Kean
the history
the history
Compiled by
Chris Wilkins & Roger M. Kean
PRODUCTION
First published 2013 by Revival Retro Events
Revival Retro Events, 51 Dencer Drive, Kenilworth, CV8 2QR
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Acknowledgements
In the making of this book, I would like to thank:
n o n Jon Woods and David Ward for generously giving us Ocean, and their time to
reminisce; Gary Bracey for believing in the project and rallying support from the
Ocean gang early on in the production of the book; Paul Patterson for his thoughtful
insights; and Paul Finnegan for his time, filling in many gaps and making top-notch
ham rolls.
n o n Mark Jones ( Jnr) for supplying a great deal of the visual content and helping with the
proof-reading (above and beyond the call of duty, really something of a Decathlon).
n o n Simon Butler for helping to locate many of the elusive Ocean dungeon crew
and always being there for a helpful opinion.
n o n Martyn Carroll for proof-reading and for being an inspiration from his Live
Publishing Retro Gamer magazine days.
n o n Roger Kean for being a professional, a gentleman and the individual who gave us
Crash, Zzap 64! and Amtix! magazines.
n o n Oliver Frey for the kind permission to use his artwork, and for also giving us Crash,
Zzap 64! and Amtix! magazines.
nonD ave and Anna from Attic Bug for their continuing support of the project and
supplying the Bob Wakelin art and postcards. You two are great friends.
nonA nd the family – my wife Nomita, daughters Amber and Sienna, and son Milan,
who gave me the time and support in putting this book together. Love you guys.
Foreword by David Ward ...................................................... 6
Ocean – the History ............................................................. 8
An Oceanic Aftermath ....................................................... 88
Memories Are Made of This ............................................... 94
Simon Butler 96 Kevin Oxland 170
Paul Owens 104 Julian Hicks 172
Mark Jones Jnr 110 Dawn Drake 174
Tony Pomfret 116 Brian Flanagan 180
Brian Beuken 120 Stephen Thomson 184
Ivan Davies 124 Mark Jones Snr 188
Lee Clare 128 Paul Millar 192
Simon Cobb 132 John Palmer 194
John Gibson 136 David Selwood 198
Steve Lavache 138 Richard Kay 200
Richard Palmer 140 Peter Johnson 204
Michael Lamb 142 Jon Ritman 208
John Meegan 148 Steve Wahid 214
Paul Hughes 150 Ian Richardson 216
Gareth Betts 158 Bill Harbison 220
James Higgins 162 Jim Bagley 224
Jayne Millar 166 Colin Porch 226
Bob Wakelin – The Artist .................................................. 229
The Sound and Music of Ocean ......................................... 248
Jonathan Smith – A Tribute ............................................... 254
Allan Shortt – A Tribute .................................................... 257
A Rogues’ Gallery .............................................................. 258
Ocean Games Index .......................................................... 260
foreword
by David Ward
T
he story of Ocean ten years the Ocean team grew from
parallels the evolution a handful of enthusiasts contacted
of interactive software through specialist magazines to nearly
as mainstream 300 staff, embracing art and design,
entertainment with the adoption of software development, marketing,
personal computers by the general sales and administration. A new kind
public, which created a paradigm shift of company with few of the rules or
in the use of information technology. constraints of traditional business and
From dots on a screen to immersive little appreciation of what couldn’t be
simulation, the company’s time-line achieved.
spans the emergence of a global By the 1990s the computer and
industry using computer processing to video games market had become
deliver fun and games. global and Ocean’s products were sold
Formed at the beginning of the in all the major markets of the world;
1980s alongside the birth of home subsidiary companies were formed
computers and not long after Pong was in Europe and the United States.
sprung on an unsuspecting world, the The bottom line got bigger and the
Ocean pioneers had the good fortune corporate structure more sophisticated
to be able to blaze a trail through and yet the essence of the business
uncharted territory in a world where was still its people, its assets the talent
anything seemed possible. of the individuals who made up the
Harnessing raw development workforce. The mission statement
and marketing talent, the company was to provide innovative, compelling
invented its way to success, honing entertainment to a waiting world and
a new business; one in which there Ocean did just that!
were few guidelines and little or no The ability to recognise that this
descriptive language. In the space of new kind of entertainment would
O
raconteur and visionary, or ‘the Brains’.
ver a period of a decade and a The company which started life
half, Ocean became Europe’s as Spectrum Games, then to become
largest video games developer Ocean, altered a lot over the years,
Above: This shiny and, more importantly, eventually to disappear into the French
chromium-plated publisher. The company’s creators were corporation Infogrames. In that time,
Ocean logo was fixed
to the exterior wall
Jon Woods and David Ward, and their rumours, as they will, circulated to
of the company’s story is one of growth and commercial suggest the two towering figures of the
Castlefield premises. success in an industry, which – as David British games industry, Jon and David,
once rashly (but accurately) boasted – had fallen out, become reclusive and
would become bigger than the movies. refused all interviews about the past. Not
Four other figures joined Ocean and entirely true, as it turns out.
made their managerial mark in the early ‘We’ve known each other since we
years of the company: Paul Finnegan, were not quite old enough to drink a pint
a founding shareholder, acted as the in a pub,’ Jon says. ‘We actually didn’t go
company’s sales director up to 1987; to school together but our parents lived
Gary Bracey and Paul Patterson started in the same road, in a place called West
out as software development manager Kirby. It’s on the Wirral. Yeah, we met
and sales manager respectively; and Steve when we were about 17, mere youngsters.’
Is there a market? was Your Computer. So we took a punt Software, the company
they founded with
The sudden success of Liverpool’s games and bought the magazine’s back page for Eugene Evans, would
software houses was being compared in six months to advertise four games. The become an important
label for Ocean.
the press to Beatlemania all over again. ones we chose were versions of famous
It gave Jon and David pause for thought. games… like Missile Command and
‘Liverpool was swamped with the two Frogger. It was a kind of ridiculous thing
then quite large companies,’ Jon says, ‘not to do but we had no market in which to
to forget Software Projects as well. So we sell anything, and no actual game to sell
made a conscious decision to locate our at that time… it was just an idea.’
company in Manchester.’ And of the various computers on
Knowing that Bug-Byte, Imagine the market, who owned what? No one
and the less prolific but very successful had any idea, but David came up with a
Software Projects were making sales was marketing wheeze to find out.
one thing, discovering the best way of ‘There was no research at all, nothing
Youngsters in control:
Christian Urquhart and
Nick Pierpoint discuss
program writing with
David Shea on the Crash
stand at the ZX Microfair
in London, 1984.
“ You were a hostage to your anything. They were all individuals who
wrote games in their own unique way
programmers, whether they were little in order to make things work, and only
corporate outf its with a dozen people or they could understand what they had
a single guy in the bedroom.” developed. If anything went wrong, like
the kid keeled over or he decided he did
seen this same game on about five stands. not want to do it anymore, that was the
The kid had only gone and sold his game end of it. You just threw it all away.’
to everybody for five grand! David and I ‘You were a hostage to your
looked each other and said, “Oh shit!” I programmers,’ Jon agrees, ‘whether they
just thought, well done!’ were little corporate outfits with a dozen
Putting aside individual enterprise people or a single guy in the bedroom.
of this kind, an interesting and probably You couldn’t change them and get
forgotten aspect of these early days someone else in to finish it. It was not
of bedroom games programming is like digging a hole in the road where you
that no infrastructure existed, nothing get more pickaxes and more JCBs. The
that provided support or a forum for code was theirs, it was their style and it
Going iconic into two flats. We couldn’t secure a Or was it Bob Wakelin
(pictured below) who
Imagine Software was still the leading mortgage on the property without first did it? ‘Not me,’ they
games software house in late 1983, converting it back to a single dwelling. both say, ‘I didn’t create
the Ocean logo.’
with the best-looking cover art. Already It was a Catch-22 situation, as we
impressed at the quality, David Ward didn’t possess the funds to purchase the
had tried to poach Imagine’s art director, property outright. David and Jon
Steve Blower, the year before. Steve stepped in and gave me a cheque
turned him down then, but a year on he for the full amount of the property,
accepted David’s second offer. which I repaid when we received
‘The management approach of David the mortgage. It was such a kind
Ward as chairman and Jon Woods as gesture and one for which my wife
managing director couldn’t have been and I have been eternally grateful.
more different to that of the directors We still live there!’
of Imagine: Mark Butler and David There are those who naturally
Lawson. During an early discussion I had think it was Steve who created
with Jon Woods he insisted that Ocean the famous Ocean logo, but in fact it
were doing things seriously and were remains a mystery. Others assume Bob
in it for the long haul which was really Wakelin, the artist who painted many
encouraging. iconic Ocean covers, did it, but both are
‘I’ve an early fond memory of my adamant it was nothing to do with them.
relationship with David and Jon that I As Steve Blower recalls, ‘The logo was
will never forget. My wife and I had seen already in existence, in its spot-blue-on-
a house in Birkdale, Southport that we white form, prior to my joining Ocean.’
wanted to buy. It was a beautiful house And independently, Bob Wakelin backs
was,’ David Ward says. ‘A logo you could “We wanted something you stamp on
literally stamp on the side of a steer – like
branding. It would stand out on boxes,
the side of a steer – like branding. It
crates, in shops, everywhere.’ would stand out on boxes, crates, in shops,
Bob Wakelin took that basic flat everywhere.”
logo and made it more elaborate for
colour packaging. ‘I did the airbrushed kilograms. Huge! And it had punched
version with the highlights, flashes and tape in it. You got a message in hand. The
reflections. David Ward asked me to fax machine put Telex out of business
make it more like the Imagine logo, overnight. But faxes were expensive
which Steve Blower had done.’ machines, which most offices couldn’t
‘Yes, we had all sorts of 3-D versions afford, so there were bureaux on the high
of the logo drawn,’ David recalls. ‘Bob street where you could go and send a fax.
Wakelin did a fantastic version, with a That was all thanks to the Japanese, who
picture of me leaning on it.’ invented it because of their character set,
Paul Finnegan acts with arrow shooting. It seems Century else sat in front of the monitor with a
as the face of Ocean Electronics decided Quasimodo was a camera and videoed it. And it looked
at an early London
computer fair. The DIY more intriguing subject than Robin. The great. We sent it off without realising
Ocean stand, a wall original programmer had left and the that when it was shown on television all
with cut-outs to take game was too far along in development, these ghostly scan lines appeared… you
the Sony monitors, was
just about the most so the graphics remained as they were. If couldn’t actually photograph a monitor
sophisticated of the the guys at Century were making it up in those days and replay it through a
stands at these shows. as they went along, so was Ocean. David television. You had to have some sort of
recalls the way they plugged the new thing plugged into it, but we didn’t know
game on the Spectrum, which was the that.’
main early platform. The same pioneering spirit went into
‘We decided to advertise on the their first primitive exhibition and trade
local Granada television station – one show appearance, although from the start
the counter. ‘There was a really pushy called them. I started Blue Chip – the
sales guy who kept pushing and pushing first solely computer games seller in
– and I was only a little shop and he was Liverpool – in 1983, with a video game
dealing with all the big chains like WH library in Allerton Road, and I sold
in with cheap cassettes for me was Pogo. don’t have to be a techie to play games,
That would be early 1984. but they didn’t even play. There was no
‘A bit later I was chatting to Colin actual interest in the product, it was a
Stokes and he said, “You know about commodity, and I’m sure they would be
games. Why not come and work for us?” the first to admit that.’
