Interview
Handle: POWERPLANT/LEGEND
How did you come up with your alias ?
I don't quite remember but I believe it had something to do with a book I was reading by Isaac Asimov (Foundation series), he kept going on about atomic powerplants.
City / Country:
Antwerp/Belgium
Born year:
1970
What was your first computer, and when did you get it?
My first computer was a Spectrum ZX81, an unimaginable piece of garbage with a terrible keyboard, a memory of 1 K expanded to 16 K with an enormous memory cartridge in the back that kept wobbling back and forth causing the computer to crash all the time. You had to load programs from tape using ordinary tape recorders which took even longer than normal c64 tape routines. I believe I got that machine in 1984, actually I'm quite sure it must be one of the worst computers ever made, next to the Altair maybe.
How did you get into the scene and what groups have you been a member of ?
I got in the scene because Goldfish and I wanted to prove that it was possible to run a successful computer group from Belgium. Everyone claimed it was impossible because there was no local software industry and no fast distributors.
What was the proudest moment in your career ?
I can't really think of a moment that I consider to be the proudest moment of mu career, if it can be called that. Cracking those supposedly uncrackable cartridge games on the c64 ranks high on my list though.
What would you like to be remembered for ?
I hope Legend and I will be remembered for producing fast, quality cracks in massive quantities. Legend stood for quality and speed. If you downloaded a Legend first release, you could be sure it worked, was trained and crunched. This was not surprising because Legend had the best crackers (DOC ex-Ikari, Antitrack) and best original suppliers (XXX ex- Hotline and Talent, Narc/Westbam, Baal) in combination with the best NTSC fixers in the States (e.g. Horizon/NEC/NEI). We ran the group like a semi-professional business, I recall very few instances when we worked on something that we didn't release first. I would like to thank all the people in- and outside of Legend that made this possible during all those years.
What made you stop the scene activity ? (and do you remember when?)
I stopped all scene activity because there were simple not enough wares left on the c64 to make it worth my while. At the time we quit the scene, Legend had nothing left to prove on the c64 and there was not enough left to do. Besides, the demands of my other activities were placing me under ever increasing time constraints.
Thinking back on the good old days, is there anything you regret?
There is not much I regret in my scene career. I had to sacrifice certain things but if you are going to do something, you'd better do it good.
What was your favorite...
I won't get into the details of what was my favourite group, composer etc. Such details are exceedingly boring but I must say that the c64 scene in the broadest sense of the word, is and was an unforgettable experience. Especially when meeting people on the PCW show in London or in the States or Europe.
What are you doing nowadays ?
I am afraid I'm not doing anything interesting scene-wise these days. After finishing law school and subsequent legal specialisation in International and European Law, I will be working as a legal adviser for a multinational company. I do intend to increase my computer activities again slightly at the end of 1996. I don't know under what form yet and maybe I'll never get around to it but we'll see.
What is the meaning of life?
There is no such thing. Everything we do is inherently deprived of any meaning but we can enjoy ourselves whilst we are doing these useless things. The c64 scene was definitely one of these things but alas, time doesn't stand still and we have to move on although I have a strong tendency to cling to the past, otherwise I wouldn't be doing this interview I suppose. I would like to thank all the people of the c64 scene, including I suppose the lamers and the losers because you had to have someone to rag on.