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A propos d'Obligement
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David Brunet
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Interview with Adrian Wallett
(Interview conducted by David Brunet - October 2023)
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The Arcade Attack site is full of game reviews and
interviews with the people who created them. It's a pleasure to introduce you to Adrian Wallett, one of the
members of this site, a man who is always
enthusiastic and has plenty to say about video games...
Adrian Wallett
 Hello Adrian.
Can you introduce yourself to our readers?
Hello, my name is Adrian Wallett and I am 41 years old. I am a teacher by day, and an avid gamer at night
and during the weekends. I am also interested in art, football (love Arsenal FC) and enjoy time with family
and friends.
When and how
did you discover the Amiga?
I was shown the Amiga for the first time at my uncle's house. This amazing machine showed me what gaming truly
could be! I still recall playing Rick Dangerous and Dogs of War, and witnessing true love. The games the Amiga
500 could play were a huge step from my fond, but limited ZX Spectrum days.
My brothers and I begged for our very own Amiga computer, and a few short months later we had the Amiga 600
as our Christmas present. I was over the moon. I have amazing memories of borrowing games from my friends
house, and soon got hooked on classics such as The Secret of Monkey Island, Syndicate, Body Blows, Sensible
Soccer and Moonstone.
Do you still
own an Amiga? How has your Amiga configuration evolved over the years?
Sadly, our Amiga 600 died in the late 1990s. Someone (I am not taking the blame) spilt coffee on this
amazing machine, and it failed to boot up. In hindsight this was probably quite an easy repair, but alas,
retro gaming wasn't really in my mind at this point. I did recently buy a Raspberry Pi 400, which seemed
to be crying out as an Amiga emulator. I managed to install a lot of games (with some difficulty), and
have since been able to play some of the true classics all over again.
Before taking
part in the Arcade Attack retro-gaming site, what notable things have you done on the Amiga or video game scene?
Before Arcade Attack really got going, my mum visited me and bought down all my (and my brothers) old retro
consoles, games and tech. For many years, they had all lived in my mum's loft. I was so excited to see and play
all my old games again. There was true nostalgia overload! Some of these consoles included (minus the long gone
Amiga) the Jaguar, SNES, Mega Drive, Game Boy, Dreamcast, Saturn and PS2. I felt a real hankering of showing my
three sons my favourite games growing up and really enjoyed the memories these games bought me. This coincided
with the time my good buddy Dylan had an idea to start a retro gaming blog...
Adrian Wallett and its crew
When, how and
why was Arcade Attack created?
My friend Dylan stopped playing modern gaming. He found many of the modern games (around 2015 or so) too complex
and lacking any real fun. He decided to start a retro gaming blog, after his mum dropped over a pile of his old
video game mags from the 1990s. The first attempt at the blog was called "Dylan's Arcade". I was impressed by
his ambition and was also now getting back into retro gaming. I decided that I too, would help him out and write
the odd review.
However, my main aim was to interview legends of the gaming past. I loved the idea that social media made many of my gaming legends
accessible and contactable. I started emailing various game producers and artists and gained some amazing insight
into their gaming achievements. These are gaming stories that are often not old, and I was eager for our
readers to learn more about how their favourite games were made. Soon after, Dylan decided to rebrand and
call the site "Arcade Attack". It has been around since 2015 and has grown to become quite a big presence in
the retro gaming world.
Can you introduce
the members of the Arcade Attack team and their roles?
Dylan is the editor and chief reviewer for Arcade Attack. He has written hundreds of written reviews, across
many 8-bit and 16-bit consoles, and more recently, more powerful consoles such as the PS2 and Dreamcast. He is
also in charge of the site admin and helps edit and release our podcasts. He has also hosted some great podcasts,
including Dino Crisis, Bubsy, Silent Hill 2 and many more.
Keith came up with the idea that we could create a retro gaming podcast in 2016. This idea quickly gathered pace,
and we have now released 300 episodes of the Arcade Attack Retro Gaming Podcast. He is also our chief VGM master
and has written some cracking reviews on the site. He has also hosted some cracking podcasts, including The Last
of Us and the Top 20 Nintendo Characters of All Time.
James is a valued and quite new member to Arcade Attack, he has hosted some of our most popular podcasts, these
include The History of Series... looking at episodes covering fighting titles, the FPS genre and multiplayer
games.
Rob was a key early member of Arcade Attack and helped establish the podcast. He is a huge movie fan, so would
make (force) us watch Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Double Dragon and share our views! Our most popular ever
episode was hosted by Rob, where we reviewed the Sonic the Hedgehog movie.
I am the chief interviewer for Arcade Attack. There are over 200 written interviews on the site and countless
podcast interviews. I am still amazed that I had the opportunity to talk to amazing legends such as
John Tobia,
Trip Hawkins,
Dave Grossman
and Ken Levine in the past.
I am really humbled and feel very lucky. Especially, as these people helped make my childhood!
In Arcade Attack,
you conducted a number of interviews with video game developers. Which ones are you most proud of? Do you remember any
interesting anecdotes from these interviews?
I am very proud of my Michael Lathem interviews.
The Sega legend was quite a private man, but he felt like
he could trust me, and share his amazing Sega stories to the masses. He later became a friend. Sadly, he recently
passed away. But, I will cherish our memories forever. I also really enjoyed my interview with
Tami Borowick,
a true LucasArts legend, who never had the opportunity to share her side of the story before. I also really
enjoyed my chat with Atari legend Eugene Jarvis.
His willingness to be so open was amazing, and he shared some incredible stories.
Which video game star would you most like to interview?
