Crystal Computing , later renamed Design Design , was a British video game developer founded in 1982 by Chris Clarke and Ian Stamp while students at the University of Manchester . Graham Stafford, Neil Mottershead, Simon Brattel and Martin Horsley, joined the company as it expanded. ^{[1] [2]} The company's first software release was a compilation of games for the Sinclair ZX81 , though it was with the ZX Spectrum that Crystal found its greatest success. A deal with the machine's manufacturer Sinclair to distribute Crystal's Zeus Assembler gave the company sufficient funds for a major marketing campaign for their next product, ^[3] Halls of the Things , an arcade adventure game that became their most successful title.

Clarke left in 1984 to join Artic Software , where he worked on the "business side", before collaborating with Jon Ritman on the Match Day series . ^[4] With Clarke's departure the company was reorganised as Design Design, ^[2] a trading name that had been used by Brattel since 1976 for his electronic audio designs. ^[5] Design Design's core consisted of Stafford working mainly on titles for the Commodore 64 , Brattel and Mottershead working on the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC , and David Lewellyn, the company's administrator. ^[2] According to Stafford the new name was part of a wider re-branding, as they wanted a more professional image, along with a better relationship with the press and the public. ^[2]

Stafford went on to form developer Walking Circles producing titles including The Living Daylights ^[6] and Spitting Image ^[7] for Domark and the PC version of Bloodwych for Image Works . ^[8]

Softography [ edit ]

Crystal Computing

• ZX81 Games Pack , ZX81 , 1982. Includes versions of Asteroids and Space Invaders , as well as a Dungeons & Dragons style adventure game and a slalom skiing game, all designed to run on an unexpanded machine with 1K RAM. ^[9]
• Merchant of Venus , ZX81, 1982. A space trading/investment game. ^[9]
• Monitor and Disassembler , ZX81, ZX Spectrum, 1982. An assembly language utility. ^[10]
• Cosmic Guerilla , ZX Spectrum, 1983
• The Dungeon Master , ZX Spectrum, 1983
• Halls of the Things , ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64, 1983
• Invasion of the Body Snatchas! , ZX Spectrum, 1983
• Zeus Assembler , ZX Spectrum, 1983
• Rommel's Revenge , ZX Spectrum, 1984
• Bug Blaster , ZX Spectrum, 1984. A Centipede clone. ^[11]
• Cyber Zone , ZX Spectrum, 1984
• The Island , ZX Spectrum, 1984
• The Warlock of Firetop Mountain , ZX Spectrum, 1984
• It's the Wooluf! , ZX Spectrum, 1984.
• Tube Way Army , Dragon 32 and Tandy 32K , 1984

Design Design

• Dark Star , ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC , 1984
• Spectacle , ZX Spectrum, 1984 (Additional program supplied with Dark Star - simulated a Teletext environment)
• Return of the Things , ZX Spectrum, 1984
• 2112 AD , ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1985
• On the Run , ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1985
• Forbidden Planet , ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1986
• Halls of the Things Remix , ZX Spectrum, 1986
• Invaders , ZX Spectrum, 1986. A Space Invaders clone published as part of the Action Replay compilation of Crystal and Design Design games.
• N.E.X.O.R. , ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1986
• Nosferatu the Vampyre , ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 , 1986
• Rogue Trooper , ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64, 1986
• Kat Trap , ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64, 1987

References [ edit ]