Microdeal
Encyclopedia
Microdeal was a British software company which operated during the 1980s and early 1990s from its base at Truro Road in the town of St Austell
, Cornwall
. The company, founded by John Symes was one of the major producers of games and other software for the 8-bit home computers of the time, in particular the Dragon 32 and the similar Tandy
TRS-80 Color Computer
("CoCo").
The 8-bit software market dwindled toward the end of the 1980s and Symes officially announced that Microdeal would no longer publish for the Dragon and Tandy machines on 1 January 1988; from this point they would concentrate on the newer generation of 16-bit computers, the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST
, with their remaining stock of Dragon and Tandy software to be sold off by a company called Computape. Many of Microdeal's 16-bit titles were updated versions of successful 8-bit games such as Time Bandit
and Tanglewood
, but proved less successful the second time around. This was followed by one of the first film conversions to Software of Columbia's "Karate Kid". The company was quick to recognise the music capabilities of the Atari ST and Amiga and went in production of Music Samplers such as "MasterSound" and "Amas" the latter of which was featured on a Paula Abdul
music video
which won MTV's Music Video of the year award. The companies publishing licences were sold to "Hi-Soft" and it ceased trading in the early 1990s.
, and published the works of independent programmers (notably Ken Kalish
, who was responsible for some of their most successful titles). Frequently the digital artist Pete Lyon was responsible for the graphics as well as having some design input. Much of the software brought to Britain from the US was originally written for the Tandy CoCo (which was the more popular machine there) and converted to work with the Dragon. These conversions were contracted out to a company called Northern Software Consultants where they were handled by lead programmer Chas Robertson. Robertson also designed the dongle
device that was experimentally used for copy protection
of a single Microdeal title, Buzzard Bait. Some of Microdeal's licenced games were renamed for the British market. For example, they released a series of games based around the company mascot Cuthbert (Cuthbert Goes Digging
, Cuthbert in the Jungle, etc). The original members of this series were written in-house by Steve Bak, but later additions were completely unrelated. Rather, they were renamed titles from several different sources – the graphical limitations of computers at that time meant that a character was unrecognisable and could be given any convenient name. Microdeal also had a brand called Pocket Money Software, which published simpler games submitted by users at a lower price than the main titles. While some Pocket Money games were arguably of poor quality, others were among the company's most popular titles.
Microdeal also sold Cuthbert-branded blank media (tapes, disks, etc), re-boxed and sometimes adapted hardware (such as joysticks) made by other companies and published an occasional semi-informative, semi-promotional magazine called The Cuthbert Chronicle. They also accounted for most of the advertising space and reviews of Dragon User
magazine.
John Symes, the founder of Microdeal, now runs a car dealership in Bournemouth specialising in custom paintwork.
St Austell
St Austell is a civil parish and a major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the south coast approximately ten miles south of Bodmin and 30 miles west of the border with Devon at Saltash...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. The company, founded by John Symes was one of the major producers of games and other software for the 8-bit home computers of the time, in particular the Dragon 32 and the similar Tandy
Tandy Corporation
Tandy Corporation was a family-owned leather goods company based in Fort Worth, Texas. Tandy was founded in 1919 as a leather supply store, and acquired RadioShack in 1963. The Tandy name was dropped in May 2000, when RadioShack Corporation was made the official name.-History:Tandy began in 1919...
TRS-80 Color Computer
TRS-80 Color Computer
The Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer was a home computer launched in 1980. It was one of the earliest of the first generation of computers marketed for home use in English-speaking markets...
("CoCo").
The 8-bit software market dwindled toward the end of the 1980s and Symes officially announced that Microdeal would no longer publish for the Dragon and Tandy machines on 1 January 1988; from this point they would concentrate on the newer generation of 16-bit computers, the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
, with their remaining stock of Dragon and Tandy software to be sold off by a company called Computape. Many of Microdeal's 16-bit titles were updated versions of successful 8-bit games such as Time Bandit
Time Bandit
Time Bandit is an action/adventure video game that was written originally for the TRS-80 Model I and soon ported to the TRS-80 Color Computer and Dragon 32, but enjoyed its greatest popularity on the Atari ST and Amiga. The game was written by Bill Dunlevy and Harry Lafnear, and published by...
and Tanglewood
Tanglewood
Tanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
, but proved less successful the second time around. This was followed by one of the first film conversions to Software of Columbia's "Karate Kid". The company was quick to recognise the music capabilities of the Atari ST and Amiga and went in production of Music Samplers such as "MasterSound" and "Amas" the latter of which was featured on a Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...
music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
which won MTV's Music Video of the year award. The companies publishing licences were sold to "Hi-Soft" and it ceased trading in the early 1990s.