Well, I was getting a bit fed up of this ‘Yeah, I remember David saying it’s
retail lark, it wasn’t for me. I saw Jon, like toothpaste,’ Paul Finnegan agrees.
call it an interview if you like, and there ‘Jon and David really didn’t know
it was. I started at the very beginning of anything about computer games, so they
1986 for the princely sum of £13,000 a did as smart people do, they took on
year. Tony Kavanagh, the sales manager, good people to do the work. And Gary
did a good job. He tidied it all up, made established as a standard, so you just
it a bit more professional.’ got on and did it. And you know, I had
At the time of his hiring Gary no technical background. I couldn’t
had no clear view of Ocean’s forward program, I couldn’t draw, so I was in awe
momentum compared to other software of these talents. I like to think of myself
houses he knew well. ‘The big one for me as a creative person, but I had maximum
was Software Projects. I knew them well admiration for the people who had these
because I was friendly with Alan Maton amazing skills, like programming skills,
and Tommy Barton. Matthew Smith and technical skills, graphical skills, audio
Paul Patterson worked there, Paul was skills, because I don’t. I wish I had! And I
a sales manager, and later became sales tried to make that clear with everyone.’
director of Ocean. So I knew Software
Projects well, and I knew Bug-Byte well. Changes in the sales team
I was very friendly with Paul McKenna Steve Blower recalls the sheer energy of
of Thor, who later renamed themselves the early days. ‘It was relentless, hard and
as Odin. They did Nodes of Yesod and totally exhilarating. At that time Ocean’s
Robin of the Wood. Quite a few of those offices were situated in Ralli Building,
programmers went on to work at Ocean.’ a warehouse which also housed another
Asking if he was provided with a business owned by Jon, David and Mike
clearly defined job description provokes Barnes supplying theatrical props. They
another laugh. ‘The industry was still sold this business shortly after I joined.
in its infancy, you see, so there were After the rock’n’roll craziness of Imagine,
no protocols or roles that had been with Ferraris and Porsches arriving
Sinclair User magazine Street Hawk and it was the same story. we almost had something. So we paid a
said: ‘Never has a game They didn’t give a shit, you know. They bit more… “Provided we get this amount
been more aptly titled
than Street Turkey.’ had the money and it was, “If you want of money, you will get the game.” So
to see more of the game, give us more we managed to massage that through
money.” That was common in those days.’ although it was never going to be any
The programmers needed some good. It was just a case of getting it out
money in advance in order to live, and there.
typically received half of the money ‘Street Hawk was a different problem.
up front, usually £5,000. ‘So you had a It was at the stage where it was obviously
two-man team, you had a back of a ciggie never going to be finished so we brought
packet game design or concept, maybe it in-house. I don’t think we even rescued
Daley does it was mostly technical – how you made At least Knight Rider
was completeed
In the Central Street office environment realistic imagery using an incredibly small
by its original
Ocean began to flower. ‘In a sense that processor and memory size. You can’t development team.
building, and what we did in it, defined imagine… even a 128K Spectrum now…
the Ocean story more than anything compared to this instrument in my hand
else,’ David Ward insists. ‘Everything [holds up an iPhone].’ He shakes his
that subsequently happened certainly head at the wonder of it. ‘One of the most
wasn’t as ground-breaking. What we amazing things is how quickly the market
looked at then was the prospect of how in terms of processing development took
we could sell products and how we could place. Most of it was challenging, most of
success was only in Britain, as he points Buying a brand then have to pay £50
for each piece of
out. ‘The obvious problem with Daley One business model David and Jon software to run on it.’
Thompson is that it was only a British- had no intention of following was David Ward, November
1985 – Amstrad Action.
understood thing. It wasn’t Carl Lewis, that practised by their Liverpool rivals
vertically up the monitor, not laterally the product was, it was just make “f***ing
across… And intially the only way you money, f***ing this, f***ing that”. And for
could play these games was to turn the this meeting I put a suit on! No, he was
monitor on its side. Someone in our R and obnoxious. I’m not taking away from his
D department figured out with a couple success, but it didn’t really impress. But he
of pokes you could actually get the game predicted that Amstrad
to run on a lateral basis. And presumably would make us a lot of
the industry then figured out you could do money.’
these few pokes to make it happen.’ In general terms, while
Gary Bracey also recalls that dealing Amstrad products were
with the boss of Amstrad could be difficult. a useful revenue stream,
‘He was so, so rude! I took John Ritman Ocean made more money
and Mike Lamb along with me to meet with the games in France,
Alan Sugar and it was all “Oh, I tell you where the machine became more popular Sir Clive Sinclair sold
his computer business
what you f***ing do, you’re going to make than it ever did in Britain.
to Amstrad boss Alan
f***ing great games, you going to make But in attempting to tackle the Sugar in 1986.
a f***ing lot of money.” He didn’t give a growing Japanese console threat, Amstrad
shit about what the games were or what came unstuck. David Ward again: ‘When
Alan Sugar launched the Amstrad in Paris on the Eiffel Tower…’ He turns
games console in 1990, the GX4000, to Jon Woods. ‘Do you remember that,
Ocean and he decided the console would have dinner in the Eiffel Tower?’
Amstrad a cartridge slot for the games. We ‘No, I didn’t do that one.’
continued… were one of the early companies ‘Where he made this ridiculous
commissioned to develop half a dozen speech about his console the “arcade
products for the GX4000. Due to the machine”, nothing at all about games.’
time constraints of manufacture and ‘He didn’t understand it. Never-
shipping Sugar realised he couldn’t theless, he succeeded. The Amstrad
get the cartridges made in the Far was the biggest format in France.’
East, so decided to go to Italy to ‘But I don’t think the Amstrad
buy the RAM-chips. They cost as a games machine succeeded.
about twenty pounds each to Because of the cost of the games.
source which meant the raw I don’t think there was ever
materials cost more than the a line of software to go with
actual game sold at retail. it really.’
He had this launch party
Juggling the new formats created from there. I think what happened
was the machines arrived first, but the
At the height of the 8-bit era, how did 16-bit era enabled much more deliberate
Ocean react to the 16-bit Atari ST programming to take place. It was less
and Commodore Amiga coming over serendipitous than the 8-bit market. We
the horizon, particularly in respect of set up the facilities for the people in-
programming teams familiar with Z80 house to work on those machines. We
and C64 assembler? Paul Patterson’s view moved to a studio production. We had a
is very much that of the music studio, graphic artists’ studio and
sales person. the beginnings of what you may call a
‘I think we always collaborative creative process, like making
wanted to produce films. That wasn’t so in the 8-bit era. If
product for the most you look at the way 8-bit games were
successful platform. I’m written, the way the programmers created
First 16-bit and then sure Gary and the developers might have the images onscreen was quite different,
32-bit machines had a favourite platform or a cost might with the sprites.’
promised ever better
graphics… one day. be cheaper from one platform to another Jon joins in: ‘You know originally
They also promised an but as far as I was concerned I wanted with those back bedroom programmers
escalation in costs to an product for a hardware platform that everything was done in Basic. The only
unprecedented level.
most of retail would give shelf space to.’ efficient way to write a game was in
David Ward says they responded to the machine code where you wrote to the
devices in the market place. ‘Demand was device, you wrote to the metal. If you
knew machine code you were in. That box, but…’ He waves his hands in a way
was the only way to get the thing looking that suggests that Ocean’s early packaging
any good at all. The 16-bit machines efforts for PC games were unhappy ones.
allowed the beginnings of a structured Added to the hardware problems, the 16-
environment. Also, at the time the 16-bit bit market was a very different one to the
market was emerging we were beginning 8-bit, as David points out.
to interview people who actually had ‘Because it was a much wider demo-
learned programming at university.’ graphic of audience, the PC market was a
The new programming-designing- much more difficult one for us to identify. Just one of numerous
expansion cards to
music-writing studio may have been more I mean, there were women suddenly play-
beef up IBM PC clones
structured, but the 16-bit machines came ing games!… People who wanted flight to give brighter, better,
with their own problems for developers. simulators!… The American companies faster graphics, or
louder, crisper sound,
‘The PC with all those cards and add- tended to be better at PCs because they
as this one promised.
ons was a headache because there was no had a bigger domestic audience. And
simple user-base. Ignoring all the amaz- they were able to address the fact
ing bolt-ons, we had to write for the low- that, for instance, lots of
est common denominator, otherwise people want to
the game wouldn’t work for those
with the basic machine and they’d
want their money back. The PC
was a nightmare! Whether you had
a VGA card or not, and you put it on the
‘Or they told you what was wrong “For us, the challenge
with it,’ Jon says. ‘It had to be perfect for of cartridge software
them or they wouldn’t let it go onto their
was that it was all
system.’
‘They couldn’t, because obviously you controlled by the device
The Amiga CD32 can’t have bugs in a cartridge product.’ manufacturers.”
games console came ‘The whole process became so
too late to market
to save venerable elongated and much more sophisticated. their dabble in the console market went
Commodore’s bacon. Basically, what you needed to do with a wrong and that was the beginning of
the end for them.’ The world’s first true
32-bit games console, the Amiga CD32
released in September 1993 came too
late for the venerable computer company,
and Commodore International went
bankrupt in April 1994. ‘The Spectrum
by then had been phased out too and
all the other home computers for which
we had made games – the Dragon, the
Oric, BBC Micro, Amstrad, MSX –
partner, made a merger with France’s company had become massive. You see, A new American force
in original games, such
most powerful imformatique company the the music publishing industry, or book
as 1988’s Powerdrome
best option. publishing industries never needed to (above), Electronic
‘Informatique [computing] was a employ creatives directly as we did. Arts began to threaten
very important cultural part of French The problem with hiring two or three Ocean’s dominance
when it started to
political life and the French have always hundred creatives is that you have to find license properties
had this kind of affection for technology. something for them to do, and you get in competition.
B
y a mixture of luck and design,’ the games, the staff, who our competitors
Paul Patterson says, ‘most of the were, and so on. So he stands up and comes
Ocean staff from top to bottom out talking about people. I’ll never forget
had the same passion, personality, loyalty, one industry joke that just cracked us all
work ethic and most importantly was up. “You have Ocean, who are a sixteen-
a party animal! Ocean was known for bit company and then you have US Gold,
working hard and playing hard, and this which is a two-bit company!” And he had
went right up to the Chairman, David this running joke. One of the girls in PR
Ward.’ was Danielle Woodyatt, who everyone in
Those magazine journalists who were the whole business new as “Woody”, and
invited to an Ocean ‘do’ knew they were in
for a good time.
‘The parties were great,’ David
reminisces with a grin that can only be
Smart Bob Monkhouse described as sly. ‘We spent a lot of ill-
turned the party air blue, gotten gains on them.’
but Stan Boardman
made Ocean’s German ‘There was the riverboat on the
guests feel blue. Thames in 1989…’ Jon adds.
‘Some of the artists we had… We had Bob was briefed about this and… well,
a couple of the hottest Tamla Motown you can imagine the amount of “woody”
groups. We had a great party once with running jokes, you know Woody this and
After a week of an Abba group. It wasn’t Abba themselves, Woody that. Then about six months later
unending pressure to it was Abbalike.’ David turns to Jon. ‘Do
get games finished
and out the door, the
you remember the party when we had “The night before I’d gone
Bob Monkhouse? He was the filthiest…
to a nightclub and got
Ocean staff tended to
party hard as well. he had a line of blue conversation, as blue
as you could imagine.’ so drunk that I couldn’t
‘The sharpest guy I ever met.’ stand up.”
‘Yes, very sharp.’
Gary Bracey remembers it well, as I was flying to the States, and I was in the
if anyone could ever forget. ‘It was at a lounge and Bob Monkhouse was there,
London hotel during the annual ECTS I think he was flying out to Barbados. I
[European Computer Trade Show]. Bob went up to him and I said, “Bob, I just
Monkhouse was brilliant, a legend. About got to say I haven’t seen you since you
T
as to say the Ocean brand had better
he merger with Infogrames, in visibility than the Infogrames brand. I
visionary terms,’ David says, would say that at one point we were the
‘was the correct thing to do. It biggest games company in the world
made us part of a worldwide and the most prolific, we were the most
company – you couldn’t compete any profitable, we had the biggest turnover,
longer on a national basis only. You had and we had the best image.’
to be a worldwide player to get access Jon Woods agrees. ‘Ours was a
to creative resources and access to the much stronger name. Infogrames had
product categories – you needed a global all the money in the world because of
footprint. And Infogrames were very their own stock market evaluation, and
motivated about that and they had a being French the market would support
second string to their agenda which was them. If they’d been in the States they
would have just withered on the vine…
“Infogrames had acquired a very well and ultimately they ended up owning
loved brand and just didn’t use it.” Hasbro and Atari and God knows what.
