Sensible Software

Last updated

Sensible Software
Company typePrivate (defunct)
Industry Video games
Genre Software
Founded1986
Founder Jon Hare
Chris Yates
Defunct1999
FateAcquired by Codemasters
Headquarters
Chelmsford
,
England
Products Wizball
Mega-Lo-Mania
Sensible Soccer
Cannon Fodder
Number of employees
6 (1993)

Sensible Software was a British software company founded by Jon Hare and Chris Yates that was active from March 1986 to June 1999. It released seven number-one hit games [1] and won numerous industry awards.

Contents

The company used exaggeratedly small sprites as the player characters in many of their games, including Mega Lo Mania , Sensible Soccer , Cannon Fodder , and Sensible Golf .

History

8-bit era

Sensible Software was formed in Chelmsford, Essex in 1986 by two former school friends, Jon Hare (nicknamed Jovial Jops) and Chris Yates (nicknamed Cuddly Krix). They worked for 9 months at LT Software in Basildon, and started Sensible Software in March 1986.

Sensible initially released games for the ZX Spectrum and later the Commodore 64, clinching market praise with Parallax , Shoot'Em-Up Construction Kit , and Wizball (later voted Game of the Decade by Zzap!64 magazine). At the time, the pair's output was well known among gamers for its high quality and offbeat sense of humour.[ citation needed ]

In 1988 Martin Galway joined the team, making it a three-way partnership. [2] In mid-1988, it released Microprose Soccer , its first venture into association football games.

By 1993 there were 6 staff members. [3]

16-bit era

Galway left in 1990 to join Origin Systems in the US, and over the next few years the company swapped the 8 bit machines for the more powerful 16-bit Amiga and Atari ST systems, where games such as Wizkid: The Story of Wizball II , Mega-Lo-Mania , the Sensible Soccer series, and the Cannon Fodder series became classics all over Europe, especially in the UK where various Sensible games were number one for 52 weeks of the 3 year period between June 1992 – 1995.[ citation needed ] With the rise of the 16-bit home console market, Sensible's games were ported to a wide range of computing platforms, including MS-DOS, the Mega Drive, and Super NES.

32-bit era

Though Sensible had a strong presence on the 8-bit and 16-bit machines that dominated the late 1980s and early 1990s, this success was not repeated on the 32-bit machines such as the PlayStation prominent in the mid 1990s. The trademark look of cute 2D characters had slipped out of vogue with the advent of cheap 3D rendering abilities and games such as Actua Soccer and FIFA turned to 2.5D and 3D gradually shoving the Sensible Soccer series aside though belatedly converting the game to 3D in 1998.

Sensible Golf, a simple golf video game (not a simulation), did not perform well in the market and with most of Sensible's staffing resources having been thrown into Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll, a game that had initially been signed by Renegade Software (a Time Warner Interactive subsidiary) was dropped by their purchasers, GT Interactive (best known for Doom II, Duke Nukem 3D, Quake, and Unreal Tournament), the owners were looking for a smooth exit.

Though never finished, this final project was discussed in certain sections of the media outside of the game press. It was featured in an Independent on Sunday article in mid-1997. [4] Two years later in 1999, the pre-rendered music videos – created for the game with animation by Khalifa Saber – were showcased within a feature piece on Ex Machina, a TV show covering the CG animation scene on .tv.

Another cancelled game that was being developed during this final development period was a PlayStation action game titled Have a Nice Day, also known as Office Chair Massacre. [5] Though screenshots have never been released, it was a first-person shooter, inspired somewhat by the simplicity of Re-Loaded , a first generation PlayStation game by Gremlin Interactive. Jon Hare has spoken about the project in various interviews, but has never discussed the game's content and gameplay features in depth. [6] [7] [8] Aside from the likelihood that it contained themes as controversial as Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll, in an interview with Total Video Game's Derek dela Fuente, Jon mentioned that the game had "hit some technical barriers" during its development. Sensible was not known to have worked on the PlayStation platform before, which may have made learning the console's problematic 3D libraries a huge issue for the inexperienced team.

