GREVE GRAPHICS

I had never heard of this games software company so I decided to find out more about it. First of all, Greve Graphics had been existing for approximately six months (and this represented all the information I could find without actually talking to them). Obviously the only way to get material for this article was by phoning someone at Greve Graphics.

I managed to get their phone number, but was unable to get in contact with any personnel. Then it occurred to me that as they are in the programming business they might be reachable during the evening. Correct. 10.38 same night, a fellow called Bengt 'the dog' Caroli answered. I asked him if it was possible to make an interview at Greve Graphics the very next morning. The reply was positive, and I got a short description of how to find what he called the Greve Graphics Software Centre building.

Next morning: Lund isn't a very big Swedish town, but despite this I fail to find the building with the fancy name. After spending the afternoon on the telephone, I finally get a more detailed description. This time I am told that it is really quite a small building, but when the house appears I get a shock. 'It must be a joke,' is my first reaction. Can a group of people possibly work in there?

I knock at the door and wait. After some seconds it swings up and there appears a somewhat original gestalt. I tell this person that I am there to interview someone at Greve Graphics called Bengt Caroli.

'Yes, it's me you are looking for, I'm the boss here at Greve Graphics,' he replies. I might be a bit old fashioned, but could this man be 'the dog' boss of a software company? He shows me inside the Software Centre building, and I must say, it is an experience to remember — especially the Kitchen. I will not discuss this further, but I could say it represented shock number two.

My first question to Mr Caroli concerns the name, Greve Graphics.

Mr Caroli thinks for a long period then he says, 'Hmmm. Okay then, my friends at the Computer Science Department used to make joke about that I looked like a modern count, and the word 'count' translated into Swedish is 'Greve'. I think it's a well suited name, because a count prefers quality products, and that's our business. The word graphics has also got a special meaning. Delicious graphics make one third of a game, poor graphics are common, but not in our products.'

'Why did you start a new company, and in Sweden?' I ask Mr Caroli.

'I said to myself, if no one else could produce a game that entertained me, I had to do it myself. And now when the Soldier One game is nearly complete I want to share it with all C64 users. In very near future we will try to establish connections with English software companies to market Soldier One in the UK; so there is no problem with our geographical location,' replies Mr Caroli, very self-confident.

My next question concerns how many programmers etc, there are working at Greve Graphics.

'At the moment we are two programmers writing code for Soldier One. In making this game we also use musicians and graphic designers to complete it. One person can't do all these different types of work all alone, so why not use people who are trained in other artforms? It can't be denied that most of us working here have a proper computer science education, and that makes the working environment good.'

'A good game — how should it be?' I ask next.

'The most important thing is naturally the feeling of the game. I've seen beautiful games, with wonderful music and graphics appearing on the screen. After two seconds of playing I know if the game has feeling, if not I just scream, and then my trash-can waits. A successful game is a combination of a lot of factors. Take for example, if you play a game and there is one boring scene that stops you for minutes, do you play that game every day? In my case I play it a couple of times, then it's thrown in the trash-can.

'I take another example to make it clear what I mean. A game with multiple functions, can be fun, but when I want recreation in front of my computer I don't want to pick up a manual just to play it. It should be obvious how to play it without a handbook! One rule is, enough functions to add real feeling, not more.

'A good game has to be loaded with action, not like those boring puzzles. I like to steer powerful guns and cannon, shooting at everything moving on the screen. Sound and graphics should be first class. And if there is some original music, it scores high in my opinion. I'm tired of those who steal musical scores (in lack of fantasy) to transform them into a computer version for a game!'

At this point I stop Mr Caroli in order to get in my last question — 'How did you start computing?'

'It all started when I bought an old PET 2001. The first game I ever wrote was a version of Space Invaders. At that time I didn't think that 6502 assembly language was as easy as speaking natural language ('I do have that opinion now,' he commented). Today my PET is a bit aged, but I still use it to develop the most advanced routines — or as a chair!' The last being said with Mr Caroli's very annoying laugh.

I thank Bengt 'the dog' Caroli for this interesting interview, and wish him all the best in computing.

— ZZAP!64, Issue 11, March 1986, Page 69