Atari was a great name, great brand, but
to buy GT Interactive. And GT already it ended up being owned by so many
had a quote on the NASDAQ and we people it’s not really much use any more.’
had a Bourse quote and so we had the And Paul Patterson had more reason
global company. For all those reasons it than the others to bemoan Infogrames’
was the right thing to do. And within short-sighted policy. ‘Their message
two years of joining we pushed up the at the beginning was that they wanted
share price of Infogrames so that in keep the heart and soul of Ocean but
market capitalisation terms it was the make one or two sensible cutbacks.
same as EA. We had the same potential Unfortunately, within a year they set
and opportunities.’ about dismantling all that was good
Gary Bracey’s perception of the about Ocean and replaced it with a
merger is that of an outsider, since he subsidiary of Infogrames. Change was
had left Ocean before it took place. ‘I absolutely necessary and the overheads
was terribly upset that Infogrames had needed to be reduced but all this could
acquired a very well loved brand and just have been done without destroying the
didn’t use it. It’s not about the products, brand – Ocean. I stayed for three years
some of that’s history, but you’ve got a as Managing Director after the sale to
brand there, which was recognised, that Infogrames.’
was built up over a substantial period Infogrames was all big money, not big
and Infogrames just never used it. To games; Ocean was big games. And with
that our real forté was in publishing. In a was always my philosophy, to look after
sense, that’s where we started, envisioning them because they’re the lifeblood. If it’s
a business to support a publishing going to work it’s going to be because
operation.’ of the programmers.’ Finnegan rejects
Steve Blower stuck it for a while, but completely the popular notion that
eventually he lost heart. ‘Towards my the company was named Rage because
last two years at Ocean things became he was so angry at the way he’d been
a lot less enjoyable. There were people treated. ‘No. I wanted to call it Elephant
in management positions that were Software until they all got me round a
either not adequately taking on their table and gave me a good kicking. No, it
responsibilities and others who were was Joffa Smith who came up with Rage,
more interested in increasing their power just off the top of his head, short and
footprint. The sale of the company to sharp, like Crash or Zzap!; there was no
Infogrames had also changed some of the malice in it. My motto is that you’ll meet
S
imon was called on to create the strange gun-wielding frog type creature.
graphics for the less-than-stellar He asked me what it was, and being
Transformers on the Commodore the card I thought I was at the time, I
64. He was working in-house at Denton merrily quipped that it was a Cosmic War
Designs in Liverpool, a company Toad. When he enquired if a full game
originally founded in 1984 by former design existed, I never thought twice
Imagine employees, Steve Cain, Ian and assured him that was indeed the
Weatherburn, Ally Noble, John Gibson, case, which could not have been further
Karen Davies and Graham ‘Kenny’ from the truth. Satisfied with this he
Everett. Denton Designs developed then took the “Jolly Dents”, as the upper
numerous titles for the Ocean label, and echelon were known, away into their
Simon regularly bumped into David
Ward. ‘He was far more hands-on in
the formative years of what would
become Europe’s leading developer/
publisher. I knew David and Jon
prior to the games explosion when
they ran a hippie clothes shop in
the centre of Liverpool, something I
was “asked” somewhat strongly not
to mention ever again once I was
ensconced in the bowels of Central
The advertisement for Street.
N.O.M.A.D. The game ‘During the Denton era I
was released on the
Spectrum, Commodore remember David calling in to check
64 and Amstrad in 1986. on the progress of something they
were working on and he noticed a
rough doodle of mine depicting a
P
aul Owens was a part of the few weeks. I couldn’t afford a Sinclair
Ocean legacy for 13 years, ZX80 when it was launched, but when
starting in the early Spectrum the ZX81 came out I managed to buy
Games days and staying past the one of those. I wrote a Frogger clone for
Infogrames merger in 1997. He started it as well as Space Invaders – just for fun.
with David Ward as Spectrum Games’ I wrote the games in machine code – and
only developer, based at David’s theatrical this was the time when I learned how the
props agency in the Ralli Building in Z80 processor worked.
Manchester. ‘I answered an advert for ‘I purchased a ZX Spectrum the day
the job and I believe I was the
only one to reply. I was doing
a degree in chemistry at the
time and thought I would get
six weeks’ worth of work during
the summer break. I actually
never went back to college
full-time – writing games and
The earliest advert doing a degree course was never
promoting the first really on, and I wasn’t that keen
four Spectrum Games
offerings, including on chemistry anyway, if I am
Paul’s Frogger clone, perfectly honest.
Road Frog. ‘There were Commodore
Pets at university which we used
for some of the course work, and
I also remember there being a
Tandy TRS-80. I wrote Space
Invaders for that machine in my
spare time over the course of a
W
hile at school, Mark used and started to experiment. ‘In my
to visit a local computer spare time I produced graphics on the
shop in his home town Spectrum – copying images from comics,
of Northampton where over time he the monsters from Trap Door [a British
got to know the staff and the owner animated television series] and such, and
extremely well. ‘I used to buy games from putting them onto a loading screen just
the shop in town for my ZX Spectrum to see if I could do it. I took the work I’d
and found myself spending most of each done to the shop one Saturday, and those
Saturday afternoon there watching and I showed what I’d created were gob-
smacked. They said I should try and get a
job doing it.
‘So I put all the screens on a tape
and sent it along with a letter in
October 1986 to all the software houses
which advertised the games I liked in
Crash magazine. I didn’t appreciate
at the time that the likes of Piranha
and Mastertronic only published and
distributed games and did not have in-
house development teams – they all got
the tape though.’
Mark did hear from Elite and
Mark’s first task at playing games. When I left school, the Ocean just before Christmas and both
Ocean, creating a shop needed staff, so I worked there each companies asked him to visit their offices
loading screen for
promotional title Say Saturday and got paid for it – I was 16 at to attend interviews. These took place in
No To Strangers on the the time.’ January 1987.
Spectrum. At home Mark was becoming ‘I went first to Elite in Walsall, on
T
ony joined Ocean at the computer market had really started,
age of 18 and stayed with and it cost a bloody fortune at the
the company for four years. time and offered little less than 8Kb of
Prior to that he worked at Summlock usable memory, and a rather slow 6502
Electric Services – his father’s shop processor at its heart. Learning how this
in Manchester’s Deansgate – selling computer ticked ultimately led me on to
computers and software. ‘I was very good employment by Ocean.’
at the shop because of my enthusiasm for One early summer day in 1984, a
The cassette inlay for the home computers of the time, and in group of customers walked into the
the C64 version of Daley particular because I was like every other shop and he got talking to one of them.
Thompson’s Decathlon.
1980s teenager: totally infatuated with ‘The chap seemed to have the passion
playing games. and understanding for games that I had
The C64 100m and
Javelin events with ‘I was given a Commodore PET at – he said his name was Dave Collier,
loading and intro screen. a pretty early age, way before the home and unbeknown to me he was a lead
Commodore 64 programmer at
Ocean, who I later found out were
located within shouting distance
of the shop. After a good long
chat with Dave, I got to show off
something I was working on, on
the Commodore 64. It was a very
colourful game involving a helicopter
and an Australian bush fire, with
lots of smooth side-scrolling action
and some pretty clever raster
programming (the ability to split the
C64 screen into scrolling and non-
scrolling areas, with colour changes
B
rian joined the gaming Commodore 64 versions of Konami’s big
industry back in the days of the 1985 coin-op, Yie Ar Kung-Fu. ‘Now at
Sinclair ZX81. When the next that time I wasn’t really a coder, I’d done
generation of computers came along some work on the Texas Instruments
he started a small company in Scotland TI99/4a and basic on the Amstrad but
developing games for the Amstrad CPC. was not at that point a competent Z80
He sold the games in the local coder.
computer shops and via adverts ‘I had my coder friend with me, and I
in the back of Computer & Video was learning fast, so we said yes we would
Games magazine. take the contract. Even so, we didn’t have
‘This was just at the point the resources to do three projects, so I
when people stopped buying placed adverts for Commodore 64 coders
games from ads in the back of in the local papers and quickly employed
C&VG. Unable to sell enough three guys to help, two local and one in
to make a living, I decided to Edinburgh.
try and get some contract work ‘The Amstrad and Spectrum
and put out a few phone calls versions were done by a couple of young
to people. I managed to hook programmers who were really great coders
The C64 version of up with a chap in England who was but both of them struggled with the sprite
Yie Ar Kung-Fu was talking to Ocean about some projects. systems for different reasons. By this time
eventually completed
in-house at Ocean by He arranged a meeting with David Ward I was becoming quite good at coding, so
David Collier. and then invited a coder friend I was I came up with two different methods
working with and I to drive down to of storing and drawing the sprites. I was
Manchester for a meeting.’ especially proud of the Amstrad code. I
The meeting evidently went well did all the graphics too, by stop/starting
and soon after Brian got a call to tell a videotape of the arcade game and
him he had the contract to produce doing my best to copy pixel by pixel.’
the Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Development of the Amstrad and
I
van stumbled, literally, into the was contractually bound to give Ocean
games industry when he abandoned first refusal on all their products.
ambitions to become an architect – ‘We used to go to Manchester
he had completed a foundation course regularly and show the Ocean guys
and realized it was not for him. ‘I updates on the games I was working
went for an interview at Special FX in on and they provided us with technical
Liverpool, all suited up with a portfolio support if we ever needed it. The main
of work I had put together in college on point of contact was Gary Bracey, but
a souped-up 32-bit graphics station. I we did work with Tim Welch as well in
thought the interview would be a breeze QA. There were 15 of us at Special FX,
– I didn’t realise Special FX was a video and all the games we produced went out
games company before walking into under the Ocean label.’
that interview room, so I asked where His first Special FX game for Ocean
the drawing board was. What must they
have thought of me? I started talking to
Paul Finnegan, who was interviewing
me, about football and my fortunes
started to turn since he’s a big football
fan [Everton]. He asked me to stay for
a month at Special FX to see if I would
like it and that was it. Twenty-four years
Red Heat – produced later I am still in the industry, thanks to
by Special FX and Paul.’
published by Ocean in
1989. Ivan started at Special FX in January
1989 at the age of 20. The company
was run and owned by ex-Ocean sales
director Paul Finnegan and programmer
Jonathan “Joffa” Smith, but Special FX
L
ee Clare was 24 when he joined Asking Lee which of Ocean’s huge
Ocean’s Quality Assurance output by that time he was aware of
team. Over the next five years results in a short answer: ‘Which games?
he assumed many roles, from the Ocean All of them – I knew all of Ocean’s
Helpline through to associate producer output. I followed them that keenly.’
and producer in 1999. An enthusiasm he extends to those he
‘I was in my first year of university, worked with. ‘I was aware of Jonathan
doing an HND course in software Dunn, Martin Galway, Dave Collier,
engineering, and by that time I’d applied Tony Pomfret, Paul Hughes, Allan
Shortt, Dave Ward, and Jon Woods.
‘‘I was f inally a part of the one company These were almost like famous people
to me – especially Jonathan Dunn and
I always wanted to work for, the great Martin Galway. I was finally a part of
Ocean Software.” the one company I always wanted to
work for, the great Ocean Software. I
to Ocean for a job position at least was proud; my first impressions were
three times. Before university, I was an exceeded. I used to go in and out of
unemployed Commodore 64 demo coder the development rooms and meet the
and founding member of the Manchester guys and would be in awe – it felt like
Commodore 64 demo group. For me as a I was finally part of the Ocean family. I
local boy, Ocean was the Mecca of video absolutely loved it.’
