| Zine: |
Promax, your name is very famous and you climbed up the charts mainly because of your parts in the Kefrens Megademo #8, the best megademo of the last year 1990. What are your new plans to get even more famous? Or aren't you interested in glory? |
| Promax: |
The constant search for glory. I admit that the search has taken a turn. The fun of constantly producing demos is fading away. Not that I don't like demos, but the lack of good ideas has made me go in other directions. Of course every person wants to be some body. I just wants to do what I like to do. If this results in being more known, nice, but it is not the main goal. |
| Zine: |
Your group Kefrens is also a winner of the last year. But you have become very lazy in this group, aren't you? |
| Promax: |
If my job in the group is to code demos the answer is: Yes very lazy. But as far as I know, everybody in the scene knows that I coded ASM-One. So instead of getting known by producing demos, I do something else. In this and other ways I still think that the other guys in the group benefit from my knowledge. |
| Zine: |
Are you still interested in the development of Kefrens? |
| Promax: |
I'm interested, but not as a cracker group (we have never been crackers) and not so much as a demo group, more like a group of productive coders, musicians etc. If a guy codes a demo, fine. If he codes a game, fine. Or anything that shows the quality of the group. |
| Zine: |
Actually you're working on your assembler. Tell us some backgrounds of it. Will it be sold professional? And if yes, have you already choosen the softwarecompany? |
| Promax: |
I started coding it around June. At that time I had allready coded most of the editor, so I only needed the assembler, monitor and debugger parts. When I had coded nearly everything apart from the monitor I had a trip to Germany where I visited Florian (Delta/RSI) and Willi (Factor 5).
At Achim's place (Factor 5) a man from AmigaDOS/DMV came and made an interview with all the guys from Factor 5. Afterwards I showed him a test version of ASM-One, he was interested, this was in the middle of September. About 1 month later we wrote the contract when I was visiting the firm DMV. The program was pre-released at the Amiga fair in Koln. An ASM-One V1.01 update will be released around Christmas with German or English handbook. |
| Zine: |
Have you ever thought about coding a game? |
| Promax: |
Several times. I have even started, it was very very fun (for half an hour). Again like with the demos, it is the ideas that counts. Of course I could code a "shoot them all to dust" style game, but my arse would fall of because I was bored. I like the game "Lemmings", I will buy the original when it arrives in February. If anybody have a good idea like this, please call and I code it. (My phone +4542273939) |
| Zine: |
So, what do you think about selling cracked software? |
| Promax: |
I hate any guys who illegaly tries to earn money on other peoples properties. Most swappers are doing things to business like (I mean swapping to fast). If you were a developer who had worked night and day for a half year or more, wouldn't it be nice just to earn a little money, just enough to buy X-Mas presents for your friends and mayby, if the manual wasn't scanned to an Ascii file, a little present for your self. It is not a big firm you steal the money from, that are your friends, that are guys like yourself. |
| Zine: |
So, Kefrens was illegal, though. That means selling stuff, cracking or training games. |
| Promax: |
I never wanted the group to turn in that direction. We have only done very little in these directions. |
| Zine: |
What is your opinion about the fact that more and more elite coders from the scene are working on games, or other stuff which will be sold professional? Will it destroy the demo-scene? |
| Promax: |
No absolutely not. New coders have a chance to make a good demo, and get known as a good demo coder. As a coder you got to feel that what you are doing brings you somewhere. When you are making demos you don't earn any money (No money to buy X-Mas presents), and people constantly ask you: "Why don't you code a game? Why don't you code something useful?" Nobody seems to understand the beauty of a good demo. But one bad thing shall be said about game coding: 95% of the people starting on a game never finish it. I think that many start because people ask them why they don't. |
| Zine: |
Back to your group. Did you found Kefrens? |
| Promax: |
Nope, that was Metallion, Razmo and Mellica. I am sorry to say it, but the good dude Metallion is the only one left. |
| Zine: |
By the way, is there a story about the name of the group? |
| Promax: |
Not a very funny story, but Razmo is very fond of weard things like Egypt and its pyramids. An old dude (not a member of Kefrens as far as I know) died a few thousand years ago, and the people liked him so much that they build a big pyramid to honor him. Very nice! (A swapper must have the same feeling if his 10000 copy slaves build a 100 meter high diskbox and filled it with DSHD Maxell disks.). Ok the name of this dude was Kefren, so now you can guess the rest. |
| Zine: |
And how has Kefrens developed in the scene? Please tell us the history of your group. |
| Promax: |
Let me think. Back in 1987 Metallion, Razmo and Mellica met and formed a group called TSP (The Starlight Project). They made some state of the art demos with copperbars etc. In the summer 1988 they renamed the group to Kefrens. The first 4 megademos was very cool with CLI loader etc. more like demodisks now a days.
