Occasional ramblings on games, generally retro related
When my parents brought home a ZX81 one day (complete with wobbly 16K RAM pack, of course) I discovered the joy of programming. But it wasn't until I got my hands on a ZX Spectrum that my obsession with games really began, which continued with the C64, Amiga, right through to this day. The 80s and early 90s were an amazing time for games, not just for the games themselves but for the fascinating people behind them - it was truly a time of pioneers and creativity.
I myself have spent the last (almost) 20 years working in the games industry on all manner of platforms, most recently iOS. Ziggurat Development Ltd is my company here in NZ that provides contract programming services.
Yesterday the people behind the "From Bedrooms To Billions" doco tweeted something very intriguing indeed:
Latest interview just shot! With the sword of Damocles over our heads we needed a Mercenary to bail us out! What an Encounter that was!
— FrmBedrooms2Billions (@FromBedrooms) May 17, 2013
This is obviously a reference to Novagen, but could this actually mean they interviewed Paul Woakes? As far as I'm aware, this would be a first if true.
I have no idea how this managed to escape my attention for so long, but it appears Mel Croucher has relaunched Automata. According to the site, not only is Deus Ex Machina 2 on the way, but also remakes of PiMania and even Thanatos. The latter is interesting seeing as I'm pretty sure Croucher had nothing to do with the original.
The original Deus Ex Machina was quite easily one of the most incredible game experiences I had during that time. I still occasionally listen to the soundtrack to this day (voiced by the likes of Ian Dury, Jon Pertwee, Donna Bailey and Frankie Howerd). It really was a remarkable work and completely unlike anything then or since. It's hard to tell how close the sequel is to release - apparently Spring 2013. The soundtrack has been produced and is available to buy, but the footage of the game itself looks very ropey - it's been a while since the trailer was made, so I'm hoping it's come along somewhat since then.
I must admit I never played PiMania, though I was quite intrigued by the surrounding antics. Automata had hidden a Golden Sundial somewhere in England and anyone who actually managed to complete the game would get a clue as to its whereabouts. It took 3 years to be found, and it's no wonder when you consider what was required to figure it out. I'm curious to see whether something similar is attempted with the remake.
I hope that the return of the PiMan really does happen - the games industry has been a lot less interesting without him, much like music is all the poorer without Bill Drummond.
St Brides were easily one of those most intriguing software houses of the 80s. For a start they produced some great adventures games - "The Very Big Cave Adventure" was my first exposure to them, which I remember fondly. Their games were known for being well written with a keen sense of humour. Then there was the fact that they appeared to be a company consisting entirely of women (quite unique in the industry), as they were generally referred to as "the sisters"/"the ladies"/"the belles"/etc of St Brides (to what extent this was actually the case, I'm unsure).
But then there was this:
and this:
Back to School (Sinclair User 45)
Being a naive schoolboy, I just assumed it was some kind of rather impressive marketing schtick - it certainly set them apart from other developers at the time. I mean, adults wouldn't really pay to go back to school, would they? Even so, how could one not be intrigued?
The last game of theirs I played was "Bugsy" which was released in 1986. I knew they were involved in the highly controversial "Jack the Ripper" which gained national attention in 1987 when tabloids ran headlines like "'Porno' outrage at Ripper game" and MPs tried to have it banned. I thought Ripper was their last game, but it looks like they released two further adventures in 1992 (1992 would be a significant year for the ladies of St Brides). After that they seemed to disappear entirely.
Every now and then I sit down and spend some time Googling people like Paul Woakes (Novagen), Roy Carter & Greg Follis (Gargoyle Games), Mervyn J Estcourt, and, of course, St Brides to see if I can find any information about what happened to them. I've gotten used to coming up empty handed, but this time I did have some luck with regards to St Brides.
I stumbled across this newspaper article from 1993, and a slightly more recent piece from 1995.
More articles can be found on this site dedicated to Aristasia, and there's also a Wikipedia entry for the mysterious Miss Martindale.
So there you go, that's what happened to the girls of St Brides.