Ocean History

the history
the history
Compiled by
Chris Wilkins & Roger M. Kean
PRODUCTION
First published 2013 by Revival Retro Events
Revival Retro Events, 51 Dencer Drive, Kenilworth, CV8 2QR
http://www.revivalretroevents.com
Copyright © Revival Retro Events 2013
Every effort has been made to contact the copyright holders of the material reproduced in
this book. If any have been inadvertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to offer
restitution at the earliest opportunity. Copyright © in any individuals’ photographs
are their own.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced
into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. Foreword by David Ward ...................................................... 6
Ocean – the History ............................................................. 8
Printed and bound by Harrier plc An Oceanic Aftermath ....................................................... 88
Memories Are Made of This ............................................... 94
Simon Butler 96 Kevin Oxland 170
Acknowledgements
Paul Owens 104 Julian Hicks 172
In the making of this book, I would like to thank:
Mark Jones Jnr 110 Dawn Drake 174
n o n J on Woods and David Ward for generously giving us Ocean, and their time to
Tony Pomfret 116 Brian Flanagan 180
reminisce; Gary Bracey for believing in the project and rallying support from the
Ocean gang early on in the production of the book; Paul Patterson for his thoughtful Brian Beuken 120 Stephen Thomson 184
insights; and Paul Finnegan for his time, filling in many gaps and making top-notch Ivan Davies 124 Mark Jones Snr 188
ham rolls. Lee Clare 128 Paul Millar 192
nonM ark Jones ( Jnr) for supplying a great deal of the visual content and helping with the Simon Cobb 132 John Palmer 194
proof-reading (above and beyond the call of duty, really something of a Decathlon). John Gibson 136 David Selwood 198
nonS imon Butler for helping to locate many of the elusive Ocean dungeon crew Steve Lavache 138 Richard Kay 200
and always being there for a helpful opinion. Richard Palmer 140 Peter Johnson 204
nonM artyn Carroll for proof-reading and for being an inspiration from his Live Michael Lamb 142 Jon Ritman 208
Publishing Retro Gamer magazine days. John Meegan 148 Steve Wahid 214
nonR oger Kean for being a professional, a gentleman and the individual who gave us Paul Hughes 150 Ian Richardson 216
Crash, Zzap 64! and Amtix! magazines. Gareth Betts 158 Bill Harbison 220
nonO liver Frey for the kind permission to use his artwork, and for also giving us Crash, James Higgins 162 Jim Bagley 224
Zzap 64! and Amtix! magazines. Jayne Millar 166 Colin Porch 226
nonD ave and Anna from Attic Bug for their continuing support of the project and Bob Wakelin – The Artist .................................................. 229
supplying the Bob Wakelin art and postcards. You two are great friends.
The Sound and Music of Ocean ......................................... 248
nonA nd the family – my wife Nomita, daughters Amber and Sienna, and son Milan,
Jonathan Smith – A Tribute ............................................... 254
who gave me the time and support in putting this book together. Love you guys.
Allan Shortt – A Tribute .................................................... 257
A Rogues’ Gallery .............................................................. 258
Ocean Games Index .......................................................... 260
foreword
by David Ward
T
he story of Ocean ten years the Ocean team grew from represent the primary engagement of harder. As the company’s events diary
parallels the evolution a handful of enthusiasts contacted a demographic of young players – as became fatter and more glamorous,
of interactive software through specialist magazines to nearly important as film or music in shaping and the out-of-hours activity ever more
as mainstream 300 staff, embracing art and design, and stimulating the interests of the new risqué, working to play became almost
entertainment with the adoption of software development, marketing, computer generation – was the key to as important as playing to work.
personal computers by the general sales and administration. A new kind understanding this new market. Ocean was a company very much of
public, which created a paradigm shift of company with few of the rules or It triggered an enormous amount its time, it could only really have existed
in the use of information technology. constraints of traditional business and of experimentation, of trial and error, at the dawn of an era; the driving force
From dots on a screen to immersive little appreciation of what couldn’t be and produced an ever widening behind its growth and importance was
simulation, the company’s time-line achieved. variety of gaming categories from the necessary change and invention for
spans the emergence of a global By the 1990s the computer and sports simulation to fiendish puzzles, its survival. It succeeded in bridging
industry using computer processing to video games market had become action adventure to role playing. the chasm between an untrained,
deliver fun and games. global and Ocean’s products were sold Anything that could be imagined informal development resource and the
Formed at the beginning of the in all the major markets of the world; by programmers and designers requirements of sophisticated business
1980s alongside the birth of home subsidiary companies were formed barely older than their audience was finance, to invent a new industry and
computers and not long after Pong was in Europe and the United States. sanctioned; success was quickly built on bring it to market.
sprung on an unsuspecting world, the The bottom line got bigger and the with the software cul-de-sacs quietly To all those who worked with the
Ocean pioneers had the good fortune corporate structure more sophisticated consigned to history. company it left an indelible stamp on
to be able to blaze a trail through and yet the essence of the business Of course the work/life balance for their young lives. That most remember
uncharted territory in a world where was still its people, its assets the talent a group of young talented individuals those times with affection, even
anything seemed possible. of the individuals who made up the was always going to be a challenge and advantage, is testament to the skill
Harnessing raw development workforce. The mission statement so it proved to be. and humour used to address the many
and marketing talent, the company was to provide innovative, compelling Ocean’s social calendar became obstacles that stood along the way.
invented its way to success, honing entertainment to a waiting world and a symbol of the spirit of freedom
a new business; one in which there Ocean did just that! which characterised the production
were few guidelines and little or no The ability to recognise that this and marketing process, as those who
descriptive language. In the space of new kind of entertainment would worked hard inevitably wanted to party
6 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 7

David nods. ‘The relationship we
had and the kind of trust we had in each
other enabled us to do very different jobs
in the company – and that contributed to
Ocean’s success. We got on in the sense
that we could add different things into
the mix. Jon’s sense of structure was very
the history important. The story of Ocean is really

the beginning of this industry,’ David
says, and then hesitates. ‘But it wasn’t
For much of the 1980s, the UK led the world-wide Blower joined Ocean as creative director. an industry then… it was an invented
revolution in home computing which began at the It is 16 years since Jon Woods and thing. One of the most interesting things
start of the decade. At the heart of the fledgling David Ward last worked together, and about what we did was that we made
industry, which grew to be a billion-dollar-a-year while time has wrought changes to it up on the hoof as we went along.
business, Ocean led the way as a creative developer the company they founded, Jon is still There were no parameters, there were no
and publisher. Its history of innovation, expansion recognizable as the gruff rough diamond business models, there were no… even
and triumphs established the company as a global of the duo, the no-nonsense businessman the nomenclature was invented to try to
brand. This is Ocean’s extraordinary story. – ‘the Engineer’, as Paul Finnegan characterise what we were doing.’
calls him – and fast-talking David, the ‘Frankly, the business didn’t exist back
O
raconteur and visionary, or ‘the Brains’. then,’ Jon joins in. ‘So to a great extent
ver a period of a decade and a The company which started life we could make the rules up as we went
half, Ocean became Europe’s as Spectrum Games, then to become along, within reason. Obviously there actually spoke to a magazine to buy space David Ward (seated) and
Jon Woods, appearing
largest video games developer Ocean, altered a lot over the years, were other software houses creating or to discuss editorial.’
in the May 1984 edition
Above: This shiny and, more importantly, eventually to disappear into the French Joined at the hips, then? Jon shakes of Crash magazine,
chromium-plated
publisher. The company’s creators were corporation Infogrames. In that time, his head. ‘No, we’re like chalk and cheese, photographed outside
Ocean logo was fixed
Jon Woods and David Ward, and their rumours, as they will, circulated to
“It was an invented completely different. I did what I did the Ralli Building,
to the exterior wall
of the company’s story is one of growth and commercial suggest the two towering figures of the thing…we made it up and David did what was needed to take
the first home of
Ocean Software.
on the hoof as we went

Castlefield premises.
success in an industry, which – as David British games industry, Jon and David, things forward. We never needed any
once rashly (but accurately) boasted – had fallen out, become reclusive and board meetings. The two of us had a
would become bigger than the movies. refused all interviews about the past. Not
along.” chat, that was our board meeting. You
Four other figures joined Ocean and entirely true, as it turns out. could do it like that, you see, and instant
made their managerial mark in the early ‘We’ve known each other since we games, but it got to the point that when decisions were made. There was no one
years of the company: Paul Finnegan, were not quite old enough to drink a pint a movie was announced, say Jurassic Park, else to consult.’
a founding shareholder, acted as the in a pub,’ Jon says. ‘We actually didn’t go ninety per cent of the time Ocean got the But inventing a games industry wasn’t
company’s sales director up to 1987; to school together but our parents lived licence. I worked at creating relationships Jon and David’s real beginning. That
Gary Bracey and Paul Patterson started in the same road, in a place called West with the arcade and movie people, goes back to the 1970s when they were
out as software development manager Kirby. It’s on the Wirral. Yeah, we met whereas David booked all the advertising in business together doing something a
and sales manager respectively; and Steve when we were about 17, mere youngsters.’ in the computer magazines. I never million miles from video games.

Gary Bracey, who was a representative bit of investigation and discovered that
for a clothes company, recalls them Atari existed… the Ping-Pong consumer
importing Afghan coats. David paints it product had begun, but because these
Galaxian, Namco’s with a little more sophistication. products were captured on a ROM chip
arcade coin-op of
‘We created an iconic retail brand it made it a very high cost to enter that
1979, found popularity
on the Atari 5200. selling clothes. We invented the idea business in America.’
of the unisex boutique…well, we didn’t
invent it, we kind of parallel-invented The way forward – computers
it… in the north-west basically.’ David returned to England in 1981
Jon, the quieter of the two, nods his and noticed, through reading features what an amazing business it would be if Created in 1972 by
Alan Allcorn and Nolan
agreement of the recollection, as David America for four years. In a sense, that’s and snippets in the papers, that people we could get the compelling arcade games
Bushnell for Atari
goes on. where the Ocean story really begins.’ were playing video games, but more so onto home computers. But I had no idea Incorporated, Pong in
‘Towards the end of the 1970s, The Ward family moved to Los on computers than in America where how it was done. It turned out they were its arcade form was the
earliest video game.
though, the chain-stores had caught up. Angeles where David opened a nightclub. console machines like the Atari VCS had programs loaded onto a tape cassette, and
Home Pong (above)
‘The local mafia decided that they held sway since 1977. you bought these cassettes and you took came along in 1974
“The local maf ia decided that they would do a deal with us and put these ‘I spoke to Jon about it at the them home, and you spent about an hour as a controller which
could be connected
machines in our club. They were the first beginning of 1982 and remember saying and a half loading the game…’
would do a deal with us and put these to a television set.
colour video game machines. Galaxian, Jon puts on an amazed tone at the
machines in our club. They were the I think, was the first one, and Pac-Man ‘ancient’ technology. ‘You had to use your
f irst colour video game machines. “ and Space Invaders soon followed. We had own cassette machine. You didn’t get a
lines of people queuing up to play these cassette machine with the ZX Spectrum.
games every night. People, you know, who Imagine it… with filthy heads and
should have been dancing were playing the azimuth out of line. There was no
David Ward and Jon on these machines. On Monday morning cartridge. No one had heard of a disk at
Woods face an ‘amazing
the guys would turn up with a Cadillac that point. And so you can imagine the
new business’.
and pour all the coins into the boot…’ frustration at loading the damned game!’
Hand gestures graphically suggest ‘Didn’t the Commodore 64 have a
how far the Cadillac sank on its springs disk?’ David pipes up.
under the weight of the loot. ‘It did, but the one before that didn’t,
‘We got half the money back in dollar the VIC-20 didn’t,’ Jon insists.
Burtons and their ilk – who had been bills, and away they went. Every two or David shakes his head at the memory.
selling very prosaic clothes to teenagers three weeks they’d take away one of these ‘Yes, it was very early days. There were
so the kids looked like their dads – had machines and replace it with another one. two companies then which caught our
caught up with the idea of fashion, and It was an important revenue source for us.’ eye – Bug-Byte and the more recent
started selling tee-shirts and jeans and It was David’s first brush with Imagine.’
brightly coloured clothing, like we did. arcade video game machines and Paul Finnegan was involved in both
We found it more and more difficult to the opportunities they represented companies. In his mid-twenties, he
compete, so we sold out and I went to immediately caught his interest. ‘I did a and a partner had a printing business

in Liverpool. One day he went cold- with these new-fangled computer games two Tonys were in a great position in
calling for business in the city centre right on their doorstep. ‘Sure enough the those early days to take advantage of
and happened on a little office, with two local games companies were beginning the market. Two 22-year-old lads, very
young guys sitting on boxes. ‘It was the to sell quantities of games, even though bright… but I think they just didn’t see
two Tonys from Bug-Byte, Tony Baden there was no real retail environment to the opportunity like others.’
and Tony Milner. They were just out of sell them into,’ David says. ‘You sold a few The Tonys took on several
Oxford, and they’d started doing these in a shop down the road and a few more enthusiastic programmers, but in 1982
games. I started doing a bit of work for elsewhere. I think in Bug-Byte’s case they Mark Butler, Dave Lawson, and Eugene
them, and suddenly we were printing were making these cassettes one by one. Evans left to form Imagine, and asked
thousands of these inlay cards, black and There is a tale of them with five or six Paul if he would help them on the sales
white originally and then they went on cassette machines in a line and pulling a side. ‘I thought it was a great opportunity
to colour. And our printing business grew string so that they all started recording and definitely the market to be in, so I
somewhat off the back of that.’ from the master at the same time.’ sold my half of the print business to my
David Ward and Jon Woods had their Paul Finnegan confirms the partner and I jumped into Imagine. It
eyes firmly fixed on what was happening impression of increasing sales. ‘The was an incredible business, you know,
the amount of money coming in was
Bug-Byte Software Ltd fantastic… but it was going out the other
Tony Baden and Tony Milner, two Oxford chemistry graduates, door. Everybody had a nice car, even
founded Bug-Byte in 1980. Bug-Byte, based in Liverpool, was the cleaners had a Porsche! I was with
among the very first to develop a range of 8-bit computer games Imagine for about six or seven months
for machines like the Commodore PET, VIC-20, Acorn Atom, and I got to know all the buyers at the doing it for their fledgling Manchester Mark Butler and
Dave Lawson outside
ZX81 but principally in time for the launch of the Sinclair different stores. Boots, WH Smith and company was quite another.
the Liver Building in
ZX Spectrum and the Commodore 64 in the spring of 1982. Menzies were the big people.’ ‘We did a bit of research,’ David says. Liverpool, photographed
Among Bug-Byte’s better known titles are platformer Manic ‘The predominant magazine at the time in May 1984. Imagine
Miner by Matthew Smith (who moved to Software Projects Is there a market? was Your Computer. So we took a punt Software, the company
they founded with
and took the game with him in the autumn of 1983) and the The sudden success of Liverpool’s games and bought the magazine’s back page for Eugene Evans, would
text adventure Twin Kingdom Valley. software houses was being compared in six months to advertise four games. The become an important
label for Ocean.
Bug-Byte failed to make the grade in the mid-1980s, as the press to Beatlemania all over again. ones we chose were versions of famous
the consolidation of software houses into larger groups with It gave Jon and David pause for thought. games… like Missile Command and
bigger financial clout squeezed the smaller developers out, and ‘Liverpool was swamped with the two Frogger. It was a kind of ridiculous thing
was liquidated in May 1985. Argus Press Software, a subsidiary then quite large companies,’ Jon says, ‘not to do but we had no market in which to
of newspaper owners Argus Press, purchased the rights to the to forget Software Projects as well. So we sell anything, and no actual game to sell
games and brand and continued to release games under the Bug- made a conscious decision to locate our at that time… it was just an idea.’
Byte name. Argus had already swallowed Quicksilva, Starcade company in Manchester.’ And of the various computers on
and MC Lothlorien by then. In 1987 a management buy-out Knowing that Bug-Byte, Imagine the market, who owned what? No one
headed by Argus managing director Stephen Hall took all the and the less prolific but very successful had any idea, but David came up with a
brands under the GrandSlam Entertainment banner. Software Projects were making sales was marketing wheeze to find out.
one thing, discovering the best way of ‘There was no research at all, nothing

ridiculously naïve assumption that we at the time. I met Jon and David in a pub
could get the game done and delivered and they asked if I would come and help
within 28 days, otherwise you were them for a month and see how I got on.
outside the protocol of the Mail Order It was the best thing in work that ever
Association. happened to me!’
‘There was no question in my mind In parallel with the new mail order
that within 28 days we would deliver business, Paul set out on the road with
and it wouldn’t be a problem. You must a handful of games in embryo in, as he
remember that a lot of these games recalls, very different transport to what
existed in some form as programs written he’d become accustomed to at Imagine.
by hobbyists who weren’t intending ‘I was used to having a nice company car,
necessarily to commercialise them. They and at Spectrum Games all I got was the
just wrote a version of Frogger because old props van. It was a Peugeot estate. If
they thought that was a great thing you’d put a rocking horse on top it’d look
to have for themselves, and very often like the Clampett wagon from Beverly
The main contenders: thought no further than that.’ Hillbillies. And this thing used to break
Commodore’s VIC-20
Calling themselves Spectrum Games,
and Sinclair’s 48K ZX
Spectrum. These were Jon and David decided to build an initial
the machines into which on how many of each machine had been catalogue of games programmed by local
Ocean’s programmers
sold, the demographic of those buying enthusiasts. They would all be copies of
would have to compress
code to make copies the machines, or what they were being arcade coin-op favourites as the research
of the most popular used for. We just knew that this games in Your Computer had shown that these
coin-op arcade games.
market might exist. So we created a tiny were the kind of games the kids wanted. chance of taking the old jalopy with me.’ The amateur
programmer’s first
graph on the advert where the customer But mail order alone was never going At the end of that first month, Paul
choice for advice, Your
had to tick whether they had a to grow the company. They needed to says money was very tight. ‘There was Computer became
VIC-20, a Spectrum or whatever, get into the shops. Fortunately, over at Mike Barnes, who was the financial Ocean’s chosen vehicle
to advertise the mail
and which of the four games Imagine Paul Finnegan had a falling out director and a shareholder, and Jon and
order operation, and
they liked the look of. And sure with Bruce Everiss. ‘He was operations David, and they were struggling trying to market those early
enough, on Monday morning – director and it just didn’t work for me, to fund my wages, so I suggested taking arcade game copies,
such as Road Frog.
and remember, this was a mail so in the end I decided to get away a little bit of equity in the company
order only business – we got from Imagine. And within a week I got instead. They had a chat and gave me
all these envelopes in the post, a phone call from Jon Woods saying, what I was asking for, ten per cent of
and we opened them up. They “Heard you left, do you fancy having a Spectrum Games.’
had five-pound postal orders in chat? We’re struggling to get our games down about three or four times a week, And in due course of Ocean itself.
them. We began to do a chart in any of the stores.” This was the early and I’d be ringing up at half nine on the Steve Blower, who was at Imagine at
of the portion of users who had days of Spectrum Games. I think their motorway telling Jon I had broken down the time, remembers Spectrum Games
Bruce Everiss, Imagine’s this machine or that machine and which first game out there was a Kong… again. It was a nightmare. In the end I from one of the primitive early games
operations director.
game they wanted. And this was on the everybody was doing those sort of games used to go on the train, I couldn’t take the shows. ‘The Spectrum Games stand,

which consisted of a few trestle tables we couldn’t deliver to in the 28 days’,
stocked up with computer games, was David adds. ‘By that time, even after
Kong hits the front cover near the Imagine stand. The Imagine only a month, it was evident that our
of Crash magazine. The
guys went about super-gluing down the business was alive. And then to cap it off,
young teenage market
can’t get enough of games on sale at the Spectrum Games we got this flood of programmers
arcade conversions for stand. I had no idea who Spectrum contacting us, and lots of them
their ZX Spectrums.
Games were and, of course, Imagine’s were still at school.’
Mark Butler and David Lawson would ‘Totally self-taught, they were,’
have had no idea that one day Spectrum Jon points out. ‘When we started,
Games, as Ocean, would be buying up I was software development
their beloved Imagine!’ manager, and I’d never
programmed a single thing. But
All name change someone had to run these… not
It was Paul Finnegan who brought back necessarily school children, they
from his travels a potential problem – one were just out of that, perhaps just at
of the buyers at Boots had highlighted university, you know, 18 or 19. And
that Spectrum Games were also selling needed a name with a basis of ambition – and we were advertising, trying to get it was… difficult. Because they all
games for the Commodore VIC-20, attached to it, something we thought had games in from the hobbyists.’ believed in their own publicity.’
so the company name was confusing. a global feel. Ocean was chosen because David picks up the story. ‘So we One young lad believed in
‘Within a couple of days we had a chat we thought it meant the same, and was put out feelers for programmers in the himself so well, he resorted to a
spelled the same, in most languages. It Manchester Evening News. Within two highly sophisticated operation a
“We certainly didn’t gave the impression that we were bigger weeks of placing that first advert in few days before one of the early
want to be limited to the than we actually were.’ Your Computer we had a fairly cogent computer games shows in London,
Jon is quietly dismissive of the first understanding of the machines people as Paul Finnegan recalls. ‘He
Spectrum.” brought this game in, and Jon, David and
incarnation. ‘Spectrum Games was so owned in terms of the proportion of Newly branded Ocean
gets to grips with
brief. It was only two or three months. them, and which games to make for I were looking at it thinking it was really
recruiting programmers.
back at the office and decided we needed And then we realised that the VIC-20 which machines. We originally included good. And we asked, “You done it all?”
Rhymes with “Pong” to change the company name. I think was at least half the market. We had to the BBC Micro as an option but there And he said, “Yes, all the graphics, all the
– there was a Kong
there was a van passing the window with have another name so as not to alienate was very little response to that so we code, and music.” Now Jon and David,
out there, just one of
the earliest games to Ocean Transport on its side, and Jon or confuse people. But certainly, by the dropped it quickly. The Commodore ten years older than me, had been around
bear the Ocean brand. shouted, “What about Ocean?” He got time we got to the Hunchback game, VIC-20 and the ZX Spectrum at the a bit, and they said, “Look, we’ll take
the idea from a van!’ Ocean was our brand.’ time were the two main contenders.’ this, but obviously we want everything,
‘We quickly realised calling ourselves The new software house still needed ‘That was the 16K Spectrum, which we want the copyright to the whole
Spectrum Games would put off to find competent programmers to had just replaced the ZX81,’ Jon says. thing, and what are you looking for?” The
owners of any other machine, and we develop the games to fulfil those mail ‘So we eventually had these three 16-year-old kid said, “Dunno, haven’t
certainly didn’t want to be limited to the order demands. As Paul Finnegan says, games for both those machines and a clue.” So Jon said, “Well, we can give
Spectrum,’ David says, with a shudder ‘Those early days – I think we had only delivered them to those who ordered. you five thousand pounds for everything
at their greenness. ‘We thought we one employed programmer, Paul Owens We sent the postal orders back to those including the rights,” and the kid went,

“Yeah, that’s fine.” We were all getting a discussion and dissemination of ideas. was impossible to get someone else to
bit excited… five grand and we’d made Not even the few magazines really pick it up.’
a killing here. So we went down to the acted in that capacity. As David recalls, The amateur coders, though, got
show that weekend, and David and I ‘None of those programmers had any them through the first two or three
went for a wander around to see what connection with each other. There was no months of operating with versions of
the competition was like. We must have commonality about how they developed well-known arcade hits, the titles of the
games slightly altered to avoid possible
copyright problems. Caterpilla; Cosmic
Intruders; Galaxy Invaders; Road Frog;
Hopper; Missile Attack; Monster Muncher
Youngsters in control: and Rocket Command brought sufficient
Christian Urquhart and
success to prove the evidence of a real
Nick Pierpoint discuss
program writing with business.
David Shea on the Crash but, unfortunately, had been converted Did Steve Blower do it?
stand at the ZX Microfair Going iconic into two flats. We couldn’t secure a Or was it Bob Wakelin
in London, 1984. (pictured below) who
Imagine Software was still the leading mortgage on the property without first did it? ‘Not me,’ they
games software house in late 1983, converting it back to a single dwelling. both say, ‘I didn’t create
the Ocean logo.’
with the best-looking cover art. Already It was a Catch-22 situation, as we
impressed at the quality, David Ward didn’t possess the funds to purchase the
had tried to poach Imagine’s art director, property outright. David and Jon
Steve Blower, the year before. Steve stepped in and gave me a cheque
“ You were a hostage to your anything. They were all individuals who turned him down then, but a year on he for the full amount of the property,
wrote games in their own unique way accepted David’s second offer. which I repaid when we received
programmers, whether they were little in order to make things work, and only ‘The management approach of David the mortgage. It was such a kind
corporate outf its with a dozen people or they could understand what they had Ward as chairman and Jon Woods as gesture and one for which my wife
a single guy in the bedroom.” developed. If anything went wrong, like managing director couldn’t have been and I have been eternally grateful.
the kid keeled over or he decided he did more different to that of the directors We still live there!’
seen this same game on about five stands. not want to do it anymore, that was the of Imagine: Mark Butler and David There are those who naturally
The kid had only gone and sold his game end of it. You just threw it all away.’ Lawson. During an early discussion I had think it was Steve who created
to everybody for five grand! David and I ‘You were a hostage to your with Jon Woods he insisted that Ocean the famous Ocean logo, but in fact it
looked each other and said, “Oh shit!” I programmers,’ Jon agrees, ‘whether they were doing things seriously and were remains a mystery. Others assume Bob
just thought, well done!’ were little corporate outfits with a dozen in it for the long haul which was really Wakelin, the artist who painted many
Putting aside individual enterprise people or a single guy in the bedroom. encouraging. iconic Ocean covers, did it, but both are
of this kind, an interesting and probably You couldn’t change them and get ‘I’ve an early fond memory of my adamant it was nothing to do with them.
forgotten aspect of these early days someone else in to finish it. It was not relationship with David and Jon that I As Steve Blower recalls, ‘The logo was
of bedroom games programming is like digging a hole in the road where you will never forget. My wife and I had seen already in existence, in its spot-blue-on-
that no infrastructure existed, nothing get more pickaxes and more JCBs. The a house in Birkdale, Southport that we white form, prior to my joining Ocean.’
that provided support or a forum for code was theirs, it was their style and it wanted to buy. It was a beautiful house And independently, Bob Wakelin backs

‘I doubt anyone will ever find out The basic Ocean logo had the elegant
who did it,’ Bob states. ‘In those days simplicity to stand out on paperwork
there were loads of these old guys in and onscreen. As David points out, early
print-shops who did unbelievable things. 1980s business technology was primitive
When I first started in the early 1970s, compared to today’s.
I’d take a piece of artwork for printing ‘When we
and there were these art guys who drew started, the only
things like lettering, freehand, and they’d computers were
be having a fag and talking to you… the development
skills were incredible. And Jon and David machines. Our only
probably went to a guy like that and visual communication with the outside Rebranded – Spectrum
Games’ programmer
asked him to knock something up.’ world was a thing called a Telex. There
Paul Owens becomes
him up. ‘I got a flat Ocean logo to work ‘It was the days when you had an art ‘What we wanted was something were no fax machines. And this thing a part of Ocean..
with. It was just the typestyle, just that board and paper rather than some CAD that you could stamp onto a packing was the size of a…’ he stretches his arms
flat navy blue on white, and I was just arrangement. Yeah, we played around crate and you would still see it for what it wide, ‘…and weighed about two hundred
asked to tart it up.’ with the logo until it worked. We used
The minute there is a
brand, the promotional
Jon remembers that the iconic logo a Manchester design group up by Old Bob Wakelin’s ‘tarted
up’ Ocean logo. It
goodies soon follow. was designed in the old fashioned way. Trafford.’
altered little over the
years, other than
by the variations in
printing processes.
was,’ David Ward says. ‘A logo you could “We wanted something you stamp on
literally stamp on the side of a steer – like
branding. It would stand out on boxes,
the side of a steer – like branding. It
crates, in shops, everywhere.’ would stand out on boxes, crates, in shops,
Bob Wakelin took that basic flat everywhere.”
logo and made it more elaborate for
colour packaging. ‘I did the airbrushed kilograms. Huge! And it had punched
version with the highlights, flashes and tape in it. You got a message in hand. The
reflections. David Ward asked me to fax machine put Telex out of business
make it more like the Imagine logo, overnight. But faxes were expensive
which Steve Blower had done.’ machines, which most offices couldn’t
‘Yes, we had all sorts of 3-D versions afford, so there were bureaux on the high
of the logo drawn,’ David recalls. ‘Bob street where you could go and send a fax.
Wakelin did a fantastic version, with a That was all thanks to the Japanese, who
picture of me leaning on it.’ invented it because of their character set,

successful of the Victorian era. produced by Konami. Later, Ocean Hunchback was a reasonably good game,
‘It was beautiful, like a Cunard liner stepped up a level, licensing movie brands but the real thing is that in the arcades Teenage programmer
sitting there on the river bank,’ Jon says. including Rambo, Terminator, RoboCop the kids all related to it because there was Christian Urquhart
nowhere else they could go to play these helps to promote
‘We occupied the ground floor, and the and Batman.’
his home computer
few programmers were in there, and games. You couldn’t afford an Atari or its version Hunchback at
we had some offices and some of it was Quasimodo makes it games, which were expensive imports…’ a London ZX Microfair.
empty. And I think from memory the With growing confidence in their new David agrees. ‘Atari as a games
price was forty pence a square foot that market, and with the mail order money console never really took off here. The
we rented it at. It’s gone now, demolished underpinning expansion, Jon and David games were 20, 30 pounds at the time
for new offices occupied by HMRC.’ scoured the market for a suitable arcade and our market – British teenagers on
And there in the Ralli Building, candidate. pocket money – couldn’t possibly afford
Ocean conceived of buying its first ‘Hunchback was the game that we that. But our computer games sold at
licence. David understood the benefit looked at for the very first licence £4.99, on a cassette. So we licensed
of having an official status for an arcade we bought,’ David says. ‘We found Hunchback—’
coin-op conversion, so rather than this company in Oldham, Century
copying existing arcade games, licensing Electronics, who were in the arcade
Manchester Library
the real thing appeared to be the best way industry. And they had developed the
forward. Hunchback game, which was very popular
‘What quickly became clear to in the arcades.’
The Ralli Building – which you couldn’t reproduce successfully. me,’ Steve Blower remembers, shortly Jon interjects, ‘Everything was totally
swept away like almost
So they had to have something where after joining Ocean, ‘was how astute arcade-driven then.’
all of the Industrial
Revolution warehouses, you could write on a piece of paper and an entrepreneur David Ward was. He ‘Finding an arcade company from
mills and factories, send it to whoever it was supposed to go had realised very early on that the big Manchester, we thought, “Oh wow,
and the later Victorian
– something like a logo.’ opportunities lay in licensing. From what that’s great, we’ll nip over and see them.”
emporia – stood on
the banks of the River The business of Ocean couldn’t have I remember, in the early days of Ocean, Which we did, and offered them a deal
Irwell, in the heart been further removed from what David the prime target for licensing were the they could not refuse even though I don’t
of Manchester.
and Jon had been doing up until then, as already well-established arcade games remember what it was—’
Paul Finnegan says. ‘When we started ‘I remember exactly what it was.
Paul Finnegan looks we were in an old warehouse, because the Three thousand.’ Jon laughs at the
over the shoulder of
guys used to provide theatrical props for thought of such a cheap deal. ‘You see,
16-year-old wannabe,
Jonathan ‘Joffa’ Smith the BBC and Granada TV productions. the machine, the upright, was just a
as he demonstrates to That was their main thing at the time, screen inside a cabinet and they put this
David Ward Pud Pud,
and we had a couple of offices in there thing inside with the chips on which
the Spectrum game
he wrote at home. for Ocean.’ The offices were situated in the game resided – which we just didn’t
Finnegan and Smith the Ralli Building, a huge warehouse on understand it at all. No-one could get
were to form a firm
the banks of the River Irwell built by into it (especially their competitors) to
working relationship.
the Manchester-based Greek shipping see how it worked and they’d flog these
company Ralli Brothers, one of the most machines around to arcade operators.

‘We did it for pretty much every of the iconic television brands, though – unlike the Spectrum Games presence the shows we went to, we had a game
format eventually – VIC-20, Dragon, subsumed now. At first no one could Steve Blower remembered – Ocean called Chinese Juggler, and David had
Oric, Spectrum, Commodore 64, figure out how to do this. We hadn’t stands always looked very professional hired (at a distance) this married couple
Amstrad… just not the BBC Micro and got the money to hire a production compared to other contemporary to be on the stand – and it turned out
MSX.’ company to make the advert, so we made software houses… but then, nothing was when we got there they weren’t even
Ocean’s first licence might well it ourselves, in much the same way we very sophisticated back in 1983, as Jon Chinese, they were just a London couple.
have been Robin Hood, for that is what made the original press ads, with felt recalls.
Hunchback was supposed to be, right pens and then photographed it. The idea ‘There weren’t yet the big shows.
down to the arcade character wearing was to show Hunchback being played. So Back then there were computer “events”.
green and the game having stages we got someone to play it and someone This was in the days when people put
these things on to sell stuff and make
a profit, not because it was the annual
thing to show off new games. That
A double-advert for Pogo
and Chinese Juggler,
which might well have
been titled ‘Chinese
Chuckler’ for the mirth
its London computer
fair promotion caused
Ocean management.
developed later. Well, in the back of the

Ralli Building we had the warehouse
space and I physically built the stand, you And when we saw them… they must
know, painted it black, or white, cut the have both been about 70. He looked
Paul Finnegan acts with arrow shooting. It seems Century else sat in front of the monitor with a holes in it for the Sony monitors, and like Fu Manchu and she had a bikini on
as the face of Ocean
Electronics decided Quasimodo was a camera and videoed it. And it looked then took it to bits, chucked it in the van, with all these rolls of fat hanging over.
at an early London
computer fair. The DIY more intriguing subject than Robin. The great. We sent it off without realising and off we went to wherever it was and And David and I looked at each other,
Ocean stand, a wall original programmer had left and the that when it was shown on television all set up our stall. We weren’t exactly flush and we couldn’t talk to them because we Following pages:
with cut-outs to take Ocean’s 11 – all those
game was too far along in development, these ghostly scan lines appeared… you so we had to build our own stand and were laughing our heads off. We had to
the Sony monitors, was early arcade clones
just about the most so the graphics remained as they were. If couldn’t actually photograph a monitor even buying the Sony TVs to put in it, go off the stand. And then she started emerging from the
sophisticated of the the guys at Century were making it up in those days and replay it through a you know, 12-inch, 15-inch, was quite an doing a demonstration with all these Ralli Buildings on
stands at these shows. Manchester’s Stanley
as they went along, so was Ocean. David television. You had to have some sort of expense.’ plates and all these acrobatics. David said,
Street, were the
recalls the way they plugged the new thing plugged into it, but we didn’t know The sophisticated ‘gimmicks’ of “We can’t have them on the stand, we’ll forerunner of the great
game on the Spectrum, which was the that.’ later exhibitions had yet to take root, be the laughing stock.” We had loads of licensed properties like
Rambo, Terminator,
main early platform. The same pioneering spirit went into but Ocean tried some things, and Paul incidents like those over the years on the
RoboCop and Batman.
‘We decided to advertise on the their first primitive exhibition and trade Finnegan remembers that not everything shows.’
local Granada television station – one show appearance, although from the start went according to expectation. ‘One of David vigorously defends their

enterprising DIY approach. ‘Other in, like Kong and Hunchback, that was to spring up all over the place in 1982 Smith, and he used to ring me every day
people at the time just had an ironing incredible… we used to get orders drop and 1983, mostly owned by individual with new releases and I used to order like
board with a monitor on it. That was in on the mat from Boots – they’d never proprietors. We couldn’t have sold to half a dozen. I didn’t realise until last year
it. So yes, we were reasonably advanced even ring you – for five thousand copies those guys successfully, I don’t think.’ that this was Sean Brennan who’s now
then, again I think because we were of Kong, more of Hunchback at… like the managing
renting warehouse space at forty three quid a time. It was a fortune. Hiring a shop-keeper
pence a foot! And apart from Bug- ‘The newsagents and big retailers Ocean was on a roll
Byte and Imagine there were a few decided it was a good idea to start selling and urgently needed a
other companies who compared computer games,’ David says. ‘So within management structure.
– Rod Cousens’ original company six, seven months the mail order business Those 18 or 19-year-old
Quicksilva, Hewson Consultants—’ we’d started began to shift pretty quickly prima donna programmers
‘Artic as well, but Imagine had to a business where we were responding were becoming too much
the best artwork.’, chips in Jon. to a retail environment that was growing for one man to handle.
David agrees. ‘They were leaps apace. And one of the reasons why Jon Woods looked around
ahead in their presentation.’ we were reasonably successful is we for someone to help out,
A reason for hiring Steve responded in a more professional way and quickly he found the
David Ward, hoping for Blower then. ‘I was employed to add a than others. We were older than our right people for the job:
repeat orders of games
professional quality to Ocean’s packaging contemporaries, we had a degree of Gary Bracey for software
from the big retailers.
and advertising design,’ he says, ‘and hard-won business experience in terms of development and Colin Stokes
to enhance Ocean’s brand in the sales, marketing, financing – the kind of for operations.
specialist press with creative advertising components you need to make a business. Paul Finnegan also knew
Because, lo and behold, instead of these both men. ‘After Imagine went ‘WH Smith Expand
“We couldn’t believe it. I thought there envelopes coming on a Monday morning bust Colin Stokes went to director of Computer Shops – the
must be a digit wrong, or two digits with an order for a game on whatever Software Projects first, then joined Bethesda Softworks Europe. And this
high street retailer will
open at least 11 more
wrong on this…!” machine, we had a repeat order from us as operations director. Gary Bracey was the pushy sales guy in Microdealer!’ Computer Shops by the
beginning of September,’
WH Smith…’ had a little computer shop in Liverpool, ‘I think perhaps by this time those
reported Crash
campaigns.’ With Steve’s help, Hunchback Jon does his astonished face. ‘A cheque Blue Chip, and I used to drop off games. shops had had their day,’ Jon says. ‘People magazine in June 1984.
proved to be a big seller in spite of (or just dropped through the letterbox, you And he was good, Gary, because he’d tell were beginning to go elsewhere, to the These were an addition
to the already existing
perhaps because of ) the Granada TV know, for twenty-five grand. We couldn’t me what was going on, what the kids mainstream shops, to buy the stuff – the
35 Computer Shops and
advertisement. Its success coincided with believe it. I thought there must be a digit were buying. And then he had a chat micro shops began to have difficulties.’ 220 Computer Know-
the real get-going of retail interest in the wrong, or two digits wrong on this…!’ with Jon and he came and joined us as ‘I knew Jon – David to a lesser how departments. The
major retail chains were
new games ‘fad’ from high street giants He feels there was another element to the software development manager.’ extent,’ Gary says. ‘Jon had a wine bar in
catching on fast, and
WH Smith, J Menzies and Boots – and Ocean’s early success with retail sales As a shop-keeper Gary also dealt Liverpool and I used to go there quite Ocean was gearing up
Ocean speedily felt the beneficial impact. which for a while kept the micro shops in with Microdealer, from his own side of regularly. I used to get stay behinds, as we to supply the numbers.
‘In the early days money was so business. ‘Our distributor, Microdealer – the counter. ‘There was a really pushy called them. I started Blue Chip – the
tight we used to run a lot of it on Mike then in Hounslow and later St. Albans – sales guy who kept pushing and pushing first solely computer games seller in
Barnes’s credit card,’ says Paul. ‘But they were a very pushy wholesaler. They – and I was only a little shop and he was Liverpool – in 1983, with a video game
when we got one or two of the titles were able to supply shops that began dealing with all the big chains like WH library in Allerton Road, and I sold

Ocean games. Actually, there’s a funny had just left when I joined. I know
story I guess I can tell now. Just the day because I inherited his car. Tony went Odin Computer Graphics
before I knew Ocean was releasing a new on to Krysalis Software, a development Another of Liverpool’s software developer-publishers,
game, Jon Woods would walk in with a studio we dealt with quite a bit.’ Odin’s managing director Paul McKenna kept faith with
box of cassettes… “Here you go, don’t With all the cheaply gifted boxes Norse mythology – the company’s first name had been Thor.
tell anyone. Give us a fiver.” It was very of Ocean games, Gary’s relationship The name change came about when McKenna decided to
cheap… “Thank you very much!” Then with Jon Woods and David Ward must commence in-house studio development, like Ocean, rather
a couple of hours later Paul Finnegan have been a warm one. ‘I had respect for than acquire rights from homegrown bedroom programmers.
walked in with another box. Even Colin them because they were the force behind Success came in 1985 with Nodes of Yesod and Robin of the Wood,
Stokes brought me a box! I remember the company, but neither of them were which led to a development contract with Telecomsoft that
the game where the Ocean guys all came into games,’ he says with a laugh. ‘You ran for two years before Odin closed down. The name lives
on after Paul McKenna reformed Odin Computer Graphics
Ltd. in 2005 to produce titles for iOS and other mobile phone
platforms.
did a good job. He tidied it all up, made established as a standard, so you just
Colin Stokes, formerly it a bit more professional.’ got on and did it. And you know, I had
of Imagine Software
At the time of his hiring Gary no technical background. I couldn’t
and Software Projects,
became Ocean’s had no clear view of Ocean’s forward program, I couldn’t draw, so I was in awe
operations director and momentum compared to other software of these talents. I like to think of myself
then persuaded Gary
houses he knew well. ‘The big one for me as a creative person, but I had maximum
Bracey – pictured right
doing his Buy A Game was Software Projects. I knew them well admiration for the people who had these
Just Around The Corner because I was friendly with Alan Maton amazing skills, like programming skills,
From This Cinema
and Tommy Barton. Matthew Smith and technical skills, graphical skills, audio
number – to come
aboard as software Paul Patterson worked there, Paul was skills, because I don’t. I wish I had! And I
development manager, a sales manager, and later became sales tried to make that clear with everyone.’
and turn into a Suit.
director of Ocean. So I knew Software
in with cheap cassettes for me was Pogo. don’t have to be a techie to play games, Projects well, and I knew Bug-Byte well. Changes in the sales team
That would be early 1984. but they didn’t even play. There was no I was very friendly with Paul McKenna Steve Blower recalls the sheer energy of
‘A bit later I was chatting to Colin actual interest in the product, it was a of Thor, who later renamed themselves the early days. ‘It was relentless, hard and
Stokes and he said, “You know about commodity, and I’m sure they would be as Odin. They did Nodes of Yesod and totally exhilarating. At that time Ocean’s
games. Why not come and work for us?” the first to admit that.’ Robin of the Wood. Quite a few of those offices were situated in Ralli Building,
Well, I was getting a bit fed up of this ‘Yeah, I remember David saying it’s programmers went on to work at Ocean.’ a warehouse which also housed another
retail lark, it wasn’t for me. I saw Jon, like toothpaste,’ Paul Finnegan agrees. Asking if he was provided with a business owned by Jon, David and Mike
call it an interview if you like, and there ‘Jon and David really didn’t know clearly defined job description provokes Barnes supplying theatrical props. They
it was. I started at the very beginning of anything about computer games, so they another laugh. ‘The industry was still sold this business shortly after I joined.
1986 for the princely sum of £13,000 a did as smart people do, they took on in its infancy, you see, so there were After the rock’n’roll craziness of Imagine,
year. Tony Kavanagh, the sales manager, good people to do the work. And Gary no protocols or roles that had been with Ferraris and Porsches arriving

programs instead of just hoping these David Ward his departure from Ocean,
games would walk in the front door. We a process which had begun in 1986. Ever
In this extremely rare employed more sales people to sell the since, rumours have suggested the parting
picture from 1983 of
games, and the two of us sat there kind of was acrimonious, but Finnegan insists
the Spectrum Games
portion of the Ralli pulling the levers, and visioning what we that this was never so, though it did come
Building, not everyone were going to do next.’ with some strings attached.
is identifiable. Paul
The ‘levers’ were the newly appointed
Finnegan is seated at
the centre-back, on the senior staff, one of whom was Paul
left is C64 programmer Patterson, persuaded to join Ocean
David Selwood, and
from Software Projects, a move he never
in the forefront is
Spectrum programmer regretted. ‘I was fortunate to be part of
Paul Owens. the management team that saw Ocean
rise to the very top of the games industry.
When I joined Ocean we were located in
weekly (well, almost), it was quite we moved to offices in Manchester city Central Street, Manchester. The building
sobering to see the chairman of Ocean centre at Central Street.’ was an old Quaker meeting house
driving a several-year-old BMW with a ‘The office on Central Street enabled and the car park was built on top of a
cracked windscreen. It wasn’t very long, us to have programmers in a dedicated graveyard!’
though, before his Porsche arrived. We environment,’ Jon Woods says. ‘We It seems on occasion the spirits were
weren’t at Ralli Building too long before started to employ people to write the restless as well, as Paul Finnegan says.
‘There was a ghost there. I remember
that. The noises we used to hear at night.
I’d be sitting there late, going through my
bits, and there was no one in the office at
the bottom end yet you could hear things
moving around.’
Paul Finnegan chats Paul Patterson, with a newcomer’s
with visitors to the
eyes, saw what those involved in ‘It started when Mike Barnes decided Ocean and CentreSoft
Personal Computer had first joined forces
World show at London’s production often did not. ‘Even though he wanted to move on and do something
in September 1984 to
Olympia, October 1984. some people would disagree, there was else, in Portugal, I think. And he asked import and manufacture
The Ocean stand already
a structure in place – David and Jon if I’d be interested in selling my shares under licence American
looks more professional. software under the
Beyond the gathering is at the head. At that time David was to Jon and David. As he said, “If I sell
name of US Gold. Jon
the stand of CentreSoft, heavily involved in all marketing and PR my shares, I know the lads won’t want Woods and David Ward
the West Midlands
decisions and Jon looked after finance someone between them because they’re with Anne and Geoff
games distributor. Brown, directors of
and logistics.’ close-knit. And they won’t like the fact
CentreSoft and US Gold.
In fact, a switch-over was taking place that you’re still there.” Mike was right.
in the sales department. Paul Finnegan It was a growing business, and if I’d
was arranging with Jon Woods and stayed in there as a shareholder, I think it

