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

[Devin Monnens]

Good, we can use that instead! It's more famous due to its scarcity and the
legal battle surrounding it than the game's actual quality (well that and I
suppose Chris Huelsbeck's name, which was how I heard of it). This might
also explain why in German areas it was in a bit higher demand.

I think the idea with these is to tell it how it is rather than to make
everything seem rosy.

Out of curiosity how much does a complete copy usually go for?

On Sat, Nov 28, 2009 at 2:18 AM, István Fábián <if at caps-project.org> wrote:


>  The term you are looking for is "collector' item"

> Take a look at the review scores:

> http://hol.abime.net/2793/review

>

> They are high, but many games at the time had higher marks. Notice that

> Amiga Joker which was a German magazine (infamous for slagging most games

> off) did not give it a very high score either.

>

> What made the game really desirable for those who knew about it:

> - owning a Mario game without owning a Nintendo system

> - it was difficult to get hold of it

>

> Nowadays, it is a fairly expensive collector's item.

>

> István

>

> ----- Original Message -----

> *From:* Devin Monnens <dmonnens at gmail.com>

> *To:* IGDA Game Preservation SIG <game_preservation at igda.org>

> *Sent:* Saturday, November 28, 2009 4:13 AM

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

> creator,passed away

>

> Ok, it can be rewritten as 'cult classic'. I guess I didn't do a good job

> of proofing this if it uses the term twice... I don't think it needs to be

> called 'cult classic' twice either.

>

> I figure a classic is something that lasts regardless of the age. I think

> the way it's used is more calling to mind 'Classical Greece' which suggests

> more high art or high quality.

>

> The cover art is really interesting, I have to agree. I think the fact that

> the game stars two heroines rather than a man or even a man with a woman

> playing second fiddle is more important, even if the game *was *a copy of

> Mario.

>

> -Devin

>

> On Fri, Nov 27, 2009 at 6:49 PM, Henry Lowood <lowood at stanford.edu> wrote:

>

>> So the problem here is with the term "instant classic," which is used

>> twice.   I doubt there is any problem with the facts of the obit, Devin is

>> pretty careful.   My suggestion would be to delete the phrase; it doesn't

>> add much to the content and it seems to be a comment magnet.    Also, with

>> all respect, I'm not sure what "instant classic" means; seems like an

>> oxymoron to me.

>>

>> By the way, it may not have been an instant classic, but there is now a DS

>> version of Giana Sisters, so that must make it a "classic" of some sort --

>> or at least an Evergreen.

>>

>> And, btw, the cover art for the original C64 version probably deserves

>> some commentary (cf. Mobygames).

>>

>> Henry

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> Stuart Feldhamer 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<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.

>>

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

>>

>> _______________________________________________

>> game_preservation mailing listgame_preservation at igda.orghttp://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/game_preservation

>>

>>

>> --

>> Henry Lowood

>> Curator for History of Science & Technology Collections;

>>      Film & Media Collections

>> HRG, Green Library

>> 557 Escondido Mall, Stanford University Libraries

>> Stanford CA 94305-6004 USAhttp://www.stanford.edu/~lowoodlowood@stanford.edu; 650-723-4602

>>

>>

>> _______________________________________________

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>>

>>

>

>

> --

> 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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