Camel Trophy Videogame twenty years later:

Epilogue

It may have been the appeal of the Camel brand; or the advertising campaign, planned for the first time ever on mainstream media instead of being limited to computer hobbyist magazines; or the great PR work; or the special reception granted by newsstands and distributors: whatever the reason, the Camel Trophy Videogame was an immediate success. I never had the chance to see the official sales data, but the figures told by reliable sources make it the most sold videogame in Italy, its leadership undisputed for the next five years until the big name publishers noticed the newsstands channel potential and started selling videogames (now on CD-ROMs instead of tape cassettes) combined with newspapers and magazines. This success was really considerable because the particular home computer chosen for the project, the ZX Spectrum, while enjoying a good market share, certainly was not the top selling model in Italy, where the 8-bit leader in terms of units sold was - alas - the Commodore C64.

In terms of critique, reception was not as warm. The industry magazines, perhaps offended since they had been systematically (and strangely) ignored by the advertising media plan, almost did not acknowledge the event. The scarce reviews pointed out the difference between the first two game blocks, described as "elegant" and "pleasant", and the more difficult arcade block, varied but lacking in bells and whistles and above all, undeniably "exhausting" to finish. Strangely enough, this latter characteristic had been particularly appreciated by the Camel Trophy staff - generally happy with the overall results - because they felt this way the game conveyed the fatigue of the "real" Trophy. I believe the ambiguity came from the decision to push the game as an "arcade" instead of a "simulator", a genre not yet in high demand as it became a few years later when simulation - interactivity - multimedia were all the rage. On Run issue no. 12, the first published after the Camel Trophy Videogame, we provided some hints and tips for the most difficult parts of the arcade block.

Undeniably, the difficulty of any videogame is often subjective. Proof of this came in early 1986 when we took part in the final Camel Trophy selection tests for assembling the Italian team headed to Australia. We set up a booth of sorts where visitors could play with the Camel Trophy Videogame: many managed to overcome the most difficult situations of the game more easily and with fewer penalties than ourselves - a remarkable feat since, as wisdom goes, game programmers always know a trick or two that others don't. The arcade block was appreciated, and the easier parts were seen as an interlude between more challenging sections such as "Bridge Crossing" or "Land Assembly", in a continuing quest for better scores.

The selection tests, held in the outskirts of Milan, were the final chapter of the whole project. Run had just published its last issue ever, while Simone Majocchi was completely involved with a new endeavor called Lasernet 800, the Italian version of the British Videotex service Micronet 800. The ZX Spectrum itself was prematurely dying, hit by odd business decisions and bad management; shortly thereafter we, too, chose other computing paths, other platforms, other operating systems, new challenges. But twenty years later the Camel Trophy Videogame still enjoys a special place within the memories of those who took part in the project. And for me, it remains a truly unforgettable experience thanks to its mix of enthusiasm, involvement, challenges, and team spirit.

Milan, June 2005
to Donatella, who has run farther than everybody else