SNES Final Week Interview: Sam Dyer – Bitmap Books | GamesYouLoved

In the last week for the Kickstarter Campaign for the SNES/Super Famicom book – we spoke to Sam Dyer – here’s what he said.

GYL.What are you feeling with the last week going into the campaign – obviously you hit the target very early, there’s a week to go now what’s the camp feeling like now at Bitmap Books? 

Sam. Really happy with how the last few weeks have gone – it’s done amazingly well. Really excited and happy the book’s going to be in line with the NES book because that went down so well with backers.

The fact that the SNES book going’s to have the lenticular cover and gatefolds is a really cool thing – yes really excited for this last week!

Trailer for Kickstarter:

GYL. For somebody coming into the SNES book, if you’ve never seen your range of books for the first time, you’ve got other books available, because you’ve been doing this for some time now?

Sam. Yes so the Super Nintendo visual compendieum is the 5th in the series of compendiums. We started back in 2014 with the Commodore 64 Visual commpendium and the idea for this series of books is really because I’m a graphic designer and I’m really into visual art books and there wasn’t really anything like that out there for the Commodore 64.
I really wanted to merge my two hobbies if you like of graphic designer and retro gaming fan. So I wanted a very visual book with some commentary and text but it was mainly all about the graphics, celebrating all the great graphics and it started from there on the Commodore 64 and we followed that up with the second series on the Amiga which was hugely popular and that was a really big book, 420 pages.

Then book 3 was on the ZX spectrum which was great actually because when you convert screen colors to print sometimes they go sort of dull you can’t get the brightness and especially with the ZX spectrum with the very RGB bright colour palette we actually used fluorescent inks in the book which gives it a really bright vivid appearance and looks really cool.

Then book 4 was on the NES so it was really cool to start doing books on Nintendo and obviously there were loads of games for on the NES also covering Japanese games on the Famicom and then book 5 onto the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom.

GYL. So you’ve got a lenticular cover on this SNES as well as the NES. What’s the cool thing about having that on the cover?

Sam. I first remember the lenticular effect from school because we used to have rulers with it on. So for those of you who don’t know what lenticular is it’s almost like a grooved plastic so you can have print underneath but you can have a couple of images so when you move the cover it almost amimates between the two frames and it works really well on the NES book because for instance you’ve got Mario standing and then he’s jumping or you’ve got the guy from river city ransom doing a standing and then he punches.

It’s just a really fun interactive way of bringing a book cover to life. And I think everyone remembers lenticular from their childhood as well, so it’s got that little bit of nostalgia and it works really well and is a real talking point and the Super Nintendo book is looking really fantastic with it.

GYL. And it’s safe to say you had a SNES in the 90s.

Sam. I did indeed, I had one just after my C64 – then Amiga.

GYL. And can you remember what games you got with it?

Sam It must have been about 1992, at the time I had a Commodores 64 so I was used to seeing 8 bit graphics and then suddenly I saw F zero running on this Super Nintendo doing all the mode 7 3D tricks and speed and everything and all the colours were just amazing and I remember mouth open looking at this demo unit and playing on it in Dixons.

Those not from the UK  -Dixon’s was a kind of High Street electronics shop which was great to spend time looking and playing games. They had one of those free standing SNES demo units and it was amazing!

A couple of years later I got my own Super Nintendo and I had Street fighter 2 and Super Mario World. I used to love playing Axlay and Krusty’s Super Fun House was another favourite of mine, so quite obvious games really –  but some great memories playing on them.

GYL. Great nostalgia but also fantastic game play, SNES isnt it really great?!

Sam. That was the thing, coming from the Amiga I love the machine – but it always fell short when it came to arcade style gameplay. It didn’t feel slick like the consoles did.

It was great at mouse games but when it came to emulating games like Final fight or Street Fighter or arcade platformer It never felt quite right.

For me the Super Nintendo and the Mega Drive, they nailed the arcade game play for me, especially Street Fighter 2 on the SNES which was just an amazing port and for me it was arcade perfect.

GYL. So we’re putting this out on Monday and we’ve got under a week to go, 7th May this finishes up for all the backer rewards which is quite a package as it stands. If you want to find out about the campaign – there’s a few places people can go, where are they?

Sam. So the campgain URL is www.snesbook.co.uk and that’s probably the best play to go that’s the direct link to the kickstarter campaign.

GYL . And people can follow you on Follow you on facebook and twitter too?

Sam.Yes that’s right – on Facebook for Bitmap Books and Twitter and I have my own Twitter too (links highlighted)

GYL. Thanks very much for your time Sam – appreciate it.