Sensible Software was eventually sold in 1999 to veteran UK games publishers Codemasters [9] and since this date Jon Hare has maintained a close working relationship with Codemasters, designing many of its games, including a variety of updates of both Sensible Soccer and Cannon Fodder .

Legacy

In 2006 the Sensible Software game Sensible World of Soccer was entered into a Games Canon of the 10 most important video games of all time by Stanford University, [10] it was the only game developed in Europe to make the list which also included Spacewar! , Star Raiders , Zork , Tetris , SimCity , Super Mario Bros. 3 , Civilization , Doom , and the Warcraft series.

In 2013, the book Sensible Software 1986–1999 was released. [11] This comprehensive retrospective on the history of the company was written by Zzap!64 games journalist Gary Penn in conversational style. It features 19 different contributors including extensive interviews with Jon Hare, plus luminaries of the era including David Darling (entrepreneur), Dominik Diamond, and Peter Molyneux. Chris Yates declined to be interviewed for the book. [5] Half art book and half retrospective analysis, [12] the book is the first of its kind to cover the creative, business, and technical issues that shaped the whole era of early games development in the UK and Sensible Software in particular. The historical importance of this book has been recognised by BAFTA which hold copies in both its library in Central London and its historical archive.[ citation needed ]

In 2020, the Royal Mail issued a series of postage stamps celebrating great British computer games with Sensible Soccer commemorated as a first-class stamp. [13]

Games

YearTitlePlatform(s)
1985 Twister, Mother of Charlotte ZX Spectrum
1986 Parallax C64
Galaxibirds
1987 Wizball C64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC
Shoot-'Em-Up Construction Kit C64, Amiga
1988Oh NoC64
MicroProse Soccer C64, ZX Spectrum
1990 International 3D Tennis C64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, ST
1991Insects in SpaceC64, Amiga
Mega Lo Mania Amiga, ST, Mega Drive, SNES, MS-DOS
1992 Wizkid Amiga, ST, MS-DOS
Sensible Soccer Amiga, ST, Mega Drive, SNES, Archimedes
Sensible Soccer International EditionAmiga, ST, Jaguar, SNES, Mega Drive
Sim BrickAmiga
1993Sensible Soccer 92/93Amiga, ST
Cannon Fodder Amiga, ST, MS-DOS, Archimedes, Mega Drive, Jaguar, 3DO, SNES
1994 Cannon Fodder 2 Amiga, MS-DOS
Sensible World of Soccer
World Championship Soccer 2 Mega Drive
1995 Sensible Golf Amiga, MS-DOS
Sensible World of Soccer 95/96
Sensible Train Spotting Amiga
1996Sensible World of Soccer European Championship EditionAmiga, MS-DOS
Sensible World of Soccer 96/97
1998Sensible Soccer '98MS-DOS, Windows 9x
1998Sensible Soccer European Club Edition PlayStation, Windows 9x
2000Cannon Fodder Game Boy Color

Related Research Articles

Andrew Nicholas Oliver and Philip Edward Oliver, together known as the Oliver Twins, are British twin brothers and video game designers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Joseph</span>

Richard Joseph was an English computer game composer, musician and sound specialist. He had a career spanning 20 years starting in the early days of gaming on the C64 and the Amiga and onto succeeding formats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Galway</span> Irish chiptune musician

Martin Galway is one of the best known composers of chiptune video game music for the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spectrum. His works include Rambo: First Blood Part II, Comic Bakery and Wizball's scores, as well as the music used in the loader for the C64 version of Arkanoid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Hubbard</span> British composer (born 1955)

Rob Hubbard is a British composer best known for his musical and programming work for microcomputers of the 1980s, such as the Commodore 64.

