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Bug-Byte Software Games
Bug-Byte Software Ltd. was a video game company founded in 1980 in Liverpool, initially producing software for the Acorn Atom and ZX80. Bug-Byte's first hit was Don Priestley, Don Priestley's ''Mazogs'' which was one of the most successful titles for the ZX81. In 1983, it published ''Manic Miner'', considered to be one of the most influential platform games of all time. The company went into liquidation in 1985 but their name and logo were purchased by Argus Press PLC for use as a budget software label. Formation Bug-Byte was founded by Tony Baden and Tony Milner, two Oxford University, Oxford chemistry graduates. In 1981 they paid £75 for ''The Damsel and the Beast'' for the ZX81, the first game produced by Don Priestley, a former teacher who had learned programming from a night school course. Priestley produced two further games considered to be classic ZX81 titles, ''Dictator'' and ''Mazogs'', [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population of (in ), Liverpool is the administrative, cultural and economic centre of the Liverpool City Region, a combined authority, combined authority area with a population of over 1.5 million. Established as a borough in Lancashire in 1207, Liverpool became significant in the late 17th century when the Port of Liverpool was heavily involved in the Atlantic slave trade. The port also imported cotton for the Textile manufacture during the British Industrial Revolution, Lancashire textile mills, and became a major departure point for English and Irish emigrants to North America. Liverpool rose to global economic importance at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and was home to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, firs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Popular Computing Weekly
''Popular Computing Weekly'' was a computer magazine in the UK published from 1982 to 1990. It was sometimes referred to as ''PCW'' (although that abbreviation is more commonly associated with ''Personal Computer World'' magazine). Overview The magazine was first published on 23 April 1982. Its subject range was general, covering gaming, business, and productivity software. The founding company was Sunshine Publications based in London and the launch editor was Duncan Scot. During 1989 it incorporated ''Computer Gamesweek''. It was noteworthy for being the UK's only national weekly computer magazine of the time, and for its back page being dominated by an advertisement in the form of a comic strip, '' Piman'', by the firm Automata UK between the years 1983 and 1986. A further noteworthy feature of the early editions was the high-quality artwork on the magazine covers. These had disappeared by 1983. One other noteworthy and regular column was about adventure games, notab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Savage Pond
''Savage Pond'' is an action pond simulation game which was written by Peter Judd for the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro, and by Gwyll Jones for the Atari 8-bit computers in 1983 and the Commodore 64 in 1984. It was originally released under the Starcade label and was reissued in 1985 when Argus acquired the Bug-Byte budget label. Overview The game is set in a pond with the player taking the role of a tadpole. The aim of the game is to build up a colony of frogs while avoiding the many hazards. The setting and characters are all quite true to life which was quite unique at the time. Most contemporary arcade games, even if not set in space, such as ''Frogger'' (with frogs that cannot swim) and ''Centipede'' (which is basically a space shoot 'em up with characters that look like insects), were far from realistic. The instructions include descriptions of all the 'cast' including their Latin names and information not relevant to the game itself. Although it may appear to be an educatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turmoil (1984 Video Game)
''Turmoil'' is a platform game released in 1984 in video gaming, 1984 for the ZX Spectrum, and in 1986 in video gaming, 1986 for the MSX by Bug Byte. The player takes control of Mechanic Mick who has been employed by a rich Arabian Sheikh. The Sheikh has refused to pay Mick for work done, so Mick decides to steal his collection of expensive cars in lieu of payment. He must build the cars by collecting oil from a dripping oil tank. The oil can also be used as an offensive weapon against the pursuing Arabian guards. Gameplay The playing area consists of a number of platforms, ladders, conveyor belts and swinging ropes which Mick must negotiate. First he must collect an oil can, which he must take to a tap which is dripping oil. The oil that has been collected must be taken to the garage. Once there Mick can empty his can, a drop at a time, to fill his car. The car is invisible initially, and is built up as each drop of oil is deposited. On the first level the car is a Mini, but as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Split Personalities (video Game)
''Split Personalities'' (first released as ''Splitting Images'') is a sliding square puzzle game that involves piecing together the faces of famous personalities and politicians. The game was developed for the ZX Spectrum by Ernieware and published by Domark, who also ported the game to the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and Commodore Plus/4. The game was later released in 1993 for the Game Boy under the name ''Splitz''. Gameplay The game presents a blank grid for the player to engage with. The player controls a flashing cursor which can be moved at will over the canvas. Puzzle pieces are brought into play by pressing the fire button on a dispenser in the top corner of the grid. Pieces can then be slid about the screen. When a piece is moved, it can only be stopped by the walls of the play area or by another puzzle piece. A miniature preview of the completed image acts as a guide for the player and also highlights the piece of the puzzle that is currently being controlled. There are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A View To A Kill (video Game)
