with their open-world exploration and impressive 3D worlds. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Encounter and the Amiga and ST version, Backlash were silky smooth clever shooters, you could pick them up, have a great and quite thoughtful blast. Battlezone in the future, what isn't to like. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vyper68 Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 I'm sorry to hear about Paul Woakes passing away, but I'm not certain why Encounter! is the game everyone remembers him for - for me it was his Mercenary/Damocles series of games, which blew me away with their open-world exploration and impressive 3D worlds. I remember him for a variety of games Encounter! was a great blast and the 16-Bit version and Backlash were also great games. The Mercenary games were classics as well, both the original 8-Bit's and then the 16-Bit versions. I can remember spending hours playing Mercenary, exploring all the different structures and easter eggs. It was ahead of it's time in some gameplay elements. He was the one person who inspired me to get into 6502 programming and although i never got anywhere near that level he inspired me to try. I never got to meet him sadly i would have loved to had spoken to him. Looking at the picture can you imagine the game that would have come out if Paul, Jeff & Archer had worked together? it would either be a work of genius or a convoluted mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Just in case, the picture lists the people in the wrong order, I did mention it but others may just have looked at the picture, Jeff Minter is in the middle, not Paul Woakes... And yes Mighty Sweevo, I too wondered how great or mess a game could be from all those, too many cooks I'd expect... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbaeza Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Yeah, I recognized Minter in that picture, and right away I knew the names were not listed in the proper order. More details on Woakes softography: http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,97450/ Regards, Louis BQ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emkay Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 I'm sorry to hear about Paul Woakes passing away, but I'm not certain why Encounter! is the game everyone remembers him for - for me it was his Mercenary/Damocles series of games, which blew me away with their open-world exploration and impressive 3D worlds. You should have a look at the release date 1983 for the Atari version. The playability is fluid, unique, great, awesome, catchy, driving .... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Paul Woakes passing is one of the first in the Atari world that actually touched me. Mercenary is one of the games in my top ten A8 games. It was the first game I was so involved with I actually drew a map as I explored; I didn't put that amount of effort into many games! You can get a remake of Targ, 2nd City, Damocles and Dion Crisis from the mercenary site http://mercenarysite.free.fr/mddclone.htm 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargie Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 (edited) Paul was a real auteur. With the possible exception of the 16 bit versions of Encounter!, everything he did was technically dazzling and executed with real wit, flair and attention to detail. Encounter! and Mercenary in particular were games that barely seemed possible on the hardware they were running on - yet they were full of brilliant touches and surprises. The Warp Sequence in Encounter! will always be one of the seminal moments in gaming for me. Thank you Paul for all the beautiful and fun works of art! Edited February 26, 2018 by sargie 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heaven/TQA Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Btw learned today... there is a 16k version of Encounter on tape - check atarimania Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 just in case some one reads too fast like some of us sometimes do... the 16 bit version is not to be confused with the 16k version, I'm sure. Just as a matter of reading that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacman000 Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Encounter Review: http://videogamecritic.com/xeae.htm?e=34222#rev4627 Gameplay Video: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 More sad news. I'll play a few games of Encounter this evening. I always loved that game. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ijor Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 He was also an innovator in many senses. Among other things, he was one of the firsts (if not the first, at least on Atari) to release titles with "regional" protection. For instance, the Novagen version of Encounter doesn't work on NTSC computers, it's PAL only, and this is checked on purpose. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xebec Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Just here to pay respect to Paul. Encounter was excellent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Dogge Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 Paul Woakes was an inspiration RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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