ONM Remembered – #44
“(this is called ‘quantisation’, jargon fans)”
from N64 Magazine issue 7 (October 1997)
I’ve praised N64 Magazine before for its great page design, its dedication to import reviews and its sheer barminess, but one aspect I’d completely forgotten about were its great monthly features. Around six to seven pages at the end of each issue were dedicated to whatever interesting topic they had in store: Some were typically ‘game-y’, some were crazy technical, and some barely even about games at all. Whatever the subject, they were always entertaining and made for good ol’ fashioned reading material. Any game mag can give you reviews and letters from eight year olds, but where else would you find a page dedicated to how you can make an edible Shy Guy out of cake frosting?
Tim Norris and the fine fellows at DMA Design give the readers a sneak peek into what it takes to make a 3D video game on 64-bit hardware, showcasing some of their development tools in Space Station Silicon Valley as examples. It’s all Greek to me, I’m afraid, but seeing the tools and effort required to make a game, especially one from fifteen years ago, always frightens and fascinates me.
While I’m speaking the world of N64 Magazine, let me link you to Gaming Hell’s dedication to it! It’s not only a well-written piece on why N64 Magazine was tops (featuring scans from long after I stopped collected the magazine), but the entire site is cracking stuff. If you’ve read Random Hoo Haas and you haven’t read Gaming Hell, then, jeez, you deserve some quality in your life! GO THERE. My power over words may not be adequate enough to convince you, but damn it, those bold tags will!
Sorry, I only just saw this. I’m the guy who makes Gaming Hell, so thank you for the link here! I’m glad you liked my N64 Mag salute, even if I was a bit harsh towards ONM.
(It was their insistence on spelling things wrong that did it! It’s ‘your’, not ‘yer’, arrggh!)
Thanks for stopping by!
It was only when I was re-reading the magazines for this feature that I realised how high quality N64 Magazine was, and I’m glad someone was able to give it the dedication it deserves.
Haha, I may have an inexplicable soft spot for ONM, but I can hardly ignore how crummy it was. Charmingly crummy, at the very least!