Tynesoft Computer Software was a

software developer Software development is the process of conceiving, specifying, designing, Computer programming, programming, software documentation, documenting, software testing, testing, and Software bugs, bug fixing involved in creating and maintaining applic ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

in the 1980s and early 1990s.

History

The company was originally set up in 1983 to release

educational Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...

software but soon moved into the

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

market on which it concentrated for most of its time. It developed numerous

game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

s for a wide variety of

8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit Integer (computer science), integers or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet (computing), octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) arc ...

micros, particularly those less well catered for by other publishers such as the

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 ...

BBC Micro The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Designed with an emphas ...

and

Atari 8-bit The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...

. They also had a budget label, Micro Value, that issued compilations, reissues and some original games. They had most success with their

multi-load This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players. 0–9 A ...

games such as ''Summer Olympiad'', ''Circus Games'' and ''Rodeo Games''. They also released licensed ports to smaller systems such as

Software Projects Software Projects was a computer game development company which was started by ''Manic Miner'' developer Matthew Smith, Alan Maton and Colin Roach. After leaving Bug-Byte as a freelance developer, Smith was able to take the rights to his recent ...

' ''

Jet Set Willy ''Jet Set Willy'' is a platform video game originally written by Matthew Smith for the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published in 1984 by Software Projects and ported to most home computers of the time. The game is a sequel to ''Manic ...

'' (

Plus/4 The Commodore Plus/4 is a home computer released by Commodore International in 1984. The "Plus/4" name refers to the four-application ROM resident office suite (word processor, spreadsheet, database, and graphing); it was billed as "the produc ...

and

Acorn Electron The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/ home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers Ltd, to provide many of the features of that more expensive machine at a ...

First Star Software First Star Software, Inc. was a Chappaqua, New York based video game development, publishing and licensing company, founded by Richard Spitalny (who remains the company's president), Billy Blake, Peter Jablon, and Fernando Herrera in 1982. It is ...

's ''

Boulder Dash ''Boulder Dash'' is a 2D maze-puzzle video game released in 1984 by First Star Software for Atari 8-bit computers. It was created by Canadian developers Peter Liepa and Chris Gray. The player controls Rockford, who collects treasures while ...

'' (BBC, Electron) and ''

Spy vs. Spy ''Spy vs. Spy'' is a wordless comic strip published in '' Mad'' magazine. It features two agents involved in stereotypical and comical espionage activities. One is dressed in white, and the other in black, but they are otherwise identical, and ...

'' (C16/+4, BBC, Electron) and Mindscape's ''

Indoor Sports Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

'' (C16/+4, BBC, Electron). From the late 1980s, they released games for the 16-bit computers

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

and

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

as well as PC but failed to capture a large share of this new market and with the demise of the 8-bit games scene, their sales fell. The company went bankrupt in 1990 when its sister printing business incurred massive debts, before it could publish its game based on the

Games Workshop Games Workshop Group (often abbreviated as GW) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are ''Warhammer Age of Sigmar'' and ''Warhammer 40,000''. Founded in 1975 by John Peake (gam ...

boardgame ''

Blood Bowl ''Blood Bowl'' is a Board game, miniatures board game created by Jervis Johnson for the United Kingdom, British games company Games Workshop as a parody of American football. The game was first released in 1986 and has been re-released in ne ...

''.

Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' soon became ...

magazine issue75, pages 36-41: "From the archives ... Tynesoft" The name continues to this day in a completely unrelated business.

Select titles

* 1984 ''Auf Wiedersehen Pet'' (

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 ...

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 t ...

) * 1984 ''Bingo'' (C64, Spectrum) * 1984 ''Rig Attack'' (Electron, BBC,

Commodore Plus/4 The Commodore Plus/4 is a home computer released by Commodore International in 1984. The "Plus/4" name refers to the four-application ROM resident office suite (word processor, spreadsheet, database, and graphing); it was billed as "the produc ...

) * 1984 ''Olympiad'' (C16/+4) * 1984 ''US Drag Racing'' (Electron, BBC, C16/+4) * 1985 ''Ian Botham's Test Match'' (Electron, BBC, C64, Spectrum, C16/+4,

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 Sin ...

) * 1985 ''

Super Gran ''Super Gran'' is a fictional series about a grandmother with super powers. Initially a series of books written by Forrest Wilson, a children's television show was adapted by Jenny McDade and produced by Tyne Tees Television for Children's ITV. ...

'' (C64, Spectrum, C16/+4, CPC) * 1985 '' Super Gran: The Adventure'' (Electron, BBC, C64, Spectrum, C16/+4) * 1985 ''Mouse Trap'' (Electron, BBC, C64,

) * 1986 ''Future Shock'' (Electron, BBC, C16/+4) * 1986 ''Commonwealth Games'' aka ''European Games'' (Electron, BBC, C64, C16/+4,

MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by Microsoft and ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, then vice-p ...

) * 1986 ''Winter Olympics'' (Electron, BBC, C16/+4, Atari 8-bit, MSX) * 1986 ''The Big KO'' (Electron, BBC, C64) * 1987 ''Phantom'' (Electron, BBC, C64, C16/+4, Atari 8-bit) * 1987 ''Mirax Force'' (Atari 8-bit) * 1987 ''

Who Dares Wins II ''Who Dares Wins II'' is a run and gun (video game), run and gun game developed and published by Alligata Software and released in late 1985 for the Commodore 64, as well as the Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit family, BBC Micro, Commodore 16, Commodore ...

'' (Atari 8-bit) * 1988 ''Summer Olympiad'' (Electron, BBC, C64, Spectrum, ST, Amiga) * 1988 ''Winter Olympiad '88'' (Electron, BBC, C64, Spectrum, Atari 8-bit, ST, Amiga) * 1989 ''Circus Games'' (Electron, BBC, C64, Spectrum, CPC, ST, Amiga,

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

, PC) * 1989 '' Superman: The Man of Steel'' (Electron, BBC, C64, Spectrum, CPC, ST, Amiga, MSX, Apple II, PC) * 1989 ''Buffalo Bill's Rodeo Games'' aka ''Buffalo Bill's Wild West Rodeo Show'' (Electron, BBC, C64, Spectrum, CPC, ST, Amiga, Apple II, PC) * 1989 '' Roller Coaster Rumbler'' (C64, ST, Amiga, PC) * 1989 ''Mayday Squad'' (C64, ST, Amiga, PC) * 1990 ''

Beverly Hills Cop ''Beverly Hills Cop'' is a 1984 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Martin Brest, screenplay by Daniel Petrie Jr., story by Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie Jr., and starring Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street-smart Detroit cop who ...

'' (BBC, C64, Spectrum, CPC, ST, Amiga, PC)

References

{{reflist

External links

* http://www.stairwaytohell.com/articles/KBlake.html Defunct video game companies of the United Kingdom Video game companies established in 1983