Community Spotlight: The Bear Essentials

Today's spotlight is on Graham Axten, creator of The Bear Essentials (2016).

The Bear Essentials is a beautifully crafted platformer, featuring 60 screens, 350 apples to collect, gorgeous pixel art, and gameplay that rewards patience over speed. It was named a Game of the Year, not once, but twice. One play through and you'll know why.

We are so excited to bundle it with every new Commodore 64 Ultimate and we're grateful Graham took some time to share his experience with us. Enjoy!

Where did the idea for The Bear Essentials come from?

I had wanted to make a platform game for the Commodore 64 for many years and thought I would have another attempt after discovering my old C64C in the loft. I came up with the idea of making a Manic Miner / Jet Set Willy inspired game, but with graphics inspired by the Creatures games.

I had the character of Bear in mind for a long time and decided that collecting apples could make for a cheerful and colorful Commodore game.

What makes The Bear Essentials special for you?

I put many many hours into creating and planning out the game over a couple of years, and I became very fond of Bear and his world over that time! I really put all of my efforts into the game to make it the best I could manage, and am very proud of the outcome! It means a lot to see it become a small part of the relaunch of Commodore :)

y great stories to share from development or release

Any great stories to share from development or release?

I have really fond memories of releasing the game with Vanja of Pond Software, and it made me very happy to hear of Commodore users playing the game with their kids - and even to hear of kids doing 'the Bear dance' while listening to the title screen music!

What's your personal connection and history with the Commodore 64?

It was my first computer after playing with my Dad's ZX Spectrum through the 80's. That first Christmas was magical, playing Flimbo's Quest, Turrican and a demo of Creatures 2, and then hunting down cartridge games and experimenting with sprites, tinkering with an Action Replay cartridge - endless hours of fun!

What are your top 3 Commodore 64 titles and why?

I really enjoy Creatures 2, Flimbo's Quest and Toki.

What's it like to see your title on the Commodore 64 Ultimate?

It's honestly a joy to have my game play a small part in the relaunch of Commodore! I hope the new Commodore 64 Ultimate users enjoy it :)

Any tips for others creating with and/or for the Commodore 64?

The C64 is a really nice computer to develop for, with the hardware sprites and scrolling. Assembly language is very satisfying once you get the hang of it, and there are many resources and helpful people to assist on your programming journey - dive in and have a go!

Note: Graham has released an over 50 page developer diary on the making of The Bear Essentials. Find it on his itch.io page! 

Which Ultimate is your ultimate Ultimate?

BASIC Beige

Where do you hope Commodore goes in the future?

I'm hoping the relaunch continues to be a great success, at this point it's just nice to see Commodore back in the news where we are used to hearing about modern tech and AI!

What are you currently working on?

I'm just finishing up a compilation disk of all of my C64 games as it's been 30 years since I wrote my first game on the C64. I've also been having a go at making something for the ZX Spectrum Next so hope to get something released for that machine in the future.

Look out for my game compilation disk soon, and hopefully there will be more games to follow!

What would surprise people about you?

I'm probably in the minority here, but would love to see a remake of the E.T. Atari videogame for the C64 (!)

How do people find you?

My Itch page: axtevision.itch.io

Mastodon: @zxmutant64@mastodon.gamedev.place

We'll poke the Bear. Atari, we love you... should we make Graham's wish come true?!

Thanks for taking the time Graham! We're excited to see what's next.

Can you help Bear gather supplies for the winter; and survive whatever’s hiding in that mine? Power up The Bear Essentials and on your C64U today!