Loading screen from game development and I’d wanted to During his first year, Lee found
Jurassic Park – a title work there since 1986 – it was everything himself working alongside some iconic
that went through
quality assurance when to me.’ names of the time. ‘Being in Quality
Lee was a part of the Fourth time lucky, then: ‘I got the job Assurance meant I was sitting among the
QA team. after being interviewed at Castlefield by then-growing internal QA team of Roy
Frank Parkinson, a tough no nonsense Fielding, Paul Johnson, Paul Flanagan,
Evertonian and ex-Royal Marine.’ Gareth Betts and many others. I reported
S
imon’s introduction to computing these guys were making games for my
started with Clive Sinclair’s ZX81 beloved machine. I visited a few times
– he was first in the queue, a year when they were at the old Ralli Building
later, to buy Sinclair’s follow up, the ZX just to say hello really and see what they
Spectrum. were doing. I am sure they stored props
Simon recollects, ‘I started writing or something there as well – it was a
machine code on the ZX81. I bought strange place.
a book on “Mastering Machine Code ‘Having been down to the building
on your ZX81” that I had to read five two or three times, I remember David
times before it made any sense – it just Ward taking me to the arcades in Oxford
eventually clicked. I then got myself a Road to play the arcade machines there.
ZX Spectrum, which became my first He took out a handful of coins, I was
love. I used to buy the gaming magazines 16 at the time, and handed them to me.
at the time and I saw an advert placed Looking back on it now I am sure a
by Spectrum Games, and with being in man taking a load of 16-year-olds to an
Manchester I went down there one day arcade and giving money to them would
not sure what to expect and unsure why be construed a different way – non-
I was really going. I think it was because the-less it happened and was fantastic.
I was devoted to all things Spectrum and I remember Paul Owens being there as
I was a big fan of Hunchback, one of his
titles.’
Di-Lithium Lift, was Simon had a couple of titles
released on the published at the time, one being Di-
Spectrum by Hewson
Consultants in 1983. Lithium Lift by Hewson Consultants on
the Spectrum. Paul goes on to say, ‘They
wanted a sequel but subsequently would
not publish it as they thought it was too
similar to Rift. I therefore went on as a
J
ohn Gibson was a freelance Designs was formed Ocean became a
programmer for Ocean between benefactor. Ocean bankrolled Denton
1985–87. At 38 John was somewhat Designs in exchange for our software
more experienced than the vast majority development skills. We designed and
of other employees at the time. But produced the games Gift from the
his professional story starts a few years Gods, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and
earlier. ‘I began my career as a games Transformers for Ocean.’
programmer at Imagine Software in Although John never worked on
Denton Designs tackled
Liverpool in 1983. After Imagine went site at Central Street for Ocean (being
one of the oddest tie-ins
Ocean licensed: Frankie bust I formed the independent software a freelancer he worked mainly from
Goes to Hollywood for development house Denton Designs home) he did, however, receive a nice
the Spectrum, 1985.
with four other ex-Imagine employees. I perk, something reminiscent of the
left Denton Designs in 1985 when David spending spree at Imagine: ‘They gave
Ward made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. me a Porsche for my company car!’ And
‘While I was at Imagine, we regarded the times when he was present at Central
Ocean as a rival but when Denton Street, he wasn’t too impressed with
S
teve Lavache had a solid CV that is how it was. I had my own office
in the video games business by in the dungeon to start with. Gary
the time he started at Ocean in used to give me a hard time for buying
1986. At Psygnosis – the Liverpool electronics – the essential bits.’ His job
software publisher founded in 1985–86 at that time was to keep the Ocean kit
by Jonathan Ellis, Ian Hetherington going – repairing machines all too often
and David Lawson from the ashes of broken or burnt-out by the developers.
Imagine Software – he fulfilled the role It isn’t surprising that others remember
of R&D manager. Prior to that he’d been Steve in his office surrounded by bits of
hardware manager at Imagine, and before Spectrums, Commodores and Amstrads.
that, Steve says, ‘I used to work for the ‘We often had new machines come
Liverpool Computer Centre and build in, like the Famicom from Nintendo,
interfaces for the guys at Bug Byte which became the NES over here. Gary
for their development computers. I would come in and ask me if anything
also hung around at Micro Digital could be done on this, and hand over
while I was at college – Bruce a big cardboard box. That was all the
Everiss owned the shop and Tim information I had – a Japanese Famicom
Best used to run it. console in a brown box with a cartridge.
‘Gary Bracey interviewed me at Ocean wanted to write software for it, so
the Central Street Quaker meeting I had to take it apart and work out how
The striking Famicom house and half way through he took me it worked: what the processor was; work
(Family Computer) to meet operations director, Colin Stokes. out how we could write software for it,
console from Japan,
better known as the On seeing me, Colin asked if I was etc. In the day you heard of programmers
Nintendo Entertainment coming to join them, and I said yup. That writing games for the Spectrum in
System or NES in concluded the interview! their bedrooms – in a professional
Europe.
‘Basically, I was on the hardware environment you just couldn’t do it that
side – a hardware engineer for a software way. So I designed the hardware, and
house, which is a bit of a misnomer but Dave Collier and Paul Owens wrote the
T
he youngest of five brothers started my career at Ocean in 1987 at the
remembers well when he was age of 17 and stayed for four years.’ He
13 and his older brother was doesn’t recall attending any interviews
working to save up for a Commodore because with John already working there
64. ‘John came home one day with a his brother got him in. Like so many
boxed 64 and told me he was going who remember Central Street with
to do graphics for the computer and its basement and first floor separated
I was going to do the programming. by the Quaker meeting house on the
Who was I to argue? I taught myself ground floor, Richard’s first impressions
how to program the machine, mainly of Ocean were of those Upstairs and
from reference guides and hacking Tony those Downstairs. ‘Who were they?
Crowther games [Crowther worked Those mysterious creatures on the
Daley Thompson’s for Alligata, Quicksilva and Gremlin upper floor that scurried about running
Olympic Challenge on
the C64 – published by
Graphics]. I still have the reference the company? You know I thought it
Ocean in 1988. guides to this day, a little worse for wear was all really cool working down in the
and covered in dirty basement. Others may have thought
finger prints on each differently, I don’t know. The “dungeon”
and every page.’ was a great arrangement and fun to work
When John in. It was like constantly gigging at the
started at Ocean, Cavern and I was in the headline band.’
Richard was studying The 1960s Merseybeat culture lived
to get a BTEC on in the Liverpool-Manchester games
National Diploma in creators, but headliner or not, Richard
Computer Studies and reported like all other inmates of the
hammering out games. dungeon to Gary Bracey. ‘It was Dave
‘After several magazine Collier, though, who took me under
game publications, and his wing. I have great memories of
a tape publication, I working with Dave. I was a naive teenage
M
ike’s early interest in Mike wrote Spectrum Pool and Steve
computers started at Davis Snooker (1984) for the Spectrum,
school programming both published by CDS Software (now
the Commodore Pet – he could have Indigicon Ltd). The royalties kept him
owned a ZX81 but decided to get a afloat for a couple of years, but as he says,
motorbike instead. And then he ordered ‘I needed more steady work.’
a ZX Spectrum as soon as they were
Right: Combat School announced but almost gave up on it
on the Spectrum – because he was too impatient to wait
published by Ocean in
1987. for its delivery. Fortunately, a friend’s
teams and there wasn’t a lot of need for scenes from a movie. There wasn’t time
top-heavy management. Gary would to try something really original, find
come by every so often and play the out it wasn’t working and start again.
games, make sure the game being worked Sometimes we used the same game-
on was on track. To a large extent, we’d mechanic throughout with different
get more pressure and suggestions from levels but later we had three or four game
colleagues. If a game wasn’t so good types in Batman or RoboCop. We used
Gary might say to get a lot of feedback from the testers
something.’ on the quality, gameplay and look of the
Mike talks games we produced, which improved
about the titles the overall quality of the game. When
he worked on at I went to America I met people who
Ocean. started as testers and were now producers
‘The games or designers. We never made use of the
I was involved testing department like that at Ocean
in were made and in my opinion it was a big mistake.
on three- ‘The Ocean game I am most proud of
Wec Le Mans on the to six-month schedules and I was working on was Wec Le Mans. I developed
Spectrum – published programmer on all the games. For the the road drawing routines that ran at
by Imagine in 1988.
arcade conversions there was not a lot of 25 frames/sec. We looked at Outrun on
design to be done – the movie licences the Spectrum and you could count the
were much more challenging. Usually frames 1...2...3 frames a second. It was
we’d try to adapt a proven arcade game the difference between a game that was
concept and make games out of the key fun and unplayable. I didn’t finish the
game because they wanted me to start on three months. A shame, but we had to
RoboCop for Christmas. Fortunately they get it out for Christmas. I took the game
got someone good in to finish it and was home at Christmas to play with my mates
Jon O’Brien. – they weren’t all that impressed. It had
‘Next are the Renegade games. The potential but in retrospect it was tough
original was a great conversion that I got doing the game in only three to four
to load in one go on the 48K Spectrum. I months. With a six-month development
also had the balls to make it a one-button time it could have been good. And then out again
at budget price: the
game instead of three like the original. ‘The Batman game was a big licence
Spectrum Hit Squad
Ronnie Fowles did a great job on the but only an average game on the Amiga cover for Top Gun.
pixels. With Target Renegade Ronnie left and ST – one warehouse section too
and Dawn Drake took over, and did a many in my opinion. Darkman was a bit
fantastic job on the graphics.’
There are many classic games that ‘‘The aim with Top Gun was to make
Mike contributed to or programmed a 3D combat game on 8-bit machines in
in full while at Ocean. He is his own
three months.”
harshest critic and talks down many of
the titles he worked on even though of a drag to finish, and with the movie
the reviewing magazines of the time not being as good as RoboCop or Batman,
acclaimed them. I had already decided I wanted to work
‘The aim with Top Gun was to make in the US at that time.
a 3D combat game on 8-bit machines in ‘RoboCop was OK – nice graphics by
P
rior to starting at Ocean, John and Bill Barna, I got hired on the spot!’
Meegan worked in a medical John moved south of the border
records office in Glasgow, but as a fresh-faced 21-year-old, with the
even then he created video games in his dream job developing games for what
spare time. This he did with a friend he thought of as the country’s most
until events caused them to split. ‘My prestigious software house.
friend got a full-time gig at Alligata ‘Ocean was the big boy in the UK.
Games, leaving They did the top licensed games and
me quite bereft in made sure the public were aware of them
Glasgow.’ It was through high-quality advertising. Plus, as
time to make a a wannabe Commodore 64 programmer,
decision: give up I knew of Dave Collier and Martin
the job and go full- Galway.’
time in the games The working reality was a little less
industry – or stick impressive. ‘The space where I worked
with the records lacked natural light, which made it feel
office. ‘I answered like a tomb. It could smell stale at times,
the notorious job adding to the tomb vibe. But I instantly
advert featuring a made friends with Mike Lamb and the
catalogue model first few days I shared a room with Bill
walking past David Barna, Allan Shortt and Zach Townsend.
Ward’s Porsche. A The latter spent his day printing out all
few months later his source code to the noisiest dot-matrix
John’s first challenge: I sent demos to Ocean and received an printer in the world.’ John reported
1987’s Short Circuit on invitation to visit Gary Bracey for an directly to Gary Bracey. ‘He had to go off
the Commodore 64.
interview. It was in the dingy dungeon on licensing trips so we didn’t see him
beneath the Quaker church on Central as much as we’d have liked. Gary hired
Street. With input from Dave Collier Lorraine Starr to interact and manage
P
aul started in the industry at a of luck – Paul landed himself a full-
young age. ‘From the day I left time position at Ocean in 1986 at the
school at 16, I went straight into tender age of 18. ‘I was working, briefly,
freelance game programming. I’d already for the newly set up Software Creations
had a few titles published on VIC-20 and in Manchester run by Richard Kay
the Texas Instruments TI99/4A while (himself a former Ocean programmer).
