Jump to content

Crystal Computing: Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Miremare (talk | contribs)
6,544 edits
de-linking non-notable titles, red linking ones with significant coverage but no articles yet + sources etc.
 
(17 intermediate revisions by 14 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|Former British video game developer}}
{{Infobox Company
{{Infobox company
|name = Crystal Computing / Design Design
|name = Crystal Computing / Design Design
|logo =
|logo =
|foundation = 1982
|foundation = {{start date and age|df=yes|1982}}
|location = [[Manchester]], [[England]]
|location = [[Manchester]], [[England]]
|industry = [[Computer and video game industry|Computer and video games]]
|industry = [[Video game industry|Video games]]
|products = ''[[Halls of the Things]]''<br>''[[Invasion of the Body Snatchas!]]''
|products = ''[[Halls of the Things]]''<br>''[[Invasion of the Body Snatchas!]]''
}}
}}
'''Crystal Computing''', later named '''Design Design''', was a British video game developer founded in 1982 by Chris Clarke and Graham Stafford while students at the [[University of Manchester]]. Neil Mottershead, Simon Brattel and Martin Horsley, joined the company as it expanded.<ref name="pcw">''[[Popular Computing Weekly]]'', 26 January-1 February 1984 (p.26), Sunshine Publications Ltd.</ref><ref name="crash">Rebirth of the Things: Design Design, ''[[CRASH (magazine)|CRASH]]'', issue 8, p.88, [[Newsfield Publications]], 1984</ref> The company's first software release was a compilation of games for the Sinclair [[ZX81]], though it was with the [[ZX Spectrum]] that Crystal found its greatest success. A deal with the machine's manufacturer [[Sinclair]] to distribute Crystal's ''Zeus Assembler'' gave the company sufficient funds for a major marketing campaign for their next product, ''[[Halls of the Things]]'', an arcade adventure game that became their most successful title.
'''Crystal Computing''', later renamed '''Design Design''', was a British [[video game developer]] founded in 1982 by Chris Clarke and Ian Stamp while students at the [[University of Manchester]]. Graham Stafford, Neil Mottershead, [[Simon Brattel]] and Martin Horsley, joined the company as it expanded.<ref name="pcw">''[[Popular Computing Weekly]]'', 26 January-1 February 1984 (p.26), Sunshine Publications Ltd.</ref><ref name="crash">Rebirth of the Things: Design Design, ''[[CRASH (magazine)|CRASH]]'', issue 8 (p.88), [[Newsfield Publications]], 1984</ref> The company's first software release was a compilation of games for the Sinclair [[ZX81]], though it was with the [[ZX Spectrum]] that Crystal found its greatest success. A deal with the machine's manufacturer [[Sinclair Research|Sinclair]] to distribute Crystal's ''[[Zeus Assembler]]'' gave the company sufficient funds for a major marketing campaign for their next product,<ref>"As Clear as Crystal", Popular Computing Weekly, 26 January-1 February 1984 (p.26), Sunshine Publications Ltd</ref> ''[[Halls of the Things]]'', an [[arcade adventure]] game that became their most successful title.

Clarke left in 1984 to join [[Artic Software]], where he worked on the "business side", before collaborating with [[Jon Ritman]] on the [[Match Day (series)|''Match Day'' series]].<ref>[http://www.crashonline.org.uk/33/ritman.htm "From Namtir Raiders, to a bit of a bovver with bears then on to Batman... and beyond"], CRASH, issue 33 (p.84), Newsfield Publications, October 1986</ref>
⚫
With Clarke's departure the company was reorganised as Design Design,<ref name="crash"/> a trading name that had been used by Brattel since 1976 for his electronic audio designs.<ref>[http://www.desdes.com/ Design Design official site]</ref> Design Design's core consisted of Stafford working mainly on titles for the [[Commodore 64]], Brattel and Mottershead working on the [[ZX Spectrum]] and [[Amstrad CPC]], and David Lewellyn, the company's administrator.<ref name="crash"/> According to Stafford the new name was part of a wider re-branding, as they wanted a more professional image, along with a better relationship with the press and the public.<ref name="crash"/>