I would love to interview Fumihide Aoki. He was the man who invented Waluigi. I find this character so
amazing and misunderstood. I would love to hear the background of how he was inspired and what he thinks
of the use (or lack of use) of his now infamous character!
Waluigi
Are there any
video game developers/graphic artists/musicians living near you? Or even in your town?
I live in Croydon, UK. This town is sadly quite a gloomy and derelict area today, however, it was quite a
prominent gaming development area in the 1980s and 1990s. In fact, Bandersnatch (the Black Mirror episode)
was based in Croydon. I believe Anthony Rosebottom who worked at Probe and Acclaim and Grame Boxall (who
worked at Renegade) were both Croydon residents. We are home to The Heart of Gaming though! A great arcade
that harps back to the good old days!
There's an
article
in Arcade Attack about making money playing video games. Do you earn money with Arcade Attack or by playing?
Arcade Attack makes very little money. We make a little from our adverts on the blog and YouTube ads. We
also had a small Patreon setup, but this has now been taken down. Truthfully and in a very corny fashion,
we do it for the love of gaming and sharing stories of the past. We are proud of how far Arcade Attack has
come and it has been a great excuse for old mates to meet up and have a laugh.
As a video
games specialist, can you tell us what were your favourite consoles and computers to play on back in the day?
And what are they now?
I am no specialist, that is for sure! However, I do have some favourite consoles and computers! I adored my
Amiga 600 while growing up. This machine made me one serious gamer! I also have a soft spot for the N64, as
this was the first ever console I bought myself, earning £3.03 an hour in 1997 and saving up for the legendary
64-bit console. It is also the machine that introduced me to my first ever Zelda title - Ocarina of Time! My
favourite ever game! I also enjoyed my Atari Jaguar, Sega Mega Drive and Dreamcast. I am now playing mainly
on my gaming PC and Switch!
What are
your three favourite games on the Amiga and on other platforms?
Amiga Top 3:
- 3. Sensible World of Soccer - so playable, fun and actually helped me get into football!
- 2. Moonstone - ahead of its time, gory, fun and looked amazing! I would love a remake of this classic title!
- 1. The Secret Of Monkey Island - this game blew me away! I had never heard of point & click games before
Ron Gilbert's masterpiece!
Top 3 Overall Games:
- 3. Half-Life 2 - amazing story, graphics, depth of characters and some amazing physics shown! The perfect FPS recipe!
- 2. Championship Manager - This game almost got me kicked out of college! I was addicted at one point!
- 1. Zelda: Ocarina Of Time - The best game ever made! FACT!
If you were
proposed to create a new version or a sequel to a game, which would be the most interesting for you?
- Walker 2 - I loved this on the Amiga and would love to see a new game based in this universe!
- Moonstone 2 - This game deserves a sequel!
- BioForge 2 - I feel the original is a forgotten PC gem, and a sequel or even a high quality remaster would be amazing.
You recently
published a readaptation of the introduction to Dune 2.
Can you tell us more about what went on behind the scenes of this readaptation?
I had a brainwave a few years ago during COVID-19 lockdown. I really enjoyed budget trailers of classic movies,
and saw that no one was really recreating the equivalent to video games! I decided (my sons) to recreate the
iconic Another World intro. I used dodgy special effects, Back to The Future toy cars, terrible acting and
stop-motion on the smallest budget! All this was recorded on my outdated smartphone. I patched it all
together, added the original intro alongside my budget intro and uploaded it to YouTube!
The emperor of low budget introductions
This clip proved very popular. I have since recreated intros and trailers for Flashback, Moonstone, Zelda: Tears Of The
Kingdom, Dune 2, Super Smash Bros, Resident Evil, Warcraft 3 and the first Mortal Kombat movie!
All these videos can be found here:
(515) Budget Video
Game Intros - YouTube.
Do you plan
to do any other readaptations of this kind?
I am always thinking of new ideas, but, as a teacher, my time does run out quickly. I often tackle
these budget trailers during my summer holidays.
We can see
your children in this introduction to Dune 2. Are they interested in retro video games or do they only
play modern games?
Yes, my sons Tate and Rhys are in my films, with my shy middle son only appearing in my Resident Evil
video. They all love video games, which gives me a great excuse to play Mario Party and Mario Kart!
They are all huge Zelda fans like me! I am a very proud dad!
I'm going
to ask you your "favourite question": which video game character would you like to have a drink with?
Link - he is so quiet and mysterious. I am sure, after a few drinks, he would be willing to spill the beans
and let his hair down and enjoy a fun night in the inn!
Do you follow
Amiga news? What do you think of the current situation?
I am very proud that the Amiga is still so popular today! The fact that your Web site, magazines and YouTubers
are highlighting the Amiga is amazing!
Which
recently released Amiga games did you enjoy the most?
I haven't played any recent games tbh! I enjoy some of the homebrew games on the Jaguar scene, but I
must check out more for the Amiga!
What are
your future projects?
The Arcade Attack podcast is now on a little break after releasing episode 299.5. We want it to come back
better than ever, but we need a solid plan. One thing for certain though is, that when we return, I will
make sure even more Amiga games are covered! Our podcasts about Amiga games always get a lot of downloads and always cause
some amazing debates and opinions. The Arcade Attack blog is still ticking along, so please check that out.
Any last
words for our readers?
Keep playing games, have fun with your friends and family and explore some old school games that have passed
you by! Some of my favourite gaming memories come from the older and more niche titles, such as BioForge, Pizza
Tycoon, Fiendish Freddy's Big Top O' Fun and Skull and Crossbones.
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