Interview with Richard Bayliss
Interview with Richard Bayliss, the founder of The New Dimension.
Introduction[edit | edit source]
The Interview with Richard Bayliss, the founder of The New Dimension was created from SCACOM-Team. The article was in English-SCACOM issue 2 (February 2008). The interview was made by Stefan Egger.
Interview[edit | edit source]
Hi Richard Bayliss! Tell me and the readers about you.
I am 29 years old. I come from England, UK. My occupation is warehouse assistant and order packer for a phar-maceutical distribution company.
For what systems have you developed?
Only Commodore C64 because it was one of my all time favourite machine. I did used to own a Commodore Vic 20, but that did not last long when I had my Commodore C64. Actually I have five Commodore C64s all together, because at times, those broke. The one I have today was auctioned on ebay about two years ago. I found out that I love the Commodore C64.
I made a few PC games, using various programs like Klik and Play, Games Factory, Multimedia Fusion, Dark-BASIC and also Blitz BASIC.
What demos and games have you developed?
Blimey. That would be too much to add here, so I'll miss all the SEUCK and very old BASIC games I wrote be-tween 1995 and 1999. I made hundreds of programs for the Commodore C64, but I'll only list the M/C coded stuff I remember. Those are: Commodore C64:
Games:
Abducted (Game done for Mini Game Compo 2004 or 2005 I think)
Arrow Busters (Based on the Dance Mat games)
Balloonacy, Balloonacy 2, Camels in Space, Cetimiex (Was my first ever M/C game), Cowpat Frisbee, Defuzion, Defuzion 2, Defuzion 3, D-Fuse, Drop Down, Egg Catcher, Freespace 2075, Froggy Goes Splatt, For Speed We Need Gravity, Gravity 2, Gravity 3, Grid Zone, Grid Zone 2 (Grid Zone Remix), Heavy Metal Solid Preview, Heavy Metal Deluxe, Mega Poing, Missile Busters, Missile Busters 2, Moon Madness, Ouch!, Ouch! 2, Poing, Power Surge, Primal Weapon (BASIC with enhanced M/C), Racked Off, Star Blazers, Stealth Four, Target-X, Target-X 2, Wash Out and many others which I did not mention on this list.
Demos (Yet again too many to mention).
Fear Demopart, 2003 (New Year Demo), All the DMC Albums (1-8), MSX Front 64 1+ 2 (Third one was planned but never got round it), Co-Op demo TND + Crypt, ) and a lot more.Forever Ditherer demo (Charset animation type of plasma), Insane World (My first ever dentro), Buenzli 2007 Demo (Co-op with Crypt
When and why have you founded the group „The New Dimension“?
The New Dimension was originally founded in 2001. I thought this name would have suited more for my releases than older software labels of my own like "The Rich Squad", "MDES Projects" (Maniac Designs Entertain-ment Software), "Mirage Designs", "Time 2000", "Flyte 517" as they did not sound right for a software label for my work/web site.
How many members has your group today?
The New Dimension is not classed as a group. It is just a freeware software label. There are only two people in this software label. Myself and a friend.
We want to talk about the Commodore Computers! What classic computers do you own today?
Just a Commodore C64C
What is your favourite computer?
Take a guess ;o). The Commodore C64 :o)
What was your first Computer?
I’ve got a C64 in 1984. I had a datasette only…
My first Computer was a Commodore Vic 20 with a datasette only. Loading times were quick and I used to love the computer when I was a child. If I remember correctly I was about 7 or 8 years old at the time. I could remember the great times playing some real classic games, like Vic Avenger (Space Invaders), Mars Mission (Real classic game by Bubble Bus), Duck Shoot, etc. The games look very simple, but are actually good fun to play.
Did you have a great or funny experience with Commodore Computers?
Hmm. Great experience? Well, the best thing was when I found out that I could actually make something useful with the C64. It is miles much better compared to gaming consoles. I could do things like draw pictures, compose music and program on this good machine. Another good standard about the Commodore 64 was the good range of quality budget titles I could have bought from the shop. Stuff on Mastertronic, The Hit Squad, Codemasters and the Zeppelin games label.
