Interview: Gaztee

Only a few weeks to go until JagFest UK - we catch up with organizer, Gary Taylor

Gaztee: OK, I will be 31 by the time of JagFest UK. I work in a pathology laboratory as a trainee biomedical scientist (not just doctors and nurses in the NHS you know) and to subsidize my love of the Far East also work as a chef in a restaurant. Then there is the day release to uni' as well, so spare time is a rare thing, but now that's the boring stuff out of the way!

I got my first Jaguar way back in Christmas 1994. I got the Doom package and also the mighty Alien vs Predator. It was the prospect of playing all those updated 2600 classics which drew me to give up my [Sega] Mega CD and Do the Math! I have since then managed to complete my collection of Jaguar goodies. This I did when I finally got my hands on a copy of the mighty BattleSphere, which I thought I would never do! I have dabbled with various consoles since then, the Saturn, DC, 3DO, but always come back to my beloved Jag (big, "Ahhhh" please!).

As you may have gathered, my love of all consoles Atari started way back with Pac-Man and the good olde VCS, which I do still occasionally dust down for a bash. I finally gave in to the 7800 when I saw one in Toys R Us back in the early '90s! So when the Jag came along just a year or two later, I just knew I had to have one. I did actually have my original Jag stolen, but this only led me into getting a Jag and a Lynx as replacements at a price I just couldn't resist.

The ST I have to say just sort of passed me by, although I did briefly have one. The Falcon was of more interest, but way out of my price range at the time. That just about concludes my Atari history, did I miss anything?

MyAtari: How and when did you get the idea for a JagFest UK?

Gaztee: Well, really by being in the right place at the right time I managed to obtain more than one copy of BattleSphere and Air Cars. When I eventually managed to get my third CatBox I dragged my ass over to my brother's and linked all three together. I was amazed how much fun this was, especially with Air Cars, which despite its rarity is still regarded as one of the Jag's worst games. This led me to think how much fun it would be to play with people who are actually interested in the Jaguar and not the PS2!

MyAtari: Was it difficult to get the ball rolling? Much of what is said never comes to fruition, despite all good intentions. Please tell us what you did to get to this stage, as it may help and inspire others who may be planning similar events but don't know where to start.

Gaztee: Last year I put a post at the Jaguar-UK group at Yahoo! to see if anyone there was interested in having a little networking session in Birmingham. There were about five people interested, so I posted at the events section on AtariAge and got a further response. But my time was taken up with work, so nothing happened, but the seed had been sown!

Well earlier this year I eventually got the nerve to put a post on the Jaguar message board at AtariAge, JI2 and the Jaguar-UK group at Yahoo!. It was on the AtariAge board where this just went mad. All I did was ask if anyone would be interested in having a little networking session on BattleSphere and Air Cars. So before I knew it I had people from all over the UK and Europe saying that they wanted to come along too. From this point the snowball just got bigger and bigger. Eventually someone (Nick "The Tyrant" Turner) suggested some proper organization was needed and set up the web page and told me I should be the one in charge as it was my idea, so the hunt for a venue began!

MyAtari: Have you planned anything like this before?

Gaztee: The closest I came to organizing anything like this was setting up the golf society at the hospital I used to work at (which is still going over four years later!). But nothing at all like this. This is so much more exciting. I only got on-line a couple of years ago and was amazed at how much activity there is in the Jaguar community. I got into reading and occasionally posting on the JI2 and AA sites, it was all fascinating stuff. I am sure that we have lots to talk about as well as playing on our beloved console.

MyAtari: Now Nick Harlow of 16/32 Systems is heavily involved in the administration side as well as attending with a retail stand. Have you worked with Nick before? How did you join forces?

Gaztee: Nick has been a complete Godsend. Nick is the driving force behind the whole event really and I have to say without him this upcoming weekend would just not be the same. It's sort of like having a dream and having someone making it come true for you. I had never dealt with Nick before, although I did know of 16/32 Systems, as they were one of the few people stocking Jaguar items after Atari went bump. Nick was the man who found the venue for us and his involvement has just grown from there. We are trying to co-ordinate everything so everyone has as much fun as is possible during the weekend. I know that Nick would like this to become an annual event, or even a bi-annual event. If the JagFest is a big hit as it seems it is going to be it will be mainly down to him. I think all I have to do is get the Jaguar section sorted out and now that I have a break from uni', I will be able to put some more time in.

MyAtari: What do you anticipate for this event?

Gaztee: Fun, fun, fun. The fact that we will have a brand new (albeit incomplete) demo being sold officially for the first time at the fest is amazing. This the game film American Hero, which Nick "Stone" Bamji will be selling for the bargain price of only £3. We hope to have a nice touch on this for those going to the fest, but I don't want to say too much now, just be there in person to pick up your copy! The chance to network eight copies of Air Cars and maybe even BattleSphere is just amazing. I personally don't know of this happening in this country before. And with both these games being amongst the Jaguar's rarest, it could be an opportunity for someone to see them for the very first time!

Also getting its first airing publicly is Soulstar, again Nick Bamji will be showing off this very very rare prototype and I personally will have some actual footage of a game that will probably never see the light of day! How this will be done has yet to be finalized!

MyAtari: What void does the event fill, or is its purpose to be something totally new?

Gaztee: It does not really fill any void, as I feel my lfe is busy enough as it is. What it does do is allow all of us lovers of all things Atari to get together and hopefully enjoy each other's collections, stories, to make new friends and maybe, just maybe encourage us to do this sort of thing more often!

MyAtari: Finally, what have you got to say to everybody who hasn't yet registered for JagFest UK?

Gaztee: You just gotta come along it is going to be a fantastic weekend. We got lots to see and do, even the odd prize or two! There is BattleSphere Gold up for sale, and new ScatBoxes too, new games are being released and possibly even brand new games that are being worked on as we speak now will make their first public appearance! Basically, if you own a Jaguar you just gotta be there!

MyAtari magazine - Feature #8, May 2003