Activities
Some of Microdeal's software was produced in-house by the company's own programmers (including Steve Bak, Rita Jay and Ed Scio) but they also licensed software from foreign sources, such as the American Tom Mix Software and Spectral AssociatesSpectral Associates
Spectral Associates was an American maker of computer games for the TRS-80 Color Computer. It was founded in 1980 and was defunct as sometime in the late 1980s. Spectral Associates sold their software through Radio Shack and via direct sales...
, and published the works of independent programmers (notably Ken Kalish
Ken Kalish
Kenneth Kalish wrote many games for the TRS-80 Color Computer and Dragon 32/64 home computers in the early 1980s, including:-* Danger Ranger* Dungeon Raid* El Diablero* The King...
, who was responsible for some of their most successful titles). Frequently the digital artist Pete Lyon was responsible for the graphics as well as having some design input. Much of the software brought to Britain from the US was originally written for the Tandy CoCo (which was the more popular machine there) and converted to work with the Dragon. These conversions were contracted out to a company called Northern Software Consultants where they were handled by lead programmer Chas Robertson. Robertson also designed the dongle
Dongle
A software protection dongle is a small piece of hardware that plugs into an electrical connector on a computer and serves as an electronic "key" for a piece of software; the program will only run when the dongle is plugged in...
device that was experimentally used for copy protection
Copy protection
Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy obstruction, copy prevention and copy restriction, refer to techniques used for preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media, usually for copyright reasons.- Terminology :Media corporations have always used the term...
of a single Microdeal title, Buzzard Bait. Some of Microdeal's licenced games were renamed for the British market. For example, they released a series of games based around the company mascot Cuthbert (Cuthbert Goes Digging
Cuthbert Goes Digging
Cuthbert Goes Digging is a 1983 computer game for the Dragon 32 home computer. Written by Steve Bak at Microdeal, the game features the hero Cuthbert, who also appears in Cuthbert Goes Walkabout and Cuthbert in the Mines...
, Cuthbert in the Jungle, etc). The original members of this series were written in-house by Steve Bak, but later additions were completely unrelated. Rather, they were renamed titles from several different sources – the graphical limitations of computers at that time meant that a character was unrecognisable and could be given any convenient name. Microdeal also had a brand called Pocket Money Software, which published simpler games submitted by users at a lower price than the main titles. While some Pocket Money games were arguably of poor quality, others were among the company's most popular titles.
Microdeal also sold Cuthbert-branded blank media (tapes, disks, etc), re-boxed and sometimes adapted hardware (such as joysticks) made by other companies and published an occasional semi-informative, semi-promotional magazine called The Cuthbert Chronicle. They also accounted for most of the advertising space and reviews of Dragon User
Dragon User
Dragon User was a British magazine for users of the Dragon 32/64 computers published from 1982 by Sunshine Publications. Production of the computers themselves had ceased by 1985 but the user community remained sufficiently active to justify the magazine's continuation until 1989.-Publication:From...
magazine.
John Symes, the founder of Microdeal, now runs a car dealership in Bournemouth specialising in custom paintwork.
List of Microdeal software
- 3D-Calc3D-Calc3D-Calc is a 3-dimensional spreadsheet program for the Atari ST computer.The first version of the program was released in April 1989 and was distributed by ISTARI bvba, Ghent, Belgium. The spreadsheet was 3-dimensional since it contained 13 pages of 2048 rows and 256 columns...
- 8-Ball
- AirballAirballAirball is a videogame released in 1987 by MichTron/Microdeal. The game was originally released for the Dragon 32/64, with ports following for the Atari ST, Amiga, PC DOS, Atari 8-bit, and Game Boy Advance. Airball to the Apple IIgs, but due to a curious lack of marketing, saw an extremely...
