Nick Pelling
Encyclopedia
Nick Pelling is a British-born computer programmer, best known for a series of 1980s computer games for the BBC Micro
written under the nom-de-plume Orlando M. Pilchard. He was educated at Brentwood School
, and has both a BSc in Maths and Philosophy (from Manchester University) and an MBA with Distinction (from Kingston University
). He has self-published a book on the Voynich Manuscript
and plays for Surbiton Chess Club.
BBC Micro
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
written under the nom-de-plume Orlando M. Pilchard. He was educated at Brentwood School
Brentwood School (England)
Brentwood School is an independent school in Brentwood, Essex, England. Educating boys and girls in a British public school tradition. Brentwood School is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
, and has both a BSc in Maths and Philosophy (from Manchester University) and an MBA with Distinction (from Kingston University
Kingston University
Kingston University is a public research university located in Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, United Kingdom. It was originally founded in 1899 as Kingston Technical Institute, a polytechnic, and became a university in 1992....
). He has self-published a book on the Voynich Manuscript
Voynich manuscript
The Voynich manuscript, described as "the world's most mysterious manuscript", is a work which dates to the early 15th century, possibly from northern Italy. It is named after the book dealer Wilfrid Voynich, who purchased it in 1912....
and plays for Surbiton Chess Club.
Games
- 1981: Hedgehog, AtomAcorn AtomThe Acorn Atom was a home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd from 1980 to 1982 when it was replaced by the BBC Micro and later the Acorn Electron....
, Aardvark - 1981: Invaders, Atom, Aardvark
- 1981: Atom Galaxians, Atom, Aardvark
- 1982: Arcadians, BBC MicroBBC MicroThe BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
/Acorn ElectronAcorn ElectronThe Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. It has 32 kilobytes of RAM, and its ROM includes BBC BASIC along with its operating system....
, AcornsoftAcornsoftAcornsoft was the software arm of Acorn Computers Ltd, and a major publisher of software for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. As well as games, they also produced a large number of educational titles, extra computer languages and business and utility packages - these included ROM-based word... - 1982: Chess, BBC/Electron, Acornsoft
- 1983: Zalaga, BBC/Electron, Aardvark (also converted to C64 and released as a bonus game with 3D Pool in 1989)
- 1984: Frak!Frak!Frak! is a 1980s computer game originally programmed by Orlando for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron and published by his own 'Aardvark' software label in 1984. The game was ported to the Commodore 64 the following year by 'The B Team'...
, BBC/Electron, Aardvark - 1987: Bangkok Knights, Commodore 64Commodore 64The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, System 3System 3 (software company)System 3 Software Ltd is a British video game developer and publisher.Founded in 1983 by Mark Cale, the company has been responsible for many critically acclaimed videogame experiences, most notably The Last Ninja series, Myth: History in the Making, Impossible Mission, Constructor, Street Wars,... - 1987: FiretrackFiretrackFiretrack is a vertically-scrolling shoot 'em up computer game programmed by Nick "Orlando" Pelling and released for the BBC Micro and Commodore 64 platforms in 1987 by Electric Dreams Software. It was also ported to the Acorn Electron by Superior Software in 1989 as part of the Play It Again Sam 7...
, BBC/C64, Electric DreamsElectric Dreams SoftwareElectric Dreams Software was a video game publisher established in 1985 by ex-managing director of Quicksilva, Rod Cousens and ex Software Manager of Quicksilva, Paul Cooper...
(also converted to Electron and released on Play It Again Sam 7 compilation in 1989) - 1987: DandyDandy (computer game)Dandy is a dungeon crawl computer game for the Atari 8-bit computers. Dandy was one of the first games to offer four-player cooperative play and a built-in editor...
, C64, Electric Dreams - 1987: Enduro RacerEnduro RacerEnduro Racer is an arcade game from Sega. It was released in 1986 with either a stand up cabinet with handlebars or a full-sized dirt bike on the cabinet itself. Some said it is essentially the dirt version of Hang-On, hence using the similar engine and PCB.-Gameplay:The player rides the dirt bike...
, C64, Electric Dreams - 1988: Ghostbusters II, C64, Mediagenic
- 1989: 3D Pool, BBC/Electron/C64/AmigaAmigaThe Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
/Atari STAtari STThe 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...
, Firebird/MicroproseMicroProseMicroProse was a video game publisher and developer, founded by Wild Bill Stealey and Sid Meier in 1982 as Microprose Software. In 1993, the company became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte and has remained a subsidiary or brand name under several other corporations since... - 1990: LoopzLoopzLoopz is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed created by Ian Upton for the Atari ST in 1989. Ian Upton had previously worked as head game designer for Audiogenic, who acquired exclusive rights to the game, then in 1990 arranged for Mindscape to publish the computer game in North...
, Amiga, AudiogenicAudiogenicAudiogenic Software is one of the oldest United Kingdom video game developers. It was established in 1985 out of the ashes of an earlier Audiogenic company that had been founded in the late 1970s. It published its last new title in 1997, after the core of the development team were taken over by... - 1990: Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, C64, Mirrorsoft
- 1991: LoopzLoopzLoopz is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed created by Ian Upton for the Atari ST in 1989. Ian Upton had previously worked as head game designer for Audiogenic, who acquired exclusive rights to the game, then in 1990 arranged for Mindscape to publish the computer game in North...
