The Lost Boys

FOUND BY THE LOST - THE LOST BOYS OF LONDON
by Richard Karsmakers

After the taxi (which set Electronic Arts back for £6.50 -
cheers, Lesley!) brought us to the Coach Terminal at Heathrow
(Terminal Two, I believe it was), we wandered around a bit in
search of two guys that I had heard on the phone before but that
I had no idea of with regard to appearance.
Well...I knew that Tim had complained of growing grey already,
and in a short telephone conversation from EA Tim told me that he
would be wearing a striped shirt, whereas Michael would be
wearing one of those totally tasteless "Wasp" (baawwrrgghh) T-
shirts.
The taxi driver actually didn't know the way - strange but true.
We had to help him read the map and tell him over and over again
that the Coach Station would probably be at Heathrow Terminal
Two.
But, eventually, we got there.
Well.....almost there.
We were dropped off at a place where some buses were located,
but we had to walk another 300 metres or so and go around a
corner to suddenly see two potential juvenile delinquents running
towards us with eager looks in their eyes.
Tim and Michael.
So God probably did exist.

Tim was indeed wearing a striped T-shirt - one of those things
with black/white horizontal stripes that makes you delirious when
looking at them for too long.
He was indeed growing grey, but it gave him a kinda
distinguished look - and it made him look about 22 instead of his
original 18 years of age. Tim just might be the best demo
programmer off the continent (maybe even one of the very best of
Europe...). He would turn out to be a very modest and nice guy -
and Stefan was to learn a LOT that night.
Michael has been living in England for a couple of years now -
he is originally German and he still attends a German school at
quite an enormous distance from his current place of dwelling -
though he is going to move to a different address soon and the
old house is for sale now. He is very enthusiastic and speaks
with an extremely original accent that has lost much of its
Germanity. It would turn out that he can succeed in getting
anyone doing anything when given the appropriate amount of time -
to think of certain lines.
Er...yes....he told us he would have an English test at school
on the 5th...

17:28

Well, after 1 hour of no buses, no trains, no tubes, and loadsa
shit, we finally met up with Stefan and Richard at some car park
in the middle of Heathrow airport. Its hot (weird for England!).
In about 1 hour we should reach the home of the Lost Boys - for
loads of programming and talking and stuff. Now over to Sammy
Joe.

Tim

17:33

Tonight we're going to have lotsa fun; we've put 3 1040 ST
around Manikin's (Tim's, ED.) place and we'll gather around 300
disks with lotsa software and we're gonna have a total piss
about. Now it's only 4 more minutes until the bus to Teddington
should arrive. So, now, we're going to put the little computer
back in the bag - so long.

Michael

After the first initial typing in the Z88, it turned out that
the bus would probably be late. So we decided to start
interviewing these two Lost Boys while continuing to wait and
drinking some Coke from a rather frightfully expensive soda pop
machine at the Coach Station.
Long live the guy who invented Coca Cola!
We started with Tim, the oldest Lost Boy, and I suppose kind of
the 'leader' (main man) of this famous demo group which' "DEF
Demo" was reviewed in the previous issue of ST NEWS). After him,
we also did Sammy Joe (Michael).

What's you place and date of birth?
Tim: 19th February 1971, London.
Michael: 11th of June 1973, Mannheim (West Germany).
How did you end up in the computer business?
Tim: He (pointing at Michael) came to live in my street.
What are your other interests besides computers?
Tim: Women, music (providing it's not heavy metal), spending
lots of money that isn't mine, holidays, having fun, eating, I
don't know.
Michael: Doing backflips (demonstrating the approximate
movement).
What do you dislike most about the software industry?
Tim: Ummm....U.S. Gold.
Michael: The games are too expensive.
What do you consider to be the best game ever written?
Tim: "Backlash", "Dungeon Master"....I've got a few favourites.
"Falcon" is quite good. Cleverest: "Virus".
Michael: "F16 Falcon" and "Populous".
And the lousiest game?
Tim: "Indiana Jones" (the old one, ED.). Just another Spectrum
conversion.
Michael: "1943", from U.S. Gold.
What is your best achievement on the ST?
Tim: The 3D sprites, that you'll see when we get to my place.
Michael: Some old scroller in some old TLB Demo.
What do you think of ST NEWS?
Tim: If it was a paper magazine, I'd buy it. If you'd be selling
it on paper instead of only disks, you would make a lot of
profits. Every single British user of the ST should get it.
Michael: It's pretty good, actually. I like it.
An interesting joke.
Tim: What's green, white and confused? - A frog that doesn't
know what's come over him.
Michael: I don't know any that are short. Pass.
What tools do you use to program, draw, whatever?
Tim: "Devpac" for programming, "Degas Elite" for drawing -
"Spectrum" sometimes.
Michael: Programming "Devpac", drawing "Degas Elite".
What's your favourite book?
Tim: (Thinks a very long time) Shit....eh..."Carrie" by Stephen
King.
Michael: "Neverending Story".
And what's your favourite film?
Tim: (Very resolute) "Licence to Kill". Saw it yesterday.
Michael: Any video by Metallica.
Favourite food - don't tell me it's curry?
Tim: No, I hate curry. Kebabs, that's it.
Michael: Kebabs, as well.
Favourite drink?
Tim: I don't know...er....Martini and lemon. You have to watch
out at my place though, when you spill something on the floor the
glue from the carpet comes up and stains it!
Michael: Some blue, alcohol, 45% drink that looks like Domestos.
Favourite band?
Tim: Act. This used to be Propaganda before they split up.
Michael: Only one? Wasp. Metallica is better. Er...let's take
Metallica.
Who do you think is the most interesting person in the computer
industry?
Tim: Damn....uumm....Steve Bak. He's great.
Michael: This is difficult. I don't know anyone. I pass on this
question.
What are your main sources of inspiration?
Tim: ST NEWS. Of course.
Michael: The other Lost Boys members.
What do you think of software piracy?
Tim: Good....in moderation.
Michael: I like it, as long as people don't sell hacked
software.
What's your worst habit?
Tim: Complete unsubtlety.
Michael: I love Tim.....(Tim: This is a HABIT?!)....no...I talk
too much.
Who's your favourite female?
(As we ask this, a sudden enormous sound of planes flying over
and buses suddenly leaving shudders the air. One might start to
wonder...)
Tim: Kim Basinger without anything on, or wearing something
fairly revealing - you know what I mean if you've seen "9.5
weeks".
Michael: Sammy Jo - Heather Locklear.