<i>Sensible Soccer</i> Video game series

Sensible Soccer, often called Sensi, is an association football video game series which was popular in the early 1990s and which still retains a following. It was developed by Sensible Software and first released for Amiga and Atari ST computers in 1992 as well as for the IBM PC compatibles. The series was created by Jon Hare and Chris Yates, as a successor to their previous football game MicroProse Soccer (1988), which in turn was inspired by the arcade video game Tehkan World Cup (1985).

<i>Cannon Fodder</i> Video game series

Cannon Fodder is a series of war themed action games developed by Sensible Software, initially released as Cannon Fodder for the Commodore Amiga. Only two games in the series were created by Sensible, but were converted to most active systems at the time of release. A sequel, Cannon Fodder 2, was released in 1994 for Amiga and DOS. A third game, Cannon Fodder 3, was made by a Russian developer and released in English in 2012.

<i>Wizball</i> 1987 video game

Wizball is a horizontally scrolling shooter written by Jon Hare and Chris Yates and released in 1987 for the Commodore 64 and later in the year for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. Versions for the Amiga and Atari ST were released in the following year. Wizball was also ported to IBM PC compatibles and the Thomson MO5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commodore 64 Games System</span> Video game console

The Commodore 64 Games System is the cartridge-based home video game console version of the popular Commodore 64 home computer. It was released in December 1990 by Commodore into a booming console market dominated by Nintendo and Sega. It was only released in Europe and was a considerable commercial failure. The C64GS came bundled with a cartridge containing four games: Fiendish Freddy's Big Top O'Fun, International Soccer, Flimbo's Quest, and Klax.

<i>Shoot-Em-Up Construction Kit</i> 1987 video game

Shoot-'Em-Up Construction Kit is a game creation system for the Commodore 64, Amiga and Atari ST created by Sensible Software and published by Outlaw in 1987. It allows the user to make simple shoot 'em ups by drawing sprites and backgrounds and editing attack patterns. The advertising promoted the Kit with the phrase "By the programmers of Wizball and Parallax".

<i>Cannon Fodder 2</i> 1994 video game

Cannon Fodder 2: Once More unto the Breach, or simply Cannon Fodder 2, is an action-strategy shoot 'em up game developed by Sensible Software and published by Virgin Interactive for the Amiga and DOS in November 1994. The game is the sequel to Cannon Fodder, a successful game released for multiple formats in 1993. The game is a combination of action and strategy involving a small number of soldiers battling through a time-travel scenario. The protagonists are heavily outnumbered and easily killed. The player must rely on strategy and heavy secondary weapons to overcome enemies, their vehicles and installations.

Sensible Golf is a 2D golf game released by Sensible Software in 1995 for the Amiga. It uses the same pin-like characters as Sensible Soccer and Cannon Fodder. The theme tune was written by the lead game designer, Jon Hare, and a promotional video was directed by Carl Smyth from the group Madness and filmed in Regent's Park, London. The game received lackluster reviews and sold poorly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Hare</span> English computer game designer

Jon "Jops" Hare is an English computer game designer, video game artist, musician and one of many founder members of the early UK games industry as co-founder and director, along with Chris Yates, of Sensible Software, one of the most successful European games development companies of the late 1980s and 1990s.

<i>Commodore Format</i> British computer magazine

Commodore Format was a British magazine for users of the Commodore 64 home computer. It was published on the third Thursday of every month. All 61 issues were produced by Future plc. These came towards the end of the machine's commercial life - from October 1990 until October 1995.

<i>Sensible World of Soccer</i> 1994 video game

Sensible World of Soccer is a 1994 football video game designed and developed by Sensible Software as the sequel to their 1992 game Sensible Soccer. It combines a 2D football game with a comprehensive manager mode. The game includes contemporary season data of professional football from around the world, with a total number of 1,500 teams and 27,000 players.

<i>MicroProse Soccer</i> 1988 video game

MicroProse Soccer is an association football video game published by MicroProse in 1988. The original Commodore 64 version was developed by Sensible Software and ported to other systems. In the United States, the game was released as Keith Van Eron's Pro Soccer, named after Keith Van Eron.