''A View to a Kill'' are two separate video games released in 1985 and based on the James Bond film '' A View to a Kill''. The first, an action game titled ''A View to a Kill: The Computer Game'', was developed and published by Domark. It was available for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, MSX, and Oric. The second game, ''James Bond 007: A View to a Kill'', is a text-based adventure for MS-DOS, Macintosh, and Apple II. It was developed by Angelsoft, and published by Mindscape. ''A View to a Kill: The Computer Game'' Domark created an action game split into three separate sections, inspired by scenes from the film. The game starts with the famous movie intro sequence of the moving gunsight and Bond shooting towards the camera. The MSX version omitted the first two sections. In the first section set in Paris, James Bond commandeers a taxi to follow May Day who has parachuted from the Eiffel Tower. Roadblocks and police cars are out to stop Bond, who can shoot his p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Domark
Eidos Interactive Limited (formerly Domark Limited) was a British video game publisher based in Wimbledon, London. Among its franchises were '' Championship Manager'', ''Deus Ex'', ''Hitman'', ''Thief'' and ''Tomb Raider''. Domark was founded by Mark Strachan and Dominic Wheatley in 1984. In 1995, it was acquired by software company Eidos. Ian Livingstone, who held a stake in Domark, became executive chairman of Eidos and held various roles including creative director. Eidos took over U.S. Gold in 1996, which included developer Core Design, and merged its operations including Domark, which created publishing subsidiary Eidos Interactive. The company acquired Crystal Dynamics in 1998, and owned numerous other assets. In 2005, parent Eidos was taken over by games publisher SCi. The combined company, SCi Entertainment Group, which was briefly renamed Eidos, was itself taken over by Square Enix in 2009. Square Enix completed the merger with Eidos Interactive by November 2009, abs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grandslam Entertainment
Grandslam Interactive Ltd. (formerly Grandslam Entertainments Ltd. and later Grandslam Video Ltd.) was a video games software house based in Britain. It was formed in late 1987 from a management buy-out of Argus Press Software by former Argus Managing Director, Stephen Hall and close friend David C. Dudman. Grandslam developed and published many games for home computers during the 1980s and 1990s. Originally based in central London, the offices were relocated to Croydon in 1990. List of games 1987 *''Terramex'' 1988 *''Chubby Gristle'' *''Espionage'' *''City Survivor'' *''The Flintstones'' *''Pac-Land'' *''Pac-Mania'' *'' Peter Beardsley's International Football'' *'' Alternate Reality: The City'' 1989 *'' The Running Man'' *''Saint & Greavsie'' *''Thunderbirds'' *'' Chambers of Shaolin'' *''Warp'' *'' Terry's Big Adventure'' *''Trivia - The Ultimate Quest'' *'' The Seven Gates of Jambala'' 1990 *''The Hunt for Red October'' *'' Scramble Spirits'' *'' Space Harrier II'' *'' L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alien (1984 Video Game)
''Alien'' is a 1984 hybrid strategy/adventure video game developed by Concept Software and published by Argus Press Software for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum, and later ported for the Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ... in 1985. It is based on the science fiction horror film '' Alien''. Gameplay ''Alien'' is an omniscient menu driven game. The player is put in charge of all of the crew members of the ''Nostromo''. The game starts with one of the crew members being killed by the alien, which mirrors the death of Kane when he gives birth to the alien in the movie. The player moves the characters around on a map-grid representation of the ship as they search for the alien. Littered around the map are various objects that are useful such as nets, incinera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quicksilva
Quicksilva was a British games software publisher active during the early 1980s. Quicksilva was founded by Nick Lambert in 1980. The name Quicksilva was inspired by a particular guitar solo in a track on the album Happy Trails by Quicksilver Messenger Service. Quicksilva mainly released games for the ZX81, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum, but also did conversions and some original games for the VIC-20, Dragon 32/64, Oric-1/ Atmos, BBC Micro and Acorn Electron home computers. One of their earliest titles was ''QS Defenda'' (originally ''QS Defender''), a clone of the ''Defender'' arcade game for the ZX80 and ZX81 home computers. Greater success followed with later releases, including a ''Star Raiders''-style game entitled ''Time-Gate'' which reached the top of the ZX Spectrum charts in December 1982. Amongst the company's other successes were Jeff Minter's '' Gridrunner'' (1983), '' Bugaboo'' (1983, a.k.a. ''La Pulga'') and ''Fred'' (1983, titled " ''Roland on the Ropes'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antics
Antics may refer to: Computing * Antics 2-D Animation, a general-purpose animation and graphics software system for MS Windows * Antics Technologies, a software company based in Cambridge, England ** Antics3D, a rapid 3d animation software tool, reported as no longer available from November 2008 * '' The Birds and the Bees II: Antics'', a 1983 video game released for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum * ANTIC, or Alpha-Numeric Television Interface Circuit, an early video system chip used in Atari microcomputers Other media * ''Antics'' (album), a 2004 album by Interpol * The Antics, an improvisational comedy troupe from Sheffield, England * ''Antics'', a 2013 album by Vundabar See also * Antic (other) Alphanumeric Television Interface Controller (ANTIC) is an Large Scale Integration, LSI ASIC dedicated to generating 2D computer graphics to be shown on a television screen or computer monitor, computer display. Under the direction of Jay Min ... * Antique (di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Software Projects
Software Projects was a computer game development company which was started by ''Manic Miner'' developer Matthew Smith (games programmer), Matthew Smith, Alan Maton and Colin Roach. After leaving Bug-Byte as a freelance developer, Smith was able to take the rights to his recently developed ''Manic Miner'' game with him, due to an oversight in his freelance contract. Software Projects was then able to market and publish the ZX Spectrum hit game separately from Bug-Byte. Their logo was a Penrose triangle. In 1987, Software Projects released Special FX Software's first title ''Hysteria''. Released games * ''Anaconda'' * ''Astronut'' * ''BC's Quest for Tires'' * ''Binky'' * ''Crazy Balloon'' * ''Crypt Capers'' * ''Dinky Doo'' * ''Dodo Lair'' * ''Dragon's Lair (1983 video game), Dragon's Lair'' * ''Escape from Singe's Castle, Dragon's Lair Part II - Escape from Singe's Castle'' * ''Ewgeebez'' * ''Fatty Henry'' * ''Galactic Gardener'' * ''Harvey Smith Showjumper'' * ''Hunchback at th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
