You never forget your first. This is especially true for anyone who has played a Jeff Minter game. I was introduced to the mind of Minter in 1993, discovering Llamatron 2112 on an Amiga shareware disk. The use of llamas and goofy enemies made for a memorable experience, putting a nonsensical spin on the seminal Robotron. It also made it very apparent that if I wanted to seek Minter’s other games, all I had to do was look out for his unmistakable signature style. If in doubt, look out for a llama. This quickly led to discovering the highly entertaining Attack of the Mutant Camels, another Amiga great. I’ve tracked his career ever since.
To say this collection from Digital Eclipse has been a long time coming is an understatement. Minter has been creating games close to gaming’s conception, cutting his teeth on the Commodore PET back in 1979 before releasing 3D3D and an unofficial recreation of Centipede on the ZX81 in 1981. Four decades later, Jeff is still making games, the most recent being the PSVR2 version of Atari’s Akka Arrh – released just weeks ago. He’s perhaps best known for 1982’s Gridrunner, an international hit, alongside developing the Atari Jaguar’s killer app Tempest 2000. While Minter has worked with Atari, Microsoft and other corporations, he prefers to go solo, releasing games only when they’re ready, and without the interference of pushy publishers and marketing teams.
Forty-two games feature here, along with Digital Eclipse’s Gridrunner Remastered – featuring new 3D visuals while running on original C64 code, complete with a very smooth transition between old and new visuals. That’s a sizeable chuck of Minter’s output, ending with 1994’s Tempest 2000. Games after this point (Space Giraffe, Polybius, Moose Life, etc) aren’t included, presumably due to still being commercially available. Defender 2000, Minter’s other Atari Jaguar game, isn’t here either – Atari had to license the rights from Midway, since absorbed into WB. There is however a full ‘Gameography’ to peruse, providing screenshots and breakdowns of every game Minter has put his name to, including some unreleased.
This collection is part of Digital Eclipse’s Gold Master series, arguably the current standard for retro collections, being an interactive documentary with image scans, packaging renders, FMV documentaries, and crammed with playable games. We’re presented with four interactable timelines, spread across different decades, giving insight into Jeff’s thoughts on the industry at the time, as well as revealing his struggles and successes. It’s a fascinating way to explore collected works, as everything is put into context. Knowing the thought process of something before playing it often gives a chance to see it from a new perspective.
While exploring – or jumping straight into the game catalogue – you’ll get to discover Minter’s early arcade conversions, a trend at the time, before achieving commercial and critical success with Gridrunner. Next came forging his style, leading to several games starring llamas and camels. Then in the ‘90s things take a downturn, with consoles becoming predominant, game budgets skyrocketing, and publishers becoming more controlling. Jeff struggled to find his place in all of this, and part of this collection’s journey is discovering how he found his niche and created his best work.
Four paragraphs in, and we haven’t even talked about the games themselves – a good indicator how important this collection is, and how lavishly it’s presented. The earlier games are, as expected, basic. Yet, they also show an understanding of their respective hardware, running smoothly and featuring clear instructions. For a first attempt, the maze game 3D3D is impressive technically, having both on-screen coordinates and a map. There are some duds that even Jeff himself isn’t proud of, such as the rat splatting Ratman and Headbangers Heaven, but they still have personality, and it’s interesting to see the advancements in presentation. City Bomber is a highlight from the early years, forcing you to prioritise taller buildings over smaller, while the ROX series puts a new spin on Missile Command. I couldn’t get into the ball bouncing Deflex series, but the concept was at least unique, and later refined with new iterations.
It’s surprising to learn that Minter had his first hit in 1983, just two years after 3D3D. Gridrunner plays like a more complex take of Centipede, only with a sci-fi slant – thanks to Blade Runner. A few versions are available, including the sequel (Matrix: Gridrunner 2), 1987’s Voidrunner, and the Atari ST’s Super Gridrunner from 1989. Camelids started to surface in 1983 too, with the C64’s Attack of the Mutant Camels – a take on Defender. More experimental were Laser Zone and Hell Gate (with turrets mapped to the X and Y axis), and the lawn mowing based Hover Bovver – which is better than it has any right to be. Sorry, Lawn Mowing Simulator.
I found Metagalactic Llamas Battle at the Edge of Time to live up to its epic name, being curiously nuanced. After the early ‘80s, Minter started experimenting with more complex games, and while they definitely aren’t bad, they are brutal and not something that can be instantly enjoyed. Mama Llama, Iridis Alpha, Ancipital, and Batalyx all fall into this camp. Minter also dabbled with light synthesisers around this time, mostly fuelled by his own curiosity. They’re interactive light shows, essentially. Digital Eclipse has taken the effort to map controls to a joypad intuitively, complete with an on-screen menu of selectable options, and a new renderer. Synthesisers later played a big part in Minter’s output, forming Tempest 2000’s backdrops, and even finding their way into the original Xbox console itself.
The collection then ends with a succession of high notes. Llamatron: 2112 – which saw Llamasoft test the shareware market – Revenge of the Mutant Camels, and Tempest 2000 are all must-plays, being the culmination of over a decade of experience with shooters. Digital Eclipse has also included Attack of the Mutant Camels ‘89, a demo for the Konix Multi-System – a cancelled console from a British joystick manufacturer, covered here via a handful of magazine scans and Jeff’s memories. Incidentally, magazine review scans are present here too, giving a chance to see what UK critics thought of a handful of games. Turns out Mama Llama’s complex nature was a tad controversial.
I feel a little sad that Jeff Minter hasn’t had the recognition they deserve until now, but also relieved that the duty has fallen onto Digital Eclipse, who has an understanding and appreciation of how important some of these games are. They aren’t all classics, but each feels important in some way, and it is pleasing to see so many formats covered – this will likely be the first time many have played a VIC 20 game. It’s neat to see the Konix Multi-System covered here too, with this being another often forgotten footnote in UK gaming history.
The only things woolly about this collection are the games themselves – in the best, and warmest, way.
Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story is out now on all formats. Published by Digital Eclipse.