Last Updated 5th May 2019
The BBC Games Archive - digital memories
Acornsoft
Probably the original BBC Software company, this was a software arm of Acorn itself. In my mind, and many others, it is recognised as one of the best. It was particularly good at converting the arcade games of the time (Asteroids, Space Invaders, etc) and it also did a few text adventures which were also good. It is probably best known for the discovery of Elite, and Revs, Geoff Crammonds' first in a long line of succesful racing games.
Superior Software eventually came in and bought the whole of Acornsoft's back catalogue in 1986 and from then on some of the games were re-released on the Play It Again Sam, and Acornsoft Hits collections. After five years in the ring it was still the unbeaten champion, and you can imagine why, Acorn had all the knowledge about the beeb, everything which it was capable of, and how to do it in the best way possible, which is why most of their games are extremely well programmed.
Acornsoft also produced a lot of software on ROM, not to mention business and educational packages.
Please contact me if you have any additional information about the company or its games!
Magic Mushrooms
Released:
Author: Unknown
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A one-screen platform game, this has all the hallmarks of being a true classic. You have to go around the levels collecting the mushrooms, and avoiding the monsters. To obstruct you there are one-way ladders, convery belts, trampolines and more, and you really have to thing about the path you are taking. The graphics are low-res, but very crisp and clear, making them look much better. The game also has a screen designer built in, so that you can design your own levels!
Maze
Released: 1984
Author: Unknown
Play
The classic maze game, set in a first person perspective 3d view. You have to find the treasure in the maze, whilst watching out for the baddies also inside. One of the best things is that you can hear the footsteps of the baddies, whilst they are still far off, and the atmosphere is much improved with this. The graphics are well drawn, and the only problem is that the game does not move as quickly as it possibly could.
Meteor Mission
Released: 1983
Author: Unknown
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Another classic from the arcade conversion masters. This time you have the task of rescuing three spacemen trapped on the moon during a meteor shower. You start in the mother ship, and have to launch from it, then you move out into space, dodging the meteors, and finding the way through them. To make it even harder, there are comets and alien ships which kill on contact. The graphics are good, and it is very addictive and entertaining.
Meteors
Released: 1982
Author: Unknown
Play
My favourite Acornsoft conversion. This one plays just like the original Asteroids, right down to the explosion of the ship, and the strangely shaped meteors! All you have to do is shoot the meteors, which explode into smaller parts, and then shoot them, until you clear the screen of asteroids. It is addictive, and has the elusive 'just one more go' feel. A true classic arcade game, excellently converted to an equally classic computer.
Missile Base
Released: 1982
Author: Unknown
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A poor conversion of Missile Command. Superior Software did a much better version of the classic. Although in my mind you really need the trackerball (like the original arcade version) to get those really high scores. If you don't know, Missile command has you defending cities with missiles, against bombs or other missiles, (shown by lines) which the enemy launch from planes. You have to hit the tip of the line to blow it up, the enemy missiles converge on your cities and gun towers, if all cities are gone, you are dead.
Monsters
Released: 1982
Author: Unknown
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Smacks of Lode Runner in this ladder climbing, hole digging, monster chomping game. You are a little man who is running around a series of platforms infested by monsters. You have to dig a hole, wait for the monster to fall in, then cover him up. If you don't, then he comes back as an even meaner one! Highly enjoyable, although I am really crap at it! This was one of the first Acornsoft games, along with Snapper and Planetoid, so it was one of the first ever games!
Philosophers Quest
Released: 1982
Author: Peter Killworth
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The first of the Acornsoft text adventures, this was supposedly an unfair game as you could get killed just by moving in the wrong direction! As it was an early game, it had a lot of puzzles but not a great deal of plot, the main objective being to collect the 3 treasures and return them to the start point, it is entertaining though. This game was originally written by Peter Killworth on an IBM Mainframe machine called 'Phoenix' and he scaled it down and ported it to the Beeb. The parts Killworth didn't use from his original game were made into Castle Of Riddles.
Planetoid
Released: 1982
Author: Unknown
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This is the same game as Defender, I think this is the re-named version because of copyright hassle with Atari. This certainly plays the same as Defender, but is much more widely known. It is of course another suberb conversion, how they managed to pull it off I'll never know, it has a reputation for being one of the more demanding old arcade games, which used a lot of custom stuff. There are cracks of this around, including 'Super Defender'.
Puc Man
Released: 1982
Author: Unknown
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Seems to be a renamed version of Snapper - I doubt this was every officially released. Notably it has the actual PacMan character and not the weird shaped man with the hat we all know and love as Snapper!
Quondam
Released: 1984
Author: Peter Killworth
Download
Play
Text adventure - this was another game originally to have come from the Phoenix machine at Cambridge University, again ported by Peter Kilworth. Its basically a good old puzzle fest, without too much plot, for its time it is very large and has lots of detailed quite descriptions for its age.
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