Editing Amiga Power

{{short description|British video game magazine}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{fancruft|date=May 2021}}
{{or1|date=May 2021}}
}}
{{Infobox magazine
 | image_file = amigapowercover.png | image_size = 200px | image_caption = ''Amiga Power'' #65, September 1996, the final issue
 | editor         = {{hidden|ta1=left|Editors|[[Matt Bielby]] (May 1991–July 1992)<br/>Mark Ramshaw (August 1992–March 1993)<br/>Linda Barker (April 1993–January 1994)<br/>Jonathan Davies (April 1994–June 1995)<br/>Cam Winstanley (July–December 1995)<br/>Tim Norris (March–June 1996)<br/>Steve Farragher (July–September 1996)}}
 | frequency      = Monthly
 | circulation    = {{Nowrap|60,184 (January–June 1992)}}
 | category       = [[Video game journalism]]
 | company        = [[Future plc]]
 | firstdate      = May 1991
 | country        = [[United Kingdom]]
 | based          = [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]]
 | language       = [[English language|English]]
 | issn           = 0961-7310
 | finaldate      = September 1996
 | finalnumber    = 65
}}
'''''Amiga Power''''' ('''''AP''''') was a monthly magazine about [[Amiga]] video games. It was published in the [[United Kingdom]] by [[Future Publishing]] and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996.<ref>{{cite web|title=AMIGA Magazines from the UK |url=http://www.magazines.ch/amigamagsuk.html |website=Amiga Magazines List |access-date=4 October 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150825182144/http://www.magazines.ch/amigamagsuk.html |archive-date=25 August 2015 }}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Amiga magazines by circulation.svg|thumb|right|Chart of Amiga magazines by average monthly circulation. ''Amiga Power''{{'}}s average of 55,000 copies per month "was a medium-high figure for an independent magazine of its sort at the time".{{Sfn|Leibovitz|2013|p=81}}]]

The first issue of ''Amiga Power'' was published in May 1991{{Sfn|Leibovitz|2013|p=81}} after Future Publishing decided, in response to feedback from readers of its magazine ''[[Amiga Format]]'', to launch two further magazines with narrowed interests, the other being ''[[Amiga Shopper]]''. Whereas the latter would focus on the "serious" side of Amiga computers involving programming and productivity, ''Amiga Power'' would be wholly tailored to the gaming audience. Joining the magazine were [[Matt Bielby]] and [[Gary Penn]], previously editors of ''[[Your Sinclair]]'' and ''[[The One (magazine)|The One]]'', respectively, with Bielby being its first editor and Penn as a consultant.{{Sfn|Packwood|2019|p=49}}<ref name=NCE-118/>

Early in the magazine's history, from its inception, ''Amiga Power'' supplied copies of each issue with a [[coverdisk]] containing a full game, distributed to the reader free of charge.<ref name=NCE-118/> Future Publishing pioneered the concept of attaching disks to covers of ''Amiga Format''. However, software publishers complained that people were disincentivised from purchasing their games, and ''Amiga Power'', along with other British computer magazines, soon abandoned the practice in favour of "public domain" (i.e. free-of-charge) software, [[shareware]], and demos.<ref name=Schofield-1991/>

==Philosophy==
''Amiga Power'' had several principles which comprised its philosophy regarding games. Like almost all Amiga magazines of the time, it marked games according to a percentage scale. However, ''Amiga Power'' firmly believed that the full range of this scale should be used when reviewing games. A game of average quality rated on this scale would therefore be awarded 50%. [[Stuart Campbell (game journalist)|Stuart Campbell]] offered some rationale for this in his review of ''[[Kick Off (series)|Kick Off '96]]'' in the final issue of the magazine:

