Seymour series
Encyclopedia
The Seymour series of games consisted of five computer games released by Codemasters
in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They starred the eponymous Seymour, a slug
- or potato
-like character with large feet. In Your Sinclair
magazine, it was repeatedly stated that Seymour was in fact 'a blob of lard', though doubt has been cast as to the veracity of these claims.
Seymour had his origins in Codemasters' decision to move the established Dizzy series
out of their fantasy-style settings and into the real world. They later changed their minds about this, but liked the game that had been designed for the move. Consequently, Seymour was created to star in it.
In all, five Seymour games were released, of which two were Dizzy-style arcade adventures, and three, also echoing Dizzy, were arcade style. A notable short adventure was also released as a free gift with computer magazines.
Seymour Goes to Hollywood
Also known as Seymour at the Movies, this game established that Seymour was a noted movie actor, who had arrived on set one day to discover that the scripts for his movie were locked in a safe with the keys missing. Seymour had to wander around the studios, solving puzzles in his attempts to access the script. He also had to collect oscars with which to bribe other actors to appear in his film.
Due to being set in the real world, the puzzles were perhaps more logical than those in the Dizzy series. That said, the various film sets Seymour explores are depicted as if real: notably, the King Kong
style set is essentially a Donkey Kong
-based mini-game.
The game was generally well received in the computer-game press, with Amstrad Action
voting it one of the top ten games of the year. It perhaps benefited from Dizzy's experience, as Seymour could carry three items at a time, and had three lives and an energy bar. One criticism was that it was very easy to get lost in the area between the sets.
he was shooting, and featured him attempting to track down a villain who was attempting to sabotage the movie. The game was divided into four sections, as Seymour visited various American locations in his quest.
Other than being in four parts, this game had a similar format to the first, but was somewhat less successful, as it was perceived to be a little too easy.
, heavily based on the well-known game Bomb Jack
.
Sergeant Seymour RoboCop
In this action game, Seymour played a bionic policeman. He could use his extending arm against the assorted enemies as he worked his way towards the centre of the spiral-shaped screens.
in a number of different films. He must negotiate obstacles and take on end of scene bosses.
to Seymour's adventures, telling of how he got his big break. Although a mere cleaner at the studio, Seymour found himself having to produce, direct, and star in a scene from a film that was being made at the time. It was very hard for Seymour to lose all his lives in this game: the object was to film an acceptable version of the scene. This gave the game some staying power, as, even after succeeding, players could still amuse themselves by trying to find new ways of failing. A Spectrum-compatible version of this game was also given away to readers of Your Sinclair.
Codemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They starred the eponymous Seymour, a slug
Slug
Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...
- or potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
-like character with large feet. In Your Sinclair
Your Sinclair
Your Sinclair or YS as it was commonly abbreviated, was a British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum.-History:...
magazine, it was repeatedly stated that Seymour was in fact 'a blob of lard', though doubt has been cast as to the veracity of these claims.
Seymour had his origins in Codemasters' decision to move the established Dizzy series
Dizzy series
The Dizzy series of computer games, published by Codemasters, was one of the most successful European computer game brands of the late 1980s. The games were based around a central figure: an intelligent egg-like creature called Dizzy...
out of their fantasy-style settings and into the real world. They later changed their minds about this, but liked the game that had been designed for the move. Consequently, Seymour was created to star in it.
In all, five Seymour games were released, of which two were Dizzy-style arcade adventures, and three, also echoing Dizzy, were arcade style. A notable short adventure was also released as a free gift with computer magazines.
Seymour Goes to HollywoodSeymour Goes to HollywoodSeymour Goes to Hollywood, also known as Seymour at the Movies, is a platform and adventure game developed by Big Red Software and originally published in Europe by Codemasters in 1991. Players control Seymour, a small potato-like creature who wishes to be a film star...
Also known as Seymour at the Movies, this game established that Seymour was a noted movie actor, who had arrived on set one day to discover that the scripts for his movie were locked in a safe with the keys missing. Seymour had to wander around the studios, solving puzzles in his attempts to access the script. He also had to collect oscars with which to bribe other actors to appear in his film.Due to being set in the real world, the puzzles were perhaps more logical than those in the Dizzy series. That said, the various film sets Seymour explores are depicted as if real: notably, the King Kong
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
style set is essentially a Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong (video game)
is an arcade game released by Nintendo in 1981. It is an early example of the platform game genre, as the gameplay focuses on maneuvering the main character across a series of platforms while dodging and jumping over obstacles. In the game, Jumpman must rescue a damsel in distress, Lady, from a...
-based mini-game.
The game was generally well received in the computer-game press, with Amstrad Action
Amstrad Action
Amstrad Action was a monthly magazine, published in the United Kingdom, which catered to owners of home computers from the Amstrad CPC range and later the GX4000 console....
voting it one of the top ten games of the year. It perhaps benefited from Dizzy's experience, as Seymour could carry three items at a time, and had three lives and an energy bar. One criticism was that it was very easy to get lost in the area between the sets.
Wild West Seymour
Seymour's second adventure was based around a westernWestern (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
he was shooting, and featured him attempting to track down a villain who was attempting to sabotage the movie. The game was divided into four sections, as Seymour visited various American locations in his quest.
Other than being in four parts, this game had a similar format to the first, but was somewhat less successful, as it was perceived to be a little too easy.
Super Seymour Saves the Planet
This was the first of Seymour's pure arcade-style games. It was described as Seymour's first starring role in a film, and was a platform gamePlatform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
, heavily based on the well-known game Bomb Jack
Bomb Jack
is an arcade platform game that was released in 1984 by Tehkan . It was followed by two official sequels, the console and computer title Mighty Bomb Jack, and the arcade game Bomb Jack Twin...
.
Sergeant Seymour RoboCopRoboCopRoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...
In this action game, Seymour played a bionic policeman. He could use his extending arm against the assorted enemies as he worked his way towards the centre of the spiral-shaped screens.Stuntman Seymour
Seymour is a stuntmanStunt performer
A stuntman, or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be...
in a number of different films. He must negotiate obstacles and take on end of scene bosses.
Seymour: Take One
This short adventure was given away free to readers of Amstrad Action, and constituted a prequelPrequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to Seymour's adventures, telling of how he got his big break. Although a mere cleaner at the studio, Seymour found himself having to produce, direct, and star in a scene from a film that was being made at the time. It was very hard for Seymour to lose all his lives in this game: the object was to film an acceptable version of the scene. This gave the game some staying power, as, even after succeeding, players could still amuse themselves by trying to find new ways of failing. A Spectrum-compatible version of this game was also given away to readers of Your Sinclair.