The Best of Bit för Bit, Part 2

Time to continue our look at Bit för Bit, aka “the first, if not only, TV-show that brought the demoscene into the public eye on a frequent basis”.

Though, more than anything else, it’s a fascinating look back at the world of video games, during the late 80s and in Europe, a time and place most US gamers are clueless about (everyone’s on this end is too busy fetishizing what was happening in Japan at the time, which I’m just as guilty of).

Anyway, here we have episode 3, in which we meet Bit för Bit’s UK correspondent John Minson. John’s inaugural segment is an examination of video game piracy, and the facts revealed are largely things we’ve heard before, since the problems of yesterday are the problems of today, more or less.

So let’s just concentrate on the intro; despite the lack of distinguishing characteristics, simply spending a few scant seconds in a dedicated game store, in a mall, and in the 80s warms my heart…

Eventually John finds himself in the Netherlands, at a “copy party”, where folks gather to show off their skills as it pertains to making demos, as well as breaking copy protection. I just love how the latter scene is referred to as “cracker world”…

Next is a look at the 1989 Personal Computer Show. Because it’s highlighted in both episodes 3 and 4, and because the following episode’s segment is a bit more interesting, am going to mostly skip it for now. Though real quick; check out the guy representing Hard Drivin’, who’s the complete antitheses of all the annoying jerk offs you see pimping games at E3 or like places today. Dude’s super friendly and humble and not at all into spouting hyperbole…

Here we go with episode three’s demoscene showcase, featuring Alpha Flight (#1), Kefrens, ESA, and Dual Crew…

Bit för Bit’s third “teledataspelet” introduces a new game for the viewing audience to try and master: the BMX portion of California Games. If you thought controlling a biplane with only a telephone key pad was tough for some folks, you ain’t seen nothing yet…

Well, that’s about it for episode three. Next up is episode four, obviously, as well as episode five. Not only will we finally walk the halls of the 1989 PC Show but also find out what it’s like to make a game for the PC back in the day!

Originally published at blog.attractmo.de.