 | |
| Ultimate Play the Game | |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1982; 43 years ago (1982) |
| Successor | Rare |
| Headquarters | Ashby-de-la-Zouch, England |
Key people | Tim Stamper (graphics director) Chris Stamper (software director) Carol Stamper née Ward (director) John Lathbury (director) Louise Stamper Christian Penfold |
| Products | |
| Parent | Rare |
Ashby Computers and Graphics Limited, trading asUltimate Play the Game, was a Britishvideo game developer andpublisher,[1][2][3] founded in 1982, by ex-arcade video game developers[4][5]Tim and Chris Stamper. Ultimate released a series of successful games for theZX Spectrum,Amstrad CPC,BBC Micro,MSX andCommodore 64 computers from 1983 until 1987. Ultimate are perhaps best remembered for the big-selling titlesJetpac andSabre Wulf, each of which sold over 300,000 copies in 1983 and 1984 respectively, and their groundbreaking series ofisometricarcade adventures using a technique termedFilmation.Knight Lore, the first of the Filmation games, has been retrospectively described in the press as "seminal ... revolutionary" (GamesTM),[2] "one of the most successful and influential games of all time" (X360),[3] and "probably ... the greatest single advance in the history of computer games" (Edge).[6]
By the time of the label's last use in 1988 on a retrospective compilation, Ultimate had evolved intoRare and moved on to developing titles forNintendo consoles. Rare was purchased byMicrosoft in 2002 forUS$377 million, a record price for a video game developer,[7] and now develops exclusively for Microsoft platforms such asXbox andMicrosoft Windows. In 2006, Rare revived the "Ultimate Play the Game" name for anXbox Live Arcade remake ofJetpac namedJetpac Refuelled. In 2015, several Ultimate titles were collected and released as part of theRare Replay compilation forXbox One.
Ultimate Play the Game was founded in theLeicestershire town ofAshby-de-la-Zouch in 1982 byTim and Chris Stamper,[8] their friend John Lathbury, and Tim's girlfriend (later wife) Carole Ward.[1][3] Other members of the Stamper family were also involved in the early running and support of the company, which was initially located in a house next to the family-run newsagent.[1][3] Both Tim and Chris had worked in arcade game development[1][9] including, according to one report,Konami'sGyruss,[10] and claimed to be "the most experienced arcade video game design team in Britain" until tiring of working for others and leaving to start Ashby Computers and Graphics.[11] This led to ACG's initial trade being in creating arcade conversion kits,[1][3] before moving into the home computer software market developing games under the Ultimate Play the Game name. Ashby released four arcade games:Blue Print forBally-Midway, andGrasspin,Dingo andSaturn forJaleco.
Ultimate's first game wasJetpac in May 1983 for the 16K Spectrum.[11] In a 1983 interview, Tim Stamper said that they deliberately targeted 16K machines as their smaller size meant development time was much shorter, claiming they could produce two 16K games in one month, or one 48K game.[12] Jetpac was a huge commercial success selling more than 300,000 copies[13] providing the fledgling company with a turnover in excess of£1 million.[1]
This was followed by three further 16K releases,Pssst in June,[11]Tranz Am, andCookie, before Ultimate stepped up to the 48K Spectrum.Jetpac,Pssst,Tranz Am andCookie were four of only ten games ever to be released on the 16KROM format for use with theZX Interface 2. They were also republished on cassette, with distinctive silver inlay cards, bySinclair Research.