I was at school, so the day I did my last I mentioned this in passing to my aunt,
O-Level examination I started pitching who rather nonchalantly mentioned that
“my wares” and got commissioned to do her other nephew, on my uncle’s side,
An early version of soundtracks for Elite Systems and then did some programming at Ocean too.
Paul’s loader was used Superior Software. I also did some work It was only David Collier! My uncle
for Hewson Consultants’
Uridium. for Hewson Consultants on their tape mentioned this to David (who knew
protection, thanks to a friendship I struck Richard Kay) and he invited me to have
up with Graftgold, and Andy Braybrook a look around Central Street. He was just
[Paradroid, Gibbly’s Day Out and Uridium demoing Terra Cresta to Paul Finnegan,
among others] in particular.’ and we got talking about multiplexing
Even before joining Ocean, Paul was sprites, colour scrolls and various ways I’d
aware of the games software company. stopped freeze cartridges.
‘When I was at school I worked in a local ‘The next thing I know he says to
computer shop at the weekends, so I saw me, “Barbara (my aunt) didn’t tell me
all the Ocean and Imagine titles the day you knew all this stuff ”, and promptly
they were released. Immediately, certain drags Gary Bracey in with himself and
names sprang out for creating the best Paul and says, “Can we offer this lad ’ere
software: David Collier; Steve Wahid a job?”.’
‘…the understated but and Martin Galway on the Commodore Paul had little compunction in
utterly brilliant Mike 64; and the late Jonathan “Joffa” Smith abandoning Software Creations at the
Lamb.’
on the ZX Spectrum.’ drop of the proverbial hat, but looks back
With some good demos – and a bit less certainly. ‘It was a bit of a crappy
A
fter school Gareth became a returns that needed sorting. So I jacked
trainee accountant at a local in my accounting job, to my relief, and
builders merchant and wasn’t returned in January. On arriving in the
particularly enjoying it. ‘So my mate, New Year, I remember there being two
Lee, and I went to the job centre in huge fellas in the warehouse who came
Manchester. There was a small ad in the over to Lee and me, questioning us about
window advertising a temporary position postal-order fraud. Obviously we knew
at Ocean Software at the Quakers’ nothing about it – as it transpired two
building. We were both keen for it, and of the girls working in the warehouse
the way we settled who would apply was had been fiddling postal orders and were
sacked on the spot under caution. The
‘‘I remember there being two huge fellas two fellas were from the police – the
fraud squad. As a result, Lee and I were
in the warehouse who came over to
called upstairs and offered permanent
Lee and me, questioning us about contracts at Ocean to take over the
postal-order fraud.” department, and that is how we became
full time.’
by flipping a coin – he won and went to As the newbies in the department
work in Ocean in the warehouse, packing Gareth and Lee had big aspirations.
games into jiffy bags for the Christmas ‘Lee and I set up a mail-order system
rush. After he was there for about four and created a database in the warehouse
weeks, the Ocean management asked –there was nothing like that there at the
him if he knew anyone that would come time, unbelievably. Previously Ocean
in and do the same job to help out – so would just throw quantities of games in
that’s how I got into Ocean. That was the the back of an Ocean van to be delivered
end of November 1991 when I was 18. to various retailers and hope that enough
‘I was asked to stay on into January by stock had been provided. Our system
Paul Harrison as there were likely to be made things more accurate. We elicited
J
ames Higgins was a 20-year- (or regressed) to Z80 programming,
old with a deal of programming for which I wrote a game called The
experience behind him when he Apprentice, a clone of Sorcery, which sold
started work at Ocean in 1988. His some 60,000 units over time.’
career, like so many programmers of that James’s introduction to Ocean may
time, had humble beginnings. ‘I started never have happened when he applied
around 14 years old, when I managed to after seeing a recruiting advertisement. ‘I
get a Sinclair ZX81. I tinkered with that called the number on the ad and spoke
in basic and typed a few listings in from to Gary Bracey, who sounded less than
Your Computer. I then sold my 2000AD interested…” which might have been it
comic collection to get a 16K RAM-pack until James mentioned he could code in
but by that time the ZX81 was already 6809. Immediately, Gary invited him to
kind of defunct. I then got a Dragon Manchester. ‘A few days later I turned up
32 for Christmas, and soon learned to at 6 Central Street. It was a combination
code in 6809 and wrote my first game, of scary/exciting and I managed to
The Thomson M05 was Jumbo’s Troubles, which went on to sell an somehow convince Gary that I could
launched in France
amazing three copies! A year or so later I handle converting Green Beret for the
in 1984 as a direct
competitor to the got an Amstrad CPC 464 and progressed Thompson range of computers. And
Commodore 64 and the then I headed back to Glasgow and was
ZX Spectrum.
soon followed by the M05 development
system. About 10-12 weeks later I went
back with a finished Green Beret and they
cut me a cheque for £2,500. The most
money I’d ever had in my life at that
point.’
What was his perception of Ocean
before joining the company? ‘Funnily
enough I don’t really remember playing
J
ayne worked for the Royal National clairvoyant was right after all.
Institute for the Deaf before joining Jayne admits to not knowing much
Ocean at the age of 21. ‘I only left about Ocean before joining. ‘To be
because they were relocating to another honest I had no view of Ocean prior to
city. An agency I had registered with working with them and I knew no one
phoned through details for the position there. I’d played a few games growing
of export sales administrator at Ocean. up – Frogger, Donkey Kong, etc., but I
I’d been to a clairvoyant that week certainly wasn’t a gamer. I read a few of
and she told me that I was about to be the UK games magazines before I went
offered a job which I would be reluctant for the interview and, to be honest, I was
to take, but she advised me to take it, astonished that adults actually read them
and it would end up being one of the – they just looked like comics to me!
‘My first interview was in the job
‘‘I was bawled out of the off ice by the agency’s office in central Manchester
with Tony Emmett, who was then
production director, Paul Harrison
international sales manager. The second
(now sadly deceased), the very f irst took place at the Central Street building,
week I was there.” where I met again with Tony Emmett
and also Colin Stokes. I also briefly
best things that ever happened to me. I visited the “dungeon”, where I briefly met
had two interviews and actually turned with the musicians and programmers. I
the job down twice. I really didn’t feel remember feeling a little scared by this –
it was right for me. I then recalled what the building was dark and dank and the
the clairvoyant told me, so when I was guys I met briefly downstairs seemed a
made a final offer, I accepted and the rest little alien to me back then.’
is history. I ended up working at Ocean It did not all go according to plan in
for ten years and I also met my husband the first week at Ocean.
Paul Millar at the company. I guess the ‘The very first week I was there
A
fter working as a graphic was assigned to Hook. I had a couple of
designer for a small friends – John Palmer and Bobby Earl –
independent developer, who already worked there, and I worked
Kevin joined Ocean in 1990. ‘My role with Bobby on Hook; and I still work
at Ocean was pretty much the same as with both of them today.’
I’d been doing: background artist and
level designer.’ But as he points out, he
was also a competent programmer. ‘I
got into the industry by purchasing a
Commodore 64 after seeing my friend
had one, and from that moment on I
was hooked. I started as a programmer,
writing my own games at home, totally
self-taught. Before joining Ocean, my
time was split between coding, art and
design, as it was in those
days, but when I joined
Ocean I dedicated my A friend recommended he apply
career to art and design and to Ocean. ‘They needed people to join
dropped coding.’ the Hook team and asked me over to
By the time Kevin started see them. I was living in Leeds at the
at Ocean, the software house time, so it wasn’t such a great hike to
had been in operation for travel across the Pennines (which I did
The Nintendo Game Boy almost a decade, so as he says it was not every day subsequently). Steve Lavache
Lemmings came out in an unknown quantity. ‘Ocean was always interviewed me, and it was pretty straight
1993.
the big publisher in the UK renowned forward. I got the job there and then.
for delivering licensed games or the big The Hook team was in the basement, and
movie conversions. When I joined, I I can remember Bobby and I sitting in a
J
ulian Hicks started work at Ocean company are memorable. ‘It was a hive
shortly after the move from of activity. Ocean was a place where
Central Street to Castlefield. In his everyone both worked hard and had lots
twenties, he had substantial experience of fun. There were wonderful moments
of the games industry through working of silliness, from airsoft guns to strippers.
in and managing computer games shops. There was a work-hard, play-hard
He reported to Gary Bracey, an Ocean approach and mentality. The testers
name with which he was already familiar, were often expected to play games all
and the person who interviewed him. night, and all weekend, especially when
titles had slipped a little. Some even had
‘‘There were wonderful moments of sleeping bags under their desks, and we
silliness, from airsoft guns to strippers.” did have a pretty huge pizza bill.’
Although Julian only worked at
On day-to-day business, however, he Ocean for 12 months, his job meant he
had more contact with others. ‘Lorraine play-tested so many games they became
Starr, Dawn Drake, Martin McDonald, a blur. ‘I don’t actually know how many
and of course the awesome testers Lee, games went through test in the year. I
Gareth and Kane stick in my mind. was there for dozens, sure, and most of
And then there was Barry Leitch, who those on multiple platforms. Of course,
produced some great audio and Gerald every title had to come through test. And
Weatherup, a prolific programmer. They each platform version of each title took
were very good at their jobs, and always its own path through the teams of testers.
unflappable! So many others were great Ensuring testing was done to the latest
to work with. I got to know a huge range versions was pretty key.’
of great people while at Ocean. All a The testing process of any product
really good bunch of people to work must adhere to rigid standards, and
with.’ as Julian is quick to point out he
Initial impressions of working at the worked with Lorraine Starr in devising
I
n her early twenties, Dawn went an advert for a board game artist I took
to Ocean as an artist/animator the job. Some time later I joined Canvas
and game designer after gaining Software in Crosby [on Liverpool’s
experience with another games developer. northern outskirts] as an artist/animator.
‘I started life as a graphic designer when Steve Cain and Ian Weatherburn, both
I left college, but I needed something ex-Imagine employees, who started the
Dawn contemplating her
next move in the office a little more challenging than doing company, and Simon Butler who also
of Steve Lavache. adverts for the local paper, so when I saw worked there, interviewed me for the
position. Ian was concerned because he
thought I would be a distraction as the
only female in the company. But Simon
and Steve thought my work was good
enough to gain me my first step into the
world of computer games.
‘Canvas often developed third-party
titles for Ocean and US Gold, so I was
aware of Gary Bracey and Steve Lavache,
since they both visited – Gary for
progress updates and Steve to help with
any machine/technical problems that we
had. When the company hit hard times,
Simon left for Ocean and recommended
I follow him.’
