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

[Stuart Feldhamer]

Maybe it was a regional thing then?

Stuart

-----Original Message-----
From: game_preservation-bounces at igda.org
[mailto:game_preservation-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Mark Guttenbrunner
Sent: Friday, November 27, 2009 2:47 PM
To: IGDA Game Preservation SIG
Subject: Re: [game_preservation] Armin Gessert, Giana Sisters creator,
passed away

Disagree ...

As someone who had a C64 at that time I can confirm that it was an 
instant classic ... it took me decades to find out it is "similar" to 
super mario bros. ... might have been an instant classic in the german 
speaking countries of europe only as the team behind it was german and 
probably everyone in that area with a C64 didn't own one original game 
... so it was rather irrelevant that the game was pulled from the 
shelves ...

Mark

Stuart Feldhamer schrieb:

>

> 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 

> <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_a
rmin_.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 <http://www.deserthat.com>

>

> The sleep of Reason produces monsters.

>

> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

>

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>   


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