Palace Software was a British
video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that have been developed either internally by the publisher or externally by a video game developer.
They often finance the development, sometimes by paying a video game developer ( ...
and
developer
Developer may refer to:
Computers
* Software developer, a person or organization who develop programs/applications
* Video game developer, a person or business involved in video game development, the process of designing and creating games
* Web d ...
during the 1980s based in London, England. It was notable for the ''Barbarian'' and ''Cauldron'' series of games for 8-bit
home computer platforms, in particular the
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 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 Colou ...
,
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 Si ...
and
Commodore 64. It caused some controversy with its advertisements in computer magazines, particularly for ''Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax'' which featured
Page Three
Page 3, or Page Three, was a British newspaper convention of publishing a large image of a topless female glamour model (known as a Page 3 girl) on the third page of mainstream red-top tabloids. '' The Sun'' introduced the feature, publishi ...
girl
Maria Whittaker
Maria Whittaker (born 7 October 1969), also known as Maria Tafari, is an English former glamour model, Page 3 girl, and pop singer.
Modelling career
Born on 7 October 1969 in Hounslow, Middlesex, Whittaker made her Page 3 debut in '' The Sun ...
as a scantily-clad female warrior.
Palace's developers included artist Steve Brown and musician
Richard Joseph
Richard Joseph (23 April 1953 – 4 March 2007) was an English computer game composer, musician and sound specialist. He had a career spanning 20 years starting in the early days of gaming on the C64 and the Amiga and onto succeeding form ...
.
In 1991, Palace Software's parent company,
Palace Group, sold it to
.
[
]
Notable releases
*''
The Evil Dead'' (
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
)
*''
Cauldron (video game)'' (
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
)
*''
Cauldron II: The Pumpkin Strikes Back'' (
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal enter ...
)
*''
The Sacred Armour of Antiriad
''The Sacred Armour of Antiriad'' is an action-adventure game published by Palace Software in 1986 for Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, DOS, TRS-80, and ZX Spectrum. In North America, the game was published by Epyx as ''Rad Warrior''. The original game ...
'' (1986)
*''
Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior'' (
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
)
*''
Stifflip & Co.'' (1987)
*''
Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax'' (
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
)
*''
Dragon's Breath'' (
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...
)
References
External links
Article on Palace Software– From ''
CRASH
Crash or CRASH may refer to:
Common meanings
* Collision, an impact between two or more objects
* Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond
* Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating
* Couch su ...
'' magazine
Palace Software profilefrom
MobyGames
Defunct video game companies of the United Kingdom
Video game publishers
Video game companies established in 1984
Video game companies disestablished in 1991
Video game development companies
Defunct companies based in London
{{UK-videogame-company-stub