c64 Archives - Intensive Gaming Diary

Herra 47 – Midsummer Festival

Posted on September 15, 2025 by Viljami

Herra 47 – Midsummer Festival is an adventure game inspired very much by Leisure Suit Larry. It is released for C64. You might be surprised about a new game getting released for such an old, or maybe “retro”, type of platform. The game is a new release after all. If you are interested should head to this address for more information and instructions on how to buy the game.

I got interested in this game just last Friday when I got my hands on the new Pelit magazine that is published here in my home country Finland. The magazine is released monthly. Herra 47 is produced by Vector 5 Games. The team consists of just a few people. The game takes strong influences from a comedy show from Finland from late 1980s and early 1990s. This show, called “Pulttibois”, featured this character named Herra 47. It is a character created by actor Pirkka-Pekka Petelius. You can actually find the picture of Herra 47 from this blog posts featured image. The featured image is actually a photo that I took from Pelit magazine just one moment ago.

Pirkka-Pekka Petelius is a funny Finnish and well-known comedian. He played a big role in Finnish television comedy scene and was actually one of the pioneers of Finnish television comedy scene. There was also another actor that played in this comedy series (“Pulttibois”) and his name is Aake Kalliala. Herra 47 – Midsummer Festival takes strong influences from Petelius’s character in this game.

The game is available for a price of about 7 dollars. As the platform is Commodore 64 there weren’t actually no adventure games originally released for C64 back in the day by Sierra. These adventure games that were very popular in the 1980s were based on this particular game creation engine that makes all these Sierra games feel and look like they are developed in this certain and very recognizable way. You can notice this if you have ever played games like Larry, Police Quest, King’s Quest or/and Space Quest. Since all these games used this game engine they all look a bit like each other. There was an update to this engine and it was utilized later to make more advanced adventure games by Sierra.

The idea of a game placed somewhere in fictional Finland (at least I think the game takes place in here) is totally hilarious. My imagination starts running when I think about Petelius’s character, Herra 47, running around during mid-summer, and trying to get some female company. It is funny because mid-summer is a big happening here and almost everyone has a vacation then. So, there are lots of parties and partying going on. If you don’t head to countryside to your summer cottage you can spend your mid-summer also in the city. It is very quiet here then. It is actually a pretty calm period. Thinking about Herra 47 spending his summer days this way is very very funny.

While the game is a good game there are some considerations. The humor might be a bit rough for today’s audience. Also Pelit magazine mentioned that the storyline and all of the puzzles could have been designed a bit better. There might be a sequel coming some time and fans are of course waiting this to be something wild. I think you can enjoy the game if you like old Sierra games and especially Leisure Suit Larry. Technically the game is a definite master piece. Vector 5 Games has done a good job.

Since I am not so much into Commodore 64 and I don’t have a real C64 console this isn’t although a game that I would actually play. The game is interesting. If you are into C64 you should definitely invest a bit of your money and time to this game. I think it really deserves it. The game received a grade of 6 out of 9 (a funny joke also, knowers will know).

The Meaning Of Highscores

Posted on March 2, 2021January 11, 2022 by Viljami

What is the true meaning of highscores in video games? I may not have so accurate details but I can tell you my points and views on this issue. I sure do have experiences about playing very different kinds of video games…or computer games (What would you call them?) in arcades and in a living room. So let’s dive in.

I did a quick Google search with phrase “highscores in video games”. I found articles about a movie called “High Score” but there weren’t any articles about this topic. So this is my idea to write a bit about this topic. I came to this as I was playing Commando Arcade, a C-64 game, that had a high score table in it.

To me high scores haven’t been so important. Today we have characters inside games that have a lot of features which is telling about the diversity of todays games. There is more data moving while you play. But back in the age where Commodore 64 was the best there was a different time.

So high scores in games like these were actually very important and they told the player a lot about how they were doing in the game and how much they had progressed. And if you were playing in an arcade and you had a high score on some machine it was a good way to build a reputation for yourself (or actually for your nickname or anything that could be displayed on the list as a name back then).

Today, we have so many measures to discuss about your character in your favourite video game. For example you have experience points. Many modern games have these features that were introduced in the form of role playing games. They are now mixed with sport games so they have a character that can develope it’s abilities. Games have become more complex as the power of the systems has increased.

Sometimes I don’t feel like playing the newest games. Then it’s time for me to get relaxed playing some retro games that are somewhat more simple. That’s why I like these old games. And it also takes me back to feel some nostalgia.

Pushing Hardware to its Limits (Commodore 64)

Posted on February 28, 2021January 11, 2022 by Viljami

I decided to try playing Commodore 64. I somehow started to admire this product of computer industry. It started as I tried to figure out something new, again, something new that I yet haven’t discovered as a gamer or player. I was born in the 80s. But you would have to be a teenager back then if you picked a Commodore 64 up and really started fiddling with it.

There were just so many possibilities for a person. You could just play or you could learn BASIC and ultimately if you were good at it and had some sort of flow and interest in this technology you could go real far. You could actually learn how the thing works and program it to do whatever you wished to. This can be accomplished with Assembler programming.

My minor experiments are nothing compared to what some witty persons have accomplished. With this in mind I am going to begin. First I watched a video on YouTube that introduced me some games. It had 30 games on it. I picked the ones I found most interesting. Then I did a Google search and found this site . Just to give you a clear picture of what Commodore 64 is capable of doing I am giving you some names of some of the best games that I tested. The games are Amalyte, Bubble Bobble, Commando Arcade, International Karate, Katakis, Lode Runner, Prince of Persia, R-Type and Wasteland.

I have stumbled to Prince of Persia and Bubble Bobble way back when I was using our family’s PC so I already had a picture of what these games are like. They definitely didn’t look visually bad at all. You have to consider what kind of a device was in use. What were it’s capabilities of running games. I could just state here its specifications like processors speed and memory, ROM and RAM, that it had but that isn’t going to tell you much.

Commodore 64 was not so powerful. It is mind blowing how engineers and designers used everything they had to deliver games to consumers. There were many limitations to be taken in consideration. This made it a tough job for graphics designers, programmers and even hardware electronics professionals. They had to split the work depending on their own field of expertise. This is important also today when someone is trying to bring a product to the markets and available.

How did I feel after I tried to play some 1980s games? The limitations are there. As I was playing Commando Arcade I figured out some basic tactics and I find it to be real close to some modern shooting games. The action was fast. I had a modern game pad so it helped a bit. Bubble Bobble was nice. It is almost too familiar to me. And then there was R-Type which is a very nice space shooter. You can forgive the poor graphics because the playability is very good…and also fast.

If you are interested to find out more I suggest you use first your favorite search engine and find an emulator. I really didn’t have any hardware to test these games with. I am not sure if these games are available anymore and I think it’s okay to try them out. Later you can get familiar with hardware and you can actually also build your own C-64 if you have time and knowledge or maybe even both. I find even a small possibility of developing some or any software to Commodore 64 very interesting.