My first computer and also gaming system was Commodore 64, this was somewhere in 1987 or 1988. Sub sequentially playing Attack of the Mutant Camels and Revenge of the Mutant Camels became a major deal for me. While the system itself wasn’t as huge in the US, I quickly invested myself in it and all knowledge of it. My second ever system was an Amiga. I couldn’t get away from Jeff Minter if I tried. If you owned an Atari in the US, its possible you didn’t either, or maybe you did. I wouldn’t know, my first console was an Xbox. Anyway, this is all to say I know who Jeff Minter is, but I also knew nothing about Jeff Minter or how much else he’s done and that is where the second Gold Master Series from Digital Eclipse becomes such a prize and something worthy to not only MY library but to anyone’s library.
If you have not yet experienced a Digital Eclipse Gold Master, but are a fan of museums, history and video games you are doing yourself I feel a disservice. While there is only one other in the series, that be The Making of Karateka, (which only gives a glimpse into one game in a large Jordan Mechner catalog), it was a true deep dive of treasures; and Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story is no different and in some cases even fuller. New documentary video pieces, scans of documents, recreations of game boxes which one can “touch” making them interactive museum pieces, along with 46 playable games and creations as well as one game fully remastered and re-engineered for the modern game player.
These playable games have been reconfigured as well, all reset to work on a controller, which I know had to be a ton of work. One of the absolute joys of the museum is that they focused not just on the games of Llamasoft but the entirety of Jeff’s career (at least up to a certain point) and creations. The light synths are probably my favorite thing. Infinitely playable. The games are as well, from both a nostalgia and also from an innovation stand point. Jeff only made games he wanted to play and Jeff had good/has good taste.
What I love most is there really being something for everyone here. Wanna play games of varying styles and difficulties? We got ya. Want to just watch some documentaries piece? Here ya go. You just want cool music? We got YOU too.
Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story may have as much a personal connection to my own history as Making of Karateka, but the next Gold Master Series could be anything, be it something I know or something I never heard of and I’ll be on board there. If you have no connection to Karateka or Jeff Minter I feel you too will find something as I said in the previous paragraph to enjoy in these virtual immersive interactive museum art playable game displays… or Gold Masters.
