Elite immediately cast a spell over Markus – and still does to this day.
In 1985 Markus Schwerdtel – then 13 years old, today the editor-in-chief for our magazine editions who is young at heart – discovers the original space simulation Elite. And Markus blows them away with their complexity, their 3D vector graphics and their sheer size.
The term “open world” was still a marketing dream of the future, but that’s exactly what Elite feels like: like an open world game in which Markus can freely fly in eight galaxies with over 2,000 planets.
For Mark, this is a revelation. Because in the C64 cosmos of that time, mostly simple and linear titles in two-dimensional pixel optics cavort: jump ‘n’ runs, shoot ’em ups and a handful of early adventures.
All video talks and podcasts in the format overview
Elite, on the other hand, feels like a game from another world. And if Markus is honest, that’s how it is for him to this day – because Elite has many features that would also look good in modern games.
Which exactly and what he loves so much about Elite is what Markus tells in our co-op format »Games That Made Me«, which was created by Manuel Fritsch from Insert Moin is moderated, the Methuselah of Europe gaming podcasts (ie Insert Moin, not Manu, he’s also young at heart!). On Patreon you can Insert Moin also support.
You can find emulators and even more C64 nostalgia at C64games.de.
You can download the old Elite from the Homepage von Ian Bell.
Listen to the episode now
You can either listen to the episode directly in your browser or download it for later by clicking on the blue button. In some browsers you have to right-click and select “Save target as”.
Alternatively, as always, there is our RSS feed for Plus users, with which you can download all new podcast episodes directly onto your smartphone.