{{blockquote|"Giving something like ''SWOS'' [''[[Sensible World of Soccer]]''] 95% is utterly devalued if you also give, for example, ''[[Rise of the Robots]]'' (a widely-panned fighting game, rated 5% by the magazine) 92%. Percentage ratings are meaningless unless you use the full range, and you can't give credit where it's due if you're pretending that everything's good. What encouragement does that give developers to produce quality? They might as well knock it out at half the cost and in a third of the time if they're only going to get another 3% for doing it properly. Of course, the market will die much faster if people get continually stiffed by crap games, but hey - there's always another machine to move to and start the cycle again."<ref>{{cite web|title=KICK OFF 96 REVIEW - July 1996 |url=http://worldofstuart.excellentcontent.com/world/ap/ko96.htm |access-date=12 February 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102032500/http://worldofstuart.excellentcontent.com/world/ap/ko96.htm |archive-date=2 November 2012 }}</ref> }}

''Amiga Power'' had a section at the front of each issue listing other magazines' scores for games, some with a star next to them indicating that they "appear[ed] as an exclusive, cover disk or a cover", the purpose of the section being to dissuade their readers from subscribing to those magazines concurrently. According to Campbell, those magazines tended to score games along the pattern of "70%, 70%, 70%, 99%". ''Amiga Power''{{'}}s methodology proved controversial amongst game publishers, including, in particular, [[Team17]],<ref name=Parkin-2016/> who would withdraw their advertising and refuse to send them review copies of their games in advance. The magazine found that its competitors' reviewers were influenced by the publishers' campaigns to offer incentives such as perks and free trips in exchange for marking their games highly.{{Sfn|Leibovitz|2013|p=81}}{{Sfn|Packwood|2019|p=50}}

==Style==
''Amiga Power'' reviews were often written in a very personal, informal manner. The writers often used in-jokes, obscure references and running gags. Writers would sometimes embark on anecdotes of recent happenings in the ''AP'' office, or of their interactions with the other ''AP'' staff. This contributed to ''AP''{{'s}} reputation for self-indulgence, but it also created a sense of familiarity.

===Writers===
Many prominent video game journalists, such as [[Kieron Gillen]] and Stuart Campbell used ''AP'' as a first step in their career. Gillen, now a successful writer for Marvel Comics, was one of several writers who started off as an ''AP'' reader and letter-writer (under the name "C-Monster") before being employed by the magazine as a freelance contributor. Another was [[Mil Millington]] (known to ''AP'' readers as "Reader Millington"), who would go on to become a successful novelist, selling over 100,000 copies of his debut ''[[Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About]]''.

Throughout its 65 issues, ''AP'' went through several editors. The editors, ordered by time, were:
#[[Matt Bielby]], ''AP''{{'s}} first editor (issues 1-15)
#Mark Ramshaw (issues 16-24)
#Linda Barker, ''AP''{{'s}} only female editor (issues 25–26; issues 27-36 were edited by Stuart Campbell after Linda fell sick, although he never held the title of editor)
#Jonathan Davies (issues 37-50)
#Cam Winstanley (issues 51-55)
#Tim Norris (issues 59-62)
#Steve Faragher (issues 63-65)

Issues 56-58 were published with no designated editor.

===Concept reviews===
A concept review is a review conducted in an abstract manner - basically, any review which deviates significantly from the usual practice of describing a game and analysing its strengths and weaknesses. Usually, it takes the form of a work of fiction (often a [[screenplay]]) which indirectly reviews the game through [[allegory]]. ''Amiga Power'' featured concept reviews on a regular basis. The term itself (never actually used in the magazine) was an ironic play on the "concept albums" released by prog rock bands of the 1970s.

===Competitions===
Competitions were also run in ''AP''{{'s}} distinctive style, often challenging the readers' wit or creativity. ''AP'' frequently provided strange additions to the usual competition rules, such as making peculiar threats to people who were ineligible to enter the competition if they tried to, or specifically disallowing reader Stuart N. Hardy from entering the competition.