was heads. That was the best five grand
I’ve ever won in my life!’
And so in September 1987, Special
FX opened for business. ‘We set up in the
Albert Docks in Liverpool and started
producing games for Ocean, different
ones like Cabal [1988], and arcade
conversions like Midnight Resistance and
Rambo III on the PC. All kinds of games
for certain systems they didn’t have the
resource in-house for.
Computer Trade would have caused problems between the come with me. In fact Jonathan “Joffa” ‘When, after a couple of years, Jon
Weekly reports on Paul
both of them if it wasn’t 50/50. Maybe Smith did leave with me and we formed and David said we’ll take the company
Finnegan’s departure
from Ocean and the they thought this business is really Special FX together. But Jon and David on and we’ll look after you going
start up of Special FX. going places and they wanted the shares said to me, “Look, if you’re going to forward, it made financial sense. Except
because it’s going to be worth a lot of do that, we want first option on your in the end they said it was too expensive
money in the future – which it was – but product…” because Joffa was a great and turned the tap off.’
I made the decision to say: yes, I’ll go. programmer and they wanted to make Is he angry about the way it
We had a chat and David came up with a sure they didn’t lose the talent. And that’s happened? ‘A lot of people say I should
figure and we agreed.’ what we did. I gave Ocean the option to be really bitter, but I owe Jon and David
However, publish each title we would do.’ a lot because they taught me a lot, and
negotiations over a With the deal in principle struck, the you just take it in your stride, you know.
final deal took some three dealt with the nitty-gritty of Paul’s And I thought to myself that when one
six months while departure. ‘I remember sitting around the door closes another opens. This is a great weeks downstairs getting to know Ex-Ocean programmers
Tony Pomfret, Jonathan
Paul went about board table, and David mentioned one market to be in… I’ll start again. And in the development team and trying to
‘Joffa’ Smith with Karen
organising his future figure and I said, “That wasn’t the figure 1991 I formed Rage.’ become familiar with both existing and Davies at Liverpool’s
beyond Ocean. Paul we agreed, it was five thousand pounds future releases. It was only then that I Albert Docks.
wanted to set up more than that.” David is a great talker, Upstairs and Downstairs was given the sales manager role. We
Jonathan ‘Joffa’ Smith his own games software house but this and he started going on and on, and I Paul Patterson recalls that, while they simply had a two-man sales team and
becomes a company
plan unsettled Jon and David, with thought, “I’m losing this five grand here.” overlapped working at Ocean, he never a small accounts/admin department.
director.
some cause. ‘I got on well with all the So I looked at the both of them and said, worked with Paul Finnegan. ‘I originally Gary Bracey headed up the strong
programmers,’ Paul explains. ‘I used to “Shall we toss for it?” And we’re sat there reported to Colin Stokes and David development team together with the
spend a lot of time down there. I loved around the board table, and we looked at Ward. Paul had arranged his departure testing department. And Steve Blower
watching the things being developed. I each other and went, “Okay!” So, we were with Jon and David and was finalising headed up the art department.’
should have been out selling but I was like three school kids… and it bounced things when I arrived. He was agreeing ‘My description as creative
down in the dungeon talking to Gary on the table and then the floor, and a deal with Ocean to have the rights to director related only to the marketing,
and the gang, and when I did leave quite we’re all searching round, and I shouted, sell the games he would be developing advertising and packaging, etc. I had
a number of the programmers wanted to “Heads!” And when I got down there, it at this new company. I spent several no input regarding games design and

about the games because the sales people largest catalogue operators at the time.
talked about the brands, the movie ‘Kays printed so far in advance. Of
licences and whatever, but not many of course there was no internet, so you
them – and certainly Paul – didn’t play had these huge, glossy
the games really, so they used me to fill catalogues which must
in the magazines and try to get the actual have cost a fortune to
developers in front of the camera as well.’ print. If you didn’t have
‘No, I was not a big games player,’ your product ready in time
Paul says with a smile. ‘I’m afraid the they would fine you a lot.
only game I played for any length of time Because they already had
was Software Projects’ Jet Set Willy! As the printed catalogues
for games that I didn’t like, well any with ready to distribute, so they
bugs in due to the problems they caused couldn’t change anything,
the sales/marketing team. The pressure whereas today with a
to release games was so great that we
sometimes let games go out before the
“I sort of bridged the two. I was the
development team were completely
happy with them.’ interface between the upstairs and the
‘When I started there was only a downstairs, a butler if you like!”
handful who were programming, most
of the development was still external,’ website it’s instantaneous.’
Gary says. ‘And that brings us onto the And that led to a serious headache
The Quaker meeting development,’ Steve says. was anyone in the business that really Knight Rider and Street Hawk business, if you couldn’t rely on the developers, as
house on Central
The games were developed in the understood how to go about effectively which I inherited. They were already in Gary points out.
Street, home to
the weird and the basement, as Gary remembers with one managing it. My department was development when I started and very ‘Ocean didn’t really have anyone
wonderful and Ocean. of his typically broad smiles. ‘The Central very small in comparison to that of delayed.’ overseeing the out-of-house
Street offices were above and below the games development which must have These two games highlighted two development. It was kind of, “Oh, can
ground-floor Quaker meeting house. It employed around 40 programmers, sound distinct problems facing the early you make us a Street Hawk?” “Yeah.”
really was an upstairs-downstairs culture. engineers, and so on. That was a big team software houses: maintaining discipline “How long will it take?” “Three
There was the ivory tower on the first that rarely had any interaction with the among freelance (and frequently teenage) months.” “How much do you want?”
floor and then in the basement, or the top-level management apart from their programmers; and dealing with one of “Ten thousand pounds.” “Okay, deal,
dungeon as it was known, were the own controlling director, Gary Bracey.’ the major revenue streams, the mail order we’ll see you in three months.” And that
programmers. I sort of bridged the two. ‘I was the one who represented the catalogues which dominated retail sales was pretty much how it happened. So
I was the interface between the upstairs development to David for marketing and of the 1980s. As a result of conflicting I was asked to see what was happening
and the downstairs, a butler if you like!’ Paul Patterson for sales,’ Gary explains. needs, Street Hawk emerged at slightly because Street Hawk and Knight Rider
Steve saw this division as well. ‘When they wanted information I different times as two completely were supposed to be finished and no
‘As Ocean grew it became more and disseminated that. I was, more often than different games. Gary elaborates the one had seen anything. I remember one
more unwieldy. I don’t think there not, the mouthpiece when we had to talk nightmare of dealing with one of Britain’s of the teams was in Brighton, a couple

of brothers. I’d never been to Brighton a one-page document… and they’d say the original code, we just got our guys position and market the products we were
before. So I drove down, a long way, and we’ll do it in three months, and they’d to cobble something together in the developing. You’ve got to remember, the
the game just wasn’t there. And then I overrun. So you paid a bit more to keep shortest time possible. It was a question challenge for programmers at the time
went to see the people who were doing it going, and I think with Knight Rider of delivering to Kays, fulfilling that
obligation and avoiding the fines, rather
than looking to create a stunning piece
of art that would be lauded in the halls
of fame.’
But what about that second, slightly
later version of Street Hawk?
‘We had a two-tranche strategy.
One was to get it out to the catalogue,
and then – because it was quite a strong
licence – I think we had a second shot at
getting a decent game which we wanted
to sell to all and sundry. So the first
version was just for Kays and never went
out on general release. You see Ocean
had done ever so well to that date. They
had an incredibly talented in-house team
and obviously saw the opportunity to
capitalise on the licensing trail and build
up a list of projects, but unfortunately
they didn’t have the talent pool to meet
the development of those concepts. So
that was my first remit, to try and get the
development on track.’
Sinclair User magazine Street Hawk and it was the same story. we almost had something. So we paid a
said: ‘Never has a game
They didn’t give a shit, you know. They bit more… “Provided we get this amount Daley does it was mostly technical – how you made At least Knight Rider
been more aptly titled
was completeed
than Street Turkey.’ had the money and it was, “If you want of money, you will get the game.” So In the Central Street office environment realistic imagery using an incredibly small
by its original
to see more of the game, give us more we managed to massage that through Ocean began to flower. ‘In a sense that processor and memory size. You can’t development team.
money.” That was common in those days.’ although it was never going to be any building, and what we did in it, defined imagine… even a 128K Spectrum now…
The programmers needed some good. It was just a case of getting it out the Ocean story more than anything compared to this instrument in my hand
money in advance in order to live, and there. else,’ David Ward insists. ‘Everything [holds up an iPhone].’ He shakes his
typically received half of the money ‘Street Hawk was a different problem. that subsequently happened certainly head at the wonder of it. ‘One of the most
up front, usually £5,000. ‘So you had a It was at the stage where it was obviously wasn’t as ground-breaking. What we amazing things is how quickly the market
two-man team, you had a back of a ciggie never going to be finished so we brought looked at then was the prospect of how in terms of processing development took
packet game design or concept, maybe it in-house. I don’t think we even rescued we could sell products and how we could place. Most of it was challenging, most of

the programmers’ task was to make things and design most of the Ocean staff from Blower agrees. Word got around: Ocean
look real in an environment that was the top to bottom had the same passion, was open to good ideas, and often
Opposite: Chris Clarke incredibly restrictive.’ personality, loyalty, work ethic and most enough talent simply ‘walked in off the
and Jon Ritman, creators
‘It occurred to me very quickly,’ Gary importantly was a party animal! Every street’, like Jon Ritman, who strolled
of Ocean’s hit Match
Day. Ritman ‘just walked continues, ‘that if we wanted to have a single employee had the same desire – through the doors of Central Street with
in off the street with it.’ little more confidence in what we were to see Ocean get to, and remain, at the rather more than his CV, as Jon Woods
developing we had to create a better core top of the industry. Checking a Gallup remembers.
of outside teams we were comfortable chart or a WH Smith chart to see what ‘One of our games at the time was
working with, like Denton Designs, and position we’d achieved that week was called Match Day, that was Jon Ritman.
a bigger in-house resource. And so we something that every employee would It just came in, didn’t it? Off the street.
went on a recruiting drive, advertising relish.’ Well, we licensed the BBC’s Match of
for programmers and artists, and we ‘The first 10 to 11 years of my 14 the Day music – we didn’t call the game
got some very good people through the with Ocean was a real blast,’ Steve Match of the Day – and you can imagine
door. Mike Lamb was in that first intake,
just an incredible talent. He had done
games for Artic and the first project
‘We can’t make railway he was given was Top Gun. He made a
engines anymore but we
wire-frame simulator, shoot ’em up, and
can use our education
and culture to create it was great. He went on to do RoboCop
interesting software of and many other things. Jon Ritman was
all kinds. I’m not saying
another from Artic.’
this is some kind of
great cause. We do it Paul Patterson remembers well the
to make money.’ David sense of passion everyone at Ocean
Ward, November 1985
brought to their jobs and to the company,
– Amstrad Action.
filled with the conviction that they were
all at the beginning of something big.
‘In the early days strategy meetings
didn’t exist,’ he says with a laugh at the
simple freedom of those times. ‘It was
apparent from the beginning that we
Ocean’s in-house simply wanted to be the number one
programmers worked
software house and in order to achieve
in the dungeon, or
this we had to be the best at everything
the basement of the
Central Street Quakers’ we did, from a strong licence and game “The programmers’ task was to make
meeting house.
to a high quality sales/marketing/PR things look real in an environment
campaign. We achieved this by having that was incredibly restrictive.”
staff that fitted the Ocean criteria. “Work
hard, play hard.” By a mixture of luck

what it looked like on a Spectrum, but it Olympics and there we were, ready to Amateur Athletics Association rules, the you know, many times an Olympic gold
played very well. So it had the gameplay, launch it. We had to wait for the results licence deal meant paying the money to medallist and American. So it wasn’t
but it didn’t have the… well, you couldn’t and pray that Daley would win.’ the AAA and not to Daley himself. I’m exportable. We released it on all the
have the graphics.’ ‘The concept of a date-defined not sure that he actually got much, if formats, anyway.’
opportunity would be completely
accepted now, but back then the idea
seemed irrelevant, no one had thought of
it. Daley’s was a date-defined game and
we had to get the thing out to capitalise
on his Olympics win.’
‘And when it charted,’ Jon says with
satisfaction, ‘it was number one. Someone
said, “Can we have a recount,” and I said,
Far right: Laughing all

the way to the bank.
David Ward’s belief in
the power of the licence
paid off with Daley
Thompson’s Decathlon.
The athlete himself,
when faced with the
Spectrum’s limited
palette, chose to have
his sprite in white.
“If you add up all the sales of the titles anything, out of it because as an amateur Daley proved to be the catalyst which
from number twenty to number two, it’s he wasn’t allowed to benefit. If he’d began Ocean’s global licensing reach,
still going to be number one”. It was just taken any money he would have lost his even though at the start, as David says,
a… phenomenon.’ amateur status and wouldn’t be allowed they had – once again – to do it by trial
Daley Thompson’s Decathlon was a to compete in the Olympics. So they and error. ‘At the time we were inventing
huge success and it was the first game to were going to keep the money for him the licence process. No one knew the
truly challenge the increasingly available until he retired. Whether he ever got it is parameters for any of this stuff. If you pay
In winning gold, Daley Jon concedes that their massive hit joysticks. Many a player reckoned the another thing.’ twenty per cent is that too much? Five ‘The time may come
had it easy – back when you can buy a
Daley Thompson’s Decathlon – effectively game’s programmers, Paul Owens Probably not, Jon thinks. ‘They did per cent, is that too little? Nobody knew
at Manchester base 1000K machine with
everyone was biting based on Konami’s Track & Field coin-op (Spectrum) and Dave Collier (C64), go bust, the AAA.’ In spite of the way what business model would emerge.’ built-in disk drive for
nails, wondering – was a major turning point in Ocean’s owed them the money for broken the game changed Ocean’s fortunes, its £200. But you may
whether they had a
local fortunes. ‘It was the 1984 Olympics, joysticks. But the man at the centre of success was only in Britain, as he points Buying a brand then have to pay £50
game winner on their for each piece of
hands or an also-ran. which were held in Los Angeles,’ Jon says. the game’s success may not have received out. ‘The obvious problem with Daley One business model David and Jon software to run on it.’
David nods at the memory. ‘We’d any financial benefit, as David points out. Thompson is that it was only a British- had no intention of following was David Ward, November
1985 – Amstrad Action.
developed the game ahead of the ‘Ironically at the time, because of the understood thing. It wasn’t Carl Lewis, that practised by their Liverpool rivals

Imagine. That company’s shocking money on Ferraris,’ David says with the retailers who had to be persuaded of the
collapse in the middle of 1984 was an ill wry smile of a Porsche owner. ‘We were need to order thousands of copies. Paul
wind that blew Ocean a deal of good. As most amused, because we bought the Patterson says this was another function
a part of busy negotiations with Japanese label – not the company, its assets and that often fell to all the staff.
coin-op companies, Ocean formed a liabilities, only the name. An interesting ‘Entertaining buyers, whether they
successful licensing relationship with thing is that one of the main creditors were foreign distributors, UK retail
Konami, although there was a hurdle was a building supplier who had buyers, editors of magazines from home
Personal Computer to leap, as David explains. ‘Initially they reinforced the roof with steel structure and abroad or hardware companies
Games magazine had
were very reluctant to let us have their for helicopters to land on… and they interested in bundle deals wasn’t always
Imagine Software wound
up, to the eventual products because they feared they would were only renting.’ just the domain of the sales team.
benefit of Ocean. get swamped into the Ocean brand and He shakes his head in disbelief even Everyone from sales,
only we would benefit. We persuaded after all these years, but in purchasing admin, accounts,
Konami to join us by basically suggesting the name, Ocean had its new brand for development and art
that all Konami games would be released the Konami coin-op conversions. A would at sometime get
via a separate label or brand, and we’d total of nine Konami titles and seven involved on a night out
have a separate sales force to go and sell from other Japanese coin-op companies to help attain our goal.
it. They agreed to that.’ followed between 1985–89. One up- All presentations were
That brand was Imagine, the label front expense was the purchase of the done without the aid
purchased from the liquidators of a particular arcade machine, or at least the of PowerPoint, Nobo
company that, as Jon colourfully puts game board for the cabinet. But even boards or any other
it, ‘literally pissed the money up the with the board in hand, there was no sales aid. We simply
wall.’ The Imagine story was one way of extracting the code. talked with passion
of those rags to riches tales, of ‘That would have been great, in and commitment about
Ocean purchased the ambitious, clever, young men theory, if you could get the code, but it what we could achieve
rights to the name of coining in vast sums from a brand new was impossible,’ David says. ‘We were with our product. David would blanket- Ocean’s back cover
Imagine, which allowed advertisement on the
market which Imagine dominated. writing in a very different and very buy magazine back pages, inside front
the Ocean to license February 1985 issue
Konami’s coin-op But in splashing out on a lavish new particular environment. We had to stare covers and centre spreads in order to help of Crash magazine.
games. In time, many Liverpool headquarters, with expensive at the screen and make notes to get the promote the company. I would spend as
other Japanese arcade
sports cars stacked in the basement timings and collision detection right. much time as possible at Newsfield or
giants appeared for
home computers under garage, bills for essentials like paying All we were trying to do was to copy Emap, hoping to improve a review and
the Imagine brand. the tape duplicators fell into arrears. the generality of what was there on the get as much coverage as possible for a
The company’s substantial advertising screen.’ particular game. I was aided in this by
bills went unpaid until VNU Business No matter how smooth the copy one of the developers or Gary Bracey.
Press, owners of Personal Computer Games of an arcade hit was or how clever an Our aim was simply to be in everybody’s
magazine, issued a writ against Imagine original concept might be, it remained face and to make sure whoever we were
for the £10,000 it was owed. Imagine was vital to make the computer games with enjoyed our company.’
wound up on 9 July 1984.
th
magazines aware of a product and its One type of computer game
‘Those guys spent most of their qualities, and also the distributors and Patterson was to find himself selling

was the licensed product. ‘As far as I can
remember it was David’s idea to pursue
any sort of licence. I believe we were
the first to sign a personality – Daley
Thompson – the first to sign a movie –
Neverending Story [1985] – and the first
to convert a hit coin-op. As far as I am
Paul Patterson took up

the reins of Ocean sales
after the departure of
Paul Finnegan. He’s
seen here picking up a
Crash Readers’ Award.
Tunes. The idea was that in the future agrees David. ‘On the first night, we’d The Power of Love:
Steve Cain, Ally Noble,
concerned a licence not only gave me people would all want a cassette with a almost fall asleep on the dinner table. Not
John Gibson, Karen
A part of Oliver Frey’s an obvious marketing strategy, it also separate music track along with the game. good. Dinner in Japan is a very honour- Davies and Graham
Crash magazine cover
allowed me to approach Commodore, How I ever thought anyone was going bound thing, and it’s very important. ‘Kenny’ Everitt – the
for Ocean’s Frankie Goes Denton Designs team.
to Hollywood game. Atari and several other companies to play on two cassettes, one running the Meals in Japan at these exclusive
with bundle offers. We were one audio track, the other loading the game restaurants are incredibly expensive, way
of the first companies to do this data, I don’t know!’ beyond the capacity of normal employees
and over the years it increased in the company to afford. So for them
Ocean’s turnover by millions.’ Wooing Japan it’s a huge thing to go with the boss
In a long history of The great movie licences were still an to dinner at the New Otani hotel, or
licences, perhaps the boldest undreamed of future. First in the firing whatever, where they number the ducks
and oddest was the 1985 line came the arcade coin-ops, and that from 1946 – you had the eleven hundred
pop-band tie-in with Frankie Goes meant Ocean crossing the oceans to the and fifty-third duck since the restaurant
to Hollywood, developed by Denton Land of the Rising Sun in the belief that opened. There is a great story. One night
Designs. The game involved exploring to do business with the coin-op creators we were having a dinner with Data East
the town of Mundanesville to find the you had to go to them. In the course and this live lobster was brought out,
Pleasuredome, and the packaging came of their travels David and Jon founded flicking away…’ David waves antennae-
with an intriguing extra, as David recalls. the valuable relationship with Konami like hands above his forehead. ‘They take ‘New techniques are
being developed to
‘When we did the Frankie Goes to which resulted in the Imagine releases. the lobster away and they bring it back
help us write very
Hollywood game we got the group to give Jon grimaces at remembering the first having shown it some hot water. They’d large programs very
us a version of the song Relax, a tweaked efforts. ‘We trudged around Japan, got taken it out of the shell, put it back in quickly. You couldn’t
have created Frankie
version which had never been published the creative relationships… we got all the and brought it to the table—’
on the Spectrum
so we didn’t have to pay for any other majors…’ ‘We were trying to use our chopsticks, two years ago.’
rights. So, we had this two-cassette pack On the other side of the world, and and the thing is still moving…’ Jon adds David Ward, November
1985 – Amstrad Action.
and I came up with the idea of Data with jet-lag, it was an exhausting mission with a chortle.

‘I went to grab a bit of the meat and
Ocean spotted Platoon’s this ruddy claw grabbed my finger!’
potential and seized
‘And they’re eating it alive. Of
global rights, which
allowed Ocean to course this is a real treat for the invited
sell on the Nintendo employees.’
rights to Sunsoft.
Vicious crustacean claws aside, the
tiring visits to Japan paid off, although
David is quick to admit that they found
the oriental mindset far from transparent.
‘We got quite attuned to the protocols
and ways in which Japanese business
was struck, but always knowing that you
only ever got so far. There were these
underlying relationships that you could
never get past. And the Japanese way and scraping. Then we’d go to the show
of saying “no” is to simply say “I see” or the next day and try to sell the idea of
“yes” or whatever. No one ever said “no” representing the coin-op companies in
because it’s not what they did. So we had Europe.’
an interesting period of about five years ‘And we did!’ Jon says with glee.
when we’d go to the JAMMA show in ‘The more people who signed up with
Tokyo.’ us, the easier it was to sign up another
lot. Once we set the precedent the others for the video release if we were lucky.’ actually a profit centre for revenue,’ Gary Design elements made
“And the Japanese way of saying ‘no’ is no longer saw licensing to Ocean as a In 1987 Ocean spotted the potential agrees. ‘They started to get proactive. So during the development
to simply say ‘I see’ or ‘yes’ or whatever.

of the Platoon game.
unique decision over which they had to of Platoon before any other organisation they started sending a script before the
movie was even being made. And this
No one ever said ‘no’ because it’s not labour.’ and Jon Woods made great capital from
The ripple effect brought the giants it. ‘For some reason the Americans was wonderful, because then we stood
what they did.” of their day on board: Konami, Taito, wouldn’t touch it. We took it all, we took a chance of getting the game out at the
Capcom and Data East. Ocean made the world rights on all formats because same time as the movie.’
The Japan Amusement Machinery several lucrative movie licence deals with no one wanted it. And we made a great
Manufacturers’ Association was (and still Data East when Hollywood woke up to game out of it and sold it back to Sunsoft Striking RoboGold
is) the world’s principal trade fair which the new medium, as Gary Bracey recalls. who then wrote it for the Nintendo, an Of course there was the risk in releasing
the great and the good of the coin-op ‘The way it went in the early days was we exact copy of our game. From then on, a video game at the same time as a
world attend. got the game out well after the film was we had the credibility of Platoon and it movie – if the film bombed so might
‘We had a fantastic reception the released as we’d wait to see if it was going changed everything. After that many the game; but the benefit to a game of
night before the show in the Okura – to be a box-office success. If it was, then more film studios listened to us.’ a hit movie was inestimable. Shortly
which is the traditional Japanese Tokyo we had to go round knocking on doors, ‘Suddenly the movie companies – and after securing rights to Platoon came
hotel,’ David says with a smile. ‘The saying we’d like to license your film, it started with Platoon (1987) I think – the licence which would project Ocean
sort of place with endless girls bowing please, and maybe we’d get it out in time recognised that computer games were into the stratosphere and rights which

Jon Woods was able to resell on a global
scale. As a self-confessed cinema geek
Gary Bracey became very involved in the
movie licensing process. ‘Every six weeks
I was going to LA. On one of the days I
was flying out Jon sent me the RoboCop
script. I read it and gave it back with a
Post-It note attached saying, “Get this. I
think it could be big.” RoboCop was the
best gamble we ever took. You see we
were taking a gamble on every licence, ‘I think it was the first million-unit
because we didn’t know how successful seller,’ Gary recalls, speaking of the game.
that film was going to be. I read through ‘It went massive and it was a combination
the script and I thought it was awesome, of a great movie and actually a great
and we had to do it. Jon negotiated the game as well. I did a contra-deal with the
licence with Orion Pictures and we got video company – we didn’t get it out in
it, and I’m sure it was practically for time for the movie’s release. We put an
buttons, and the royalty was very low.
‘When I was leaving Ocean, quite a “Get this. I think it could
few years after RoboCop, Jon showed me
be big.”
the script and on it was the Post-It with
my scribbled message. Amazing – he’d advert for the VHS video on the game
kept hold of that all those years.’ and they put a thirty-second advert for
‘I got the world rights in everything the game on the video, which was one
you could think of for RoboCop,’ Jon takes of the biggest-selling videos of its time.
up the story. ‘And we licensed the arcade RoboCop was the game that put Ocean
and pinball machine rights back to Data on the world map.’
East, which is why Data East became our David Ward says that everything
closest relationship. We had all the rights grew rapidly with Data East and other
for everything very cheaply. It was all major coin-op manufacturers from
these agents doing the selling for these that point. ‘To have your name on an
film companies, and they’re getting… arcade machine and a pinball was hugely
whatever percentage, say thirty per cent, prestigious, not to mention the global
and the agent must have thought, “Here’s video release, and it opened doors for us
thirty thousand dollars for us, let’s have to other organisations. I think we dealt
it.” They didn’t know what they had, and with every single one of the Japanese
we didn’t know either because the movie companies, even some obscure ones
hadn’t come out then.’ forgotten now completely.’

Transformers, first time around, we Batman – Dark Knight rising
had that for the 8 -bit Acorn Electron It was timely that as the need arose to
and Commodore 64. Well on the convince licence holders of an 8-bit
Commodore 64 you could make it look game’s quality, the 16-bit Amiga and
good, you know, the bit where Optimus Atari ST arrived. With their vastly
A Commodore Amiga Prime had to grow bigger. So we went improved graphics, they became the
screen of RoboCop.
down and presented this to some woman machines to showcase what a game
The game was unique
in being the first to be on a sort of roundabout in the middle of
developed for home Slough, where their offices were. And we
computers and then
got away with it. They said “okay”. But
sold under licence to the
Japanese arcade giants. we never presented the Spectrum version.
They’d just have said “No” to it.’ Steve Blower’s art
department was under
Ocean always excelled in another
greater pressure to
area of presentation: its game inlay and produce all the artwork
advertising artwork, much of it created for the increasing
number of products – a
designed the game. We had the option by freelance artist Bob Wakelin, and
task which was often
to design our own from scratch or take overseen by Steve Blower. However, tedious before the Apple
theirs. Well obviously so much more with the increased number of games in Mac made life easier.
goes into a coin-op game so we took development and for various different
Transformers – don’t the core game then we adapted that and machines, it could be a tedious task
show the licensor
incorporated new elements of our own.’ to prepare the final artwork, as Steve
the Spectrum version
in development! And of course there was a great recalls. ‘This was before digital design so
gulf in the quality of graphics between the process was really time consuming:
‘RoboCop made us a global player,’ a dedicated coin-op arcade machine laying out the artwork on art board; would look like, and that was essential
Gary says. ‘We’d done very well and the humble Spectrum, or even the resizing elements using a photographic to winning the rights to Ocean’s next
previously with the Imagine-Konami Commodore 64. Tactics became an process; cutting and pasting paper based grand-slam game, as Gary Bracey
games and the arcade games, but they’d important part of getting the conversion graphics – and all this so that it will fold remembers.
always been on computers, the Spectrum to the 8-bit environment approved down correctly into the page size of an ‘We had already done Batman in 1986
and 64 and to a lesser extent the ST and by fussy licence holders. ‘We did fear audio cassette. – Jon Ritman and Bernie Drummond
Amiga, and with those we sometimes showing the Japanese stuff early on,’ Jon ‘When Apple Macs emerged as did that one – and Batman: The Caped
struggled to find wider distribution says. ‘In that era we were making games the digital alternative for graphics Crusader in 1988, which we put out
because we didn’t distribute in the US. principally for the ZX Spectrum, of production I had no resistance to Special FX to develop. Jon wanted
RoboCop became a catalyst for us to which they had no knowledge – in fact whatsoever from David and Jon to fund to relaunch the franchise with a third
seriously consider starting Ocean of no understanding of the domestic UK all the equipment I, and my department follow-up for another European licence.’
America. Up until then Data East was market at all. We couldn’t tell them this required. My department grew from Jon takes up the story. ‘I got Batman
our partner in distributing Ocean games is it, this is what can be done within this just myself to a team of eight, producing through having a relationship with
over there. They got the rights for the technology. They’d say it would damage advertising and packaging design for all Warner Brothers in London where we’d
58
RoboCop coin-ops from us and they the brand, and all this kind of nonsense. of Ocean’s titles.’ licensed The Neverending Story, and it

“I was made up about it and when they sent the
designs to DC, I was thinking, “Oh God, they’re
gonna come back and I’ll have to change everything.”
So I was really pleased to get them back, and the
only change they wanted, they got me to shorten his
ears. It sailed through, which was quite amazing
actually.”
– Bob Wakelin –
Background images by Oliver Frey

The 16-bit Amiga made a timely
arrival as a far better development
platform for 8-bit games, but
Ocean soon had any number of
Amiga titles in their own right.

slipped that we wanted to do another ‘Jon told me we’d got the Batman rights which didn’t necessarily integrate with
Batman game. “Another Batman game?” and I said we need more information. We the actual game. We did it with Platoon
they said. “What about Batman the had full access, something we never got whereby we started to create these
Movie?” Well, what do you think my for example on the RoboCop film licence. multi-sectional games, which I don’t
answer was? And so we got that and, We went to Pinewood and walked down think anyone else had been doing. And
importantly, we got it for the Amiga as Gotham City; we had a big licensee day so it was like three or four games in one,
well, and that was the version we would and we were told every thing we needed and we did that with Batman. Within
show off. Even better, we were granted to know about the film. I could just go the main game we wanted to feature the
permission to bundle the game with the and walk around the sets and see Tim Batmobile, the Batplane, and so on, so
Amiga as a “Batman Pack”, so there it Burton and Michael Keaton as they were we came up with these sections. That was
was – a huge Batman box with Ocean making the film.’ very ground breaking.’
emblazoned all over it. If we had asked Gary is particularly proud of the The next big movie licence was The
Warners or DC Comics… real anal game’s concept and development. ‘We Shadow, directed by Russell Mulcahy
people with a view on everything… started it with RoboCop to a certain who’d also done Highlander. Gary was Basinger. On my trips over to Hollywood
they’d never have allowed it, but extent, whereby we adapted elements of not particularly impressed with the script, I got quite friendly with Russell and
Commodore did.’ the arcade game but brought in different but he remembers being enamoured with Alec Baldwin and through him, with his
The earlier success of RoboCop even sections because what we wanted to do the wife of leading man Alec Baldwin. wife, and I invited them to my house, you
opened the studio doors for Gary Bracey. was feature key scenes from the film ‘He was married to a lady called Kim know, “Next time you’re over would you
Ocean and Amstrad Amstrad’s computer range, and it seems vertically up the monitor, not laterally the product was, it was just make “f***ing
When Amstrad went up against Sinclair clear looking back that Alan Sugar held to across… And intially the only way you money, f***ing this, f***ing that”. And for
and Commodore with a range of home the theory that the most use of computers could play these games was to turn the this meeting I put a suit on! No, he was
computers, Ocean were among the major in the home was for word processing. monitor on its side. Someone in our R and obnoxious. I’m not taking away from his
software houses asked to prepare some Ironically, the designation CPC (Colour D department figured out with a couple success, but it didn’t really impress. But he
games to run on the CPC464. There Personal Computer) was hollow, for the of pokes you could actually get the game predicted that Amstrad
was a deal of muddled thinking behind first machines were not colour – at least, to run on a lateral basis. And presumably would make us a lot of
not unless the owner splashed out another the industry then figured out you could do money.’
£110 for a colour monitor. As David these few pokes to make it happen.’ In general terms, while
After a successful Ward well remembers, there was another Gary Bracey also recalls that dealing Amstrad products were
launch, the Amstrad
big problem for games developers. with the boss of Amstrad could be difficult. a useful revenue stream,
never knocked
the Spectrum or ‘I don’t know why the screen was this ‘He was so, so rude! I took John Ritman Ocean made more money
Commodore 64 off green and brown, only Alan Sugar knew and Mike Lamb along with me to meet with the games in France,
the spot, but went
that, perhaps he didn’t think of it as a Alan Sugar and it was all “Oh, I tell you where the machine became more popular Sir Clive Sinclair sold
big in France. his computer business
games machine. We wrote a few games what you f***ing do, you’re going to make than it ever did in Britain.
to Amstrad boss Alan
for the machine but the problem we found f***ing great games, you going to make But in attempting to tackle the Sugar in 1986.
was the way the screen responded to the a f***ing lot of money.” He didn’t give a growing Japanese console threat, Amstrad
programming meant that games moved shit about what the games were or what came unstuck. David Ward again: ‘When

Manchester for a pie and chips! No, he David Ward is quite scathing towards the
was very gracious about it. He said, “No, studio.
we can’t fit it in the schedule, we’ve got to ‘Disney wanted far more control over
be in London.” But they were game for it the creative process than was actually
otherwise!’ realistic. And they wanted a lot more
Towards the end of 1987 a few money. Disney’s view was that anyone
magazine critics were moaning that who makes any money out of this other
Ocean was all about licensed product than us is somehow wrong. “We’ll give
at the expense of originality and in you enough margin to not go bust, but
retrospect perceived games like Head
Over Heels and Wizball as a sop to their
complaints. Paul Patterson disagrees. ‘Yes,
we became famous for licensed products
and Kim like to come round for dinner?” semi. I said to my wife, “Alec Baldwin because that was a choice that was made
And he said, “Oh sure.” So, Alec and and Kim Basinger are coming for dinner.” early on – we wanted to stand out from
Kim came over to the UK and he said, “What! Oh, Jesus Christ!” But Alex the rest of the pack. A licence was simply
“So whereabouts in London are you?” said, “Oh I can’t come to Manchester…” an opportunity to have a marketing head
And I had to say, “No not London, we’re Can you imagine Alec Baldwin and start on a non-licensed product. You still
in Manchester.” We lived in a three-bed Kim Basinger coming all the way to had to do everything in your power to
produce a great game. There are great and
Alan Sugar launched the Amstrad in Paris on the Eiffel Tower…’ He turns poor quality licensed products and there
games console in 1990, the GX4000, to Jon Woods. ‘Do you remember that, are great and poor quality non-licensed
Ocean and he decided the console would have dinner in the Eiffel Tower?’ products.
Amstrad a cartridge slot for the games. We ‘No, I didn’t do that one.’ ‘We never had any concerns
continued… were one of the early companies ‘Where he made this ridiculous whatsoever regarding taking on a licence.
commissioned to develop half a dozen speech about his console the “arcade We knew it was the right thing to do. Of
products for the GX4000. Due to the machine”, nothing at all about games.’ course we wanted to improve the quality
time constraints of manufacture and ‘He didn’t understand it. Never- of the game and sometimes if it didn’t
shipping Sugar realised he couldn’t theless, he succeeded. The Amstrad cut the mustard it was generally down to that’s all. And we want total control.” Paul Patterson collects
the C&VG Golden
get the cartridges made in the Far was the biggest format in France.’ the pressure on developers to release it to They treated video games just like the
Joystick Award for
East, so decided to go to Italy to ‘But I don’t think the Amstrad coincide with either the movie or video. T-shirt industry. They didn’t think you Software House of
buy the RAM-chips. They cost as a games machine succeeded. We produced many original games as did much more than stamp something the Year, April 1990,
with Julian Rignall
about twenty pounds each to Because of the cost of the games. well, and it is just coincidence that two of on the side of a mug or the front of
and Jonathan Ross.
source which meant the raw I don’t think there was ever our best came out in the same year.’ a T-shirt. They never really paid any
materials cost more than the a line of software to go with proper intellectual credibility to the
actual game sold at retail. it really.’ Hollywood tie-ins creative process. And then, of course,
He had this launch party Disney was one Hollywood giant every five years, they’d decide to do it
treasure trove Ocean steered clear of, and themselves. They’d hire in a whole bunch

of studio people in Burbank, and they’d was there along came Mel Gibson, “Oh got to a certain point when you knew
Dealing with licence-holders
fail within two years, and then go back hi, Joel,” and stopped by and had a little the game’s going to be shit, or you know
to licensing again. And then as soon as chat. And we’d carry on talking, and the game’s got potential to be good. I Jon Woods recalls his worst experience of dealing with
anyone made any money out of licensing Kevin Costner would come along, “Hi always got into a quandary when the film organisations when licensing their intellectual property:
they’d decide to go back into it again and Joel…”. Because of the nature of the was good or you knew it was going to The Simpons: Bart Vs. The Space Mutants.
do it themselves with an in-house studio. films we did I met pretty much everyone be successful but the game was wanting. ‘We got the PC rights and then had to go through
No, we never dealt with Disney. They in them. The Addams Family was another And what you normally found with some process of approval with Matt Groening. We
were much more of a problem, and they one and we’d go to the premiere night, things like Red Heat, which was not a developed the game from the Acclaim version for the
had all sorts of nightmare attitudes about red carpet and all, and it was very big film, the game was mediocre. Hudson Spectrum and for some music we nicked it off a Simpsons
the characters, that they exciting.’ Hawk was a flop, the game was mediocre. TV episode. “We don’t like this, we don’t like that, it’s
were in the wrong colour Not every big film guaranteed a Cobra was okay, the game was okay. I not from the Simpsons, it doesn’t belong in the Simpsons
or too big, or too small. hot game, though, and Gary regrets don’t think we made bad games – in the world,” comes back. That process of dealing with these
But in a sense they were licensing the 1991 movie Hudson Hawk. film jargon we made formulaic games but people… just ridiculous. They’ve got egos and they’re king
protecting a different ‘I recall getting the script and it was only because you can’t do some ground- of the world, aren’t they?’
issue, which was probably the best I’d ever read. It was breaking creative stuff every time. It ‘There were lots of associated problems connected
long-term established funny, it was exciting, and had Bruce became more of a sausage machine, to licences when it came to artwork and approvals,’ Paul
intellectual property.’ Willis – a hot action hero of the time. which is why I was keen to nurture Patterson says. ‘Sometimes this could delay launches and
After Batman, It was a Shane Black script, one of the original stuff as well. And that’s when deals for weeks or even months. I do remember later on
business for the British hottest script writers, and a big director, the Ritmans, the Sensibles, the DIDs development having problems with the Flintstones licence.
software house started Michael Lehmann, but the components came along. We got people like Shadow In the game we had Fred Flintstone walking away with
to toughen up as didn’t mesh well. And as you know it Development involved, who did The his back to the screen. Unfortunately there was no artwork
Hollywood began to was a massive turkey. The reason was, Lost Patrol, and Mike, Nicholas and Pete available from the studio because Fred Flintstone’s back was
recognise the financial I understand, that Mr Willis’s ego got Austin of Level 9 Computing in to do never seen on TV and this became a real problem getting
goldmine games licences the better of them and he/they changed the next generation of adventure games.’ it signed off.’
represented, reflected in the film as it went along. The end result The rivalry between the console giants Nintendo and
the kinds of high flyers became unrecognisable to the original Sega made dealing with both a tricky business for publishers
Gary was meeting on a script. And so Ocean inherited the like Ocean, but sometimes it played into their hands, as
regular basis. turkey. I was really upset as I always said Paul remembers. ‘I persuaded David Gardener and Mark
‘I’d go to the the original script was brilliant. The game Lewis who ran the Electronic Arts operation in Britain to
Sony sets in Culver was okay. We were always constrained by allow us to publish all of their SNES games (FIFA, John
City where they were time and what we could and couldn’t do Madden, Tiger Woods, NBA and so on) because they felt
shooting Hook, and there as you’ve only got certain scenes you can that with the success of the Sega catalogue, publishing
was Steven Spielberg work with and with Hudson Hawk it was Nintendo games might damage the relationship. It was a
and Dustin Hoffman. quite difficult to extract key scenes that good deal for Ocean but it got better in that we persuaded
Game flops because the I used to have lunch in the commissary we could develop.’ Sony to take all our SNES games (Mr Nutz, etc.) to test
movies bombed at the
and these mega stars were everywhere. Situations like these projected Gary their new distribution arm in Europe before the launch of
box office. Cobra fared
better – as did the film. I remember having a meeting with Joel into advance damage limitation with the the PlayStation. A substantial guarantee was agreed.’
Silver in the commissary and while I expectations of magazine reviewers. ‘You

brilliant and it was well designed. It was breaking, I want the game to be ground- the wireframes of the dinosaurs already
just great fun to play.’ breaking.” I went to the Amblin Studios conceived and that was mind-blowing
But he is not so proud of Ocean’s at Universal Studios, went into the in itself – so far ahead of what we were
Steven Spielberg’s biggest movie licence, the most expensive board room with the documents and I’ll doing. It was just science fiction! I’m
‘ground-breaking’
and, as it turned out, the last. ‘We knew never forget, on his wall was a cartoon. just a huge movie geek. I never asked for
blockbuster dinosaur
movie was destined Jurassic Park was going to be huge,’ Gary Remember, Ghandi and E.T. came out autographs, though. I should’ve done, but
to make a fantastic says with a grin. the same year – and there’s this cartoon I never did that.’
game, but in the end the
And so was the cost of the licence. of Ghandi with an armful of Oscars and Naturally, given the prestige of the
pressure of schedules
meant the result didn’t David Ward physically winces at the standing next to him E.T. with a armful
live up to its potential. memory. ‘Batman was our first inkling of dollar bills!’
that the only way forward would be to It must have been intimidating
merge with other companies because of holding a meeting with one of the
the vast financial resources required to world’s most famous and successful film
purchase a licence, let alone develop a directors, but Gary says it was not. ‘There
game from it. Jurassic Park was the last were just three or four people in this big
A dinosaur of a game movie licence we did. And that licence meeting room and it was like being with
Gary is still happy to defend many of the cost us three million dollars – our first a games geek. He was almost childlike in
film licences. ‘There are movie tie-ins of licence was a few thousand. So we’d some ways. It wasn’t this mega-super-star,
which to this day I am incredibly proud moved from a few thousand to millions it was just a passionate creator, talking
to have been part of. And that’s all down of dollars in the space of ten years.’ on equal terms. Spielberg didn’t have
to the talent of the teams. From when I It was clear to Gary that Ocean’s this persona that made you feel you were licence and the enormous expectations Gary Bracey swears
he never asked Steven
was there at Ocean it started with Top of the global cinema-going population,
Spielberg for the great
Gun, then RoboCop, Platoon, Untouchables, Ocean was under enormous pressure to man’s autograph.
Batman and The Addams Family, which ‘break ground’ with the game, as Gary
actually became my favourite. We recalls only too well.
designed that in-house and it was so ‘I came back to the UK having been
clever. The concept was a bit formulaic, given the blessing of Mr Spielberg to
with platforms and stuff like that, but it proceed. I think Doom had just come
was beautiful to play, the look of it was out and it opened a whole new thing
of walking down a corridor and not
knowing if something was going to jump
development costs for Jurassic Park out at you from around the corner. And I
would be ferocious as well. The director in the presence of someone special. The thought the scene with the raptors, if you
anticipated something wonderful. ‘I had meeting was followed by a visit to the could get that sort of fear into the person
a meeting in 1992 with Steven Spielberg, Stan Winston Studio to see the models playing the game. So we went for that
a creative meeting about the game. And they’d been building and then to the Phil and attempted to develop a 3D game in
he used the words ground-breaking a Tippett studio. I’d never seen Silicon six months. We just couldn’t do justice
lot. “The movie’s going to be ground- Graphics computers before and they had to it. We had some great ideas, some

great concepts and to this day I wouldn’t what we wanted to do. I believe Jurassic position again because a much larger know, with the 8-bit machines you could
say our ambition exceeded our ability, Park was not a waste of opportunity but financial commitment was required to develop whatever, and if it didn’t work
I would say the ambition exceeded the the game did not fulfil the potential.’ afford the chips.’ well, throw it away. And if a game was
Nintendo’s Family time we had. We couldn’t do justice to ‘With Nintendo,’ Jon says, ‘there was selling well, with cassettes, or even the
Computer, or Famicom, Putting the cart before the game a lead time of many months before you Commodore 64 disks, you could go to
with its two stored
player controllers. Rights purchasing and development got the games into the shops – you had Ablex and get another ten thousand
The cost of producing costs rocketed, and the delivery systems’ to pre-order and pay for the number of done and bang them into the shops. But
cartridge-based games
technology changed dramatically too, cartridges you wanted up front. That you couldn’t do that with Nintendo…
and the fact they had
to be ordered so far as David reflects. ‘Towards the end of meant raising letters of credit, which of you ordered whatever you thought you
in advance, placed the 1980s came the second generation course thinned out the market because needed, and that was it. You found
financial strains on many
of video games console, starting with some software houses didn’t have any fat yourself with either unsold games or the
British software houses.
Nintendo and to a lesser extent, Sega. In on their backs to do that. Fortunately, shops wanted more and you were unable
a sense it put us back into a competitive we did. But it was a huge risk then. You to do more.’
Juggling the new formats created from there. I think what happened knew machine code you were in. That box, but…’ He waves his hands in a way
was the machines arrived first, but the was the only way to get the thing looking that suggests that Ocean’s early packaging
At the height of the 8-bit era, how did 16-bit era enabled much more deliberate any good at all. The 16-bit machines efforts for PC games were unhappy ones.
Ocean react to the 16-bit Atari ST programming to take place. It was less allowed the beginnings of a structured Added to the hardware problems, the 16-
and Commodore Amiga coming over serendipitous than the 8-bit market. We environment. Also, at the time the 16-bit bit market was a very different one to the
the horizon, particularly in respect of set up the facilities for the people in- market was emerging we were beginning 8-bit, as David points out.
programming teams familiar with Z80 house to work on those machines. We to interview people who actually had ‘Because it was a much wider demo-
and C64 assembler? Paul Patterson’s view moved to a studio production. We had a learned programming at university.’ graphic of audience, the PC market was a
is very much that of the music studio, graphic artists’ studio and The new programming-designing- much more difficult one for us to identify. Just one of numerous
expansion cards to
sales person. the beginnings of what you may call a music-writing studio may have been more I mean, there were women suddenly play-
beef up IBM PC clones
‘I think we always collaborative creative process, like making structured, but the 16-bit machines came ing games!… People who wanted flight to give brighter, better,
wanted to produce films. That wasn’t so in the 8-bit era. If with their own problems for developers. simulators!… The American companies faster graphics, or
louder, crisper sound,
product for the most you look at the way 8-bit games were ‘The PC with all those cards and add- tended to be better at PCs because they
as this one promised.
successful platform. I’m written, the way the programmers created ons was a headache because there was no had a bigger domestic audience. And
First 16-bit and then sure Gary and the developers might have the images onscreen was quite different, simple user-base. Ignoring all the amaz- they were able to address the fact
32-bit machines
had a favourite platform or a cost might with the sprites.’ ing bolt-ons, we had to write for the low- that, for instance, lots of
promised ever better
graphics… one day. be cheaper from one platform to another Jon joins in: ‘You know originally est common denominator, otherwise people want to
They also promised an but as far as I was concerned I wanted with those back bedroom programmers the game wouldn’t work for those
escalation in costs to an
product for a hardware platform that everything was done in Basic. The only with the basic machine and they’d
unprecedented level.
most of retail would give shelf space to.’ efficient way to write a game was in want their money back. The PC
David Ward says they responded to the machine code where you wrote to the was a nightmare! Whether you had
devices in the market place. ‘Demand was device, you wrote to the metal. If you a VGA card or not, and you put it on the

so the company happened in Seattle,
Juggling the new formats continued… of this non-common user base. And of which was chosen only because it was
course what the programmers wanted to the nearest point from Tokyo to ship the
play games about hunting, or something do was develop the best thing for the most games consoles to. And by the second
niche like that, but niche is still big over high-end specification PC, for which in Christmas most of the people selling at The relationship forged
with Nintendo resulted in
there. Nothing reality you wouldn’t sell many copies. Nintendo of America were ex-Atari sales
Ocean finally releasing
like that existed in ‘Take something like F-29 Retaliator. people, who couldn’t believe this second- a legitimate version of
Europe where it We had to write different versions of coming bonanza had actually happened!’ Kong – Donkey Kong.
was always a more the game which made promoting it and And America couldn’t get enough…
difficult market. selling it much more difficult. At that time and it was the same in Europe. The
Development we could say to ourselves that on the one machines and the games sold out quickly
costs went to mil- hand I’ve got Nintendo and we just carry
lions as opposed on cracking these cartridges out – even
to tens of thou- though having to gamble on numbers
F-29 Retaliator needed sands of pounds. I’m not sure we were ever when ordering them three months in
so many PC versions
successful at doing that. It was difficult for advance – but on the other hand we’ve got
it made the game
virtually unviable. a UK company to develop in-house PC to make 18 different versions of any PC
product to a very high standard because game.’ became known in the UK. Nintendo Mario Bros was a coup
for Ocean, but the real
was determined no one would get their
prize, Super Mario Bros,
hands on their new Mario game and escaped the company.
ended up becoming programming houses they published it themselves in all the
again; although sizeable companies territories, including the USA, within
as opposed to the individual bedroom which they dramatically increased their
programmers of the early eighties.’ presence. As David recalls, Nintendo was
Ocean’s broad relationships with the rebuffed in America…
Japanese coin-op producers led naturally ‘When Nintendo decided to sell the
to a deal with Nintendo. ‘In 1986, having Famicom under the Nintendo brand,
had a very successful Kong game on the they went first to Warner Brothers and
In Europe – and Spectrum, we went back to Nintendo said, “Look here, we’ve got this thing,
with a very different
‘Obviously with disks, and more and licensed Donkey Kong for real,’ Jon it’s like the Atari but it’s better, would with Ocean capitalising on their early
appearance – the
Famicom was recently downloads, it’s changed again,’ says. ‘And I got Mario Bros, and of course you represent it? You can call it what connections to the Japanese giant. David
named the Nintendo adds David, ‘but the way in which those I wanted the new Super Mario Bros, but you like, you can call it Atari, brand it as continues, ‘By that time we were able to
Entertainment
chip-based games were ordered, bought, they wouldn’t let us have it and we didn’t Atari.” And they were so badly dismissed license some of the Nintendo products
System, or NES as
players knew it. distributed and sold meant that a lot know why at that time.’ by Warners in a “don’t ever talk to us for Europe. But eventually, like most of
of the smaller software houses who set ‘That was before they’d launched again” manner that against their better the Japanese companies, Nintendo set
themselves up as publishers just had to their Famicom in America,’ David judgement at the time, they set up in up their own offices in each European
back out because they didn’t have the interjects, referring to the Nintendo America to launch Nintendo products. country and the ability to represent them
acumen or the financial resources. They Entertainment System or NES as it “We’ll do it ourselves,” they said. And was gone. We could still license games

for the Nintendo machines, due to the in Spain and he ended up representing both Jon and David spent time out on
relationship we had with the company. Nintendo in there. So we had distributors the West Coast overseeing the operation,
Marc Djan headed up Just as we had, in fact, with Sega, only to in each European territory and our but Ray Musci was responsible for
the French operation.
a lesser extent. In a sense you had to pick own French company, Ocean Software licensing and dealing with retailers.
Initially, Ocean Software
France was set up in your horse, which side you were on.’ France.’ Paul Patterson’s view of the two
1986 to make 16-bit As David says, Ocean did develop This left America untended other subsidiaries was different. ‘In my
conversions of existing
some products for the first Sega machine, than indirectly through distributors opinion both Ocean of America and
Ocean/Imagine 8-bit
games. Later, it became the Master System. ‘But we sold a there, an unsatisfactory state of affairs for Ocean Software France were mainly
a distributor more than lot more products on the Nintendo. Ocean. left to their own devices. Ocean of
a game developer.
Nintendo had some horror stories too. ‘By 1988–89,’ David says, ‘we had America was at best moderately
Remember that thing, the 3-D glasses no choice but to open an American successful in the publishing arena but
they did? Virtual Boy. Somebody pointed company to try and address the US was tremendously successful and helpful
out that if any child in America walked 1980s, particularly France. However, as market. Our administrative resources in building relationships with movie
into the street with this thing on their Jon points out, ‘To sell products in France were getting very stretched at that point, studios, Nintendo and other important
head and got hit by a truck, they would you had to sell in French.’ Which meant you’re trying to compete with American companies in the USA and Japan. Ocean
having a French base. companies in a worldwide market all France was a small office, just the two
Gary Bracey recalls David Ward as from England. We needed to be in
something of a Francophile. ‘He was very America to compete internationally “We couldn’t have operated properly
pro-active and spent a lot of time out for Nintendo rights. Particularly for without a French office. You needed
there, it was his little baby, his territory. licences. You see we were competing
relationships with French people,
But there was a bit of a cultural gap, so with American companies who were
he decided we should open up an office grabbing world rights to games, and if retailers, French advertisers and
in France and asked Marc Djan to set up we didn’t get worldwide rights it meant French magazines for editorial.”
a team there in 1986.’ the European rights were also no longer
The two giant Japanese be out of business for ever! Quickly ‘We couldn’t have operated properly available to Ocean.’ people who looked after marketing
console manufacturers
after launching it they dropped it, and without a French office,’ David says. Jon’s strong relationship with Data and PR mainly. They were bloody
Nintendo and Sega
preferred exclusive it never appeared in Britain, or it never ‘You needed relationships with French East helped cement a deal with Ray good at spending money and put our
deals with the British went mass market. Different story with people, retailers, French advertisers and Musci, Data East’s chief salesman in entertainment budgets to shame!’
software developers and
the Game Boy, of course. We developed French magazines for editorial stuff. We America. He left and set up Ocean of In the unceasing battle for licences,
Ocean found itself more
drawn to Nintendo. products for the Game Boy,’ he sighs, got away with it in Germany because America with offices in San Jose. As Jon were there any they would have liked for
‘unfortunately not Tetris.’ we had a very good distributor in there, points out, it had the benefit of further Ocean but failed to get? ‘Well, of course
who represented us. Previously we had strengthening Ocean’s relationship with there was Tetris, but that was already
Ocean in France and America done the same in France with a French Nintendo since both companies were locked up with Mirrorsoft,’ Jon says with
If Ocean no longer enjoyed the benefit distributor, but as he had a chain of now in the same time zone. And being a rueful shake of his head. ‘Otherwise
of representing Japanese companies outlets he was obviously only selling there placed Ocean in a stronger position the one that stands out was Teenage
in Europe, David had no intention of to his own shops. In Germany the to acquire licences, especially at a time Mutant Ninja Turtles. We thought we’d
missing the opportunities Continental distributor remained independent and we when the rising giant Electronic Arts was got it, but Konami had an angle on it,
Europe offered towards the end of the carried on with him. I had a great mate not interested in them. During its life, and it went to Mirrorsoft… and we

know what happened to Mirrorsoft…’ offer that Christmas. It took a while to
he adds darkly. Published in Europe convince Kelly but the deal was done
as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles by and artwork for Amiga packaging was
Mirrorsoft’s label Image Works in 1990, started. I do look back now and laugh,
for C64, Amstrad and Amiga. Image but when I received the phone call from
Jon Woods to tell me that the deal for
the Ninja licence had fallen through, it
was certainly no laughing matter. I had
to fly down to London to meet Kelly
personally to tell him the news. I’m still
not sure that I’m completely forgiven!’
Budget and bling