Ultimate's first 48K releases wereLunar Jetman – a sequel toJetpac – andAtic Atac, both of which were released in late 1983.[14] Both games were very well received by the gaming press,CRASH magazine in particular praising what Ultimate had managed to do with the extra memory Lunar Jetman used.[15] In 1984 cameSabre Wulf, the first in theSabreman series, and the first release at arecommended retail price of £9.95. The price of Ultimate titles had previously been just £5.50, which was typical for Spectrum arcade-style games at the time.[1] This increase was to discouragepiracy, with the idea being that if customers paid more for a game they would be less inclined to give away copies.[16] This coincided with the introduction of the distinctive Ultimate "big box" packaging (used with all further Spectrum releases untilGunfright, and with various releases on other platforms), which the company felt might also help justify the price increase and encourage gamers to buy the game rather than copy it. The strategy paid off asSabre Wulf went on to sell over 350,000 copies on the Spectrum alone.[17][18] This was followed by the release in late 1984 of the next two instalments in the Sabreman series,Underwurlde quickly followed byKnight Lore.[19]Knight Lore was something of a revolution in the home computer game market,[20] using a forced-perspectiveisometric viewpoint brandedFilmation, the style of which would be extensively copied in other games, notable examples beingBatman andHead Over Heels fromOcean Software.[21] In a 1988 interview withCRASH, Tim Stamper claimed thatKnight Lore, and some of its Filmation follow-upAlien 8, was actually completed beforeSabre Wulf but Ultimate decided that it could have a potentially negative effect on sales of the comparatively primitiveSabre Wulf, so it was postponed until late 1984.[1] More recent research into the code of both games has suggested this may have been an exaggeration as the coding routines found inKnight Lore are far more optimised.[22]
Knight Lore was finished beforeSabre Wulf. But we decided the market wasn't ready for it. Because if we releasedKnight Lore andAlien 8, which was already half-finished, we wouldn't have soldSabre Wulf ... There was a little bit of careful planning there ... We just had to sit on it because everyone else was so far behind[23]
— Tim Stamper,CRASH magazine, April 1988
Ultimate won theGolden Joystick Award for Best Software House in both 1983[24] and 1984.[25]
Ultimate was criticised somewhat in the gaming media for their repeated use of the Filmation technique in subsequent gamesAlien 8,Nightshade,Gunfright andPentagram,[26] thoughNightshade andGunfright used Filmation II, a variation on the engine, resulting in a similar visual style, but significantly different gameplay, with scrolling around a large world and arcade-like play, rather than the room-based puzzles of the earlier Filmation titles.
With the consistent success of Ultimate's releases there were rumours of a buyout byOcean, until it was announced in 1985 that the Stamper brothers had sold a minority stake in the company toUS Gold,[17][23] who would continue to release games under the Ultimate label. Later titles such asMartianoids andBubbler were not seen by the gaming press as being up to Ultimate's previously high standards and sales fell. US Gold released no new Ultimate games afterBubbler in 1987. A final Sabreman game,Mire Mare, was trailed in earlier Sabreman games and was mentioned bySinclair User as being next up for release,[27] but was quietly dropped during development.[22] In late 1988, Rare bought back the rights sold to US Gold and were reported to be developing games again.[9] Future releases were to have includedSolar Jetman, which would eventually appear only on theNintendo Entertainment System, although home computer conversions for the Commodore 64,Amiga, andAtari ST were completed by Storm Software, but not released.[28]
Shortly before the US Gold buyout, the name of another company, "Rare Limited", began appearing on the credits of Ultimate releases. This was in fact another company set up by the Stampers to develop for Ultimate, but not be subject to any Ultimate takeover. Rare (initially under the bannerRare: Designs on the Future) would evolve, after Ultimate's demise, into a prolific developer for theNintendo Entertainment System.[9] This led Nintendo to purchase a stake in the company, whose success was furthered with such classicSNES andNintendo 64 releases asDonkey Kong Country andGoldenEye 007. In 2002, Rare was purchased outright byMicrosoft[7] forUS$377 million, a record fee for a video game developer, and develops games for theXbox One console. At the end of 2006, Tim and Chris Stamper left Rare to "pursue other opportunities",[29] ending a 24-year involvement in developing home video games.
The 1997Nintendo 64 gameGoldenEye 007 contains aZX Spectrumemulator with ten Ultimate-developed games hidden on the cartridge. This function was originally made as an experimental side project by Rare and was deactivated in the final version, but has since been unlocked throughfan-made patches.[30] In 2004, Rare revived Ultimate'sSabreman franchise with the release ofSabre Wulf for theGame Boy Advance. A new version ofSabre Wulf for theXbox was also rumoured,[31] though it was never released or even officially announced. A racing game based on the Ultimate/Rare universe titledSabreman Stampede was also in development, but was canceled.[32] In 2007, Rare released the fourth game of theJetman series,Jetpac Refuelled, forXbox Live Arcade.[citation needed]
On 8 December 2006 and 16 January 2007 respectively, Rare's ownersMicrosoft Corporation filed US and EU trademark claims on the Ultimate Play the Game name and logo. The registered purpose is "entertainment services, namely, providing an on-line computer game".[33] Emulated versions of seven Ultimate titles were later included as part of the 2015 game compilationRare Replay forXbox One.[citation needed]