===Characters===
Like its spiritual predecessor, ''Your Sinclair'', ''Amiga Power'' had several joke characters who would make irregular appearances in reviews and features. These included Uncle Joe Stalin, who made occasional Ed Comments in an attempt to erase Stuart Campbell from history; The Four Cyclists of the Apocalypse, the only minor deities committed to rigorous consumer testing; [[Doris Stokes]], who returned from the dead as an even worse medium than before, and several others besides.

==''Amiga Power'' regular features==

===Oh Dear===
One of the earliest ''Amiga Power'' features which appeared in True Stories was Oh Dear, a small monthly feature showcasing poorly rated Amiga games. Oh Dear was removed very early on in the ''Amiga Power'' series.

===Kangaroo Court===
A regular feature which presents a so-called video game "crime", followed by the "case for the prosecution", which is a section illustrating why the crime is a negative thing. The penalty was usually an execution. In reflection of the nature of a real [[kangaroo court]], there is no "case for the defense".

===In The Style Of===
An "In The Style Of" is, as the name implies, a depiction of a game in the style of something else, most often another game. It started out as a Back Page feature but was soon thrown open to readers as a kind of competition and moved to the news section.

Readers could send in [[floppy disk]]s containing their In The Style Of drawn in ''[[Deluxe Paint]]'', and every month ''Amiga Power'' would select the one they liked best and feature it in the magazine.

===The Disseminator===
This feature appeared toward the end of ''AP''{{'s}} life. It was simply a table of recent games, and the percentage scores that they received from ''Amiga Power'' and the two main competing Amiga games magazines of the time: ''[[The One Amiga]]'' and ''Amiga Action''. It also contained annotations on some of the games.

===Just Who Do We Think We Are?===
While other magazines used at most a modest box (the "[[Masthead (American publishing)|masthead]]") to introduce their reviewers, ''Amiga Power'' dedicated a full page to their staff, with photographs and short sections for each member.

===Points of View===
Points of View was a table summarising each ''AP'' reviewer's opinion of the main games reviewed that month, if they had played them. The reviewers had room to make a short comment and give their personal score from one to five stars.

===Do the Write Thing===
"Do the Write Thing" (an obvious pun on the movie ''[[Do the Right Thing]]'') was the magazine's letters page. One distinguishing feature of the letters page was that the magazine gave the letters titles by taking excerpts of the letters' contents out of context, often by going across sentence boundaries or cutting in the middle of a clause.

==Amiga Power irregular features==

===APATTOH===
APATTOH, meaning Amiga Power All Time Top One Hundred, was a yearly feature. It originally started in ''AP'' issue No. 0 (a special "preview issue" of ''Amiga Power'' given away as an addition to an issue of ''[[Amiga Format]]''), and later appeared approximately in every issue whose number was divisible by 12, plus 1.

APATTOH ranked games depending on how the staff liked them. This meant that games that got good press at the time when they came out could end up very low (or entirely absent) on the list. A notable example is ''[[Frontier: Elite II|Frontier]]'', which most other magazines of the time reviewed positively, but ''Amiga Power'' ranked #100 in their top 100 list (emphasising the point by placing it one place below a public-domain version of ''[[Pong]]'').<ref>[http://amr.abime.net/amr_amiga_power_top_100.php Amiga Power All-Time Top 100 Games for 1994], ''Amiga Magazine Rack''. Accessed on 2 August 2021.</ref>

There were two games that held an iron grip on the #1 spot in the list. The first was [[Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2]], a [[Arcade game|coin-op]] conversion [[platform game]] that the magazine controversially deemed their favorite Amiga game for the first two years of its existence. The second was ''[[Sensible Soccer]]'', which took over the top position in the first ''AP'' Top 100 after its release (the game came out too late for the 1992 chart), and never relinquished it (except to its own sequel ''[[Sensible World Of Soccer]]'') for the rest of the magazine's existence.

