|
Mysterious Adventures
Brian Howarth is a British video game designer and computer programmer. He wrote many interactive fiction computer games in the early 1980s in a series called ''Mysterious Adventures''. He was born in Blackpool in 1953. After leaving school he worked as a telephone engineer until 1981. Howarth was initially inspired to write computer moderated adventures by the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, and the UK television show The Adventure Game. His first adventures were written on the TRS-80, taking his cues from the works of Scott Adams. After becoming frustrated with the BASIC programming language, he learnt machine language to create his first adventure, ''The Golden Baton'', which was published by Molimerx in 1981. Following this success, Molimerx encouraged Howarth to produce two more titles, ''The Time Machine'' and ''Arrow of Death''. In 1982 Howarth finished developing his own interpreter, based on Scott Adams' '' Adventureland'' source code published in ''Byte ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blackpool, England
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is north of Liverpool and northwest of Manchester. At the 2011 census, the unitary authority of Blackpool had an estimated population of 139,720 while the urban settlement had a population of 147,663, making it the most populous settlement in Lancashire, and the fifth-most populous in North West England after Manchester, Liverpool, Bolton and Warrington. The wider built-up area (which also includes additional settlements outside the unitary authority) had a population of 239,409, making it the fifth-most populous urban area in the North West after the Manchester, Liverpool, Preston and Birkenhead areas. It is home to the Blackpool Tower, which when built in 1894 was the tallest building in the British Empire. Throughout the Medieval and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byte Magazine
''Byte'' (stylized as ''BYTE'') was a microcomputer magazine, influential in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s because of its wide-ranging editorial coverage. "''Byte'' magazine, the leading publication serving the homebrew market ..." ''Byte'' started in 1975, shortly after the first personal computers appeared as kits advertised in the back of electronics magazines. ''Byte'' was published monthly, with an initial yearly subscription price of $10. Whereas many magazines were dedicated to specific systems or the home or business users' perspective, ''Byte'' covered developments in the entire field of "small computers and software", and sometimes other computing fields such as supercomputers and high-reliability computing. Coverage was in-depth with much technical detail, rather than user-oriented. The company was purchased by McGraw-Hill in 1979, a watershed event that led to the rapid purchase of many of the early computer magazines by larger publishers. By this time th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perseus And Andromeda (video Game)
''Perseus and Andromeda'' is a text adventure video game released in 1983 by Digital Fantasia on the ''Mysterious Adventures'' label. It was available for the ZX Spectrum, Atari 8-bit, Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, Dragon 32/64, and Oric-1. ''Perseus and Andromeda'' was written by Brian Howarth in Scott Adams database. The story is an adaptation of the Greek myth of Perseus and includes characters and artifacts such as the winged sandals, Pegasus, the harpies and Medusa. The objective is to save Andromeda from the sea-monster Ceto Ceto (; grc, Κητώ, Kētṓ, sea monster) is a primordial sea goddess in Greek mythology, the daughter of Pontus and his mother, Gaia. As a mythological figure, she is considered to be one of the most ancient deities, and bore a host of .... References External links * * * 1980s interactive fiction 1983 video games Atari 8-bit family games BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games Commodore 16 and Plus/4 games Commodo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1983 In Video Gaming
1983 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games, such as ''Mario Bros.'' and '' Pole Position II'', along with new titles such as '' Astron Belt'', ''Champion Baseball'', ''Dragon's Lair'', ''Elevator Action'', ''Spy Hunter'' and ''Track & Field''. Major events include the video game crash of 1983 in North America, and the third generation of video game consoles beginning with the launch of Nintendo's Family Computer (Famicom) and Sega's SG-1000 in Japan. The year's highest-grossing video game was Namco's arcade game ''Pole Position'', while the year's best-selling home system was Nintendo's Game & Watch for the third time since 1980. Financial performance * In the United States, arcade video game revenues are worth $2.9 billion (equivalent to $ adjusted for inflation). * In the United States, home video game sales are worth $2 billion (equivalent to $ adjusted for inflation). * In Japan, home video game sales approach ¥400 billion (equivalent to at the time, or $ a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1982 In Video Gaming
1982 was the peak year for the golden age of arcade video games as well as the second generation of video game consoles. Many games were released that would spawn franchises, or at least sequels, including ''Dig Dug'', ''Pole Position'', ''Mr. Do!'', ''Zaxxon'', ''Q*bert'', ''Time Pilot'' and ''Pitfall!'' The year's highest-grossing video game was Namco's arcade game ''Pac-Man'', for the third year in a row, while the year's best-selling home system was the Atari 2600 (Atari VCS). Additional game consoles added to a crowded market, notably the ColecoVision and Atari 5200. Troubles at Atari late in the year triggered the video game crash of 1983. Financial performance * The US arcade video game market is worth $4.3 billion, equivalent to $ adjusted for inflation. * The US home video game market is worth $3.8 billion, equivalent to $ adjusted for inflation. * The Japanese home video game market is approaching ¥300 billion, equivalent to $ adjusted for inflation. Hig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theme Park Mystery
