Nearly
for thirteen years – that is for pretty much more than a whole
decade – the lovers of the eight-bit machines repeatedly assemble
together on a small party (the so-called Arok Party)
to celebrate the surviving of their pets, and also their own creativity.
(That name is a funny pun, playing with the English word party
that resembles the Hungarian word parti in sounding;
the latter means „of shore”, while „árokpart” means „bank of ditch”;
thus they together sound like that „party on the shore of ditch”
– referring to the growing desolateness of the abandoned eight-bit
world. One of eldest of the less and less true European demo/compo
parties still returning every year.)
Having
overstepped the witchery of 13th number (which arises only from
my overstressed and almost annoyingly outworn calendar obsession
anyway, thus not too hard to overstep) the occasion of this year
may rate as outstanding in more respects than the earlier ones.
For example, the high spot of the evening – or at least one spot,
I think – was said to be our little presence there: by the name
of CoV Aszok Roundtable. (Another clouded pun, an only-clear-to-esoteric-ones:
„CoV” was the abbreviation of the first and greatest, and by now
the legendary Hungarian computer gaming magazine, and „ászok”
is a kind of beer like „gauntry”, but also meaning aces
as the English word; also „kovász” meaning leaven… etc.
Not translatable at all, but CoV is tightly associated with beer
and cows and cowboys, too… er… I do not rather continue. However,
that was really just a „roundchairs” as not belonging to any table
there.) Unfortunately, we had not too much time to prepare ourselves,
since our organizing had just started hardly some one or two weeks
before, but even as compared to the possibilities we succeeded
to produce a performance. In the first place, of course, the ex-editor-in-chief
(yes, the general editor of CoV about some twenty years ago) Lajos
Rucz (alias 1.0) was the main organizer, and so thus the whole
thing was mainly due to him: he was steadily trying summoning
together all those elder ones who had ever anything to do with
that notorious „book-series” (that’s a journal in real; that’s
another story again…) called „Commodore Világ” (alias CoV – by
the meaning „Commodore World”) and its predecessors/successors
(SpV as „Spectrum World”, then CoV again as „Computer World” etc.)
Both emblematic key-figures were present: Laszlo Kiss (alias CoVboy,
or 0.75 – the other main author with authentic gonzo-style and
unfamiliar mailing habitudes) and Mihaly Muller (alias Kis Getto™
– the mono-beer/cow-maniac home-draughtsman of CoV); and beside
them one or two dozens of other characters. (Though some of
us from only far and symbolically in-remote, e. g. „professor”
Gogy Sotesz… so hopeless to translate/explain him again.) Lajos
prepared with a slide show, a cowboy hat (for CoVboy) and a small
bus, too. The latter was of use to us: some of the gathered nice
set photographed and filmed along the ominous party, being made
it well-documented. I mostly mention Jozsef Weigert who is furthermore
an expert at these jobs – he made a whole film about the event
(see on YouTube!). Another one to mention: Szilard Kun
(Kunci) – he made a printed tableau of the whole brigade (see
there on my website at the downloadable documents). Also
came with us a few ex-Guru-members, too (another old gaming magazine),
e. g. Tamas Turcsan (Shy) eventually acting as a second-leader
beside Lajos now. They irresponsibly foreshadowed a possible 25th
anniversary and jubilee CoV extra special „revival” edition becoming
actual the next three years… Unfortunately, this promise must
be kept somehow. (The performance was about the history of CoV
anyway.)
Yet
there was still another uncommon celebrity for the day: a very
special computer game about to be finished and released (almost
already… there was only one and little single bug left to fix
in it – right after the development of about some twenty years):
not other than the – by now we can truly say that – world-famous
Newcomer. The original history of the game started in
the first half of the ’90s (officially its first version was released
by the Valhalla Paholy fantasy book-publishings in 1994, but its
programmers had already been working on it a few years before),
and nowadays it will also be a twenty-year old piece such like
the above-mentioned Guru magazine. This project formerly started
by Andras Lay, Zoltan Gonda and Csaba Foris (however the new version
is already signed by entirely other names as Istvan Belanszky,
Mihaly Szemeti and Zsolt Kajtar) must be beating more records
at once: it probably may be one of the (if not the) longest
– and both the longest-time made – latest and last Commodore game
world-wide. (Yes, indeed: in the making of two decades. See
it on its own website.)
The
gathering kept now at the covered gymnasium of Ajkarendek (not
far from the smalltown Ajka) previously began only like an unknown,
little, intensive one at the very first years, but by now it nicely
outgrew to become country-wide, moreover, even international.
(As can be seen in subsequently published photo albums, videos:
there is a various-aged, colourful company of growing size – a
part of them are foreigners.) There are many fresh-made demos,
compos every year; besides there was now a home-made C64 scanner,
too; and another living show, a young gentleman who shaved a Commodore
logo in his hair… (Fortunately he has still got enough such material
to work with, because e. g. those bit elder, balding ones like
me could only do the same show not more than in any sort of „Inglorious
Basterds” way, which – we ought to realize that – would be far
much less elevating, as well as not a drop
of entertaining, no…) Furthermore there appeared Tamas Beregi
(alias Berrr, the author of the Pixel Heroes gaming book
published last year); and a new musical (rock) band SIDrip
Alliance, excellently playing their whole repertoire selected
of C64 classics in a modern style (see them, too). Before
the Sun set down, we were even invited for a pleasant bean-feast
and a tasty junketing of roasted sausages and like. (And the general
store next door obligingly extended its opening hours until midnight,
and as being not expensive, it became as frequently-visited as
spontaneous, useful local snack-bar for the crowd.)
Finally,
who didn’t come may regret coming not: namely it can be declared
after all that they missed a real, concrete, palpable and tangible
– and so in this respect definitely not „retro” – but
absolutely being here and now – historical event (that even turned
back the wheel of time a little anyhow).
Robert
Olessak (2011)