Stafford went on to form developer Walking Circles producing titles including ''[[The Living Daylights (video game)|The Living Daylights]]''<ref name='crashlivingdaylights'>{{cite magazine |title=The Living Daylights|magazine=Crash|issue=43|publisher=Newsfield|date=August 1987|page=94|url=https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=1010&page=94|access-date=13 July 2021}}</ref> and ''[[Spitting Image (video game)|Spitting Image]]''<ref name='acespitting'>{{cite magazine |title=Snippets... Spitting Image|magazine=ACE|issue=15|publisher=Future Publishing|date=December 1988|page=10|url=https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=1741&page=10|access-date=13 July 2021}}</ref> for [[Domark]] and the PC version of ''[[Bloodwych]]'' for [[Image Works]].<ref>"The Making of: Bloodwych", ''[[Retro Gamer]]'', issue 23 (p.55), [[Imagine Publishing]]</ref>


⚫
In 1984 Clarke left to join [[Artic Software]] and the company was reorganised as Design Design,<ref name="crash"/> a trading name used by Brattel since 1976 for his electronic audio designs.<ref>[http://www.desdes.com/ Design Design official site]</ref> Design Design's core consisted of Stafford working mainly on titles for the [[Commodore 64]], Brattel and Mottershead working on the [[ZX Spectrum]] and [[Amstrad CPC]], and David Lewellyn, the company's administrator.<ref name="crash"/>


