A disappointment for Jeff would certainly have been the termination of Unity, a game for the Nintendo Gamecube. Work progressed but with a very tight deadline, so it was not feasible to complete it in time. Unity had looked like being an important release for the Cube, but unfortunately it never saw the light of day. However, the time and effort spent on Unity was not wasted, as it led to Jeff being noticed by none other than the mighty Microsoft.


Unity Video Clip from YouTube (monokoma)

Using an Xbox development kit supplied by Microsoft, Jeff started work on developing Neon, which was based on his earlier experimentation with the light synthesis programs, Psychedelia and Colourspace.

Neon would be far advanced from these by harnessing the graphical power of the Xbox in a beautiful way. The graphics can be controlled either by the user or music.

Microsoft were certainly impressed with Neon and it was included as a standard feature on the Xbox 360.


Neon Video Clip from YouTube (neon360)

With the success of Neon, Jeff went on to develop the game Space Giraffe for the Xbox. This games fate would be a re-run of the Mama Llama debacle.

Space Giraffe is a strange, but visually and sonically compelling idea. It's a complex game to play, which many people simply can't get into and to be honest I'm one of them. Some have suggested that it is no more than an unplayably complex version of Tempest, with the fun removed. I think this is unfair.

Space Giraffe has shown what only Jeff Minter can do, it has divided the games community, some love it,  some hate it, others are just confused. The only thing I will say is this, some things never change, MAMA LLAMA, here we go again!


Space Giraffe Video Clip from YouTube (stinkyox)