i read an interview where he said that his experience with DK'Tronics had soured his view of the whole software business and that he was glad to get out..
the last email i sent him i even included all the inlay scans/artwork from every release he ever published..
i was very polite...don't see why he wouldn't want to reply..
Sorry it's slightly off topic but I've just found Jeff Minter's reply about a post I made about his DK Tronics games on his forum (www.yakyak.org)
Here it is:
And to actually answer the question - I did do a small collection of simple games and utilities for DK'Tronics before I achieved the realisation that the bloke who ran DK'Tronics was a fat ex-used-car-salesman git of a c*nt who would rip off his own granny given half a chance and was robbing me blind.
I had completely forgotten about those games myself until I came across an emulator image of one of them last year - which appeared to have been sold by some bloke in the US! Which meant either said US bloke simply stole the game and started selling it himself, or that delightful DK'Tronics bloke sold it to him for US distribution without telling me; either of which is a bit of a pisser, really.
I've spoken to Don in the past (via email), but I think he contacted me. Back when I was maintaining the NVG archive he was looking for a copy of his game 'Up For Grabs'. Alas... the contact details have long since left my computer.
I have to disagree - I thought Don's games were on the whole pretty damned awesome.
I think I've spent more time playing 'MINDER' than any other game on the Spectrum (and that was generally regarded as one of his worse titles in reviews.)
Saying that I liked Don Priestley Games a lot would be an understatement :) Except for Minder that I never experienced in my younger days. I downloaded it from WoS a month ago just to try another title from the man himself, but after a while I realized that a) it didn't look like a D.P. game and b) despite having read the instructions and reviews, I still had not a clue about what I was supposed to do.
Alessandro, I realise it can be difficult to fully understand, as it very much relies on knowing the TV show on which is based (knowing the characters of Terry, Dave, Chisolm), as well as knowledge of a lot of Cockney Rhyming Slang etc.
It is very much (perhaps more than any other) a British game. After all... who else would know what buying and selling 'Blue Peter Presenters' are all about?
It's very much a case of going to the pub, negotiating the price and buying some stock to sell from some of the people in the pub, and then going to dealers to sell the items that you've bought at a profit. Terry, will pick up and deliver the stock for you at a price, and even act as your Minder, should you want to go to the pub and start a fight with someone (another British trait).
Of course, there is always the possibility of buying items that are not up to standard, which can affect the price, or cause you to go to prison...
The items can be stolen, in which case 'Chisholm' will be on the lookout for them. Don't let him catch you red-handed with them!
Certain items can be of poor quality - for example - If you buy COMPUTER GAMES - they could be good (by DK'TRONICS), or of poor quality (by IMAGINE).
BEWARE of buying bundles of adult magazines - they invariably are stuck together in clumps.
Here's my tuppence worth....
Don Priestley is an underrated genius. Popeye is my favourite EVER Spectrum game. Trapdoor was brilliant too (but unlike most people, I think Popeye is a better game - more screens, the first of the genre, etc). The other "big sprite" games were also in a league of their own (Benny Hill, Gregory etc).
I remember first seeing the review for Popeye in CRASH and being amazed by those large, colourful graphics - I was just dying to play it.
When I eventually bought Popeye, I found it to be one of the most original and perfectly conceptualised Spectrum games that could be created. Superb puzzles like the fruit machine made the game highly original too - the whole style was unique and no other game ever came close to it.
With most games I completed, I wouldn't bother playing them again. But Priestley's "big sprite" games were fun to play over and over. I can't praise this bloke enough!
Yet, despite all this, I still haven't played Minder properly! :D
I used to love playing Trapdoor. I've downloaded it from Wos to play on SPIN but there appears to be a bug which stops me completing it. Can anyone else make the fried eggs?
On 2004-06-13 14:24, MustrumRidcully wrote:
I used to love playing Trapdoor. I've downloaded it from Wos to play on SPIN but there appears to be a bug which stops me completing it. Can anyone else make the fried eggs?
The Trapdoor I downloaded from WOS didn't work properly for me either, it all went corruptted a short time into the game. I'd thought it was my emulator to blame, but then I found another snapshot elsewhere which worked OK. I used this snapshot to do the ending for Speccy Spoilers ;)
The reason why you guys still use these nasty snapshots when there's so much effort spent into making those lovely TZX files is a mystery to me. And do not say it is because you can't stand the loading time, for every emulator has an option for accelerated tape file loading.
Comments
Are you sure that this is the same Don Priestley?
maybe he's trying to forget his spectrum days..
the last email i sent him i even included all the inlay scans/artwork from every release he ever published..
i was very polite...don't see why he wouldn't want to reply..
Jeff had some stuff released for the VIC 20 in the early days. He's had some very nasty things to say about them!
Here it is:
And to actually answer the question - I did do a small collection of simple games and utilities for DK'Tronics before I achieved the realisation that the bloke who ran DK'Tronics was a fat ex-used-car-salesman git of a c*nt who would rip off his own granny given half a chance and was robbing me blind.
I had completely forgotten about those games myself until I came across an emulator image of one of them last year - which appeared to have been sold by some bloke in the US! Which meant either said US bloke simply stole the game and started selling it himself, or that delightful DK'Tronics bloke sold it to him for US distribution without telling me; either of which is a bit of a pisser, really.
\
(:-) - Yak
/
There is this link, although I've no idea if it's still current information:
http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showwrap.cgi?permit=import/DamienBurke.html#PRIESTLEY
You could do worse than try and see if he can help.
http://www.peejays-remakes.co.uk/
I did like the look of 'Gregory Loses His Clock' though, I might have to try that one out but the Trap Door games and Popeye weren't anything special.
I think I've spent more time playing 'MINDER' than any other game on the Spectrum (and that was generally regarded as one of his worse titles in reviews.)
TRAPDOOR again is absolutely fantastic.
It is very much (perhaps more than any other) a British game. After all... who else would know what buying and selling 'Blue Peter Presenters' are all about?
It's very much a case of going to the pub, negotiating the price and buying some stock to sell from some of the people in the pub, and then going to dealers to sell the items that you've bought at a profit. Terry, will pick up and deliver the stock for you at a price, and even act as your Minder, should you want to go to the pub and start a fight with someone (another British trait).
Of course, there is always the possibility of buying items that are not up to standard, which can affect the price, or cause you to go to prison...
The items can be stolen, in which case 'Chisholm' will be on the lookout for them. Don't let him catch you red-handed with them!
Certain items can be of poor quality - for example - If you buy COMPUTER GAMES - they could be good (by DK'TRONICS), or of poor quality (by IMAGINE).
BEWARE of buying bundles of adult magazines - they invariably are stuck together in clumps.
:)
hey don't knock car boot sales :)
Don Priestley is an underrated genius. Popeye is my favourite EVER Spectrum game. Trapdoor was brilliant too (but unlike most people, I think Popeye is a better game - more screens, the first of the genre, etc). The other "big sprite" games were also in a league of their own (Benny Hill, Gregory etc).
I remember first seeing the review for Popeye in CRASH and being amazed by those large, colourful graphics - I was just dying to play it.
When I eventually bought Popeye, I found it to be one of the most original and perfectly conceptualised Spectrum games that could be created. Superb puzzles like the fruit machine made the game highly original too - the whole style was unique and no other game ever came close to it.
With most games I completed, I wouldn't bother playing them again. But Priestley's "big sprite" games were fun to play over and over. I can't praise this bloke enough!
Yet, despite all this, I still haven't played Minder properly! :D
"Use the Tipshop, Luke."
I agree... that bloke really made perfect use of the licences in a way that OCEAN SOFTWARE could only have dreamed of.