[game_preservation] Armin Gessert, Giana Sisters creator, passed away

[Devin Monnens]

Armin Gessert (1963 - November 9, 2009)

Armin Gessert, creator of The Great Giana Sisters (Commodore 64, 1987),
passed away on November 9 from a heart attack.

With a career spanning 25 years in the industry, Gessert began designing
games for Rainbow Arts, starting with Street Gang for Rainbow Arts
(Commodore 64, 1984). He later created The Great Giana Sisters (1987), which
became an instant classic. Shortly after, he began freelance work for Gütersloh
to Kehl until joining Blue Byte in 1988, where he produced the highly
successful Great Court (1989). In 1994, he went independent after
founding Spellbound
Studios with his friend Jean-Marc Haessig. Spellbound produced many strategy
games such as Robin Hood - Legend of Sherwood (2002) and Airline Tycoon
(1998), along with other action titles such as Extreme Assault (1997).

Gessert's most famous title is The Great Giana Sisters, which he produced
with Chris Huelsbeck and Manfred Trenz for the Commodore 64. The Great Giana
Sisters was an instant classic for the C64 and developed a strong following
among fans. However, the game's similarities with Super Mario Bros. caused
Nintendo to force the game to be pulled from store shelves, but illegal
copying quickly vaulted the title to cult status. Gessert had been working
on a Nintendo DS version of the game when he passed away.

Gessert and The Great Giana Sisters had a strong following, and his passing
was marked by many websites, both fan-based and industry.

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=26008 - Gamasutra
http://www.spellbound.de/?idcat=10&idart=284 - Spellbound's official
announcement (German)
http://www.develop-online.net/news/33226/Industry-veteran-Gessert-dies-after-fatal-heart-attack
-
Develop, who first published the news in English
http://www.gamecareerguide.com/industry_news/26008/giana_sisters_cocreator_armin_.php
-
Gamasutra article mirror
http://www.remix64.com/armin_gessert_deceased.html - Remix 64
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/36443/Veteran-dev-Armin-Gessert-dies - MCV
http://www.pcgameshardware.de/aid,699174/Armin-Gessert-Spellbound-Schoepfer-der-Great-Giana-Sisters-verstorben/Spiele/News/
-
PC Games Hardware (German)
http://www.metafilter.com/86532/Armin-Gessert-passed-away - MetaFilter
http://www.pouet.net/topic.php?which=6945- Pouet user comments

http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,35317/ - MobyGames
Profile
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armin_Gessert - Armin Gessert's article on
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Giana_Sisters - Article on The Great
Giana Sisters
-- 
Devin Monnens
www.deserthat.com

The sleep of Reason produces monsters.
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