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.
Tempest 2000 is a tube shooter video game originally developed by Llamasoft and published by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar in North America on 13 April 1994. It was released in Europe on 27 June and in Japan on 15 December of the same year, with the Japanese release being published by Mumin Corporation. Part of Atari Corp.'s 2000 series, it is a remake by Jeff Minter of Dave Theurer's 1981 arcade game Tempest, which used Atari's QuadraScan vector color display technology.
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.
Space Invaders Extreme is a re-vamped incarnation of the classic arcade game Space Invaders. The DS and PSP versions were released to mark the 30th anniversary of Space Invaders which saw its original arcade release in 1978. An HD version of the game has been remastered by Backbone Entertainment for Xbox Live Arcade with new four-player multiplayer modes and visualizer backgrounds by Jeff Minter, it was released on 6 May 2009 as a wrap-up to the 30th anniversary. The game is played at a fast pace with an electronic soundtrack and sound effects.
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.
Half-Minute Hero is a hybrid real-time strategy action role-playing shoot 'em up video game developed by Opus. It was initially released as a PlayStation Portable exclusive in Japan on May 28, 2009, later in North America on October 13, and in Europe on February 19, 2010. It was re-released on the Xbox Live Arcade on June 29, 2011 under the title Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax, and on Microsoft Windows' Steam on September 27, 2012 under the title Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy.
Space Invaders Infinity Gene is a shoot 'em up game released as part of the Space Invaders franchise. The game blends the series classic characters and gameplay with the concept of evolution. The game was developed by Taito and distributed by Square Enix. The game was released for iOS on July 27, 2009, after first appearing on Japanese mobile phones, and was later released for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in September 2010, and for Android in September 2011.
Super Meat Boy is a 2010 platform game designed by Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes under the collective name of "Team Meat". It was self-published as the successor to Meat Boy, a 2008 Flash game designed by McMillen and Jonathan McEntee. In the game, the player controls Meat Boy, a red, cube-shaped character, as he attempts to rescue his girlfriend, Bandage Girl, from the game's antagonist Dr. Fetus. The gameplay is characterized by fine control and split-second timing, as the player runs and jumps through over 300 hazardous levels while avoiding obstacles. The game also supports the creation of player-created levels. Super Meat Boy was first released on the Xbox 360 through Xbox Live Arcade in October 2010, and was later ported to Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, and the Nintendo Switch. A Wii version was in development but was ultimately cancelled.
BattleBlock Theater is a comedic platform game developed by The Behemoth and published by Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360, Windows, Mac, and Linux. It is the third title from The Behemoth following Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers. The game was released on Xbox Live Arcade on April 3, 2013, and later temporarily made free via Games with Gold on July 16, 2014.
Dungeon Defenders is a hybrid multiplayer video game developed by Trendy Entertainment that combines the genres of tower defense and action role-playing game. It is based on a showcase of Unreal Engine 3 named Dungeon Defense. The game takes place in a fantasy setting where players control the young apprentices of wizards and warriors and defend against hordes of monsters. A sequel titled Dungeon Defenders II was released in 2015.
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.
Deflex, also known as Made In France, is an action game developed by Jeff Minter. The versions for the VIC-20 and Commodore PET in 1981 were the first games by Minter's own Llamasoft.
Super Ox Wars is a vertically scrolling shooter for iOS developed by Jeff Minter and Ivan Zorzin of Llamasoft and published via the App Store in 2012. The game is the first vertically scrolling shooter from Llamasoft and is based on such games as Xevious and Star Force. It is the Minotaur Project game representing the Namco Galaga platform. In April 2015 the game became free to play.
The music of In the Groove includes 136 songs for arcade and home releases. A few additional songs were confirmed to be present in the now-cancelled In the Groove 3. Some artists are common to Dance Dance Revolution. In fact, a few song revivals can be found in In the Groove, but with different stepcharts.
Tempest 4000 is a shoot 'em up video game developed by Llamasoft and published by Atari, SA. It is a modern reimagining of the classic arcade game Tempest, which was released in 1981. In Tempest 4000, players control a spaceship and navigate through a series of increasingly challenging levels while fighting off waves of enemies. Tempest 4000 was released for Atari VCS, Playstation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch.
Black Hole is a twin-stick shooter by DufGames. It was released in 2016 on Ouya and ForgeTV. A version for the Nintendo Switch was released on February 6, 2018.
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.
