A bit about me and my hiSTory :-)
I thought it might be "interesting" to provide background information about myself for you living on the remote island of TOS. If you don't know, my name is Steve and been an Atari ST nutter since 1986 when I first started to see magazine screenshots. Pure next-gen quality that I had never witnessed before.
It was love at first sight and eventually, I got one for Christmas 1988 (thanks Mum & Dad!). It was the 520 STfm, a fantastic machine that I regard as my first real computer. This wasn't just for games, it was powerful and versatile with a GUI and mouse. A whole new world opened up. This was something else.
My 520 ST helped me during my college years; I learnt skills like word processing (boring), pixel art, programming, DTP, and even networking. I used it for a year before upgrading to the new Atari STe in 1990. I had no enhanced games but I finally got to hook up my stereo speakers to hear MOD tunes properly.
By this time, I got my first job and could afford to venture deeper into Atari paradise. I bought a brand new Mega 1 ST that, admittedly, I had no real need for. However, this "office computer" came with a monochrome monitor and helped me with DTP using Easy Text Professional. Hardly Calamus but a great application. It was also the computer I used "online" with Keith's Point BBS via dial-up. I miss those days greatly.
By around 1993, I was living the dream and bought a Falcon and TT (second-hand). This was the era of fascinating programs like Apex Media and Doom without having to join the Darkside (PC!!).
Mac days
As the mid-90s evolved, I reached my Atari end. The Atari ST had already died and the Falcon thing never happened. So, sometime around 1996, I finally gave up and bought an Apple Mac 7600/120. What a computer that was! A whole new world had opened up to me. It was like a Falcon but better.
In terms of Atari, these years were spent running the last odds and sods using MagicMac. However, that lessened over time as I found better Mac programs. Soon after, the Atari world was a distant memory.
Around 2003, Apple released the Power Mac G5, the most expensive computer I have bought (yes, it was pre-kids). This powerful beast brought me back into the modern world again.
Over the years, I played Dungeon Siege, Doom3, Quake4, Soldier Of Fortune II, Call Of Duty, and Medal Of Honor. My favourite was Battlefield 1942 - with its many third-party maps/mods. Sure, Mac users could use some maps but hardly ever the mods. I hated that fact because they looked cool.
So, I started a website/KDX server that hosted Mac versions of mods for all the games listed above (and more). This included documentation, Terminal and AppleScript Apps that worked as launchers. Some of the more complex required recompiling source code which was done alongside developers. I enjoyed that a lot!!
However, this soon ended because of the Intel Mac. Once again, I found the modern world leaving me behind. Yep, PPC Macs began their decline and this chapter eventually came to a close.
Full circle
Fast forward to around 2012, and I began to feel the pull of my old Atari addiction after discovering a wonderful program called NoSTalgia. Without realising it, I was spending more and more time playing ST games. Not only that but I was starting to watch demos and read scrollers. This was weird as I was in my late 30s!
A couple of years later I thought, "Why not start a YouTube channel and record my favourite demos". This led to the notion of the AtariCrypt website to promote these demos and games. And here we are today :-)
AtariCrypt
What is now "AtariCrypt" came from that humble beginning of wanting to share the ST love as I treasure the Atari ST computers. I have always tried to make my website a fun place but I also wanted to make a place on the internet that proves there is more to the #16bit era than just the Commodore Amiga or PC/consoles.
I enjoy running with AtariCrypt and have met many fantastic people along the way. I hope to continue my silly articles for many years to come. I love to hear back from y'all - every page has a comments option - please use it. Your feedback makes all my "work" worthwhile so say hello. One last thing... STay Atari :)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . it's time to WRRRAAAAAAAAAP!!!!
There's one more thing...
Over the years, I've been involved in various projects and worked alongside some incredible ST folk. Heck, I have also released some silly STuff of my own. None of it's good but you're welcome to check 'em out...
You might be interested to know, I was one of the Doom monsters?
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What an amazing site man! Can't imagine the endless hours you put into this! Love it, hough my first computer was a C64... I also still have the good old Atari ST. Would love to discuss an idea (Atari related) with you, email me at ole@exquizitely.com if that's ok? Cheers, Ole.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ole :D
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