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Geoff Crammond is a
computer game designer Video game design is the process of designing the content and rules of video games in the Video game development#Pre-production, pre-production stage and designing the gameplay, environment, storyline and characters in the Video game development#P ...
and
programmer A computer programmer, sometimes referred to as a software developer, a software engineer, a programmer or a coder, is a person who creates computer programs — often for larger computer software. A programmer is someone who writes/creates ...
who specialises in motor racing games. A former defence industry systems engineer, he claims to have had little interest in motor racing before programming his first racing game (Revs) back in 1984, but he holds a physics degree, which may explain the realism of some of his programming. As a consequence of that project he became a big fan of Formula One motor racing. At the end of the 80s, this interest, plus the ever improving capabilities of home computers, inspired him to specialise in programming Formula One racing simulations.


Games

One of his early releases was ''Aviator'', a Spitfire simulator released by
Acornsoft Acornsoft was the software arm of Acorn Computers, and a major publisher of software for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. As well as games, it also produced a large number of educational titles, extra computer languages and business and util ...
for the BBC Micro in March 1984. Having been motivated to make his own flight simulator from the hardware level upwards, Crammond identified the possibility of using one of the increasingly sophisticated home computers, if only "to cannibalise it". Recognising the potential of the BBC Micro, he ordered one in 1981 and, upon receiving it six months later, then set about familiarising himself with the system, taking a detour to produce a Space Invaders clone, ''Super Invaders'', which was accepted for publication and sold by Acornsoft. Discussion with Acornsoft about his plans for making a flight simulator led to the Aviator concept, and the program itself was written in a period of nine months. Although displayed in only four colours and has few of the features of modern simulators for more powerful computers, Aviator was of unparalleled quality at the time of its release, with a realistic flight model that included g-forces that could tear the wings off in a dive. This would be accompanied by a continuous high pitched beep. The wings could be restored by removing the physical pressure on the airframe which was causing the flight envelope to be exceeded. Generally, this could be achieved by returning the joystick to a neutral centre position. The landscape was crudely rendered, and was basically a plane. Some scenic features were drawn as vector graphics, including low hills, fields, a lake, a suspension bridge over a river, and a small town which comprised a cluster of three buildings. Bonus points could be earned for flying under the bridge or along the main street of the town at a lower altitude than the buildings. Double points were earned for performing these stunts upside down. The game also had a shoot-'em-up mode in which alien vessels were seeded in the fields, feeding on the crops and growing until they could become airborne, at which point they headed for the town. The player could destroy the aliens on the ground as they fed, or (for reduced points) tackle them in the air (the aliens were agile but could not return fire). If an alien reached the town, the game was lost. A minor bug permitted the plane to be landed upside down without consequence, so long as the landing gear had been deployed. Although better known for his Formula One simulation games on the PC and
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 ...
platforms, his first motor racing simulator was '' Revs'', a Formula Three simulator that debuted on the BBC Micro platform in 1984. The BBC version of ''Revs'' featured just one track, the
Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
circuit, but the realistic implementation of motor racing physics and artificial intelligence of the computer controlled components gave the game enormous depth and replayability. An enhanced edition of the BBC version was later released, in 1985, called 'Revs 4 Tracks' which included Brands Hatch,
Donington Park Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned b ...
, Oulton Park and
Snetterton Snetterton is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England. The village is about east-northeast of Thetford and southwest of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of . The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded a parish population o ...
race tracks. A
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 ...
version of the game, entitled ''Revs Plus'', was released in 1986, which added the Brands Hatch track to the game. Later the
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 ...
version added the
Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...
to this list to continue the "4 Tracks" theme as Brands Hatch had already been included with the initial ''REVS Plus'' release. The Nürburgring was chosen as its new layout had recently been completed and computer based design data was available. This gives an idea of just how accurate REVS was as a simulation rather than 'just' a game. '' The Sentinel'' was published by
Firebird Firebird and fire bird may refer to: Mythical birds * Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures * Bennu, Egyptian firebird * Huma bird, Persian firebird * Firebird (Slavic folklore) Bird species ''Various spe ...
on the BBC Micro in 1986. It was a 3D puzzle game, featuring ten thousand levels, in which the player had to manoeuvre his way through a landscape of cliffs, trees and boulders to topple the ominous Sentinel. The game was a critical and commercial success. Conversions for the ZX Spectrum,
C64 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 Wo ...
,
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 ...
, Amstrad CPC,
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 ...
and PC soon followed. A sequel, ''
Sentinel Returns ''Sentinel Returns'' is a video game developed by Hookstone, produced by No-Name Games and published by Sony (under the Psygnosis label) in 1998, for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation. It is the sequel to '' The Sentinel'' by Geoff Crammond and fe ...
'', was published by Psygnosis in 1998 on the PC and
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
platforms. Crammond's attention returned to motor racing simulators. ''
Stunt Car Racer ''Stunt Car Racer'' (published as ''Stunt Track Racer'' in the United States) is a racing video game developed by Geoff Crammond. It was published in 1989 by MicroProse, under their MicroStyle and MicroPlay labels in the United Kingdom and in ...
'' was a slightly offbeat driving simulation, rewarding the player for performing outrageous stunts on a number of elevated, roller-coaster-like courses. Although less serious in tone than his previous simulators, the game nevertheless used an impressive physics engine to offer a realistic driving experience. The game enjoyed cult status among many Amiga and Atari ST gamers. Ever since the early 1990s, Crammond's primary focus has been on developing the award-winning Formula One Grand Prix series of games. The first game in the series, '' F1GP'' (aka ''World Circuit'' in the USA), was released by
MicroProse MicroProse is an American video game publisher and video game developer, developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the ''Civilization (series), Civilizatio ...
on the Amiga in 1991 and is essentially the spiritual successor to ''Revs''. Around this time ''
Amiga Power ''Amiga Power'' (''AP'') was a monthly magazine about Amiga video games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future plc, and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996. Philosophy ''Amiga Power'' had several principles which com ...
'' magazine began referring to him as Sir Geoff, a running gag which has caught on with many others. The game was an instant success, earning a conversion to the Atari ST and PC platforms, but the inevitable sequel, ''
Grand Prix 2 ''Grand Prix 2'', released in North America as "Grand Prix II", is a racing simulator released by MicroProse in 1996. It is a sequel to '' Formula One Grand Prix''. It was made under an official FIA license that featured the Formula One 1994 ...
'', remained in development for three years before eventually being released on the PC in 1996. '' Grand Prix 3'' was released on the PC in 2000 and was well received by fans and critics alike. Crammond's series now had considerable competition from other developers, particularly Psygnosis/ Sony, who were licensed by the FIA to produce the official Formula One gaming titles. ''
Grand Prix 4 ''Grand Prix 4'', commonly known as ''GP4'' is a Formula One racing simulator game co-developed by Geoff Crammond's development studio Simergy and Infogrames' Chippenham development studio, and published by Infogrames. Released for the PC on June ...
'' was released on the PC in 2002 and is generally regarded as the most accurate game in the series. After ''Grand Prix 4'' there were rumours that Crammond's next game would be Stunt Car Racer Pro, an updated version of his classic game. The rumours were later confirmed with an announcement that he was co-operating with
Lost Toys Lost Toys Ltd. was a British video game developer founded in March 1999 by Glenn Corpes, Jeremy Longley, and Darran Thomas, all of whom had previously worked for Bullfrog Productions. Les Edgar helped by providing financial support. Lost Toys w ...
studios. Lost Toys studios were closed in late 2003. At the beginning of 2005, the game was rumoured to be cancelled. Crammond's most recent game release is still GP4 (2002), which is still supported by fans with annual mods, in spite of MicroProse's closure in 2001. Following that, Crammond kept a low profile, but continues to engage in various programming projects.


