“I’ll keep making games ‘til they plant me.”
Jeff Minter is a genius.
Excuse the hyperbole, but I don’t mind admitting that I’m a bit of a Minter fan.
In his adopted hometown in west Wales, and over a pint and a curry.
he exclaims when I tell him of my sacrifice).
What was it about video games that made you fall in love with them?
Jeff Minter:The whole idea was fascinating.
That’s something that is made by wizards somewhere else!
That sounds bloody interesting.
I didn’t realise I could be a wizard just yet, but there was the possibility!
Nothing bit as hard as that.
I’d get in before anybody else and then stay late.
What the fuck is going on there then?
What was it you loved about coding?
It’s the most purely creative thing I’ve encountered, ever.
And you could make it yourself!
It was that same fundamental level of discovery.
And then within a few years, it was a massive multi billion dollar industry.
It was amazing to see that whole progression through from nothing!
I wanted to talk about your work with lightsynths.
Where did that begin?
It’s the other half of my career, really.
And I honestly think the best thing we’ve ever made isSpace Giraffe.
Absolutely the best thing we’ve ever made is Space Giraffe.
Ah, Space Giraffe!
It’s bewildering, but once you get your head into its own peculiar zoneit’s utterly beautiful too.
What is it that makes Space Giraffe so special for you?
Jeff Minter:It was pushing in a different direction.
And if people bore with it and went with it they would find themselves in a new space.
It felt like your most high profile game because Microsoft put a bit of weight behind it.
And you should never review a game if you don’t complete it.
And they never scratched the surface of Space Giraffe!
So if Space Giraffe is your best game, what’s your worst?
Jeff Minter:Obviously some of the really early stuff is terrible!
Some of the early Vic 20 things like Rat Man - I was a kid!
I learned my trade.
I’d grown too comfortable with the idea of you could do anything you want.
It could have been tuned better.
Revisiting and playing again Defender 2000 on the Jaguar - it wasn’t entirely my fault.
“It’s like the Commodore 64,” adds Jeff.
You don’t have that kind of connection to machines anymore."
“But the trouble is the only people who’d appreciate that are people like us!”
“And once we’re dead, nobody will appreciate these Commodore 64 demos.
Some of them are genuinely artistic.
There’s that sense of wow, how the hell did they do that?
And you only have that feeling if you deeply understand the underlying architecture.
There’s gonna be generations of people who will never have that understanding.
It’s a peculiar and wonderful thing.”
You’ve been an indie for 40 years, pretty much.
Were there many points where you’ve been tempted by a salary?
Jeff Minter:At the time when Atari died Activision was sniffing around.
Do I go this way or do I go that way?
And that way was the guys at VM labs, my friends who were doing something really interesting.
We could have had Jeff Minter’s Call of Duty.
Jeff Minter:We could have!
I just want to carry on doing the stuff I want to do.
You don’t seem to have lost any of your passion, though.
Because the pleasure is in the act of creation.
I hate the commercial side of it, but I love the creative side.
I hate having to grub around for money.
The older I get the less patience I’ve got with it as well.
For fuck sake, life’s too short!
So how many games have you got left in you?
I’ll keep making games until they plant me.
There’s always a new idea, something you haven’t tried, something you haven’t done.
you’re able to’t stop!
Eugene defence force
Jeff has his own heroes too.
And it kicked my arse.
It utterly destroyed me in about 30 seconds.
It was absolutely wonderful.
And the sound effects!
These really solid fucking noises.
There’s always something in the back of your mind.
When you first discovered games did you ever wonder what they’d look like in 40 years time?
But since then limitations have fallen away.
It’s interesting and fascinating to work within those constraints.
it’s possible for you to still make great stuff.
It shouldn’t put you off.
What are some of the games of the last five years that have blown your mind?
How amazing is that?
We should talk about Akka Arrh as that’s what we’re here for!
There were some good ideas that maybe I could develop.
Giles:But you always despair!
The number one skill in making a game is completion!
Bring the thing through - make the thing!
“He still owes me a fiver!”
says Minter, who’s also a massive fan.
“We’ve got a multiuser lightsynth in VR,” says Jeff.
“And it’s something else.”