While the costs of securing licences
and developing games soared, the
proliferation of very cheap 8-bit games at £1.99, there was not enough margin. you know. You’re talking about a new When budget games
started to sell at £2.99 it
in the UK was beginning to have an And then the price point went up and we audience of then 12-year-olds who’d
became viable for Ocean
adverse effect on sales of anything that launched The Hit Squad at £2.99.’ borrowed their brother’s machine, and to sell the full-price
One that got away Work’s reputation was never high, and wasn’t based on a mainstream box- David Ward picks up the story. ‘This we had the beginnings of a second games on the back list
from Ocean. as the Hit Squad; 8-bit
Mirrorsoft disappeared in the shakeup of office success at the cinema or a massive was the end of the 1980s, while the generation “hand-me-down”. And by
above, 16-bit below.
the Mirror Group of Newspapers after arcade hit. Budget games companies like cassette games were still current and that time we were moving to a growing
proprietor Robert Maxwell’s death in Mastertronic and Codemasters were machines like the Spectrum were still Nintendo cartridge-based business that
selling their titles for as little £1.99. there. It was a good market at £2.99, was as successful as the 8-bit market. But 76
“When I received the phone call to tell Ocean decided to compete by relying
on its by now extensive back list of titles
me that the deal for the Ninja licence
which had already earned their keep at
had fallen through, it was certainly no the full price, as Jon points out.
laughing matter.” ‘We had our back catalogue, which
we could compile as the Greatest Hits, or
November 1991. The muddle gave Paul whatever, under the label The Hit Squad.
Patterson a headache too. But more than our own titles, we’d gone
‘That was one of the most round and licensed specially for this – we
embarrassing stories with licensing. I was had the whole Activision catalogue from
told we had agreed a deal to sign Ninja Rod Cousens, for instance, and a few
Turtles. I immediately rushed off and others, and we just kept this collection
persuaded Kelly Sumner at Commodore buried in the ground, waiting as it were
that together with Ninja Turtles and the for oil to go up in price, ready to release
Amiga he would have the best pack on it. There was nothing in it for Ocean

Both Paul Patterson Rivals and the press Domark at Christmas to arrange joint
and Gary Bracey were ‘I viewed Ocean’s position, at its peak, as parties for distributors. All in all working
regular visitors to the
Newsfield offices above way ahead of anyone else,’ Paul Patterson with the competition was a pleasure.
Victoria Wine in Ludlow, asserts. ‘Certainly in terms of profile ‘I was just one of many people at
home of Crash and
and sales. Without a doubt US Gold Ocean who spent time with the press,
Zzap!64 magazines.
was our main competitor. This was the from arranging games to be reviewed,
derby match of the software industry! competitions, editorials, advertising and
We always went head-to-head for shelf so on. We had good and bad reviews, there
space, number ones, magazine coverage, were those that loved us and those that
but to be quite honest there was never any didn’t but overall I think our relationship
malice and at the end of the day I spent a with the press was excellent and some
fair amount of time persuading their sister friendships formed in those early years
company, the distributor CentreSoft, to have continued to the present day. for Newsfield. At the time, specialist
help achieve our goal of being number ‘I never had a favourite individual magazines were the best and only real
one. magazine but my favourite publisher was way to market your product direct to the
‘We were fortunate that all software Newsfield. I loved travelling down to consumer, although we used Computer
houses were selling different products and Ludlow and built up several friendships &Video Games a lot as well.’
so co-operation and working and mixing with the likes of Ciaran Brennan, Julian In spite of his role as a development
together was what was so great about Rignall and many more. The whole manager, Gary Bracey also
being part of this wonderful industry. I of Ocean seemed to have a soft spot acted as a front man for
worked with Domark on bundle deals at Ocean. ‘It’s because Jon
Commodore and with US Gold and many and David used me a lot
other software houses in putting together in marketing to the press
compilations. We would team up with and I just became a point
of contact. Because there
was no marketing director in
those days, I was used that way.
I had to wear two different hats
and it was only because I enjoyed
it so much. I worked 24/7, honest
to God, it was my life.’
Julian Rignall – ace

games player, reviewer
and later Zzap!64
editor, with his Ocean
mug of coffee.

for us, the challenge of cartridge software cartridge product was add nine months
was that it was all controlled by the onto the finishing of the game in gold
device manufacturers. So with Nintendo master form before you released it. So
and Sega you didn’t actually manufacture it was nine months as opposed to nine
anything, you just ordered it from them. days for a cassette or a disk, what with
You presented them a gold master of the de-bugging during alpha testing, beta
what you’d developed. They either didn’t testing, and so on.’
like it or they did like it.’ However, it was an uneasy time
for the whole computer games
industry. Some five to six years of
steady production for effectively only
three machines – the ZX Spectrum,
Commodore 64 and Amstrad – suddenly
became complicated by a wave of new
16-bit computers and 8- and then 16-bit
cartridge-based console games systems.
David Ward continues: ‘Commodore
was still there, with its Amiga range, but
‘Or they told you what was wrong “For us, the challenge
with it,’ Jon says. ‘It had to be perfect for of cartridge software they had all gone, so we were left with it was more a question of getting The console battle
heated up with the
them or they wouldn’t let it go onto their a market that was either PC-based or the cartridges out of them. It was
was that it was all release of the 16-bit
system.’ cartridge-based: Nintendo or Sega. There complicated enough dealing with one
controlled by the device
Super Nintendo, or
‘They couldn’t, because obviously you were others who tried to compete with let alone two, and we were much closer SNES, and Sega’s
The Amiga CD32 can’t have bugs in a cartridge product.’ manufacturers.” these systems in the market, but of no to Nintendo. You see, by September you MegaDrive.
games console came

‘The whole process became so consequence.’ had to place your orders to get products
too late to market
to save venerable elongated and much more sophisticated. their dabble in the console market went Jon points out that Ocean got a lot in the shops for Christmas. And that All gone: Oric, Dragon,
MSX, along with the
Commodore’s bacon. Basically, what you needed to do with a wrong and that was the beginning of more from Nintendo if they avoided completely altered the logistics of doing
Amstrad and BBC Micro,
the end for them.’ The world’s first true working with Sega, and David agrees. business. With the 8-bit tape or disk- while the ZX Spectrum
32-bit games console, the Amiga CD32 ‘Yes, a lot more help. And to be honest, based games your duplicator could and Commodore 64
were waning rapidly in
released in September 1993 came too
the face of the consoles.
late for the venerable computer company,
and Commodore International went
bankrupt in April 1994. ‘The Spectrum
by then had been phased out too and
all the other home computers for which
we had made games – the Dragon, the
Oric, BBC Micro, Amstrad, MSX –

run them off and deliver within days, Heading for France could try to merge with someone who So a merger with Infogrames was a
so if something was selling well, you By the late 1980s, Ocean was arguably had access to a public market.’ way of accessing public finance. And
just ordered more and there they were the biggest games developer and The experience of almost a decade EA had by this time a stock price
soon after. But the lead time for the publisher in the West, but another with Ocean Software France, and David’s which enabled them to raise hundreds
complicated chip-based cartridges plus force had also grown rapidly across the affinity for the French way of life, and of millions of dollars if necessary. The
shipping was at least two months, which Atlantic – Trip Hawkins’ Electronic Arts. given the lack of obvious American overheads for a games development
meant you had to take a stab at the However, under Trip, EA was dedicated Painting by Oliver Frey
‘What might have been quantity to order. And you just knew that to creating original product, but as David
true in 1986 sounded
Nintendo wouldn’t deliver the complete Ward explains, that all changed in 1991.
ironical a decade later.
David Ward on the order. So you often ordered more than ‘When Trip ran EA they wouldn’t
advantages of being you thought you’d need in the hope that touch anything to do with licensing at
Ocean’s size: ‘There’s no
you’d get as much as you really wanted. all. And in a sense it was the success we
politics here. We’re too
small. You pass everyone ‘There is a good story about over- had with creating licensed product which
else in the corridor 25 ordering of cartridges which goes turned them into a licensing house when
times a day.’
back to the Atari days. Having been Trip left. And of course, Electronic Arts’
David Ward, November
1985 – Amstrad Action. under-supplied for three consecutive success when they began to make their
years – 1979, 80 and 81 – every retailer real headway was to do with licensing
in America ordered five times as much sports franchises. They adopted our modus
as they wanted of Atari’s E.T. game, operandi which had been heavily criticised
believing it was going to be the greatest by the artistic community, that we were
thing since sliced bread in terms of sales. undermining the creative process. And
And lo and behold Atari delivered it EA simply copied it. And because of the
all, without checking the fact that they volume of the American business they
were delivering software three and a half were more difficult to compete with.
times more in quantity as the hardware Having said that, when we merged with
base had sold cumulatively since the Infogrames the value of the Infogrames
E.T. – a time capsule beginning! They buried all those unsold company was virtually the same as EA.
buried in the burning
cartridges out in the desert somewhere At the start of the 1990s we foresaw the
Nevada desert.
near Las Vegas. In a million years, when necessity of having a public company
aliens land, they’ll dig them up and play to have access to funds to compete with
them, because silicon doesn’t degrade!’ Electronic Arts. That was why the merger
took place, to give us that access to public partner, made a merger with France’s company had become massive. You see, A new American force
in original games, such
funding. We had no choice. We could most powerful imformatique company the the music publishing industry, or book
as 1988’s Powerdrome
either go public in America, which would best option. publishing industries never needed to (above), Electronic
have been very difficult without more ‘Informatique [computing] was a employ creatives directly as we did. Arts began to threaten
Ocean’s dominance
American personnel, without a finance very important cultural part of French The problem with hiring two or three
when it started to
director, without an MD, without a political life and the French have always hundred creatives is that you have to find license properties
CEO, and all the rest of the stuff. Or we had this kind of affection for technology. something for them to do, and you get in competition.

these void periods where they wonder Paul Patterson’s view matches David’s ’n’ roll” company – Ocean. We had to
what they’re going to do. And in the end but concentrates on the damaging role fight to survive until that day arrived, and
that’s very wearing on a budget. You’ve PC games played. ‘Ocean grew to an sometimes we had extraordinary luck.
got to be incredibly successful over and unmanageable size with an overhead to Like the fax sent to us that should have
over again. And even EA then moved, match. We had all mistakenly decided to gone elsewhere, which allowed me to sell
as we did, to a form where half the allow all our in-house development team a distributor in Australia the rights to
programming development to focus on original PC games only. The our games for three years for $10 million
resources were out of house overhead for this alone affected Ocean with a 20 per cent up-front payment. The
and half in-house. greatly and in 1994 a portion of the payment arrived just in time.’
‘What decision you make company was sold to French company ‘Of course, it wasn’t all fun and
at any particular point in the Chargeurs. Unfortunately most of the games,’ Steve Blower says of the
evolution of a business may money from this sale was allocated to increasing pressures. ‘In the years around
be right, but it won’t stay help prop up Ocean of America who 1990 onwards, the general management
right. Something else will were themselves running at a loss.’ had become more organised in order
happen, particularly in an ‘Yes,’ Jon says, ‘we took an investment to deal with the pressure of meeting
industry geared to technical from Chargeurs, who took 23 per cent deadlines set within licensing contracts, excellent speaker and could really hold President of Infogrames,
Bruno Bonnell (above)
change which happens so of the company.’ The French corporate etc. Consequently the production an audience’s attention. I chatted to a few
said of the merger
group has interests in textiles, but shares meetings could be really tense affairs, of the programmers after the meeting. with Ocean: ‘This is
in any number of companies and in 1992 particularly when the same products, Some of them had not even seen David the most important
event in the European
bought the media group Pathé, which in meeting after meeting, were still Ward before. One of them commented,
market in the last
turn looked to Ocean as an investment nowhere near completion. In one such “He was awesome.” In this respect, I decade. It consolidates
opportunity. ‘We needed the finance to meeting, the production director, the late think David missed an opportunity with the major software
interests under one
fund Nintendo development, and we’d Paul Harrison, gave one of the young the management model.’
umbrella and provides a
got to the point where we could only marketing executives a piece of his mind, In 1996 Infogrames acquired Ocean magnet for developers
manage so much of our own finance.’ “Don’t tell us how to do our jobs, we for a reputed $100 million and was and a vehicle for
Japanese and American
But within a year of the Chargeurs were cutting the mustard when you were renamed Infogrames UK. David insists
publishers seeking
input, Paul felt it was insufficient, merely cutting your teeth!” Scouse accent as well. this was not the outright sale depicted the best European
a stop-gap to keep Ocean afloat until ‘I remember a few months prior to by the press at the time. “It was a merger distribution. Our on-line
expertise in particular
a real merger could be leveraged. ‘It the sale of Ocean to Infogrames, David and we got shares in Infogrames. A little
will be a factor in
became apparent from the autumn of Ward called a meeting of all the staff later Infogrames got caught up in a series competing successfully
The different guises of rapidly, and alters the whole parameters 1995 that while Ocean was enjoying to explain what was happening with of changes which meant they didn’t get on an international
Infogrames. Top: the basis and driving
of what means success, of what makes success in the charts and had some very Ocean. This took place in the basement as much out of the Ocean merger as they
logo in use from 1983 the group through
until 1993. Centre: greater success. Unlike the movie lucrative bundle deals it wasn’t enough cafeteria of the offices at Castlefield should have.’ the 21st Century.’
from 1993–1997. industry, we went from the equivalent of to cover our incredibly large overhead. [Ocean had moved to much larger ‘And I left the company the year after,
Bottom: after a few
1900 to 2000 in the space of five years. David started talking to Infogrames premises in a redeveloped canalside which was a part of my deal,’ Jon says.
variations, the main
logo from 2000 until the How can anyone adopt that amount of about a possible sale. Infogrames wanted building in the summer of 1992]. David non
transition to Atari SA. change and still remain relevant or viable to raise their profile worldwide and in spoke for around twenty minutes about
in financial terms?’ their words they wanted to buy the “rock the sale of the company. He was an 88

A late-issue Zzap!64 poster celebrated Movie Action
Heroes and the fact that – while Ocean didn’t get every
licence going — it certainly got the most of them.

The Ocean Party Animals three hours before the party we met with did that thing for Ocean Software.” And
him and he had a load of questions about he said, “Oh yeah.” “I just wanted to say
B
y a mixture of luck and design,’ the games, the staff, who our competitors it’s legendary now, it really is.” And he
Paul Patterson says, ‘most of the were, and so on. So he stands up and comes comes back, “Is Woody still there?” We’re
Ocean staff from top to bottom out talking about people. I’ll never forget six months later and with all the people
had the same passion, personality, loyalty, one industry joke that just cracked us all he’s met in between, he still remembers
work ethic and most importantly was up. “You have Ocean, who are a sixteen- Woody. Amazing guy.’
a party animal! Ocean was known for bit company and then you have US Gold, Paul Patterson remembers a party at
working hard and playing hard, and this which is a two-bit company!” And he had which the hired entertainer caused Ocean
went right up to the Chairman, David this running joke. One of the girls in PR embarrassment with some of its invited
Ward.’ was Danielle Woodyatt, who everyone in foreign guests. ‘It was in London and
Those magazine journalists who were the whole business new as “Woody”, and we’d invited UK and European retailers,
invited to an Ocean ‘do’ knew they were in distributors and journalists. We booked
for a good time. the Drifters to play and for some obscure
‘The parties were great,’ David reason we decided the evening needed
reminisces with a grin that can only be
Smart Bob Monkhouse described as sly. ‘We spent a lot of ill-
turned the party air blue,
gotten gains on them.’
but Stan Boardman
made Ocean’s German ‘There was the riverboat on the
guests feel blue. Thames in 1989…’ Jon adds.
‘Some of the artists we had… We had Bob was briefed about this and… well,
a couple of the hottest Tamla Motown you can imagine the amount of “woody”
groups. We had a great party once with running jokes, you know Woody this and
After a week of an Abba group. It wasn’t Abba themselves, Woody that. Then about six months later
unending pressure to
it was Abbalike.’ David turns to Jon. ‘Do
get games finished
and out the door, the you remember the party when we had “The night before I’d gone
Bob Monkhouse? He was the filthiest…
to a nightclub and got
Ocean staff tended to
party hard as well.
he had a line of blue conversation, as blue a comedian. Quite why we decided that
as you could imagine.’ so drunk that I couldn’t Liverpool comedian Stan Boardman
‘The sharpest guy I ever met.’ stand up.” would fit the bill when we were mostly
‘Yes, very sharp.’ entertaining Europeans and UK people
Gary Bracey remembers it well, as I was flying to the States, and I was in the from the south of England, I have no idea.
if anyone could ever forget. ‘It was at a lounge and Bob Monkhouse was there, A short way into his performance Stan
London hotel during the annual ECTS I think he was flying out to Barbados. I asked if there were any Germans in the
[European Computer Trade Show]. Bob went up to him and I said, “Bob, I just room and would they put their hand up
Monkhouse was brilliant, a legend. About got to say I haven’t seen you since you and they did. He immediately asked them

I rolled down. I remember Gary Bracey be bigger than the movie industry and of the morning to find David prostrate
waking me up in the morning and I’m bigger than the music industry, and Nick and fast asleep in the revolving door of
in bed in a suit covered in mud, and I’m Alexander of Virgin just laughed outright the hotel. It took seven of us to push the
being told there’s an audience downstairs at me.’ door around and get him onto a couch in
waiting for this speech—’ ‘I can remember one night we all met the lobby where we left him for the rest of
‘It was Computer Arena,’ Gary takes up in Liverpool,’ Paul Finnegan recalls. ‘I the night.’
up the tale. ‘They happened every year in was with my wife Joan and a few other Back to Gary… ‘I come down in the
a different country… really it was just an friends. And one was staying in the same morning, about nine o’clock, and I’m
industry piss-up and to justify it they had hotel as David, and I told him this, and he walking out for a ciggie – we used to
one day of presentations and speeches. said, “Come on, let’s go to his room.” And smoke then – and in this massive ornate
And David was scheduled to speak, and we barged in, and David was ordering lobby they have these sofas, and there
everyone turned up, and we’re talking vintage port and drinking it out of a teapot. lying on a sofa was David, who’d spent
to people from every major computer I remember him driving about town in his the night crashed out, pissed out
company in the industry and they are Porsche – he always had a Porsche – and of his head. “David, wake up!”
sitting down in this big hall waiting, and he was absolutely legless then!’ “Mmmmmrrr…” was all I got out
ten o’clock comes and, “Mr. Ward?” No Gary reckons the worst of David’s of him.’
one. So I rushed to his room and banged party faux-pas occurred at the Summer ‘There was also a time,’ Paul
on his door, and I hear all these groans. CES (Consumer Electronics Show) the Patterson recalls with a wry grin,
And I say, “David!” And eventually the ‘when I was with David Ward
to put their other hand up and promptly and a couple of other people
said, “Now I recognise you.” There was “David was ordering having dinner coincidently in the
a deathly silence before he added, “You same restaurant as Jon Woods
lot bombed our chippy!” It wasn’t the
vintage port and and Gary Bracey who were
best way for us to endear ourselves to drinking it out of a attempting to tie up a deal for
our representatives and journalists from teapot.” Jurassic Park. It was during the
Germany.’ meal that David noticed that
Not all the humour came from the door opens. More moans. “Oh my God. Jon had started to nod off and it
hired entertainers. Among the Ocean I’m covered in mud!” He got so pissed the would be very difficult for Gary
party animals, boss-man David Ward night before.’ forerunner of E3 (Electronic Entertain- to wake him up without making it more Even sober, the
than obvious. David asked me to march dungeon crew found
was infamous. ‘I remember making a ‘So, quick shower, with the suit on!…’ ment Expo). ‘One was in Las Vegas in
it difficult to get
speech once at one of those conferences ‘…while I had to go downstairs and January and in Chicago in June. And we over and give him a hearty slap on the past the Guardian
that Newsfield started. It was in the make all sorts of apologies for twenty always used to stay at the Hyatt Regency, back and a hug as though I hadn’t seen of the upstairs
him in many years, which of course I duly management level.
mid-1980s. The night before I’d gone minutes. And then he bounces down, which is a very nice hotel in the centre of
to a nightclub and got so drunk that I freshened up, a bit the worse for wear.’ Chicago.’ did and they both managed to tie up the
couldn’t stand up. And there was a kind a David shoots imaginary cuffs. ‘And I Paul Patterson takes up the story. ‘I deal that same evening.’
large muddy hill behind the hotel, which predicted that one day our industry would arrived back at the hotel in the early hours And thus are the big deals done.

An Oceanic Aftermath me that was insanity. I would go so far
T
as to say the Ocean brand had better
he merger with Infogrames, in visibility than the Infogrames brand. I
visionary terms,’ David says, would say that at one point we were the
‘was the correct thing to do. It biggest games company in the world
made us part of a worldwide and the most prolific, we were the most
company – you couldn’t compete any profitable, we had the biggest turnover,
longer on a national basis only. You had and we had the best image.’
to be a worldwide player to get access Jon Woods agrees. ‘Ours was a
to creative resources and access to the much stronger name. Infogrames had
product categories – you needed a global all the money in the world because of
footprint. And Infogrames were very their own stock market evaluation, and
motivated about that and they had a being French the market would support
second string to their agenda which was them. If they’d been in the States they
would have just withered on the vine…
“Infogrames had acquired a very well and ultimately they ended up owning
loved brand and just didn’t use it.” Hasbro and Atari and God knows what.
Atari was a great name, great brand, but
to buy GT Interactive. And GT already it ended up being owned by so many
had a quote on the NASDAQ and we people it’s not really much use any more.’
had a Bourse quote and so we had the And Paul Patterson had more reason
global company. For all those reasons it than the others to bemoan Infogrames’
was the right thing to do. And within short-sighted policy. ‘Their message
two years of joining we pushed up the at the beginning was that they wanted
share price of Infogrames so that in keep the heart and soul of Ocean but
market capitalisation terms it was the make one or two sensible cutbacks.
same as EA. We had the same potential Unfortunately, within a year they set
and opportunities.’ about dismantling all that was good
Gary Bracey’s perception of the about Ocean and replaced it with a
merger is that of an outsider, since he subsidiary of Infogrames. Change was
had left Ocean before it took place. ‘I absolutely necessary and the overheads
was terribly upset that Infogrames had needed to be reduced but all this could
acquired a very well loved brand and just have been done without destroying the
didn’t use it. It’s not about the products, brand – Ocean. I stayed for three years
some of that’s history, but you’ve got a as Managing Director after the sale to
brand there, which was recognised, that Infogrames.’
was built up over a substantial period Infogrames was all big money, not big
and Infogrames just never used it. To games; Ocean was big games. And with

a certain French arrogance Infogrames dynamics that made my job worth
swallowed Ocean whole and, in the getting out of bed for. Eventually, I
process, lost it. asked David Ward to sort out an
The ‘sensible cutbacks’ eventually exit for me.’
hit the Ocean staff, for whom things David remained with
were not so rosy. ‘Initially they were the group until 1999,
very attracted to the idea of being part by which time he had
of a larger group,’ David continues. ‘In resigned as a director
the end it didn’t work out well for them of the US board of GT
because after about four or five years, Interactive, because they
Infogrames decided they wanted a needed more American
London headquarters. Anyone looking board members. ‘In the
at Great Britain from outside would ask end, when GT moved
where’s the UK office going to be? We to London, I didn’t want
have one in Paris, in New York, in San to live in London, so
Francisco, in Manchester…? No, it’s that really was it for
going to be in London. I think a great me. And I had other
deal of the intrinsic value in Ocean was ideas by then.’ Over the years, Ocean
won an enormous
sidelined. Some of the values we had In parallel, Paul Finnegan had fared
number of awards
were in our brand and in our publishing well. When Ocean pulled the plug on from magazines and
expertise, which by that time was as Special FX in about 1991, he formed the industry, but none
more prestigious than
good as any that existed anywhere in the Rage with five programmers and artists.
ELSPA’s Hall of Fame
world. Although we were always wedded ‘I put the money in and I gave 70 per award to David Ward
to the creative process, I always thought cent of the company away to them. That and Jon Woods.
that our real forté was in publishing. In a was always my philosophy, to look after
sense, that’s where we started, envisioning them because they’re the lifeblood. If it’s
a business to support a publishing going to work it’s going to be because
operation.’ of the programmers.’ Finnegan rejects
Steve Blower stuck it for a while, but completely the popular notion that
eventually he lost heart. ‘Towards my the company was named Rage because
last two years at Ocean things became he was so angry at the way he’d been
a lot less enjoyable. There were people treated. ‘No. I wanted to call it Elephant
in management positions that were Software until they all got me round a
either not adequately taking on their table and gave me a good kicking. No, it
responsibilities and others who were was Joffa Smith who came up with Rage,
more interested in increasing their power just off the top of his head, short and
footprint. The sale of the company to sharp, like Crash or Zzap!; there was no
Infogrames had also changed some of the malice in it. My motto is that you’ll meet

those people up and down the ladder, testing it, and then press the button to say, some shit, every company did. You were all the best in the business. We even
going up and down, so stay friendly with “Okay, it can go.” And the game would can’t be that prolific and get everything had an accounts team that would
everybody. It’s funny, at the time no job is go into production, perhaps as many as right every time. But the coin-ops were join in when we needed to entertain
perfect, there’s always gripes fifty thousand for an expansive run. But crackers. It was a privilege to be there. retail outlets, distributors and
with people you work with, once the button was pressed for me it David Ward and Jon Woods trusted magazines. I believe that everybody
or you’re not happy with the was history and onto the next game. And me with an enormous responsibility who ever spent time at Ocean would
boss, but then you look back you know there were hundreds of games. for which I was not qualified. And say they were probably some of the
and you say they were great Then we had an artist and a programmer they seldom questioned what I did. If I best years of their lives. It certainly
times. And as David says, we per game. Now it’s hundreds of people on wanted to licence a movie, if I wanted the was in my case.’
were making it up as we went movie-style budgets, if the game doesn’t budget… nothing was ever questioned. But Jon Woods is adamant that
along and it was fun. One sell you’ve lost probably millions. If that The only niggle was with Wizkid that the past is the past. ‘I probably
of the best things that ever happened to one of Ocean’s cassette Sensible Software did, because Wizball couldn’t stand the business today.
happened to me was working games it didn’t break the company. And hadn’t done fantastically – it was a critical I understand how it works, but it’s all Just two of the scores
of awards Ocean
with Jon Woods and David because of the stakes involved today a long time ago. I’d had enough, to be
received over the years.
Paul Finnegan today, Ward because they were very shrewd and things have become less creative, the honest, I had other things I wanted to
investing in the
taught me an awful lot.’ games are derivative like playing the “At its peak, I was part of do. David was happy to hang in with
latest technology.
Rage is a story all of its own. Suffice same game as twenty years ago.’ the best software house in Infogrames, so he did. As Ocean
to say it developed and published an Neither of the original founders we had a few landmarks. We had
the world.”
enormous number of games all through wants to replay their lives by picking up a few breaks, right place, right time.
the 1990s, and went on to become a all that intellectual property they created. Having been in business before, that
massive public company worth many Jon Woods and David Ward have moved rave but didn’t do well commercially. was the important thing. Most of the
millions of pounds. on… and as for the games, Gary Bracey And so when the sequel came up I had competitors were just out of uni or
says it’s just too late to revive the Ocean to push very hard to get that published were bedroom programmers. We didn’t
A Changed World brand. ‘The IP is just gone because there and it probably wasn’t the best idea do that, we’d done our getting street-
The world of gaming is a very different is no Infogrames and it’s a pain in the commercially. But it was all part of a wise, and yet the whole essence of our
place today and for all the brilliance of neck to collate the information. You’d strategy to try and get Ocean recognised business when we were kings was the
cinematic-style, immersive games he’s need expensive lawyers to sort anything for original games and not just derivative “just in time” thing.
now involved with, Gary Bracey has a soft so it’s just not worthwhile. I think that IP licences at the time. I always said that For David Ward as he breezes out
spot for the past. ‘Oh I miss it terribly. It’s is just going to stay there in a black hole. after Ocean, if I died no one should on his way to another meeting, it’s
changed a lot. You know I worked 24/7, And if anyone did want to revive Ocean mourn because I’ve done ninety-nine simple: ‘If you can remember all this,
it was full-on, managing the projects, they wouldn’t be able to use any of the percent more than others because I’ve you probably weren’t there…!’
and then quite often when a game was licensed material, the movies, coin-ops, been so lucky to be in the right place at
finished – it was always late, there was only the original Ocean-designed games, the right time and got the dream job.’
never a game finished on time – I would so it would be very limiting.’ ‘At its peak,’ says Paul Patterson, ‘I
literally grab the master, jump in the Did Ocean do the best games? Gary’s was part of the best software house in the
car and drive to Telford to Ablex where take is typically modest. ‘I’d like to think world. It had an incredible development
they would master it. And then I’d test so. I’d like to think that ours were among and testing department. From logistics
the thing. I would stay up there all night the best games of the time. We produced through to sales, marketing and PR, they

High days and heydays; The Ocean Gang,
1988 – key on page 262
Memories are made of this

In their own words, many of Ocean’s programmers,
game designers, artists, testers, warehousemen and
producers remember their days working for Britain’s
biggest games software house.

“office” and they ironed out a deal for the Simon confesses to
Simon Butler non-existent title there and then. Not the working on a number
of ‘turkeys’ – a screen
greatest of games, but it did contain some from Highlander on the
Simon joined Ocean for the very first time in 1987 – mighty fine toad animation by Steve Commodore 64 to the
his history with Ocean is colourful, with credits on a Cain and some tasty cover art by Bob left and the cassette
cover of Legend of
number of high-profile games ranging from the fulsome Wakelin. Kage below.
graphics of The Never Ending Story on the Spectrum to ‘I also recall another time when
the design of Platoon on the Commodore 64. David was waxing lyrical to John Gibson Adventure. All of these were Ocean
about his latest automotive acquisition, games and reasonably well received for
a Porsche if I remember rightly. John, the most part.
S
imon was called on to create the strange gun-wielding frog type creature. being a fan of such things, was green ‘Somewhere in the midst of all of
graphics for the less-than-stellar He asked me what it was, and being with envy, but managed to hide his mirth this Steve Cain and Ian came together
Transformers on the Commodore the card I thought I was at the time, I when David returned to the office shortly again to form a small independent team
64. He was working in-house at Denton merrily quipped that it was a Cosmic War after to ask if he could use the phone to called Canvas, who developed a slew of
Designs in Liverpool, a company Toad. When he enquired if a full game report the theft of said motor.’ titles of rapidly diminishing quality for
originally founded in 1984 by former design existed, I never thought twice Simon moved on from Denton Ocean that contained such “gems” as It’s
Imagine employees, Steve Cain, Ian and assured him that was indeed the Designs due to more than a smidge a Knockout, Miami Vice, Legend of Kage
Weatherburn, Ally Noble, John Gibson, case, which could not have been further of friction between himself and Karen (an Ocean/Imagine title) and the woeful
Karen Davies and Graham ‘Kenny’ from the truth. Satisfied with this he Davies. Highlander.
Everett. Denton Designs developed then took the “Jolly Dents”, as the upper ‘I then found myself working with Ian ‘Canvas, while developing some
numerous titles for the Ocean label, and echelon were known, away into their Weatherburn. It was during this period fairly ropey products, was instrumental
Simon regularly bumped into David that I started learning my craft, such as in attracting Dawn Drake into the
Ward. ‘He was far more hands-on in industry. Gary Bracey
the formative years of what would was a regular visitor to
become Europe’s leading developer/ Canvas – I had met him
publisher. I knew David and Jon previously when he ran Screens from The
Neverending Story on
prior to the games explosion when his own software store
the Spectrum –released
they ran a hippie clothes shop in south of the city. Ian in 1985.
the centre of Liverpool, something I Weatherburn introduced
was “asked” somewhat strongly not us and Gary asked me
to mention ever again once I was to sign a few copies of
ensconced in the bowels of Central Shadowfire.
The advertisement for Street. Steve Cain departed
N.O.M.A.D. The game
‘During the Denton era I Canvas for pastures new
was released on the
Spectrum, Commodore remember David calling in to check and the general theory
64 and Amstrad in 1986. on the progress of something they it is, on titles like The Neverending Story, among the remaining management at
were working on and he noticed a Hunchback the Adventure, N.O.M.A.D Canvas was that the quality of a game
rough doodle of mine depicting a and the never released Batman the was not its main selling point – Ocean, it

was argued, released so many titles that for the most part a hive of industry, if ever saw the light of day within Ocean.
they would never notice how bad the liberally sprinkled with bursts of total External developers like Dentons would
games supplied actually were. lunacy and more than a healthy dose do things like that; we were consigned to
As Simon reflects, ‘They were sadly of talent. Nobody reinvented the wheel arcade conversions and licensed products.
ill informed – Ocean started giving the while at Ocean or set the world alight ‘For all its faults – and there were
company appalling arcade conversions with games that broke the mould, but
and a blind man on a galloping horse for some reason which I have never “For all its faults – and there were
could have seen the writing on the wall. managed to fathom, their titles are held many – Ocean somehow worked.”
When working on a game that finally in high regard, or if not, then at least
reached a point where it actually sullied remembered with a misty-eyed fondness many – Ocean somehow worked. It was
the good name of crap, I decided it was by the gaming public of the time. pretty obvious that the entire company
time to get out of the games industry and ‘My in-house career was broken into was just another “thing” that David and
Ocean’s full-page advert quit with the intention of returning to two halves, the fun days and then the Jon were trying on the road to potential
for Platoon and an in-
advertising.’ soulless “Corporate Years”, where every riches. They’d tried the rag-trade, David
jungle screen shot of the
game on the Spectrum. As with a great number of Simon’s time you blinked there was another Suit had been involved in a roller-disco in
master plans this did not go as intended. wish for a fully functional DeLorean wandering around with that supercilious New York if
complete with flux capacitor. sneer that only the creatively stunted can tales were to be
‘I suppose I was unlike almost every pull off. The fun days were the fly-by- believed, and this
other Ocean employee at that time the-seat-off-the-pants times when the was the latest
because I was coming in with at least industry was still fairly new and people venture. If it
ten Ocean titles under my belt already. were making it all up as they went along. panned-out, great!
The majority of the development team, Sure, we’d already hit the movie tie-in If not, onwards
almost all male at that point in time, were days but they weren’t so bad and indeed and upwards.
industry virgins. Ocean had some of their greatest hits ‘Not for a
‘Contrary to what some might with such product – Platoon, Batman, second am I
imagine, Ocean was not some magical RoboCop, etc. suggesting that we sat discussing such Universal Monsters
– Simon created the
Wonka-like factory of dreams. It was ‘It was during these times that the things in great depth while ensconced in
distincive graphics for
more like Hogwarts once Voldemort creativity was – at least in my humble the goblin mines under Central Street. the Commodore Amiga,
He received a phone call the next day and his cronies had finished with it. The opinion – at its zenith. The industry Most of the time the conversation was planned for release in
1992. Sadly, the game
from Gary Bracey asking him to come to development side of things was a fairly was still young enough to negate the total rubbish but it was somehow always
never saw the light of
the Ocean offices. ‘Gary welcomed me spartan and somewhat grubby basement possibilities of asking our predecessors fun. There were some terrible times, with day.
with open arms and, after introducing beneath the Quakers’ place of worship. how to do things. There was no guide tempers flaring, and harsh words thrown
me to Steve Wahid, Allan Shortt and The Suits, as we called them, held court to game development: people had ideas, around, and the occasional scuffle, but my
many more of the subterranean monkeys two floors above in a cramped collection wrote them down... sometimes, and then memories of Ocean are predominantly
that were the heart of the Ocean of prefabricated offices competing for if said idea was given the green light, that filled with ridiculous antics, larger than
development, I suddenly found myself a the affections of the lissom secretarial person had to somehow guide a team life characters, and a general sense
full-time employee at Ocean Software. types that jiggled around with abandon. through the torturous process of putting of camaraderie that even the most
There would be times when Gary would But for all its ramshackle veneer it was a game together. Original titles seldom, overblown egos couldn’t quell.