{{hidden begin
|title=Listing
}}
{|class="wikitable"
!First<ref>Amiga Power magazine issue 0, [[Future plc]], May 1991</ref>
!Number
!Final<ref>Amiga Power magazine issue 64, Future Publishing, August 1996</ref>
|-
|''[[Rainbow Islands]]''
|1
|''[[Sensible World of Soccer]]''
|-
|''[[Lemmings (video game)|Lemmings]]''
|2
|''[[Gravity Power]]''
|-
|''[[Speedball 2]]''
|3
|''[[Guardian (video game)|Guardian CD32]]''
|-
|''[[Sim City]]''
|4
|''[[Sid Meier's Colonization]]''
|-
|''[[Zarch]]''
|5
|''[[Dyna Blaster]]''
|-
|''[[Populous (video game)|Populous]]''
|6
|''[[Cannon Fodder (video game)|Cannon Fodder]]''
|-
|''[[Kick Off 2]]''
|7
|''[[Syndicate (1993 video game)|Syndicate]]''
|-
|''[[Falcon (video game series)|Falcon]]''
|8
|''[[Exile (1988 video game)|Exile]]''
|-
|''[[Indianapolis 500: The Simulation]]''
|9
|''Speedball 2''
|-
|''[[Stunt Car Racer]]''
|10
|''[[Knights of the Sky]]''
|-
|''[[Buster Bros.]]''
|11
|''[[Chaos Engine]]''
|-
|''[[Prince of Persia]]''
|12
|''[[Alien Breed 3D]]''
|-
|''[[Spindizzy Worlds]]''
|13
|''[[Slam Tilt]]''
|-
|''[[Nebulus (video game)|Nebulus]]''
|14
|''[[Micro Machines]]''
|-
|''[[Carrier Command]]''
|15
|''Rainbow Islands''
|-
|''[[Dungeon Master]]''
|16
|''[[Rod Land]]''
|-
|''[[Rick Dangerous 2]]''
|17
|''[[Zeewolf 2]]''
|-
|''[[Ultima 5]]''
|18
|''[[Gloom (video game)|Gloom]]''
|-
|''[[New Zealand Story]]''
|19
|''[[Monkey Island (series)|Monkey Island]] 1 & 2''
|-
|''[[The Sentinel (video game)|The Sentinel]]''
|20
|''[[Shadow Fighter (video game)|Shadow Fighter]]''
|-
|''[[Mercenary (video game)|Damocles]]''
|21
|''[[Dune II]]''
|-
|''[[Paradroid]] '90''
|22
|''Super Tennis Champs''
|-
|''[[Plotting (video game)|Plotting]]''
|23
|''[[Pinball Illusions]]''
|-
|''[[Typhoon Thompson]]''
|24
|''[[Super Skidmarks]]''
|-
|''[[Laser Squad]]''
|25
|''[[The Settlers (1993 video game)|Settlers]]''
|-
|''[[Klax (video game)|Klax]]''
|26
|''[[Super Stardust]]''
|-
|''[[SWIV]]''
|27
|''[[Formula One Grand Prix (video game)|F1GP]]''
|-
|''[[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure|Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]]''
|28
|''[[Jetstrike]] CD32''
|-
|''[[F-19 Stealth Fighter]]''
|29
|''Stunt Car Racer''
|-
|''[[E-Motion]]''
|30
|''Overkill''
|-
|''[[Captive (video game)|Captive]]''
|31
|''[[Wizkid (video game)|Wizkid]]''
|-
|''[[Powermonger]]''
|32
|''[[Head over Heels (video game)|Head Over Heels]]''
|-
|''[[Xenon 2]]''
|33
|''[[Sim City]]''
|-
|''[[Puzznic]]''
|34
|''[[Super Foul Egg]]''
|-
|''[[Super Off Road]]''
|35
|''Car-Vup''
|-
|''[[F29 Retaliator]]''
|36
|''Empire Soccer''
|-
|''Vaxine''
|37
|''No Second Prize''
|-
|''[[Interphase (video game)|Interphase]]''
|38
|''[[Tetris]] Pro''
|-
|''[[Castle Master]]''
|39
|''[[Banshee (video game)|Banshee]]''
|-
|''Car-Vup''
|40
|''[[D/Generation]]''
|}
{{hidden end}}

