Commodore Free 63/Commodore_Free_Issue_63_2012-08-06_-.d64/iv jamie

Text File | 2023-02-26 | 11KB | 381 lines

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       INTERVIEW WITH FLIMSOFT
     New C64 Software Publisher
          By Commodore Free
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Q. Hi can you introduce yourself to
our readers

My name is Jamie Alvis, I am 28 and
have a Degree in Cultural and Media
Studies and just recently achieved a
PGCE. I am a massive fan of anything
8bit, specifically Commodore 64. I
am also a big fan of synthpop music
- some great new stuff out there as
well as the classics.

Q. What made you involved with
Commodore as a brand

It started Christmas 1990. I was
bought a Commodore 64c (Playful
Intelligence pack). Christmas
morning was nothing but hell. We had
several games on cassette and had
the C2N datasette but had no idea
how to load up the games, although
we did have the four game cartridge
and loaded up Flimbo's Quest which
was the first ever game I played on
the C64 and love it the same today.
A neighbour finally came to the
rescue after Christmas dinner and
loaded up Rastan - even he struggled
to understand how to load up games.
It was amazing, the excitement was
just awesome - waiting for a game to
load with a funky background tune as
well as stripy lines waving around!
Some of my first games were: Batman
Caped Crusader, Batman the Movie,
Wonderboy, Rampage, Green Beret,
Rambo 3, Robocop, Bubble Bobble.

Anyways. The computer was sold
around 1993 to fund for a Master
System or NES or something similar -
I regretted it to this day. I got
back into Commodore 64 a few years
back and started collecting. I
realised there was still a cause for
it/a scene and am still amazed that
software is still being produced.

Q. You plan to start a very
ambitious plan can you give a brief
outline of what you are trying to do

Indeed a very ambitious plan!

Originally I was intending to just
design the artwork for titles from
yesteryear which never had them the
first time around. There are some
amazing titles out there that I have
recently discovered - Bobix to be
one of them. I was given the coders
email address (Mark Van) and told
him about my ideas, he gave me full
permission to rerelease the game
complete with artwork, however as
Mark stated he sold the rights of
the game back in 1994. Since then I
have been told that the people who
bought it back in 1994 sold it to
someone else; then that person sold
it to someone else...a real
nightmare to find out who owns it
here in 2012! So after much thought
I decided not to have a website
which would be based around this
idea. I then thought about other
ways where I could contribute to the
Commodore 64 community. I have
always dreamed of owning a software
house and thought it would never be
possible. I am one of those people
who will have a go at anything. And
so Flimsoft was created! I aim to
deal with new game programmers and
work with them to release their
games. Flimsoft is also going to be
a fairly cheap software website for
these new releases. Programmers
submitting games will be guaranteed
to be working with a 100%
professional service. All games will
be released with artwork etc.

Q. So you are setting up a software
house, what machines will you cater
for

At this moment in time I would like
to remain exclusive to Commodore 64.
Although you never know what the
future holds.

Q. You mentioned you were taking to
a Commodore programmer to bug test
etc how will this process be handled

Yes! The legendary Jason Kelk! I am
absolutely delighted to have him on
board, he is a wicked character and
I am glad to know him. The process
is simple; When games are submitted
I pass the details to Jason who will
then clean up any bugs and generally
tidy up loose-ends. He will also be
incorporating the software house
name 'Flimsoft' into the games which
is going to make them look smart and
professional.

Q. Obviously this is a labour of
love; and I presume breaking even is
the goal! But if you do get into
profit what will you spend the money
on

It is predominately a labour of love
much like anyone else in the scene.
I am not looking to profit and never
thought about profiting, as long as
I can make some money on the cost of
printing and shipping and the cost
of disks - I am very happy! If I
were to make mega-money, I would
expand on the website and 'behind
the scenes', maybe even try and buy
the rights to some big games out
there! Most probably though, it will
go towards website maintenance.

Q. I presume the programmers will be
paid for the work how will this work
for example a percentage of each
sale?

This is an area that I haven't
thought through at this moment in
time. Programmers are guaranteed to
have a very good deal though. Just
send me an email at
[e-mail] for
more details.

Q. What sort of price range will the
games be offered at

I am aiming to sell new releases at
a fairly reasonable price. Having
said that - printing, disks, and
cases all cost money. I would like
to say cassettes would be something
like 3.99 - 4.99 and disks around
the 9.99 - 11.99 mark. I would
imagine that there would be an
option for choosing to have the
whole package such as artwork etc..
that way would save the customer
some money. I also need to take into
account of what it will cost
Flimsoft to produce - materials all
of this is reflected in the final
prices.