18:45

The bus has arrived. We hastily stuff the walkman into the bags
and dash for the long, green vehicle.
We have to get in it, for Tim's parents are waiting with a
barbecue meal for the lot of us (the whole TLB crew and the two
raving reporters).
As we get to the bus, it turns out that it will not leave for
another couple of minutes - and the driver won't even let us us
in. Strange people, those English bus drivers.

Richard

18:51

Well, after about 1 and half hours waiting the bus has
arrived and left; that's English transport for you. Every year
they decide they want an extra holiday and so they take a little
strike.

Tim

18:55

We're now driving with the bus through London airport
(Heathrow), and it is enormous!! Loads of aircraft fill the
runways - Manikin and Sammy Joe are not impressed for they have
seen it all before but believe me it is really massive. It is
really strange that, in times of rampant terrorism, public
traffic is allowed to run straight through Heathrow airport just
like that.

Stefan

19:15

We have arrived in the street where the Lost Boys live.
Normally, the bus didn't stop very near to this place, but
persuasive Michael just asked the driver to stop a bit nearer to
the proper location so that we wouldn't have to walk much. It is
a regular house-in-a-row in a nice London suburb. It's nice and
silent, with prettily groomed gardens and the lot. On the way to
this place, the bus was flown over by a real Concorde, at
approximately 19:00 hours.
We couldn't speak.
We couldn't hear the bus engine any more.
We couldn't hear anything.
I though I had gone deaf but I heard a deafening noise.
Boy....those Concorde planes are surely the meanest noise makers
in the world - even worse than the Disaster Area, if you ask me!

Richard

We've now met the two other members of the notorious demo group
called "The Lost Boys of London": Mark (Sprog) and Dave (Spaz).
Mark is an enthusiastic Heavy Metal fan that is just
always...enthusiastic, really. In spite of his size (which is
rather minute) he can program very nicely and shows it off as if
he has just programmed something extremely simple (needless to
say, what he usually does is not quite simple) - smiling broadly.
Just wait until this infantile 15-year old grows up and you'll
hear of him again... He turns into a headbanging maniac when
hearing certain music, and prefers wearing "Guns'n'Roses" T-
shirts with a cartoon picture of a raped woman on the back.
What's there to say about Dave, Tim's kid brother (that happens
to be longer, though)? He is the sampling specialist of TLB, and
he has grown to be a pretty neat graphics artist as well. We've
seen (and heard) some of his stuff, and the ease with which he
uses Microdeal's "ST Replay" is stunning. He can do ANYTHING with
samples and can rip them off ANY program (please note the
emphasis on ANY).
An interesting detail: Dave is wearing an Iron Maiden T-shirt -
which leaves Tim as the only non-heavy-metallunatic around. Poor
him. I could really imagine what he must have felt like when I
tried to imagine myself in the middle of a "Wham" concert...

20:10

We have just had the enormous pleasure of putting a load of
barbecued meat with lots of salad and various other assorted
foodies behind our teeth. We have also discovered something that
is called "Shloer", a kinda winy drink that is described as being
a 'sparkling red grape juice drink' on the packaging - to be
served chilled.
It has been a great meal, prepared by Mr. Moss (not Tim but his
dad). A pretty interesting chap, this Mr. Moss. He is a scientist
involved in all kinds of fancy (and sometimes secretive)
projects, and it was enthralling to listen to him talking about
his job. Mrs. Moss is also a very nice person - aren't there any
nasty people around in England any more?

