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xot

Administrator

Registered: 2007-08-18

Posts: 1,239

Inspiration

I was cleaning out my closet today. This isn't the normal clean out. You see, my closet has been destroyed by termites. All of my valuable possessions have been in storage there for years. Hardly anything has survived. It's been a bitter lesson in learning to let go.

As I literally shoveled my prized possessions into a trash can, I hit a motherlode of old Apple II stuff. The Apple II is the first computer I ever owned or spent any real time with. It was sad business throwing away all of this old software and books that had meant so much to me, that had been so important to creating the person I am today. I flipped through the filth encrusted floppy disks and something caught my eye, something I felt might be more important than anything else I've ever possessed.

When I was eleven years old, moving from California to New York, I happened to find myself in an Apple dealership in Florida (long story). There I saw something amazing. A man was hunched over one of the computers playing a game. Then he stopped playing the game, typed a few characters, and filled the screen with numbers and letters. He'd type some more and after a few moments of this he was playing the game again. Then he'd stop and repeat the process, over and over again. I watched him do this -- positively transfixed -- for probably 30 or 40 minutes, maybe more. It was then that I realized that a normal human being could make a video game.

That man was Samuel Moore and the game he was making was Bats in the Belfry. It's a relatively obscure release by Phoenix Software, never having been a major hit, or even a minor one for that matter. He was kind enough to let me keep watching and it wasn't long before he had my name and new address. A few months later in New York, I received in the mail a package with the published game. Samuel Moore is the reason I want to make games today. I'm so glad I was able to salvage this small piece of personal history.

What made you want to get into making games? What were your inspirations?

EDIT:
Some more info about Bat's in the Bellfry and Phoenix Software in these links. It's estimated that less than 100 copies were ever sold.

Last edited by xot (2014-03-16 12:32:28)

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Abusing forum power since 1986.

xDanielx

Member

Registered: 2009-01-02

Posts: 38

Re: Inspiration

Great story, xot, thanks for sharing.