I met them at a Hexagon party some months before X-Mas 1988. At that time I was in Atomic Team (Cooooollll!!). The rest is like you know it. First one megademo then an other and finally a new megademo. All the way up to number 8. Ups first we released our improved version of the Seka at the Upfront X-Mas party 1989.
The megademo 8 was made between X-Mas and mid February at our own party, at least my parts were. After our own party:... Keftales... Den gik sku ned... (Translated: Damn, it went down!!) Mr.Munk... 1991...? |
| Zine: |
Where's the Kefrens Megademo #9? |
| Promax: |
Where it should be... UP MY ARSE. (Is that why I have to use double sided toilet paper? |
| Zine: |
And now something to fill in. Tell us you favorites: |
| Promax: |
| Coders: |
Florian S., Achim M., Holger S., Michael N., Tommi V... All nice guys |
| Gfx Artists: |
Jakob A., Kent J., Ireneus B. The list is long. |
| Musicians: |
Stefan J., Jesper Kyd, Romeo knight (Sorry I dont know your name) |
| Demogroups: |
RSI, K.F.RENSdyr, TLC, WildCopper, Scoopex (Schwlayfer) |
| Crackergroups: |
The Light Circle, Danish Crackers... (From old days) |
| Games: |
Lemmings... C64 Paradroid... Giana Sisters... |
| Utilities: |
CED, DiskMaster, ASM-One (Ups!?!) |
| Magazines: |
Zine & 4th Dimension. |
|
| Zine: |
Well, you live in Denmark, and Denmark is very popular for it's great Amiga conferences and parties. Do you also visit them? |
| Promax: |
Yes I have been at nearly all good once, except the Bamiga Sector One party in winter 1989. (I was at my winter holiday, but the snow stayed away, beware that was a trip to your f... country) |
| Zine: |
He, he Switzerland, the utimative dairymen-country! Did you visit the last party from Dexion? |
| Promax: |
Now after the party (30th December 1990). Yes, I visited the party. |
| Zine: |
Great, what's your opinion about this one and what do you think about the stuff, which was released there? |
| Promax: |
It was big, I must say. But maybe I'm getting older, but I think that some of the old spirit has gone. Some old guys were there, but not many of them were working on new productions. Most of the guys on the party were small kids using either X-Copy or a joystick all the time. The sleeping facilities wasn't good, damn cold or damn noisy. Some cool people were there, but it seems that most of them were interested in boozing.
Of guys worth mentioning are: Delta, Slayer, Amiga Industries, Celebrandil, All known Danish groups. I didn't meet: Tec, Orlando, AmiCom. (Probably because they were not present) |
| Zine: |
Do you like the Danish scene? |
| Promax: |
Mostly, but maybe too many children. Also too many guys that do swapping as a way of living. |
| Zine: |
Is Kefrens a 100% Danish group or do you have sections? |
| Promax: |
No we have no other sections, because we like friendship, and believe that it is best off if all guys live in the same country so that everybody got enough money to call and visit each other once in a while. |
| Zine: |
Enough business, it's winter here and many people are going to ski. But I think there aren't any possibilities to drive ski in Denmark, are there? |
| Promax: |
Some years ago it was possible, but the last years it wasn't. I have 3 pairs of skies, the first pair is from I was about 9 years old. They are red and white, I think the text writes Turbo 120 or Sport 120. In other words I have tried to ski a lot of times. In past time it was one of my big winter hobbies, not that I'm any good. |
| Zine: |
Do you like the cold weather? How much degrees are outside? |
| Promax: |
At the moment. (17th Dec. 1990, 16:55, I returned home from school a couple of hours ago, after having been to a 4 hours exam in Theoretical Computer Science, I have a little head ache, I met a dark haired girl on the way home in the train, she looks fucking sweat but I was to tired. My feet are cold, it's dark outside, my shoes are standing in my bed, my alarm clock is set to sound 6:35. I'm writing this text in the editor of my own assembler ASM-One, more headache. Back to reality. NO, 4 degrees. |
| Zine: |
Will you visit any parties in the future? For example the SILENTS CRIONICS summerconference in Denmark or the PHENOMENA RAZOR 1911 summerconference in Sweden? Perhaps we could meet you there... |
| Promax: |
Lets meet, I like cool parties, try to make Orlando and all the other guys from your group show up. If you meet AmiCom make him come too. |
| Zine: |
WE WILL COME! Until then... good luck with your upcoming code work in 1991 and thanks a lot for this interview. |