‘The one undeniable fact about more about it and certainly not been ‘It is true to say that we had some
Ocean is that while David and Jon knew surprised as we are today when we hear coding staff who fell squarely into the
they wanted to be successful, they had no of company closures and job-losses. clichéd slot of those whose answer to
precedent to follow, so they were winging ‘The Central Street days were a hive anything from their graphics partner
it; uncertain if they had hired the right of activity, intermingled with shenanigans would be, “You’re just an artist”. I defy
people or not. The core of their company from various members of staff who any programmer to write something that
was growing unseen beneath their feet, should have known better or at least shows how good their code is by looking
without which they had nothing, and waited until there were fewer witnesses. at a screenshot.
somehow it came together and all the We were praised for our efforts and ‘Towards what I perceive as the
pieces, while never fitting perfectly taken to task for our somewhat irksome end of the 8-bit days, we had a weekly
moved in a way that was right. behaviour… and how Gary Bracey meeting downstairs and I asked when
‘It was like catching lightning in a managed to keep his sanity is at times we would be moving onto the 16-bit
bottle. Out of chaos and confusion, this beyond me. While stepping into the role machines. I was told unequivocally that
totally disparate group of people, who of the public face of Ocean, Gary trod “Ocean will NOT be developing 16-bit Loading screens
from some games on
ranged from the outright unhinged to a fine line between management and titles”. My resignation was submitted
which Simon worked:
mate. He knew almost everything that that same day and I left Ocean forever, or
“My resignation was submitted that
Combat School (C64),
was happening at any given time among so I thought.’ Total Recall (C64),
same day and I left Ocean forever, his development staff and what little After a period of freelancing for a year N.O.M.A.D (Amstrad)
and Hunchback the
he didn’t know was intended that way or so, Simon found himself working once
or so I thought.” Adventure (Spectrum).
because we got into trouble enough as again in Manchester, less than a mile
the shy and reserved, managed to create it was. He was as daft as a brush when from his old chums in Central Street.
things that people truly liked on a level he wanted to be, but a total professional ‘Imagine my surprise when I was told
we could never have suspected. We when needed. that our main project was a movie tie-in
seldom gave our product any further ‘Being one of the oldest members of for none other than Ocean Software. It
thought than getting it finished; we never the dev-team (Colin “Fossil” Porch was was one fresh hell after another on what
considered our public let alone how they my senior), there were times when I was was intended to be Ocean’s Christmas
would receive our games or if they would less understanding than I could have chartbuster, Total Recall. Matters reached
potentially treasure them. Everything been, to put it mildly. I had yet to grow a head after weeks of inanity followed
had a feeling of impermanence about up and out of the role of general galoot by bewildering numbskullery until my
it. It was the 1980s and fads came and and all-round loud-mouth, so my ready only course was to quit and walk across
went. We didn’t think we were teetering quips got me into scrapes on more than to inform Mr Bracey of the situation.
on a knife-edge by any stretch of the one occasion. It can only be expected I was met initially with slight derision
imagination, but I never thought that I when you put so many people from regarding my doom-mongering over said
was involved in the formative years of different walks of life, of varying ages, project, but was told to sit tight while
a career that would still be in progress into a confined space and expect them to Gary went to inspect matters. On his
three decades later. If it had all fallen be creative that there will be sparks from return, and once he managed to get his
round our ears we would have been time to time, and Ocean certainly had its breathing under control, heart rate and
duly disgruntled, but not thought much fair share of times. pulse back to something near normal, he

agreed to my proposals for rescuing their something wasn’t the same. Ocean had world, but great things happened there. collection of over-crowded rooms that
festive number one. entered what I earlier labelled “The Great people worked there. I am lucky to fizzed with madness and the general
‘Once more back in the fold, I called Corporate Years”, and with it came the have retained some as friends to this day, buzz of a group of people who were
on those I knew I could rely on and first truly annoying iteration of that others have fallen by the wayside for one doing something they genuinely loved. I
together we gave Ocean a Christmas to most misbegotten industry specimen, the reason or another, a few are sadly gone was honoured to work for David Ward
In-game screen shots
remember. That year, Santa put a nice producer. Smarmy, shiny people with all before their time. and Jon Woods, who always acted as
from Total Recall on the
Amstrad CPC (top) and full-time position in my stocking and the charm and intelligence of a garden ‘Ocean was a product of the 1980s,
Commodore 64 (bottom). I looked forward to many more years ornament. They roamed the vast hallways the glory days were the early titles from
looking cocksure and smug, and with their formative years and, although the
them came a feeling of change, but not hits continued through until the 1990s,
for the better. A strange sense of treading it is these first games that return time
water seemed prevalent with little or and again when people speak of Ocean
nothing being actively created. Software. It served its purpose; it was a
‘Then one Friday, with another creation with a limited life-span and the
finished title under my belt, I was creators, once gone, were replaced with
unceremoniously told to leave the people with no drive, no passion and
premises post-haste. I can’t say I wasn’t even less vision.
surprised. Nonplussed doesn’t even cover ‘Ocean was not meant to survive and if unaware of my less-than-exemplary Pondering his next move
– Simon in Amsterdam
it and to this day I’ve not been given its demise came as no surprise. It could behaviour. I could not have asked for
in 1989.
a genuine reason for such treatment. I not have stood in today’s market and a better boss than Gary Bracey, who
have my suspicions, but who cares? It’s weathered all that the industry throws tolerated me beyond all reason yet never
a lifetime ago. Gary, bless him, seemed at a company on a daily basis in a cut- failed to give thanks, credit and reward,
markedly uncomfortable with being the throat market led by franchises or vapid
bearer of such tidings, but I thanked him pavlovian button clickers.
‘‘I could not have asked for a better boss
and left – this time for good. ‘Today Ocean holds a special place than Gary Bracey, who tolerated me
‘I had no axe to grind regarding in the hearts of a vast gaming fraternity beyond all reason yet never failed to
my dismissal, feeling certain that I was around the globe; names are mentioned
paying some kind of price for matters with respect by fans; coders and artists
give thanks, credit and reward”
that arose during the Total Recall débâcle they hold in ill-deserved regard simply and is someone I am pleased to call a
and duly put Ocean behind me and because we filled some small part of friend.
moved on; never thinking for a second their youth with something good. For ‘I rubbed shoulders with some of
that I would be called on to speak of the most part we never sought anything the best people I have met in my career
under the Ocean flag. Remember what I these matters at length on numerous other than a job well done, we were paid including the late lamented Allan Shortt,
said earlier about me and master plans? occasions, both in public and here on the handsomely and gave little or no thought who hit me regularly and never failed to
Oh dear... written page. to the ripples our titles would cause when remind me on an almost daily basis, that
‘Come the New Year, Ocean was ‘I was exceptionally fortunate to have thrown into the world. I was a stupid Scouser.’
relocated to a spiffy new office, which worked at Ocean, not once but twice. ‘Ocean for me was Central Street, non
they started to fill with new talent – yet It was not the greatest company in the a small and slightly worse-for-wear

before my interview at Spectrum Games and Jon, unbeknown to me, had hit the
Paul Owens because the advert asked for a Spectrum button to get 50,000 tapes duplicated.
programmer. The interview with David Subsequently, I found a couple of bugs
Paul joined forces with Jon Woods in the very early Ward went OK, he asked
Spectrum Games days and went on to create some of me to work for Spectrum
Ocean’s classic early ZX Spectrum titles including Kong Games and then if I had
and Daley Thompson’s Decathlon. any games on the go. I told
him about the Frogger
clone I’d done on the
ZX81.’
P
aul Owens was a part of the few weeks. I couldn’t afford a Sinclair Paul converted Frogger
Ocean legacy for 13 years, ZX80 when it was launched, but when to the Spectrum. It was
starting in the early Spectrum the ZX81 came out I managed to buy released by Spectrum
Games days and staying past the one of those. I wrote a Frogger clone for Games as Road Frog and
Infogrames merger in 1997. He started it as well as Space Invaders – just for fun. sold well enough to give
with David Ward as Spectrum Games’ I wrote the games in machine code – and David confidence in the
only developer, based at David’s theatrical this was the time when I learned how the new emerging market. He
props agency in the Ralli Building in Z80 processor worked. then approached his friend
Manchester. ‘I answered an advert for ‘I purchased a ZX Spectrum the day Jon Woods and invited
the job and I believe I was the him to inject some money
only one to reply. I was doing into the business to help get that broke the game, which I Above: loading screen
and first level of Kong on
a degree in chemistry at the it off the ground. fixed. The tapes arrived at the
the ZX Spectrum.
time and thought I would get Paul started work on a Ralli Building and Jon pulled
six weeks’ worth of work during new game, with speed being me outside by the scruff of my
the summer break. I actually of the essence, unaware of neck, gave me a hammer, and Left: The original Donkey
Kong arcade game.
never went back to college the problems he was about told me to smash the tapes. A
full-time – writing games and to face. ‘Donkey Kong was hard lesson learned.’
The earliest advert doing a degree course was never the big arcade game at On the other hand, as
promoting the first
really on, and I wasn’t that keen the time, so I started to write Kong. But Paul recalls, he had reason enough to
four Spectrum Games
offerings, including on chemistry anyway, if I am David was convinced that the arcades be grateful to Jon Woods. ‘When I left
Paul’s Frogger clone, perfectly honest. were a temporary fad and wouldn’t last college abruptly to join Ocean, I had
Road Frog.
‘There were Commodore very long, so I was given only four weeks an overdraft of £850 at the bank that
Pets at university which we used to produce the game. I came up with they started to chase. Jon learned of this
for some of the course work, and the best I could in that time. They just and went into the bank to pay it off for
I also remember there being a wanted to get the game onto the shelves me – he did this without me knowing.’
Tandy TRS-80. I wrote Space as quickly as possible – no one was However, in respect of another financial
Invaders for that machine in my really worrying about quality back then. arrangement, Paul came off less well.
spare time over the course of a I remember when the game was done ‘Kong went out and sold well, so Jon

asked me if I wanted some money for the that was a piss-take, since Kong did Thompson’s Decathlon and programmed
game or shares in the company. Like an take a long time to load. David had at it on the Spectrum, while Dave Collier
idiot, I took the £5,000 offered to fund that time gone to a local market when did the Commodore 64 version. Chris
my smoking habit and buy a Ford Escort. being interviewed as part of the BBC Urquhart had joined Ocean at that time
Not one of my best decisions.’ documentary Commercial Breaks [1984, and he helped out with the menu and
With the success of its early games, the story of Imagine’s demise and the crowd cheering animation. Because
Ocean’s success] and was shocked to see having curves on the Spectrum wasn’t
‘‘I was asked if we could come up with so many counterfeit Ocean games for easy, I had to invent something to show
sale. I had to come up with a solution the pole-vault bending. I spent a lot of
a game around him [Daley]. It seemed
fast. so I developed a new secure tape time getting the key presses just right –
logical to use Track and Field as the loader with the help of a sound engineer we noticed younger people could press
template.” working at Ablex, our duplicator. It the keys really quickly and older players
actually took the hackers till the mid- less so. The intention was never for the
the company had to find bigger premises. 1990s before they cracked it.’ game to be used with a joystick – you Above: loading screen
and long jump, shot putt
‘We moved out of the Ralli Building and As the Ocean brand became known, can get much better times in the events
and high jump events
into the Quaker meeting house and I the press labelled many of the young using the keys because of the way it is from Daley Thompson’s
started work on Hunchback . stars at the company ‘whiz kids’. As Paul programmed. Decathlon on the
Spectrum.
‘I was not very good at producing goes on to say, ‘We weren’t. We were paid ‘We started to hear that joysticks
sound from the Spectrum so I studied well but none of us really believed the were being broken – Jon Woods laughed Left: The 100m sprint
event from the Track and
Matthew Smith’s Manic Miner to see hype. I remember signing autographs at when he said we should have got shares
Field arcade game.
how he’d done it. I used some of the events and thought nothing of it – all in Kempston.
tricks I learned in my subsequent games. we wanted to do was go to the pub. ‘Daley Thompson came to the office
I also developed routines which called The Imagine guys, on the other hand, to see the progress on the game. We had
data from the stack quickly to the screen. started to believe their own hype, which I to ask what colour he would like to be played the role of development manager,
They were hard to use, but Jonathan believe, was the start of their downfall.’ on the Spectrum – the option was bright certainly on Z80-based development.
Smith took the routines I wrote and In spite of David Ward’s concerns over red or white due to the limitations of the ‘I kept my eye on the other games in
Crash Issue 2 celebrated improved them. Without these routines, short-lived arcades, their popularity only machine. I showed him the Daley sprite development. I had a knack of spotting
the release of Kong on
the scrolling games we did later on would increased during the early 1980s, and the in both colours and he chose white. when developers were struggling. I was a
the Spectrum by an
Oliver Frey illustration. not have been possible. influence of new games was apparent at ‘I helped Chris Urquhart out a little bit miffed when Gary joined us, if I am
‘I also had a hand in the tape Ocean. ‘Dave Collier used to work for an on Cavelon next. This was the first big honest. He’s a great guy but not technical
security used in the early Ocean titles. arcade machine company in Wigan, so we title Chris worked on pretty much by – Jon and David thought that was an
I remember going into WH Smith used to pop over to see what new games himself. I believe the code which plays advantage. Gary was a natural with
and seeing Kong Loading, Please Wait were out. Track and Field was big at the the continuous tune in the game is what people, though, and perhaps at the time
on a TV screen linked to a Spectrum time and with Daley Thompson going I developed on Daley’s. The Commodore I didn’t get on with people as well as he
– complete with flashing borders. I to the Olympics that year, I was asked if version of Cavelon was done first in this did. About the same time Gary started,
thought it was weird, so I investigated we could come up with a game around case and the Spectrum version replicated Richard Kay and Mike Webb split from
and discovered that some kid had used him. It seemed logical to use Track and from it.’ Ocean to create Software Creations.
a POKE to create the effect. I guess Field as the template. I designed Daley Before Gary Bracey arrived, Paul They asked me to go with them but

We did half of the ten events each. You ‘I then finished off Wizball, with left behind their ghosts. ‘The Central
can tell which ones Joffa programmed Mark Jones Jnr because the in-house Street Quaker building had a reputation
because they had better graphics! developer converting Sensible Software’s for being haunted. We used to hear the
‘I was then given three weeks to write Commodore 64 version to the Spectrum
a Mr Wimpy game, thanks to a promise left suddenly. Gryzor then followed,
made to the Wimpy management by Jon. with Mark doing the graphics again.
They wanted the game to appear at the The limitations of the Spectrum meant
opening of a new store in Manchester. I couldn’t use all the graphics Mark
There was an arcade game called Burger created. The games were both well
Time, so it was an ideal template. With received by the press, though, and both
no time to complete the development, I got great reviews.
made the final level impossible to finish ‘I don’t really recall working on
so no-one got past that point. When we Dragon Ninja, even though my name is
turned up at the store Bill Barna was on the title loading screen, so I must have
dressed up as Mr. Wimpy. done something.
‘Each incarnation of Street Hawk ‘I confess that some of the games I
to date had failed. Since Jon had paid worked on were buggy, and I knew many tap-tap-tap of keyboards from a room, Screens from the second
release in 1986 of Street
a lot of money for the licence, he asked went out with the bugs in them. I recall but when we went to talk to whoever was
Hawk on the Spectrum.
me what I could do with it. I have never the lettering “BTF” being put in the in there, it was empty. I suspect it was all
admitted to working on it until now – I game and knowing it meant something foolhardy stuff by the other guys.’
had four weeks to get the game done and to do with the quality. Looking at In the 1990s, Paul also moved – into
out, so with that kind of pressure you screens now online, I’m reminded of an the production department.
tended to write stuff you were not proud argument with Bill Harbison about this ‘I helped set up the testing
of, just to get the game on the shelves. animation of a guy with claws coming department properly and thereafter I
‘We were never given time to out of the screen – Bill wanted more up was producer on all the Nintendo-based
The letter Paul received my girlfriend was pregnant, so I felt I ensure the playability was there. and down movement. I was, like no, it’s games. I sat down with the designer,
from Sir Clive Sinclair
couldn’t leave a secure job.’ ‘I then produced Short Circuit and going to stay as it is. I was probably quite talked through the game and how it
in recognition of Paul’s
de-bugging of the Paul took some time off from wanted it to be an adventure game. Gary snotty to work with back then.’ should work, and then managed it
Sinclair Spectrum 128K working on games to build a Spectrum didn’t agree with this approach and so we When Ocean moved to the new through to completion. I don’t really
computer – codename
development environment. compromised. I did two games for Short Castlefield premises, the programmers remember what I did in the latter years,
‘Derby’.
‘We used Einstein computers as Circuit which went out on the tape. The probably not very much. I had written
the host system and I developed an arcade version was a side-scroller, where game after game after game. A very young Paul
Owens congratulating a
assembler application with which to you just jumped over things. It wasn’t that ‘I think I just got burned out.’
competition winner at a
build the games.’ And working within good. The adventure game I so longed non games show.
his new environment, Paul went back to to do was, I thought, really good, and is
the whirlwind of programming. ‘Daley what I am more proud of. We had a lot
Thompson’s Supertest was the next game I of interest from gamers ringing up and
worked on with Jonathan “Joffa” Smith. asking questions on how to complete it.

a murky-dark winter’s day. The Elite passengers were smoking, which made
Mark Jones Jnr offices were bare and empty – it was me feel queasy. I was suffering with first-
a depressing day, and I decided very day nerves. I felt sick. I got off the bus
Mark joined Ocean in 1987 and created loading screens quickly I did not want to work there. 20 minutes before the office stop to save
for a number of games then in production. Northampton and Walsall are not so myself from being ill. I was going to be
He progressed to producing graphics for the acclaimed far apart, but Mark had never been as far late on my first day.’
Spectrum games Gryzor and Wizball, and in his spare away from home as Manchester, so the But Mark was about to meet
time ‘composed’ the soundtrack for Arkanoid. young teenager took back-up with him. the relaxed nature of the Ocean
‘My mum came with me to the interview. environment. ‘As it was, when I arrived,
We caught a train to Manchester, found still feeling sick and expecting a telling
fascinated by graphics on his Spectrum the Ocean office in Central Street, and off, no one at Ocean questioned my
W
hile at school, Mark used and started to experiment. ‘In my I had the interview with Gary Bracey lateness. I went downstairs to see Gary,
to visit a local computer spare time I produced graphics on the with my mum sitting next to me. who duly introduced me to where I
shop in his home town Spectrum – copying images from comics, Originally I had not thought of moving was going to be sitting, and asked Lee
of Northampton where over time he the monsters from Trap Door [a British to Manchester – the idea was to work
got to know the staff and the owner animated television series] and such, and from home. Gary insisted I had to move
‘‘On my f irst day at Ocean I produced a
extremely well. ‘I used to buy games from putting them onto a loading screen just to Manchester if I was to take the job.
the shop in town for my ZX Spectrum to see if I could do it. I took the work I’d As it was Ocean, and they were offering rubbish-loading screen of two children
and found myself spending most of each done to the shop one Saturday, and those me £120 a week, I could not refuse. Time talking to a stranger in a car.”
Saturday afternoon there watching and I showed what I’d created were gob- would show, though, that after tax £90 a
smacked. They said I should try and get a week didn’t go very far. Cowley to sort me out with a computer. ‘Once my parents had
left I felt alone – my
job doing it. ‘I started at Ocean in February. Gary I remember thinking – what now?’
Crash magazines kept
‘So I put all the screens on a tape put me up in a hotel while I looked for Mark was not enamoured with his me company.’
and sent it along with a letter in somewhere to live. The night before, first assignment. ‘I was given a loading Cartoon by Simon Butler.
October 1986 to all the software houses my parents drove me up and dropped screen for Say No To Strangers. On my
which advertised the games I liked in me off at the hotel. All I had was some first day at Ocean I produced a rubbish-
Crash magazine. I didn’t appreciate clothes and a bunch of my beloved Crash loading screen of two children talking to
at the time that the likes of Piranha magazines. Once my parents had left I a stranger in a car to be used by Thetford
and Mastertronic only published and felt alone – my Crash magazines kept me Crime Prevention Panel. I never saw the
distributed games and did not have in- company and without them I may have game until 25-years later, and it was not
house development teams – they all got just rang my parents to come and save too good. I did the loading screen, and it
the tape though.’ me and take me home. was “thank you”, and that was it.’
Mark did hear from Elite and ‘Monday morning came. Breakfast The technical staff worked in the
Mark’s first task at playing games. When I left school, the Ocean just before Christmas and both was included at the hotel, so I pretty basement, originally the Quaker meeting
Ocean, creating a
shop needed staff, so I worked there each companies asked him to visit their offices much ate everything. I got on a bus to house’s cellar, and at the rear beside it
loading screen for
promotional title Say Saturday and got paid for it – I was 16 at to attend interviews. These took place in get to Central Street from the hotel – I a car park covered the Quaker burial
No To Strangers on the the time.’ January 1987. remember having to go upstairs because ground, behind Steve Lavache’s office.
Spectrum.
At home Mark was becoming ‘I went first to Elite in Walsall, on the lower deck was full and up there The upper two floors had no internal

connection to the basement. ‘We had through. When filming with Keith the Odyssey 7 comic shop close
to use a side door,’ Mark remembers. Chegwin, they had to re-do many of the by to the office. Simon Butler
‘If you worked upstairs you went in the takes due to the loud booming of the used to buy Fangoria and cut
door slamming. out the grossest pictures and put
‘Once you were in the them up on his “horror wall”.
basement there was a smell ‘On my second day I was
of mainly coffee and cigarette asked to improve the look of the
smoke (smoking was allowed in main character, and produce a
the office space back then). To loading screen, for Mag Max, a
the left was a small kitchen and conversion of an arcade game
to the right was Gary Bracey’s we had in the office. I’d seen
enclosed office. the game advertised and was
‘I sat half-way between thinking I had to do a good
what was known as Arcade job to prove to the others I was
Alley, where all the arcade capable. I was also given the
machines lived, and Martin Amstrad version of the loading
Using 16 colours, Mark side door and up a few flights of stairs Galway’s room. The game testers sat screen to do as well – so 16 colours and disappeared. Paul Owens then took on Loading screen and
created the Amstrad work in progress and
to the reception, where there was a close by where they would test games in using software I’d never used before. I the programmer role and rescued the
loading screen of Mag mock-up screens
Max. Perspex Ocean sign, a receptionist and production and also test the games that believe I did a good job. game. I was expecting bad reviews, as produced by Mark for
a palm tree, and the management. If customers had sent back with problems.’ ‘After Mag Max, I was shown a demo far as I was concerned the game was the Spectrum Wizball.
you worked downstairs, you typed in a The basement was a noisy place to of Wizball on the Commodore 64 and not finished and a lot of my graphics
security number which unlocked a huge work. ‘The noise of arcade machines I was asked to do the Spectrum version were not used. To my surprise, Wizball
door. Once that opened you went down playing their tunes on attract mode; with a programming guy called Steve got fantastic reviews in all the gaming And his design for the
Ocean’s Arcade Alley, ten steps or so. The door then slammed Martin and Jonathan’s work in progress Watson. The initial demo was basic – magazines.’ Wizard’s Lair.
pictured in 1988. shut with a huge bang after you’d gone music coming out of their office; the the Sensible Software guys
sounds of games loading by tape for the would send a more advanced
testers; the phones ringing; the door to demo each week, from which
the basement continually slamming with I copied the graphics. On
people going back and forth; the chatter occasions the Sensible guys
of the programmers and artists as they visited with their big hair
worked on their games. and unique joss-stick smell.
‘If you were on a roll and had stuff to I remember after working
finish, we put on our headphones to focus on the game for a week I
on what we were doing. If you had your had to do mock-up screens
headphones on, you were telling others for Sinclair User. During the
you did not want to be disturbed. During development, weeks passed
breaks people would wander about and with the game making little
check out what others were doing or visit progress, and then Steve

Ocean paid Melbourne House a chunk that good. I was annoyed with the end
of money. result because it could have looked and
Melbourne House’s ‘I started work on Athena – there played a lot better.
Spectrum utilityWham!
was no programmer, but I started doing ‘Ronnie Fowles was doing Arkanoid
The Music Box – Mark
used it to produce the mock-ups. Ivan Horn and Andrew 2 and he asked me if I wanted to do the
Arkanoid soundtrack. Deakin took on that project in the end loading screen because I hadn’t much
and my stuff was not used. I then worked to do. That was soon followed by the
Before he started on Wizball, in on the Spectrum version of Gryzor with loading screen for Mutants.’
his lonely hotel room Mark turned to Paul Owens and we promised Crash Ocean wanted a follow up to Green
another enthusiasm – one which landed magazine a demo. However, it didn’t Beret, which was to be an original game,
him in hot water. ‘I used Wham! the Music get produced on time by Paul, so a so Gary Bracey asked Simon Butler to
Box by Melbourne House in the evenings demo of Athena was provided to Crash design it. ‘We were not allowed to use put “BTF” on many of the lorries in The loading screen of
Gryzor on the Spectrum
to produce an Arkanoid tune. The tune to use instead. When Gryzor came the Green Beret 2 tag in the end – the the game, which only a select few of us
and in-game work in
was introduced into the game. I had out it was universally acclaimed in all game was re-badged Vindicator. I made graphics guys knew what the acronym progress graphics.
no idea that a licence from Melbourne the magazines apart from Crash – the all the in-game graphics except a status stood for…
House was needed to use their software. guys at Crash criticised the game from panel which Bill Harbison created when ‘I then found myself in another phase
After Arkanoid’s release Gary Bracey every conceivable angle – especially the I was on holiday. The game got fairly of having nothing to do. Eventually, I
asked me if I did the music, and did I use graphics. Again I produced graphics that good reviews. After my holiday, I helped was allocated to Rambo 3 and I had to
the Wham! the Music Box? I subsequently were never used, or never used properly, out with Dragon Ninja, which didn’t go to the cinema to watch the film on
got a massive telling off by Gary, and and the scrolling in the game was not look very good and got bad reviews. I my own – the rest of the team watched it
the week before while I was on another
holiday.’
Mark worked on the Atari ST and
Amiga versions of Rambo 3, and found
the project quite tiresome. After just over
Loading screens from two years at Ocean, Mark decided to
some of the games
leave Ocean. ‘I’d just had enough of being Mark Jones ‘Junior’,
worked on by Mark
Salford 1990 (screen
on the ZX Spectrum: moved from project to project without
grab from an out-of-
Arkanoid Revenge of getting anywhere, and the amount of hours experimental
Doh, Mutants, Mag Max
times I had to go to work with nothing avant garde art nouveau
and Dragon Ninja.
stop-motion Ocean film),
to do. But I will always regret leaving
and sitting at his desk
Ocean when I did. I should have stuck it in the Central Street
out for a few more years at least.’ dungeon chatting with
Keith Chegwin on the
non
merits of games design
and earning lots of dosh
as a teenager.

to depict regions like sky and ground). and Hunchback. When I joined Ocean I
Tony Pomfret ‘Dave was extremely interested in really couldn’t believe I’d been given a job
my demo and a short time later he came doing what I loved. I thought, “Wow, is
Tony joined Ocean in 1984, skilled in 6502 back with the offer of a job to work this really happening and am I actually a
programming on the Commodore 64. Over his four- on a game that would benefit from my part of it?” I joined the Daley Thompson’s
year period at Ocean he was the coder behind many C64 6502 programming skills. It was Daley Decathlon team initially and reported to
high-profile titles including Daley Thompsons’ Decathlon Thompson’s Decathlon and it was the game Dave Collier. The team was located just
and Mikie. that changed my life.’ off the central corridor along with lots of
Working at Summlock gave Tony other little offices. At the time the main
access to each and every new game internal game in development was Daley’s
T
ony joined Ocean at the computer market had really started, release. ‘I knew of nearly every title of the and some of the late versions of the
age of 18 and stayed with and it cost a bloody fortune at the time as I sold them to an ever-increasing original Hunchback.
the company for four years. time and offered little less than 8Kb of number of customers. Ocean titles ‘It was incredible working for the
Prior to that he worked at Summlock usable memory, and a rather slow 6502 seemed to appear out of nowhere and company. We were all so young and
Screens from
Electric Services – his father’s shop processor at its heart. Learning how this sold by the bucket load – my first Ocean enthusiastic, and the magic just seemed Hunchback II on the
in Manchester’s Deansgate – selling computer ticked ultimately led me on to experience was that of Chinese Juggler to propagate like wildfire. Ocean was Commodore 64.
computers and software. ‘I was very good employment by Ocean.’

at the shop because of my enthusiasm for One early summer day in 1984, a
The cassette inlay for the home computers of the time, and in group of customers walked into the
the C64 version of Daley
particular because I was like every other shop and he got talking to one of them.
Thompson’s Decathlon.
1980s teenager: totally infatuated with ‘The chap seemed to have the passion
playing games. and understanding for games that I had
The C64 100m and
Javelin events with ‘I was given a Commodore PET at – he said his name was Dave Collier,
loading and intro screen. a pretty early age, way before the home and unbeknown to me he was a lead
Commodore 64 programmer at
Ocean, who I later found out were
located within shouting distance
of the shop. After a good long
chat with Dave, I got to show off
something I was working on, on
the Commodore 64. It was a very
colourful game involving a helicopter
and an Australian bush fire, with
lots of smooth side-scrolling action
and some pretty clever raster
programming (the ability to split the
C64 screen into scrolling and non-
scrolling areas, with colour changes

a creative madhouse, with some of the Decathlon I was part of a three-man team was just a fun arcade conversion of a ‘Jonathan “Joffa” Smith was a very
most talented, youngest game creators comprised of Dave Collier, Bill Barna great Konami classic. I actually finished rare type of games creator. He was a
that the new industry had seen. We all and myself. I programmed the long- this game after being sacked from Ocean brilliant graphic artist and a programmer,
knew what we were doing and for 90 jump, triple-jump, high-jump and the for some flippant comment I think I which was unheard of at the time. We
percent of the time it was without any very limited front-end plus lots of raster made to Dave Collier. I handed the worked together at multiple companies
real management guidance, other than work involving screen splits and sprite completed game over to Gary Bracey for the next twenty or so years. I still miss
the lure of a tempting game completion multiplexing. At this time there was no without any reward, I didn’t care I just the little loopy “Widnesian”.
Firefly, coded by Tony bonus. concept of a graphic artist, so all the wanted to see the game published.’ ‘Mike Webb was another rare type
and Jonathan Smith was
‘I remember Richard Kay being a real graphics where done by myself and Dave, Tony was in awe of some of his of programmer because he was platform
released in 1988. Above
is the colourful advert laugh. He was getting close to finishing including the advertising hoardings. The colleagues, and singles out
for the game. Hunchback on the then-unreleased game borrowed a heavy influence from Martin Galway, Jonathan
Amstrad CPC, but he hated the the very popular Konami Track and Field Smith and Mike Webb as
machine. As he finished assembling the arcade game. It sold a ridiculous number his heroes.
code for the last time he “accidentally” of copies, was given the accolade of first- ‘Martin was the most
dragged the computer off his desk and ever joystick destroyer and, ironically, creative and productive
crashed it to the floor – I don’t know if won the Golden Joystick Award, 1984. audio programmer of the
it ever worked again… and this was a ‘Hunchback II was Bill Barna and 1980s, and also a great
prototype Amstrad.’ myself. This was an original concept character with a rather
Tony was taken on by Ocean for designed by Bill and me, and was dark sense of humour.
The inlay for the rather his 6502 programming abilities, and he probably the first game to involve one Martin had a touch of
rushed Roland’s Rat
worked on a list of titles for his beloved of the newfangled graphic artists for the OCD, everything had
Race on the C64.
Commodore 64. main character design and animation. a place and a place for
Tony reflects on some of the more ‘Jonathan Smith and I programmed everything; his office had a
Tony and David Collier
demonstrating their
memorable games with which he Firefly with graphics by Jonathan and large glass wall (a bit like a
muscle power. was involved. ‘With Daley Thompson’s Karen Davies. This game was developed modern recording studio)
by the newly formed Special FX studio facing into the Ocean dungeon corridor. agnostic: he could code on any platform Tony coded the arcade
conversion of Mikie for
set up by ex-Ocean sales manager Paul This office was far too organised, so as and code very well, plus he had a knack
the C64.
Finnegan, Jonathan “Joffa” Smith and a little practical joke Jonathan Smith for reverse-engineering computer
myself. Ocean later absorbed Special FX. and I decided to turn it upside down, hardware.’
‘Roland’s Rat Race was a real rush which even included tampering with This would help the Manchester
job, about one month in development the light switches, clothes hooks and games industry a great deal in the
from start to finish, and written in Dave computers. The wait for Martin to future with the advent of machines
Collier’s back bedroom to avoid the travel come in the following morning was like the Nintendo NES because Mike
time to Manchester. Dave lived very close torturous. As he observed the chaos of reversed–engineered it, and which later
to me, so this was a bonus. his office he attempted to hang his jacket led to a pioneering little company named
‘I programmed Mikie, with graphics on the inverted hook for it to only slip Software Creations.
produced by Steve Wahid and sound by unceremoniously to a crumpled pile on non
Martin Galway. I loved this game – it the floor.

Brian Beuken
Brian was contracted by Ocean to convert the arcade
game Yie Ar Kung-Fu to the 8-bit systems. The Screens from the
Commodore 64 version proved a little too challenging Amstrad CPC version of
Yie Ar Kung-Fu.
and an off-the-cuff remark soon ended his working
relationship with the company.
Spectrum versions of the game proved
straightforward, but progress on the
B
rian joined the gaming Commodore 64 versions of Konami’s big Commodore 64 version was a struggle.
industry back in the days of the 1985 coin-op, Yie Ar Kung-Fu. ‘Now at ‘The programmer I hired was
Sinclair ZX81. When the next that time I wasn’t really a coder, I’d done good but this was in the days before
generation of computers came along some work on the Texas Instruments multiplexing sprites, which Yie Ar Kung-
he started a small company in Scotland TI99/4a and basic on the Amstrad but Fu needed. We came up with an idea
developing games for the Amstrad CPC. was not at that point a competent Z80 on how to multiplex, but no matter how ‘Not long after that Colin Stokes
He sold the games in the local coder. they tried the C64 developers could asked me to come down to meet him
computer shops and via adverts ‘I had my coder friend with me, and I not get it implemented. This is when and Jon Woods about some further work.
in the back of Computer & Video was learning fast, so we said yes we would I first met Colin Stokes who came up I thought it was another contract and
Games magazine. take the contract. Even so, we didn’t have to Scotland to visit us and check on popped down for what turned out to
‘This was just at the point the resources to do three projects, so I progress. He was impressed with the be a job interview – something which
when people stopped buying placed adverts for Commodore 64 coders Amstrad and Spectrum versions of surprised but intrigued me. As my other
games from ads in the back of in the local papers and quickly employed course, but was worried, as was I, that the attempts at contracting hadn’t gone very
C&VG. Unable to sell enough three guys to help, two local and one in Commodore 64 was going down a dead well, the job offer was tempting. I was
to make a living, I decided to Edinburgh. end. Colin reported back to the Ocean broke and needed work. But I think I
try and get some contract work ‘The Amstrad and Spectrum management and it was duly decided to over-priced myself on salary.
and put out a few phone calls versions were done by a couple of young stop the Commodore 64 version and pass ‘It was decided I would do the
to people. I managed to hook programmers who were really great coders it over to someone in-house at Ocean.’ Spectrum 128K version of Yie Ar Kung-
The C64 version of up with a chap in England who was but both of them struggled with the sprite David Collier progressed with the Fu as a trial and port the original 48K
Yie Ar Kung-Fu was
talking to Ocean about some projects. systems for different reasons. By this time Commodore 64 version of Yie Ar Kung- Spectrum version to the new machine. I
eventually completed
in-house at Ocean by He arranged a meeting with David Ward I was becoming quite good at coding, so Fu while Brian and his team continued had family in the area so I came down to
David Collier. and then invited a coder friend I was I came up with two different methods with the other two platforms. live in Manchester. The game took about
working with and I to drive down to of storing and drawing the sprites. I was ‘We proceeded to finish the Amstrad four to five months to write, though.
Manchester for a meeting.’ especially proud of the Amstrad code. I and Spectrum versions and delivered I was still learning and the original
The meeting evidently went well did all the graphics too, by stop/starting them to pretty good feedback, though I Spectrum code was not in an easy format
and soon after Brian got a call to tell a videotape of the arcade game and did make a small cock-up when detailing to transfer to Ocean’s development
him he had the contract to produce doing my best to copy pixel by pixel.’ the controls for the Spectrum so the systems – I had to rewrite it from scratch.
the Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Development of the Amstrad and information on the inlay was wrong. Just as I was finishing the game, Sinclair

sold out to Amstrad and the project’s full employment I was fully entitled to.
future became doubtful.’ I didn’t get either. I got a right telling
As indeed did Brian’s immediate off about the “Bwana” remark and was
future. ‘The end of my relationship with told to go home. I was somewhat shell-
Ocean came as the result of a smart shocked.
remark to Mr Stokes which I thought ‘I gathered my thoughts when I
was rather harmless. I was hovering got home and decided to try to get
around in Jonathan Smith’s room for back, but Gary Bracey made it clear I’d
burned my bridges. I looked for
a job elsewhere in Manchester
and ended up at Icon Design
where – ironically – I worked on
another Ocean project a few years
later. Rastan Saga still gives me
nightmares due to its size and
complexity and the fact I was
working on two other projects at
the same time but wasn’t allowed
to let Ocean know this.’
In spite of the unexpected
setback over a relatively petty
matter, Brian retains fond
memories of his brief stint in
Screens from the some reason while he was play-testing 1985 at Britain’s biggest games software
Spectrum 128K version
one of his games. At some point Colin house.
of Yie Ar Kung-Fu.
noticed me and asked had I no work to ‘I loved Ocean back then. It was
do. Being 19 and quite a smartarse – and small and the development staff were
of course thinking I was Colin’s best amazingly talented and funny. I was very
mate – I said something like “On me way, young, just 19 at the time and had never
Bwana”. As I left the room it seems all really been away from my little village
hell broke loose and Colin started ranting in Scotland, so Manchester and all its
and raving about the “Bwana” comment. temptations with a group of hardened
I was oblivious though. I just thought he drinkers and party people was quite a
was angry about the game or something. thrill for me. Also I learned so much
‘A week or two later my project was from working with Jonathan “Joffa”
finished and I was called to Colin’s Smith and Mike Webb who were giants
office fully expecting a pat on the back of coding in my eyes.’
for a job well done and the offer of the non

came at the head of an impressive list,
Ivan Davies not that all were sure-fire hits. ‘For Red
Heat on the Commodore 64, I was
Ivan started working as an artist on titles for Ocean the artist and Robbie Tinman was the
in 1989 through Special FX – a company started by programmer. Andy Rixon started the
former-sales director Paul Finnegan. A chain of events game but he went on to do the 16-bit
then led to Ivan working in-house at Ocean, concluding version, so I came on to finish it off –
in him producing a number of titles developed by DID. the first game I had worked on in the
gaming industry. Joffa had read the script
of the movie and came up with a design
I
van stumbled, literally, into the was contractually bound to give Ocean of sorts – a side-scrolling game where the
games industry when he abandoned first refusal on all their products. main character punched people. We were conversion. They were easier to do Special FX designed
RoboCop 2 for the PC.
ambitions to become an architect – ‘We used to go to Manchester under pressure to get the thing out in line because we got the arcade machine in
he had completed a foundation course regularly and show the Ocean guys with the release of the movie. a silver briefcase. We couldn’t freeze or
and realized it was not for him. ‘I updates on the games I was working ‘Cabal came next – an arcade jump to levels, so we had to play through
went for an interview at Special FX in on and they provided us with technical the game continuously, again and again,
Liverpool, all suited up with a portfolio support if we ever needed it. The main to see what we had to replicate on the
of work I had put together in college on point of contact was Gary Bracey, but 8-bit machines.
a souped-up 32-bit graphics station. I we did work with Tim Welch as well in ‘Midnight Resistance followed on
thought the interview would be a breeze QA. There were 15 of us at Special FX, the Commodore 64 – another arcade
– I didn’t realise Special FX was a video and all the games we produced went out conversion on which I was the artist.
games company before walking into under the Ocean label.’ Special FX was given the PC version of
that interview room, so I asked where His first Special FX game for Ocean RoboCop 2 because Ocean did not have
the drawing board was. What must they the capacity in Manchester to do it. Steve
have thought of me? I started talking to Cain and Joffa were the designers – it
Paul Finnegan, who was interviewing was such a rush job that all five artists
me, about football and my fortunes at Special FX worked on it. I did the
started to turn since he’s a big football menus; others did the objects, hi-score Midnight Resistance –
produced by Special FX
fan [Everton]. He asked me to stay for table and main graphics.
and released by Ocean
a month at Special FX to see if I would ‘With Hudson Hawk Charles Davies in 1990.
like it and that was it. Twenty-four years worked with Joffa on the game design
Red Heat – produced later I am still in the industry, thanks to the day after a booze-up so he was all
by Special FX and
Paul.’ hung over. That’s why you have nuns on
published by Ocean in
1989. Ivan started at Special FX in January roller skates and little sausage dogs. Let’s
1989 at the age of 20. The company face it, the script for the Hudson Hawk
was run and owned by ex-Ocean sales movie did not lend itself to a game. We
director Paul Finnegan and programmer had been playing New Zealand Story in
Jonathan “Joffa” Smith, but Special FX the office and were big into platform

games, which is why the game became become a part of Rage, Paul Finnegan’s
so bizarre… and a platform game. The new company, which rose from the
reviews weren’t that bad – I’m not sure if Special FX ashes.’
Ocean made any money out of it though, Ivan says he never felt a part of the
even so it was a nice game to work on.’ Ocean scene while he was at Special
It is said that all good things come
to an end – just before Christmas 1991,
The magazine advert for Ocean decided to end the relationship
lacklustre Hudson Hawk
with Special FX. Version 2 with DID – a similar set-up DID’s EF2000 – Ivan’s
and screens from the first venture into
C64 version, published ‘Paul came back from Manchester to Special FX in that they developed
games production –
in 1991. and told us Ocean was closing us down. games and Infogrames published them. I received warm praise
A number of the Special FX team learned a lot about games development in for the PC graphics,
and Version 2 for the
continued to visit the office in the Albert the production department during those
improved gameplay. The
Docks – Robbie Tinman and myself informative years. packaging, below, was
were working on The Legend of Prince ‘Ocean morphed into Infogrames, very stylish too.
Valiant in 1992, a cartoon licence, for the but we kept up the Ocean mentality.
NES. It was important for Ocean to get Infogrames had no idea how we got Left: Ivan was lead artist
on Zoiks, a game which
a completed game, so Gary Bracey hired games out on time and consistently got
looked fantastic but
us with the promise of a completion Working on Zoiks, Ivan was notorious review scores of over 85%. We had to lacked design. It was
bonus. With a mortgage to for visiting the pub for lunch on a Friday go over to Lyon to teach their producers never released.
pay I couldn’t afford to be out and having two or three pints, perhaps how to make games. I stayed at Ocean/
to get over the stress of the game. ‘I used Infogrames until 2002 – and became
to get back to the office and just fall senior producer during that time.’
asleep under the desk. Gary would come non
looking for me and someone said I was
FX. ‘I was never invited to the parties or fixing the plug under the desk. I was just
out with guys of an evening. It was only fast asleep.’
after Prince Valiant was finished and I’d On the other hand, the problems
worked on a couple more titles did I feel he encountered had a silver lining. ‘I
of work, so I accepted and accepted as part of the Ocean company. remember talking to Jon Oldham and
The Legend of Prince travelled back and forth to Manchester I worked on Jurassic Park, Lethal Weapon complaining that the designer was not
Valiant NES cartridge
from Liverpool over a six-month period and The Shadow. In February 1996 I listening to me – he told me I needed
box and game screen.
until the game was done. Ocean then was promoted to lead artist and took on to become a producer, a person who was
asked me to work on more titles, and a cartoon licensed PC title called Zoiks, in charge of the whole process. This
that’s when I became a full-time Ocean which is the worst game I ever worked sounded like a good idea, so during the
employee. If it wasn’t for Prince Valiant on: two-dimensional Hanna Barbera Zoiks development I went to work with
I would have most likely stayed till the cartoon graphics that looked very nice, John. My first titles as a producer were
dying moments at Special FX and then but the game design was rubbish.’ F22 Air Dominance Fighter and EF2000

to Frank Parkinson initially, then later Evans musician, and
Lee Clare Jon Oldham. We were involved in testing Sam Evans was the
the quality of games, and compared scriptwriter.
Lee joined Ocean in 1994 as part of the Quality Assurance to other jobs I’d had the atmosphere ‘Warren Lancashire
team and soon became an integral part of the well-oiled game was brilliant. I especially liked “going – the original designer
assembly line. The list of games that Lee tested within QA is upstairs” and meeting the internal of Silver – departed (I
endless – experience that put him in good stead for the position development teams who were so friendly believe there was some
of producer later on in his career at Ocean. and welcoming. Ocean had grown in size disagreement), so we
and in comparison to the earlier “golden were left with a project and no designer Silver was touted in
the gaming press as
years” it had become much more of a before the alpha stage. The design had
L
Europe’s answer to Final
ee Clare was 24 when he joined Asking Lee which of Ocean’s huge commercial operation. To support this a lot of meat on its bones, and Sam Fantasy VII – it never
Ocean’s Quality Assurance output by that time he was aware of growth, the QA department had grown provided a lot of support to get the game quite lived up to the
hype.
team. Over the next five years results in a short answer: ‘Which games? from a modest five-man team to over 25 finished, with everybody else kind of
he assumed many roles, from the Ocean All of them – I knew all of Ocean’s when I was there.’ filling the gaps where the design was still
Helpline through to associate producer output. I followed them that keenly.’ The list of games Lee handled is unclear.’
and producer in 1999. An enthusiasm he extends to those he impressively long, though some stand By the end of the 1990s, pre-publicity
‘I was in my first year of university, worked with. ‘I was aware of Jonathan out more than others. ‘In QA I worked in the video-games magazines for a
doing an HND course in software Dunn, Martin Galway, Dave Collier, on Jurassic Park, Addams Family Values, major release had become essential,
engineering, and by that time I’d applied Tony Pomfret, Paul Hughes, Allan Jurassic Park 2, Inferno, TFX, EF 2000, but Lee was uneasy about his project’s
Shortt, Dave Ward, and Jon Woods. Mighty Max… I could literally could go prospects… and there were internal
‘‘I was f inally a part of the one company These were almost like famous people on and on. My first as a producer, though,
to me – especially Jonathan Dunn and was Silver, and by that point Ocean had
I always wanted to work for, the great Martin Galway. I was finally a part of become Infogrames.
Ocean Software.” the one company I always wanted to ‘Silver had been running for about
work for, the great Ocean Software. I 12 months. I was brought on to finish
to Ocean for a job position at least was proud; my first impressions were it a few months pre-alpha [the internal
three times. Before university, I was an exceeded. I used to go in and out of testing phase; beta is testing undertaken
unemployed Commodore 64 demo coder the development rooms and meet the by a selection of the customer base]. I
and founding member of the Manchester guys and would be in awe – it felt like believe I was chosen for Silver because
Commodore 64 demo group. For me as a I was finally part of the Ocean family. I I was really enthusiastic about that
local boy, Ocean was the Mecca of video absolutely loved it.’ particular title. It showed a lot of promise
Loading screen from game development and I’d wanted to During his first year, Lee found and I was very vocal in defending the doubts as well. ‘Silver had been ticking In-game screen of
Jurassic Park – a title Inferno, produced by DID
work there since 1986 – it was everything himself working alongside some iconic game whenever we did code reviews along for quite some time and confidence
that went through and published by Ocean
quality assurance when to me.’ names of the time. ‘Being in Quality with senior management at Infogrames. was low about the concept. A lot of time in 1994.
Lee was a part of the Fourth time lucky, then: ‘I got the job Assurance meant I was sitting among the Bobby Earl was the lead programmer had been spent on it but there were
QA team.
after being interviewed at Castlefield by then-growing internal QA team of Roy and was kind of my go-to-man. From art still questions about what we actually
Frank Parkinson, a tough no nonsense Fielding, Paul Johnson, Paul Flanagan, I had Jack Wikeley as lead environment, had. Did we have a fun game? Could
Evertonian and ex-Royal Marine.’ Gareth Betts and many others. I reported Christian Johnson lead character, Dean the game ever be finished without its

designer? And we were under a lot of
pressure to get it finished. The team
numbered 25 and was obviously costing a
lot of money to keep going. When I took
control of Silver the game effectively had
a lot of levels that needed scripting and
we did not have a full team to do it in the
time we had. The deadline was looming
– we either release it for Christmas 1999
or can it. The pressure was clearly on the
The Silver box-art, 1999, team and I had to perform.’
with the title screen and
The RPG made it for the seasonal
an in-game screen right.
period, released initially for Microsoft
Windows, then Dreamcast and
Macintosh OS to general acclaim. ‘We
got some incredible press responses,
including the front cover of Edge – we
were dubbed Europe’s answer to Final which epitomises the innovative talent
Fantasy VII. I also recall Peter Molyneux present during those younger days of
OBE saying he was particularly looking home computing, and in particular at
forward to the game.’ Ocean. ‘Dean Evans had been struggling
Celebrity anecdotes also came in the to deliver music on the SNES (Super
form of a Doctor Who. ‘We had Tom Nintendo Entertainment System), as
Baker narrating. I’d actually met him in it sounded so different when it was
the White Lion public house like a 100 produced using the PC tools. Apparently
yards from the studio in Castlefield (he Dave took a hex screw driver, removed
was working on Casualty at Granada at the back off a SNES, traced all the
The box art for the the time). After working up the courage copper lines back from the sound chip,
Amiga version of
I asked him if he would sign my beermat. and then designed and built a SNES
The Addams Family,
published in 1992. He went one better than that and popped sound card that you slotted into a PC.
back the next day with some signed He then wrote some tracker drivers, and
photos. I asked if he would be interested the lads were producing music for the
in doing a voice-over for our game. He SNES properly.
gave me his agent’s number, and Jack and ‘So not only could Dave write
Sam went down to meet Tom in London games, he was an incredible talent with
sometime after. A real eccentric, and microelectronics too. True legend.’
proper gent.’ non
Lee has one story about Dave Collier

freelancer and converted Lazy Jones on
Simon Cobb the Commodore 64 to the Spectrum –
the game was a huge hit and I thought
Simon formed part of the Amstrad team during his this was my opportunity to contact
short time at Ocean. He converted such classics as Ocean to see if I could get a job there. Lazy Jones conversion
Hunchback II and parts of Hyper Sports onto Alan They were local to me and my ambition for the Spectrum –
released by Terminal
Sugar’s machine. Street Hawk proved to be the final was always to work for them as they had Software in 1984.
straw and Simon left Ocean to start his own company. produced some great games and had
some great licences and were at the top
of their game. demons and turned up at the Ocean
S
imon’s introduction to computing these guys were making games for my ‘I phoned them up and explained offices to work.
started with Clive Sinclair’s ZX81 beloved machine. I visited a few times what I had been doing. I was invited ‘I started at Ocean and one of the first
– he was first in the queue, a year when they were at the old Ralli Building into the Manchester office – it was things they wanted me to do was convert
later, to buy Sinclair’s follow up, the ZX just to say hello really and see what they not an interview as such, I just showed Spectrum screens to the Amstrad. I really
Spectrum. were doing. I am sure they stored props them Lazy Jones and they took me on. did not have a clue how to do this and
Simon recollects, ‘I started writing or something there as well – it was a I remember going back to finalise and panic was about to set it again. I then
machine code on the ZX81. I bought strange place. sign the contract and on the way out Jon had a brain wave and in ten minutes I
a book on “Mastering Machine Code ‘Having been down to the building Woods handed me some Ocean games, had this program written that did the job
on your ZX81” that I had to read five two or three times, I remember David one being Match Day. I got home and perfectly – I impressed the others that
times before it made any sense – it just Ward taking me to the arcades in Oxford played the game thinking to myself that worked there so the panic subsided, and I
eventually clicked. I then got myself a Road to play the arcade machines there. I would not have a clue how to write a settled into my new job.
ZX Spectrum, which became my first He took out a handful of coins, I was game as good as that – the panic set in.’ ‘Thereafter I wrote Hunchback 2
love. I used to buy the gaming magazines 16 at the time, and handed them to me. Simon battled with his unsettling on the Amstrad with Jonathan Smith
at the time and I saw an advert placed Looking back on it now I am sure a doing the graphics and Martin Galway
by Spectrum Games, and with being in man taking a load of 16-year-olds to an the sound. I remember Jonathan being
Manchester I went down there one day arcade and giving money to them would busy with his own projects so I had to
not sure what to expect and unsure why be construed a different way – non- persuade him to do the graphics for me.
I was really going. I think it was because the-less it happened and was fantastic. There were no teams or structure and
I was devoted to all things Spectrum and I remember Paul Owens being there as very little management so you had to try
I was a big fan of Hunchback, one of his and get things done yourself or persuade
titles.’ others to help.
Di-Lithium Lift, was Simon had a couple of titles ‘I then wrote parts of Hyper
released on the
published at the time, one being Di- Sports – the archery, triple jump and
Spectrum by Hewson
Consultants in 1983. Lithium Lift by Hewson Consultants on swimming sections for the Amstrad
the Spectrum. Paul goes on to say, ‘They version. I remember never having seen Two screens from the
Amstrad version of
wanted a sequel but subsequently would someone doing a triple jump before so
Hunchack II, published
not publish it as they thought it was too implemented that section of the game in 1984.
similar to Rift. I therefore went on as a as just three jumps, as opposed to a hop,

skip and a jump. No direction was given flash cars in the car park outside. I was
– we just got on with it as we thought fit. struggling to get in each day on the bus
David Ward duly corrected me about the and with being disillusioned with the
finer points of the triple jump when he way the Street Hawk project was going, I
saw the game. was coming to the conclusion there were
‘I was then given the ill-fated Street easier ways to make a good living.
Hawk to start on – a project that was ‘When I took the job on at Ocean,
Hunchback II artwork by a total disaster. We were sold the game Jon Woods promised that I would get
Bob Wakelin
as it being like ‘Knight Rider’ on a a four figure sum for each game that
motorbike by the management. Mike I worked on that I delivered on time.
Webb was doing the Spectrum version Well Hunchback 2 was done well before
and wanted to do a game where there the allocated schedule and had sold well
would be more sprites on screen than at retail. I plucked up a bit of courage
any other Spectrum game at that time to talk to Jon, as he was a formidable
– a Defender clone character, and went and knocked on his
where the main ship was door. Jon said he would look at the sales
replaced by the Street figures for the game and get back to me.
Hawk bike. The problem He never did.
was that the Amstrad ‘I came to the conclusion that I was
did not lend itself to never going to get the bonus, so I decided
have as many sprites on to leave and resigned. I was pretty
screen as what Mike shocked to be asked to clear my desk
wanted and scrolling on straight away and was then escorted out
the Amstrad was not one of the building with immediate effect.
of it’s strengths. So the And that was the end of my short career
thought of working on a at Ocean. I was only at Ocean for seven
game for three months or eight months but during that time
Two versions of Street that you knew was not going to be very I made some really good friends and
Hawk were developed,
good and be panned by the critics was will always look back at that time as a
one to satisfy the Kays
catalogue orders, the demoralising. Street Hawk is an example fondly remembered period of my career.
other to capitalise on of where Ocean would have to pay Sometimes I think I should have stuck
the strong licence. Both
massive penalties if it was not released on it out and stayed longer as it would have
were sub-par.
time - a deal done in this case with the been great to develop on the consoles.’
Kays catalogue. A different version of the non
game was produced months later once we
got Kays off our back.
‘I remember one morning whilst on
the way into the office seeing all the

