When I first emailed Pixel Addict to offer my contribution, I assumed it would be a one-time thing. Even after my idea was accepted, I couldn’t shake off the thought: “They’re probably not going to publish my stuff again.” To my surprise, my initial material was spread across four issues. This taught me my first lesson about print publishing: articles have to be a certain length. Not too long, not too short. Achieving this balance proved trickier than I’d imagined.
My first lesson about print publishing: articles have to be a certain length. Not too long, not too short. Achieving this balance proved trickier than I’d imagined.
Onto the games, I must admit that among Apogee’s platformers, I have a soft spot for the ‘tiny character’ ones. Yes, “bigger” ones like Commander Keen, Biomenace, or Duke Nukum offer more advanced gameplay mechanics and larger maps. Still, Secret Agent holds a special place in my heart. Why is that?
Firstly, it’s about screen space. I prefer when my character doesn’t dominate the screen, as it usually limits the view of the surroundings. This can be a problem if there are no ‘look up/down’ mechanics, forcing one to rely on either map knowledge or careful movement. Games like Pyramids of Egypt, Arctic Adventure, or Monuments of Mars naturally avoid this issue since the entire level is visible. But that can limit innovation in level design, as we see in their later stages.
Secret Agent and Crystal Caves broke the mold with bigger, 2×2 layout levels, the same size for each one. I still appreciate this consistency. Designing a level with a fixed size — no bigger, no smaller — is a demanding but rewarding task. It’s why I rate the levels in Secret Agent and Crystal Caves more highly than those in Commander Keen, which has great levels but also a fair share of underwhelming ones.
Then came the HD remakes, which I thoroughly enjoyed. They smoothed out some bugs, introduced new features, and upgraded the graphics while maintaining the original’s charm. Add in the extra episodes and level editors, and you have a true 21st-century homage to the originals. Does this mean the classic versions are obsolete? Well, I think we all know the answer to that question.
The final article in my series was an interview with the founder of Emberheart Games, the creator of the HD remakes. It was a milestone for me: my first interview in English, and my first in print. I was a regular reader of Edge magazine at the time and always admired their interviews. They spotlighted the creations more than the creators, a balance I strove to emulate. Did I succeed? Maybe not entirely, but I like to think that at least my aim was true.
