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Testicle / In Access,
Sawbone,
Freax,
Alpha Flight 1970,
Payday
Added on December 3rd, 2003 (7767 views)
www.c64.com?type=3&id=92
Tell us something about yourself.
My name is Daniel Lüdecke, I'm 27 years old and I live near Hamburg, Germany. I just finished my studies of gerontology and I'm currently looking for a job.
What handle(s) did you use and how did you come up with it/them?
I only had one handle: Testicle. I don't know exactly how I came up with it. All I remember was that I wanted a handle with eight characters.
What group(s) were you in?
My first own group was In Access, a German group. In that time I also coded a demo called Who Cares. As the other dudes in In Access were quite lazy while I had my extremely active coding phase, I thought about quitting. Me and my friend Fabu started a new group, and I think its first name was Sawbone. Later we renamed it to Freax. We released our fake disk magazine Popelganda for that group. Then there was a short break and I was in AFL 1970 for some months, coding two crack intros. After that, Fabu and I founded Payday. That's the group I’m currently in. Under that label we released the 5th issue of Popelganda (back in 1995) and the demo Oedipus Complex (2003).
What roles have you fulfilled?
My main job was coding, but besides that, I also did some swapping.
How long were you active for?
My main activity was from 1991 to 1995. Then Fabu and me quitted the scene. In the end of 2002 we did a comeback, now in a group called Payday.
Tell us about those years and how you got into the scene in the first place.
I started coding machine language and was very interested in demo coding. The first demos I got were from commercial German disk magazines. There were also other public domain disk- and paper magazines, and I got in contact with other coders through the contact chapters. I joined In Access and started swapping with some dudes who had no problems with the fact that I hardly could send any of the latest stuff. Little by little I got more contacts and I improved in coding. I think the boundaries between normal user and scene member are floating, so I can't mark a certain date when I actually got in to the scene.
Describe a typical day for you in front of the computer.
Back in the 90s, most time in front of the computer was spent on painting, coding, demo watching and gaming. There's not much left if you don't have internet or PCs. ;-)
Did you personally invent any special techniques or tools to make things easier for you?
Well, I self-invented my own note maker and a text editor for our disk magazine. Nowadays, in times of cross-development, I just finished a Windows based text editor for machine language coding for C64 on the PC. It's very powerful and uses common cross-assemblers. This tool, in combination with cross-assemblers, is the best self-invention and makes coding extremely easy and comfortable.
When you look at what you did back then, what are you most proud of?
Well, due to the fact that I didn't release that many things, I think I'm most proud of our latest demo.
Who were your heroes on the scene and why?
Crossbow was always one of the most fascinating guys because he did all the things that were almost impossible to do. I also liked Triad, Topaz and Padua very much because of their preference for style. Censor Design is also a very cool group. Today I also like to see demos from Krill/+h, because he really realizes the motto “normal is boring” in a very cool way. For example, since +h2k colour combinations were invented, people will never use simple black backgrounds again.
What, for you, was the coolest thing ever invented on the C64?
Hard to answer, but I would say that F.L.I. and F.P.P. are the coolest things invented on C64. Many other cool effects are based on these routines.
Did you go to any copy-parties, meetings or tradeshows?
Yes. I went to the Hurricane and Brutal party in Denmark, 1992.
In your opinion, what was the scene all about?
It was a very cool subculture! Absolutely fantastic!
What were the particular highlights for you?
My first personal highlight was a demo called Xenomorph by Future. The code was well structured and easy to re-construct. I learned quite a lot from that demo (surrounding raster, tech-tech etc.). Other highlights were Ice Cream Castle from Crest, and at the Hurricane/Brutal-party in 1992, it was amazing to see the Censor Design demo on the big screen. Another highlight was to see our disk magazine in the Top 10. Never thought that would happen! ;-)
Any cool stories to share with us?
I guess not.
Are you still in contact with any old C64 people today?
I guess the discussions in forums don't count. So, the only one (more or less) I'm still in contact with is Lars, who coded the D64-lister.
When did you get your C64 and do you still have it lying around somewhere?
I got my first C64 in the late 1980s. I don't know exactly which year. And yes, I still have my old breadbox - and it still works. :-)
Was the C64 really as special as we like to think it was?
I think the special thing is always in the eye of the observer. For us, the C64 was something very special and that’s the thing that counts. Other observers probably don't see anything special in a C64, but that doesn't lessen the special quality the C64 have for us.
When can we expect to see some new C64 output from you? :)
Yes, further issues of Popelganda are planned. Probably another demo will follow, but we can't promise anything.
Do you have a message for your old contacts and/or anyone reading this?
I hope you're happy.
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