Edgar M. Vigdal
1958 - 2015
Edgar M. Vigdal was a Norwegian programmer, game developer, and the sole creator of Deluxe Galaga - one of the most celebrated shareware titles in Amiga history. He built it entirely in 68000 assembly language, and did so largely alone, across multiple years and versions, driven by a love for tight, replayable gameplay over flash and spectacle. He lived in Luster, Norway - a small village he described with characteristic wit: "Yes! this is really my address, it's very short for people in the UK, Canada and Australia, but it's long enough for me. Norway is a very sparsely populated country!!! And we really don't need that long addresses!! 8^)"
Edgar passed away on the evening of April 1st, 2015 after a battle with cancer. He was 56 years old. He released the final build of Deluxe Galaga - v2.6C - on April 1, 1995. Exactly twenty years to the day.
Deluxe Galaga is based on the game StarBattle on the old VIC-20. That was one excellent game that I had a lot of fun with. My version is a simple (?) shoot'em up with good game play, but not so much fancy graphics. What I want from a game is some relaxation for a couple of minutes, and then be able to quit and do some more work. - Edgar M. Vigdal, Official Deluxe Galaga Documentation
His options screen said as much as his words did. Ship Armour could be set to "YES, PLEASE!" or "NO ARMOUR!!!!" The 3000 cash limit was for the really tough - everyone else got "(chicken....)" The Cash Sucker toggle? "mostly for wimps" Sampled speech could be switched off by anyone "sick of" hearing the same lines. Every label a small joke, a small wink.
Deluxe Galaga
Released 20 October 1993. Final version v2.6C compiled 1 April 1995 - 47,865 lines of Devpac v3.04 assembler code on an A1200/030/33MHz. Voted #19 in the Top 100 Amiga Games of All Time - the only shareware title on the list alongside his other game, Deluxe PacMan.
Deluxe PacMan
Edgar's other major Amiga shareware release - also voted into the Top 100 Amiga Games of All Time. Two shareware titles from the same author on a list otherwise dominated by commercial releases. That is the measure of the man's work.
Warblade
Edgar personally coded the PC/Mac/iOS port of Deluxe Galaga, released as Warblade. Nearly identical in powerups, bonuses, and alien types - with improved graphics and framerate. It was his final major project.
The original site is gone, but it lives on through the Wayback Machine.
Warblade Site (Archive) ->The Numbers
47,865 lines of hand-written 68000 assembly
0 errors found. 297 optimisations. 720 bytes saved.
1,082+ animation frames
90+ sprites / 185 BOBs on screen at once (030)
114 sound effects
437 KB ECS graphics / 623 KB AGA graphics
Assembly time: 32.44 seconds
Hardware: A1200 / 030 / 33MHz / 6MB RAM
The guide's closing section, written sometime in 1994 or early 1995, announced his plans. Next would be Deluxe Donkey Kong - "a super duper version." He had already started it, then saw a public-domain version that was too close to what he had in mind. After that, JumpMan - "one of my all time favorites!" And beyond that, a version of Radar Rat Race. He asked readers to send him tips, video recordings, graphics, maps, sounds, ideas. None of these games were ever finished. He died with the ideas still filed away.
From the official documentation: "Game in Arcade feeling mode: Select NTSC and switch on the Hz mode inside the game (TAB). This is the mode that I personally like the best!!" On the Enhanced version, that's NTSC video mode with the Hz toggle on. If you want to play it the way Edgar did, that's where to start.
This site exists because of Edgar's work. The 2026 Enhanced version was built as a tribute - new features and presentation layered carefully on top of exactly what he made, nothing removed, nothing overwritten. Graphics and game elements remain the property of Edgar M. Vigdal. Used with permission of his estate.
"Good luck and have a lot of fun !!!! PEACE !!!!"
Luster, Norway - his home