Name Franz Lanzinger Profession Programming NES Reference Tengen, Bitmap Brothers Finally another interview. I've always been a fan of Krazy Kreatures, a game by Franz Lanzinger and Dave O'Riva, released by American Video Entertainment. Well one day I "found" Franz Lanzinger on the net and ofcourse asked him if he would answer a few questions, he agreed and here's what I asked him (keep in mind this was 1998).....

How/why did you start programming NES games?

I was hired at Tengen in 1989. My first project there was to convert Toobin' to the NES. I had learned 6502 assembly language eight years earlier when I programmed Crystal Castles coin-op, so the NES was right up my alley. Franz Lanzinger

Was it difficult to work with the limitations of the NES?

It was at first, especially when given the task to port a coin-op game like Toobin' which uses much more memory and many more colors etc. Dave O'Riva and I basically redesigned the game to make it fit into an NES cartridge. Franz Lanzinger

Who came up with the idea for Krazy Kreatures?

That was me. I wanted to do an original game after porting Toobin' and Ms. Pacman. I always liked puzzle games, especially Tetris, so it seemed like it would be fun to invent a new one. Franz Lanzinger

Krazy Kreatures is one of my favourite puzzle game, and at the end of the game it says "watch out for Krazy Kreatures 2". Was this game ever made or even planned?

Well, yes and no. We wanted to design and develep a sequel but American Video Entertainment had trouble selling their games in large quantities and soon went under. Franz Lanzinger

Why was Krazy Kreatures released by American Video Entertainment? Didn't you work at Atari Games/Tengen?

Both Dave O'Riva and I left Tengen to form Bitmasters in mid 1990. KK was our first game. It paid our bills for a few months while we got started. Soon after we got a contract to port Rampart for the NES, later published by Jaleco. Franz Lanzinger

Is Krazy Kreatures freeware today (to be copied freely) or still copyrighted?

Well, copyrights are valid for 75 years here in the U.S., so I would say that it's still copyrighted. The copyright probably belongs to Macronix, the old parent company of AVE. But then again, they might have sold it to someone. Franz Lanzinger

NES WORLD:
Do you remember how many people worked at Tengen back in the day?

About 8 or so. Some of the Tengen NES games were developed outside. Also, some projects never saw light of day (XYbots, Police Academy ...) Franz Lanzinger

Could you give me a complete list of the games you made or helped making for the NES?

Sure: Toobin', Ms. Pacman, Krazy Kreatures, Rampart and Championship Pool. Franz Lanzinger

Did you work on any NES games that did not get published?

No, somehow all my games always find a way to get published. Franz Lanzinger

Do you know what Dave O'Riva is doing today?

He's working at Atari Games programming the N64. Franz Lanzinger

Your new company, Actual Entertainment, has just released a new game for the PC. What type of game is this?

Gubble is an action-strategy-puzzle game, reminiscent of the old Crystal Castles. The sequel, Gubble II, is just now being released (on September 26th). It's got more of a puzzle emphasis, with less hand-eye coordination and more thinking required. As with all my games it's non-violent and suitable for the entire family. Franz Lanzinger

Would you want to make a game for the new videogame consoles like the N64 and Playstation (or even Sega's Dreamscast) if you were asked to?

Yes I would, especially for Dreamcast!!! The hard part is getting paid. I've found that it's very difficult to do original game development and to get a publisher to pay for that development. I've occasionally funded my own development (Gubble and Krazy Kreatures) but then I need to go back to doing something that makes me enough money to try again later. Right now I'm doing 3D firmware development for a great new startup company. It's not games, but I enjoy it and it pays well. Meanwhile I'm getting all kinds of great game ideas. Now if I only had the spare time to write all those games... Franz Lanzinger

Thanks a lot for the interview.