A story:
This year makes two decades since my first year at college. At the time, Internet culture was on the rise to a point where it started to look possible that anyone could use it - and it wasn't just confined to the realm of the basement-dwelling nerd. It was during this time that I got my first email account.
And I was real excited: for I now had a power that meant I could reach so many people across the world at my fingertips.
And so I got cocky: I decided to send an email to legendary late-eighties/early-nineties game developers the Bitmap Brothers. Through their website, i found their email address and sent an email asking if they had plans for any future Amiga releases.
In retrospect I'm not sure what possessed me to send such an email: Was I feeling adventurous with this new tech called email? Was I doing it just to get a reaction? Was I refusing to admit the Amiga's time was finished?
But in any case: i did indeed get a reply. One of only five words: 'Sure watch out for Z...'
At the time it was exciting that I got a reply but, now that i look back on it, I can wonder how seriously the Bitmap Brothers were taking my email. Were they dutifully answering a fan query? Or did I look naive to the point of laughable?
Thing is, in recent years, I obtained the Bitmap Brothers Universe book through a Kickstarter campaign, which provided a detailed history on the Bitmaps themselves.
What is of particular interest is part of the book that describes the period of the mid-to-late nineties: where many software houses were making the transition to 3D gaming. Some managed to pull it off and survive but many, many others, including the Bitmap Brothers collapsed (although in some cases not for the lack of trying).
That part of the book paints a picture where the Bitmaps are struggling to get their heads around the new tech of 3D; struggling to keep up with the growing trends of larger development crews, bigger budgets and the integration of FMV; butting heads with publishers and a prototype of Z on the Amiga that was never finished.
Funny how things turn out