Ocean made so little use of my skills.’
John Gibson He is proud, though, of one game
by Denton Designs in particular –
After the demise of Imagine, John formed Denton Gift from the Gods. Gary Bracey’s
Designs with a number of ex-Imagine colleagues. outline of Ocean’s often unfortunate
They went on to produce many top quality titles for the dealings with freelance programmers
Ocean publishing machine, including Gift from the Gods in the History section underlines
and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. the company’s nervousness at
out-of-house development, which The Spectrum version of
Galivan, left above;
it nevertheless had to use from time
J
the Amstrad Galivan box
ohn Gibson was a freelance Designs was formed Ocean became a to time. Some freelance programmers art, above; and a screen
programmer for Ocean between benefactor. Ocean bankrolled Denton were prepared to take the considerable from the original coin-op
arcade, left.
1985–87. At 38 John was somewhat Designs in exchange for our software advances and fail to deliver; others, like
more experienced than the vast majority development skills. We designed and Denton Designs, were extraordinary, and
of other employees at the time. But produced the games Gift from the produced spectacular results in the time
his professional story starts a few years Gods, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and required. Perhaps Ocean’s failure to use
earlier. ‘I began my career as a games Transformers for Ocean.’ John’s skills to the extent of which he was
programmer at Imagine Software in Although John never worked on capable was born from the ‘once bitten’
Denton Designs tackled
Liverpool in 1983. After Imagine went site at Central Street for Ocean (being fear of those who had let them down in
one of the oddest tie-ins
Ocean licensed: Frankie bust I formed the independent software a freelancer he worked mainly from the past.
Goes to Hollywood for development house Denton Designs home) he did, however, receive a nice non
the Spectrum, 1985.
with four other ex-Imagine employees. I perk, something reminiscent of the
left Denton Designs in 1985 when David spending spree at Imagine: ‘They gave what he saw. ‘I did visit on a number
Ward made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. me a Porsche for my company car!’ And of occasions. I remember that the
‘While I was at Imagine, we regarded the times when he was present at Central developers were housed in the basement
Ocean as a rival but when Denton Street, he wasn’t too impressed with and that their working environment
made one think of a Dickensian
workhouse! I certainly remember being
glad I didn’t work there.’
Despite John’s evident experience in Gift from the Gods,
the games industry, he feels the breadth
1984.
of his abilities were never fully realised.
‘When I worked directly for Ocean
– rather than as a member of Denton
Designs – I only produced one game,
an arcade game called Galivan, which I
converted to the Spectrum and Amstrad
CPC. To this day I can’t fathom out why

software to create an environment for the ‘It had its serious times,’ Steve says,
Steve Lavache programmers to develop on. In the early reflecting on his time at Ocean, ‘but
days the hardware on which the games it was a fun place to work as well. I
At the age of 24, Steve joined Ocean and took were to be written and compiled was remember building the Arcade Alley
responsibilty for looking after the hardware and usually a Tatung Einstein, connected via and then all hell used to break loose
software environment to ensure the ‘dungeon’ an interface cable to a target computer at lunchtime. When we received the
development team remained well oiled. such as the Spectrum. Later on the Atari Operation Wolf arcade board and gun, I
ST and Commodore Amiga were used as used a long cable to stretch to the gun at
host systems. one point - it was like having a real Uzi.
‘The NES console had special chips, It was a pity the monitor was so small.’
S
teve Lavache had a solid CV that is how it was. I had my own office no one knew how the ROM-switching He ponders then settles for an
in the video games business by in the dungeon to start with. Gary worked. I re-engineered the console anecdote worthy of a Stephen King
the time he started at Ocean in novel. ‘There was one instance when my Steve pictured in his
used to give me a hard time for buying and invented my own ROM-switching
office in Central Street
1986. At Psygnosis – the Liverpool electronics – the essential bits.’ His job that we showed Nintendo. They liked partner at the time decided she would catching up on the latest
software publisher founded in 1985–86 at that time was to keep the Ocean kit it so much we were invited to their put me on a very low-fat diet. Some technology.
by Jonathan Ellis, Ian Hetherington going – repairing machines all too often headquarters in Japan to talk things
and David Lawson from the ashes of broken or burnt-out by the developers. through. Paul Booth, Gary Bracey and
Imagine Software – he fulfilled the role It isn’t surprising that others remember myself attended the meeting with the
of R&D manager. Prior to that he’d been Steve in his office surrounded by bits of head of Nintendo, some of their technical
hardware manager at Imagine, and before Spectrums, Commodores and Amstrads. guys and an interpreter. The conversation
that, Steve says, ‘I used to work for the ‘We often had new machines come took place via interpreters initially –
Liverpool Computer Centre and build in, like the Famicom from Nintendo, eventually the atmosphere became
interfaces for the guys at Bug Byte which became the NES over here. Gary friendlier and English was used.’
for their development computers. I would come in and ask me if anything There were at least two happy
also hung around at Micro Digital could be done on this, and hand over consequences of that first meeting:
while I was at college – Bruce a big cardboard box. That was all the Nintendo handed over documentation months later at the Christmas party we
Everiss owned the shop and Tim information I had – a Japanese Famicom explaining the Famicon’s make-up; were served a very rich, creamy, fatty,
Best used to run it. console in a brown box with a cartridge. and the Japanese formed an on-going sauce with chicken. Afterwards – and
‘Gary Bracey interviewed me at Ocean wanted to write software for it, so relationship with Ocean. However, several very large drinks later – I was
the Central Street Quaker meeting I had to take it apart and work out how relations were not so straightforward sitting close to Jon Woods and Ray
The striking Famicom house and half way through he took me it worked: what the processor was; work with Nintendo’s rivals. ‘Sega didn’t want Musci. Ray was president of Ocean of
(Family Computer)
to meet operations director, Colin Stokes. out how we could write software for it, Ocean to produce Megadrive software at America and used to be a bare-knuckle
console from Japan,
better known as the On seeing me, Colin asked if I was etc. In the day you heard of programmers the time, but I managed to get around all prizefighter. Let’s just say the vomit
Nintendo Entertainment coming to join them, and I said yup. That writing games for the Spectrum in the patents – legally – in order for us to explosion was immense and resulted in
System or NES in
concluded the interview! their bedrooms – in a professional create a development environment for it. Jon Woods washing his clothes in the
Europe.
‘Basically, I was on the hardware environment you just couldn’t do it that Once Sega saw that we had a legal way of gents while hiding me from a very angry
side – a hardware engineer for a software way. So I designed the hardware, and developing on their machine they started Ray.’
house, which is a bit of a misnomer but Dave Collier and Paul Owens wrote the talking to us. non

programmer and he was very supportive into the game so I
Richard Palmer and helpful with my coding. I guess it’s could go back and
best not to single out any specific person forth between the
Richard joined his brother John at Ocean in 1987 at the because everyone was great and deserves arcade machine and
tender age of 17 as a Commodore 64 programmer. His an equal mention, but as a 17-year-old the Commodore
first project was Daley Thompson’s Olympic Challenge. starting out, I was indebted to Dave. He 64 in an attempt to
put me firmly on the right road in the place everything in
gaming industry on my first project with the right places. The
him, Daley Thompson’s Olympic Challenge. editor had the highly
‘My brother John was on graphics unoriginal title of
T
he youngest of five brothers started my career at Ocean in 1987 at the and Jonathan Dunn did the sound and Baddie Editor. It’s
remembers well when he was age of 17 and stayed for four years.’ He music. I programmed the throwing still a part of the
13 and his older brother was doesn’t recall attending any interviews events and weight-training section over a delivered game, so
working to save up for a Commodore because with John already working there three-month period. Then I was another it can be activated,
64. ‘John came home one day with a his brother got him in. Like so many programmer who worked on the rescue if you know how. The media loved the Richard’s ‘finest
moment’, 1988’s The
boxed 64 and told me he was going who remember Central Street with of Operation Thunderbolt, for which I game – the best response so far to any
New Zealand Story.
to do graphics for the computer and its basement and first floor separated rewrote the horizontal scrolling sections. game that I had worked on.’
I was going to do the programming. by the Quaker meeting house on the ‘My finest moment came with New Beat ’em up games sometimes spilled
Who was I to argue? I taught myself ground floor, Richard’s first impressions Zealand Story. This was the only game I out into real life, as Richard recalls an
how to program the machine, mainly of Ocean were of those Upstairs and did at Ocean where I was present at the incident which occurred towards the
from reference guides and hacking Tony those Downstairs. ‘Who were they? start. My team-mates were Steve Wahid end of his time at Ocean. ‘It was a fight
Crowther games [Crowther worked Those mysterious creatures on the on graphics and Jonathan Dunn again that broke out at Yates’s pub. I think
Daley Thompson’s for Alligata, Quicksilva and Gremlin upper floor that scurried about running on sound and music. I was the main a racist comment sparked it. It started
Olympic Challenge on
the C64 – published by
Graphics]. I still have the reference the company? You know I thought it programmer on this arcade conversion inside then sprawled out onto the road.
Ocean in 1988. guides to this day, a little worse for wear was all really cool working down in the but credit has to be given to Paul Hughes Steve Wahid, whom I was working with
and covered in dirty basement. Others may have thought for his sprite multiplexer. I remember the on New Zealand Story, saw me looking
finger prints on each differently, I don’t know. The “dungeon” challenge of having no design document bewildered (I was no fighter) and
and every page.’ was a great arrangement and fun to work and so having to use the arcade machine shuffled me into a taxi and told me to
When John in. It was like constantly gigging at the as reference for every level. To overcome get out of there. I think he could see me
started at Ocean, Cavern and I was in the headline band.’ this disadvantage I built a level editor considering joining in and knew I would
Richard was studying The 1960s Merseybeat culture lived get properly beaten up. There was this
to get a BTEC on in the Liverpool-Manchester games “we’re in this together feeling” that nearly
National Diploma in creators, but headliner or not, Richard had me joining in. There were a lot of
Computer Studies and reported like all other inmates of the people fighting. Next morning, Ocean
hammering out games. people started rolling into work looking A jolly looking Richard
dungeon to Gary Bracey. ‘It was Dave
photographed in the
‘After several magazine Collier, though, who took me under horrendously beaten up. But they were all dungeon of Central
game publications, and his wing. I have great memories of laughing and coping really well with it.’ Street.
a tape publication, I working with Dave. I was a naive teenage non

age, and most of us were away from became more
Michael Lamb home for the first time. We were pretty professional. Some
much left to get on with it. We had some of guys who had
Mike joined Ocean in 1986 as a Spectrum programmer temporary offices across the road from been at Ocean
and soon teamed up with graphics artist Dawn Drake. the main office. I was working on Top some time left and
Together, they created some of Ocean’s most iconic Gun in a room with Lee Douthwaite. Gary hired more
games, including the mega-hit RoboCop. I remember Steve Lavache was reverse graduate types to
engineering a Nintendo Entertainment replace them. The
System next door.’ payday moved to
Some of the office acumen did Friday and then
M
ike’s early interest in Mike wrote Spectrum Pool and Steve surprise Mike. ‘I remember there were they stopped
computers started at Davis Snooker (1984) for the Spectrum, two older programmers who’d always paying cash.’
school programming both published by CDS Software (now come in late – they were gone in four Gary also
the Commodore Pet – he could have Indigicon Ltd). The royalties kept him months. It was my first professional job made good on
owned a ZX81 but decided to get a afloat for a couple of years, but as he says, and I suppose it wasn’t very different his promise of
motorbike instead. And then he ordered ‘I needed more steady work.’ from a lot of offices at the time but I can changing people’s
a ZX Spectrum as soon as they were remember thinking it was a bit slack. A perception of
Right: Combat School announced but almost gave up on it lot of the original programmers would Ocean.
on the Spectrum –
because he was too impatient to wait also have a beer or two over lunch. ‘Over time the people Gary hired Dawn Drake’s graphics
for the 1988 Spectrum
1987. for its delivery. Fortunately, a friend’s ‘We used to get paid in cash on turned Ocean’s reputation around. We
version of RoboCop.
Thursday. At least half the staff would were getting good reviews and even
go down the pub at 5:30 and stay till better sales. We’d joke how the marketing
closing time. Eventually Ocean wised up department were meeting to decide
and moved paydays to Friday so we could which game was going to be Christmas
be hung over on our own time. Today number one. We used to get kids coming
For its success, Ocean was a natural you’d say a lot of us were functioning by the offices on weekends. One lad
choice, but his view of Ocean at the time alcoholics.’ wanted to return a game that wasn’t The arcade version of
was not positive. ‘I thought Ocean had It seems as though hard cash was working. We gave him a copy of every RoboCop by Data East.
great licences, good marketing and crap the only method of payment in the Spectrum game we
games (it was a fairly common view in company’s early years. ‘Ocean used to could find (must
the press it seemed at the time). I met pay us bonuses in cash too. I remember have been about
Prior to joining Ocean, experience inspired him – the lad had Gary Bracey at their offices in Central counting a couple of thousand pounds in 20). We’d also get
Mike programmed the
two games published by Arctic Software Street, Manchester and he explained they ten-pound notes in the bathroom after the odd letter or
highly successful Steve
Davis Snooker, above, and made a nice amount of money for his were trying to change that.’ we finished Combat School. We didn’t two. We used to
and Spectrum Pool. Both trouble. Thinking he could do better and ‘When I first joined Ocean back in get rich but we were a lot better off than joke about them,
games were published
make more money, Mike taught himself 1986 I was 21 and for me it was a bit like most.’ but it was nice to
by CDS Micro Systems
in 1984. how to program his Spectrum when it going to university. Ocean had hired a But things did get better, as Mike be appreciated.
eventually arrived. bunch of developers all about the same explains. ‘Over my time there, the place ‘We had small

Ocean’s Three – from An important Ocean film
left to right: Mike Lamb, tie-in of 1987, Top Gun
Gary Bracey and Colin on the Spectrum.
Porch.
game because they wanted me to start on three months. A shame, but we had to
RoboCop for Christmas. Fortunately they get it out for Christmas. I took the game
got someone good in to finish it and was home at Christmas to play with my mates
Jon O’Brien. – they weren’t all that impressed. It had
‘Next are the Renegade games. The potential but in retrospect it was tough
original was a great conversion that I got doing the game in only three to four
to load in one go on the 48K Spectrum. I months. With a six-month development
teams and there wasn’t a lot of need for scenes from a movie. There wasn’t time also had the balls to make it a one-button time it could have been good. And then out again
at budget price: the
top-heavy management. Gary would to try something really original, find game instead of three like the original. ‘The Batman game was a big licence
Spectrum Hit Squad
come by every so often and play the out it wasn’t working and start again. Ronnie Fowles did a great job on the but only an average game on the Amiga cover for Top Gun.
games, make sure the game being worked Sometimes we used the same game- pixels. With Target Renegade Ronnie left and ST – one warehouse section too
on was on track. To a large extent, we’d mechanic throughout with different and Dawn Drake took over, and did a many in my opinion. Darkman was a bit
get more pressure and suggestions from levels but later we had three or four game fantastic job on the graphics.’
colleagues. If a game wasn’t so good types in Batman or RoboCop. We used There are many classic games that ‘‘The aim with Top Gun was to make
Gary might say to get a lot of feedback from the testers Mike contributed to or programmed a 3D combat game on 8-bit machines in
something.’ on the quality, gameplay and look of the in full while at Ocean. He is his own
three months.”
Mike talks games we produced, which improved harshest critic and talks down many of
about the titles the overall quality of the game. When the titles he worked on even though of a drag to finish, and with the movie
he worked on at I went to America I met people who the reviewing magazines of the time not being as good as RoboCop or Batman,
Ocean. started as testers and were now producers acclaimed them. I had already decided I wanted to work
‘The games or designers. We never made use of the ‘The aim with Top Gun was to make in the US at that time.
I was involved testing department like that at Ocean a 3D combat game on 8-bit machines in ‘RoboCop was OK – nice graphics by
in were made and in my opinion it was a big mistake.
on three- ‘The Ocean game I am most proud of
Wec Le Mans on the to six-month schedules and I was working on was Wec Le Mans. I developed
Spectrum – published
programmer on all the games. For the the road drawing routines that ran at Dawn Drake’s graphics
by Imagine in 1988.
for the 1988 follow-up,
arcade conversions there was not a lot of 25 frames/sec. We looked at Outrun on
Target Renegade.
design to be done – the movie licences the Spectrum and you could count the
were much more challenging. Usually frames 1...2...3 frames a second. It was
we’d try to adapt a proven arcade game the difference between a game that was
concept and make games out of the key fun and unplayable. I didn’t finish the

Dawn Drake and the final game fitted was quite a bit of chatting going on).
the licence really well. It would have We thought it would be funny if Colin
sold whoever worked on it at Ocean, but came in on Monday and all the graphics
Dawn and I worked hard to make it as were converted. We did it in about half
good as possible in the time frame we an hour. James made me click “save” in
had. case we got in trouble. The brilliant thing
‘Arkanoid was a fairly good conversion, was Colin was completely cool about it.
running at 60Hz. Steve Lavache put It was a slightly childish thing to do and
most of the arcade games in a room so he could easily have taken the hump. He
we could work out how they played. wasn’t like that at all. He found out who
The game got a couple of bad reviews was responsible and thanked us. He was
— possibly because I tried to happy we’d saved him the work and not
make the paddle accelerate worried about his ego at all.’
towards the ball in order to Mike worked on many titles together
compensate for not having with his partner in crime, Dawn Drake,
analogue control. But I think Mike on programming and Dawn
if you played the game a while looking after the graphics. In a time
it was better my way.’ when almost everyone smoked, they
Arkanoid on the Colin Porch was seen as the ‘Old man’ were both were non-smokers, so the
Spectrum – published
of Ocean – being in his early 40s when management allowed them to work
by Imagine in 1987.
he started at the company he was twice in an office together. Mike recalls the
the age of many of the others, attention that Dawn used to get from
and soon became lovingly the other male developers as they came
known as ‘Fossil’. As Colin’s into the room to try and impress her .
name is mentioned Mike sits The continual interruptions annoyed
back to reflect and with a him because the distractions stopped
wry smile continues, ‘There them getting on with their work. Mike
was the time we did Colin confesses that he himself was a closet
Porch’s work for him over the weekend. admirer and he did ask Dawn out for a
Colin was working on the C64 version drink one evening. Dawn accepted the
of Head Over Heels. He had all the proposition and turned up to the ‘date’
Spectrum graphics as screens displayed with all her girlfriends.
on one monitor and was copying them Mike sums up quite nicely the general
pixel by pixel to another monitor with feeling of all former Ocean staff spoken
the C64 sprites. Andrew Deacon, James to in creation of this book, ‘It was a
Higgins and myself were talking about it long time ago but I’m proud of what we
one Saturday (Colin wasn’t in the office, achieved.’
neither were any management, so there non

the staff in his absence, and she did this
John Meegan well.’
John specialised on the Commodore
John joined Ocean in 1986 and worked predominantly 64 as a programmer and occasional RoboCop caught the
on Commodore 64 conversions in the seven years he designer, and Short Circuit was the movie-going public by
surprise in the summer
spent at the company, covering the likes of Short Circuit first game allocated to him. ‘My office of 1987 but the big hit
and RoboCop. roommates Zach were working on Cobra handed Ocean a prize of
a game licence, timed to
and Allan on Mario Brothers, while over
match the video release
the road Colin Cresty was knocking his in 1988, seen here on
head against a wall with Street Hawk.
P
the C64.
rior to starting at Ocean, John and Bill Barna, I got hired on the spot!’ Creating games at Ocean was a finger
Meegan worked in a medical John moved south of the border in the air guess, then just trying to get
records office in Glasgow, but as a fresh-faced 21-year-old, with the on with it – planning never happened.
even then he created video games in his dream job developing games for what Ocean management, though, did take a after the original programmer bailed
spare time. This he did with a friend he thought of as the country’s most particular interest in what staff were up out. In reality, pretty much everything
until events caused them to split. ‘My prestigious software house. to when deadlines were looming!’ was written from scratch. I
friend got a full-time gig at Alligata ‘Ocean was the big boy in the UK. Work pressures aside, the staff still programmed all the 3D sections
Games, leaving They did the top licensed games and found room for fun, and in particular and Richard Palmer and Paul
me quite bereft in made sure the public were aware of them with the Friday afternoon pint liable to Hughes worked on the scrolling
Glasgow.’ It was through high-quality advertising. Plus, as become two or three, on occasion things sections.’ Rastan and Total Recall
time to make a a wannabe Commodore 64 programmer, got out of hand. ‘Simon Butler had been proved similarly difficult. Of
decision: give up I knew of Dave Collier and Martin watching the John Cusack movie The Rastan, John says, ‘A nightmare
the job and go full- Galway.’ Sure Thing and discovered “shot-gunning project. The game was way too
time in the games The working reality was a little less beer” [If in doubt consult Youtube]. For big and technically demanding
industry – or stick impressive. ‘The space where I worked some reason – while Gary was absent for the Commodore 64. But
with the records lacked natural light, which made it feel – we thought it a good idea to have a despite its tight deadline,
office. ‘I answered like a tomb. It could smell stale at times, session in his office. As you can imagine, RoboCop was a pleasure to work on. It
the notorious job adding to the tomb vibe. But I instantly there was spillage. While there was no was Steve Thomson’s first title and his
advert featuring a made friends with Mike Lamb and the malice at all in this, I did feel awful at the first time away from home but you’d
catalogue model first few days I shared a room with Bill way it obviously hurt Gary’s feelings. We think he’d been doing it for decades.
walking past David Barna, Allan Shortt and Zach Townsend. didn’t intend any disrespect, but he felt it.’ The Untouchables was probably the
Ward’s Porsche. A The latter spent his day printing out all Despite working among such most enjoyable project I worked on – we
few months later his source code to the noisiest dot-matrix illustrious company at the biggest name had the time to design and refine the
John’s first challenge: I sent demos to Ocean and received an printer in the world.’ John reported in UK video gaming, John says he never game. Navy Seals had some great work
1987’s Short Circuit on
invitation to visit Gary Bracey for an directly to Gary Bracey. ‘He had to go off felt special working at Ocean. ‘It was from Steve and was his last game with
the Commodore 64.
interview. It was in the dingy dungeon on licensing trips so we didn’t see him a job like any other.’ And sometimes me. Other memorable games include
beneath the Quaker church on Central as much as we’d have liked. Gary hired tough when things didn’t go to plan. Slapfight and The Vindicator.’
Street. With input from Dave Collier Lorraine Starr to interact and manage ‘Operation Thunderbolt was a rescue job non

thing to do, but I’d just had the biggest technically pulling
Paul Hughes carrot in the industry dangled in front off a demanding
of me – working for the largest and piece of arcade
Paul joined Ocean in 1986 and is most famous for best games publisher in the world! So hardware on
his ‘Freeload’ code that provided a secure loader for many great games were developed in the a sub-1MHz
Ocean games that went some way to combatting piracy, basement of the building – programmers, processor. I think
introduced scrolling text and music and, later on, games artists and musicians crammed into a it’s fair to say
to play while the main game loaded off the tape. subterranean office space producing we had a laugh
digital magic. while putting the
‘By a complete fluke I snagged an games together.
P
aul started in the industry at a of luck – Paul landed himself a full- office with Jonathan “Joffa” Smith, who Different teams worked in their own A screen from Cobra on
the Spectrum, finished
young age. ‘From the day I left time position at Ocean in 1986 at the had just finished both Terra Cresta and idiosyncratic ways – which always got
by Jonathan Smith just
school at 16, I went straight into tender age of 18. ‘I was working, briefly, Cobra for the Spectrum. Joffa had a the job done. There was, however, a as Paul joined Ocean.
freelance game programming. I’d already for the newly set up Software Creations new idea he was playing with and so I lot of camaraderie and a lot of sharing
had a few titles published on VIC-20 and in Manchester run by Richard Kay was tasked with doing the C64 version of ideas and techniques between the
the Texas Instruments TI99/4A while (himself a former Ocean programmer). of whatever it was he came up with.
I was at school, so the day I did my last I mentioned this in passing to my aunt, Alas, just a few weeks in he decided to
O-Level examination I started pitching who rather nonchalantly mentioned that leave Ocean to form Special FX with
“my wares” and got commissioned to do her other nephew, on my uncle’s side, Paul Finnegan and his room went to
An early version of soundtracks for Elite Systems and then did some programming at Ocean too. the understated but utterly brilliant
Paul’s loader was used
Superior Software. I also did some work It was only David Collier! My uncle Mike Lamb. I got turfed out to share
for Hewson Consultants’
Uridium. for Hewson Consultants on their tape mentioned this to David (who knew desks with Allan Shortt who went on to
protection, thanks to a friendship I struck Richard Kay) and he invited me to have become one of my best friends there.
up with Graftgold, and Andy Braybrook a look around Central Street. He was just ‘At the same time, Johnny Meegan
[Paradroid, Gibbly’s Day Out and Uridium demoing Terra Cresta to Paul Finnegan, was just finishing Short Circuit, with John
among others] in particular.’ and we got talking about multiplexing Brandwood developing the Amstrad
Even before joining Ocean, Paul was sprites, colour scrolls and various ways I’d version, Allan Shortt was finishing off
aware of the games software company. stopped freeze cartridges. Mario Bros for the C64, Dave Collier had
‘When I was at school I worked in a local ‘The next thing I know he says to just finished Terra Cresta and was starting
computer shop at the weekends, so I saw me, “Barbara (my aunt) didn’t tell me work on Arkanoid on the C64 – as was
all the Ocean and Imagine titles the day you knew all this stuff ”, and promptly Mike Lamb on the Spectrum, and Zach
they were released. Immediately, certain drags Gary Bracey in with himself and Townsend was just finishing off Cobra for programmers. There was also an awful lot Paul, relaxing with the
latest issue of Amiga
names sprang out for creating the best Paul and says, “Can we offer this lad ’ere the C64. of beer drinking… and the results of too
Format.
software: David Collier; Steve Wahid a job?”.’ With each deadline a challenge, Paul much drinking come Friday evenings at
‘…the understated but and Martin Galway on the Commodore Paul had little compunction in found working at Ocean hard work but Tommy Ducks pub and then on to the
utterly brilliant Mike
64; and the late Jonathan “Joffa” Smith abandoning Software Creations at the ultimately enjoyable. ‘Without a shadow Square Albert [in Albert Square]. Lock-
Lamb.’
on the ZX Spectrum.’ drop of the proverbial hat, but looks back of a doubt it was fun, albeit if many ins, and…’ he adds coyly, ‘…various levels
With some good demos – and a bit less certainly. ‘It was a bit of a crappy times a hard, hard slog to hit deadlines or of debauchery were to be had.’

Back to the hard work bit… ‘Gary intellectual properties – he could sniff out to get right was the player control. If that Simon just got on with it and produced
Bracey was my first manager and was – a blockbuster from a script when anyone was not fluid and intuitive you would fall a ton of quality artwork at the drop of
and still is – a gamer. It’s in his blood. else would pass on it. When demos and at the first hurdle.’ a hat. With Fred, he had already been
So he was always offering ideas and partially finished games came in for In the midst of Paul’s prolific output, commissioned to do the soundtrack, so
playing on the games, giving feedback. evaluation, he was the man that spotted some titles fell through cracks in the he just popped in one day with a code-
the potential. Lorraine was the yin to floor. ‘There were a couple of games that drop and I stuffed it in the game. Mag
Gary’s yang; in many ways she took care didn’t see the light of day, which was
of a lot of us youngsters like a big sister a real shame, both with Bill Harbison “Freeload was a nice piece of kit because
– she would stand in your corner and on graphics. One was a NES version it was fast, reliable, and it also had
defend the development team to anyone of RoboCop which got dropped for a
in a suit.’ re-badged Data East’s US NES version,
some really clever stuff to stop tape-to-
Paul reflects on his achievements which was rubbish. And an isometric tape copying of which I’m rather proud!”
while at Ocean. ‘I believe technically Simpsons adventure à la Head Over
Ocean put out some very accomplished Heels for the ST and Amiga, which got Max’s best feature on the arcade was a
software. I had a few interesting takes overlooked for a straight conversion of completely forced-perspective scrolling
on fast sprite-multiplexing that we used, the NES Simpsons game. playfield; every one of the 200 scan
tweaked and reused across projects. I also Of the games themselves, Paul
came up with a novel way of multiplexing recollects just how ridiculously tight
on the NES version of RoboCop that was the deadlines for completion could be,
used on several Ocean titles after Mike as he entered his second year. ‘Gary or
Webb mentioned in passing how the Lorraine told us when the game had to
PPU on the NES actually prioritised the hit the duplicators for the shelf date and
sprite output.’ you moved hell and high water to hit
And, of course, there is Paul’s famous that date.’
Ocean front-end. ‘Freeload, the now Making last-minute fixes at midnight
infamous Ocean Loader, was a nice piece was a common event… sometimes even
of kit because it was fast, reliable, could as the duplicators were preparing to run
do stuff while loading – music, scrolls, the sales copies, as Paul recounts. ‘Mag
games – and it also had some really Max was a conversion of a pretty bad
‘Freeload’ loading Lorraine Starr then took over my line clever stuff to stop tape-to-tape copying arcade game. I was the only in-house
RoboCop on the C64.
management when she joined Ocean of which I’m rather proud! With each C64 programmer available at the time - lines moved at a different speed. Now, I Paul assisted with the
multiplexing on RoboCop
as assistant software manager. First and arcade port we would play the game to an external developer had started on it couldn’t possibly do that on the C64. In
for the NES.
foremost both Gary and Lorraine were death to get a feel for it and then get but had made a bigger hash of it than the end Simon did a pseudo-isometric
project managers. They made sure things a complete play-through on videotape I eventually ended up making. Simon layout and I just did a full screen scroll.
got done on time and to budget. They to break down how things moved and Butler created the graphics and Fred The game also had some big sprites
patted our young egos when we needed it reacted to the player. Grey the sound. I told Simon how I in the horizontal plane that made
and told us off us when we deserved it. ‘With any game, be it an arcade port thought we should put things together multiplexing hell.
‘Gary was the wizard with the or a movie tie-in, the number one thing and wrote him a simple map editor, and ‘I literally cobbled the game together

over a couple of months. I remember driven south to Telford with Lee to get
desperately trying to get in all the alien the game mastered at Ablex, and kick off
attack patterns, knowing full well Gary the production run. Suffice to say I slept
wanted the game at the duplicators the for a couple of days after that (a familiar Combat School on the
C64 – published by
The 1986 game Mag next day. So I worked through the night tale for me!).’
Ocean in 1987.
Max was another Ocean
and drove down to Ablex, our duplicators This time, the effort paid off,
product virtually finished
at the duplicators, here in Telford, with Lee Cowley and a although Paul is typically modest in
seen on the C64. development kit in tow. praising his colleagues’ efforts. ‘The
‘We sat in the mastering lab at Ablex game was well received by the gaming
and Lee did the final testing while I put press and players alike. It was basically a
together the tape loader. We mastered Hyper Sports type effort with the theme
the game, tested the samples, waited for of an officer and a gentleman! It played
the first run off the production line, and well – mostly down to Allan Shortt, and
drove the first boxes of cassettes back to it looked great thanks to Simon Butler,
Manchester that evening. I slept for two and Martin Galway, as usual, provided a
days after that!’ classic soundtrack.
But sadly, the results didn’t match the least, was quite a simple affair. The only
effort. tricky bits were getting the control right ‘‘All told, we worked 60 hours straight
‘With one exception, all the – it was a “joystick waggler” but with to get it done. Gary came in in the
magazines said it was crap. And it was. eight-way movement – and cramming as
Lee Cowley, not only a
tester, but a driver too.
morning and I waved the master disk
The graphics and sound were as good much of the game in to as few loads as
as they could be, and technically it had possible. It was another one of those to- at him like a flag of surrender.”
some nice routines in there… but it the-wire developments. Allan Shortt was
played bad. The arcade game played still writing the final section – the fight Often, the pressure to make deadlines
badly in the first place as well, but I with the drill instructor – 24 hours before Gary had to meet because the massive
managed to make it even worse. Ocean we were supposed to start duplication. sell-in effort to the unforgiving retail
paid out nice discretionary bonuses – I Allan was very much the man for this chains had been made weeks before
didn’t get one for Mag Max.’ – he’d just come off the back of Yie Ar damaged the end product. Next up
And another big title was worked on Kung-Fu II – but the development cycle in the production line was Operation
to the last moment. ‘With Combat School was darn tight as there were several Thunderbolt. ‘The game was being
I started work on it with Allan Shortt, very different sections requiring a lot of developed in-house by a new junior
but a few weeks in I was dragged off to bespoke code. I was frantically trying to programmer and it just got completely
get some of Ocean’s big-box compilations re-jig the code and data around to lose out of hand. I’d been showing him
together. Then, with a few weeks to go, one of the multiload sections. little tricks of the trade: how to do the
I jumped back on board to finish off my ‘All told, we worked 60 hours straight scroll copies over several frames; how to
section – the assault course. I worked to get it done. Gary came in in the multiplex the sprites properly; how to
through several days to get it done in morning and I waved the master disk at write a mini-language to control the bad
time. Combat School, for my section at him like a flag of surrender. I then was guys.

‘I could sense the writing was on promising the best thing since sliced
the wall so I started to put some code bread.
together to do the scrolling sections ‘But as deadlines came and went
when, Gary stepped in and asked a few something drastic had to be done and I
of us to cobble a version of the game believe Gary made that call to terminate
together as soon as the original version and ask a bunch of
possible. guys to turn it around in no time.
‘So in come John
Meegan, Rich and
John Palmer, and
Steve Thomson to
save the day. I cobbled
together all the “glue”
routines: the panel
plots; the mid-screens;
the front-end; high
scores and all the crazy
input shenanigans that
Box art for Operation Ocean had signed up to for the licence,
Wolf above and
such as light guns and mice, and all the
Operation Thunderbolt’s
magazine advertisement interactions that ensued. The biggest
on the right. challenge was to get it done in such a
crazy short timeline. It wasn’t a bad little
game, but it felt rushed because it was.’
In spite of Paul’s concerns, Operation
Three screens from the Thunderbolt did better than anticipated
C64 version of Operation
in the specialist press. ‘It reviewed OK,
Thunderbolt – published
by Ocean in 1989. but wasn’t a patch on Colin Porch’s
prequel, Operation Wolf. The reviews
were reasonable, but it was by no means
a Zzap!64 Gold Medal or even a Zzap ‘This started to become a trend at
Sizzler. It was an all right version and Ocean. It happened to other titles such
reasonably faithful to the arcade game, as Daley Thompson’s Olympic Challenge
but just didn’t have enough TLC to on the Amstrad and Total Recall on
make it a great game. It had a lot of pre- everything!’
release press attention after the success non
of Operation Wolf – there were loads of
screen shots (mocked up) and interviews

the promise that if we ‘I also became QA Inferno game cover,
Gareth Betts implemented it, and could manager, which it seemed produced by DID and
hand it over to others, we everyone did in the team at 1994.
Gareth joined Ocean in 1991 on a three-month would be promoted into the some point in their career.
contract in the warehouse to cover the Christmas rush. quality assurance department. I then set up compatibility
He was soon taken on full time as QA manager and was And that’s what we did. we labs – the PC market
subsequently promoted to the position of producer on started in QA in 1992. was exploding, with new
titles developed by external supplier, DID . ‘We tested too many graphics cards and sound
games to remember to list cards and such. We had to
– we ensured there were no bugs and make sure Ocean games worked with all
A
fter school Gareth became a returns that needed sorting. So I jacked also fed back any gameplay problems, the PC peripherals,
trainee accountant at a local in my accounting job, to my relief, and or suggested to the developers where so I had to blag the
builders merchant and wasn’t returned in January. On arriving in the it could be improved. We often tested kit off the suppliers
particularly enjoying it. ‘So my mate, New Year, I remember there being two and signed off two to three games a and get them to
Lee, and I went to the job centre in huge fellas in the warehouse who came week – we rarely got design documents, send it to us.’
Manchester. There was a small ad in the over to Lee and me, questioning us about so we just had to play through the game Not
window advertising a temporary position postal-order fraud. Obviously we knew ourselves. With arcade conversions it was everything went
at Ocean Software at the Quakers’ nothing about it – as it transpired two a little simpler because we had the coin- smoothly in
building. We were both keen for it, and of the girls working in the warehouse op board, so we could play the conversion those early
the way we settled who would apply was had been fiddling postal orders and were and see how close it was to the original.’ days, as Gareth
sacked on the spot under caution. The Gareth and Lee had further highlights
‘‘I remember there being two huge fellas two fellas were from the police – the suggestions to improve Ocean’s customer one famous
fraud squad. As a result, Lee and I were experience. example. ‘We were all ready one Friday
in the warehouse who came over to Chase HQ II game box
above with the cartridge
called upstairs and offered permanent ‘We used to get loads of random evening to go down the pub. Chase HQ
Lee and me, questioning us about contracts at Ocean to take over the questions coming through to us from was just about to go
inside below.
postal-order fraud.” department, and that is how we became those who had bought our games. out on cartridge on the
full time.’ After a short time on the team, we C64GS. The cartridge
by flipping a coin – he won and went to As the newbies in the department suggested putting in a helpline to the QA was meant to have two
work in Ocean in the warehouse, packing Gareth and Lee had big aspirations. department. At the time, the building slots cut out on the front
games into jiffy bags for the Christmas ‘Lee and I set up a mail-order system only had two or three lines and one of face to click in place into
rush. After he was there for about four and created a database in the warehouse was to the QA room. It was annoying the machine, but for some
weeks, the Ocean management asked –there was nothing like that there at the that whoever answered the phone was reason these hadn’t been
him if he knew anyone that would come time, unbelievably. Previously Ocean asked things like “how do you get past a made, so there we were for hours using
in and do the same job to help out – so would just throw quantities of games in certain level?” or “we are stuck on this”. files to cut these slots out on thousands
that’s how I got into Ocean. That was the the back of an Ocean van to be delivered So we documented walkthroughs of all of cartridges.’
end of November 1991 when I was 18. to various retailers and hope that enough the games and then put in a dedicated While working in the QA section,
‘I was asked to stay on into January by stock had been provided. Our system phone line to help gamers with our Jon Oldham offered Gareth a job in
Paul Harrison as there were likely to be made things more accurate. We elicited games. production, which he accepted. ‘I worked

on too many titles to remember – making
sure that the projects were on track,
milestones were being met, the quality
was maintained, and the
teams were paid and kept
happy. The first games
under my management
were supplied by the DID
team, Inferno and RoboCop
3. We produced a security
dongle for RoboCop 3 to
plug into the back of the
Amiga. Half of them didn’t
work, which proved to be a
nightmare.’
RoboCop 3 game cover But there were lighter sides to
– produced by DID and
working at Ocean. ‘Lunchtime visits
1992, and three screens to pubs happened frequently and we
from the Amiga. spent much more than the allocated
hour break drinking and socializing.
Inter-department relationships became
common as we all partied together. The
trade shows were also very memorable for
the wrong reasons: David or Jon would
put the company credit card behind the to Sicily, sitting next to the pool. As
bar to help with the atmosphere and we management chopped and changed,
just used to drink and party all night. different methods to produce games
‘As time went on, though, the teams were introduced – the culture change
at Ocean got bigger and bigger and was just a little bit too much from my
politics started to creep in, so it became perspective. My manager at the time, Jon
just too difficult to do your job. The early Oldham, deflected much of the higher
days for me were much more relaxed, management stuff away from me, but
when we all chipped in and were left to many of the games we worked on were
get on with things, like too often fixing never completed because they didn’t fit
bugs in the master at the duplicators! the Infogrames branding and culture.’
‘When Infogrames took over Ocean non
it was far from seamless. Initially it
seemed like it was all fun, with trips

any of the earlier Ocean Games. I was organised development processes, but we
James Higgins more of a Firebird and Mastertronic did have a fairly sophisticated in-house
games player because they were much development kit, courtesy of David
Ocean hired James for his skills in coding 6809 – this more affordable at the time. I knew Collier and Steve Lavache. Everyone
knowledge was used to convert popular Ocean titles to Ocean from the advertising, but I knew had their own methodology. There was
the Thomson range of computers popular in France. He nothing about anyone there.’ no formal production process, no code
subsequently coded many of Ocean’s prolific titles on James says he felt awestruck on sharing, and a lot of the early stuff was
the Amstrad CPC. joining Ocean. ‘I had an over-riding
fear of being discovered a fraud or ‘‘I had an over-riding fear of being
discovered a fraud or an incompetent.”
J
an incompetent. Everyone else in
ames Higgins was a 20-year- (or regressed) to Z80 programming, comparison seemed so much more
old with a deal of programming for which I wrote a game called The capable and mature than me, although arcade conversions .’ Ocean considered
experience behind him when he Apprentice, a clone of Sorcery, which sold I soon learnt that age and confidence a conversion complete, he says, when
started work at Ocean in 1988. His some 60,000 units over time.’ were indeed no indicators of ability. it roughly matched the content of the
career, like so many programmers of that James’s introduction to Ocean may I was hired initially as an Amstrad coin-op original and – more importantly
time, had humble beginnings. ‘I started never have happened when he applied programmer, but eventually added – it didn’t crash. ‘Original stuff was a
around 14 years old, when I managed to after seeing a recruiting advertisement. ‘I Spectrum, MSX, Atari ST, Amiga and little different in that there was a rough
get a Sinclair ZX81. I tinkered with that called the number on the ad and spoke SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment four-to-five page design document, and
in basic and typed a few listings in from to Gary Bracey, who sounded less than System) as the platforms faded and new sometimes a mock-up screen or two.
Your Computer. I then sold my 2000AD interested…” which might have been it ones emerged. With something like Addams Family we
comic collection to get a 16K RAM-pack until James mentioned he could code in ‘I moved around a bit within the
but by that time the ZX81 was already 6809. Immediately, Gary invited him to dungeons of Central Street – my first
kind of defunct. I then got a Dragon Manchester. ‘A few days later I turned up station was squeezed between Mike
32 for Christmas, and soon learned to at 6 Central Street. It was a combination Lamb and Ronnie Fowles. Eventually
code in 6809 and wrote my first game, of scary/exciting and I managed to though, Mike had me evicted – in the
The Thomson M05 was Jumbo’s Troubles, which went on to sell an somehow convince Gary that I could nicest possible way – as it was a bit of
launched in France
amazing three copies! A year or so later I handle converting Green Beret for the a squeeze. I then moved in with Paul
in 1984 as a direct
competitor to the got an Amstrad CPC 464 and progressed Thompson range of computers. And Owens, who smoked like a chimney. I
Commodore 64 and the then I headed back to Glasgow and was don’t smoke at all, so that was unpleasant
ZX Spectrum.
soon followed by the M05 development – although Paul himself was nice
system. About 10-12 weeks later I went enough.’
back with a finished Green Beret and they Many of the staffers testify that the just had a framework and kept adding James pictured at his
desk in 1988.
cut me a cheque for £2,500. The most development teams were left to their stuff, fairly informally, with a push to
money I’d ever had in my life at that own devices, and James’s experience wrapping it all up sometime before a
point.’ matches the others. ‘I reported to Gary specified date. The last few weeks were
What was his perception of Ocean Bracey, and nearing completion of a a bit hectic usually – what people call a
before joining the company? ‘Funnily game he would ask “How long to go?” “crunch” these days.
enough I don’t really remember playing every day or so. There wasn’t really any ‘For the most part the atmosphere

to the French-made Thompson M05/ months to develop, with some help section. We were used to pretty fast
T07-70 and T09 range of computers: from Mike Lamb and Ronnie Fowles development, but the three and a half
Green Beret; Arkanoid; Yie Ar Kung-Fu II; on art.’ Further games contributed to weeks was easily a new personal best.
and Game Over parts 1 and 2 published included Arkanoid 2, Daley Thompson’s We got good reviews across the board
by FIL. James developed the games on Olympic Challenge, The Vindicator, The with a few reviewers writing that it
a contract basis each over a four-to- Untouchables, Total Recall, Navy Seals was nothing like the game they’d
six-week period. With Green Beret he and Addams Family. Of these, The previewed a few months previously.’
recalls: ‘I had to fly to Paris for this one. Vindicator and Total Recall proved to be Not every project James worked on
I’d agreed to develop it for the M05, but problematic projects. ‘The Vindicator was went as smoothly or as well, including
when I got to the offices in Paris of FIL developed with Simon Butler and Martin his very last for Ocean. ‘Pugsley’s
they sent me back to the UK with a T07 McDonald on art duties and proved Scavenger Hunt for the SNES was our
and T09, and I quickly ported it to those challenging mostly as a consequence follow up to the Addams Family, and The box art for Pugsley’s
Scavanger Hunt on the
was friendly and fun,’ James platforms too (for free as well – what of personality issues. Simon Butler and although technically and visually superior
NES.
says, recalling the work- was I thinking!). Anyway, I had a torrid John Meegan were falling out all the in every way, it just wasn’t as good a
place atmosphere. ‘At times time trying to get the equipment back time on the Commodore 64 version. game. We definitely had fun with the
it was a little cliquey, but not through Glasgow Airport, but customs John had Simon building each section hardware, though, with lots of colours,
unbearably so. The slightly eventually relented. There was no way I of the 3D corridors as a char-mapped Mode 7 intro, multiple parallax layers,
more social or older people was paying the duties on this stuff !’ screen for each step, and it was brutal.
were generally one clique, James then moved on to developing They eventually used my automatic 3D
where the rest of us were kind games for the Amstrad platform. ‘Combat generation on all the other platforms.
of a “nerd herd”. People tended School was first and took roughly three Paul Owens and Mark Jones ( Junior)
to knuckle down and work were always fighting on the Spectrum
1988’s The Vindicator, most of the day but every now and then, version. Martin and I had a smooth time
Amstrad screen and
if you worked in the more open areas, of it on the Amstrad, but mostly…’ he
Spectrum inlay art.
someone would start to whistle a song adds with a smile, ‘…because he was a lot
which would soon be followed by lots bigger than me.’ etc. It looked great, but ultimately missed Total Recall on the
Amstrad CPC –
of out-of-tune programmers and artists James talks about Total Recall with a certain something. I’d handed in my
whistling along. The guys would also a certain amount of pride. ‘The game notice – verbally – to Gary and expected 1991.
The Imagine gather and chat about all of the usual was a rescue project – the previous to be shown the door immediately, as was
advertisement for
stuff such as movies, television shows developer had screwed it up badly – with the usual case. Instead, Ocean made me
Game Over caused
controversey over the or the latest Fangoria, etc. When you Warren Lancashire, Andy Deakin, Ivan stay and work my notice period during
heroine’s prominent weren’t swamped with work or personal Horn, Simon Butler and myself doing which time I knocked up Mr Nutz TV
breasts. This is the
stuff, it was a great place to work and a complete reboot of the game in about Game Maze for the SNES as a promo
censored version with
the nipples covered, hone your craft.’ three and a half weeks over the Christmas game for some TV show that wanted it.
extra artwork added Naturally, James was involved in a period. Warren and I did the 2D platform It wasn’t exactly a labour of love, so an
by Newsfield artist
number of games that underline the sections; Andy and Ivan worked on the unfortunate swan song to my time at
Oliver Frey to spare the
newsagents’ blushes. growing importance to Ocean of the 2D driving and shooter sections, with Ocean.’
French market, for his games were ports Simon on various sprites for the platform non