Duly, Dawn found herself being
interviewed again, this time by Gary
Bracey, Lorraine Starr and Steve Wahid
– and she was in. ‘It was a pretty steep
learning curve due to my lack of actual
graphics for the PC version of the game. poor reviews in UK, but sold well in
The team had to be split into sections USA. I then worked on Desert Strike for
for various formats to work on such a the Game Boy and Hook on the PC.
big title and the deadline for delivering ‘Dreadnought was my final project at
the game was crucial in that it had to tie Ocean. This was the first time I dabbled
in with the film’s release. This is the first in 3D graphics. I was part of a very large
game I worked on at Ocean where I was team for the time, at least 17 personnel,
paid royalties and the first time working which meant there were too many
B
rian Flanagan was a 19-year-old As it was his first ‘real’ job, Brian’s
graphic artist when he joined perception of Ocean, and its current staff
Ocean in 1989. However, his were apparent. ‘I held Ocean in pretty
story with Ocean starts a little earlier in high regard as they were really high
his life, while at school, as Brian explains. profile at the time, and guys like Steve
‘In the UK, we have a system Wahid, John Meegan, Steve Thompson
whereby secondary school pupils were names I was already aware of. I had
(generally 14-year-olds) get a so-called no idea what to expect. To be sat working
work experience placement at a company on graphics, and getting paid was mind
for a week or two. Most of the time, the blowing to me initially.
school gives you a list of crappy office ‘It was all very seat of the pants as
jobs to choose from within which you well, there were scant design documents
will be making cups of tea the entire time for the games and as far as arcade
conversions were concerned we just
‘‘I had to draw one of the sprites from videoed the game and set about copying
the art. We figured out what could and
New Zealand Story as a test.” couldn’t be done on the fly — real sit
down design meetings were quite rare.’
you’re there. I got my careers officer to It wasn’t all work and no play
call Ocean instead. I then thereafter did though in the Ocean offices. ‘It was
intern work for them during the school fun with always plenty to talk about.
holidays. After going to college for a year, There was lots of lunchtime and after
and on Simon Butler’s advice, I started hours drinking and often some of the
working full-time at Ocean. staff would always be getting new toys,
‘Steve Wahid interviewed me whether it be consoles or stacks of
for the Central Street office job; I had graphic novels or videos. Simon Butler,
to draw one of the sprites from New Martin McDonald and Bill Harbison
Zealand story as a test.’ were also always drawing comics and
‘I
had amassed quite a lot of on this than most of the other images
bitmaps screens, mainly of games I’d done up to that point. It turned out
I enjoyed playing and images from really well. I considered it the best work
popular culture, which seemed to be the I’d done in pixels up to that point, so I
thing for a computer artist to do back in added it to the rest of the images on my
those days,’ Steve says with a mischievous portfolio floppy and went to the CES
smile. ‘It was a totally self-taught skill, show in London. I hoped to show off
although I did apply some of the lessons this and the other pieces I’d done. My
learned at art college to some of my later dream was to get into the games industry.
non-professional pieces.’ I’d tried a few times to get some work,
Steve dabbled in the games market but I really wanted to do this full-
briefly before joining Ocean. ‘My first time and I was becoming less and less
contribution to a game title was a loading interested in “real” art at this point.
and in-game screen for Mirrorsoft’s ill- ‘I walked straight up to the Ocean
fated Tetris.’ As the story goes, Mirrorsoft
had a faulty agreement with Atari to
distribute Tetris – Nintendo sent a cease-
and-desist letter to Atari advising them
that they indeed had sole rights to the
game – so for Steve not the best of starts
Stephen at his Ocean to make his name known in the games
workstation with Trevor industry.
Brown at Central Street.
Trevor left the company But he remained undeterred. ‘I was
after working on working on an image of RoboCop I
Operation Thunderbolt. found in a movie magazine. I tried to
get the bitmap as close to the original as
I possibly could with the Commodore
64’s limited palette, spending more time
T
here were two Mark Joneses grammar school and Ocean was my first
at Ocean, a concatenation of job. I was frustrated with the quality of
coincidences at which Mark artwork found in many Amstrad games,
smiles. ‘I shared a flat with another artist, as they were mostly bad ports from the
a Spectrum artist, with the name of Spectrum and Commodore 64 versions.
Mark Jones. So, two artists working for I knew the CPC could do better, so I
the same company, living in the began working on my own versions of
same flat, with the same names, graphics seen in the popular games at
working on the same titles, but the time. I was also using the Amstrad to
on different machines. I started create art –painting with pixels, one pixel
at Ocean before he did so I got at a time: choose a colour, place the pixel,
the title “Senior” and he got move to next pixel, etc. It was laborious
“Junior”, even though I was only but a great way to learn the trade. I’d
18 at the time.’ hoped to take a computer graphics degree
Some claimed Senior was course at art college but I remember
a little older and the wiser, but being told, quite bluntly, that there was
both produced graphics and no such thing as computer graphics. So, I
loading screens for some of Ocean’s best- began to submit the artwork I finished to
known games. various software companies. I even sent
Mark was at Ocean for just 12 my work to Amstrad Action magazine and
Arkanoid, published by
months in 1986–87. ‘Before Ocean, I was received a very nice hand-written letter
Imagine in 1987. simply a very keen amateur. I had just left back from them, which inspired me to
B
efore joining Ocean Paul Millar R Us contract for the budget label Hit
worked for Impact, a sales and Squad. We had four 1 x 2-metre bays to
marketing agency, of which fill with Hit Squad products and needed
Ocean was one of the clients. He visited a team of merchandisers to fill them.
retail shops all over the north-west After an initial twelve months of madness
promoting and selling games. A key part trying to set it up and understand it, it
was installing point of sales displays. All then became fairly self-running. I had a
those poster displays of RoboCop, Total
Recall and the Hollywood Collection
were Paul’s doing.
‘Growing up in the mid 1980s, I knew
Ocean Software was the daddy of games
WWF Wrestlemania on companies. I had only one ambition back
the Commodore Amiga. then and thankfully I was able to achieve
it. Given that my
brother-in-law was very informal interview in the basement
Ocean’s sales director of the Italian restaurant just over the
I was well up to date road from the Central Street office. “Do
with the complete you want the job?” “Yes please.” “Pasta or
Ocean catalogue.’ Pizza?” That’s how it worked.
And that contact ‘Ocean was exactly as I imagined it.
made it relatively easy Exciting, busy, fast-paced and a work-
to get himself hired. hard, play-hard ethic. My role was a new
‘After serving my position in the company and I spent a
time with Impact, I lot of time out of the office. I was very
was recruited by Pat much the office magpie, grabbing a
Kavanagh to manage desk wherever I could. In the first year I
the recently won Toys sat with the Nintendo department, the
H
ailing from the West Country, for work while Richard went to college.’
John – older brother of John enjoyed playing Ocean games
programmer Richard Palmer and recalls the last one he bought before
– carried out any paying jobs he could his employment started was Rambo. ‘I
find to make ends meet. In his spare knew of Ocean. They were one of the
time he learned his craft: sketching, biggest games companies at the time,
painting and creating animations. In and I bought their games. I was a fan of
his early work he took inspiration from Dave Collier and Martin Galway before
Disney, Chuck Jones, Tex Avery and Ray joining the company. I attended the
Harryhausen, but finances were always 1987 Personal Computer World Show
a stumbling block. ‘I didn’t have access in London with my graphics demo on a
to, or could afford, film equipment to C64 floppy disk in my bag, and wearing a
animate, but I saw in a magazine an new pair of trousers to look for work.’
advertisement for a sprite editor on the It was the age of wizkid games-
Commodore 64. This seemed like a more makers, sporting all the trappings of
convenient way of animating things, and glamour: fame and – above all – fast
it’s what sparked my interest.
‘Eventually I managed to
scrape together enough funds
to buy a Commodore 64 and
John’s high-tech desk at teamed up with my brother to
Central Street, complete make some games. He coded
with state-of-the-art
reference-card stacking them, did the music, and I did
box. the visuals and game ideas and
design. We had some games
published but never really made
any money, so I decided to
prepare a graphics demo to look
W
hile at school in 1983 David found Spectrum Games’ office
David purchased a game a strange place. ‘You see David Ward was
called Road Frog published also running a successful props business
by Spectrum Games for his Commodore for Granada TV Studios. His props often
VIC-20. appeared on the likes of great shows
‘The game should have been great as such as Coronation Street. However, the
it was meant to be a homage to Frogger, business was never really that glamorous.
a popular game in the arcades at the The propmaster offices were extremely
time. However after playing it, I decided
it was anything “One of the most
but great, so after enjoyable aspects of
school the next
writing various games
day I went to
the company’s for Ocean was working
Manchester office with other developers.”
to let them know
my thoughts. I met large. I used to wonder around looking
David Ward and at all the strange bits and pieces just to
he said if I could amuse myself.’
create a better one, David remembers that when they
they would sell it were attending one of the first London-
on my behalf. So Earls Court computer games fairs in
after school, and 1983 it became apparent from the public
at the weekends, that the name Spectrum Games confused
In the pre-licence days, I wrote a new Road Frog game for people, since they also sold games for
popular arcade coin-op them. Dave Ward and Jon Woods were other machines, so soon after the name
games were fair game
for the developing obviously impressed because they started Ocean was born.
software companies. selling it immediately. ‘It was during this time that Mike
R
ichard joined Spectrum Games Studies and Applied Mathematics. ‘I
in 1982, before it was rebranded ended up getting chucked out of the
Ocean, and he stayed for mathematics class when I proceeded to
three years. ‘I was doing four A-Levels stick pencils in every facial orifice and
at college – mathematics, English pretended to be an alien. The final straw
Literature, History and Art – and hating was when I said, “the probability of me
it. I was a bit of a loner in those days passing this exam is very slim.” The
and preferred my own company, so I teacher was so rubbish I often ended up
welcomed the discovery of the ZX81 taking the computer studies class myself
as a plaything. I remember seeing the – he ended up sitting in the back of the
commercial for the computer on the TV room, feet up, reading the paper, while
and thinking I must have one of those. I showed the class how to do a bubble-
‘So I got one and it was the first sort routine. I got Fs in all except the
time in my life I actually computer studies O-Level – my form
understood what teacher asked for consistency, and that
I was doing with was what he got.
something new, it ‘I remember being one of first
was one of those students to use the RML 380 machines
things I found at college and do something with them.
natural. Just touching [Research Machines 380Z, was an
the keyboard and early 8-bit Z80 computer which, with
seeing the response 56Kb or memory cost a mere £3,266 in
on the TV screen – I just 1979] They were green and black and
loved the interaction and the I wrote a driving test game that was
The RML 380 computer control you had of it.’ quite graphical. I remember the teacher
that Richard used in With Richard’s love of computers telling me that I was not an academic
college.
he soon dropped A-Level history to and it would be best if I went out into
backtrack and take O-Level Computer the real world. So I left and sat around
P
eter, before joining Ocean, was a appealed to me.’
prolific programmer with many Peter reported to Gary Bracey after
successful titles under his belt Gary became software development
for the BBC Micro/Electron platforms, manager, but he never worked at the
published through Superior Software. Central Street offices. Instead he enjoyed
The likes of Q*Bert, Deathstar, Spitfire the luxury of working from his Newcastle
Command and Space Pilot were top selling home on a contract-by-contract basis
titles that, as Peter for the games he produced. Only in
confesses, look crude 1990 – his final year with Ocean – did he
now but dominated become a full time employee. However,
chart positions in the intervening years he worked
when they were exclusively for the company and their
released. He joined family of labels.
Ocean after applying ‘For most of that time it was a fairly
to a recruitment painless experience for me. I completed a
advertisement in the game and then came down to the office
magazine Zzap!64 in Manchester from Newcastle to hand
for programmers – he it over. I’d then take a look at what other
subsequently met games they had in the arcade downstairs
Colin Stokes on his and in development on the Commodore
visit to the office and 64 and pick one I liked, one I thought
was offered a position. I could do justice to on the platform I
‘I regarded Ocean was working on. And then I’d head back
as pretty much the home after agreeing the fee, and crack on.
Peter’s conversion of leading company at the time, and the ‘I worked mostly without an advance
Mikie onto the BBC opportunity to work on licensed games, and – partly because of this, and my
Micro.
with a good marketing push behind speed and track record, and maybe also
them, was something that very much because the BBC Micro wasn’t a truly
– this was the case for Arkanoid and its ‘I did all coding, graphics and
sequel Revenge of Doh, for example, and
several other of the arcade conversions.
