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Rock Star Ate My Hamster | |
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Developer(s) | Colin Jones |
Publisher(s) | Codemasters |
Designer(s) | Chris Graham [1] |
Composer(s) | Allister Brimble (Atari ST) |
Platform(s) | ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Atari ST |
Release |
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Genre(s) | Strategy, music management |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Rock Star Ate My Hamster is a management strategy computer game developed by Codemasters in 1988 and originally released on their full-price Gold label for the Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amiga and Atari ST. The game was written by Colin Jones, later to become known as author/publisher Colin Bradshaw-Jones.
The name of the game was inspired by a 1986 Sun newspaper headline - 'Freddie Starr ate my hamster'.
Desperate to get out of the circus theatrics business, Cecil Pitt and his sidekick, Clive, turn to the world of Rock music Management with the help of a £50,000 inheritance.
To win the game, one must select a band, record an album and earn 4 gold discs within the space of a year. If the player fails to meet this target, goes bankrupt or has no musicians left, the game is over.
The game is almost entirely menu-driven with options that allow the player to decide what the band does next.
The player's first task as manager is to pick musicians for the band (see below), and then decide whether they should buy them brand-new equipment, second-hand equipment or get some dodgy gear off the back of a lorry.
Once in the main game, the options presented are as follows:
Along the way, the player also has to decide:
Releasing an album or single makes them eligible for the charts. A Top 10 Singles & Albums charts (depending on what players have released) gets displayed on screen every Sunday. The other bands in the Top 10 are also parodies of other rock bands.
At the outset, the player can choose to hire up to four musicians to make up the band. The musicians are parodies of contemporary pop music stars. Their weekly wage depends on their abilities and their fame, ranging from £30,000 for "Bill Collins" down to just £50 for "Sidney Sparkle".
Game Character | Real Name | In-game fee |
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Wacky Jacko | Michael Jackson | 18000 |
Michael Gorge | George Michael | 15000 |
Bimbo Baggins | Kylie Minogue | 8000 |
Crispy Rind | Chrissie Hynde | 950 |
Rick Ghastley | Rick Astley | 700 |
Dorrissey | Morrissey | 900 |
Maradonna | Madonna | 17000 |
Jason Doner-Kebab | Jason Donovan | 8000 |
Gracey Chapperson | Tracy Chapman | 870 |
Scratch 'n' Sniffa | Salt-n-Pepa | 1000 |
Midge Sewer | Midge Ure | 80 |
Sado | Sade | 11000 |
Snoozy Sue | Siouxsie Sioux | 870 |
By George | Boy George | 500 |
Mince | Prince | 18000 |
Game Character | Real Name | In-game fee |
---|---|---|
Bill Collins | Phil Collins | 30000 |
Elvin Dwight | Elton John | 20000 |
Iggy Carrust | David Bowie | 10000 |
Peter Gobsmacked | Peter Gabriel | 9500 |
Annie Smallpox | Annie Lennox | 2000 |
Bryan Nylon | Bryan Ferry | 13400 |
Rotton Johnny | Johnny Rotten | 5000 |
Stiff Pilchards | Cliff Richard | 920 |
Dingo Strapp | Ringo Starr | 400 |
Harry Human | Gary Numan | 600 |
Rupert Beetle | Paul McCartney | 26000 |
John-Michael Jarrs | Jean Michel Jarre | 25000 |
Dick Knackered | Mick Jagger | 21000 |
Derek Claptout | Eric Clapton | 26500 |
Tina Turnoff | Tina Turner | 15000 |
Meathead | Meat Loaf | 7500 |
Bruce Stringbean | Bruce Springsteen | 9000 |
String | Sting | 900 |
Frank Zipper | Frank Zappa | 250 |
Eddy Quicksilver | Freddie Mercury | 9000 |
Sneezy Wonderful | Stevie Wonder | 8000 |
Bonehead | Bono | 9000 |
Kate Bushed | Kate Bush | 8500 |
Harley Wotts | Charlie Watts | 9000 |
Freddy Grunt | Eddy Grant | 7000 |
Witless Houston | Whitney Houston | 12750 |
Harvey Headband | Mark Knopfler | 7490 |
Cod | Fish | 8000 |
Jane Jet | Joan Jett | 680 |
Game Character | Real Name | In-game fee |
---|---|---|
Sidney Sparkle | Gary Glitter | 50 |
Rodney Holder | Noddy Holder | 450 |
Ted Newsagent | Ted Nugent | 600 |
Dozy Trowell | Cozy Powell | 3000 |
Izzy Azbeen | Ozzy Osbourne | 3000 |
Titchy Blackhead | Ritchie Blackmore | 700 |
Alison Nightmare | Alice Cooper | 200 |
Lumme | Lemmy | 400 |
The game is heavy on parody on existing people and names, which wasn't well-received across the board: according to Jones, "an irate parent had taken objection to one of the jokes in the spoof newspaper included in the box and WHSmith pulled the game from their shelves". [1]
All the information above was taken from either the actual gameplay, the game manual and/or packaging.
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