===F-Max===
In its later years, ''Amiga Power'' started advertising a fictional refreshment [[beverage]] called ''F-Max, the lightly sparkling fish drink'', with the slogan ''an ocean of refreshment''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/ap2/legend/F-Max.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120730122600/http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/ap2/legend/F-Max.html|archive-date=30 July 2012|url-status=dead|title=AP2 &#124; The lightly sparkling fish drink|access-date=7 January 2007}}</ref>

==Amiga Power: The Album With ''Attitude''==
In early 2019, an ''Amiga Power'' fan launched a [[Kickstarter]] campaign<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/amigasquare/amiga-power-the-album-with-attitude|title=Amiga Power: The Album With Attitude Kickstarter homepage|access-date=26 August 2020}}</ref> to create an officially licensed ''AP'' tribute album containing remixes of assorted [[chiptune|Amiga game tunes]], accompanied by a booklet featuring contributions from former members of the magazine's team. The campaign was successful, and in July 2020 the finished album was officially released.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Various-Amiga-Power-The-Album-With-Attitude/release/15459079|title=Amiga Power: The Album With Attitude on Discogs|website=[[Discogs]] |access-date=26 August 2020}}</ref>

Most of the remixes were created by the original composers; among those who contributed to the album were Alistair Bowness, Allister Brimble, Fabio Cicciarello, Mike Clarke, Adam Fothergill, Olof Gustafsson, Jon Hare, Chris Huelsbeck, Carl Jermy, Barry Leitch, Jogeir Liljedahl, Alex May, Anthony Milas, Jason Page, Matthias Steinwachs, and Tim Wright.

The physical album took the form of a small hardback book, with two CDs attached to the inside of the front and back covers, and the 100-page ''Mighty Booklet'' sandwiched between them. The first CD – subtitled ''AP's Pick Of The Pops'' – featured remixes of music personally selected by AP team members (including former editors Matt Bielby, Mark Ramshaw, Linda Barker, Stuart Campbell, Jonathan Davies, Cam Winstanley, Tim Norris and Steve Faragher, plus others), nwhile the second CD – subtitled ''The AP Bonus Coverdisk'' – featured remixes inspired games and [[game demo|demos]] that appeared on the magazine's [[covermount|cover-mounted]] disks over the years. The ''Mighty Booklet'' contained detailed information about each of the tracks featured on the album, including interviews with the musicians, behind-the-scenes facts, anecdotes and asides from the AP team and full song lyrics; a special ''The Last Resort'' section written by Rich Pelley; adverts for ''F-Max'' and a ''Canoe Squad'' movie; a feature entitled ''The Bum Line'', based on ''The Bottom Line'', listing other albums of interest; and an ongoing storyline (following on from the events of AP65) in which the AP team are restored to life by ''The Four Cyclists Of The Apocalypse,'' so they can attend a concert in their honor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaiIfPVnbtU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/WaiIfPVnbtU |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Amiga Power Album Review by SuperNerds UK|website=[[YouTube]] |date=12 August 2020 |access-date=26 August 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

As of August 2020, the album remains available to buy via the original Kickstarter homepage and is also on the websites of C64Audio.com and 010101 Music.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://c64audio.com/collections/chiptune-remix-projects/products/amiga-power-the-album-with-attitude|title=Amiga Power: The Album With Attitude on C64Audio.com|access-date=26 August 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.010101-music.nl/release/album-with-attitude.html|title=Amiga Power: The Album With Attitude on 010101 Music|access-date=26 August 2020}}</ref>