==Softography==
==Softography==
'''Crystal Computing'''
'''Crystal Computing'''
*''ZX81 Games Pack'', [[ZX81]], 1982. Includes versions of ''[[Asteroids (video game)|Asteroids]]'' and [[Space Invaders]], as well as a [[Dungeons and Dragons]] style adventure game and a [[slalom skiing]] game, all designed to run on an unexpanded machine with 1K RAM.<ref name="sinc15">[http://www.sincuser.f9.co.uk/015/softwre.htm Trading With Crystal], [[Sinclair User]], issue 15 (p.27), ECC Publications Ltd., June 1983</ref>
*''ZX81 Games Pack'', [[ZX81]], 1982. Includes versions of ''[[Asteroids (video game)|Asteroids]]'' and ''[[Space Invaders]]'', as well as a ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' style adventure game and a [[slalom skiing]] game, all designed to run on an unexpanded machine with 1K RAM.<ref name="sinc15">[http://www.sincuser.f9.co.uk/015/softwre.htm Trading With Crystal] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825161521/http://www.sincuser.f9.co.uk/015/softwre.htm |date=2012-08-25 }}, [[Sinclair User]], issue 15 (p.27), ECC Publications Ltd., June 1983</ref>
*''Merchant of Venus'', ZX81, 1982. A space trading/investment game.<ref name="sinc15"/>
*''Merchant of Venus'', ZX81, 1982. A space trading/investment game.<ref name="sinc15"/>
*''Monitor and Disassembler'', ZX81, ZX Spectrum, 1982. An [[assembly language]] utility.<ref>Monitor and Disassembler press ad, ''[[Your Computer (British magazine)|Your Computer]]'' January 1983 issue (p.131), IPC Business Press Ltd.</ref>
*''[[Zeus Assembler#Monitor and disassembler|Monitor and Disassembler]]'', ZX81, ZX Spectrum, 1982. An [[assembly language]] utility.<ref>Monitor and Disassembler press ad, ''[[Your Computer (British magazine)|Your Computer]]'' January 1983 issue (p.131), IPC Business Press Ltd.</ref>
*''[[Cosmic Guerilla]]'', ZX Spectrum, 1983
*''[[Cosmic Guerilla]]'', ZX Spectrum, 1983
*''[[The Dungeon Master (video game)|The Dungeon Master]]'', ZX Spectrum, 1983
*''[[The Dungeon Master (video game)|The Dungeon Master]]'', ZX Spectrum, 1983
Line 23: Line 28:
*''[[Rommel's Revenge]]'', ZX Spectrum, 1984
*''[[Rommel's Revenge]]'', ZX Spectrum, 1984
*''Bug Blaster'', ZX Spectrum, 1984. A ''[[Centipede (video game)|Centipede]]'' clone.<ref>''Bug Blaster'' review, CRASH, issue 3 (p.83), Newsfield Publications 1984</ref>
*''Bug Blaster'', ZX Spectrum, 1984. A ''[[Centipede (video game)|Centipede]]'' clone.<ref>''Bug Blaster'' review, CRASH, issue 3 (p.83), Newsfield Publications 1984</ref>
*''[[Cyber Zone]]'', ZX Spectrum, 1984
*''Cyber Zone'', ZX Spectrum, 1984
*''[[The Island (video game)|The Island]]'', ZX Spectrum, 1984
*''[[The Island (video game)|The Island]]'', ZX Spectrum, 1984
*''[[The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (video game)|The Warlock of Firetop Mountain]]'', ZX Spectrum, 1984
*''[[The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (video game)|The Warlock of Firetop Mountain]]'', ZX Spectrum, 1984
*''[[It's the Wooluf!]]'', ZX Spectrum, 1984.
*''It's the Wooluf!'', ZX Spectrum, 1984.
*''Tube Way Army'', [[Dragon 32]] and [[TRS-80 Color Computer|Tandy 32K]], 1984
*''Tube Way Army'', [[Dragon 32]] and [[TRS-80 Color Computer|Tandy 32K]], 1984
'''Design Design'''
'''Design Design'''
*''[[Dark Star (1984 video game)|Dark Star]]'', ZX Spectrum and [[Amstrad CPC]], 1984
*''[[Dark Star (1984 video game)|Dark Star]]'', ZX Spectrum and [[Amstrad CPC]], 1984
*''Spectacle'', ZX Spectrum, 1984 (Additional program supplied with ''Dark Star'' - simulated a [[Teletext]] environment)
*''[[Halls of the Things#Return of the Things|Return of the Things]]'', ZX Spectrum, 1984
*''[[Halls of the Things#Return of the Things|Return of the Things]]'', ZX Spectrum, 1984
*''[[2112 AD]]'', ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1985
*''2112 AD'', ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1985
*''[[On the Run (video game)|On the Run]]'', ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1985
*''On the Run'', ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1985
*''[[Forbidden Planet (video game)|Forbidden Planet]]'', ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1986
*''Forbidden Planet'', ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1986
*''[[Halls of the Things#Remix|Halls of the Things Remix]]'', ZX Spectrum, 1986
*''[[Halls of the Things#Remix|Halls of the Things Remix]]'', ZX Spectrum, 1986
*''Invaders'', ZX Spectrum, 1986. A ''[[Space Invaders]]'' clone published as part of the ''Action Replay'' compilation of Crystal and Design Design games.
*''Invaders'', ZX Spectrum, 1986. A ''[[Space Invaders]]'' clone published as part of the ''Action Replay'' compilation of Crystal and Design Design games.
*''[[N.E.X.O.R.]]'', ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1986
*''N.E.X.O.R.'', ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1986
*''[[Nosferatu the Vampyre (video game)|Nosferatu the Vampyre]]'', ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and [[Commodore 64]], 1986
*''[[Nosferatu the Vampyre (video game)|Nosferatu the Vampyre]]'', ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and [[Commodore 64]], 1986
*''[[Rogue Trooper (1986 video game)|Rogue Trooper]]'', ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64, 1986
*''Rogue Trooper'', ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64, 1986
*''[[Kat Trap]]'', ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64, 1987
*''Kat Trap'', ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64, 1987


==References==
==References==
Line 46: Line 52:
{{Crystal Computing series}}
{{Crystal Computing series}}


[[Category:Defunct video game companies]]
[[Category:Defunct companies based in Manchester]]
[[Category:Video game companies of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Defunct video game companies of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Video game developers]]
[[Category:Video game companies established in 1982]]
[[Category:Video game development companies]]
[[Category:Video game publishers]]
[[Category:Video game publishers]]

Latest revision as of 00:54, 8 January 2024

Crystal Computing / Design Design
IndustryVideo games
Founded1982; 43 years ago (1982)
HeadquartersManchester, England
ProductsHalls of the Things
Invasion of the Body Snatchas!

