Y

It's another tried and tested game play strategy; and many versions of the
game exist, some are better than other protovisions bombmania comes to mind
as being one of the better versions for the c64

After loading you can select options from the main screen, note in the
bottom left I am using a PAL c64 and the program has picked this up.

After clicking start you are given

If you die on a level; you start the whole level again, all the monsters
are back; and the timer is reset. Of course such strategies are best
avoided!

SCORES

Gameplay: 9.5/10
tried and tested bit in this case
expertly coded
Sounds: 9/10
amazing SID tunes
Graphics: 9/10
great animations and carried
colourful levels
Overall: 9.5/10
not quite perfection but incredibly
close

COMMENTS

Although it's not a new concept, the extra features; and the fact this
could be a 5 player game; add to what is already a very playable game
anyway, the expert programming and mind blowing SID sounds; make this game unmissabe, factor in Superb animations, and attention to detail; to make
this title shine out like a fine diamond in a area of black coal. I would
say this is a must for every commodore 64 user. Try the demo then go out
and buy the full version. Because this is a first "real" release from
Samar productions, the future for this group looks incredibly rosy.

Review by Nigel Parker

www.commodorefree.com

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A preview version of Bomberland in .d64 disk format can be downloaded from csdb.dk/release/?id=113464

You can also buy the game on cartridge or as a download from RGCD rgcd.bigcartel.com/artist/samar-produ ctions

The cartridge version is available in two packaging types, a standard card carton and a more expensive 'deluxe version' that comes in a plastic case
(a Universal Game Case with a specially cut foam insert to hold the
cartridge as shown below). The standard version is priced at £25, whereas
the deluxe version costs £30. Shipping is £4 for UK/Europe and £5 for the
rest of the world. Bomberland is also available to buy as a downloadable
.CRT image to use via emulation or on real hardware devices such as the Ultimate 1541-II. Purchases of both physical versions include this
download for free.



*************************************
INTERVIEW WITH SKULL AND CONRAD
AKA SAMAR PRODUCTIONS
Programmers of Bomberland for the C64
By Commodore Free
*************************************

Although the Bomberland game is reviewed later in this issue of commodore
Free , (and you may be better reading that first; before the interview!) I thought that I would catch up with the game's creators, Skull and Conrad;
to chat about how the program was developed. Also I was curious; if they
had any other plans to release more titles, and what machines they thought
they would develop for.

AC = Answers by Conrad (Owen)
AS = Answers by Skull

- - - - - - - - - -

Q: Guys, can you introduce yourselves to our readers?

AC: Hi there. My real name is Owen Crowley, I'm 27 and live in Teesside, England. I work full-time as a Software Engineer for an Industrial
Automation company. I also play drums as a musical hobby, showing that
music is also part of my life as well as the scene, (although I'm not in a
band yet :)). My parents had a C64 in the mid/late 80s; and I grew up with that machine, (as well as an Amiga). The Commodore 64 was one of the first machines I learned how to program BASIC on, followed of course by machine
code. I also learned how to make SID music; with composer tools from the
late 80s. In 2003, when I was 17, I had access to the internet; and there
I discovered the "new era" of the demo-scene. Eventually I joined the C64 scene, (this was in January of 2007). Between 1998 and the present day; I
have composed over 200 SID tunes, many of them for experimental purposes;
but, a lot of serious ones too! In my time of the scene I have used two handles, "CRD" and "Conrad". "CRD" was short for "Crowley Designs", a
brand name I primarily used for writing my own little computer games on the
PC (in Blitz Basic, Dark Basic, C++ etc), I used CRD as a gaming handle
also. "Conrad" was a name I thought up to replace my old handle, using the same letters... at the time no one else in the C64 scene was using it, so
I thought why not? :). However, I put an end to this handle in January
2014, and now I just use my real first name as a handle, despite the fact
there already is an "Owen" in the C64 scene (though he hasn't been active
for many years).

AS: Hi, my name is Michael Okowicki, I was born in 1976; and I live in
Poland. I work for a company producing construction materials, as a
planner. My main hobbies are, of course, c64 and I have a wife and two
kids. My adventure with a variety of microcomputers started in the late
80s, but the machine I owned was a second-hand Commodore 64 - with a
defective CIA chip! Even this did not stop my love for the machine. I had
a classic start; i.e. playing games and then learned BASIC. Later myself
and a few guys created a five-member group called "Legion". However, apart from a few cracks, we didn't really release anything. During this time we
did however learn about the C64 scene; (although this was mainly in
Poland), and assembly language programming. This group lasted until
mid-1996 when we abandoned the C64, this was because we all started to
study at university. I returned back to the scene in 2005, and entered the Samar group a year later. I am also an editor of the Polish magazine about Commodore computers called "C&A Fan".

Ah yes C&A Fan sorry didn't realise you were the editor of this magazine
for our readers; You can download issues from here dl.dropboxuserconten t.com/u/33833039/index.html and read the issues on line via issue.com from
here issuu.com/ramosc64/docs the magazine is in Polish.

- - - - - - - - - -

Q: Now Lets jump straight in with a question on Bomberland... Although
you could say it's taken 10 years to develop, or I think a better word is evolve, with 2 bomber style clones being released, how long did this
version actually take to code from concept to the final release?

AC: I think this is a question that Skull should answer primarily. :)

AS: Yes, I like the word "evolve", and the story of this project began
much earlier, in fact way back in the 90's. As I mentioned before, in the nineties, when I was a member of Legion, there we had the idea of creating
a clone game of Dynyblaster, which we liked playing in multiplayer mode on
the Amiga and on the PC. We were able to create the preview; which was
never officially released, but somehow it has leaked onto the web. This
game was called "Boombastic Benny" and focused mainly on game-play in multiplayer mode, where single player was very modest.

Unfortunately; we started this project a little too late for the C64 scene.
The idea was that we would release the game commercially, however; it was
1996, and that was really the end of an era of 8-bit machines even in
Poland. Besides, we started to study; and were living far away from our
family homes - so the C64 world was for a better phrase "deposited into oblivion".

I came back to my hometown in 2004 and lived there with another group coder called Raspi. After a while, he began to torment me about finishing the
game :). I was unemployed for a while, so I slowly started to refresh my knowledge on the C64.

Unfortunately, chaotic game archive sources in turboass; forced me to take
the decision and to start creating the game all over again from scratch!
Raspi had to leave the city; and I was left alone with the project. Since then, I entered the Commodore scene; and I began to try a cross-program and started using new tools. After about a year, the game gained a new shape.
The graphics were moulded on the Dyna Blaster graphics, but I had a problem with the music for the game. I was ashamed to admit this; but

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