==See also==
*''[[Amiga Force]]''
*''[[Amiga Survivor]]''
*''[[Digitiser]]''

==Notes==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=NCE-118>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/NH2021_New_Computer_Express_Issue118.pdf/page/n4|title=From the makers of Amiga Format|magazine=[[New Computer Express]]|date=1991-02-09|access-date=2024-06-21|issue=118|page=5}}</ref>
<ref name=Parkin-2016>{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/06/history-of-team17-and-worms|title=Worms or bust: The story of Britain's most tenacious indie games company|last=Parkin|first=Simon|website=[[Ars Technica]]|date=2016-06-12|access-date=2024-05-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160612152001/http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/06/history-of-team17-and-worms|archive-date=2016-06-12|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name=Schofield-1991>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian/130161008|title=Discs that make the magazines' front page|last=Schofield|first=Jack|author-link=Jack Schofield (journalist)|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=1991-10-10|access-date=2024-06-21|page=35}}</ref>
}}

===Works cited===
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_D3xAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA81|title=God in the Machine: Video Games as Spiritual Pursuit|last=Leibovitz|first=Liel|author-link=Liel Leibovitz|publisher=[[Templeton Press]]|date=2013|access-date=2024-05-30|isbn=978-1-59947-437-3}}
*{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/retro-gamer-raspberry-pi-buenos-aires/Retro%20Gamer%20195/page/48|title=The Making of Amiga Power|last=Packwood|first=Lewis|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|date=2019-06-13|access-date=2024-05-30|issue=195|pages=48–53}}

==External links==
*[http://theweekly.co.uk/ap2/ AP2] - An ''Amiga Power'' information site created by AP writers Jonathan Nash and Stuart Campbell, with a wealth of behind-the-scenes stories about the magazine.
*[http://worldofstuart.excellentcontent.com/ World Of Stuart] - Stuart Campbell's extensive website, which includes an archive of ''Amiga Power'' and other articles.
*[http://theweekly.co.uk/house_of_nash/ House of Nash] - Jonathan Nash's website, which included a selection of ''Amiga Power'' and other articles, now taken down, but which may put back up in the future.
*[http://www.ntk.net Need to Know] - The fortnightly tech update for the UK, co-written by AP Production Editor, Dave Green.
*[http://www.gamespress.com/ Games Press] - A one-stop PR resource for the games industry run by AP's Gentlemanly Editor, Jonathan Davies.
*[http://theweekly.co.uk/ The Weekly] - Created by Jonathan Nash and Mil Millington. Now ceased, though a return is promised.
*[http://www.kierongillen.com Kieron Gillen's workblog] - By AP's Walking Tips Machine, C-Monster, that previously existed [http://gillen.blogspot.com/ here]
*[http://www.amigahistory.co.uk/amigapower.html Amiga History Guide: ''Amiga Power''] - an alternative history of the magazine.
*[http://amigamusic.tripod.com/Misc_tunes/valhalla.zip ''"It's a skull"''], a famous [[OctaMED]] music file sent to the magazine by a reader<ref>You can use DeliPlayer on Windows or XMMS with ModPlug on Linux to play this file.</ref>
* [https://soundcloud.com/romaudio/the-amiga-power-reunion Interview with ''Amiga Power'' staff, May 2016]
* [https://archive.org/search.php?query=Amiga%20power&and%5B%5D=mediatype%3A%22texts%22 Archived Amiga Power magazines] on the [[Internet Archive]]

{{Amiga magazines}}
{{Future plc}}

[[Category:Future plc]]
[[Category:1991 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1996 disestablishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Amiga magazines]]
[[Category:Defunct computer magazines published in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Magazines established in 1991]]
[[Category:Magazines disestablished in 1996]]
[[Category:Mass media in Bath, Somerset]]
[[Category:Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Video game magazines published in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Defunct video game magazines published in the United Kingdom]]