- Air Traffic Control
- Alcatraz
- Athletyx
- Backgammon
- Beam Rider
- Bubble Buster (Pocket Money)
- Buzzard Bait
- Cashman
- Chambers
- Cosmic Zap
- Crash
- Crazy Painter
- CuberCuberCuber is a small settlement in the eastern Slovenske gorice hills in the Ljutomer Municipality in northeastern Slovenia. The area traditionally belonged to the Styria region and is now included in the Pomurska statistical region.-External links:*...
- Cuthbert Goes DiggingCuthbert Goes DiggingCuthbert Goes Digging is a 1983 computer game for the Dragon 32 home computer. Written by Steve Bak at Microdeal, the game features the hero Cuthbert, who also appears in Cuthbert Goes Walkabout and Cuthbert in the Mines...
- Cuthbert Goes WalkaboutCuthbert Goes WalkaboutCuthbert Goes Walkabout is a 1983 computer game for the Dragon 32/64, TRS-80 CoCo, Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit family home computers. Produced by Microdeal, the game features the hero Cuthbert . The game is based on the Konami arcade game Amidar...
- Cuthbert in the Cooler
- Cuthbert in the Jungle
- Cuthbert in the MinesCuthbert in the MinesCuthbert in the Mines is a 1984 computer game for the Dragon 32 home computer. Written by Microdeal, the game features the hero Cuthbert, a character who also appeared in Cuthbert Goes Walkabout and Cuthbert Goes Digging. It was also licensed to run on Tandy's CoCo.The gameplay is a loose clone of...
- Cuthbert in Space
- Danger Ranger
- Datafall (Pocket Money)
- Defense
- Devil Assault
- Donkey King
- Dragonhawk
- Dragon Invaders
- Dungeon Raid
- El Diablero
- Electron
- Fearless Freddy (Pocket Money)
- Filmastr (Database)
- Flipper
- Frogger
- Galagon
- Goldrunner (II)
- Grabber
- The GrailThe GrailThe Grail is a computer game produced by Microdeal in the 1980s It is a text adventure with graphics developed using the Talespin system....
- Ice Castles
- Invaders' Revenge
- Jerusalem: Adventure II
- Jet Boot Colin (Pocket Money)
- Katerpillar Attack
- Keys of the Wizard
- The KingThe King (computer game)The King is a computer game for the Dragon 32 home computer, written by Tom Mix software and published in the United Kingdom by Microdeal in 1983...
- The Lands of Havoc
- Major Motion
- Mr. Dig
- Mansion:Adventure I
- Module Man
- Mudpies
- Pengon
- Phantom SlayerPhantom SlayerPhantom Slayer is a computer game released by Med Systems in 1982 for the TRS-80 Color Computer and Dragon 32/64. Written by Ken Kalish, Phantom Slayer is considered by some to be a very early forerunner of the modern First-person shooter genre....
- Pit Fiend (Pocket Money)
- Planet Invasion
- Robin Hood (Pocket Money)
- Shock Trooper
- Skramble
- Slide (Pocket Money)
- Space Shuttle
- Space WarSpace WarSpace War is an Atari-brand video game cartridge for the Atari 2600, released in 1978. It is an Atari 2600 port of Spacewar!, the famous 1962 computer game by Steve Russell. It was released by Sears as Space Combat, for the Atari 2600-compatible Sears Video Arcade...
- Speed Racer
- Syzygy
- Talking Android Attack
- TanglewoodTanglewood (computer game)Tanglewood is a puzzle/adventure computer game produced by Microdeal in 1988.It was designed by Ian Murray-Watson and programmed by Timothy Purves with graphics by Pete Lyon. It was released for Dragon 32, Atari ST, and Amiga.-External links:*...
- Tea Time (Pocket Money)
- Tele-ArtistTele-ArtistTele-Artist is a graphics program produced by Microdeal in 1985. It was programmed by Ray Methuen. It was released for the Dragon 32....
(Graphic utility) - Tele-Forth (Forth language system)
- Telewriter (Word processor)
- Time BanditTime BanditTime Bandit is an action/adventure video game that was written originally for the TRS-80 Model I and soon ported to the TRS-80 Color Computer and Dragon 32, but enjoyed its greatest popularity on the Atari ST and Amiga. The game was written by Bill Dunlevy and Harry Lafnear, and published by...
- Touchstone
- Trekboer
- Ultimate: Adventure IV
- Williamsburg: Adventure III
- Worlds of Flight