A little bit about 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 1985 when I first started to see magazine screenshots. That would have been during my ZX Spectrum years - which I loved - but can you imagine my awe when first using an ST? It was a next-gen quality I had never witnessed before.
It was love at first sight and eventually, I got one for Christmas 1988 (thanks Mum & Dad!). Before you ask, we weren't a wealthy family, and I'll always wonder about and treasure how they managed to afford an ST. Yep, that was the 520 STfm, a fantastic machine I regard as my first real computer. This wasn't just for games, it was a powerful and versatile computer with a GUI and mouse. A whole new world opened up!
My 520 ST helped me during college; I learnt skills like word processing (boring), pixel art, programming, DTP, and networking. I used it for a year before upgrading to the new Atari STe in 1990 (I was working then). I had no enhanced games but I finally got to hook up my stereo speakers to hear MOD tunes properly.
As I was working, I could afford to venture deeper into Atari paradise. So I bought a brand new Mega 1 ST that (ahem) 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 two Falcons and a TT (all second-hand). This was the era of fascinating stuff like Apex Media and Doom without having to join the Darkside (PC!!).
Sadly, I have no photos from my Atari ST and only one from my early Speccy days!
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 the MacGamer website/KDX server that hosted Mac versions of mods for the games listed above and more. This included documentation, and Terminal & AppleScript Apps (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, the modern world leaving me behind. Yep, PPC Macs began their decline and this chapter eventually came to a close. Sad times in many respects.
Unbelievably I found an old image from MacGamer! Rubbish isn't it?
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; I was in my late 30s!!
I then discovered the joy of Hatari and was suddenly hooked on the ST again. This program was/is fantastic and re-opened a whole new world at a level previously lost to me. It was like the 1980s again!
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 :-)
The original AtariCrypt logo I found online somewhere. It really is rather cool!!
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 on any page... Hey, STay Atari :)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . it's time to WRRRAAAAAAAAAP!!!!
You might be interested to know, I was one of the Doom monsters?
There's one more thing...
Finally, I've gratefully been involved in various projects and worked alongside some incredible ST folk. I have also released some silly STuff of my own. None of it's good but you're welcome to check 'em out...
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You can follow me on Instagram, Twitter/X, YouTube, and the AtariCrypt FaceBook page.
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
DeleteIt gives an cool inside view of the man behind the driving force for recognition for us Atari ST users. 👏
ReplyDeleteHey Paul, thanks for check out this page. Glad u liked it :)
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