I was bawled out of the office by the Australia was always Jon and anything in
Jayne Millar production director, Paul Harrison (now Germany or Spain or France was David.’
sadly deceased), for some obscure reason. A life on the Ocean wave varied
Jayne joined Ocean in 1990 as a sales administrator He took no prisoners and I think it was considerably with the season, as Jayne
but soon stepped up the ranks to international sales some kind of sales initiation – it really remembers. ‘The atmosphere in the
manager. Working at Ocean changed Jayne’s life – she seemed to be survival of the fittest. Paul office changed depending on the time of
married Paul whose role at the time was a little closer to actually ended up becoming a really dear the year. From September to Christmas
home: he was Ocean’s UK sales manager. friend and colleague and I enjoyed many the pressure to get sales in over a lot of
a drink and a laugh with him over the different products was immense, whereas
J
following years. He never had me break the production slots slowed right down
ayne worked for the Royal National clairvoyant was right after all. down in tears, but he did have many of after, so we could afford to relax a little
Institute for the Deaf before joining Jayne admits to not knowing much the admin girls (and probably some of
Ocean at the age of 21. ‘I only left about Ocean before joining. ‘To be the men) in tears at one time or another.
because they were relocating to another honest I had no view of Ocean prior to I remember one colleague calling the
city. An agency I had registered with working with them and I knew no one warehouse to ask whether it was possible
phoned through details for the position there. I’d played a few games growing for someone to count the number of
of export sales administrator at Ocean. up – Frogger, Donkey Kong, etc., but I promotional pens we had sitting on the
I’d been to a clairvoyant that week certainly wasn’t a gamer. I read a few of shelves and his response turned the air
and she told me that I was about to be the UK games magazines before I went blue in a tirade of expletives which were
offered a job which I would be reluctant for the interview and, to be honest, I was screamed down the phone in a five-
to take, but she advised me to take it, astonished that adults actually read them minute response, which resulted in said
and it would end up being one of the – they just looked like comics to me! colleague fleeing to the bathroom in
‘My first interview was in the job floods of tears.
‘‘I was bawled out of the off ice by the agency’s office in central Manchester We often slammed the telephone
with Tony Emmett, who was then down on one another but it was all
production director, Paul Harrison
international sales manager. The second forgotten the next time we spoke. He
(now sadly deceased), the very f irst took place at the Central Street building, sent me a Christmas card one year and
week I was there.” where I met again with Tony Emmett signed it “I’m really sorry for all the
and also Colin Stokes. I also briefly swearing, Love Father Christmas xxxx”.
best things that ever happened to me. I visited the “dungeon”, where I briefly met ‘As sales manager, I reported to and have a laugh. In the early 1990s, the Jayne, with Pat
Kavanagh and Liz
had two interviews and actually turned with the musicians and programmers. I Paul Patterson, and when he was later Monday morning production meetings
Dodds in the Hit Squad
the job down twice. I really didn’t feel remember feeling a little scared by this – promoted to MD (when Infogrames could go either way. If it were a February department at Ocean’s
it was right for me. I then recalled what the building was dark and dank and the took over) I reported to Martin Defries, meeting with nothing looming on the Eastgate Castlefield
office.
the clairvoyant told me, so when I was guys I met briefly downstairs seemed a and when he left the company to Roy calendar, we would laugh and joke our
made a final offer, I accepted and the rest little alien to me back then.’ Campbell. In the early days I spoke way through the full schedule. But if
is history. I ended up working at Ocean It did not all go according to plan in directly to Jon Woods or David Ward if it were an October meeting with ten
for ten years and I also met my husband the first week at Ocean. it was concerning customers they were products to get released in four weeks,
Paul Millar at the company. I guess the ‘The very first week I was there particularly close to. Anything to do with the pressure took its toll and there

was shouting, fists banging on the from the directors, but each day seemed meant the game was unplayable. We had like a rather sweaty Liam Gallagher. Jon
table, accusations, recriminations, door to provide a laugh and a joke along the no time to return them to Amstrad, so Oldham was beside him but wearing
slamming and head shaking galore. way – usually taking the mick out of we went on shift work to cut the required black speedos. An odder couple there
‘It’s easy to look back with rose- some member of staff – particularly slots in each cartridge before they were has never been! And then a group of us
tinted spectacles but certainly, for myself if they were very young or new to shipped out to the stores. were returning from one particular trade
anyway, there were real pressures to deal the job. Making the office junior go ‘Working at Ocean certainly wasn’t show in London – a mixture of sales and
with – especially when we were in lean for a “long weight” in the warehouse, all play and no work but we did party
periods and every sale counted. Being photocopying pictures of the devil’s head hard. We often didn’t get to bed until
in charge of international sales my and then putting the paper back in the 5:00am and then we would be in a 9
workload was enormous and there were photocopier so that the next person who o’clock business meeting – living off Pro-
never enough made a copy thought that they were Plus. Ocean’s parties were legendary and
hours in the day. cursed – that sort of thing!’ would be the “must have” party ticket at
I often used to It might be supposed that any trade show for customers and fellow
go into work on management frowned on the shenanigans, publishers alike. We had comedians such
a Saturday when but Jayne says that wasn’t always the as Bob Monkhouse, fantastic groups
no one else was in case. ‘Gary Bracey was one of the biggest playing, like The Drifters. We had ice
the building and jokers. I remember him pretending to sculptures, vodka fountains and free development personal including myself, Ocean staff at one of
the many Ocean parties.
do a good eight stab himself in the eye with a knife and drinks galore – tens of thousands of Mike Delves, Adele Welsh and Jon
From the back, left
hours’ work just he was screaming with pain while white pounds were spent on those parties over Oldham – and we were regaling tales of to right: Adele Welch
fluid oozed from his clenched fist. After the years. our escapades at the show and making (operations manager),
Janey DeNordwell
As the Square Albert my horrified screaming had died down, ‘We always stayed in pretty decent each other laugh. When we arrived at
(outside PR company),
had been the Central
he burst out laughing and showed me hotels whenever we were away on Manchester-Piccadilly and got up to Julia Doyle (PA to the
Street local, so Dukes
92 was for the local one of those small UHT milk cartons you business and Ocean was not like some leave, a gentleman sat near us asked, directors), Pat Kavanagh
(Hit Squad manager),
meeting place for get in hotels as part of the tea and coffee companies who flew their staff to the “Where do you lot work? I’d love to work
Jayne Millar, Scott
Ocean’s Castlefield
facilities, which he’d screwed up in his fist. USA the day before the trade show and somewhere like that, it sounds amazing!” Bagshaw (PR executive).
offices. The canal-side
pub-restaurant was ‘The Central Street sales office was returned them to the UK the evening And I guess that summed it up nicely. Front row: Martin Defries
(international sales
originally a stable block pretty cramped and crowded,’ Jayne it finished. We’d have at least two-to- ‘I have to say that I made life-long
director), Paul Millar (UK
for the horses delivering
says, recalling some of the funnier and three days’ free time when we could do friends at Ocean. I am still in touch with sales manager).
foods off barges to the
Merchants’ warehouse more challenging times. ‘If we had an whatever we wanted, whether that was many of them now, and a group of us
opposite. to try and start the next week off without important visitor coming we all ran hiring a car and going off for the day, met up again only last year in Dukes
having a pile of work to catch up on. around like lunatics a couple of hours relaxing by the pool, or going to theme 92, outside the old Ocean offices in
‘The day-to-day working conditions before and tidied and cleaned. We even parks. I remember one particular hot and Castlefield. I travelled the world and I
were very relaxed, however, especially had to Sellotape the carpet to the floor sunny May day in LA, when most of the also met my husband at Ocean and so
before Infogrames. Most lunch times before Nintendo visited us. I remember Ocean sales people were relaxing in their I can definitely say that working there
you’d find a lot of the Ocean staff in the getting called into work over one swimming attire around the hotel pool, I changed my life completely.’
local drinking establishment, Dukes 92. weekend because the first order using the looked up to see Mike Delves sauntering non
Everyone had a job to do and they got Commodore 64 cartridges had arrived down the hotel steps towards us in a
on with it without much interference minus a critical slot in the cart, which full sheep-skin coat and shades, looking

tiny room just big enough for the two of basement to create
Kevin Oxland us, and we faced a wall that backed onto the sound for the
a graveyard. Pretty creepy at night.’ game. I remember
Kevin started in Ocean in 1990 as a graphic artist and His first impressions of working at he was placed just
worked on Lemmings, Hook and Jurassic Park in his Ocean were equally cheerful. ‘It was a fun outside our door
short stay at the company. place to work. People were serious about in the hallway.
making games and I remember it being There were no real
big compared to my previous role with “challenges” as such,
a small indie developer. Lots of projects, only to get the
lots of people and the control of design game completed
A
fter working as a graphic was assigned to Hook. I had a couple of and direction were totally in the hands of on time, which we
designer for a small friends – John Palmer and Bobby Earl – the developers. Steve Lavache was my line did. I do remember
independent developer, who already worked there, and I worked manager, but for more important things we had issues with
Kevin joined Ocean in 1990. ‘My role with Bobby on Hook; and I still work we always went to see Gary Bracey. There using the likeness
at Ocean was pretty much the same as with both of them today.’ of the actors in the
I’d been doing: background artist and “We faced a wall that movie and we had
level designer.’ But as he points out, he
backed onto a graveyard.” to change the art
was also a competent programmer. ‘I so it didn’t look like
got into the industry by purchasing a wasn’t a rigid management structure in Robin Williams. I
Commodore 64 after seeing my friend place. I think that’s probably one reason believe we had a huge following for Hook Hook on the PC –
had one, and from that moment on I Ocean was as successful as it was. The in France. I remember a French journalist
1992
was hooked. I started as a programmer, creative people knew what they were mentioning it when he came to visit us
writing my own games at home, totally doing and were left to get on with it.’ in the basement. As far as I remember
self-taught. Before joining Ocean, my Joining at the end of the 8-bit scene, we weren’t paid any royalties, although
time was split between coding, art and Kevin worked on the still popular 16-bit we did get a bonus. We were promised
design, as it was in those machines, and the rising gaming power a figure at the start, but I had to bug
days, but when I joined of the PC. In recalling some of the games Gary for it once we had finished. I got it
Ocean I dedicated my A friend recommended he apply he worked on, as his first Hook remains though, so all was good.’
career to art and design and to Ocean. ‘They needed people to join an enduring memory. ‘I wasn’t present And other titles? ‘Lemmings on the
dropped coding.’ the Hook team and asked me over to from the very start, but joined soon after Game Boy – I had a very limited role
By the time Kevin started see them. I was living in Leeds at the work on Hook began. Bobby Earl was on this. Gerald Weatherup was the
at Ocean, the software house time, so it wasn’t such a great hike to the lead programmer and I became the programmer, and all I did was convert
had been in operation for travel across the Pennines (which I did lead background artist, and together we some Lemmings graphics so he could use
The Nintendo Game Boy almost a decade, so as he says it was not every day subsequently). Steve Lavache designed most of the game. There were them. I started design work on Jurassic
Lemmings came out in
an unknown quantity. ‘Ocean was always interviewed me, and it was pretty straight various 2D animators on the project too, Park after Hook, but I left to work for
1993.
the big publisher in the UK renowned forward. I got the job there and then. but I can’t remember how many now. Virgin Interactive in London during that
for delivering licensed games or the big The Hook team was in the basement, and By today’s standards, we were a very time.’
movie conversions. When I joined, I I can remember Bobby and I sitting in a small team. Dean Evans joined us in the non

an effective system. ‘Lorraine and I
Julian Hicks introduced systems for tracking and
fixing bugs that have since become the
Julian joined Ocean in 1991 as a test manager with the standards used throughout the industry.’
job of ensuring the quality of each product released by However, he does go on to say, ‘I was
the company met the high standards required. probably not well prepared for game
development, coming from retail. I just
knew that most games were released with
a few minor bugs, the role of test was to
J
remove as many as possible in the time
ulian Hicks started work at Ocean company are memorable. ‘It was a hive available, but I always knew a few little
shortly after the move from of activity. Ocean was a place where ones would slip through – it was the
Central Street to Castlefield. In his everyone both worked hard and had lots nature of the beast.’
twenties, he had substantial experience of fun. There were wonderful moments Aside from vague recollections of Julian fondly remembers
testing Sleepwalker on
of the games industry through working of silliness, from airsoft guns to strippers. the odd office party, Julian’s memories
a multitude of systems,
in and managing computer games shops. There was a work-hard, play-hard of Ocean also include burnt-out four Amiga screens and
He reported to Gary Bracey, an Ocean approach and mentality. The testers cartridges… ‘Some of the titles going one from the PC version
at the bottom. The game
name with which he was already familiar, were often expected to play games all through test in my time were for
was made to promote
and the person who interviewed him. night, and all weekend, especially when cartridge-based games systems. When the charity Comic Relief,
titles had slipped a little. Some even had a new version arrived, EPROMs were and all profits from sales
‘‘There were wonderful moments of sleeping bags under their desks, and we blown and installed in a test cartridge of the game went to the
charity in 1993.
silliness, from airsoft guns to strippers.” did have a pretty huge pizza bill.’ before being plugged in. The cry of “Oh
Although Julian only worked at the little lights came on” still echoes in
On day-to-day business, however, he Ocean for 12 months, his job meant he my head as chips inserted the wrong way
had more contact with others. ‘Lorraine play-tested so many games they became round lit up as they were powered up.’
Starr, Dawn Drake, Martin McDonald, a blur. ‘I don’t actually know how many And truths best left unsaid… ‘In
and of course the awesome testers Lee, games went through test in the year. I my hazy memories, I think the final
Gareth and Kane stick in my mind. was there for dozens, sure, and most of straw which brought my employment
And then there was Barry Leitch, who those on multiple platforms. Of course, to an end was admitting to a magazine
produced some great audio and Gerald every title had to come through test. And interviewer that all games had bugs, and
Weatherup, a prolific programmer. They each platform version of each title took that while testing might flag many so
were very good at their jobs, and always its own path through the teams of testers. we could fix them, it wasn’t possible to
unflappable! So many others were great Ensuring testing was done to the latest promise there were none in the released
to work with. I got to know a huge range versions was pretty key.’ game. Despite the truth of my words, it
of great people while at Ocean. All a The testing process of any product was just something you just couldn’t say
really good bunch of people to work must adhere to rigid standards, and to the press.’
with.’ as Julian is quick to point out he non
Initial impressions of working at the worked with Lorraine Starr in devising

game-graphics experience and one I will
Dawn Drake admit to finding highly frustrating, but I
was eager to learn and fortunate to have
Dawn commenced her career at Ocean in 1988 and Simon as my exceptionally patient and
soon teamed up with Mike Lamb to create the look and equally talented mentor.’
feel of many of Ocean’s classic titles. She stayed with Dawn’s first impressions of Ocean
the company until 1997 and became infamous for her were, like so many, mixed. ‘Total
party persona. amazement! I was actually working for
the Ocean Software. And, instead of
working in an open-plan room with
I
n her early twenties, Dawn went an advert for a board game artist I took somewhat “fragrant” men, I had my own
to Ocean as an artist/animator the job. Some time later I joined Canvas room and a programmer! The offices, ‘On joining Ocean I was Mike Stark but stylish
graphics for the Amstrad
and game designer after gaining Software in Crosby [on Liverpool’s though, were somewhat to be desired Lamb’s assigned artist and joined him
loading screen of Miami
experience with another games developer. northern outskirts] as an artist/animator. – in summer we use to have a trail of half-way through the making of Target Vice.
‘I started life as a graphic designer when Steve Cain and Ian Weatherburn, both ants walking up the wall. I never worked Renegade on the Spectrum and Amstrad
I left college, but I needed something ex-Imagine employees, who started the too late after someone told me that the (as the previous artist had left for the
Dawn contemplating her
next move in the office a little more challenging than doing company, and Simon Butler who also Quakers buried their dead underneath army). It was a success, and I got to stay.
of Steve Lavache. adverts for the local paper, so when I saw worked there, interviewed me for the the meeting house. I found out later this ‘I remember when I was doing the
position. Ian was concerned because he wasn’t true, but even the thought scared intro screen for Miami Vice on the
thought I would be a distraction as the me. The office was really was dark and Amstrad CPC, I sketched out the face
only female in the company. But Simon reminiscent of working in dungeons, but designs and tried to replicate what I’d
and Steve thought my work was good the atmosphere and morale more than drawn on the screen. I was so angry
enough to gain me my first step into the made up for it. with myself for not being able to get the
world of computer games. image I wanted that I turned the monitor
‘Canvas often developed third-party screen side-up and traced the image on
titles for Ocean and US Gold, so I was to it to speed the process up – much to
aware of Gary Bracey and Steve Lavache, the horror of the others in the office!
since they both visited – Gary for But deadlines being deadlines, you didn’t
progress updates and Steve to help with really have the luxury of wasting time.
any machine/technical problems that we Those were the days when you had to Target Renegade
presented in Ocean’s
had. When the company hit hard times, work 24/7 with pizza on the side and a
1988 catalogue.
Simon left for Ocean and recommended promise of a bonus.
I follow him.’ ‘Steve Wahid was the head of the
Duly, Dawn found herself being artists, but Lorraine Starr and Gary
interviewed again, this time by Gary Bracey were also very pro-active within
Bracey, Lorraine Starr and Steve Wahid the department as a whole. I can honestly
– and she was in. ‘It was a pretty steep say that we all worked well together. I
learning curve due to my lack of actual consider it overall as a collective team

story. Down in the dungeon there was Frog Spit. Two of those and your knees
plenty of harmony between artists and went, but it tasted divine. Unfortunately,
home-grown programmers – although I always had to catch the last train at
just once in a while certain individuals 10:20pm from Victoria to get back to
had to be separated from throttling Southport, so I never stayed to witness
one another, but it was mostly a relaxed the end results of a good night out.
atmosphere. We worked hard all week ‘The nights out made Ocean special
and then on Friday and into the weekend because we all socialised together in
we “played”. In the early years, the whole the earlier years and it was a great way
company (including David Ward, Jon to boost morale when the going got
Woods and the girls from upstairs – tough. Many a team-building trek would
Hilary, Nicola, Tracy to name a few) met be made to various far-away places.
at the Square Albert on the corner of Unfortunately when Ocean expanded
Albert Square, with usually a free-bar to and moved to Castlefield, this started to
start off the night and with us all ending change.’
in a nightclub somewhere. Paul Hughes Needless to say, Dawn’s gaming Dunn doing the sound. As I started half- Although Ocean had
to buy its own arcade
concocted an emerald-green drink called credentials at Ocean make for a long list, way through the project the challenge
machines for licensed
A Polaroid photo of effort, helping out and giving advice to but some notable entries stand out. was to make the graphics look and feel conversions, at least
Dawn with TV celebrity
each other. Good communication, this ‘I was the artist on Target Renegade similar to the previous artist’s work. The Hollywood provided film
Keith Chegwin and stills for reference…
the film director. They is what I think made the early years of on the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad with reviews for this game were very good in
here, one of a scene
visited the Ocean Ocean very special.’ Mike Lamb programming and Jonathan the press. from Darkman. And
offices to shoot material
In his interview Mike Lamb recalled ‘The next game Mike and I worked left, one from Batman
for Chegwin’s show to show the caped
Chegwin Checks It Out the attention that Dawn used to get from on with Jonathan was RoboCop, again for
crusader’s outfit.
in the summer of 1988. the other male developers as they came the Spectrum and Amstrad. Mike and Someone has scrubbed
into the room to try and impress her. I both watched the movie and evolved out his face, first with
a blue, then with a red
The continual interruptions annoyed him a game design around many of the set
pen.
because the distractions stopped them scenes. I found it challenging giving
getting on with their work. RoboCop the robotic walk, but I got there
The mega-licence: So was she a distraction? and then helped the artists on the other
Batman – Spectrum and
‘It never bothered me being formats. The game was number one in
Amiga screens.
the only girl, the guys were UK charts for 18 weeks and won Ocean
so great to work with I felt many awards following great reviews in
accepted straight away – it the magazines.
must have been my sense of ‘With Daley Thompson’s Olympic
humour. Either that or they Challenge I helped out with some of
were scared of me. I was never the graphics on the Spectrum version
backward in coming forward with Bill Harbison. Batman on the
vocally – but that’s for another ZX Spectrum, Amiga and Game

Mike Posehn, John Boy followed, where Mike and I were graphic and programming styles and
Patrick Manley and
parcelled off to New York to see the personalities that clashed. I had lost faith
Tony Barnes created
Desert Strike – Return new Batman film and to devise a game in my work at Ocean at this time and
to the Gulf, first of the from that. We also managed to purchase my morale was really low. The game was
successful ‘Strike’
gifts as give-away prizes, with first prize never released.’
games, for Electronic
Arts, released in 1992 a meal at the Midland with myself and As the ‘only girl in the village’, Dawn
on multiple platforms. Mike! Great reviews. had a special role to play at the many
Ocean gained the
‘Darkman on the Game Boy was Ocean parties. ‘For me, every Christmas ‘‘For me, every Christmas meant
I had to be different and add a little
licence for the Nintendo
Game Boy version. programmed again with Mike Lamb meant I had to be different to the
and this time with Gerald Weatherup. standard dress code of the other guys, more fun.”
The same formula followed, where we in such a large team as well. and add a little more fun. During the
watched the film, received some set ‘The Untouchables on the PC was next, working week I was one of the “lads”, played on Gary Bracey. My friend
photos and then designed a basic game with Ivan Davies as the head artist and so every year I made an effort and had Caroline had been set up to phone Gary
from what we saw. I was pretty unhappy Robbie Tinman programming. I was an outfit made. One year it was rubber, and tell him he was to be interviewed for
on this project. It was rushed and as a drafted in to help out with a section of next PVC, next a velvet dress with huge a programme on Sky television regarding
result gained average-to-poor reviews. graphics due to a deadline crisis. I was blue taffeta ruffle (looking like one of games, etc. Seeing as how Gary held
‘All of Ocean went to a viewing of unhappy with the graphics but unable to Robert Palmer’s video backing girls). numerous interviews, this was nothing
Jurassic Park prior to the cinema release change anything at that time, due to the Another year was PVC pants with a out of the ordinary, except he was excited
and I was involved in producing the tight deadline. The game got generally brightly layered top and black wig to that he’d be on Sky. Then, once everyone
create a Spanish Cher look. One year I had got wind of him going to appear on
even sported a beehive and outlandish Sky, posters started to emerge depicting
acid-look 1960s outfit, which impressed Gary announcing: “There are those on
Ocean’s 1992 Game Boy David Ward.’ Sky TV and those that aren’t”.
version of Darkman. Ambitious Dreadnought
One particular prank sticks in her ‘Gary took it well, considering.’ on the PC never saw the
mind. ‘I can remember a prank being non light of day.
graphics for the PC version of the game. poor reviews in UK, but sold well in
The team had to be split into sections USA. I then worked on Desert Strike for
for various formats to work on such a the Game Boy and Hook on the PC.
big title and the deadline for delivering ‘Dreadnought was my final project at
the game was crucial in that it had to tie Ocean. This was the first time I dabbled
in with the film’s release. This is the first in 3D graphics. I was part of a very large
game I worked on at Ocean where I was team for the time, at least 17 personnel,
paid royalties and the first time working which meant there were too many

caricatures of the staff that made
Brian Flanagan everyone laugh.
‘Some of the toys were a bit on the
Brian created the graphics on a variey of titles dangerous side - Paul Hughes was into
during his eight years at Ocean. When he started in Japanese weapons, Martin McDonald
1989 he first worked on Operation Thunderbolt for and Gary Bracey usually had airsoft guns.
the Commodore 64. He also worked on games on In one notorious instance a crossbow
Nintendo’s Game Boy and SNES consoles. was tested on a door, the bolt went right
through — I believe John Meegan was in Game Boy Pang, 1990.
close vicinity when the bolt bounced off a
B
rian Flanagan was a 19-year-old As it was his first ‘real’ job, Brian’s wall very close to his head.’
graphic artist when he joined perception of Ocean, and its current staff Brian recounts his position at
Ocean in 1989. However, his were apparent. ‘I held Ocean in pretty that time. “Even though I reported
story with Ocean starts a little earlier in high regard as they were really high to Steve Wahid and Lorraine Starr,
his life, while at school, as Brian explains. profile at the time, and guys like Steve it was the programmers who were
‘In the UK, we have a system Wahid, John Meegan, Steve Thompson often self-appointed art directors and
whereby secondary school pupils were names I was already aware of. I had made the decisions on the look of the
(generally 14-year-olds) get a so-called no idea what to expect. To be sat working game. Lorraine tended to take care of
work experience placement at a company on graphics, and getting paid was mind scheduling and getting review builds
for a week or two. Most of the time, the blowing to me initially. sorted whilst Gary would oversee projects
school gives you a list of crappy office ‘It was all very seat of the pants as in general, asking for changes when he
jobs to choose from within which you well, there were scant design documents saw fit.’
will be making cups of tea the entire time for the games and as far as arcade During his eight years at Ocean,
conversions were concerned we just Brian worked on a large number of Brian blowing onto a the development work behind some of
partition window in the
‘‘I had to draw one of the sprites from videoed the game and set about copying titles, some of which never made it to
‘dungeon’ at Central
the games he was involved in. “I started
the art. We figured out what could and the shelves. He then goes on to explain on Operation Thunderbolt from about a
New Zealand Story as a test.” couldn’t be done on the fly — real sit
Street.
quarter of the way into development,
down design meetings were quite rare.’ it was my first game at Ocean and
you’re there. I got my careers officer to It wasn’t all work and no play to my horror the programmer was as
call Ocean instead. I then thereafter did though in the Ocean offices. ‘It was inexperienced as I was. I guess I was
intern work for them during the school fun with always plenty to talk about. chosen as there was no one else available
holidays. After going to college for a year, There was lots of lunchtime and after to work on the game. Unfortunately the
and on Simon Butler’s advice, I started hours drinking and often some of the game was canned and rebooted in the
working full-time at Ocean. staff would always be getting new toys, last few weeks of development, which
‘Steve Wahid interviewed me whether it be consoles or stacks of was a great relief for me.
for the Central Street office job; I had graphic novels or videos. Simon Butler, ‘Steve Thomson, John Meegan and
to draw one of the sprites from New Martin McDonald and Bill Harbison Paul Hughes were pulled in to do a
Zealand story as a test.’ were also always drawing comics and whole new version of the game and none

of my original assets were used. worked on that never got past more team members quitting the game never
‘Total Recall was a collaborative than some sprites that I made with Bill panned out past a couple of backgrounds
effort; for this one most of the art staff Harbison. We had a rough playable demo and a character jumping around.’
at Ocean were called in to work on the and a title screen before it was handed Some development projects clearly
game as this was a reboot due to the over to “Painting By Numbers” who left more of an impression than others.
team at Active Minds failing to create a started the game again from scratch. ‘The Shadow was a rather a messy
game worthy of the Ocean logo. I created This was one of Ocean’s first attempts project based on the movie. We finished
the backgrounds for the Mars stage; I at Nintendo Entertainment System the game on the SNES and Sega
development on nasty hacked NES units Megadrive but the film bombed at
and on-cart graphics tools that crashed the box office, and with Alec Baldwin
disassociating himself from the movie, I
believe the game was never released.’
Finally, Brian recalls the final game
he worked at the company. ‘Silver And finally, he recalls this eye- The Shadow –
handsome graphics on
was my final project at Ocean where opening snippet: ‘The same offices
the SNES.
I was involved in character modelling had a shower which we
if you so much as looked at them the and animation within a huge team, all thought was a cool
wrong way. all inexperienced in 3DS Max with a addition especially if we
‘The Addams Family was my next design document mostly in the head of needed to freshen up after
game on the Game Boy — it was a the designer. There was no cohesive art working all night to deliver
disastrous project. Originally my design direction and a huge lack of resources for a project. They were locked
was more akin to Parasol Stars, but in the amount of work to be done. I got laid about a week after we
the end it devolved into a very generic off at that time as did many others after
YM0242 showing on sneaked in huge “808” numbers on the platformer. the Infogrames buyout.’
the background of The
walls as I was a big fan of “808 State” at ‘I was then called on to design some Brian then goes on to mention a
Untouchables on the
SNES. the time. graphics for The Untouchables on the select few of titbits from the past.
‘Pang was the first full project I SNES – my brief was to make the game ‘One of the testers at Ocean had Ocean’s 1991 release of
The Addams Family on
worked on and this was with Gerald more appropriate looking for the console. a glass eye and dropped it into James
the Game Boy.
Weatherup programming. I designed the I snuck in another serial number this Higgins’ pint one evening; James out-
levels as well as creating the graphics - all one being YMO242, a small tribute to grossed him by attempting to tongue out
done on the tiniest available memory the Electronics bands “Yellow Magic his eye socket.
cartridge for the Game Boy. This Orchestra” and ”Front 242”. ‘We had three offices in that Central
explains why the backgrounds are so ‘The second game I was worked on Street block; the third time we moved
sparse. The backgrounds are two colours that was canned was Cold Steel for the was to an office opposite the main moved in, in fear of “some” of the guys
as the darker colours in the background SNES. It was my very first attempt at building above a gay club; most days we using the showers to impress some of the
made the main moving game sprites hard fully designing a game and was planned had to deal with the bass from banging girls brought back in the early hours of
to see. to be a mixture of Castlevania meets house music coming from downstairs the morning from the local clubs.’
‘RoboCop 2 was the first game I Strider. Due to limited resources and when DJs were practising.’ non

stand and spoke directly to Gary Bracey, didn’t smoke you might as well have
Stephen Thomson who was kind enough to give me five done, and most days the air smelt more
minutes of his time so I could show him like a nightclub than a place of work.
Brummie Stephen – ‘Jolly’ because of his happy-go- my work. As the file names popped up Everything was nicotine-stained and the
lucky nature – was all set to start a full-time college Gary immediately asked how I knew walls were sticky with tar. This was made
course in fine art in 1987, at the tender age of 18. But they were making RobocCop. I said worse by the fact that the old Central
his guilty pleasure of creating Commodore 64 bitmap (rather cringingly) that Ocean made Street site was in the basement of the
images in his spare time landed him with a job at Ocean. all the best licensed games. He then
said his artist left yesterday, there was a ‘‘I was in awe and very quiet the f irst
vacancy and I would be perfect. So just
few weeks; and I was surprised to see
‘I
had amassed quite a lot of on this than most of the other images like that I got a full-time job. I cancelled
bitmaps screens, mainly of games I’d done up to that point. It turned out my place at university and headed up to how dingy the place was.”
I enjoyed playing and images from really well. I considered it the best work Manchester, a member of the gaming
popular culture, which seemed to be the I’d done in pixels up to that point, so I industry at last.’ Quaker Church, so the windows we had
thing for a computer artist to do back in added it to the rest of the images on my He may have buttered up Gary, but were tiny. Today’s Health and Safety
those days,’ Steve says with a mischievous portfolio floppy and went to the CES the truth is that Steve wasn’t all that would have shut us down’.
smile. ‘It was a totally self-taught skill, show in London. I hoped to show off impressed by Ocean’s output in his early Steve’s first assignment was with John
although I did apply some of the lessons this and the other pieces I’d done. My teen playing years. Meegan, who at the time was starting
learned at art college to some of my later dream was to get into the games industry. ‘If I’m being totally honest, I wasn’t work on the Commodore 64 version of
non-professional pieces.’ I’d tried a few times to get some work, blown away by the majority of Ocean RoboCop. ‘I recall him using Spectrum
Steve dabbled in the games market but I really wanted to do this full- games. A few really stood out as classics. assets as placeholders, which looked
briefly before joining Ocean. ‘My first time and I was becoming less and less Wizball, Parallax and Rambo I loved, bizarre. He did make me feel really
contribution to a game title was a loading interested in “real” art at this point. mainly due to the amazing Galway welcome and chatted about the area and
and in-game screen for Mirrorsoft’s ill- ‘I walked straight up to the Ocean soundtracks. I was aware of all the pubs etc.
fated Tetris.’ As the story goes, Mirrorsoft Commodore 64 development teams, ‘Being from Birmingham and not
had a faulty agreement with Atari to because Ocean tended to put the authors’ used to other regional accents, I then
distribute Tetris – Nintendo sent a cease- names on the title screen or the high- went on to really put my foot in it –
and-desist letter to Atari advising them score tables within the game. I really games tester Kane Valentine wandered in
that they indeed had sole rights to the wanted to meet Steve Wahid – I loved to say hello and being stupid I asked him,
game – so for Steve not the best of starts his loading screens and looked forward to “What part of Liverpool are you from?”
Stephen at his Ocean to make his name known in the games learning some tips from him.’
workstation with Trevor
industry. After his move to Manchester, Steve Cover art for the 1989
Brown at Central Street. Beach Volley Amiga
Trevor left the company But he remained undeterred. ‘I was wondered initially if he had made the
game inlay and C64
after working on working on an image of RoboCop I right decision. screen, left.
Operation Thunderbolt.
found in a movie magazine. I tried to ‘I was in awe and very quiet the first
get the bitmap as close to the original as few weeks; and I was surprised to see
I possibly could with the Commodore how dingy the place was. Everybody
64’s limited palette, spending more time smoked (including me) and if you

Kane being a proper Manchester lad For Steve, his time at Ocean proved
wasn’t impressed. John on the other hand to be a happy learning curve. He says
laughed his head off.’ that John Meegan left him to do what
Fortunately, the faux-pas wasn’t he liked. ‘He would block out a level and
held against him. hand it back to me to dress up. As we got
‘I reported to used to working with each other I would character on screen. The level which gave
Lorraine for admin suggest stuff. This was great because I got me the most fun as I worked on it was
type stuff and Steve a much deeper insight into how games the one where you protect the pram in
Wahid for graphical were made and the limitations of the the railway station.’
input into games – machine. John was very good like that. Steve also worked on the conversion
and Gary from time Plus he appreciated the hard work I put to the Commodore 64 of Taito’s
to time, although he into the artwork and always had a strong Operation Thunderbolt. ‘A real challenge!
was always out and design ethic when it came to layout of We had literally no time to do it. I was
about so we didn’t titles menus and other coded elements. in charge of the art on the 3D sections, He did a fantastic job of this, actually Stephen playing
Operation Thunderbolt
see him as much. I think this gave the titles we worked on which were rock-hard to set up and improving the look of the arcade
(title screen left above)
I used to speak to an extra edge.’ a technical challenge to say the least. graphics.’ with Bill Harbison.
Lorraine loads, got Steve worked on many of Ocean’s Nerves were frayed on that one, with Not everyone who worked at Ocean
on really well with licensed games including RoboCop, The many late nights and weekends for all. had the same generally happy experience
her, she was like a Untouchables, Total Recall and Navy Seals. We tried as best we could to follow the as Steve – in such a large company
Navy Seals, 1989, was big sister, and always had advice for some With the last, Steve recalls, the time arcade machine artwork. I remember working at the edge of possibility, it
another big film licence
issue we were having.’ constraints on the development were being envious of John Brandwood and would be surprising were that so – but
which suffered from a
too-tight development Steve soon settled into life at Ocean. typical in leading to a licensed product Robert Hemphill working on the ST Steve compliments the talent of those he
schedule. ‘Once I got used to Manchester and the with so much potential being turned version. The sprites were extracted from worked with, singling out Jon O’Brien
people I had a real laugh. Mr. Meegan into a run-of-the-mill side-scrolling the ROM and it was Robert’s task to and Matthew Cannon in particular
has a famously wicked sense of humour shoot ’em up. ‘The game ended up going extract and clean up the arcade art. praising their contribution to the Ocean
and I had such a laugh with him. John on a cart for the ill-fated Commodore assembly line. ‘I had a great deal of
Brandwood and Robert console [C64GS] so I made sure that respect for Jon
Hemphill were in the there were plenty of loading screens O’Brien, he did
cubicle room next to John so at least the player felt they got a bit some amazing things
and I. One thing that was more value for money. Untouchables in code. Jon and I
really cool was listening was the first game I worked on that part-owned and ran
Navy Seals also made it to Jonathan Dunn composing tunes for we really thought through its look by Clockwork Tortoise
as a cart on the doomed
the games. I think some of the other using concept art before even plotting years later when we
Commodore C64GS.
guys were driven a bit mad by the sounds a pixel. It was decided pretty early on lived in the States,
but I loved it. I used to hassle him by that we were going to make this a step making The Adventures of Batman and Total Recall on the C64
– published by Ocean
wandering into the music room from up from the usual title by designing five Robin for the Sega Mega Drive. I loved
in 1991.
time to time as he was composing the very different game types, with radically Matthew Cannon’s music as well.’
RoboCop tune, because I loved it.’ different representations of the player’s non

Mark Jones Snr
Mark Jones ‘Senior’ specialised in graphics for the
Amstrad CPC and he created some of the best ever seen
on the platform, particularly with Gryzor.
Another fine looking
Amstrad game of 1987
– Gryzor.
we were developing on. I know the
T
here were two Mark Joneses grammar school and Ocean was my first arcade room was later moved but I
at Ocean, a concatenation of job. I was frustrated with the quality of do think back on that white-washed
coincidences at which Mark artwork found in many Amstrad games, basement very fondly.’
smiles. ‘I shared a flat with another artist, as they were mostly bad ports from the And on payday… ‘I used to walk
a Spectrum artist, with the name of Spectrum and Commodore 64 versions. down to visit a comic shop nearby called
Mark Jones. So, two artists working for I knew the CPC could do better, so I keep plugging away. Ocean was one of Odyssey 7 and pick up the latest copy of
the same company, living in the began working on my own versions of the first companies to reply.’ Watchmen.’
same flat, with the same names, graphics seen in the popular games at Ubiquitous Gary Bracey interviewed ‘I was extremely happy to be working
working on the same titles, but the time. I was also using the Amstrad to Mark (and also John Brandwood, for Ocean. It was one of the major labels
on different machines. I started create art –painting with pixels, one pixel a fellow Amstrad developer) in the and it was my first job. I was working
at Ocean before he did so I got at a time: choose a colour, place the pixel, Central Street dungeon and soon after with talented people,
the title “Senior” and he got move to next pixel, etc. It was laborious he joined the company. ‘Everyone at producing great
“Junior”, even though I was only but a great way to learn the trade. I’d Ocean loved making games. I had a little games that were
18 at the time.’ hoped to take a computer graphics degree corner to myself from which I could well received by the
Some claimed Senior was course at art college but I remember hear Martin Galway working on the gaming public and
a little older and the wiser, but being told, quite bluntly, that there was Short Circuit music in his tiny studio/ the press. Yes. It
both produced graphics and no such thing as computer graphics. So, I office. There were no windows in the was a special time.’
loading screens for some of Ocean’s best- began to submit the artwork I finished to arcade game-testing area where I would Mark sat next to
known games. various software companies. I even sent spend hours playing the arcade games and reported to John
Mark was at Ocean for just 12 my work to Amstrad Action magazine and we needed to convert. I actually got very Brandwood, who
Arkanoid, published by
months in 1986–87. ‘Before Ocean, I was received a very nice hand-written letter good at Arkanoid and videotaped it for with Mark formed
Imagine in 1987. simply a very keen amateur. I had just left back from them, which inspired me to reference. It was the first game I worked Ocean’s Amstrad
on, converting it for the Commodore 64. team during his year at the company.
The arcade machines had much more Mark worked on the graphics for the
clout than the small home computers, so arcade conversions of the C64 Arkanoid,
it was a huge challenge to recreate the and for the Amstrad on Renegade and
“feel” of the original in the conversion Gryzor, as well as their loading screens.
with the limited power of the platforms ‘The games took weeks to make, not

years, so there was no time to get bored.
Once the game was done it was often
released soon after – it was more like
producing a record than a movie. I used
to check out the reviews in the popular
magazines of the time. The very best bit
of creating games is seeing the reviews
– we used to get all the magazines early
and scan through them. I remember that
Gryzor scored 10/10 for graphics, which
Three Amstrad screens made my day.’
from 1987’s Renegade,
Mark recalls visiting a local computer
and the magazine
advertisement – violent gaming show in Manchester with John
but bloodless… Brandwood and watching visitors to the
show playing his games and listening to
their comments. ‘I vividly remember one
small boy’s face when I told him that I
made that game, pointing to Gryzor. His
mouth dropped open, and he whispered,
“Wow!” ’
Gryzor is the game Mark is most
proud of. ‘I felt we really pushed what
the CPC could do with this title and I
felt it was the best version. The game
got amazing reviews that proved the
Amstrad was a great machine which the reactions to the tragedy as they
never got the respect it deserved.’ affected him. ‘After Hungerford there
Having been largely ignored by the was a lot of concern regarding violence in
non-specialist media, computer games video games within the press. Renegade
came into the public spotlight in an was just about to go out the door and I
unhappy way as a consequence of a had put in a blood “leak” from one of the
tragedy. On 19 August 1987, in the small bad guys’ head once you had defeated
Berkshire town of Hungerford, 27-year- him. I remember it being a nice big
old Michael Robert Ryan shot and killed pool of blood. It was too late to change
16 people before killing himself. The the graphics themselves so we changed
seemingly pointless massacre was in part the blood colour to blue to symbolise
blamed on Ryan’s obsession with violent “tears”… maybe.’
videos and games. Mark well remembers non

