Jaws / Boys Without Brains
Added on December 1st, 2003 (9396 views)
www.c64.com?type=3&id=73



Tell us something about yourself.
Jacco van 't Riet, 35 years old. Place of birth: Den Haag (the Hague) 09-01-1968. I live in Delft/Holland. I work for the Esselte corporation as a trade product manager. I live with Mirjam and we have two kids and my hobby is still videogames (nowadays Gamecube, GBA etc.). I sort of hate PCs and therefore work on MACs only.

What handle(s) did you use and how did you come up with it/them?
Jaws, I used to play water polo and always performed the "Jaws without teeth" trick for team mates (your bare ass above the water). Therefore they always called me Jaws. Good friends also call me Sjaak nowadays, which comes from Jacques where my real name Jacco originates from.

What group(s) were you in?
BWB a.k.a. Boys Without Brains, the makers of Hawkeye (Thalamus), Flimbo's Quest (System 3), Disposable Hero (Gremlin).

What roles have you fulfilled?
I did graphics only. I never swapped because I had so many guys sending me software. ;-)

How long were you active for?
From 1983 to 1989 I think.

Tell us about those years and how you got into the scene in the first place.
My friend The Intruder introduced me to the scene. From there on I got in contact with Mario (one of the original members of Flash). He still is the best programmer I have seen up to today. He programmed Hawkeye and Disposable Hero for instance.

Describe a typical day for you in front of the computer.
Koala painting and graphics editing all day long.

Did you personally invent any special techniques or tools to make things easier for you?
Yes, Mario (Hawkeye programmer and original Flash member) programmed some great editors for me.

When you look at what you did back then, what are you most proud of?
The fact that we really made products and that most people in the cracking scene did not.

Who were your heroes on the scene and why?
Crack: 1001 Crew and ABC. Programmers: David Crane, Tony Crowther, Ben Daglish and Stavros Fasoulas. Music: Ben Daglish.

What, for you, was the coolest thing ever invented on the C64?
Border and crunch stuff.

Did you go to any copy-parties, meetings or tradeshows?
Yes, Nijmegen and Venlo. Later on we also went to the shows in London.

In your opinion, what was the scene all about?
Have fun and make friends. Play games every now and then too.

What were the particular highlights for you?
For me personally: the introduction of Hawkeye at the CTW in London.

Any cool stories to share with us?
Too many. The best one is that I did what many people wanted to do for a long time: I smashed HCS/5005 in the face on a C64 show in Nijmegen/Holland.

Are you still in contact with any old C64 people today?
Yes. Mario (Hawkeye, Disposable Hero) and Laurens (Flimbo's Quest) are still my best friends. I speak to Stavros Fasoulas (Delta, Sanxion, Quedex) too every now and then.

When did you get your C64 and do you still have it lying around somewhere?
It was broken and I had to throw it away. I still have the most important 5 1/4 discs though.

Was the C64 really as special as we like to think it was?
It was a brilliant little machine which was ahead of it time. It was very solid.

When can we expect to see some new C64 output from you? :)
Never again I'm afraid. Although I've read in the papers that there is a new C64 coming out.

Do you have a message for your old contacts and/or anyone reading this?
I'd like to get in contact just for the fun with Barry (BAF) from Softrunner, Dennis (Intruder) and Joost (Honey/1001).

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