Zetr0: Hello there DazzyBoy, please introduce yourself to the readers.
DaZ: Hello all! I'm Darren AKA DaZZaBoY, admin of the infamous (*cough) OldskoolUK forums. I'm 36 and reside in the south west corner of Cumbria, UK.

Zetr0: What do you do now?
DaZ: I'm currently employed as a pipewelder at BAE Systems (Marine) working on the Astute nuclear submarine programme. I've always enjoyed possessing a qualified trade/skill and keep anything IT related as an active hobby and an occasional source of extra income.

Zetr0: What have you been up to since leaving the scene?
DaZ: I never really 'left' the scene as I wasn't really a firm part of it in the first place. I was contracting and working away from home for quite a few years, so I continually picked up and put the Amiga scene down again. It was a pain missing out on a lot of stuff like the early BBS scene (Digital Candy) and the busier periods of classic scene groups but the good pay allowed me to fund a LOT of snazzy hardware which was a horrendously, expensive game on the Amiga. I did keep my finger on the scene pulse when I could though and WinUAE now allows me to fill in those little grey areas.

Zetr0: Are you still in touch with your old crewmates?
DaZ: I'm not in touch with any of my old swapping contacts or group buddies these days (which is a shame) but hopefully one day, a few of them will do some nostalgic 'googling' and drop in here to say HI, as a good few oldskoolers have done so far. :)

Zetr0: What do you do in your spare time when not at a computer (or console)
DaZ: My current hobbies are weight training, pimping/riding my mountain bike, drinking and keeping my house free of needless clutter, hence selling weird and wonderful items found under the bed via Amibay and fleaBay. Oh, and trying to be a good husband and an all round diamond geezer.

Zetr0: What's your favourite game at present?
DaZ: I'd have to say the full Guitar Hero series on the PS2 is rocking my boat at the mo + anything on the Wii.

Zetr0: How did you get into the scene
DaZ: I first got into the Amiga scene when I straight swapped my Sega MD for an upgraded A500. There were numerous, knock off games included with the bundle and I loved the work that went into the cracktros produced by the major cracking groups. It's just a shame some of the cracktros were better than the games they were made for!

I then found some good PD libraries and got myself a few swapping contacts via diskmags, which in turn unlocked the door to the rest of the UK and euroscenes.

Zetr0: Could you list your top 5 favourite Demos / Productions and why?
DaZ: 1. Desert Dream / Kefrens - A legend! Still feels as good today as it did when first released.

2. Big Time Sensuality / AXiS - One of the first AGA demos I ever saw on my A1200 and totally blew me away!

3. 9 Fingers / Spaceballs - For the A500, the FMV sequences looked cool and the soundtrack rocked. Also, it was one of the first multi-disk demos that utilised my external floppy drive.

4. Maximum Overdrive II / Rage - This has always been a fave of mine and oozed quality. The scanlined video played havoc with your eyes but it was a polished production done in a FUN way. It still gets fired up under WinUAE and makes me giggle everytime.

5. Jesus On E's / LSD - Another all time classic! Graphically, not brilliant but the mix by Echo totally rocked it and was one of the better prods around at that time. Plus, it worked on all Amigas.

Zetr0: What defining moment made you feel part of the scene?
DaZ: Mmm, that's a tough one. I'd have to say I felt part of the scene when I came across diskmags like Deadlock, Grapevine and latterly - The Word from NFA. It was great reading articles from a huge expanse of people across the scene and actually seeing some of your own articles published was a buzz.

Zetr0: What are your likes in the scene ?
DaZ: My main likes in the scene are those who are positive, like to be prouductive and have a balanced, friendly attitude. I also like the whole nostalgia scene and those who put time into recreating the good vibes from the past ie: Flashtro, Demon Download, Intro Interno + others.

My scene dislikes are self-obcessed, crabby individuals whose attitudes haven't really evolved much in the last ten years. Have a coke and a smile you mo-fo's!

Zetr0: Do you have any claim to fame?
DaZ: I think my only 'real' claim to fame was having a couple of home made games compilations published on a well known PD library and appearing in the top 20 bestsellers. Check inside the back cover of the last ever edition of CU Amiga if you don't believe me (:

Mr.Q's Classic Arcade vols 1 & 2 (available from our Amiga download area)

Zetr0: What prompted you to start the Old Skool UK forum ?
DaZ: The oSuK forums were created from the ashes of the Grapevine.net revival and the death of the Ellesdee servers. I knew for a fact that everyone involved would just drift away if we didn't have a source to stay in touch as a group and chew the fat, so that was the main motivation behind the conception. We have evolved well as a small, niche forum in our 3 years of service and may she have a long, healthy and distinguished life.

Zetr0: What other scene based projects are you into at the moment?
DaZ: I've pretty much washed my hands of releasing anything remotely scene based now-a-days but I want to continue to evolve oSuK by throwing new ideas at it and helping the community grow. I'm also attempting to pull in new interest by reaching out to those who've been out of the game for a good few years.

Zetr0: What computer platform is a defining one for you?
DaZ: The obvious answer here has got to be the AMIGA! She was an institution that will never be equalled or bettered.

Zetr0: Okay dazzy your on an deserted island, what 5 games would you take with you yes, you will have the computers / console / monitors and electrickery to play them too.
DaZ: I'd have to say :-

1. Unreal Tournamment 2004 with custom maps (not tried UT3 yet). Do I have broadband axss on this island? lol

2. My custom made copy of Guitar Hero II

3. Gunstar Heroes / Megadrive - a strange choice to some but a totally crazy, blastfest which I loved!

4&5. Can I include the entire MAME set and WinUAE with full TOSEC sets as my fourth and fifth choices. Pretty please? (:

Zetr0: There was a lot of bother about you wanting to carry on the "Grapevine" mags, in 20 words or less can you explain it to the readers.
DaZ: We did it all in the name of nostalgia, nothing more nothing less!

Zetr0: Whom (group / prod / person) do you reminisce about most in the scene?
DaZ: I can't think of a particlular individual or group that inspired me, as there was so much talent to choose from. More recently, MFX/Kewlers collaborations like 1995 and prods of a similar vein, give a nice nostalgic ambience of the better, more productive times of the scene.

Zetr0: What is your favourite genre of game ?
DaZ: I was always a sucker for a good shoot-em-up, be it vertical/horizontal shooters or modern FPSes. I don't really dedicate a lot of my time to games, so I like something you can get into easily and have a quick fix. Most FPS'es bore me rigid but the likes of UT have always been a winner.

Zetr0: What in your mind do you think is the worst production?
DaZ: I couldn't really pinpoint one particular game or production that I consider the worst, although there have been a number of stinkers over the years. Probably, films remade into bad games (crap gfx + lazy programming) have to be high on my poop list.

Zetr0: Have you been with any production crews, if so what productions have you been in?
DaZ: I did a few bits 'n' pieces with a couple of small UK groups and with a few mates but they were mostly for private viewing or they fell flat on their arse before they got released. It's amazing how lethargy killed many a good prod.