Richard

20:45

Tim's room is rather crowded. Everybody seems to be pretty busy
now. Mark and Michael are playing "F16 Falcon" through a null-
modem cable, and Stefan and Tim are showing off their demo stuff.
Tim is now drooling at the demo Stefan did for this issue of ST
NEWS. Stefan is actually allowed to write a screen for the Lost
Boys' forthcoming demo, which will be called "Mind Bomb".
Stefan is very proud to have received that honour.
And Dave and me?
We just look around and generally do nothing.
"Are you on the scanner? I can't see you!" (Mark quote)

Richard

21:18

"OK, let's go crazeeeeee!" (Mark quote)
Everybody is now completely freaking out, and everybody is
coding, looking, drooling, or showering (which I just have done).
It looks like a professional demo programming orgy here, and I am
kinda flabbergasted by FIVE people (of which four are frightfully
juvenile) being very enthusiastic and coding like their lives
depend on it. Although I am not a coding type of guy, I feel
rather at home here. We are staying at Tim's house right now and
we're looking at dozens of sprites, many colours, freaking out,
and the whole shebang...

Richard

22:10

We have just devoured some of the remaining Coke cans that
happened to be lying somewhere in the Moss residence. After they
were preyed upon by the thirsty lot, they were but hopeless
pieces of wrinkled metal in a Garbage Can.
Metallica's "...and Justice for All" is playing at a nicely loud
volume on the background, and the atmosphere is just great.
Stefan is drooling off his chair as he witnesses more and more of
Tim's source code being copied on his disks.
Speaking of chairs....
About a quarter of an hour ago, Tim actually fell off his chair
because the back spontaneously broke off (not even because it was
misused, which his mother was to suspect later!). He fell to the
ground and stood up, moaning about the quality of certain parts
of the formerly intact chair.
Burp (someone quote - I think it was me).

Richard

Thursday, July 5th 1989

00:03

Mark is gone, and Dave and Michael are about to hit the sack.
Tim's parents are in bed as well, and I don't think we'll stay up
long.
Everything is settling down now, nice and sedate.

Richard

00:25

WOW!!
My brains are overloaded with the things I have seen here. Tim
is a brilliant guy when you see the things he has created. He has
developed a new way of scrolling which will give you any effect
you want without any trouble at all. It is amazing (AND: To be
featured extensively in an upcoming issue of ST NEWS!, ED.).
Also, I have acquired some ideas that will keep me busy for a
very, very long time and I can't wait to get home and start
trying things. Anyway, it is getting late and I need some sleep.

Stefan

00:27

Well now its beddy byes time at my house and as we settle down
after a period of heavy pumping (don't be dirty, I was talking
about airbeds!). I notice that Richard has a pillow with a
picture of Sam Fox on it and you'll never guess where the...
enough of that, 'night.

Tim

06:45

Moaning can be heard all around as people are trying to wake up:
Awful sounds, mixed with some vicious yawning and muttering.
The airbed was terrible to sleep on, so I turned out to have
slept on the hard floor of Tim's room instead.
Ouch. My back aches - and we're not even carrying those darned
rucksacks!

Richard

07:41

After an hour of trying we have finally managed to stir
ourselves and get up. Richard is wearing a crazy pair of shorts
with yellow sharks on them and Stefan looks like he has just got
up. It's a horrible sight, just be glad you don't have to wake up
to these guys every morning.

Tim

08:58

Now we are on our way to Kingston to try and buy some Iron
Maiden book for Richard; God knows why he wants it but we said
we'd help so that's what we do. We are currently travelling on a
big red bus, a 281, travelling in the general direction of
Kingston to meet Sprog (Mark, ED.) as since I hate heavy metal I
have absolutely no idea where to obtain this piece of s**t!
Richard and Stefan keep talking in Dutch and I have no idea what
about! Well now we are in Teddington - an example of a small town
on the edge of London, home sweet home.

Tim

10:56

I forgot the name of the place we went to, but they sure as hell
didn't have anything even remotely similar to an book featuring
all Iron Maiden covers.
So we're still without.
We took the 09:30 (approximately) bus to take us to Richmond,
where we would have to get the Subway to take us to the centre of
London again, for our first appointment of today - a visit to
Magnetic Scrolls' Anita Sinclair.
We now sit in the subway, after Tim dropped us off at Richmond
Station. Richard was becoming quite sick in the bus - was it my
imagination or was he really turning green?
We should have been at Magnetic Scrolls at 10 AM, so I guess we
are a bit over time. The ride is a bit bumpy...it goes like...up
and down...up and down...

Stefan