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

[Devin Monnens]

I was going by what Wikipedia said. You'd have to find someone who knows
more about C64 than I do...

On Fri, Nov 27, 2009 at 11:13 AM, Stuart Feldhamer <
stuart.feldhamer at gmail.com> wrote:


>  Sorry for the late reply, but I would question the assertion that the

> Great Giana Sisters “became an instant classic”. I had a C64 back in the day

> and I never even heard of that game until a couple of years ago. I think

> it’s more of one of those things that became a cult classic over time, more

> for the plagiarism than for anything else.

>

>

>

> Does anyone else agree/disagree?

>

>

>

> Stuart

>

>

>

> *From:* game_preservation-bounces at igda.org [mailto:

> game_preservation-bounces at igda.org] *On Behalf Of *Devin Monnens

> *Sent:* Tuesday, November 10, 2009 12:53 PM

> *To:* IGDA Game Preservation SIG; women_dev at igda.org

> *Subject:* [game_preservation] Armin Gessert, Giana Sisters creator,

> passed away

>

>

>

> 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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>

>



-- 
Devin Monnens
www.deserthat.com

The sleep of Reason produces monsters.
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