I received a Japanese MSX cartridge of
Yie Ar Kung-Fu II and an imported Sony
MSX HitBit computer on which to
base this conversion. I still have them in
the loft! RoboCop was converted from a
suitcase version of the Data East arcade
game. To create the graphics I mostly
overdrew them from the Spectrum
version of the game. I also often got a
play-through of a game on VHS tape, music for most of my titles,
provided by the guys in Manchester, and worked all the way
but I never saw source code, graphics or through. For something
design documentation from the arcade like the animation of the
version, or from other platforms. I just main character in Impossible
had to replicate what I saw. The code was Mission I drew each frame by hand, The Sony MSX HitBit-
10-P home computer.
compiled on the machine itself, I didn’t stop-framing the video taken from the
As a platform, MSX
use a remote compiler or debugger then, C64. The animation tools available were never made it big in
the only luxury item was extra RAM, a crude at the time – I could probably view Europe.
floppy disk drive, then later a hard drive.’ an animation running on the spot, but I
Peter can only grimace wryly at the really had to see the frames animate in
Peter did the total only one was held up. ‘I converted
conversion of RoboCop Crystal Castles to the BBC and Electron
for both the Amiga and
Atari ST versions (above) for AtariSoft, but they kept raising
and of Arkanoid, right, objections to small details to avoid it
for the BBC Micro being regarded as complete so that remembered me writing for Ocean from
payment would become due. Why they when he was involved there. I started on
were doing this became apparent when a game for Rage, and even before it was
AtariSoft announced that they were completed I was asked to set up their
cancelling all conversions for other Newcastle studio, which I managed for
manufacturers’ platforms, so it was nine years.’
mothballed. After completion of my non
first title for US Gold, Beach Head, on
A
lthough his name is almost the ZX81, so I had to start again typing
synonymous with Ocean, Jon it all into the assembler but in proper
Ritman never actually worked instruction format this time – no more
for the company. His professional laborious hex.’
career began with a venerable software He submitted the end result to Artic,
house noted in the early days for its text who accepted it, and the game was
adventure games: Artic Computing. released in 1981. With the arrival of the
Not that Jon followed the ‘What Now?’ ZX Spectrum, Artic sent Jon a machine
route; he preferred action. His first game, in order for him to get to grips with it.
Namtir Raiders for
the Sinclair ZX81,
was a simple Space
Invaders clone he
produced after
learning how to
program on the
machine over a
two-week period.
You don’t get much Namtir Raiders (which takes its name Another popular arcade clone followed
more simple than the from his spelled backwards) took three in the form of Cosmic Debris, a version
graphics for Jon’s
Namtir Raiders for the months to write during the evenings of Asteroids. Jon recalls, ‘The game again
Sinclair ZX81, but the (he worked as a TV repairman during took three months to create and 5,000
loading screen for 3D the days). ‘Developing a game was very copies were sold, so with the percentage
Combat Zone shows
more elaboration on the different in those days. I wrote most of it of around 25% of takings coming to
Spectrum, right. on paper before typing hexadecimal into me as royalties I couldn’t complain.
the computer – it was very hard work. I’d My annual wage as a TV engineer was
written more than half the game when £6,000. Seeing that I was earning that
a primitive assembler was released for kind of money in three months I decided
Three-dimensional nearest player run towards the ball. So and I felt I had to do a game like that.’
Batman on the what should we do next? Kick the ball up It took him some time to reverse-
Spectrum.
the field. When I saw one of the players engineer how the Ultimate game worked,
score a goal it was a relief – the game had writing routines for the various parts of
the beginnings of AI.’ the engine. Jon confesses to being an
Jon argues that what set Ocean apart indifferent artist, so he invited a friend
from so many of the other early software of a friend who he heard could draw to
houses was their marketing. ‘Ocean were look after the graphics. That person was
much better at promotion, which meant Bernie Drummond. ‘I wrote a routine to
the game did very well. The game was draw graphics and invited Bernie over
actually on the shelf at the same time to see what he could do. He sat there for
the promotion was taking place. I believe over two hours and what he produced
over 50,000 copies of Match Day sold was a random mess to my eyes and I was
and then it appeared on compilations about to give up. There was no image I
after that – I get fan mail to this very day. could see – then Bernie said, “There is
S
teve Wahid joined Ocean in 1985 soundtrack to round it all off.
and was very aware of how high ‘Ocean was a great company to
profile the company had become in work for – it was a no frills working
such a short time. environment with less than ten in the
‘I produced a scrolling demo as a development team in those early days.
proof of technology that I showed the In fact the sales, marketing and other
guys at Ocean and it got me the job office staff far outnumbered those who
as an artist. After joining, both Colin made the games. Almost immediately
after I started all of the development
“It was all seat-of-the-pants stuff: team were moved down to the ‘dungeon’
to make space for the upper echelons
there was no reporting structure in
of management. The ‘dungeon’ was in
those days.” the basement of the building with four
or five rooms retro-fitted with long
Gresty and I were asked to produce a (kitchen) worktops fixed to the walls.
Commodore 64 conversion of Konami’s these acted as our desks.
Comic Bakery. We used the MSX version ‘It was such an exciting time. The
for reference and the game turned games industry was very much in its
out really well, with a Martin Galway infancy and it didn’t feel like a job, it was
more like being paid to do something
you loved doing, a frame of mind that
I
an’s previous job prior to joining customers due to the licences they had
Ocean was UK sales and marketing plus the amount of advertising they did
manager at Gremlin Graphics. in all of the specialist press. I knew all
‘I got involved in the games industry of their products from the high profile
in July 1984. I was leaving school games to the more obscure titles that
looking to join either ICI or British Steel they occasionally launched.’
as an apprentice (the done thing at the Before joining Ocean, Ian formed
time in the North East) but my father a strong relationship with many who
who had spent ten years in Libya decided worked at the company.
he wanted to work in the UK again and ‘I’d got to know the staff at Ocean
wanted to open a shop. I persuaded him really well in 1989 when I left the family
to open a computer retail outlet in our business and worked for a sales and
home town and I worked there buying marketing company called Impact. One
of our key clients (and the one all of our
rivals wanted) was Ocean. That’s when
I first struck up a friendship with Paul
Patterson and a few others. Even when
I left Impact to join Gremlin we always
met up for drinks at the various shows
and I attended their infamous parties
at ECTS [European Computer Trade
Show].
‘Paul had heard that I may be looking
to leave Gremlin and invited me over to
Ian with Adele Welch and selling the software and hardware. his house to stay one weekend as there
and Paul Millar. ‘I was very aware of Ocean back was quite a few industry people coming
in the mid-1980s, there was always a up from London for the Everton vs
big buzz about their games from our Chelsea game and they were having a
B
ill was in the process of applying create portraits and mockups of arcade
to Glasgow School of Art, but games I had seen in the monthly C&VG
he was thwarted by only having magazine just to see how they would
two A-Levels, when he needed three to translate onto the Spectrum. Most were
qualify. His plan was to study further to OK, others I thought were quite good
get the extra result he needed. so I wrote off blindly to companies such
‘At the time I had bought a ZX as Electronics Arts, Elite and US Gold
Spectrum and was experimenting with to see if there were any jobs going where
the graphical capability of the machine. I could use my new skills. I did become
I had seen some loading screens done disheartened, though, by the negative
by others, especially the early titles responses I received.
published by Ocean ‘A friend suggested I apply to Ocean,’
like Eskimo Eddie, so I Bill says with a laugh. ‘I had no intention
thought I would have of applying to them because I thought
a go myself in my the company was rubbish. At the time
spare time to see if I Ocean wasn’t doing too well – Street
could do something Hawk and Knight Rider had just been
similar. I can honestly released, which were terrible.
say there was no ‘But after the rejections from the
intention of taking other companies, I had nothing to lose,
Spectrum tape inlay it up a career – it was just something to so I sent a two-page letter, along with a
for Daley Thompson’s keep me occupied while I was doing the cassette with some of my screens on it,
Olympic Challenge.
extra A-Level. to Ocean in Manchester. We didn’t have
‘As time went on I realised I was a telephone in the house at the time so
getting better and better at producing I listed our neighbour’s telephone as a
pretty good static screens on the contact number. Two weeks later the lady
Spectrum so decided to buy The Artist 2 next door came knocking on our door
to further develop my skills. I started to saying there was an English woman on
Two screens from Chase the Spectrum. I had to raise my game had on the Spectrum. When I was first
HQ on the ZX Spectrum, with the graphics so as to not let John told I would be working on this game I
and one on the Amstrad.
and the “engine” down. The arcade game found pictures of Michael Keaton in the
was in the office, so I played the game Batman suit and Jack Nicholas as the
and sketched how the cars looked when Joker in a magazine. One afternoon I
they were moving and spinning around decided to do portraits of each. Gary saw
in crashes on my pad. I then drew them them and said he wanted them in the
directly onto the Atari ST and created game – they are both used in the health
versions for both the Spectrum and the meter at the bottom of the game screen
Amstrad. The reviews for both versions where Batman changes to the Joker as
of the game were incredible – it was very you lose your health. I also created the
pleasing.’ end screen which I believe is the best
To their pixel work I have done – with Michael
surprise, Gary Keaton as Batman just standing there
Bracey then pulled with the text congratulating you for
John and Bill into saving Gotham City.
his office and ‘After Batman, there was a year or so
informed them where I worked on stuff that never came
that they would to anything. For example, I worked with
Bill worked on the racing both be working on the ST and Amiga Paul Hughes on an isometric Simpsons
scenes in Batman on the from then on. game which got shelved when we found
Amiga.
‘Gary had got the licence for the out that there was already an official
new Batman movie, the Tim Burton one Simpsons game in the works. I then
with Michael Keaton, and wanted to designed some backgrounds on Toki on
create a Batman game using the best bits the Commodore 64 over a 6-week period
A
t the age of 17, Jim asked a machines, plus the original Game Boy.
local computer shop if there ‘Thankfully, all the games had great
were any game companies reviews in the magazines at the time, and
local to where he lived and was surprised the scores they received represented the
to find that there were. He applied, only feedback we developers got from the
and got his first job in 1986 at Consult outside world on our games, so they were
Computer Systems where his first game very important. It was not until 2009,
was published, Throne of Fire. He then when I went to my first retro event, that I
went on to work Canvas Software Ltd found out that there were huge numbers
where he wrote two further games and of people who enjoyed my games which
helped finish a third. He then started at Ocean published, and they still play them
Special FX where his relationship with to to this very day!
Ocean began. ‘Although Special FX was not actually
‘I’ve always stated that I never worked Ocean itself, it was founded by two ex-
for Ocean but
while working
at Special FX,
I did write 11
Ocean games on
which I was the
only programmer.