Ultimate had a reputation for secrecy that has continued to a lesser extent with successor Rare. Due to the small number of staff employed at Ultimate in the early days, the company had no time to speak to the press or attend trade events. The British computer gaming press even complained over how difficult it was to get hold of them.[10][34][35] As Tim Stamper later said:
...that's the way it turned out, we were so busy producing a few products a year and making sure they were right. I think while we were full-time Ultimate, we only had two Christmas mornings off, and that's how hard it was. We worked seven days a week, 8am till 1 or 2 in the morning. I don't feel it's any good having engineers who only work 9 to 5 because you get a 9 to 5 game.[23]
— Tim Stamper,CRASH magazine, April 1988
This press blackout soon worked to the company's advantage. Due to their reputation for producing high quality products, along with speculation in the press and amongst gamers, anticipation for each release was high.[1] This was helped along by the full-page advertisements placed in magazines showing the cover art of the game in question, but no shots or description of the game itself. These ads would be run prior to and for several months after the release date.[36] The magazines were not able to preview the games; the review copies, usually sent out just before general release,[1] would be the first opportunity for anyone to see them. Not talking to the press worked for Ultimate and it soon became policy.[1][23] When a journalist reviewingNightshade forCRASH magazine asked Ultimate what the object of the game was, and how large the play area was, they responded with, respectively, "oh, we can't tell you that" and "it's pretty large".[37]
This air of mystery was increased whenCRASH magazine published a reader's photograph ofLunar Jetman featuring Jetman's moon rover pulling a trailer.[38] The possible existence of a trailer (as depicted on the game's cover art and loading screen) had been speculated on since the game's release, and many fans had searched fruitlessly for it. The Stampers shrugged off questions about whether this screen shot was genuine, but stopped short of actually denying it.[23] There have even been suggestions that Ultimate themselves may have created the screen shot to generate more interest in the game.[1] It has since been proven thatLunar Jetman's code does not contain graphics for a trailer.[2]
Ultimate were one of the first developers to have their own fanbase focused on the company and brand as much as the games themselves.[1] They received so much fan mail at their peak that a full-time employee had to be taken on to deal with up to 60 letters per day. They were known for their positive attitude to fans, always replying to letters and responding to requests for merchandise by sending posters, sweatshirts and caps free of charge.[23] The Stampers later stated that they were more interested in creating the games than making money from merchandising.[23]Retro Gamer has suggested that besides the quality of the games, Ultimate's popularity arose from a combination of "superb presentation" as well as the company's "air of mystique" giving it a "secretive yet cool vibe".[39]
The main series of games produced by Ultimate were all released on theZX Spectrum, with most fromSabre Wulf onward also on theAmstrad CPC andMSX, and most early games up to and includingNightshade also on theBBC Micro. Only three of these (Sabre Wulf,Underwurlde andNightshade) were released on the other major platform of the time, theCommodore 64, however a series of C64-exclusive titles were published by Ultimate:[10]
The Staff of Karnath,Entombed,Blackwyche andDragon Skulle all concern the adventures of Sir Arthur Pendragon.
The company's secretive tendencies also extended to the question of who wrote the games. Whereas most games of the time would list those responsible on the cassette inlay cards or even on the front of the box (one notable example,Football Manager, even going as far as to feature a picture of authorKevin Toms on the front of the box), no Ultimate title ever mentioned any names at all, and the authorship of some of them remains unclear.[10]
The Ultimate titles up toGunfright were produced primarily byTim and Chris Stamper;[17][23] Tim provided thegraphics and Chris theprogramming,[17] along with fellow founders John Lathbury (coding) and Carol Ward (graphic design).[1] Tim also created the cover art for the games, including the famous Ultimate Play the Game logo.[17] The Stampers retained the major creative roles until the purchase by US Gold, who brought in their own programming teams to createMartianoids andBubbler.[23] The exact authorship ofPentagram andCyberun is known only to those involved; often considered US Gold games, they are both possibly Stamper games. This remains a possibility as although Chris Stamper has said in an interview, "What was the last one we developed as a team? It wasGunfright, I think",[23] Ultimate had already admitted to developing games in an order different from that of their release, as withKnight Lore andSabre Wulf.
The authorship of the Commodore 64 titles was at the time even more uncertain. The conversions of existing Spectrum gamesSabre Wulf,Underwurlde andNightshade were handled byFirebird, who hired Mr Micro, Softstone, and PSI, respectively, to develop the titles.[40]Imhotep was submitted to Ultimate in a virtually complete form by author Manuel Caballero, who had previously writtenBatty Builders andFirefleet.[41] Ultimate did not make any announcements regarding the authorship of the other Commodore games, but an article by Martyn Carroll[42] revealed how Frank Gasking of "Games that weren't 64" managed to identify the creators as Dave and Robert (Bob) Thomas based on a message that appears on the final screen ofDragon Skulle. These two brothers were also the creators of the previous three games of the seriesThe Staff of Karnath,Entombed andBlackwyche. In an interview with the brothers inRetro Gamer magazine, they revealed they also authoredOutlaws, in just six weeks, so Ultimate would have something for the Commodore 64 for Christmas.[43]
