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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] |
Video Game Industry
The video game industry is the tertiary industry, tertiary and quaternary industry, quaternary sectors of the entertainment industry that specialize in the video game development, development, marketing, distribution (marketing), distribution, video game monetization, monetization, and customer satisfaction research, consumer feedback of video games. The industry (economics), industry encompasses dozens of job disciplines and thousands of jobs worldwide. The video game industry has grown from niche to mainstream. , video games generated annually in global sales. In the US, the industry earned about in 2007, in 2008, and 2010, according to the Entertainment Software Association, ESA annual report. Research from Ampere Analysis indicated three points: the sector has consistently grown since at least 2015 and expanded 26% COVID-19 pandemic, from 2019 to 2021, to a record ; the global games and services market is forecast to shrink 1.2% annually to in 2022. The industry has i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BC's Quest For Tires
''B.C.'s Quest for Tires'' is a horizontally scrolling video game designed by Rick Banks and Michael Bate and published by Sierra On-Line in 1983. Versions were released for the Commodore 64, IBM PC, Atari 8-bit computers, ColecoVision, ZX Spectrum, MSX, and Apple II. Based on the comic strip ''B.C. (comic strip), B.C.'' by Johnny Hart, ''BC's Quest for Tires'' is similar to Irem's '' Moon Patrol'' from the previous year. A wheel-riding caveman is always moving forward through horizontally scrolling levels, and the player jumps or ducks as obstacles approach. The game's title is a play on the contemporaneous film '' Quest for Fire''. Both ''B.C.'s Quest for Tires'' and '' Moon Patrol'' have key elements of the not-yet-invented endless runner genre, despite both games being divided into discrete levels. A sequel, '' Grog's Revenge'', was released in 1984. Plot The player takes the role of the caveman Thor, who has to rescue his girlfriend, "Cute Chick", who has been kidnapp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Perils Of Willy
Miner Willy is the protagonist in a series of platform games for the ZX Spectrum, MSX, Amstrad CPC and the Commodore 64 home computers. The first two games - ''Manic Miner'' and ''Jet Set Willy'' were written by Matthew Smith during the early 1980s. The Willy saga was to be a trilogy and a third game in the series was planned, ''Miner Willy Meets The Taxman''. The series started in 1983 with the release of ''Manic Miner'', and was followed up a year later with ''Jet Set Willy'' and '' Jet Set Willy II''. Another game in the series, ''The Perils of Willy'', was released solely for the VIC-20. ''Andre's Night Off'' was published as a type-in listing in the June 1984 issue of Computer & Video Games. In addition, quite a few unofficial sequels, remakes, homages and updates have been released. listing, showing the large number of fan-made ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Star Paws
''Star Paws'' is an action video game released by Software Projects for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum in 1987. Gameplay The game's plot involved captain Rover Pawstrong (a dog in a space suit) in his adventures on a planet, attempting to capture 20 Space Griffins (essentially large, fast chickens). Gameplay involves the player's character running back and forth on a side-scrolling planet surface, attempting to catch the Griffins. The player finds crates which contain items that the player can use to help catch the bird - or the player can simply try and run and jump on top of the bird, thus catching it. During playtime, there is a time limit by which a bird must be caught (indicated by a roast chicken slowly turning into chicken bones), or else the game ends. At later stages in the game, the player must navigate abandoned mines, where the Griffins may be hiding, and even use a mortar to shell Griffins as they move across a landscape. Development The game is subj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loderunner
''Lode Runner'' is a 2D computer graphics, 2D puzzle-platform game, developed by Douglas E. Smith, Doug Smith and published by Broderbund in 1983. Its gameplay mechanics are similar to ''Space Panic'' from 1980. The player controls a character who must collect all the gold pieces in a level and get to the end while being chased by a number of enemies. It is one of the first games to include a level editor. After the original game, a number of remakes, spin-offs and sequels were published in the Lode Runner#Legacy, ''Lode Runner'' series for different computers and consoles by different developers and publishers. Tozai Games holds the copyright and trademark rights. Gameplay The player controls a stick figure who must collect all the gold in a Level (video games), level while avoiding guards who try to catch the player. After collecting all the gold, the player must reach the top of the screen to reach the next level. There are 150 levels in the game, which progressively challe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jet Set Willy II
''Jet Set Willy II: The Final Frontier'' is a platform game released 1985 by Software Projects as the Amstrad CPC port of ''Jet Set Willy''. It was then rebranded as the sequel and ported to other home computers. ''Jet Set Willy II'' was developed by Derrick P. Rowson and Steve Wetherill rather than ''Jet Set Willy'' programmer Matthew Smith (games programmer), Matthew Smith and is an expansion of the original game, rather than an entirely new one. Gameplay The map is primarily an expanded version of the original mansion from ''Jet Set Willy'', with only a few new elements over its predecessor several of which are based on rumoured events in ''JSW'' that were in fact never programmed (such as being able to launch the titular ship in the screen called "The Yacht" and explore an island). In the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and MSX versions, Willy is blasted from the Rocket Room into space, and for these 33 rooms he dons a spacesuit. Due to the proliferation of hacker (computer secu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jet Set Willy
''Jet Set Willy'' is a platform video game 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 Miner'' published in 1983, and the second game in the Miner Willy series. It spent over three months at the top of the charts and was the UK's best-selling home video game of 1984. The player controls Miner Willy as he tidies up his mansion after a massive party to get some sleep. Players navigate Willy through 60 screens of the mansion and grounds, collecting glowing items while avoiding hazards and guardians. The game features classical music from Beethoven, Grieg, Bach, and Mozart. Initially the game could not be completed due to various bugs, but fixes for these were released by Software Projects. ''Jet Set Willy'' included a copy protection measure in the form of a card with coloured codes, making it more difficult to duplicate. Various expa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escape From Singe's Castle
''Escape from Singe's Castle'', also known as ''Dragon's Lair Part II - Escape From Singe's Castle'', is a 1987 video game from Software Projects. The game is sometimes referred to as ''Dragon's Lair II'', but is not the official arcade sequel '' Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp''. Gameplay Players control Dirk the Daring, the player character from ''Dragon's Lair'', who has returned to the lair of Singe the dragon in order to claim a pot of gold. Singe has laid traps throughout his lair, forcing players to guide Dirk across a number of differently themed screens in order to steal the gold and escape. In the 8 bit versions, there are eight different levels. In the 16-bit version, Dirk is supposed to rescue Daphne again, this time from the Shapeshifter. Unlike the earlier 8-bit version, this is a cartoon-based interactive movie, like its predecessor, where the player is supposed to choose the correct movement for Dirk in the right time. Development Bethesda Softworks developed the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dragon's Lair (1983 Video Game)
''Dragon's Lair'' is an interactive film Interactive film#LaserDisc games, LaserDisc video game developed by RDI Video Systems, Advanced Microcomputer Systems and published by Cinematronics in 1983, as the first game in the ''Dragon's Lair'' series. In the game, the protagonist Dirk the Daring is a knight attempting to rescue Princess Daphne (character), Princess Daphne from the evil dragon Singe who has locked the princess in the foul wizard Mordroc's castle. It featured animation by ex-The Walt Disney Company, Disney animator Don Bluth. Most other games of the era represented the character as a Sprite (computer graphics), sprite, which consisted of a series of pixels displayed in succession. Due to hardware limitations of the era, artists were greatly restricted in the detail they could achieve using that technique; the resolution, framerate and number of frames were severely constrained. ''Dragon's Lair'' overcame those limitations by tapping into the vast storage potential of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