<i>Tehkan World Cup</i> 1985 video game

Tehkan World Cup, originally released as World Cup in Japan, is an association football video game released to arcades in 1985 by Tehkan, the former name of Tecmo. It features multiplayer gameplay and trackball controllers. It was released in both upright and table arcade cabinets, but was most commonly released in a cocktail cabinet form factor. Its arrival coincided with the buildup to the 1986 FIFA World Cup. It featured the then colors of several of the world's top teams such as West Germany, Argentina and Brazil, although it did not mention any team by name.

<i>Cannon Fodder 3</i> 2011 video game

Cannon Fodder 3 is an action-strategy PC game developed and published – originally in Russia – by Game Factory Interactive (GFI), along with developer Burut CT. The game is the second sequel to Cannon Fodder, a commercially and critically successful game released for multiple formats in 1993. Jon Hare and his company Sensible Software, the developers of Cannon Fodder and its prior sequel, were uninvolved with Cannon Fodder 3. GFI instead licensed the intellectual property from now-owner Codemasters.

<i>Cannon Fodder</i> (video game) 1993 video game

Cannon Fodder is a shoot 'em up developed by Sensible Software and published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment for the Amiga in 1993. Virgin ported the game to MS-DOS, the Atari ST and the Acorn Archimedes, as well as the Atari Jaguar, Mega Drive, SNES and 3DO. The game is military-themed and based on shooting action with squad-based tactics. The player directs troops through numerous missions, battling enemy infantry, vehicles and installations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Read-Only Memory (publisher)</span> British publisher of video game art books

Read-Only Memory is a British publisher of art books on topics of video game history and culture. Following a resurgence of interest in 1980s and '90s British video game development, the company crowdfunded and produced four art books: an oral history of that Britsoft era, two books on British developers Sensible Software and The Bitmap Brothers, and a definitive volume on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, for which the publisher became best known. Read-Only Memory's books are archival anthologies, including original design documents juxtaposed with developer interviews and high-quality prints of in-game graphics. Reviewers were particularly impressed with each book's breadth of unreleased concepts.

<i>Parallax</i> (video game) 1986 video game

Parallax is a shoot 'em up video game developed by British company Sensible Software for the Commodore 64. It was released in 1986 by Ocean Software in Europe and Mindscape in North America. The game was named after its primary graphical feature, parallax scrolling, which gives the illusion of depth to side-scrolling video games. On release, reviews praised the game's mix of traditional side-scrolling action and adventure game-inspired puzzles.

References

  1. ↑ "Sensible Software".
  2. ↑ "Touchstone (C64) - 1989 Origin Systems - GTW64". 2 October 1989.
  3. ↑ "Jon Hare Sensible Software interview – 'There's only one person that's better than me'". Metro.co.uk. 23 October 2012.
  4. ↑ Walker, Sophie (6 July 1997). "Computer nerds discover sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll". The Independent . Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Sensible Software 1986-1999 book review – the rise and fall of a British giant". Metro.co.uk. 9 October 2013.
  6. ↑ "CTW – Jon Hare interview". Worldofstuart.excellentcontent.com. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  7. ↑ "Playing Catch-Up: Sensible Software's Jon Hare". Gamasutra. 24 October 2005. Archived from the original on 8 May 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  8. ↑ "For the best in C64 nostalgia". C64.COM. 20 January 1966. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  9. ↑ "Sensible Software 1986-1999 book review". 15 October 2013.
  10. ↑ Chaplin, Heather (12 March 2007). "Is That Just Some Game? No, It's a Cultural Artifact". The New York Times.
  11. ↑ Penn, Gary (7 October 2013). Sensible Software 1986–1999 . Read-Only Memory. ISBN   978-0957576803.
  12. ↑ "Sensible Software 1986-1999 book review". Den of Geek. 15 October 2013.
  13. ↑ "Royal Mail celebrates UK retro games". Stanleygibbons.com. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.