''Theme Park Mystery'' is an adventure video game developed by Brian Howarth and Taeman Irmak released in 1990, for the Amiga published by Konami. It was also released to the Atari ST and MS-DOS later in 1990. The game features themes and activities surrounding a haunted and gruesome amusement park. Gameplay The player is tasked with journeying through 4 worlds, whilst collecting keys, potions and other ingredients to solve the cause of the players uncles' insanity. The player has recently inherited a new property, a Magic Canyon Theme Park. The park has become abandoned, and infested with enemies from ghouls to apes. Starting at a Zoltan Wishing Machine, the player continues through four zones of the theme park - Dragonland, Dreamland, Futureland and Yesterdayland. Hidden within these levels are a total of eight boss fight with Demons, each of which require being brought back to the Zoltan machine. Each of the four worlds has its own gimmick and control scheme. Yesterdayland is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robin Of Sherwood
''Robin of Sherwood'' is a British television series, based on the legend of Robin Hood. Created by Richard Carpenter, it was produced by HTV in association with Goldcrest, and ran from 28 April 1984 to 28 June 1986 on the ITV network. In the United States it was shown on the premium cable TV channel Showtime and, later, on PBS. The show starred Michael Praed and Jason Connery as two different incarnations of the title character. Unlike previous adaptations of the Robin Hood legend, ''Robin of Sherwood'' combined a gritty, authentic production design with elements of real-life history, 20th-century fiction, and pagan myth.Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping, ''The Guinness Book of Classic British TV''. Enfield : Guinness Publishing, 1996. (pg. 352–4). ''Robin of Sherwood'' has been described by historian Stephen Knight as "the most innovative and influential version of the myth in recent times". The series is also notable for its musical score by Clannad, which won ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Adventure
"The Adventure" is a song recorded by American rock band Angels & Airwaves. It was released on May 18, 2006, through Geffen Records, as the lead single from their debut studio album, '' We Don't Need to Whisper'' (2006). The song received increased attention when it aired on a ''Smallville'' trailer. After the season finale of ''Smallville'' aired, "The Adventure" climbed to #30 on Amazon. The track was also played in the crowd warm-up session before Barack Obama's presidential election rallies in 2008. During concerts, DeLonge has often used both " Down" and " I Miss You" by Blink-182 as part of an extended intro to the song. "The Adventure" is also featured as downloadable content in the karaoke game '' Lips'' and in the music game ''Rock Band''. It is also a playable song in the music games, '' Band Hero and Rocksmith 2014'' ( ''DLC''). The song was also featured on a Ford and X-Play commercial. It was also used in the '' WWE Network'' documentary special "WWE 24: Goldb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paxman Promotions
Prism Leisure Corporation Plc was a distribution and publishing company that primarily focused on reissues and compilations, often at low prices. The company was located in Enfield, Middlesex, United Kingdom, History The company was founded in 1980 as Geoff's Records by chairman Geoff Young. The company expanded in 2002 by acquiring competitors and became the UK's leading wholesaler and worldwide distributor of CDs, cassettes, computer games, videos and DVDs. They also handled board games and toys. On 4 June 2007, the company was placed into administration. Their entertainment assets were acquired by FremantleMedia, a longtime partner for the company, while the music assets were acquired by ex-employee Ivor Young, who formed a successor business Prism Leisure Ltd. to continue releasing CDs. Despite sharing the same name, the two Prism Leisure businesses had no legal connection. On 16 January 2008, the company signed a deal with Go Entertain for the distribution of Prism Leisure ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colour'' and ''ZX82'', it was launched as the ''ZX Spectrum'' to highlight the machine's colour display, which differed from the black and white display of its predecessor, the ZX81. The Spectrum was released as six different models, ranging from the entry level with 16 Kilobyte, KB RAM released in 1982 to the ZX Spectrum +3 with 128 KB RAM and built in floppy disk drive in 1987; altogether they sold over 5 million units worldwide (not counting List of ZX Spectrum clones, unofficial clones). The Spectrum was among the first home computers in the United Kingdom aimed at a mainstream audience, and it thus had similar significance to the Commodore 64 in the US and the Thomson MO5 in France. The introduction of the ZX Spect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness World Records as the highest-selling single computer model of all time, with independent estimates placing the number sold between 12.5 and 17 million units. Volume production started in early 1982, marketing in August for . Preceded by the VIC-20 and Commodore PET, the C64 took its name from its of RAM. With support for multicolor sprites and a custom chip for waveform generation, the C64 could create superior visuals and audio compared to systems without such custom hardware. The C64 dominated the low-end computer market (except in the UK and Japan, lasting only about six months in Japan) for most of the later years of the 1980s. For a substantial period (1983–1986), the C64 had between 30% and 40% share of the US market and two mil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commodore 16
The Commodore 16 is a home computer made by Commodore International with a 6502-compatible 7501 or 8501 CPU, released in 1984 and intended to be an entry-level computer to replace the VIC-20. A cost-reduced version, the Commodore 116, was mostly sold in Europe. The C16 and C116 belong to the same family as the higher-end Plus/4 and are internally very similar to it (albeit with less RAM – 16 KB rather than 64 KB – and lacking the Plus/4's user port and Three plus one software). Software is generally compatible among all three provided it can fit within the C16's smaller RAM and does not utilize the user port on the Plus/4. While the C16 was a failure on the US market, it enjoyed some success in certain European countries and Mexico. Intention The C16 was intended to compete with other sub-$100 computers from Timex Corporation, Mattel, and Texas Instruments (TI). Timex's and Mattel's computers were less expensive than the VIC-20, and although the VIC-20 of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