Released

*1982 – ''Super Invaders'' (BBC) *1983 – ''Aviator'' (BBC) *1984 – '' Revs'' (BBC) *1985 - ''Revs 4 Tracks'' (BBC) *1986 – ''Revs Plus'' (C64) *1986 – '' The Sentinel'' (Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, BBC, C64, PC, ZX Spectrum) *1989 – ''
Stunt Car Racer ''Stunt Car Racer'' (published as ''Stunt Track Racer'' in the United States) is a racing video game developed by Geoff Crammond. It was published in 1989 by MicroProse, under their MicroStyle and MicroPlay labels in the United Kingdom and in ...
'' (Amiga, Atari ST, C64, PC, ZX Spectrum) *1991 – '' Formula One Grand Prix'' (Amiga, Atari ST, PC) *1996 – ''
Grand Prix 2 ''Grand Prix 2'', released in North America as "Grand Prix II", is a racing simulator released by MicroProse in 1996. It is a sequel to '' Formula One Grand Prix''. It was made under an official FIA license that featured the Formula One 1994 ...
'' (PC) *2000 – '' Grand Prix 3'' (PC) *2001 – '' Grand Prix 3 2000'' (PC) *2002 – ''
Grand Prix 4 ''Grand Prix 4'', commonly known as ''GP4'' is a Formula One racing simulator game co-developed by Geoff Crammond's development studio Simergy and Infogrames' Chippenham development studio, and published by Infogrames. Released for the PC on June ...
'' (PC)


Cancelled

*''
Grand Prix 4 ''Grand Prix 4'', commonly known as ''GP4'' is a Formula One racing simulator game co-developed by Geoff Crammond's development studio Simergy and Infogrames' Chippenham development studio, and published by Infogrames. Released for the PC on June ...
'' for Xbox *''Stunt Car Racer Pro'' (PC)


References

*PC Format Gold magazine - Spring 1998 - Interview {{DEFAULTSORT:Crammond, Geoff Year of birth missing (living people) Living people MicroProse people British video game designers Systems engineers