Bikaka. And more. Without a doubt, Ingemar Radnemalm is the most
prolific authors in the Mac shareware market, and probably one of the most
well-known and respected as well. Born in Sweden in 1962, Ingemar was the son of one of the first software engineers in Swedish history. Even
then, he was programming; he purchased his first computer, a Speed9 ("I'll
bet you never heard of it," Ingemar says with an electronic grin) and
fondly recalls hacking such classics as Defender, Space Invaders and
Pac-Man.
Today, Ingemar is happily married to his wife Eva, also a software
engineer, to whom he dedicated HeartQuest. He's still making shareware
for the Mac -- Ingemar's Skiing Game is his latest release to date -- and
he's one of the few authors still supporting low-end platforms such as
the Mac Plus and SE as well as the all-powerful Quadras.
Rich "Akira" Pizor : When did you first start creating shareware for the Mac?
Ingemar Ragnemalm: I made the first working Mac game in 1987 or 1988 (Snake DA). In 1990, Bikaka was good enough to release, but it had to wait until spring 1991 just making sure it was bug-free enough.
RP: Why the Mac, as opposed to a more common system like the IBM?
IR: There's a few reasons:
• The Mac is much nicer for me as a user. After all, I've used it for much
more than games.
• Much fewer different configurations to support, making game programming a lot easier.
• The PC's have all games they need. On the Mac, I think I can find a niche.
RP: Tell us a bit about the creative process you go through when creating a
game.
IR: It is different for every game. With Slime Invaders, I started with a
totally different game (a horse racing game that I still haven't completed),
found that that game was too messy for testbed animations, so I took out the code and made a simple demo with a gun at the bottom and a horribly ugly thing with a hole drifting about randomly at the top. OK, I thought, in with some shots and I have a simple Space Invaders. Then it just rolled on. The ugly misshaped sprite remained, and mutated into the slime monsters...
Most games are a little more planned. Bachman started when I listened to one of my old favorite records, and realized that I could use every part of the group's name for a part of a Pacman game. That was all I needed.
Several of my games have started as a quick hack just to have the game on the Mac at all -- like MacSokoban -- and then features have been added one by one.
I must confess that most of my games are not very original. Each and every one adds something to its ancestors, but the basic principles are well-known. It is much harder to develop a new idea from scratch. I have several projects half-way finished, collecting dust since there are too many decisions that must be made before finishing them. I think my skiing game, ISG, is the most original one, not mimicking any particular game at all. It has also taken much longer from first working version to *acceptable* version. I started it even before Slime Invaders was first released in 1991.
RP: Which of your games is your personal favorite? Why?
IR: My next game? No, just kidding... It depends on my mood, but I think I like
Bachman and ISG (Ingemar's Skiing game) best. Bachman came out pretty well, with Eva's voice making nice sound effects. ISG is so nice with many people playing, which few games are.
RP: Which of your games was the most fun to program? The least fun? Why?
IR: Generally speaking, the simplest games are most fun to create, at least if they are simple enough to be finished before I get bored. HeartQuest was really fun, especially making the first version. Colorizing it (from 0.5 to 0.7) was fun too, but the polishing from 0.7 to 0.8 (which makes it feel much more finished and "real game") was rather boring.
The Mac has been blamed to be hard to program. That is partially true. Without the right tools, it's rather tedious. I found the "right tools" to be Think Pascal (having used Think C before) and TransSkel (programming library). At least that was "right" for me.
RP: Which of your games has gotten the most positive response?
The least?
IR: I think Bachman, with Slime Invaders and MacSokoban being strong
too. There have been few reactions to Classic Daleks, but it *is* simple.
I think Bikaka is the biggest disappointment, since I firmly believe that it is vastly superior to Hextris, but I keep seeing people (on Internet) recommending Hextris and ignoring Bikaka. I guess the name was badly chosen. On the other hand, Bikaka is the biggest hit in my family.
RP: Does Eva ever feel jealous of your computer? (The infamous computer-widow syndrome)
IR: Not more than me to her. :-) She is a computer scientist, and often works
late at the university.
RP: Do you ever plan to create shareware applications, as opposed to just
games?
IR: If I get a good idea, yes. I have a few utilities collecting dust, most of
them of limited use or not as good as some similar utility.
RP: Why did you decide to pursue shareware as opposed to commercial
distribution? Do you plan to commercialize any of your games?
IR: Going commercial means spending much more time on a program than it is really worth. It means creating beautiful (raytraced) graphics, fiddling with pretty effects (like gamma fades when starting up) -- all the things that make a game overworked and -- in my view -- not fun any more. I'm not sure I *can* make a game of "commercial quality," since I don't like most commercial games.
My most serious idea for trying the commercial way is to make kid's games. I think that's a niche where the programs can be a little bit more cartoon-style.
RP: What words of wisdom do you have for would-be Mac shareware authors?
IR: Ah, that's a question I like! :-) I've got a few don'ts:
• Don't expect too much. Shareware gets fairly little attention, except for a small number of games that the magazine reviewers like. Many very good games are ignored, while some junk gets housed up. There *is* some fame to get in shareware games, but it won't come at once, and you won't get rich.
• Don't charge too much. Sure you spend lots of time on it, but you still
can't ask for more than it is *worth*. Ask yourself what you would pay. If you find that you can't ask for more than, say, $5, it's probably best to make it freeware.
• Don't expect people to pay just because they are honest. Sure, most people *are* honest, but if you find a way to give the paying users a tiny bit extra, they will pay you earlier than they would have otherwise, and they will (hopefully) be glad they did.
• Don't believe it's bug-free just because it works on your Mac. The Mac is a nice platform with relatively few variations, but the variations that are there are quite enough to confuse you.
And last, make sure you have fun yourself. If you love the game you made,then others will like it too.
Please Note: This interview was provided to MNJ courtesy of Rich "Akira"
