Real name: Edgar Vigdal
Handle: Edgar Vigdal
Country: Norway
Some very sad and very serious news for everyone following the development of Warblade Mk II and Deluxe Galaga Reborn. Unfortunately Edgar Vigdal passed away on the evening of the 1st April 2015 of cancer. I believe the death of his father and the toll that brought on him along with his lifelong illnesses had worn him down. We are all shocked and saddened by this news and my deepest warmest thoughts are with his family and friends. I will miss Edgar very much, he has been a big part of my life for many many years now through our long chats and late nights on Skype.
RIP my great friend. Keep on coding…
Simon Quincey.
INTERVIEW WITH EDGAR VIGDAL
Thanks to Edgar Vigdal for responding to our interview request so quickly. For those of you who do not know his work, Edgar was responsible for Deluxe Galaga and Deluxe Pacman and has now updated these games on the PC and Iphone. Below is his interview with us.
How did you first get into programming?The first computer I bought was the Sinclair ZX81. It got 1KB of RAM and built in BASIC. Started learning some simple BASIC programming from books and magazines. Then got myself a Vic20 and started learning assembler coding. I made a small donkey Kong clone by writing and calculating the assembler code by hand. I wrote down all the machine code on paper and calculated branch codes and other stuff. I then got a C64 and made my own tools, an assembler, a paint program and some other stuff I can’t remember now. I made some games for own use and for friends.
What programming software did you use to create Deluxe Galaga on the Amiga?For coding I used a program called Devpac, the graphics was made with Deluxe Paint (I think) Can’t quite remember what I used for the sfx, but I remember I did make a sfx creator program for the Amiga. I also had a Korg MS10 analog synthesizer and made some sounds on that.
You constantly updated the game over the years – did you ever feel you reached a stage where you were truly happy with the game or were you always frustrated that it could be made better?I am still working on the damn game!! 🙂 Even though it’s called Warblade now.
What features of the game are you most proud of?Playability I guess and maybe all the options and features that was added in (Warblade)
What parts of programming the game caused you the most difficulty? I don’t quite remember, but getting the game as fast as possible was always a goal so a lot of optimizing was worked on.
What impressed you about the amiga as a computer?It was a fantastic computer for it’s time. I still have my old A1000 (with signed inside of cover)
Did you ever try to get the game released commercially or was it always going to be shareware?No, it was always just shareware. When it was out the web was still not that big, so getting it around to users was not easy. But it did spread around and got a bit of fame.
How successful has the PC up date been?Many 1000 times more successful then the Amiga version! And the iPhone version of Warblade has also done very very well. There is also a Mac version and I’m working on a Mac App store version of Warblade now. Sort of a Mac version of the iPhone version, as I did add a few more features to the iPhone version. I hope to move this new Mac version over to PC too.
Are there any plans to convert the game to other platforms such as mobile phones?Warblade (Deluxe Galaga) has been out for the iPhone since last summer. With more features then the PC/Mac version had.
How has the computer game industry changed for a programmer since the amiga days of the 1980s and early 90s. Well being a 1 man company is not easy, but it is possible to make a living from it. Making games for the iPhone has made it possible for 1 person and small companies to be successful.
From your website it seems you are still involved in computer game design, are there any current plans or projects you would like to share with us?Still updating Warblade for the iOS/PC/Mac. I have converted my other games to most of the platforms (iOS/PC/Mac). I will start using a game engine called Unity 3D for my future projects, just to make it easier and faster to move a game from one platform to another.
Thank youAmigapd would like to thank Edgar for his time in answering these questions and wish him all the best with his future projects.
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Deluxe Galaga – Amiga
Screen shot taken from Hall of Light website.
Screen shot taken from Hall of Light website.
Screen shot taken from Hall of Light website.
Screen shot taken from Hall of Light website.
Screen shot taken from Hall of Light website.
Deluxe Pacman
Screenshot taken from the Hall of Light website.
Screenshot taken from the Hall of Light website.
Screenshot taken from the Hall of Light website.
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Source: http://emv-software.weebly.com/
http://www.amigapd.com/interview-edgar-vigdal.html
rest in peace Edgar… 
Legends of the Commodore 64 & Amiga scene 
I only learned about his death now in 2020. I am really sad. His games made me remember my youth and even my late 30ies when I got to play Warblade. So sad…
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Edgar had some of the best playability games around. My brother and I had many hours of good fun playing. It has now been almost 5 years and it is still sad.
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In the early years of my amiga i buy many pd games….one of them deluxe pacman and galaga. And was tumbler street a game of you too? I okay all the games vor long time
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aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah man… rest in peace!
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I loved Deluxe Galaga back in the day. R.I.P. Edgar Vigdal.
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Very Sad, I remember having many hours of fun with friends on the original Deluxe Galaga on the Amiga.
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He was a remarkable man!!!
RIP.
E.V at the hall of fame.
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