Human / Commando Frontier, The Deadly Friends
Added on February 11th, 2009 (6100 views)
www.c64.com?type=3&id=220



Tell us something about yourself.
My name is Vidar Salvesen, born in 1971 in a beatiful city in Norway called Kristiansand. Having lived here all my life, there should be no need to tell I love it here. I live a bit outside the city with my family in a lovely family house with plenty of space for kids. We have two daughters and a boy due to be born this summer. I work as a sales manager for a large Mercedes-Benz dealer. This kind of job demands quite a bit of hours, thus there's not much time left for hobbies other than my family. Not surprisingly, cars is a big interest of mine, and in my job I'm fortunate to drive dream cars everyday.

What handle(s) did you use and how did you come up with it/them?
My handle was Human. The history behind me choosing the name is quite simple as I was into the group Human League at the time (1985-86).

What group(s) were you in?
I was alone for a while but soon joined Commando Frontier. I think that must have been in late 1986. I had two (active) years in that group before joining The Deadly Friends in 1988. At that time, I was pretty fed up with computers and left after a few months.

What roles have you fulfilled?
I made a lot of demos, so I was a coder and an artist. I also cracked a few games every now and then. I had a lot of friends/contacts all over the globe, so I reckon I was a swapper as well.

How long were you active for?
From 1985 until 1989.

Tell us about those years and how you got into the scene in the first place.
It's been 20 years, and a lot of things have happened since then! It's kinda hard to remember... I was very active and had a lot of friends all over the world. I especially remember my American friends who I used to chat with on conference calls all night long. Having spent so many hours chatting with those guys, I adopted their accent and ended up speaking English with a touch of NY-accent.

Describe a typical day for you in front of the computer.
I got home from school and was then computing all night long! I also spent a few hours at the gym now and then. In my most active years, I usually did not end up sleeping until 03.00 in the morning.

Did you personally invent any special techniques or tools to make things easier for you?
I made a program to create character sets which was very handy. I also programmed a sprite editor.

When you look at what you did back then, what are you most proud of?
Can't say that I'm very proud of any of those things, really. I'm proud of my wife and two kids and having achieved my goals in life; millionaire before turning 30 and having a great job. :-)

Who were your heroes on the scene and why?
I can't remember all those guys, but 1001, TMC and Sodan were all very talented.

What, for you, was the coolest thing ever invented on the C64?
Border sprites! :-)

Did you go to any copy-parties, meetings or tradeshows?
No, I did not. I was only a young kid in those days.

In your opinion, what was the scene all about?
Getting to know other guys with the same interest and passion for the computer.

What were the particular highlights for you?
All those years were one big highlight!

Any cool stories to share with us?
Not really. I remember coming back from two weeks holiday in Spain and my room was filled with parcels from all over the world. I mean, there were hundreds of parcels all over the room. I was shocked when I saw it!

Are you still in contact with any old C64 people today?
Not on a regular basis. I get a mail once in a while from some of my old friends.

When did you get your C64 and do you still have it lying around somewhere?
My father got it from his company and I quickly adopted it. No, I don't have it lying around though I wish I did!

Was the C64 really as special as we like to think it was?
Yes, it was. It inspired a lot of people to learn how to program.

When can we expect to see some new C64 output from you? :)
I'm afraid I've had my share of productions on the 64!

Do you have a message for your old contacts and/or anyone reading this?
Hope you're all doing OK and having someone to love and to love you! These are troubled times for a lot of people. Make sure you help those who are not as fortunate. Take care!

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