Veteran developr Jeff Minter has revealed that he “like[s] abstract stuff,” which informed his decision to work with Atari on the remake of unreleased classic Akka Arrh.
Chatting to GamesIndustry.biz, Minter recalled the decision process was pretty simple. “They just sent me their back catalog of titles they owned the IP to, and I went through that and chose Akka Arrh because it sounded interesting.”
Of course, while you may have heard of Akka Arrh, you probably haven’t played it. Unless you were one of the lucky few back in the 1980s who played one of the sample cabinets, the only way to get hold of the game more recently was via a dumped ROM. Featuring an unusual zoom-in/out game mechanic, Akka Arrh was never considered to be worth investing in by Atari. Says Minter:
“It wasn’t interesting enough to keep players coming back, so I thought it would be quite an interesting challenge as well to take this flawed game, maybe try and massage the idea a bit, work a bit of me own magic on it and turn it into something decent.
“I hope the original guys will recognize some of their original work still remains inside it.”
The result? Well, you’ll have to wait a few more days to find out. Minter’s modern take on lost 1982 Atari cabinet game Akka Arrh hits Steam next week, February 23rd, 2023. It’s also being released on Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and inevitably, Atari VCS.
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Christian Cawley is the founder and editor of GamingRetro.co.uk, a website dedicated to classic and retro gaming. With over 20 years of experience writing for technology and gaming publications, he brings considerable expertise and a lifelong passion for interactive entertainment, particularly games from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras.
Christian has written for leading outlets including TechRadar, Computer Weekly, Linux Format, and MakeUseOf, where he also served as Deputy Editor.
When he’s not exploring vintage consoles or retro PCs, Christian enjoys building with LEGO, playing cigar box guitar, and experimenting in the kitchen.
