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Grapple / The Alien Platoon,
Zynapz,
Axe,
The Zeroboys,
Vision,
Ruthless,
Warriors of the Wasteland
Added on October 29th, 2005 (7990 views)
www.c64.com?type=3&id=180
Tell us something about yourself.
Erik Sennebring, 32, born in Västerås on the 18th of March 1973. Live in Örbyhus, Uppsala. Unemployed at the moment, likes computers and cars.
What handle(s) did you use and how did you come up with it/them?
Grapple, from reading a Transformers Magazine back in 1986.
What group(s) were you in?
The Alien Platoon, Zynapz, Axe, The Zeroboys, Vision, Ruthless, Royalty, and Warriors of the Wasteland.
What roles have you fulfilled?
Swapper, cracker, coder, graphician (logos and chars), phreaking (making loads of calls to Australia and Holland), and modemtrader.
How long were you active for?
1986-1992 (I think).
Tell us about those years and how you got into the scene in the first place.
Well, a neighbour had a C64 and a VIC20 so I was there playing games. Later on I borrowed his VIC20 and had that for a couple of weeks. I started programming BASIC on it, but got bored with it when it ran out of memory. I went to visit some friends of my mother in Germany and I stayed there for three weeks to get some training in the German language. They had a Spectum with 128k memory and I played with that a bit, and then decided to buy a computer in Germany since they were a lot cheaper there than in Sweden. I ended up with a C128D that I brought to Sweden in 1985 or so. In the Autumn of 1985, I hooked up with this guy in Sala called Mattias Andersson (a.k.a. Gryzor and I-Man), and we started making stuff in machine code with some help from two local guys; Christoffer Bernhard and Johan Rung (Spirit and Odin of Science 451). After a few months we released some shit calling ourselves TAP (The Alien Platoon) and in 1987 we founded Zynapz.
Describe a typical day for you in front of the computer.
I started off by checking the disks that came with the mail. I checked if there were any originals to crack or any demos to copy for my contacts. If there were orries, I started cracking them or brought them to I-man’s place where we cracked and trained them together. Depending on what day it was, we also did some coding or just relaxed watching demos.
Did you personally invent any special techniques or tools to make things easier for you?
I did a few smaller applications like trainer searchers, graphics apps, level designers, and improved crunchers but nothing revolutionary.
When you look at what you did back then, what are you most proud of?
Ohh, shit... Well, being part of the scene was enough for me.
Who were your heroes on the scene and why?
Mr. Z – the first cracker I remember. Mastermind/HZ – lots of innovative ideas and revolutionary code, and a really nice guy. Odin/S451 – helped me a lot in the beginning.
What, for you, was the coolest thing ever invented on the C64?
Dunno... I liked multiplexed sprites, D.Y.S.P’s, and shit in the borders.
Did you go to any copy-parties, meetings or tradeshows?
Yep, quite a few. The first was the HZ+Jetspeed party in 1988 and that’s the only party I can remember. Ofcoz I remember all our cottage meetings. The funniest things happened there and quite a few famous sceners attended.
In your opinion, what was the scene all about?
Making friends and having loads of fun!
What were the particular highlights for you?
I can’t remember that much, but I recall some shit when receiving one of the first Black Mail productions. There are really too many highlights to tell. Every party and meeting had their own highlights.
Any cool stories to share with us?
Well, I have a few but due to the nature of some of them I would like to keep them secret.
Are you still in contact with any old C64 people today?
I tried to get in touch with people at one point, but I’m not in contact with anyone from back then. I do speak with some people every now and then in the IRC channel #c-64.
When did you get your C64 and do you still have it lying around somewhere?
It was a C128D and I got it in 1985. No, I don't have it still, but I have a couple C64’s and C128’s lying around somewhere.
Was the C64 really as special as we like to think it was?
Hell yes... We built a community around it, and unlike the PC scene, people helped each other not keeping everything secret. It was like if you had trouble getting a routine to work at a copy party or something, there were always people to help you if you asked.
When can we expect to see some new C64 output from you? :)
Well, I dunno... I’m trying to get a guy from my current PC group Rage to do something with me, and well, we’ll see if that ever happens. I think I have some unreleased parts somewhere... If I release anything, I guess it will be quite old school compared to the stuff released today.
Do you have a message for your old contacts and/or anyone reading this?
Hey doods!! Get in touch... I miss ya all!!
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