Paul Millar
Ocean’s continued expansion during the later 1980s
required ever more from the sales force, and
Paul Millar joined Ocean as UK sales manager in 1991.
He experienced the merger with Infogrames
and fulfilled his sales role untill 1999. accounts department and – for a brief departmental meetings replaced the more
spell – I had a small office all to myself. free-wheeling system.’ The Simpsons – Bart
vs The Space Mutants
This was the Christmas we almost had Before the more corporate attitude
B
on the Atari ST, and the
efore joining Ocean Paul Millar R Us contract for the budget label Hit a monopoly on the charts with WWF and restraints crept in, there was plenty Sega Genesis/Megadrive
worked for Impact, a sales and Squad. We had four 1 x 2-metre bays to Wrestlemania and The Simpsons. of light-hearted fun. ‘Neil Critchlow box.
marketing agency, of which fill with Hit Squad products and needed ‘The whole company, top-to- and I scanned a face of Jesus
Ocean was one of the clients. He visited a team of merchandisers to fill them. bottom, was really young, so it had from a book ever so faintly –
retail shops all over the north-west After an initial twelve months of madness that excitement and dynamism about think Turin Shroud. We then
promoting and selling games. A key part trying to set it up and understand it, it it. We were managing multi-million- photocopied this multiple times
was installing point of sales displays. All then became fairly self-running. I had a dollar accounts and authorising and placed the copies back
those poster displays of RoboCop, Total marketing initiatives in the hundreds of into the machine at random
Recall and the Hollywood Collection thousands, so there was a very serious intervals. The screaming from
were Paul’s doing. work ethic involved. The fun side was the accounts department as
‘Growing up in the mid 1980s, I knew in the products we were selling and the they printed out over the face
Ocean Software was the daddy of games people we were selling to. Having the of Jesus was a delight. The IT
WWF Wrestlemania on companies. I had only one ambition back biggest and best titles was the first step, guy wanted to call an engineer.
the Commodore Amiga. then and thankfully I was able to achieve then getting your customers/partners We told them they probably
it. Given that my enthused was the next, and was a ton needed a priest. Obviously this went on
brother-in-law was very informal interview in the basement of fun. Character dressing-up days at all day with people then afraid to use it.’
Ocean’s sales director of the Italian restaurant just over the our distributor was the norm. Booze- Jon Woods, involved with Everton
I was well up to date road from the Central Street office. “Do fuelled incentive nights out were regular football club, brought the FA Cup into
with the complete you want the job?” “Yes please.” “Pasta or occurrences. All in the name of getting the office, and all the footie-mad Ocean
Ocean catalogue.’ Pizza?” That’s how it worked. the sale you understand. crew wanted photos. ‘On another day
And that contact ‘Ocean was exactly as I imagined it. ‘In the Central Street office, and Radio 1 held their road show in our
made it relatively easy Exciting, busy, fast-paced and a work- for the first year of Castlefield, there building and Ian Broudie turned up
to get himself hired. hard, play-hard ethic. My role was a new was a very flat structure, meaning that from the Lightning Seeds. I asked him
‘After serving my position in the company and I spent a you walked freely among departments to autograph something off of my desk,
time with Impact, I lot of time out of the office. I was very asking for updates, etc. As the business discovering the next day he had signed
was recruited by Pat much the office magpie, grabbing a grew and matured and more structures my FA Cup photos with the words “You
Kavanagh to manage desk wherever I could. In the first year I were put in place, this tended to happen jammy bastards, Ian Broudie”.’
the recently won Toys sat with the Nintendo department, the much less – the introduction of inter- non

cars. ‘I saw the Ocean stand had a big I was probably expecting it to be stricter.
John Palmer sign depicting a young chap standing I remember being very nervous and very
next to what looked like a Ferrari sports shy most of the time, being the little
Of the two brothers, John was the creative sibling, car, advertising that they were looking country bumpkin that I was. When I first
producing graphics for many of Ocean’s hit titles, while for artists, so I thought I’d give them a joined I sat between Martin McDonald
Richard glued the games together in the programming. try. I spoke to Gary Bracey and showed and Allan Shortt, who both smoked, so I
John joined Ocean in 1987 at the age of 21 and stayed at him my work. I remember he gave used to go home smelling of cigarettes.’
the company for five years. me a can of Coke, which I promptly John reported to Gary Bracey and
knocked over, to my embarrassment. I Steve Wahid on the games he was
came away thinking I’d blown it, but a involved with. The first was Rastan Saga
H
ailing from the West Country, for work while Richard went to college.’ few weeks later I received a letter from on the Commodore 64. ‘It had already
John – older brother of John enjoyed playing Ocean games Gary inviting me for an interview. They been started, and I guess they needed
programmer Richard Palmer and recalls the last one he bought before thought my demo was impressive. I was somebody to help out. John Meegan was
– carried out any paying jobs he could his employment started was Rambo. ‘I over the moon and was really chuffed.’ the programmer and I joined Jane Lowe
find to make ends meet. In his spare knew of Ocean. They were one of the John made the lengthy journey from and Martin McDonald on the graphics.
time he learned his craft: sketching, biggest games companies at the time, Devon up to Manchester, and Central The sound and music were created by
painting and creating animations. In and I bought their games. I was a fan of Street. ‘Gary showed me around and of Martin Galway. I worked on the sprites
his early work he took inspiration from Dave Collier and Martin Galway before course interviewed me. I was offered the and animations, creating the main Rastan
Disney, Chuck Jones, Tex Avery and Ray joining the company. I attended the job and was ready to go but soon after
Harryhausen, but finances were always 1987 Personal Computer World Show accepting I had a sudden death in my
‘‘I remember being very nervous and
a stumbling block. ‘I didn’t have access in London with my graphics demo on a family so I called to say I couldn’t go. very shy most of the time, being the
to, or could afford, film equipment to C64 floppy disk in my bag, and wearing a Gary was very sympathetic and held the little country bumpkin that I was.”
animate, but I saw in a magazine an new pair of trousers to look for work.’ position for me until I was ready, which
advertisement for a sprite editor on the It was the age of wizkid games- was very good of him and appreciated. character and a number of the baddies.
Commodore 64. This seemed like a more makers, sporting all the trappings of When the time came, Gary arranged a I also created a few drawings for the
convenient way of animating things, and glamour: fame and – above all – fast van with a couple of guys to pick me and manual.’
it’s what sparked my interest. my belongings up from Devon. I don’t Next up, John worked on the C64
‘Eventually I managed to think many people or companies would Dragon Ninja. ‘Again I was pulled onto
scrape together enough funds do that these days.’ the team to help with creating sprites at
to buy a Commodore 64 and And so in 1987, aged 21, John a time when development was well under
John’s high-tech desk at teamed up with my brother to Palmer started at Ocean as a pixel artist/ way, with David Collier programming,
Central Street, complete
make some games. He coded animator. ‘The atmosphere was fun in Steve Wahid doing the graphics, and
with state-of-the-art
reference-card stacking them, did the music, and I did the early days, and we managed to get Jonathan Dunn the sound and music.
box. the visuals and game ideas and the work done as well, so there was a The game was a conversion of the arcade
design. We had some games good balance. Later on when we’d all machine and we used single-coloured
published but never really made been working at Ocean for some time, we sprites to try and improve the look of the
any money, so I decided to mucked about far more than we should characters. I remember coming up with
prepare a graphics demo to look have done. It was all very new to me and the idea of the hero having to answer a

telephone at the end of the level and also than he’d worked with before. ‘We had
the eyes in the panel at the bottom of Mike Lamb, Jon O’Brien and Allan
the screen that reacted to the character Shortt programming the game, using
getting hit – if the graphics from myself, Dawn Drake
he got hit in the and Bill Harbison. Jonathan Dunn and
private parts his Matthew Cannon gave the game the
eyes would go sound and music. This was the first time
cross eyed. The I worked on the Commodore Amiga
two skinheads so I found producing the graphics
were mine as well. challenging to say the least. Some have
If you hit the said that the image of the Joker and
small one his big Batman were scanned in. This is not true.
brother would come and beat you up.’ We didn’t have access to that equipment
John then joined his brother Richard at the time. I drew these directly in went on one of the two disks. During released. Our game was different, it was Graphics produced by
John for The Addams
and David Collier on Daley Thompson’s Deluxe Paint with a mouse – after all his Ocean career there were also some going to be more cutesy – I had a lot of
Family 2 for the SNES.
Olympic Challenge. ‘I’d just become we were pixel artists. The management missed opportunities. ‘I spent a fair ideas but I didn’t really get them together
available and the team doing the follow noted that my signature was getting amount of my time working on projects quickly enough for management to see,
up to Daley Thompson’s Decathlon bigger and bigger on the screens I created that didn’t get released for one reason so unfortunately it was canned.’
needed someone for the graphics. I was – a cry for fame I guess.’ or another, or working on odd little In spite of some creative
the only artist on the project so it was John moved over to the Super things. More research than actual games disappointments, John’s reflections
literally an Olympic challenge to get Nintendo System (SNES) for his development. In 1990, I presented an on Ocean are happy ones… with one
it all done, I had such a lot to do. The next title – Addams Family 2: Pugsley’s idea for a game based on a dolphin – this important exception. ‘All I can say is
game got rave reviews, especially for the Scavanger Hunt. ‘I was drafted in was before all the other dolphin games I’ve been in the industry since 1987 and
animation and graphics.’ to design and create the sprites and that came out during that time. I was worked at many studios big and small,
A few of the graphics Wec Le Mans followed – a typical animation on some of the baddies, and lucky enough to have a go at trying to but I never worked anywhere
John created for
Ocean rush-job conversion of the the end-of-level baddies. They were create the idea at Ocean, with Allan quite like Ocean. I don’t know
Batman, Commodore
Amiga and Atari ST arcade game – before John started on fun to work on, my favourite being the Short as the Programmer on the NES if it was the combination
versions. Batman the Movie, with a team bigger washing machine that spits bras, socks and Sega Megadrive. We weren’t at work of it all being new and
and pants out at you. It on it for long before Ecco the Dolphin was the fact that I was young
got good reviews for the and it was my first major
visuals but not so good for job in the industry, but it was a good
gameplay. It was a bit hard time to be in games. I don’t think I’ll In 1990 John produced
ideas for a game
to play.’ ever experience that vibe again. It was
based on a dolphin,
Push Over on the a very productive and exciting time and but before it could be
Amiga and Atari ST was I am glad that I got to experience it… put into development
Sega released Ecco the
John’s last title for Ocean, but I never did get the Ferrari sports car
Dolphin, and John’s idea
and on that he did only advertised at the PCW show.’ was put out to sea.
the animated intro, which non

Barnes, the financial director and another
David Selwood founder of Spectrum Games, allowed
Paul Owens use of his new Porsche to go
David started producing games for Ocean’s to the shops to purchase some computer
earliest incarnation, Spectrum Games, but is most gear that we needed. Paul was, I think, 17
remembered for the 1984 title Eskimo Eddie, one of or 18 at the time, and had only just passed One of Ocean’s
Ocean’s very first games. The game also appeared on his driving test and got his driving licence. earliest magazine
advertisements
the Commodore 64. promoting, among
others ‘not to be
missed’, Eskimo Eddie.
W
hile at school in 1983 David found Spectrum Games’ office
David purchased a game a strange place. ‘You see David Ward was
called Road Frog published also running a successful props business
by Spectrum Games for his Commodore for Granada TV Studios. His props often
VIC-20. appeared on the likes of great shows Anyway it was a complete disaster, Paul
‘The game should have been great as such as Coronation Street. However, the didn’t even manage to get out of the car
it was meant to be a homage to Frogger, business was never really that glamorous. park without damaging the car.
a popular game in the arcades at the The propmaster offices were extremely ‘One of the most enjoyable aspects
time. However after playing it, I decided of writing various
it was anything “One of the most games for Spectrum
but great, so after enjoyable aspects of Games and Ocean
school the next was working with
writing various games
day I went to other developers – I
the company’s for Ocean was working have to say they were
Manchester office with other developers.” all great to get on
to let them know with, always good for
my thoughts. I met large. I used to wonder around looking a laugh and happy to
David Ward and at all the strange bits and pieces just to share knowledge and new ideas.
he said if I could amuse myself.’ ‘But it had its downsides as well
create a better one, David remembers that when they and the main one was cash flow. In the ‘Joystick Compatible’
Eskimo Eddie for the
they would sell it were attending one of the first London- newspapers there were often articles
Spectrum, with the
on my behalf. So Earls Court computer games fairs in on games developers being super rich loading screen and two
after school, and 1983 it became apparent from the public - the reality was somewhat different. I typical in-game screens.
at the weekends, that the name Spectrum Games confused and other developers were being taken
In the pre-licence days, I wrote a new Road Frog game for people, since they also sold games for advantage off, which resulted in the good
popular arcade coin-op
them. Dave Ward and Jon Woods were other machines, so soon after the name ones moving to business IT for a better
games were fair game
for the developing obviously impressed because they started Ocean was born. deal in life.’
software companies. selling it immediately. ‘It was during this time that Mike non

for quite a while, wondering what to myself, Paul Owens,
Richard Kay do. My mum knew this guy called Jon Chris Urquhart and
Woods. I was heavily into games and a few others, and we
Richard got his job at Spectrum Games due to his love loved to figure out how they worked. So, played the likes of Tron,
of computers and his flare for designing computer luck being what it is, Jon Woods had this Star Wars, Amidar, etc.
games. In his bedroom at home he developed a game games company, and I got my first job We used to tell David
called Mr Wimpy for the BBC Micro. After leaving there in the warehouse, which was more the games that were
Ocean, Richard went on to found Software Creations. of a broom cupboard when I actually good, and if he agreed,
he talked to Jon about
getting the licence.
R
ichard joined Spectrum Games Studies and Applied Mathematics. ‘I ‘The early days of
in 1982, before it was rebranded ended up getting chucked out of the Ocean were great fun
Ocean, and he stayed for mathematics class when I proceeded to – you could wander in
three years. ‘I was doing four A-Levels stick pencils in every facial orifice and when you wanted and
at college – mathematics, English pretended to be an alien. The final straw as long as you got your
Literature, History and Art – and hating was when I said, “the probability of me game done, everything was fine – Paul Mr Wimpy on the BBC,
and the Spectrum
it. I was a bit of a loner in those days passing this exam is very slim.” The Finnegan used to wind me up about
version inlay above.
and preferred my own company, so I teacher was so rubbish I often ended up saw it. I remember seeing Kong in packs completing my games and I used to tell
welcomed the discovery of the ZX81 taking the computer studies class myself of a hundred tapes, and my job was to him “just the music left”, knowing full
as a plaything. I remember seeing the – he ended up sitting in the back of the package up the orders into the Jiffy bags well I had so much more than that to
commercial for the computer on the TV room, feet up, reading the paper, while and send them off to the likes of Boots do. The development times were short
and thinking I must have one of those. I showed the class how to do a bubble- and John Menzies. though – more like weeks than months.
‘So I got one and it was the first sort routine. I got Fs in all except the ‘At home I taught myself how to
time in my life I actually computer studies O-Level – my form program the BBC Micro in machine “Paul Finnegan used to wind me up
understood what teacher asked for consistency, and that code – the graphics, the music and the about completing my games and I used
I was doing with was what he got. coding. I went in one day to the office at to tell him ‘just the music left’.”
something new, it ‘I remember being one of first the Ralli Building, next to the Granada
was one of those students to use the RML 380 machines TV studios, and showed them a game ‘As a publisher, I can recall the father
things I found at college and do something with them. I had developed on the BBC, a three- of the Stamper brothers from Ultimate
natural. Just touching [Research Machines 380Z, was an quarters-complete version of Mr Wimpy. bringing in Sabre Wulf to distribute. Each
the keyboard and early 8-bit Z80 computer which, with As a result I was promoted from my master wore out at 200,000 units, and we
seeing the response 56Kb or memory cost a mere £3,266 in warehouse job to programmer within went through two or three of them for
on the TV screen – I just 1979] They were green and black and Ocean on the same salary.’ this game.
loved the interaction and the I wrote a driving test game that was Richard remembers going on visits ‘I believe the success of Daley
The RML 380 computer control you had of it.’ quite graphical. I remember the teacher with David Ward down to the arcades Thompson’s Decathlon contributed to
that Richard used in
With Richard’s love of computers telling me that I was not an academic in Oxford Road. ‘He would give us a the fortunes of the company. If Daley
college.
he soon dropped A-Level history to and it would be best if I went out into pocketful of money and send us in to see Thompson himself had not won gold
backtrack and take O-Level Computer the real world. So I left and sat around if there was anything we liked. There was at the Olympics in 1984, I am sure

things would have been a little different achieved at Ocean. That statement has
for Ocean – we watched every event stayed with me to this very day.
he did and just prayed he would win.’ ‘Over my time at Ocean I produced
And, of course, he did. ‘We had to get Mr Wimpy on the BBC, Hunchback on
the game to market as soon as possible. the first prototype Amstrad CPC 464. I
We saved the final build to a disk on then did Hyper Sports on the BBC – that
the Commodore 1541 disk drive, but it was a fantastic machine.
And then I left in 1985 to join the
RAF, which rather shocked Jon. Up until
Hyper Sports for the BBC that time I was being paid the same as I
Micro – published by
was many years before in the warehouse.
Imagine in 1985.
I felt I could never shake off that
“warehouse boy” image and was never
taken seriously.’
The RAF career was short-lived
got corrupted. We were not very good due to Richard having less than the
at backing up software in those days, required degree of eyesight. ‘When I left
so Dave Collier took like five hours to I joined an Enterprise Allowance scheme
try and get the drive to read the disk – and with the money started Software
eventually he used a piece of Sellotape Creations. I believe I was the first to pay
and lodged it in the drive – that did royalties, which ensured that I retained
the trick. We kept that disk on the wall my staff and meant that they did a good
thereafter with the tagline “Thank GOD job. I think my success with Software
for Sellotape”. I don’t think Jon Woods Creations went some way to proving
knew about this – can you imagine if we Jon Woods wrong – another company
failed to get the Commodore 64 version could have the success that Ocean had
out to ride the success of Daley at the had during its prime time in the 1980s.
Olympics?’ I remember Jon and David Ward having
Richard recalls a defining moment blazing arguments, but they resolved
at Ocean. ‘We drove to London to do whatever the issue was quickly because
a cross-promotion with Wimpy [the they were so passionate about what
fast-food chain] – they brought kids they did. They both drove the business
into the restaurant to play Mr Wimpy on and in my view created the gaming
the Commodore, Spectrum and BBC business that we have today. Ocean was
computers. As we were driving down the springboard to my career and I am
with Jon, I vividly remember him saying grateful to them both.’
to me that I would never get the same non
success in the business that they had

mainstream platform – I was largely
Peter Johnson left to get on with it. To Ocean’s credit I
never had any problem at all with being
Peter joined Ocean at the age of 21 in 1985 and soon paid for my work, even though it was
formed a reputation for converting many of Ocean’s mostly done on a handshake.’
titles – graphics, sound and programming – first to the During his time at Ocean, Peter
BBC Micro and then later to the Commodore Amiga worked on converting many mainstream
and Atari ST. titles for the BBC- Electron, Atari ST
and Amiga platforms.
‘I often wrote an arcade game
P
eter, before joining Ocean, was a appealed to me.’ conversion from a special suitcase
prolific programmer with many Peter reported to Gary Bracey after containing a power supply and a cost of £400 for a 10Mb Supra hard Peter’s conversion
of Wizball to Amiga
successful titles under his belt Gary became software development JAMMA [ Japanese Amusement drive for the Atari ST, about £950 in
and Atari ST included
for the BBC Micro/Electron platforms, manager, but he never worked at the Machinery Manufacturers Association] today’s money. You could buy about 120 programming and the
published through Superior Software. Central Street offices. Instead he enjoyed interface and the original arcade board 16Gb flash drives for that now! fine graphics.
The likes of Q*Bert, Deathstar, Spitfire the luxury of working from his Newcastle – this was the case for Arkanoid and its ‘I did all coding, graphics and
Command and Space Pilot were top selling home on a contract-by-contract basis sequel Revenge of Doh, for example, and
titles that, as Peter for the games he produced. Only in several other of the arcade conversions.
confesses, look crude 1990 – his final year with Ocean – did he I received a Japanese MSX cartridge of
now but dominated become a full time employee. However, Yie Ar Kung-Fu II and an imported Sony
chart positions in the intervening years he worked MSX HitBit computer on which to
when they were exclusively for the company and their base this conversion. I still have them in
released. He joined family of labels. the loft! RoboCop was converted from a
Ocean after applying ‘For most of that time it was a fairly suitcase version of the Data East arcade
to a recruitment painless experience for me. I completed a game. To create the graphics I mostly
advertisement in the game and then came down to the office overdrew them from the Spectrum
magazine Zzap!64 in Manchester from Newcastle to hand version of the game. I also often got a
for programmers – he it over. I’d then take a look at what other play-through of a game on VHS tape, music for most of my titles,
subsequently met games they had in the arcade downstairs provided by the guys in Manchester, and worked all the way
Colin Stokes on his and in development on the Commodore but I never saw source code, graphics or through. For something
visit to the office and 64 and pick one I liked, one I thought design documentation from the arcade like the animation of the
was offered a position. I could do justice to on the platform I version, or from other platforms. I just main character in Impossible
‘I regarded Ocean was working on. And then I’d head back had to replicate what I saw. The code was Mission I drew each frame by hand, The Sony MSX HitBit-
10-P home computer.
as pretty much the home after agreeing the fee, and crack on. compiled on the machine itself, I didn’t stop-framing the video taken from the
As a platform, MSX
Peter’s conversion of leading company at the time, and the ‘I worked mostly without an advance use a remote compiler or debugger then, C64. The animation tools available were never made it big in
Mikie onto the BBC
opportunity to work on licensed games, and – partly because of this, and my the only luxury item was extra RAM, a crude at the time – I could probably view Europe.
Micro.
with a good marketing push behind speed and track record, and maybe also floppy disk drive, then later a hard drive.’ an animation running on the spot, but I
them, was something that very much because the BBC Micro wasn’t a truly Peter can only grimace wryly at the really had to see the frames animate in

sequence in the game to see if it looked a tour around the Ocean offices they
right, and the feet were transferring body asked if I had anything unreleased up
weight correctly.’ my sleeve. I said that everything I had
Of all the games Peter worked on, started had been released, except for
Crystal Castles. They explained they were
just negotiating to license this game for
the Commodore 64 version of the game
themselves, and would be very interested
in a BBC version. So you could say that
was lucky! It was released over a year
after completion.’
After leaving Ocean in 1990, Peter
had a stint working for television
companies. ‘I spent two years as a music
composer, writing theme tunes and
soundtrack music for Tyne Tees TV, Sky-
Eurosport and others, then moved back
into the industry. I wrote a few games for
a local company. And then I responded
to an advert from Rage, and found I
was talking to Paul Finnegan, who
Peter did the total only one was held up. ‘I converted
conversion of RoboCop
Crystal Castles to the BBC and Electron
for both the Amiga and
Atari ST versions (above) for AtariSoft, but they kept raising
and of Arkanoid, right, objections to small details to avoid it
for the BBC Micro
being regarded as complete so that remembered me writing for Ocean from
payment would become due. Why they when he was involved there. I started on
were doing this became apparent when a game for Rage, and even before it was
AtariSoft announced that they were completed I was asked to set up their
cancelling all conversions for other Newcastle studio, which I managed for
manufacturers’ platforms, so it was nine years.’
mothballed. After completion of my non
first title for US Gold, Beach Head, on

of the time and all I was hearing from International Match Day
Jon Ritman distributors was that they wanted to see a on the Spectrum 128K.
football game for the ZX Spectrum that

Jon Ritman was a freelance who created a catalogue looked as good as International Soccer,
of games for Artic Computing. On teaming up with which was big on the Commodore 64 at
freelance graphic artist Bernie Drummond, a series of the time.’
Ocean hits followed. His ambition kindled the successful
relationship with Ocean, quite
accidentally. ‘I met David Ward
at an Ally Pally show [London’s
A
lthough his name is almost the ZX81, so I had to start again typing Alexandra Palace at Muswell
synonymous with Ocean, Jon it all into the assembler but in proper Hill] and he asked me what I was
Ritman never actually worked instruction format this time – no more working on. I told him a football
for the company. His professional laborious hex.’ game and it was going to be so
career began with a venerable software He submitted the end result to Artic, much better than Artic’s World
house noted in the early days for its text who accepted it, and the game was Cup Football. This was a big claim
adventure games: Artic Computing. released in 1981. With the arrival of the considering I had only started
Not that Jon followed the ‘What Now?’ ZX Spectrum, Artic sent Jon a machine to give up my day job and write games programming a week or two before.
route; he preferred action. His first game, in order for him to get to grips with it. full time.’ David phoned me almost eight
Namtir Raiders for Jon programmed two further games months later and asked me how it
the Sinclair ZX81, for Artic. 3D Combat Zone (Battlezone) was going. I was close to finishing
was a simple Space was an early 3D Spectrum game for and when he offered me an advance Jon Ritman with Head
and Heels… perhaps
Invaders clone he which Jon had to learn 3D mathematics. of £20,000 I accepted on the spot.
there might be a game
produced after ‘These were the days when computers ‘I produced Match Day from start in that.
learning how to did not do multiplication, they just added to finish without even looking at
program on the up. When I created a cube on the screen International Soccer.
machine over a spinning around on the Spectrum it I didn’t want to
two-week period. was an amazing feeling – I just sat there produce the same
You don’t get much Namtir Raiders (which takes its name Another popular arcade clone followed and watched it spinning and laughed to game so I only
more simple than the
from his spelled backwards) took three in the form of Cosmic Debris, a version myself with satisfaction. There were no loaded it finally
graphics for Jon’s
Namtir Raiders for the months to write during the evenings of Asteroids. Jon recalls, ‘The game again game books back then, so you had to just after I’d submitted
Sinclair ZX81, but the (he worked as a TV repairman during took three months to create and 5,000 sit down and learn it.’ His last game for the Match Day
loading screen for 3D
the days). ‘Developing a game was very copies were sold, so with the percentage Artic was Bear Bovver, which he based master to Ocean.
Combat Zone shows
more elaboration on the different in those days. I wrote most of it of around 25% of takings coming to on Burger Time – he aimed to produce I’m not mad on football but doing the International Soccer on
the Commodore 64.
Spectrum, right. on paper before typing hexadecimal into me as royalties I couldn’t complain. graphics to the quality of Ultimate game did make me more of a fan. I had
the computer – it was very hard work. I’d My annual wage as a TV engineer was games. But his real aim at that point was to learn all the rules and put them into
written more than half the game when £6,000. Seeing that I was earning that to create the ultimate football game. the game the best way I could. At the
a primitive assembler was released for kind of money in three months I decided ‘I visited many of the gaming shows time I probably knew the offside rule

much better than most fans! Looking With the appearance of the 128K a good eye in there”, and subsequently main character was. I think I came up
back at it now, it’s woefully slow.’ Spectrum, Ocean released International rubbed everything out and then added with the idea of using Batman but then
Match Day was written for two Match Day, but as Jon says, ‘There another one. And I was amazed – this thought, No. I didn’t think anyone would
players initially, and Jon avoided adding weren’t a lot of improvements – some character just came and we actually know who Batman was, what with the
artificial intelligence for the opposing more sounds, music and some full screen used the graphic in Batman right at the 1960s show being such a long time ago
team because it was hard enough coping pictures were added. It was targeted at beginning.’ and the films being talked about some
with a single team’s actions. the Spanish market first because the way off. Bernie, being younger than me,
‘I left the AI until the end as I had no 128K machine arrived there first. A little said it would be fine as the 1960s show
idea how to do it – there were no books bit of an Ocean cash-in, in my view, but was being re-run, on Channel 4 I believe,
telling you how and the Internet hadn’t all good.’ and was getting a lot of attention from a
been invented, so you couldn’t look it The lure of matching Ultimate’s new audience.
up. So I bit the bullet and went for it. quality was never far away. ‘When David Ward saw the demo he
For the first rule, the opposition player ‘On delivering Match Day to Ocean, got very excited and ran around the room
hasn’t possession of the ball, so make the David Ward showed me Knight Lore singing the theme song to
the old Batman series and
went to get the rights from
DC Comics to the game.’
As Bernie lived some
miles away Jon instructed
him on the types of graphics
the game needed. Jon would
drive to Bernie’s house and
get the assets from him on
Three-dimensional nearest player run towards the ball. So and I felt I had to do a game like that.’ Microdrive cartridge – a
Batman on the
what should we do next? Kick the ball up It took him some time to reverse- popular, but somewhat
Spectrum.
the field. When I saw one of the players engineer how the Ultimate game worked, unreliable removable storage medium of Head Over Heels holds
a special place in the
score a goal it was a relief – the game had writing routines for the various parts of the time. These included the bad guys,
history of computer
the beginnings of AI.’ the engine. Jon confesses to being an graphics for the rooms and various bits and video games. It
Jon argues that what set Ocean apart indifferent artist, so he invited a friend and pieces. Most, if not all, of Bernie’s was the first game
to let the player
from so many of the other early software of a friend who he heard could draw to graphic assets were used in Batman.
control two separate
houses was their marketing. ‘Ocean were look after the graphics. That person was ‘Everything got chucked in and when the characters, each with
much better at promotion, which meant Bernie Drummond. ‘I wrote a routine to game came out, the press questioned the distinct strengths and
weaknesses, seen here
the game did very well. The game was draw graphics and invited Bernie over But at the time Batman wasn’t in the bizarre nature of some of the graphics
on the Spectrum.
actually on the shelf at the same time to see what he could do. He sat there for frame of the young programmers. but Batman got good reviews and sold
the promotion was taking place. I believe over two hours and what he produced ‘We produced a sort of demo of the very well.’
over 50,000 copies of Match Day sold was a random mess to my eyes and I was engine and took it to Ocean for them to Rights owners like DC Comics can
and then it appeared on compilations about to give up. There was no image I see. I still wasn’t sure where the game was be very finicky about their property, but
after that – I get fan mail to this very day. could see – then Bernie said, “There is going at the time and who or what the Jon remembers little friction. ‘We had

some power ups that we called Bat-pills. Ocean handled the conversions for
DC Comics said that Batman doesn’t the Commodore 64, Atari ST and
take drugs, so they were re-named to Commodore Amiga. As Jon recalls,
Bat-powers… but that was it.’ ‘Colin did a line-for-line conversion
For a little over a year Jon was next of my Z80 code and we had extended
occupied with Head Over Heels. phone conversations where he single-
Having two characters who could do stepped through his 6502 code and I
things individually and then together was went through exactly the same code on
quite unique for the ZX Spectrum.’
the time,’ Jon says. The next game Jon turned his
‘I didn’t appreciate attention to was Match Day II. Jon had
how innovative done all the graphics himself for the
I was being, but original, but with Bernie Drummond
looking back no now a formidable part of the partnership,
one else had done he came up with the graphics for the
or was doing sequel. ‘There were many more moves,’
anything like Jon says, ‘so Bernie had to create a lot
this. I remember more graphics.’ Jon also introduced the
putting off for “kickometer”, which gave the player the
months how both ability to do different kicks (even back-
characters would heels) with the controlled player, and
work together in the “diamond deflection system”, which
the program until caused the ball to behave in accordance
there was nothing with deflection off the player’s body.’
else actually left to When a Crash magazine interviewer
do on the game. It asked him whether he would prefer to
1987’s Match Day II on was a lot easier than I thought and I got work as part of a team, in the way Ocean
the Spectrum.
it sorted in a few hours, which was a hell preferred internally, Jon responded firmly.
of a relief.’ ‘No. The trouble with the team
Head Over Heels was intended to approach is that the game designer
be a Christmas release, but Jon missed doesn’t know the limitations of the
the season. However, Ocean gave him programming. I enjoy being a jack of all
no grief, preferring that he should be trades, playing the intellectual/technical
happy that the game was working. ‘It was role if you like, as well as the creative
released just before the Easter period and side. I look at the market and then add
sold very well’. technical expertise.’
As Jon was primarily a ZX non
Spectrum Z80 coder, Colin Porch at

helped us thrive as developers. so we had to keep churning titles out.
Steve Wahid ‘Initially Tony Pomfret, Dave Collier, ‘I used to read quite a few of the game
Bill Barna, Colin Gresty and I were magazines that were around at the time,
Steve was hired by Ocean as a graphic artist and was in one big room developing games on mainly to see what other games were
promoted to art manager. He produced graphics for the Commodore 64 and we constantly out there. Reviews of other software
more than 18 Ocean games during his nine years with bounced ideas off each other – Daley houses’ games sometimes helped me
the company. Thompson’s Decathlon was in development decide which games I wanted to buy.
at the time. Any negative comments from journalists Cassette cover for Comic
Bakery on the C64.
‘It was all seat-of-the-pants stuff: about games I was involved with didn’t
there was no reporting structure in those bother me too much.’
S
teve Wahid joined Ocean in 1985 soundtrack to round it all off. days. Jon Woods would tell Dave Collier And to finish on a pleasant memory,
and was very aware of how high ‘Ocean was a great company to what projects were in the pipeline and Steve recalls a Harbison moment.
profile the company had become in work for – it was a no frills working we’d decide between us who was doing ‘It was Bill Harbison’s birthday. We
such a short time. environment with less than ten in the what. There was one programmer on got him soooo drunk that Friday night.
‘I produced a scrolling demo as a development team in those early days. each project and an artist could have one, When we got him home he just lay on
proof of technology that I showed the In fact the sales, marketing and other two or more titles on the go at any one
guys at Ocean and it got me the job office staff far outnumbered those who time. And Martin Galway was working
as an artist. After joining, both Colin made the games. Almost immediately on sound and music for everything.
after I started all of the development ‘With the arcade conversions, Tony,
“It was all seat-of-the-pants stuff: team were moved down to the ‘dungeon’ Dave, Colin and I collaborated very
to make space for the upper echelons closely on what gameplay elements and
there was no reporting structure in
of management. The ‘dungeon’ was in graphics could be taken across to the
those days.” the basement of the building with four Commodore 64. It was a constantly
or five rooms retro-fitted with long evolving process as graphics compression
Gresty and I were asked to produce a (kitchen) worktops fixed to the walls. routines improved and sprite
Commodore 64 conversion of Konami’s these acted as our desks. multiplexing got better (it has to be said
Comic Bakery. We used the MSX version ‘It was such an exciting time. The that our graphical background and sprite
for reference and the game turned games industry was very much in its editors were very basic at first).
out really well, with a Martin Galway infancy and it didn’t feel like a job, it was ‘The biggest challenge we had was to
more like being paid to do something fit a game into the C64’s memory. Arcade the pavement outside his flat saying, Steve with Alex Lavelle
relaxing at Ocean’s
you loved doing, a frame of mind that game conversions were always very tricky “Leave me, just leave me.” We got him
Central Street local, the
because we had to find the right balance on my shoulder and I carried him up Square Albert. Alex was
of what we could get into the game and three flights of stairs. I plonked him on in the art department
and used to photograph
Comic Bakery on the still have it resemble the original; this his couch and put a waste bin in front of
all the screenshots in
was always the biggest compromise. The him – when he proceeded to be violently the dungeon.
Imagine in 1986.
development period always took around sick. How lucky was I not to get covered
six to twelve weeks – there was a huge in puke that night!’
demand for sales from the management non

night out afterwards. Paul and Dean ‘We always
Ian Richardson Barrett asked me that weekend if I would had the best
join Ocean which took me all of 30 parties that
Ian joined Ocean in 1992 as UK sales manager, and the seconds to say yes. everybody
first title given to him to sell was the sub-par Hook for ‘I remember turning up on my first wanted to
the 16-bit computers. day at the building they were based in at attend, we had
the time in Central Street around 8:30 the biggest
and there weren’t many employees about. incentives for
After a few days working there Paul told the telesales
me that I shouldn’t turn up until around staff at our
I
an’s previous job prior to joining customers due to the licences they had 9:30am like most of the other sales and distributors at
Ocean was UK sales and marketing plus the amount of advertising they did marketing people. It was a very laid back Christmas or
manager at Gremlin Graphics. in all of the specialist press. I knew all environment you were also very focused on the day of
‘I got involved in the games industry of their products from the high profile on getting your job done. release of one
in July 1984. I was leaving school games to the more obscure titles that ‘The first new release title that I sold of our games.
looking to join either ICI or British Steel they occasionally launched.’ was Hook, not the greatest of games to We constantly took alcohol into the sales Ocean waves at ECTS
1993 – Paul Millar at the
as an apprentice (the done thing at the Before joining Ocean, Ian formed start your Ocean sales career with but departments and served it to the staff –
top with Ian below to
time in the North East) but my father a strong relationship with many who we sold a fair amount into retail and even at breakfast just so that there was a the right.
who had spent ten years in Libya decided worked at the company. distributors. buzz about the place.’
he wanted to work in the UK again and ‘I’d got to know the staff at Ocean ‘At Central Street I shared an office Ian did notice
wanted to open a shop. I persuaded him really well in 1989 when I left the family with a couple of the sales admin girls an us and them
to open a computer retail outlet in our business and worked for a sales and who worked for me called Kelly and between the Suits
home town and I worked there buying marketing company called Impact. One Sherrie, then when we eventually moved (as the management
of our key clients (and the one all of our to Eastgate I was given my own office. was known) and
rivals wanted) was Ocean. That’s when The person who I reported into was Paul the developers.
I first struck up a friendship with Paul Patterson who was the sales director and ‘This did get better
Patterson and a few others. Even when a thoroughly lovely man. In fact he was when we moved
I left Impact to join Gremlin we always Mr Ocean in a lot of our customers’ eyes. to Eastgate. There was a production Hook wasn’t the easiest
of sell-ins, even on the
met up for drinks at the various shows ‘Ocean was a brilliant place to work, meeting held every Monday when Gary
16-bit machines like the
and I attended their infamous parties stressful sometimes but always fun. The Bracey, Colin Gordon,Lorraine Starr Amiga.
at ECTS [European Computer Trade saying “Work Hard Play Hard” was the and Jon Oldham would update sales,
Show]. perfect description of Ocean culture. marketing, PR and production on how
‘Paul had heard that I may be looking People wanted to do business with the development of the various games was
to leave Gremlin and invited me over to company because they were great fun to going. They were sometimes fun but on
Ian with Adele Welch and selling the software and hardware. his house to stay one weekend as there be around and they had the key titles in other occasions they could be very fiery
and Paul Millar.
‘I was very aware of Ocean back was quite a few industry people coming the market, they also strived to be always especially if there was a big release that
in the mid-1980s, there was always a up from London for the Everton vs one step ahead of their competitors in had been delayed yet again.’
big buzz about their games from our Chelsea game and they were having a whatever they did. non

reference for his likeness because we
Bill Harbison just couldn’t find his image in any of
the magazines at the time. The loading WEC Le Mans on the
Spectrum.
Bill moved down from Scotland to join Ocean in 1988 as a screen was a cleaned-up screen capture
graphic artist. Ironically, thanks to several dreadful releases at using a digitiser on a Commodore
the time, Ocean was not his first choice for employment. Amiga – I used the same technique for
the RoboCop loading screen as well. I
completed the Spectrum version of the
game and then I was given six weeks to
port the game to the Amstrad.’
B
ill was in the process of applying create portraits and mockups of arcade After Daley Thompson’s Olympic
to Glasgow School of Art, but games I had seen in the monthly C&VG Challenge Bill was moved on to Bad
he was thwarted by only having magazine just to see how they would Dudes Vs Dragon Ninja with Mark Jones.
two A-Levels, when he needed three to translate onto the Spectrum. Most were ‘The game had to be done very quickly
qualify. His plan was to study further to OK, others I thought were quite good so I helped out a little with the sprites
get the extra result he needed. so I wrote off blindly to companies such for the main game and Mark did the
‘At the time I had bought a ZX as Electronics Arts, Elite and US Gold background. After that I helped out
Spectrum and was experimenting with to see if there were any jobs going where Mike Lamb on WEC Le Mans on the Daley Thompson’s
Olympic Challenge – the
the graphical capability of the machine. I could use my new skills. I did become the phone asking for William – and sure Spectrum. The engine for the game was
digitised loading screen,
I had seen some loading screens done disheartened, though, by the negative enough it was Lorraine Starr offering me already in place with the track scrolling with Daley and Bill’s
by others, especially the early titles responses I received. a job interview at Ocean. – all I had to do was create the graphics mate Colin below.
published by Ocean ‘A friend suggested I apply to Ocean,’ ‘I was pretty much offered a job on for the cars. John
like Eskimo Eddie, so I Bill says with a laugh. ‘I had no intention the spot by Gary Bracey, and two weeks Brandwood had
thought I would have of applying to them because I thought after the interview I arrived at my paid- written a sprite
a go myself in my the company was rubbish. At the time for hotel in Manchester and started at editor on the
spare time to see if I Ocean wasn’t doing too well – Street Ocean the next day. Atari ST so I used
could do something Hawk and Knight Rider had just been ‘The first project given to me was that to produce
similar. I can honestly released, which were terrible. Daley Thompson’s Olympic Challenge on the graphics and
say there was no ‘But after the rejections from the the Spectrum. I was asked to design Sentient Software
intention of taking other companies, I had nothing to lose, the game and handle its animation. It put the game
Spectrum tape inlay it up a career – it was just something to so I sent a two-page letter, along with a was a pretty steep learning curve to say together. The
for Daley Thompson’s
keep me occupied while I was doing the cassette with some of my screens on it, the least. I’d promised my best friend in reviews were good
Olympic Challenge.
extra A-Level. to Ocean in Manchester. We didn’t have Scotland I would put him into a game at – but the scores
‘As time went on I realised I was a telephone in the house at the time so Ocean so the little guy you see walking given for the
getting better and better at producing I listed our neighbour’s telephone as a around picking up the dumb-bells is my graphics were not
pretty good static screens on the contact number. Two weeks later the lady mate Colin from back home. as high as I would
Spectrum so decided to buy The Artist 2 next door came knocking on our door ‘It was important to me to make have liked.
to further develop my skills. I started to saying there was an English woman on Daley black. We had to use a video as ‘I was then

teamed up with John O’Brien who had from the RoboCop and Chase HQ games with John Meegan as the programmer.
been tasked to optimise the the Wec Le for the 16-bit machines – basically a ‘Lethal Weapon came next on the
Mans engine. The updated code was mash–up. So we produced the same style SNES, with Allan Shortt programming.
much faster and was going to be used of graphics for the racing sections using Again I just helped out on one of the
for the Chase HQ arcade conversion on lots and lots of colours that we never screens – I think it was the level select.
It was pretty much Ray Coffey’s game
graphically. This was Ocean’s first outing
on the Nintendo machine, so a big
release.
‘I was then back onto the SNES Jurassic Park on the
Atari ST.
doing RoboCop 3 with Frank Knight who
had just joined Ocean – I did the sprites
and Jack Whitely did the backgrounds. It
Two screens from Chase the Spectrum. I had to raise my game had on the Spectrum. When I was first was just a side-scrolling platform game,
HQ on the ZX Spectrum,
with the graphics so as to not let John told I would be working on this game I nothing like what DID was doing with
and one on the Amstrad.
and the “engine” down. The arcade game found pictures of Michael Keaton in the the title at the time. Frank was not as
was in the office, so I played the game Batman suit and Jack Nicholas as the experienced as the other programmers
and sketched how the cars looked when Joker in a magazine. One afternoon I in Ocean and so he struggled a little – I
they were moving and spinning around decided to do portraits of each. Gary saw remember the RoboCop game character
in crashes on my pad. I then drew them them and said he wanted them in the had his hand held up by his shoulder
directly onto the Atari ST and created game – they are both used in the health which made him look like he was a
versions for both the Spectrum and the meter at the bottom of the game screen boxer! I had to draw Ed-209, which was
Amstrad. The reviews for both versions where Batman changes to the Joker as really cool – he was vandalised in the
of the game were incredible – it was very you lose your health. I also created the game with one gun broken and covered he got me to redo some of them. I did
pleasing.’ end screen which I believe is the best in graffiti. the main character on the ST and Amiga
To their pixel work I have done – with Michael ‘I then worked on a PC game and a lot of the dinosaurs in the game.
surprise, Gary Keaton as Batman just standing there called Pushover, which was sponsored There were at least eight people working
Bracey then pulled with the text congratulating you for by Quavers with Curly Colin. I was on Jurassic Park, which was a big team
John and Bill into saving Gotham City. responsible for the animations between in those days, including some animators
his office and ‘After Batman, there was a year or so the levels. It was great fun because I was who had worked at Disney and with Don
informed them where I worked on stuff that never came given the freedom to do what I wanted Bluth – I learnt so much from those guys.
that they would to anything. For example, I worked with and I really did go to town on it. ‘I left Ocean when the company’s
Bill worked on the racing both be working on the ST and Amiga Paul Hughes on an isometric Simpsons ‘My final game at Ocean was Jurassic morale dropped quite a lot. I should
scenes in Batman on the
from then on. game which got shelved when we found Park on the Amiga, the ST, the SNES have left much earlier and I now realise
Amiga.
‘Gary had got the licence for the out that there was already an official and some parts of the Game Boy version. I should have followed James Higgins
new Batman movie, the Tim Burton one Simpsons game in the works. I then Ocean of America was doing the SNES when he went to America.’
with Michael Keaton, and wanted to designed some backgrounds on Toki on game and Gary was not happy with the non
create a Batman game using the best bits the Commodore 64 over a 6-week period animations of some of the dinosaurs, so

to the Ocean offices and got to meet
Jim Bagley many of the staff including the Suits
upstairs. I was always made to feel very
Jim worked at Special FX and programmed 11 games which welcome. Batman Caped Crusader
on the Amstrad.
Ocean published. Although he was not directly a part of the ‘The coders, artists and the test
team, Jim is a huge part of the Ocean legacy. department were housed down in the
cellar, and with each visit made I saw the
different games in their various stages
of development. We shared tricks of the stay at a hotel nearby and when we got
coding trade and tried to outdo each there they only had one room free, so we
A
t the age of 17, Jim asked a machines, plus the original Game Boy. other with the effects we created in our had to share it. If that wasn’t bad enough,
local computer shop if there ‘Thankfully, all the games had great games. it turned out that this room was the
were any game companies reviews in the magazines at the time, and ‘We always joked at Special FX that bridal suite (which thankfully had two
local to where he lived and was surprised the scores they received represented the we did the games the Ocean team didn’t beds, presumably in case the bridal night
to find that there were. He applied, only feedback we developers got from the want to do… There may very well be didn’t go well!) – although it did have a
and got his first job in 1986 at Consult outside world on our games, so they were some truth in this but we still had the swing at the bottom of the master bed…
Computer Systems where his first game very important. It was not until 2009, opportunity to work on some great titles. What’s wrong with jumping off the
was published, Throne of Fire. He then when I went to my first retro event, that I I remember when I converted the arcade wardrobe? Just for info, we left the swing
went on to work Canvas Software Ltd found out that there were huge numbers games Cabal and Midnight Resistance to and the wardrobe alone that night.’
where he wrote two further games and of people who enjoyed my games which the Spectrum and Amstrad, we were just non
helped finish a third. He then started at Ocean published, and they still play them given a briefcase containing the arcade
Special FX where his relationship with to to this very day! PCB inside, with a joystick control
Ocean began. ‘Although Special FX was not actually panel. I didn’t have access to any of the
‘I’ve always stated that I never worked Ocean itself, it was founded by two ex- code which made the things tick, so I
for Ocean but had to play through both just to see the
while working action and then I had to reproduce what
at Special FX, I could see as closely as possible on the
I did write 11 destination machine. I refer to this form
Ocean games on of game development as a “Visual Port” Cabal on the Amstrad
above and the Spectrum
which I was the exercise, and I can now play any game
below.
only programmer. and get a good idea of what the code is
These were doing in the background.
G.U.T.Z. for ‘The funniest story I have while was
G.U.T.Z. above on the the Spectrum; Batman Caped Crusader Ocean employees, namely Paul Finnegan at Special FX involves Cabal. I had to
Spectrum.
for the Amstrad; Red Heat, Cabal and the late Jonathan Smith, who helped go to Ablex, the cassette duplicators in
Midnight Resistance on and Midnight Resistance for both the us keep our games to Ocean Software’s Telford. I couldn’t drive at the time, so
the Spectrum, right.
Spectrum and Amstrad, and Hudson high standard. While I was working at Ivan Davies, one of the C64 artists, gave
Hawk again for both of the 8-bit Special FX I made many trips with Paul me a lift. We were given instructions to

more polished in the process. A deal I resigned from Software Projects – they
Colin Porch was struck, and that was the first game wouldn’t pay me for the holidays that I
I had released, California Gold Rush. was owed so I took the master disk home
Colin was in his forties when he joined Ocean and as Unfortunately the company disappeared of a game I was working on at the time
a result, in that young environment, he was known as and I got no money out of it. I also lost and told them I would give it back once
‘Fossil’ by his work colleagues – well, he was just about the printer that I’d lent to them to print they had paid me. The police turned up
twice the age of any of them. out promotional material.’ and said I was stealing property and to
Undeterred, Colin looked for a new give the disk back. I phoned Colin Stokes
job. ‘Imagine had started advertising for and told him of the situation – he said to
programmers in the national magazines. give the disk back as Ocean would cover
C
olin joined Ocean in the mid- the two joystick controllers together, I showed them California Gold Rush the holiday pay, and they did.
80’s after being head hunted each with their own keypad, and then and, as primitive as it was, I was given a ‘When I joined Ocean in 1986, Gary
from Software Projects. Colin’s feed the code in one byte at a time. job. Imagine informed the press of their
story starts a little earlier though, in the There was a little DIN socket on the “awesome” new C64 programmer and
late 1970s. back of the cartridge so you could save mentioned me by name – I subsequently
‘At the time there were many games onto tape via a cable. There was got lots of angry mail from customers
unaffordable consoles on the market also an instruction book that came in who had purchased Gold Rush and had
like the Atari 2600. There was another the packaging that told you how to never received their copy. I ended up
console called the Radofin that was program. Unfortunately there were so sending them tapes to make them happy. California Gold Rush –
published by Anik Micro
somewhat cheaper so I got one of those. many mistakes in the text I would be ‘A few months later Imagine went
Systems in 1984.
I saw an advert for a cartridge for the amazed if anyone could do anything with bust and a large number of us applied
console called a it. I designed and programmed a couple for jobs at Software Projects – they took
“hobby module” of games on the Radofin – I had truly four of us on, myself included. They did
and the blurb caught the game-making bug. not pay as well as Imagine, and I was
suggested that ‘I was undecided which computer struggling with my overheads.
with the device I was going to get next, so after some ‘I went to Tommy Barton, one of the
you could put your investigation I went for the C64 as owners of Software Projects, asking if I
own games onto Commodore had promised to help with was going to get a Christmas bonus as I Bracey was development manager. I often
the machine. So I technical support if needed after you was making commitments that the bonus talked to Jon Woods and David Ward,
went to the local bought the machine. I bought a couple of would cover – we had all got one the year they were very approachable.
shop and ordered disk drives as well. before. I was assured I would get one, but ‘Steve Wahid used to drive this big
one – the module ‘I saw an advert in the local paper nothing came of it, which put me in an white car, I can’t remember what it was,
was £85. for programmers needed for the awkward position. a top of the range thing. We used to
‘When I got Commodore VIC-20, Commodore ‘When Colin Stokes phoned me from park our cars right next to the Quakers’
The Radofin 1292 the cartridge I soon realised you could 64 etc. In the interview I spoke about Ocean early the next year inviting me to building when we were down in the
Advanced
not program the console in anything the games that I had developed on the join Ocean he made me a terrific offer, dungeons. There was a pylon in the car
Programmable Video
System. but machine code – you had to hand Radofin and that I could transfer them to including travel expenses from Liverpool park with a cable attached to it and a
assemble the code on paper then join the Commodore 64 and make them look to Manchester, that I could not refuse. So group of us manhandled his car around

so it was between the wall and the pylon for example the Commodore 64. Steve C64. The development took a long time given the title to program but said it
so he couldn’t get it out. Steve was not Lavache and David Collier worked on because I also helped out on the NTSC could not be done so I was asked to give
very pleased – he the development environment, and in version. With all the movements and fire it my best shot. Gary Bracey showed me
was very proud of particular on the assembler that, when mapped onto the joystick, I had to use the game on the Amstrad and asked me
that car.’ compiled on the ST, converted the the SPACE bar on the C64 for jumping if it could be done on the C64 – I had my
Colin was written code to machine code which was – the reviews at the time questioned the doubts. To do an isometric game needs
much older sent to the destination machine to run. logic behind this because it made the a lot of CPU power and I didn’t think
than the average ‘The first game I wrote on this game somewhat difficult to play. I had no the 6502 was up to it. I was given Jon
programmer at the development environment was Gryzor. option. Ritman’s Z80 listing – I went through
time. ‘I am a very I played the arcade game in the office ‘After Gryzor came Operation Wolf it line by line and worked out how Jon
methodical person and at first I thought it it an impossible and then Double Take. We got one of the was doing everything before I started
so I spend a long Operation Wolf machines in the office – the conversion. If there was something
time thinking after I finished the conversion I got a lot I didn’t understand I rang Jon, who was
about something of mail from those who played the game in London at the time, and he talked
before I start, all asking the same question, how did I me through it. When I had finished the
whereas many make different parts of the screen scroll game all the guys at Ocean loved it, as
of the others independently of each other? Up until they honestly thought it couldn’t be done
A 1987 game Colin when they were asked to do something, that point, scrolling on the Commodore on the machine. It was awarded 98% in
remembers little of,
off they went. I could see problems
Double Take on the C64.
they were going to bump into well in
advance of the problem happening and
at that time they were unaware it was
even there. I got a reputation for being a
good problem solver – so if the younger
Operation Wolf on the developers had a problem they would say
go and see ‘Granddad’. 64 was all or nothing! I was happy to issue 63 of Zzap!64 magazine. They said it couldn’t be
Ocean in 1988. done, but in 1987 Colin
‘Steve Lavache started at the same tell them and other programmers how ‘I was then loaned to Special FX
did it – Head Over Heels
time as me and we took turns to drive I did it. Operation Wolf took around five when they were struggling to write a on the C64.
into the office. I remember him having months to make and was well reviewed game on the Nintendo Game Boy and
this posh sports car with a ton of security by the press. my experience with the processor in the
on it – and it got pinched! He rang me ‘I don’t remember Double Take very console put me ahead of the others at
up and asked for a lift the following week well – I did the coding for it and I recall Ocean.
– and I said to him it was his turn – and the player being a scientist where a ‘During my spare time at Special FX,
the reply was that he hadn’t got a car! dimensional shift created two worlds you unbeknown to anybody, I wrote a 16-bit
‘The Atari ST became the host task. Lee Cowley was the tester at the had to explore. I was just given the brief Atari ST version of Head Over Heels
machine I used for development and time and as I was so rubbish at arcade and got on with it. at home. What a difference 16-colours
it had a cartridge on the back which games I asked him to get to a certain ‘Head Over Heels on the C64 was make! I showed Gary Bracey, and he
connected to a destination machine, level so I could see it to convert to the next. I had heard that others had been jumped on it and Ocean bought it from

informed that the 8-bit era was coming
to an end and he thought I would be
better off working for myself. I don’t
think I had any input into the matter
– I got a letter from Ocean saying they
had respected my decision to become a
freelancer.
‘A week or so later I got a phone
call from Gary who asked me to go to
the Ocean office – so I did. I then saw
The Artist
Parasol Stars and I was asked if I could
do a C64 version. Others had been
asked, but again no one thought it could
be done. I developed the game over a
number of months. Ocean had given
me a £17,000 advance payment for the
game. Unfortunately I was having marital
problems at the time in the course of
which the disks containing the game data
were wiped. I explained this to Gary. He
was very understanding and let me keep
the advance payment, but that was the
last work I ever did for Ocean.’
non
What a difference 16-bit me. I then converted it to the Amiga

colour makes: Head
as well and that was released to good
Over Heels on the the
Atari ST – written on reviews – Commodore User gave the game
spec and published by 94%.
Ocean in 1989.
‘Gary called me back to his office
from Special FX to a meeting – I was

