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.
Shoot 'em ups are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of character movement, while others allow a broader definition including characters on foot and a variety of perspectives.
Ikaruga is a shoot 'em up developed by Treasure. It is the spiritual sequel to Radiant Silvergun (1998) and was originally released in Japanese arcades in December 2001. The story follows a rebel pilot named Shinra as he battles an enemy nation using a specially designed fighter called the Ikaruga which can flip between two polarities, black and white. This polarity mechanism is the game's key feature and the foundation for its stage and enemy design. All enemies and bullets in the game are either black or white. Bullets which are the same color as the player are absorbed while the others will kill the player. The game features both single-player and cooperative modes.
Llamatron is a multidirectional shooter video game programmed by Jeff Minter of Llamasoft and released in 1991 for the Atari ST and Amiga and in 1992 for MS-DOS. Based on Robotron: 2084, players of Llamatron control the eponymous creature in an attempt to stop an alien invasion of Earth and rescue animals—referred to as "Beasties"—for points. Players advance by destroying all of the enemies on each level using a laser that fires automatically in the direction that the Llamatron is moving. Various power-ups exist to aid the player in defeating the wide variety of enemies and obstacles they face along the way.
Giga Wing is a 1999 vertically scrolling shooter arcade game developed by Takumi Corporation and published by Capcom on their CPS-2 arcade system board and ported later that year to the Dreamcast console. The arcade version is notable for using a horizontally aligned monitor, something that is considered rare for a vertical shooter. The Dreamcast version had been scheduled to be released in the U.S. in April 2000, before it was delayed to July 18, 2000.
Tempest 3000 is a tube shooter video game developed by Llamasoft for the Nuon. It was published by Hasbro Interactive in North America on December 13, 2000, and Europe in March 2001. It is a follow-up to Tempest 2000, an updated remake of Dave Theurer's arcade game Tempest (1981). The player controls a claw-shaped blaster, shooting at enemies and obstacles, scoring points, and surviving multiple levels. The game modifies and builds upon the gameplay from Tempest 2000, introducing new enemies and mechanics.
Gridrunner++ is a shoot 'em up written by Jeff Minter for Pocket PC, then for Windows. It has since been ported to Mac OS X and iOS. It was only available as shareware for download from the Llamasoft website, with a registration fee of £5. It was followed-up by Gridrunner Revolution (2009) and Gridrunner iOS (2012).
Defender 2000 is a 1996 scrolling shooter video game developed by Llamasoft and published by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar. Part of Atari's 2000 series of arcade game revivals, it is an update of Eugene Jarvis' arcade game Defender (1981). The premise takes place in a future where the Alpha Promixian empire attack mining settlements on distant resource planets. Gameplay is divided into three modes, with the player acting as part of the System Defense Team commanding the Threshold ship to defeat waves of invading aliens while protecting humans.
Space Giraffe is a fixed shooter video game by Jeff Minter and Ivan Zorzin of Llamasoft. The game was released on 22 August 2007 for Xbox 360 through Xbox Live Arcade. The main graphics engine is based on the Neon Xbox 360 light synthesizer visualisation software built into the console. Llamasoft released a version for Windows on 15 December 2008. It was made available on Steam on 19 March 2009.
Cosmic Avenger is a scrolling shooter developed by Universal and released as an arcade video game in July 1981. It is part of the first wave shooters with forced horizontal scrolling which followed Konami's Scramble and Super Cobra from earlier in the year. It was released the same month as Vanguard. The final installment in Universal's Cosmic series, players take control of the Avenger space fighter and, as in Scramble, use bullets and bombs against enemy air and ground forces. The world is one continuous level made up of different areas.
Gridrunner is a fixed shooter video game written by Jeff Minter and published by Llamasoft for the VIC-20 in 1982. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit computers, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Commodore PET and Dragon 32. Many remakes and sequels have followed, including versions for the Atari ST, Amiga, Pocket PC, Microsoft Windows, and iOS.
Gridrunner Revolution is an action game developed by Llamasoft for Windows. It was released on 25 September 2009. Llamasoft released an updated version with integrated online scoreboards in December of the same year. The game was made available to buy on Steam in February 2010.
Minotron: 2112 is a multidirectional shooter for iOS written by Jeff Minter and Ivan Zorzin of Llamasoft. It is a mobile remake of Llamatron for the Atari ST and Amiga, which itself is an updated version of the 1982 arcade game Robotron: 2084. It is the Minotaur Project game representing the Mattel Intellivision.
Solar Minotaur Rescue Frenzy, shortened to Minotaur Rescue for the iOS App Store, is a multidirectional shooter for iOS developed by Jeff Minter and Ivan Zorzin of Llamasoft and released in January 2011. It was Llamasoft's first iOS game. On the iPhone, the game supports up to two players at the same time. On an iPad, it supports up to four.
GoatUp is a platform game for iOS developed by Jeff Minter and Ivan Zorzin of Llamasoft and published via the App Store in 2011. It is the first platform game from Llamasoft. According to Minter, the three main influences were Canyon Climber and Miner 2049er for the Atari 8-bit computers and a homebrew Atari 2600 game called Man Goes Down. It is the Minotaur Project game representing the ZX Spectrum.
Caverns of Minos is a vertically-scrolling shooter for iOS developed by Jeff Minter and Ivan Zorzin of Llamasoft and published via the App Store. It was announced on the Llamasoft blog on January 12, 2012. Its biggest influence is Caverns of Mars from 1981, but includes elements of Lunar Lander and Oids. It is the Minotaur Project game representing the Atari 8-bit computers.
Five A Day is multidirectional shooter for iOS devices developed by Jeff Minter and Ivan Zorzin of Llamasoft and published via the Apple App Store. The game is a redevelopment of one of Minter's first attempts at iOS programming, and is loosely based on Time Pilot. Although it does not explicitly announce itself to be a Minotaur Project game, the distinctive font and coloration of the text appearing throughout the game is that of the Commodore 64. The game's title is taken from the 5 A Day healthy eating program.
GoatUp 2 is a platform game for iOS developed by Jeff Minter and Ivan Zorzin of Llamasoft and published via the App Store in 2013. It is the only Llamasoft game so far to include a level editor. The title screen gives the game's full name as "Buck! The story of GoatUp 2", a reference to the arcade game Rainbow Islands, and the game's interface and appearance resemble that platform with the exception that the font is the same Namco Galaga font used in Super Ox Wars.
Moose Life is a forward-scrolling shoot 'em up game for Microsoft Windows developed by Llamasoft. Similar to past Llamasoft titles like Tempest 2000 and Polybius, the title incorporates influences from classic arcade games of the early 1980s, along with psychedelic visuals and electronic music to create a trance-like effect. It supports virtual reality using Steam VR and PSVR.
Super Spacefortress Macross is a 1992 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed NMK and published by Banpresto. Based upon the 1984 anime film Macross: Do You Remember Love?, it is the first arcade entry in the Macross franchise. In the game, the players control the VF-1 Valkyrie variable mecha fighters, piloted by Hikaru Ichijyo and Max Jenius, in a battle against the Zentradi alien race.