Crystal Computing, later renamed Design Design, was a British video game developer founded in 1982 by Chris Clarke and Ian Stamp while students at the University of Manchester. Graham Stafford, Neil Mottershead, Simon Brattel and Martin Horsley, joined the company as it expanded.[1][2] The company's first software release was a compilation of games for the Sinclair ZX81, though it was with the ZX Spectrum that Crystal found its greatest success. A deal with the machine's manufacturer Sinclair to distribute Crystal's Zeus Assembler gave the company sufficient funds for a major marketing campaign for their next product,[3] Halls of the Things, an arcade adventure game that became their most successful title.

Clarke left in 1984 to join Artic Software, where he worked on the "business side", before collaborating with Jon Ritman on the Match Day series.[4] With Clarke's departure the company was reorganised as Design Design,[2] a trading name that had been used by Brattel since 1976 for his electronic audio designs.[5] Design Design's core consisted of Stafford working mainly on titles for the Commodore 64, Brattel and Mottershead working on the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, and David Lewellyn, the company's administrator.[2] According to Stafford the new name was part of a wider re-branding, as they wanted a more professional image, along with a better relationship with the press and the public.[2]

Stafford went on to form developer Walking Circles producing titles including The Living Daylights[6] and Spitting Image[7] for Domark and the PC version of Bloodwych for Image Works.[8]


Softography

[edit]

Crystal Computing

Design Design

  • Dark Star, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1984
  • Spectacle, ZX Spectrum, 1984 (Additional program supplied with Dark Star - simulated a Teletext environment)
  • Return of the Things, ZX Spectrum, 1984
  • 2112 AD, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1985
  • On the Run, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1985
  • Forbidden Planet, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1986
  • Halls of the Things Remix, ZX Spectrum, 1986
  • Invaders, ZX Spectrum, 1986. A Space Invaders clone published as part of the Action Replay compilation of Crystal and Design Design games.
  • N.E.X.O.R., ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1986
  • Nosferatu the Vampyre, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64, 1986
  • Rogue Trooper, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64, 1986
  • Kat Trap, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64, 1987

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Popular Computing Weekly, 26 January-1 February 1984 (p.26), Sunshine Publications Ltd.
  2. ^ a b c d Rebirth of the Things: Design Design, CRASH, issue 8 (p.88), Newsfield Publications, 1984
  3. ^ "As Clear as Crystal", Popular Computing Weekly, 26 January-1 February 1984 (p.26), Sunshine Publications Ltd
  4. ^ "From Namtir Raiders, to a bit of a bovver with bears then on to Batman... and beyond", CRASH, issue 33 (p.84), Newsfield Publications, October 1986
  5. ^ Design Design official site
  6. ^ "The Living Daylights". Crash. No. 43. Newsfield. August 1987. p. 94. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Snippets... Spitting Image". ACE. No. 15. Future Publishing. December 1988. p. 10. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  8. ^ "The Making of: Bloodwych", Retro Gamer, issue 23 (p.55), Imagine Publishing
  9. ^ a b Trading With Crystal Archived 2012-08-25 at the Wayback Machine, Sinclair User, issue 15 (p.27), ECC Publications Ltd., June 1983
  10. ^ Monitor and Disassembler press ad, Your Computer January 1983 issue (p.131), IPC Business Press Ltd.
  11. ^ Bug Blaster review, CRASH, issue 3 (p.83), Newsfield Publications 1984
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Crystal_Computing&oldid=1194248807"