Crystal Computing
| Industry | Computer and video games |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1982 |
| Headquarters | Manchester, England |
| Products | Halls of the Things Invasion of the Body Snatchas! |
Crystal Computing 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.[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, Halls of the Things, an arcade adventure game that became their most successful title.
In 1984 Clarke left to join Artic Software and the company was reorganised as Design Design,[2] a trading name used by Simon Brattel since 1976 for his electronic audio designs.[3] 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]
Softography
Crystal Computing
- ZX81 Games Pack, ZX81, 1982
- Merchant of Venus, ZX81, 1982
- Monitor and Disassembler, ZX81, ZX Spectrum, 1982
- Cosmic Guerilla, ZX Spectrum, 1983
- The Dungeon Master, ZX Spectrum, 1983
- Halls of the Things, ZX Spectrum, 1983
- Invasion of the Body Snatchas!, ZX Spectrum, 1983
- Zeus Assembler, ZX Spectrum, 1983
- Rommel's Revenge, ZX Spectrum, 1984
- Bug Blaster, ZX Spectrum, 1984
- Cyber Zone, ZX Spectrum, 1984
- The Island, ZX Spectrum, 1984
- The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, ZX Spectrum, 1984
- It's the Wooluf!, ZX Spectrum, 1984
Design Design
- Dark Star, ZX Spectrum, 1984
- Return of the Things, ZX Spectrum, 1984
- Spectacle, ZX Spectrum, 1984
- 2112 AD, ZX Spectrum, 1985
- On The Run, ZX Spectrum, 1985
- Forbidden Planet, ZX Spectrum, 1986
- Halls of the Things Remix, ZX Spectrum, 1986
- Invaders, ZX Spectrum, 1986
- N.E.X.O.R., ZX Spectrum, 1986
- Nosferatu the Vampyre, ZX Spectrum, 1986
- Rogue Trooper, ZX Spectrum, 1986
- Spectacle 2, ZX Spectrum, 1986
- Time and Motion, ZX Spectrum, 1986
- Kat Trap, ZX Spectrum, 1987
References
- ^ Popular Computing Weekly, 26 January-1 February 1984 (p.26), Sunshine Publications Ltd.
- ^ a b c Rebirth of the Things: Design Design, CRASH, issue 8, p.88, Newsfield Publications, 1984
- ^ Design Design official site