Q. If one of our readers has written
a game how does he approach you for
publishing, also what games will you
take, for example would you accept
games written in Basic or SEUCK and
how will you decide on the quality?

If a reader has written a game
please send the details to:
[e-mail] I am
open to any type of game - the worst
we can do is say no! BASIC and SEUCK
games will be considered. It really
depends on how well the game plays.
Decisions on quality will be
different each time depending on the
genre. Like I said - just send the
details and a demo of your game and
we'll take it from there.

Q. if a reader has a half finished
game would this be of interest, and
will you be putting together a team
to finish or create new software
titles

If a reader approaches me with a
promising-looking game that is half
finished; I will talk to my contacts
about finishing it off. I would like
to assemble a team at some point to
create new releases. Again - if you
are personally interested in doing
this for Flimsoft - just give me an
email.

Q. How do you feel you fit in with
other Commodore publishers, are you
competing or complementing the
software available

I am entering the world of Commodore
publishing with nothing but
admiration for other publishers. I
will not be competing against
others. I am a big, big fan of
Psytronik and own many of their
games. Also RGCD are excellent, and
I have also bought games from
Protovision which are equally good
(please bring your store back
online!!). I would like to think
that Psytronik inspired me most of
all. I Love it! I think they started
something very good a few years back
and I have nothing but pure respect
for them all. So I would like to say
a big thanks to Psytronik for
inspiring me.

Q. Some Commodore publishers offer
the game at full price then after a
year say , offer the game to
download free is this something you
may consider?

That will be the plan. If customers
are anything like myself - I will
buy the game anyways to add to the
collection regardless of if they are
free to download. Just love buying
new releases to add to my collection.

Q. If A programmer offers the full
package game and artwork would this
be more advantageous

Good question. I would say that
would be a bonus!

Q. How will the art work be created?

Artwork will be created by myself
and my partner. It is initially
sketched by hand, scanned in and
then finally Photoshopped to
perfection. I have been working on
artwork for Bobix the past week or
so - it looks fantastic as well; but
not sure if this should be released
on the website due to copyright
which is a long story...I guess I
will release it at some point
somewhere as fan art perhaps?

Q. Does the programmer still own the
rights to the game or will they be
transferred to yourselves? Also
would you require the source code

Yes, the programmer will still own
the full rights of the game.
Flimsoft will sell the game as well
as market it.

Q. If in bug testing if for example
a major problem is found; will the
tester then work with the programmer
to rectify the problem ?

So far, Jason has been a diamond
towards this project and been
nothing but encouraging towards
everything that I am doing. I
shouldn't have thought it would be a
problem, I guess I would have to
discuss this with him.

Q. How would a reader who wanted to
become involved in the project and
what staff would be needed

At this moment in time. I am looking
for someone to put the website
online for me.
As long as I can access the website
myself and add new content - that
would be awesome. I have created the
website in Photoshop and can hand
over the jpegs and so forth. So
someone who is good at doing such a
thing is more than welcome to
contact me.

Q. Will staff members be paid a
small fee?

It depends on their level of
contribution; and to be agreed
between myself and that member of
staff.

Q. Will the inlay covers all be
printed in house or will this be
subcontracted out

Inlays will be printed in high
quality via a local printing firm
who are very good at what they do.

Q. You said that you may plan to
sell second hand titles as well

Yes, in addition to the new releases
aspect. Flimsoft will also sell a
range of pre-owned titles. It also
gives the customer more variety when
they visit the website and make it
that much more dynamic.

Q. I presume you will be testing all
the second hand titles to ensure
they load ok

Absolutely. There are people out
there who don't! - I have had the
experience and it is not nice. It is
a waste
of my time and customers time,
besides who really wants bad
publicity?

Q. One of the problems I see is
getting the company "out there"
meaning spreading the word how will
this be done initially

I announced on Lemon 64 around a
week ago that a new software house
was in the works and so this has
been advertised I will also be
advertising on various other forums
eventually.

Q. Do you have any other comments

I would like to express my thanks to
those on Lemon 64 for being
optimistic towards this project. I
would also like to say a personal
thanks to Jason who has done nothing
but offer me expert advice and
working with me on this adventure. I
would also like to say thanks to you
(Nigel) for giving me this great
opportunity to showcase my project
in your magazine/ezine. Keep up the
good work!

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