Vic Match-up: Jeff Minter versus Tom Griner

ArugulaZ · Post by **ArugulaZ** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 2:17 am

I have to cast my vote for the minty fresh taste of Minter myself. He's a bit of a drama queen but he knew how to squeeze some really intense gaming experiences out of the VIC-20 hardware. Griner, by contrast, is better known for comical games that are fun novelties but don't really grab hold of you the way that, say, Gridrunner did.

carlsson · Post by **carlsson** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 2:52 am

I'm sure Jeff Minter's gameplay combined with some of Tom Griner's routines could've been a nice combo. Both were very good at squeezing in a lot in small space. Eugine Evans at Imagine was another of those guys even if I'm not too fond of neither Wacky Waiters nor Catcha Snatcha.

Ivanhoe76 · Post by **Ivanhoe76** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 3:38 am

My vote went to Griner... I still love Andes Attack, but I haven't been much attracted from the other Minter's games (I know that now I could be banned for this

). I think that Griner's work in particular Shamus and Chplifter pushed vic hardware to its limit!!! What do you think, I can still be one of denial forum?

orion70 · Post by **orion70** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 4:23 am

Ivanhoe76 wrote:I think that Griner's work in particular Shamus and Choplifter pushed vic hardware to its limit!!! What do you think, I can still be one of denial forum?

Yes, definitely

.
C'mon guys, vote for Griner!

Lozza · Post by **Lozza** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 3:05 pm

ok so i've had a go on the Tom Griner selection. i've used the list which appears to be in date order and as you would expect - the game visuals improve from game to game.. but not always the gameplay.

Guardian-Unspectacular sideways scroller clone - 5/10

Meteors-Asteroids clone-Not bad but no UFO chasing-not sure if there is a hyperspace option-6/10

Astroblitz-Defender clone-Better than Guardian but no replay value for me-6/10

Videomania-Music ! Version of 'the entertainer' plays and I like music in games so this is a big plus. Intermission screens. Bit Berzerk like. So far the pick of them all - an all round good arcade game. 7/10

Black Hole-Vector graphics ! Way ahead of Elite on the BBC

For me not as playable as Videomania so 6/10 once more.

Terraguard-Great shooter, good character graphics and the mothership an original idea. 8/10

Predator-Joust looking but it isnt. Berzerk style explosions which look cool. Colourful but not much gameplay there for me. 5/10.

Mosquito Infestation-What was he thinking !? 4/10.

Maze-Not as dull as the title suggests. Bit Bomberman. A good game requires some thought. 7.5/10

Satellite Patrol-Big Gorf style graphics and a clever radar showing where the aliens are. Technically cleverer than Terraguard but I prefer it less - 6.5/10

Shamus-An excellent Vic 20 game. I still havent completed this. 9/10.

Choplifter-Totally superb. 10/10.

Top 5 Tom Griner Games

1) Choplifter
2) Shamus
3) Terraguard
4) Maze
5) Videomania

I would play all 5 of these games again - many times. I should be clear that Choplifter and Shamus are the clear jewels in the crown - there is not much to choose between almost all of the other games.

this is a cool thread which has made me play a lot of games which i havent seen before. i dont know if many of these were ever released in the UK the only 2 I was aware of are the 2 I scored the highest. it is probably the same for the USA with Llamasoft, very few released there (?)

Llamasoft next ! But maybe it would be more fitting if someone from USA had a look at their ones ?

I look forward to Gamebase 2.0 and some long discussions and research about finding the true definitive 'Top Vic Games per publisher / Top 100 Games / Best version of Space Invaders etc..' This forum is a great thing.

Post by **Jeff-20** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 7:58 pm

I must admit Tom seems to have a much wider "range" than Jeff did as far as variety of game play.

Victragic · Post by **Victragic** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:56 am

Tom Griner, just...

Mostly because his range of games seem more varied than Jeff Minter... Minter did excellent 'Centipede' style shooting games, and importantly - cassettes for unexpanded Vic.. Griner seemed to want to explore the limits more.. vector graphics in one game, very impressive.

..and Choplifter, for a game programmed under duress, very good.

Minter had great visuals, great gameplay and great sound effects.. I think Griner was the better programmer.

Jeez, imagine if they had worked together, if that would even have been possible.

Post by **Jeff-20** » Wed Jun 17, 2015 7:27 am

I think the newer members need to weigh in on this. Bump.

Sent from my phizzone

orion70 · Post by **orion70** » Thu Jun 18, 2015 2:26 am

Jeff, you should have changed your avatar before bumping this - you're intimidating

English Invader · Post by **English Invader** » Thu Jun 18, 2015 7:19 am

I remember this thread. It came up about six months after I joined and I'd never even heard of Tom Griner.

My answer is Jeff Minter. I don't tend to play Tom Griner's games that often.

English Invader · Post by **English Invader** » Thu Jun 18, 2015 7:48 am

Just revisited Choplifter for the first time in six years. Given how much is going on, the speed and sprite movement is amazing for a VIC-20 game.

Denial

Vic Match-up: Jeff Minter versus Tom Griner

Jeff Minter versus Tom Griner

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Re: Vic Match-up: Jeff Minter versus Tom Griner

Re: Vic Match-up: Jeff Minter versus Tom Griner

Re: Vic Match-up: Jeff Minter versus Tom Griner