These were
G.U.T.Z. for
G.U.T.Z. above on the the Spectrum; Batman Caped Crusader Ocean employees, namely Paul Finnegan
Spectrum. for the Amstrad; Red Heat, Cabal and the late Jonathan Smith, who helped
Midnight Resistance on and Midnight Resistance for both the us keep our games to Ocean Software’s
the Spectrum, right. Spectrum and Amstrad, and Hudson high standard. While I was working at
Hawk again for both of the 8-bit Special FX I made many trips with Paul
C
olin joined Ocean in the mid- the two joystick controllers together,
80’s after being head hunted each with their own keypad, and then
from Software Projects. Colin’s feed the code in one byte at a time.
story starts a little earlier though, in the There was a little DIN socket on the
late 1970s. back of the cartridge so you could save
‘At the time there were many games onto tape via a cable. There was
unaffordable consoles on the market also an instruction book that came in
like the Atari 2600. There was another the packaging that told you how to
console called the Radofin that was program. Unfortunately there were so
somewhat cheaper so I got one of those. many mistakes in the text I would be
I saw an advert for a cartridge for the amazed if anyone could do anything with
console called a it. I designed and programmed a couple
“hobby module” of games on the Radofin – I had truly
and the blurb caught the game-making bug.
suggested that ‘I was undecided which computer
with the device I was going to get next, so after some
you could put your investigation I went for the C64 as
own games onto Commodore had promised to help with
the machine. So I technical support if needed after you
went to the local bought the machine. I bought a couple of
shop and ordered disk drives as well.
one – the module ‘I saw an advert in the local paper
was £85. for programmers needed for the
‘When I got Commodore VIC-20, Commodore
The Radofin 1292 the cartridge I soon realised you could 64 etc. In the interview I spoke about
Advanced
not program the console in anything the games that I had developed on the
Programmable Video
System. but machine code – you had to hand Radofin and that I could transfer them to
assemble the code on paper then join the Commodore 64 and make them look
64 was all or nothing! I was happy to issue 63 of Zzap!64 magazine. They said it couldn’t be
done, but in 1987 Colin
tell them and other programmers how ‘I was then loaned to Special FX
did it – Head Over Heels
I did it. Operation Wolf took around five when they were struggling to write a on the C64.
months to make and was well reviewed game on the Nintendo Game Boy and
by the press. my experience with the processor in the
‘I don’t remember Double Take very console put me ahead of the others at
well – I did the coding for it and I recall Ocean.
the player being a scientist where a ‘During my spare time at Special FX,
dimensional shift created two worlds you unbeknown to anybody, I wrote a 16-bit
had to explore. I was just given the brief Atari ST version of Head Over Heels
and got on with it. at home. What a difference 16-colours
‘Head Over Heels on the C64 was make! I showed Gary Bracey, and he
next. I had heard that others had been jumped on it and Ocean bought it from
The Artist
I
n the first years of the 1980s, the he knew Dave Ward and Jon Woods. I
fledgling software houses only don’t know how he knew them, but he’d
had mail order as a sales outlet, done something for them… Armageddon
and it hardly mattered what kind maybe? He thought we could do more
of artwork they employed on the small for them as they seemed to be doing
audio cassettes which carried the data. a lot. We went along to meet them at
And then a few so-called micro shops the pub round the corner from Peter
began to open up the market, soon Kavanagh’s [a famous Toxteth hostelry at
Moon Alert was a followed by the chain stores, WH Smith, 2–4 Egerton Street].’
Crash Smash and the J Menzies and Boots. Suddenly, there Ocean’s founders, keenly aware of
reviewers agreed that:
‘Ocean’s packaging was competition for shelf space and the the importance of marketing and the
and title screens have attention span of the swelling customer quality of artwork they required, signed
been delightful recently, base. Brand, design, style became the up Blair-Wakelin on the spot, although
and Moon Alert is no
exception.’ new watchwords. And in those primitive the partnership fell apart rapidly. ‘Moon
years, the inlays of three companies stood Alert [1984] was the first thing I did in
out: first Imagine, then Ultimate Play the conjunction with Blair and then Gilligan’s
Game, and Ocean. Gold. I think he drew the background on
As occurs so much in the history that one and I did the main character.
of British video games, Bob’s long And then after that he kind of fell apart
association with Ocean came about really. He was a bit of a hippie, bit of an
largely through serendipity and acid casualty. He couldn’t meet deadlines
happenstance. ‘I’d been working with so I started to take everything on. We
this guy Blair, who was a decent artist were working from my flat in Liverpool,
himself, quite a few years older than me. and by the time he turned up in the mid-
We were working on some projects but afternoon I’d drawn the damned thing
getting nowhere, and then he mentioned myself. So I encouraged him to move
Skipping out
Ocean’s management was aware that not
every game developed or converted from
an arcade original came up to scratch, I did, and they’d already printed posters
and also that good presentation could and point-of-sale stuff for it. But then
help to sell a product less than perfect, as the licensor knocked it back because
Bob’ experience shows. ‘I wasn’t aware at Don Johnson’s agent wouldn’t allow
first that that was what they were hoping illustrations of his face – we had to use
for. I wasn’t into gaming. If a game photographs. Well, look where he is now!
was crap or good it was meaningless So, Don, if you’re reading this, f***k you!’
to me. But eventually they said to me, For Wizball, which many consider
the epitome of Wakelin game art, there was no fun in doing it. The cartoony ones
was more support from the development were more enjoyable to do.’ Even Daley
team. ‘Sometimes, Dave dragged me Thompson’s Decathlon gets short shrift.
down to the dungeon and these spotty ‘That’s rubbish. Technically it’s crap.
kids were all sitting there, rattling their I can understand why it’s iconic. The
chains, and they’d show me a demo. I can design and the layout of it works really
well, and Daley’s coming right at you,
“New Zealand Story… aarrgh. That but technically… But then, it was 1984…
was a nightmare. That was a pain in I was still trying to get a grip on what I
the arse, and there was no fun in was doing.’
And then, finally, a handful Bob finds
doing it.” acceptable. ‘Athena I like; I like Batman,
remember the shots and there was like a that’s pretty good; I like Billy the Kid,
cat and a wizard… I can remember there apart from Steve’s lettering; Central
was a ball whizzing round. And that’s Intelligence, that was a waste of time the
about it really. And I reflected some of amount of work I put in there, to get
those pipes. And I got some screenshots released in Taiwan or somewhere. There’s
in the post.’ a lot I like. If it’s a great game and if the
When pushed to name a favourite cover captured the game.’
game in terms of his artwork, Bob gums The last Bob Wakelin commission
up. It seems he remembers more the for Ocean came a little under two years
horrors. ‘The second Rainbow Islands before Infogrames acquired the company.
one – Parasol Stars. Absolutely drove He had seen the writing on the wall for
me crazy. What was the other one, some time.
New Zealand Story… aarrgh. That was ‘I was getting less work and we
a nightmare. That was one I had loads were producing fewer games for a start.’
of screenshots for, and they wanted me Suddenly, it seemed money was tight,
to get in as many characters as possible. Ocean needed to make savings and Bob
That was a pain in the arse, and there had become a considerable cost factor.
W
hen it comes to music and candidate when Martin applied for
sound design, the early work at the end of 1984; by late January
part of the Ocean story is the following year he had been hired
dominated by one man: Martin Galway. by David Collier (head of software
‘I didn’t know that much about Ocean to development prior to Gary Bracey)
be honest,’ Martin surprisingly admits. purely as a programmer and with no
‘The only games which interested me particular emphasis on audio.
were BBC games such as Elite, Aviator Until this point, all Ocean’s sound
and Revs.’ One thing the fledgling and music had been handled by third-
musician did recognise, however, was parties. ‘There was no audio staff of any
the power of advertising. ‘Ocean did a kind,’ Martin recalls, ‘just a Seiko music
lot of it, and they were often back-cover keyboard sitting in Dave Collier’s office.
advertisers. It was basically their high So I decided to make a generalised
quality advertising that told me they were music program that could play any tune.
Martin Galway in his
serious about selling games.’ I sat down with the Commodore 64
Central Street studio,
from a poor magazine With Ocean also based in nearby programming manual and proceeded
reproduction. Manchester, they became the first to write the software that would exploit
every feature of its music chip.’
With Ocean Software fast becoming
the premier software house in the UK,
Martin began to find himself very busy.
‘I was unhappy that there weren’t enough
other audio staff and that I had a long
backlog of games to work on,’ he says
somewhat ruefully. ‘I was a disillusioned
kid and shouldn’t have left. But I’ve
enjoyed my life since, so it’s just a case of
wondering what would have happened to
myself and Ocean if I hadn’t left.’
a tribute
by Paul Hughes
W
hen you start working at guess that’s why we got on. In 1987, Joff
Ocean, there are people, had just finished Cobra and Terra Cresta
gaming celebrities in their and had an idea for a new original game
own right, that you just can’t wait to called Angel. Gary Bracey wanted me
meet. For me there were several big to work with Joff concurrently on a C64
names in-house: David Collier, Steve version of the game.
Wahid, Martin Galway and Jonathan We only worked together for a few
‘Joffa’ Smith. short weeks, as Joff was about to leave
Those guys were the hit makers; all Ocean with Paul Finnegan to be a
the quality Ocean titles in the 1980s bore director of a new games company called
their names, and so, never in my wildest Special FX. Talk about a baptism of
dreams did I think, day one, I would be fire! While he never let on about his
sat sharing an office with the guy that imminent departure, we blasted out code
programmed and provided the graphics and ideas at a breakneck speed, and had a
for the likes of Cobra, Hyper Sports, Green right laugh – he had a wicked, dry sense
Beret, Terra Cresta, Mikie and a host of of humour.
other classic titles. I learned all about his methods, his
Joff was an outwardly quiet and shy philosophies about game play, and all
lad, but then, at the time, so was I – I about creating a plethora of core reusable
Although it wasn’t David routines – that was his key to churning
Ward’s Spectrum ‘big hit out quality games at such speed. It
for Christmas’ in 1984,
he was happy to publish turned my way of thinking about game
Pud Pud, Jonathan’s first code on its head: make it tight but make
game for the company, it reusable – spend the time upfront to
as seen on the BBC
TV Commercial Breaks reap the rewards later on; a mantra I still
documentary. pass on to this day.
Even though he trundled off to
Liverpool and Special FX, the company
weeks and he had been away from huge floral display spelling out ‘Frobush’,
the Spectrum forums that he used to the name of his little software company,
regularly frequent. It transpired to adorn his coffin.
he had been in hospital and now In the ever eloquent words of
was back at home in Widnes Dr Seuss, ‘Don’t cry because it’s
with his parents. over, smile because it happened’.
It was a shock to say the least. It was truly a pleasure to work
We knew he hadn’t been too well on multiple occasions with such
and that the demon that was his a giving, talented and genuinely
shy demeanour had taken its toll funny guy. He leaves us not only
on him, but I don’t think anyone with many happy memories but
really realised just how bad it was a permanent, irrefutable legacy
or what affect it was having on that is his vast body of work.
his health. I contacted as many You may no longer be around
of the old gang that I knew to to crack a pun, but I’ll always be
let them know, and a few of us ‘your biggest fan’.
planned to rally round and go see him.
Just two days later while organising
a visit, Christine contacted me again to Jonathan M. Smith, 1967 – 2010
tell me the sad news that Jonathan had Rest in Peace.
passed away that morning.
‘T
oday’s post is a very sad one. he worked after, will remember Allan
Allan Shortt, who was a and spare a thought for his family and
Commodore 64 coder for friends.
Ocean during its glory years in the late non
1980s, died this morning, 25 September ‘Although I hadn’t spoken to Al for a
2012,’ Mark wrote. number of years,’ Gary wrote, ‘we did stay
Allan was already working on his in touch via email and I’d like to think
we remained friends beyond the Ocean
years.
This comes as a terrible – and
painful – shock. I will remember Allan
for his dry sense of humour, and I will
remember him as a gruff, no-nonsense
guy with an intimidating exterior but a
good, loyal heart within. He loved his job
second title, Mario Bros, when I started at and was passionate about his work. One-
Ocean January 1987. He had completed of-a-kind, I’m sure he will be greatly
his first title, Yie Ar Kung Fu II, for missed by his family and everyone else
the company, previously. He went on whose life he touched. I am privileged to
to work on Arkanoid II – Revenge Of be counted among the latter. RIP, mate.
Doh, Athena and Combat School, all on
the Commodore 64. Today all his ex-
workmates from Ocean, and the places Allan gets in some
Combat School moves.
James Higgins
by Bill Harbison
Martin
Galway
by Simon
Butler
Jon Dunn
by Simon Butler
John Meegan
by Bill Harbison
Jane Lowe
by Simon Butler
Colin Porch
by Simon Butler
Gary Bracey
by Simon Butler
Index of Ocean’s game releases up to the point of the merger with Infogrames
The Addams Family Batman Beach Volley Chase HQ II
Arkanoid Batman: The Caped Billy The Kid Chinese Juggler
Arkanoid II: Revenge Crusader Cabal 1988 Cobra
Of Doh Batman: The Movie Caterpilla Combat School
Armageddon Batman The Adventure Cavelon Comic Bakery
Army Moves (never released) Central Intelligence Cool World
Athena Battle Command Chase HQ Cosmic Intruders
1 3
4
2 6
5
11 13
12
18
19
20
Missing from the photograph at the time: David Collier; John Meegan;
Simon Butler; Ronnie Fowles; Steve Wahid; Gari Biasillo
14 15
16 17
24
21 23
22