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Pete Cooke (born 1956) is a British computer games programmer, best known for his work published in the 1980s for the ZX Spectrum.
His software often used a point and click GUI.[ citation needed ] As most Spectrum users did not own a mouse the pointer was manipulated by keyboard or joystick.
Cooke's game Tau Ceti featured a form of solid 3D graphics and was set on a planet with day and night cycles with dynamically drawn shadows. Micronaut One , released in 1987, was set inside futuristic biocomputers with the player controlling a microscopic craft attempting to clear the tunnels of an insect-like life form called Scrim. This game used fast-moving 3D graphics and featured an enemy that went through a realistic, though sped up, lifecycle, beginning each level as eggs and progressing to larvae and eventually adult Scrim which would then lay more eggs.[ citation needed ]
As well as these games, Cooke programmed the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC versions of Stunt Car Racer and also released a game for the 16-bit Amiga and Atari ST in 1990 called Tower of Babel .[ citation needed ]
He worked at Leicester College as an IT lecturer and he teaches students how to create computer games using Microsoft XNA.[ citation needed ] He has created and released games for Apple Devices (iOS), including Zenfit and Everything Must Go.[ citation needed ]
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. Considered one of the most influential computers ever made, it is also one of the best-selling British computers ever, with over five million units sold. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and around the world in the following years, most notably in Europe, the United States, and Eastern Bloc countries.
Jeff Minter is an English video game designer and programmer who often goes by the name Yak. He is the founder of software house Llamasoft and has created dozens of games during his career, which began in 1981 with games for the ZX80. Minter's games are shoot 'em ups which contain titular or in-game references demonstrating his fondness of ruminants. Many of his programs also feature something of a psychedelic element, as in some of the earliest "light synthesizer" programs including Trip-a-Tron.
Jet Set Willy is a platform video game written by Matthew Smith for the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published in 1984 by Software Projects and ported to most home computers of the time.
Boulder Dash is a maze-based puzzle video game released in 1984 by First Star Software for Atari 8-bit computers. It was created by Canadian developers Peter Liepa and Chris Gray. The player controls Rockford, who tunnels through dirt to collect diamonds. Boulders and other objects remain fixed until the dirt beneath them is removed, then they fall and become a hazard. Puzzles are designed around collecting diamonds without being crushed and exploiting the interactions between objects. The game's name is a pun on balderdash.
Matthew Smith is a British computer game programmer. He created the games Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy for the ZX Spectrum, released in 1983 and 1984 respectively. Smith left the games industry in 1988 and later moved to the Netherlands. He has since returned to the UK and has worked on some games as well as appearing at conventions and in documentaries.
Ghostbusters is a licensed game by Activision based on the film of the same name. It was designed by David Crane and released for several home computer platforms in 1984, and later for video game console systems, including the Atari 2600, Master System and Nintendo Entertainment System. The primary target was the Commodore 64 and the programmer for the initial version of the game was Adam Bellin. All versions of the game were released in the USA except for the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum versions, which were released only in Europe, and the MSX version, which was released only in Europe, South America, and Japan.
Repton is a video game originally developed by 16-year-old Briton Tim Tyler for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron and released by Superior Software in 1985. The game spawned a series of follow up games which were released throughout the 1980s. The series sold around 125,000 copies between 1985 and 1990 with Repton 2 selling 35,000 itself. The games have since been remade for several modern systems, including iRepton for the iPhone / iPod Touch in 2010, and Android Repton 1, Android Repton 2 and Android Repton 3 from 2016 to 2018.
Underwurlde is a 1984 action-adventure platform video game in the Sabreman series by Ultimate Play the Game for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. The player controls the adventurer Sabreman as he jumps between platforms in a castle and its caverns to find an escape past the exit guardians. Underwurlde features about 600 flip screen areas. Unlike other games of its time, Sabreman is not injured when touched by enemies and is instead knocked backwards. Underwurlde is the second game in the series, between Sabre Wulf and Knight Lore, and released shortly before the latter for the ZX Spectrum in late 1984. Another developer, Firebird, ported the game to the Commodore 64 the next year.
Elite Systems is a British video game developer and publisher established in 1984 as Richard Wilcox Software. It is known for producing home computer conversions of popular arcade games. Elite also published compilations of games on the Hit-Pak label and budget price re-releases on the Encore label.
Durell Software is a software developer based in Taunton, Somerset in the United Kingdom. The company is a provider of back office administration and accounting software to independent financial advisers, mortgage brokers, and general insurance brokers. Durell was formerly a successful video games developer.
The Horace video game series was created in the 1980s by William Tang for Beam Software. The series comprised Hungry Horace, Horace Goes Skiing and Horace and the Spiders.
CRL Group plc was a British video game development and publishing company. Originally CRL stood for "Computer Rentals Limited". It was based in King's Yard, London and run by Clem Chambers.
Tau Ceti is a video game published in 1985 by CRL for the ZX Spectrum and converted to the Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS. It was designed and programmed by Pete Cooke. The world, set on Tau Ceti III orbiting Tau Ceti, is displayed using 3D graphics with shadow effects. The planet has a day and night cycle.
Technician Ted is a platform game for the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum home computers that was written by Steve Marsden and David Cooke and published in 1984 by Hewson Consultants.
Saboteur! is a stealth action-adventure game created by Clive Townsend and published by Durell Software in 1985 for several 8-bit home computer formats.
Academy is an action/simulation video game for the Commodore 64, MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, and Amiga It was released in 1986 by the CRL Group. It is the sequel to Tau Ceti and written by the same author, Pete Cooke.
Richard Shepherd Software was a British software house active between 1982 and 1985. The company was mainly known for releasing text adventure games. These were programmed by Richard Shepherd himself and Pete Cooke.
MC Lothlorien was a video games developer and publisher based in United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1982 and initially specialised in developing software for the ZX Spectrum, Dragon 32 and BBC Micro computer platforms on its own Lothlorien publishing label.
The ZX Spectrum Next is an 8-bit home computer, initially released in 2017, which is compatible with software and hardware for the 1982 ZX Spectrum. It also has enhanced capabilities. It is intended to appeal to retrocomputing enthusiasts and to "encourage a new generation of bedroom coders", according to project member Jim Bagley.