, ST/Amiga, Audiogenic - 1992: Battlemaster, Sega Genesis, Mirrorsoft/Sphere
- 1992: Wing Commander, Amiga, MindscapeMindscape GroupMindscape is an international software publishing company, previously part of The Learning Company. They are now affiliated with EA . As of 2004, the group has offices in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. It has an annual turnover of €38 million and employs 150 people. Mindscape...
- 1993: Wing Commander, CD32, Electronic Arts
- 1994: MonopolyMonopolyA monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
, Genesis, Supervision Entertainment - 1994: The Chaos EngineThe Chaos EngineThe Chaos Engine is a top-down run and gun computer game developed by the Bitmap Brothers and published by Renegade Software in 1993. The game is set in a steampunk Victorian age in which one or two players must battle the hostile creations of the titular Chaos Engine across four landscapes and...
, CD32, Bitmap Brothers - 1994: Bart vs Radioactive Man, Sega Master / Sega GameGear, Acclaim
- 1995: Spawn, Genesis, Psygnosis (cancelled)
- 1995: Mortal Kombat 2, Mega Drive, Probe (data compression consulting)
- 1995: Primal RagePrimal RagePrimal Rage is a versus fighting game developed and published by Atari Games in 1994 as an arcade video game. Toys, comics, a novel and other merchandise tie-ins were also produced.-Storyline:...
, Mega Drive/Amiga/32X, Probe (data compression consulting) - 1995: Alien TrilogyAlien TrilogyAlien Trilogy is a 3D first-person shooter based on the first three movies in the Alien film series. It was released for the MS-DOS, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn platforms.-Plot:...
, Sony PSOne, Probe (data compression consulting) - 1995: Die Hard TrilogyDie Hard TrilogyDie Hard Trilogy is a video game based on the first three installments of the Die Hard series of action movies. Die Hard Trilogy features three games in one, each based on a movie installment and featuring a different genre and game play style respectively. The game was well received and would...
, Saturn / PC, Probe (data compression consulting) - 1996: VampireVampireVampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
, PSOne, Psygnosis - 1996: Spawn, PSOne, Psygnosis (cancelled)
- 1997: BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, PSOne, Probe (data compression & motion-capture consulting) - 1997: Sega Sports Basketball, Saturn, Climax (demo only)
- 1997: Duke NukemDuke NukemDuke Nukem is a video game series focusing on its protagonist, Duke Nukem. Originally created by Apogee Software Ltd./3D Realms as a series of video games for the PC, the franchise expanded to games released for various consoles by third party developers...
, PSOne, GT Interactive - 1997: ZombieVille PSOne, Sony/Psygnosis (consulting)
- 1998: X-Files, PSOne, Fox Interactive
- 1998: CarmageddonCarmageddonCarmageddon is the first of a series of graphically violent vehicular combat video games produced by Stainless Games, published by Interplay and SCi...
, PSOne, Sales Curve (cancelled) - 1999–2000: UnrealUnrealUnreal is a first-person shooter video game developed by Epic MegaGames and Digital Extremes and published by GT Interactive in May 1998...
, PSOne, GTi/Infogrames (cancelled) - 2000: 3D Pocket Pool, Game Boy Color, Virgin/Titus
- 2001: (?), , Crawfish (data compression consulting)
- 2001: (?), , Crawfish (data compression consulting)
- 2001: (?), PS2, Revolution Software
- 2001–2002: Kelly Slater(?), Hotgen (softskinning consulting)
- 2002: various, various, Climax (collision detection engine)
- 2002: Warhammer (?), PS2/PC, Kuju
- 2002: Disney game (?), PSOne, Revolution & Six by Nine
- 2002: various, Xbox/GameCube, Climax (collision detection engine)
- 2003: 3D Pool, VC01 platform, Alphamosaic
- 2004: 3D Chess, VC01 platform, Alphamosaic/Broadcom
- 2004–2005: Championship Manager 5Championship Manager 5Championship Manager 5 is the fifth installment of the popular Championship Manager series of football management computer games. It is the first game in the series to be developed by Eidos, after the much publicised split between Eidos and Sports Interactive.- Early difficulties :The game was...
, PC, Beautiful Game Studios (Eidos) (speed optimization)
External links
- Compelling Press, Publishers for Pelling's book about the Voynich ManuscriptVoynich manuscriptThe Voynich manuscript, described as "the world's most mysterious manuscript", is a work which dates to the early 15th century, possibly from northern Italy. It is named after the book dealer Wilfrid Voynich, who purchased it in 1912....
. - Nanodome Ltd, security camera manufacturing company founded by Pelling.
- Nick Pelling's 'Cipher Mysteries' Blog about the Voynich ManuscriptVoynich manuscriptThe Voynich manuscript, described as "the world's most mysterious manuscript", is a work which dates to the early 15th century, possibly from northern Italy. It is named after the book dealer Wilfrid Voynich, who purchased it in 1912....