Another great experience of course (and probably the most important of them all) was gaining loads of friends with the same interest. Even today I have loads of good friends. People who like to work hard to do graphics or something like this for my game projects, although they don't have to if they don't want to. I don't like to see people put under pressure over something which they love doing (C64). Another great experience about the C64 is that people are still using this good old machine today - basically, the C64 demo scene. A large group of people whose work is well admired to watch, play or listen.
As for funny experience. Well, I don't know if you meant worst experience. But there was a funny experience which I had done, that was for a laugh. My brother was making a SEUCK game called "Road Hogs" in 1992, while I was doing my school homework. After my homework was finished he asked me to take a look at his game. I found the game fun, but I also said to him that I shall record the game on to a blank tape for him. So after my brother disappeared downstairs, I set up a prank, by creating a new enemy that shot 4 spaceships diagonally, and placed those on different parts of the road. Then saved the game on to tape. When my brother loaded the game, to play it, he was very annoyed that those space ships appeared from nowhere and the game should have been a car racing shoot 'em up game.
Another funny experience was to fool someone that the C64 game would not load, when certain loaders like the Novaload A1000SA loader crashing if the restore button was pressed. What a cruel prank that was for my brother. If I remember right He used to do the same thing to annoy me as well. Actually, I don't blame him though. He wanted to play certain games.
The worst experience with my first C64 was when it got broken. The symptoms the machine had was complete messed up screen. Then after repairs, the C64 died with no tape deck working and no sound either. So I had a new C64 in 1993, which lasted over 5 to 6 years, until one of my relatives (she was only a child) was so hyperactive and bashed hard on my C64 keyboard that I could not operate certain keys. I bought my third one from Commodore Scene, which sadly had a dodgy SID chip (No filters), but I didn't care at the time. The last one was won on Ebay two years ago and is still working today.
What will come in future?
future? Well, hopefully it should be another good and active future for me to continue working on some new projects for the C64. I may have a new co-op game production with one or two of my friends. A finished version of my 4K game “The Sorcerer” but with more levels and the player to have the ability to take some action. I also have Sub Hunter which WILL be finished this year. When the game will be released during this year is anybody's guess. Actually the game is finished, it is just the ironing out certain game glitches and making the odd improvements to the levels. So it should be too long. I'll also be enhancing a friend's new SEUCK game, with a new title screen with music and maybe for the first time ever, write a full space horizontal scrolling shoot 'em up game to show people that I can do MORE than just the same old static screen collect and avoid type of game.
On the demos front. Maybe a ninth and tenth DMC Album and maybe some other demos. I may even do a co-op demo with my good friends in Crypt, providing that I am not being put under pressure to reach deadlines (Look what happened with Sub Hunter. I can never cope under pressure, as it is not enjoyable and stressful).
Do you have a homepage in internet? What the address and content?
I do have a homepage on the internet. The web address is as follows:
The web site consists of the following content:
- Updated regularly
- Game project diaries (Only Sub Hunter at the moment)
- TND Classics (Old SEUCK+BASIC stuff I wrote - all with music)
- Loads of C64 games I wrote past and present
- Loads of C64 demos I wrote past and present
- Load of C64 music I composed
- Various C64 utilities I developed on the good machine
- Friends and Contributors section - basically downloadable games added to my site (with permission) to support the authors
- A light hearted crap section
- Assembly coding tutorial – learning the fun way (Assemble IT)
- Music Scene - Learning to compose music in Graffity's Demo Music Creator V4 and V5
What do you want to say to our readers?
If any of you have played any of my games or downloaded any of my stuff from The New Dimension. I would like to say a big thank you to you all. I hope to continue supporting this great machine for a while longer. The C64 is my passion. :o)
In the future I will work more on the quality side of releases, than just quantity
Thanks for Talking to us.
No problem! It has been a pleasure to help answer your questions in your magazine. I aim to continue support of this good old 8-bit machine!
Links[edit | edit source]
Autor[edit | edit source]
Interview number 2; (C) Stefan Egger from SCACOM English issue 2 (February 2007)
