[game_preservation] Armin Gessert, Giana Sisters creator, passed away
István Fábián
if at caps-project.org
Sat Nov 28 09:44:13 EST 2009
Depends on luck... but easily over a hundred Euros.
----- Original Message -----
From: Devin Monnens
To: IGDA Game Preservation SIG
Sent: Saturday, November 28, 2009 2:28 PM
Subject: Re: [game_preservation] Armin Gessert, Giana Sisters creator,passed away
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
To: IGDA Game Preservation SIG
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] 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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Henry Lowood
Curator for History of Science & Technology Collections;
Film & Media Collections
HRG, Green Library
557 Escondido Mall, Stanford University Libraries
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lowood at 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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