The Artist
The History of Ocean 229

In the fierce battle among games software
publishers for market share which marked the early
1980s onwards, Ocean’s artwork pulled ahead of just
about every competitor, and that was down to the
genius of one man – Bob Wakelin.
Photo: Anna Bäckström
The Artist
I
n the first years of the 1980s, the he knew Dave Ward and Jon Woods. I
fledgling software houses only don’t know how he knew them, but he’d
had mail order as a sales outlet, done something for them… Armageddon
and it hardly mattered what kind maybe? He thought we could do more
of artwork they employed on the small for them as they seemed to be doing
audio cassettes which carried the data. a lot. We went along to meet them at
And then a few so-called micro shops the pub round the corner from Peter
began to open up the market, soon Kavanagh’s [a famous Toxteth hostelry at
Moon Alert was a followed by the chain stores, WH Smith, 2–4 Egerton Street].’
Crash Smash and the
J Menzies and Boots. Suddenly, there Ocean’s founders, keenly aware of
reviewers agreed that:
‘Ocean’s packaging was competition for shelf space and the the importance of marketing and the
and title screens have attention span of the swelling customer quality of artwork they required, signed
been delightful recently,
base. Brand, design, style became the up Blair-Wakelin on the spot, although
and Moon Alert is no
exception.’ new watchwords. And in those primitive the partnership fell apart rapidly. ‘Moon
years, the inlays of three companies stood Alert [1984] was the first thing I did in
out: first Imagine, then Ultimate Play the conjunction with Blair and then Gilligan’s
Game, and Ocean. Gold. I think he drew the background on
As occurs so much in the history that one and I did the main character.
of British video games, Bob’s long And then after that he kind of fell apart
association with Ocean came about really. He was a bit of a hippie, bit of an
largely through serendipity and acid casualty. He couldn’t meet deadlines
happenstance. ‘I’d been working with so I started to take everything on. We
this guy Blair, who was a decent artist were working from my flat in Liverpool,
himself, quite a few years older than me. and by the time he turned up in the mid-
We were working on some projects but afternoon I’d drawn the damned thing
getting nowhere, and then he mentioned myself. So I encouraged him to move

out, do his own thing, and I carried on the telly, you know, the Atari stuff. But it
working for Ocean. That’s exactly how it didn’t stand out to me as being anything
started really. Completely out of the blue.’ worth getting into because I was more
Bob says if it hadn’t been for working into music and comic books, erm…
with Blair he would never have become women and beer.’
involved with the computer games
industry, certainly not at that crucial Kids aren’t interested in trees!
point, when it was ‘all kicking off ’. And The man who became the public face of
he’s probably right, because Bob Wakelin, Ocean started as an artist in childhood,
game inlay artist extraordinaire, had no copying American comics. ‘I liked to
interest whatsoever in computer games. draw. There were other things at school
‘I never touched them. I heard that interested me as well, but the other
rumours about people with these strange things required me to be good at maths
new-fangled machines, but I never and science… so I realised I was better
Jacob Kurtzberg, better touched them. In fact, most of the people off just drawing. I loved comic books and
known as Jack Kirby,
I hung with didn’t have them either. It I think pretty quickly I fancied being a
pictured in 1982.
was a generational thing. I was already comic-book artist. I wasn’t really a huge
in my late twenties when all this was fan of British comics growing up. When
going on. And it was a kids’ thing, so I saw the American stuff initially – some
I was thirteen or fourteen years older of the DC Comics, stuff like Superman
– that was more interesting to me than
“British comics didn’t mean anything what the British comics were, you know
to me. Marvel was what really the Beano and Dandy, which I kinda
enjoyed but really didn’t mean anything
inspired me.”
to me. And when I saw the first Marvel
than most of the people that were into stuff, that was what really inspired me.’
it. To me it was just a bloody game, As he was to many an aspiring artist,
that; I’d rather be having sex than doing the work of Jack Kirby [1917–1994] for
that. But when you’re fourteen it’s just a Marvel and DC Comics was a seminal
pipe-dream, having sex I, mean! It was in influence on Bob. ‘Initially I copied the
those days, anyway.’ artists and then I started to be influenced
Arcade coin-ops held a slight by them, and that influence would show
attraction. ‘I loved playing Galaxian, in me work at school in art lessons. And
Space Invaders, Asteroids, all that kind of that’s when the teachers started to shout
stuff in the pub. It was more of a social at me and tell me that I was completely
thing to me, a fun thing to do with wrong, that I shouldn’t be drawing like
mates. And then I’d go round to people’s that. “It doesn’t work, people don’t look
houses and they had that tennis game on like that, Bob” – foreshortening, for

instance, exaggerated stuff, they didn’t it were ever to be discovered, the lucky
like it. They wanted me to work in a collector would be faced with images
more traditional way.’ reminiscent of Lowry, though he would
But it didn’t really work. ‘I did people never have approved of them. ‘I can
in skin-tight costumes, remember doing stick figures, and I have
leaping about kicking the vivid memories of drawing volcanoes and
shit out of each other! I lava burning people alive – stick figures
did learn all the shading, with flames coming off.’
shadows and three- The young Wakelin left school at
dimensional objects and 16 with low-grade CSE passes in most
the like. It was obviously subjects, though he excelled in English
useful but I resisted it and art, and went to art college. ‘In
because I was so bored. those days all you had to do was take
I just wanted to draw along a portfolio, you didn’t have to
things that leapt out of have any particular qualifications. So
the page all the time, I
didn’t want to learn the “I didn’t want to draw
basics. We used to do things like – we’re
‘That’s why the
backgrounds are entirely
bloody trees…and I still
going to go out and draw horses… and
rudimentary because I
can’t be arsed.’ draw a landscape. Yeah,’ Bob waves his don’t, to be honest.”
arms wildly in illustration, ‘like draw a
landscape – it’s on fire because a huge I took me portfolio along, they liked
spaceship has just crashed into it, and it and I immediately got in, which is
there’s little things flying out with unbelievable to think about now. That’s
batwings. That’s the way I saw the same as how you got a job then. You
things. I didn’t want to draw bloody took your stuff along, you showed it to
trees… and I still don’t, to be honest. the art director, he liked it, you got a
That’s why the [inlay] backgrounds, job. You didn’t need to write anything.
you’ll notice, are entirely rudimentary You didn’t need to prove anything. No
because I can’t be arsed. I want to qualifications.’
Looking closely at draw the figures and communicate the Bob’s was in fact attending a ‘tech
the art for Daley
message, because I think like a child. I college’ where most students were on
Thompson’s Decathlon
reveals the truth: Bob want to see something that’s right in me day release from the John Summers &
says he was never any face and go, woah! Kids aren’t interested Sons steelworks in Shotton, an industrial
good at feet and did
in trees!’ town at the mouth of the River Dee, to
everything to cover
them up or have them Before anyone asks, Bob has nothing the west of Chester. Not surprisingly,
fade away. left of his early work, and thinks his dad Bob’s fellow students were suspicious of
trashed the lot because ‘he hated me’. If the arty bunch. ‘The art department was

the only part of the college wasn’t on the jobs I got offered…’ he says with a
day release. Everyone else was working sour expression. ‘There was this studio
at the steelworks, and they thought we specialised in agricultural machinery
were complete weirdos – well, they didn’t and I immediately thought… No, No,
think I was a weirdo! But I was still a NO! Someone was going to fix me up
skinhead when I went to art school, so I with a job in a wallpaper factory doing
could blend in a little bit with the people designs for wallpaper. That was my ex-
who worked in the factories, wearing, headmaster – he fucking hated me. And
like, denims. By the time I left, though, I then I applied for a job in Liverpool.’
looked a bit more of a hippie.’
The three-year course included Nutz and Batman
all kinds of topics which Bob wasn’t Liverpool changed everything. For about
interested in, like photography, and he two years he took on a lot of freelance
reckons that in the three years what he design work, including a little bit for
Marvel, but realised he was never going
“Now, you can use Photoshop to twist to be a comic-book artist after all. ‘You
had to work like 18 hours a day to do it
lettering, bevel and emboss, so it’s easy and I couldn’t get me head round that at
to come up with lettering that’s so cool.” all. I liked to go to the pub and do other
things, you know? Otherwise I was doing
learned that was useful could have been all right, but it was a mixture of stuff like
condensed into a year. However, one line drawings for small companies who
subject was to have a great bearing on his were paying kind of decent money and
future at Ocean. ‘There was typography I could bang it out really quickly. But it
– hand-drawing lettering instead of was pretty boring.’
using Letraset, which I kind of resisted So he joined a band as a self-taught
for a while and then I got interested in keyboardist and virtually stopped the
it. Now, you can use Photoshop to twist illustration work when the band signed
lettering, bevel and emboss, and even do with a label, which meant they all got
Flyer Fox – a 1984 basic stuff, so it’s easy to come up with paid. But Bob kept his hand in with the
Ocean game that
lettering that’s so cool. But when I was odd illustration job and after two years
doesn’t appear on any
lists, was eventually doing the Ocean art I had to hand-draw started working with Blair, through
released with different it and use a ruler and everything. I would whom he became involved with Ocean
art on a Bug-Byte
never have been able to do if I hadn’t – or, as it was then, Spectrum Games.
budget label in 1986 for
the Spectrum (to poor learned all those basics in art school. Jon Woods and David Ward were in the
reviews) and on the C64 ‘After I graduated I was on the dole earliest phase of assessing the market
by Tymac.
for about six months, trying to find through mail order advertising, the “we’ll
work locally, including Chester. And turn around games from scratch in the

28-day allowed period” phase. One of book, you know, copy a load of pictures,
the games the respondents wanted was alter faces a little bit, change the kits so
a version of popular coin-op Frogger. they’re not recognisable.’ And always
Bob grins at the memory. ‘Yeah, A the pressure. ‘Sometimes I’d actually
frog, and you try to run him over in a plagiarise something because there was
car or something. “Bob, we’re ripping no time to do anything else. I couldn’t
off Frogger… seriously, you know, Bob, get an idea, and sometimes the game idea
there’s this really successful game called was so uninspiring. I had so little to go
Frogger and we’re going to do something on. Once or twice they supplied me with
exactly the same.” And an image they wanted me to work from.
that was it, basically. Big But it was incredibly rare. There was no
frog, I thought, Super- art direction whatsoever. They trusted me
hero frog, with a cape…’ to go away and do something. Every job
He bursts into laughter. was quite different. The first two to three
‘I didn’t know what I was years, really, you had to move on the hoof
doing. I thought I’ll just with it…’
do that, and they really With so much work going through
loved it! And a lot of that his hands, and at such a pace, was
early stuff I didn’t actually anything ever rejected? ‘There were one
see anything of the game. or two things that they changed slightly,
That was Road Frogger and there were a couple of things which
Too violent to use – the and then there was Caterpilla, which was weren’t used because the game never got
original art for Kid
awful, awful bit of work that.’ made, and a couple where the licensor
Vicious, who became the
much gentler Kid Chaos. The artwork may have been poor in didn’t want the artwork, like Miami Vice.
his opinion, but the game sold, and more The only one they knocked back was
commissions came in to bolster Bob’s Kid Chaos [1994, for Amiga and Amiga
income. ‘The pay was all right, as good CD32] because it was too violent. It
as anything else, and it was fun to do. cracks me up that someone shaking a
Gradually, the Ocean work became so bully with a wooden club is considered
frequent I had less time to do anything too violent! I think they put a nail
else. Some jobs were done in a couple through the club. I never changed it and
of days, and that’s why so much of that I think they got Gary Macnamara in the
early stuff is bloody awful, because studio – who did some of the Mr Nutz
I was banging them out so quick. stuff as well – to make the alteration.’
There was no time to think.’ The name brings up another amusing
And – as with Match Day – he story. ‘I gave the Mr Nutz character
rarely had much to go by in the way of a Converse-type boots, and David Ward
brief. ‘It was like, right, find a football said, “Oh no, kids these days, they’re

all wearing those high-tops with the “Look Bob, this game’s crap, so can you
tongues hanging out of their boots and do something really good?” Like with
their laces undone.” Well, that fashion Highlander: “This is awful so you gotta
had just gone. I lived in bloody Toxteth. do a real number on it.” That’s when I
I saw everyday what the kids wore, and realised I was worth a bit more money
they were all wearing the old Converse to Ocean, and I did start putting prices
again. So I gave him Converse, but he up around then. I became aware that the
wouldn’t have it. He got Gary to change cover picture actually had a big impact.’
it and give him these awful, clunky boots. Miami Vice was one game he
Y’see I was always on the money! I remembers for which he pulled out all
always knew what was going the stops. ‘I don’t think it was very good
on. I was on the street!’ game, and I was asked to do a really
Given Bob’s comics nice illustration for it, which I thought
background, the Batman
licence must have been a
treat. ‘Yeah. I was made up.
Never having done anything
for DC, I was really pleased
to get that. When they sent
them to DC, I was thinking
Oh God they’re gonna come
Because his agent back and I’ll have to change everything.
demanded a photograph
But the only change they asked for,
and not a painting of
Don Johnson, you never they got me to shorten his ears. It sailed
got to see Bob’s much through, which was quite amazing
better original art.
actually.
Skipping out
Ocean’s management was aware that not
every game developed or converted from
an arcade original came up to scratch, I did, and they’d already printed posters
and also that good presentation could and point-of-sale stuff for it. But then
help to sell a product less than perfect, as the licensor knocked it back because
Bob’ experience shows. ‘I wasn’t aware at Don Johnson’s agent wouldn’t allow
first that that was what they were hoping illustrations of his face – we had to use
for. I wasn’t into gaming. If a game photographs. Well, look where he is now!
was crap or good it was meaningless So, Don, if you’re reading this, f***k you!’
to me. But eventually they said to me, For Wizball, which many consider

Three of Bob’s favourites
from his prodigious
output.
the epitome of Wakelin game art, there was no fun in doing it. The cartoony ones
was more support from the development were more enjoyable to do.’ Even Daley
team. ‘Sometimes, Dave dragged me Thompson’s Decathlon gets short shrift.
down to the dungeon and these spotty ‘That’s rubbish. Technically it’s crap.
kids were all sitting there, rattling their I can understand why it’s iconic. The
chains, and they’d show me a demo. I can design and the layout of it works really
well, and Daley’s coming right at you,
“New Zealand Story… aarrgh. That but technically… But then, it was 1984…
was a nightmare. That was a pain in I was still trying to get a grip on what I
the arse, and there was no fun in was doing.’
And then, finally, a handful Bob finds
doing it.” acceptable. ‘Athena I like; I like Batman,
remember the shots and there was like a that’s pretty good; I like Billy the Kid,
cat and a wizard… I can remember there apart from Steve’s lettering; Central
was a ball whizzing round. And that’s Intelligence, that was a waste of time the
about it really. And I reflected some of amount of work I put in there, to get
those pipes. And I got some screenshots released in Taiwan or somewhere. There’s
in the post.’ a lot I like. If it’s a great game and if the
When pushed to name a favourite cover captured the game.’
game in terms of his artwork, Bob gums The last Bob Wakelin commission
up. It seems he remembers more the for Ocean came a little under two years
horrors. ‘The second Rainbow Islands before Infogrames acquired the company.
one – Parasol Stars. Absolutely drove He had seen the writing on the wall for
me crazy. What was the other one, some time.
New Zealand Story… aarrgh. That was ‘I was getting less work and we
a nightmare. That was one I had loads were producing fewer games for a start.’
of screenshots for, and they wanted me Suddenly, it seemed money was tight,
to get in as many characters as possible. Ocean needed to make savings and Bob
That was a pain in the arse, and there had become a considerable cost factor.

‘I got knocked back on invoices. I was fell apart, dissolved, and I moved on.’
doing Central Intelligence and Dave Ward It wasn’t, however, the last time Bob
said to me, “We’re trying something new visited Ocean’s Castlefield offices. In the
with this, it’s kind of experimental.” So hot summer of 1997 he received a call
basically he wanted me to do something from Carl Pugh, who had taken over
really amazing. I put this the art department on the departure of
incredible amount of work… Steve Blower. ‘He said, “Bob, they’re
three weeks, into it. It was going to throw all your artwork in a skip.
a big piece of art, bigger They’re closing it all down. Everything
than anything I’d done in the warehouse is going. Is there any
before. I sent the invoice, way you can get over?” So me mate, a
it got to Dave Ward and I photographer, had a small van and we
got a phone call from Steve went straight over there and I grabbed
Blower telling Dave had whatever I could find. Some was
knocked the invoice back. wrecked, footprints all over it where it
He complained that he’d was all over the floor, so I left it there.
looked at some of my invoices back over It was the drum scanning, where they
a year or two and seen that I’d been peeled off the surface of the art to wrap
charging a lot more, and he wanted to around the drum, and it had never been
know what I’d been doing. stuck back on, so it was kind of thrown
‘But I was charging what these around. A lot of it was fine, so I grabbed
whatever I could and we drove away.
“Carl Pugh said, ‘Bob, they’re going But loads of artwork was missing. I had
to throw all your artwork in a skip. some things I’d picked up previously and
Everything in the warehouse is going’.” brought home from the office, but I’d
never thought about it. I just thought at
things were worth, because the jobs some point I’ll get the artwork back. As
were becoming more sophisticated, but you do, when you’re busy.’
he still wanted to pay me in 1992 what
he was paying in 1985. Which… is a Going digital
businessman for you. It was at that point In the twelve years Bob Wakelin created
where I thought if he’s worrying about game inlay images for Ocean, the world
something like that… I don’t think I ever of graphic design changed dramatically
saw Dave Ward after that and I started with the inexorable march of technology.
to look for other stuff to do. I did one or ‘I had an A0-size drawing board
two games after that, the Alien Olympics – not an easel – a compressor and an
thing, which was only released in… airbrush, loads of Dr Martin inks, a few
Orkney or somewhere. And that was it, it brushes, loads of pencils, scalpels – that

was a crucial thing for cutting out the Of course, with digital art, there is
Frisk masks. With airbrushing you had no original on a board to sell, and any
to protect some areas, so you used Frisk Wakelin art of the Ocean period became
film over the drawing, cutting out areas, very collectible. ‘I was surprised when I
pretty much like in Photoshop where you found out that so many people were still
use the wand to isolate an area and then into it. It was only when someone, an
work into it. It’s very similar in many enthusiast, got in touch with me that I
ways, but without the wounds from the realised there were all these people who
scalpel. I’d use things to create edges. The loved it. I thought it was the odd… geek!
famous one’s doing smoke and dust. I’d It did worry me a bit when I attended my
have a toilet roll, tear a chunk off and first retro event.. I used to collect comics,
you get like a serrated edge and then so I know the amount of seriously
I’d spray over the edge of it and keep disturbed people who are collectors, and
moving it around, and you end up with I was really worried about what might
an explosion’. happen. But there were only a few who
In about 2000, Bob began to use seemed seriously disturbed. But that’s
Adobe Photoshop. ‘I was getting less work because I think they’re different to
as people were moving over to digital, so comic-book fans, who really are very
I mixed it for a bit and within a year or worrying.’
so, probably 95 per cent of what I was In the intervening years, virtually all
doing was digital. I used to of the old Ocean originals have been sold
do pencil drawings, scan to collectors. ‘I’ve only got the Mr Nutz
them and use the mouse. I logo, the Frankie logo, and one of the
learned to airbrush with a C&VG covers. But I’m quite happy that
mouse. But in the last couple of years the people who bought them are people
I’ve moved over to using a pen. Masking who have them for the right reasons.
and airbrushing that was pretty much In the end, Ocean only valued them
like what I did on the drawing board for what it could bring them. It’s that
‘I did people in skin-tight but without getting covered in ink and corporate mentality – nothing is actually
costumes, leaping about
inhaling it, and dropping scalpels through worth anything other than what they’ve
kicking the shit out of
each other!’ And then me toes. It was great. I really liked it, got in their bank account. I realise some
Time Stood Still… except for the Macs then were like eleven of that work I could sell for a lot more
gig hard drives, and I’d do a great big load now than I did ten years ago, but I’m
of clouds and… vvrrr… I’d go and make not bothered about it. When they were
a cup of coffee. And I thought everyone kids it meant so much to them, and now
says it’s faster on a computer and it’s they’ve got it on the wall.’
taking me longer to work in Photoshop
than with a bloody airbrush!’

One distinct possibility is that a
The Sound and Music of Ocean

budding musician named Jonathan
Dunn, who had recently sent out several
demos of his work to Ocean, would not
have been hired. ‘I was getting a good
response from many publishers, and was
pretty certain that I’d get some freelance Chip Wars – SID vs AY
work from them,’ Jonathan says. He was When it came to videogames music in the 1980s it was
studying music at Preston College and a clear battle between the Commodore 64’s SID (Sound
W
hen it comes to music and candidate when Martin applied for planned to continue his education while Interface Device) chip and the Amstrad/Spectrum General
sound design, the early work at the end of 1984; by late January working on freelance projects. Ocean’s Instrument’s AY programmable chip. But was there a clear
part of the Ocean story is the following year he had been hired Gary Bracey had different ideas. ‘I got a winner?
dominated by one man: Martin Galway. by David Collier (head of software letter inviting me to Manchester and to
‘I didn’t know that much about Ocean to development prior to Gary Bracey) my surprise, Gary offered me a job!’ Fred Gray: The C64 was far superior to the rival 8-bit
be honest,’ Martin surprisingly admits. purely as a programmer and with no So began Jonathan Dunn’s illustrious machines with their AY chips. At that point even arcade
‘The only games which interested me particular emphasis on audio. nine-year career at Ocean. machines mostly used AY technology. With the AY chip
were BBC games such as Elite, Aviator Until this point, all Ocean’s sound Joining around the same time was you could only have white noise or square waves. There was
and Revs.’ One thing the fledgling and music had been handled by third- Gari Biasillo, who had been working for no pluse-width or ring-modulation filters, unlike the SID
musician did recognise, however, was parties. ‘There was no audio staff of any Hampshire-based Interceptor Software, which had all the features of a modern synth.
the power of advertising. ‘Ocean did a kind,’ Martin recalls, ‘just a Seiko music designing music and sound effects for
lot of it, and they were often back-cover keyboard sitting in Dave Collier’s office. games such as Joe Blade. ‘A friend of mine Gari Biasillo: The SID chip was, and still is, an amazing
advertisers. It was basically their high So I decided to make a generalised called David Blake had joined Ocean piece of audio technology. To this day I wish I had composed
quality advertising that told me they were music program that could play any tune. after Software Projects closed down,’ more music for it. I was never keen on the AY. I found its
Martin Galway in his
serious about selling games.’ I sat down with the Commodore 64 Gari recalls, ‘and one day he suggested it sounds to be far too mellow and it was difficult to create the
Central Street studio,
from a poor magazine With Ocean also based in nearby programming manual and proceeded would be a good idea to work with him raw and gritty sounds achievable with the SID.
reproduction. Manchester, they became the first to write the software that would exploit and that I talk to Gary Bracey.’
every feature of its music chip.’ Gari accepted his chance with glee Jonathan Dunn: I think the fact that people still have such
With Ocean Software fast becoming and, together with the demo disks for the fond memories of the music and sounds from the SID chip
the premier software house in the UK, work he had just completed on Joe Blade, speaks volumes. It was awesome and always fun to try to
Martin began to find himself very busy. visited Ocean headquarters, meeting one extract new original sounds. The other systems were an
‘I was unhappy that there weren’t enough of his heroes in the process. ‘I chatted afterthought for me.
other audio staff and that I had a long with a few of the guys there, including
backlog of games to work on,’ he says Martin Galway whose brain I picked
somewhat ruefully. ‘I was a disillusioned for some of his audio techniques,’ Gari
kid and shouldn’t have left. But I’ve says proudly. ‘I learned quite a lot from
enjoyed my life since, so it’s just a case of my brief chat with him that day and still
wondering what would have happened to remember it fondly.’
myself and Ocean if I hadn’t left.’ Gari was offered a job the very same

visit to Ocean that I realised he’d moved Imagitec. (I had committed the mortal
Sound and Music in Videogames
on!’ sin of telling one of the artists which
Fred Gray: The music and FX used in computer games Despite the respect the sound team companies were hiring). Imagine the Martin Galway,
photographed in 2009.
are no different to the score and FX used in a movie. They had for their illustrious predecessor, the panic I was in. On my way home I had
add ambience, create their own drama, set the mood and show had to go on. As was common at stopped at a payphone and called Ocean
enhance the realism. Need I say more? the time, game development teams were (I knew their number by heart
still relatively small, although often the from all the adverts). I talked
Barry Leitch: Music in games is extremely important to the sound development staff worked from to Gary, and he was upbeat
ambience you want to create. I was a big fan of Goth Rock a soundproofed audio room, locked but casual, saying I should pop
band Alien Sex Fiend, and one day in 1994 Gary Bracey away from the clack of keyboards and over in a couple of days for an
walked in while I had ‘Mrs Fiend Goes To Outer Space’ light metallic clink of Coca-Cola cans. interview. I had a buddy drive
playing on a cassette. We talked about how well it went ‘The general atmosphere at Ocean was opted for a melancholic and majestic set me over, and the interview
with what I was working on, Inferno. We made inquiries as chaotic, crowded, smelly and a little of sounds.’ went well. Gary offered me a
to whether we could get the band involved. We reached an bit frightening,’ Matthew Cannon says Gari’s risky approach paid off – he job on the spot, and for about
agreement: the band was shiped to Manchester, housed, fed, with a laugh, ‘but for musicians like still gets fan mail today from those still 33% more than what I was
watered, and they worked with me for four weeks to create Jonathan and I, we spent most of our enjoying Target Renegade’s soundtrack. previously being paid.’
17 tracks. Alien Sex Fiend received a wee bag ’o cash and time isolated in “goldfish bowls”. When Barry Leitch joined Ocean in 1992. Barry’s first released work for Ocean Wizball on the C64
had a Martin Galway
walked off with enough material for an album, while Ocean we did venture out, there was a lot of As he recalls, ‘Two days before my fiancé was for the Amiga title European
soundtrack.
had a soundtrack to utilise on the new cartridge platforms, taking the piss, in-jokes, gossiping and was due to move from the USA to the Champions.
all with my involvement! machines, peripherals, magazines, games UK to live with me, I got fired from At the time, perhaps the most
everywhere. Just a mess really!’ interesting aspect is the shift from
Jonathan Dunn: Back then the role of music in games was Yet despite this, and the copious the mid-1980s in the way music
unique. It wasn’t always about being immersive but being practical jokes, the work got done, was composed and refined to the
innovative. Everybody was always pushing the hardware to usually with a little nudging from Ocean complex cartridge-based games
new heights and music was a key factor in this. management. of the 1990s. Gari continues: ‘I
Initially the audio staff utilised usually started at the keyboard,
Gari Biasillo: Sound is absolutely essential in any visual Martin Galway’s music program, but trying to improvise either a chord
media. Whether it’s sound effects or music. Without either eventually they moved to one designed progression or motif. Sometimes
of these you would have a very bland game. by Paul Hughes, who demonstrated the a melody would appear from
closeness of the Ocean team by teaching nowhere and I’d scramble to Mathew Cannon (right)
with Paul Hughes at the
day, which he accepted ‘without a second Gari Biasillo in particular a wealth of record it, preferably on tape,
Revival 2013 event.
thought’. 6502 processor optimisation tricks. ‘He whereupon I would hum the tune
Matthew Cannon, who joined Ocean was a genius in that aspect!’ Gari says. into the microphone!’
under a work experience scheme in 1989, His first major project was the unusual Fred Gray, who freelanced
was similarly in awe of Martin Galway. soundtrack to Target Renegade. ‘It was an as a sound and music designer
‘I knew all the [Ocean] games,’ Matthew original soundtrack and I didn’t want to for Ocean, explains his method:
says with enthusiasm, ‘and I loved go down the boring route of creating an ‘Basically I wrote crudely at my
Galway’s work. It wasn’t until my first action set of cues,’ he says, ‘so instead I synth, then converted that to

Matthew Cannon describes how the and AY chips. ‘Commodore
audio team worked in conjunction with 64 tunes and chip tunes in
the other components of development: general have to boil down
‘As an audio guy you were handed a spec the essence of a tune and
for which levels required which tunes, play it,’ says Martin Galway,
and which actions required which sound ‘and those sounds have rather
Fred Gray performing effects. The rest was just about playing it fixed, unwavering acoustical
live with Jon Hare
back to the lead developer or designer to qualities thanks to their
(Sensisble Software) at
Play Expo. get some feedback on your work.’ electronic nature. Therefore
And while there were often changes it was crucial to make sure
in techniques during the 8-bit era, the the melody and rhythmical
shift to 16-bit was the point when music arrangements were as good as
development really transformed. ‘We they could be. This made the
had to adapt to new ways of working in tunes more memorable.’
every department,’ says Jonathan Dunn, And the place that Ocean occupied as them on any particular day).’ Keith Tinman, Dean
Even freelancer Fred Gray beams Evans and Barry Leitch,
‘and obviously for me it was the shift the leading British software publisher of
photographed in 1993
data which I typed into the assembly away from synth chips to sample-based the 1980s and early 1990s also instilled when he talks about his experience rolling with the sounds.
language software I had. I then looped instruments and more audio channels.’ glowing memories. ‘What can I say? It dealing with Ocean. ‘I look back fondly
the parts and tweaked them, which took Jonathan had to devise a new way to was Ocean Software!’ Gari Biasillo, says. at my days working with Ocean, mostly
many days.’ compose music over eight channels and ‘They were at the top of their game when the challenges and the diversity. I
build a brand new music driver. ‘I shifted I joined and to have the opportunity to remember the mini arcade they had
to using a midi sequencer when we work with them was a dream come true.’ installed and taking my young son Leon
Jonathan Dunn on Keith Chegwin started working with the next generation Matthew Cannon agrees. ‘It was along with me so he could play them all
‘There’s a well documented story about the day he came of machines. It was much better that my dream job and it was special not for free. Leon died young and memories
to Ocean to film a piece for Chegwin Checks it Out. He typing notes and durations into an only because of the people I worked like that are priceless and also indicative
was interested in assembler.’ with and the games I worked on, but of the fun we programmers had back Jonathan Dunn at the
European Computer
music and had a Nevertheless, the new technology because it was so different to anything then – amid of course, all the hard work.’ Trade Show, London,
studio at home, so wasn’t without its own problems. my friends were doing. They were doing non 1989.
he probably spent For example, the limited supply of their A-levels while I was working on
more time than he commercial samples forced Jonathan games that I would see on the shelves at
should have in my and his colleagues to sample as much as Christmas!’
office. They ended possible themselves, using an Ensoniq Barry Leitch chips in. ‘I was
up filming me and EPS keyboard, before converting the blown away. It was amazing. They had
Cheggers miming results to the other systems. professional offices, there were enough
on the keyboard to the theme tune of the show. It made it Perhaps unsurprisingly, most of chairs for all the employees. We had
into the title sequence of the show so I had to endure it over Ocean’s audio staff have good memories decent computers, we had synthesizers
and over again!’ of their time at the Manchester software (although not enough and there was the
house, especially the days of the SID occasional argument over who would get

still had a working relationship with
Ocean, so Joff frequently came over for
Jonathan Smith a drink or two at the Square Albert or
Tommy Ducks in Manchester. There,
a tribute
I would hang on his every word: what Joffa in the middle being
pulled by Tony Pomfret
was he up to, what new crazy ideas had
and Jim Bagley at
he come up with. He always joked that I Special FX.
by Paul Hughes was his biggest fan, and I guess I was.
He used to chuckle over a beer at
how other Spectrum programmers used
W
hen you start working at guess that’s why we got on. In 1987, Joff to disassemble his games to try and
Ocean, there are people, had just finished Cobra and Terra Cresta figure out how he did his smooth scrolls,
gaming celebrities in their and had an idea for a new original game or got so many masked sprites on the
own right, that you just can’t wait to called Angel. Gary Bracey wanted me screen. As he always said, ‘All they have the closure of Acclaim Studios in
meet. For me there were several big to work with Joff concurrently on a C64 to do is ask!’ That was Joffa; incredibly Manchester I hired him to come and
names in-house: David Collier, Steve version of the game. clever, painfully modest, but always keen work for me on Game Boy Advance and
Wahid, Martin Galway and Jonathan We only worked together for a few to share his bright ideas. then Xbox titles at our games company
‘Joffa’ Smith. short weeks, as Joff was about to leave Years later when Special FX was Warthog. Other than being a little
Those guys were the hit makers; all Ocean with Paul Finnegan to be a about to close down, I was asked to chunkier (aren’t we all) it was still the
the quality Ocean titles in the 1980s bore director of a new games company called complete a conversion he had been doing same old Joff – still painfully shy, but still
their names, and so, never in my wildest Special FX. Talk about a baptism of of Universal’s Mr Do! for the Game Boy oozing with drive and talent.
dreams did I think, day one, I would be fire! While he never let on about his – working with his code took me back to What was ironic (and despite us
sat sharing an office with the guy that imminent departure, we blasted out code those Spectrum days; even then his code telling him over and over again), it
programmed and provided the graphics and ideas at a breakneck speed, and had a was littered with puns and in-jokes, but wasn’t until the Internet dawned and
for the likes of Cobra, Hyper Sports, Green right laugh – he had a wicked, dry sense still, as always, beautifully crafted. retro gaming forums started to spring
Beret, Terra Cresta, Mikie and a host of of humour. We stayed in touch all the way up all over the place that Joff finally
other classic titles. I learned all about his methods, his through the different companies that realised just how much people loved his
Joff was an outwardly quiet and shy philosophies about game play, and all our careers took us to: in 2004 with work (he really didn’t have a clue) and
lad, but then, at the time, so was I – I about creating a plethora of core reusable were inspired to start a career in the
Although it wasn’t David routines – that was his key to churning games industry after playing his games
Ward’s Spectrum ‘big hit
out quality games at such speed. It as children. It was wonderful to see. It Cobra on the Spectrum.
for Christmas’ in 1984, Everyone wanted
he was happy to publish turned my way of thinking about game reinvigorated him to the point that he
to know how Joffa
Pud Pud, Jonathan’s first code on its head: make it tight but make turned up at a couple of Retro Gaming achieved such smooth
game for the company,
it reusable – spend the time upfront to events, which was colossally difficult scrolling effects.
as seen on the BBC
TV Commercial Breaks reap the rewards later on; a mantra I still for him as his shyness had become
documentary. pass on to this day. debilitating to the point of being almost
Even though he trundled off to completely agoraphobic.
Liverpool and Special FX, the company But on the forums, he could be

himself. He was funny, kind and generous On 5 July 2010, with an entourage of
with his knowledge, helping out any his oldest colleagues, friends and family,
aspiring game creator that would ask. we bade him farewell at his funeral Allan Shortt
a tribute
It was the 24 June 2010 that I in Widnes. There were tears, there
first received an email from Joff ’s was laughter and there were beautiful,
sister Christine, to tell me that he was touching eulogies from his friends.
terminally ill and she was trying to
From left to right:
Such was the impact of his passing, by Mark Jones Jnr & Gary Bracey
contact all his old friends to let them Hypersports, Terra
the guys and gals from the retro forums, originally posted on Face Book
know. We hadn’t spoken for a few Cresta, Green Beret. who hadn’t even met Joff in person, sent a
‘T
oday’s post is a very sad one. he worked after, will remember Allan
Allan Shortt, who was a and spare a thought for his family and
Commodore 64 coder for friends.
Ocean during its glory years in the late non
1980s, died this morning, 25 September ‘Although I hadn’t spoken to Al for a
2012,’ Mark wrote. number of years,’ Gary wrote, ‘we did stay
Allan was already working on his in touch via email and I’d like to think
weeks and he had been away from huge floral display spelling out ‘Frobush’, we remained friends beyond the Ocean
the Spectrum forums that he used to the name of his little software company, years.
regularly frequent. It transpired to adorn his coffin. This comes as a terrible – and
he had been in hospital and now In the ever eloquent words of painful – shock. I will remember Allan
was back at home in Widnes Dr Seuss, ‘Don’t cry because it’s for his dry sense of humour, and I will
with his parents. over, smile because it happened’. remember him as a gruff, no-nonsense
It was a shock to say the least. It was truly a pleasure to work guy with an intimidating exterior but a
We knew he hadn’t been too well on multiple occasions with such good, loyal heart within. He loved his job
and that the demon that was his a giving, talented and genuinely second title, Mario Bros, when I started at and was passionate about his work. One-
shy demeanour had taken its toll funny guy. He leaves us not only Ocean January 1987. He had completed of-a-kind, I’m sure he will be greatly
on him, but I don’t think anyone with many happy memories but his first title, Yie Ar Kung Fu II, for missed by his family and everyone else
really realised just how bad it was a permanent, irrefutable legacy the company, previously. He went on whose life he touched. I am privileged to
or what affect it was having on that is his vast body of work. to work on Arkanoid II – Revenge Of be counted among the latter. RIP, mate.
his health. I contacted as many You may no longer be around Doh, Athena and Combat School, all on
of the old gang that I knew to to crack a pun, but I’ll always be the Commodore 64. Today all his ex-
let them know, and a few of us ‘your biggest fan’. workmates from Ocean, and the places Allan gets in some
Combat School moves.
planned to rally round and go see him.
Just two days later while organising
a visit, Christine contacted me again to Jonathan M. Smith, 1967 – 2010
tell me the sad news that Jonathan had Rest in Peace.
passed away that morning.

A Rogues’ Gallery
It should come as no surprise that in a graphically
talented organisation many of the staff became the butt
of the lampoonist’s pen…
‘Junior’ and ‘Cheggers’

by Simon Butler
Colin Porch
by Simon Butler
James Higgins
by Bill Harbison
Martin
Galway
by Simon Gary Bracey
Butler by Simon Butler
Jon Dunn
by Simon Butler
John Meegan
by Bill Harbison Mark Jones Jnr, TV Star Dean Evans
by Simon Butler by Bill Harbison
Jane Lowe
by Simon Butler

Well aware of how many players had destroyed joysticks playing Daley Thompson’s Decathlon, this internal Cosmic Wartoad Hunchback II NewZealand Story Slapfight
Ocean comic-strip suggests the programmers suspected that wasn’t all their fans may have damaged… Daley Thompson’s Hunchback The Nightbreed Sleepwalker
Decathlon Adventure Nightmare Rally Sly Spy
Daley Thompson’s Hyper Rally Nomad Smash TV
Supertest Hyper Sports Operation Thunderbolt Soccer Kid
Daley Thompson’s Ikari Warriors Operation Wolf Street Hawk
Olympic Challenge Inferno Pang Super Bowl
Darkman Iron Angel Parallax Super Soccer
Dennis /Menace Island of Death Parasol Stars Tai-Pan
Digger Dan It’s A Knockout Phantom Club Tank
Donkey Kong Jonny And The Jimpys Ping Pong Target Renegade
Double Take Jurassic Park Platoon Terminator
Dragon Ninja Kid Chaos Plotting Terminator 2
Eco Knight Rider Pogo Terra Cresta
Eek The Cat Konami’s Golf Psycho Soldier TFX
EF2000 Konami’s Tennis Pud Pud Toki
Epic Kong Pugsley’s Scavenger Hunt Top Gun
Eskimo Eddie Kong Strikes Back Pushover Total Recall
F29-Retaliator Legend Of Kage Puznik Transformers
Firefly The Legend of Quondam Transversion
Flash Point Prince Valiant Rainbow Islands Typhoon
Flyer Fox Lethal Weapon Rambo Victory Road
Frankie Goes To Lost Patrol Rambo III Vindicator
Hollywood Madballs Rastan Saga Voyager
Frenzy Mag Max Red Heat Renegade The Untouchables
G.U.T.Z. Mailstrom Renegade III WEC Le Man
Galaxy Invaders Mario Bros RoboCop Where Time Stood Still
Galvan Match Day II RoboCop 2 Wizball
Game Over Matchday RoboCop 3 Wizkid
Gift From The Gods McDonald Land Roland’s Rat Race World Series Baseball
Gilligan’s Gold Miami Vice Roller Ball World Series Basketball
The Great Escape Midnight Resistance Royal Birkdale WWF Wrestlemania
Green Beret Mighty Max Championship Golf Yie Ar Kung Fu II
Gryzor Mikie Run The Gauntlet Yie Ar KungFu
Index of Ocean’s game releases up to the point of the merger with Infogrames
Guerilla War Moon Alert Ryder Cup Golf Zoiks (unreleased)
The Addams Family Batman Beach Volley Chase HQ II Head Over Heels Movie Salamander
Arkanoid Batman: The Caped Billy The Kid Chinese Juggler High Noon Mr Nutz Sea Legends
Arkanoid II: Revenge Crusader Cabal 1988 Cobra Highlander Mr Wimpy Shadow Warriors
Of Doh Batman: The Movie Caterpilla Combat School Hook Mutants Short Circuit
Armageddon Batman The Adventure Cavelon Comic Bakery Hopper NARC Shut-It
Army Moves (never released) Central Intelligence Cool World Hudson Hawk Navy Seals The Simpsons: Bart Vs
Athena Battle Command Chase HQ Cosmic Intruders Hunchback NeverEnding Story the Space Mutants

The Ocean Gang 1988
Key to pages 95–95
9
1 3 8
4 7 10
2 6
5
14 15
11 13
12 16 17
24
21 23
18
22
19
20
1 Paul Hughes 9 Roger Fenton 17 Kane Valentine

2 Colin Porch 10 Andrew Deakin 18 David Blaque
3 Steve Lavache 11 Kane Valentine 19 Ivan Horn
4 Martin McDonald 12 Mike Lamb 20 Lee Cowley
5 Mark Jones Jnr 13 John Brandwood 21 Nick Sheard
6 Paul Owens 14 Andy Sleigh 22 Jane Lowe
7 Mark Jones Snr 15 Lorraine Broxton 23 Zach Townsend
8 Darren Dunn 16 Martin Galway 24 Allan Shortt
Missing from the photograph at the time: David Collier; John Meegan;
Simon Butler; Ronnie Fowles; Steve Wahid; Gari Biasillo

With thanks to our Kickstarter backers, whose generosity
made this project a reality
Bill Harbison Gary @ coodart Chris Millett
Michael Lees Knut Kraushaar Alexander Young
Senio Rotondi Robert (BobPitbull) Jake Warren
Zro Dfects Troughton SeanR
Alan Hinchcliffe Kevin Oxland Tobias Hartlehnert
Photon Storm Bruno Del Frate Benjamin Herzog
Andrew Martin Darren Skelton Peter de Bie
Will Morton Stuart Storey Douglas ‘STUDE’ Kalberg
Marcel Schoen Steve Perry Amy Cherry
Alexander ‘channard’ Stein Alec Chalmers Patrick Becher
Simon Hardy Eric Barwell (Hurray Chris Poad
Darth Txelis Banana) Josef Wurzinger
Mark Paterson Tomas ‘Comos’ Matys
Russell Hoy Bruno ‘Darth Nuno’ Biordi
Darren Cousins Lutz Ohl
Knut Kraushaar Chris Van Graas
Izzy Marco Lazzeri
Lee Gregory – Focus Terje Høiback
Gaming (UK) Marco Caminada
Vasco ‘Vaz’ Serafini Chris Peel
Chris Ainsley Paranoid Marvin
Enrico Bedon Dr Dimitris Gourlis
Chris Field Nigel Critten
Paul Bracken Paul Hancock
Peter Backman Andrew Mack
Martin Caine Stephan Freundorfer

Ocean History

Uploaded by

Document Informationclick to expand document information

Document Informationclick to expand document information

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ocean History

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ocean History

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

the history

Copyright © Revival Retro Events 2013

6 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 7

the history important. The story of Ocean is really

on the hoof as we went

8 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 9

10 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 11

12 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 13

14 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 15

16 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 17

18 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 19

20 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 21

22 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 23

developed later. Well, in the back of the

24 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 25

28 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 29

30 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 31

32 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 33

34 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 35

36 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 37

38 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 39

40 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 41

Far right: Laughing all

42 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 43

44 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 45

Paul Patterson took up

46 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 47

to simply say ‘I see’ or ‘yes’ or whatever.

48 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 49

50 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 51

52 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 53

Background images by Oliver Frey

54 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 55

56 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 57

58 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 59

60 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 61

62 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 63

64 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 65

66 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 67

68 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 69

70 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 71

Budget and bling

72 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 73

Julian Rignall – ace

74 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 75

games console came

76 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 77

78 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 79

80 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 81

82 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 83

84 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 85

86 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 87

88 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 89

90 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 91

92 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 93

Memories are made of this

94 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 95

96 The History of Ocean The History of Ocean 97