Thalamus Ltd
Encyclopedia
Thalamus Ltd was a British
computer game developer that published titles for a number of 8-bit
and 16-bit
platforms during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
as an in-house software publishing label of British magazine publisher Newsfield Publications Ltd, to take advantage of their leading position publishing computer game magazines, such as Crash
and Zzap!64
, during the mid-1980s. Ex-Activision
PR Manager Andrew Wright was assigned the position of Company Director and Newsfield staff writer Gary Liddon
was appointed Technical Executive. The company was initially based in Canonbury
, North London, in an office shared with staff of Newsfield's newly launched lifestyle magazine LM.
to develop their first three titles, Sanxion
, Delta
and Quedex. Sanxion was the first release to bear the Thalamus name, and it garnered a Sizzler rating from Zzap!64 - this led to accusations of favouritism from rival publications, in particular Commodore User
, despite the game deserving the award - it was technically competent, visually attractive, and ran at breakneck speed for its time. Legendary C64 musician Rob Hubbard
came on board to provide the music for the first two titles, while Matt Gray provided the music for Quedex. "Thalamusik", the loading tune that accompanied the C64 version of Sanxion proved to be so popular amongst fans that Zzap!64 later included a full synthesised version of Rob Hubbard's classic tune on one of their cover cassettes.
The C64 version of Delta popularised the concept of the Mix-E-Load loading system. Provided as standard on the cassette versions of each game (and as a bonus on the floppy disk versions), the Mix-E-Load system allowed players to remix the loading music of the game, in real time, as the main program loaded in the background. Mix-E-Load was created by Gary Liddon in conjunction with Rob Hubbard and derived from an idea by Nick Pelling
, author of well known BBC Micro
games Frak!
and Firetrack
.
development manager Paul Cooper was brought on board to head up the company.
Stavros Fasoulas was later recalled to Finland to serve in the National Guard, so for their next release Thalamus turned to upcoming C64 programmer Martin Walker. Having already programmed a number of well-received C64 titles, namely Rupert and the Toymaker's Party, Chameleon and Back to the Future, Martin Walker delivered an innovative puzzle/shooter hybrid named Hunter's Moon. Despite a favourable response from critics and gamers alike, the game didn't sell as well as previous Thalamus titles.
In the second half of 1988, Thalamus returned from a period of relative silence with two new titles. Hawkeye marked the commercial debut of The Boys Without Brains, a Dutch collective who had already made a name for themselves within the C64 demo scene. The game was an above average side-scroller with colourful graphics and an impressive soundtrack from Jeroen Tel. The first Thalamus game to be awarded a Gold Medal by Zzap!64, Armalyte was an impressive shoot-em up in the spirit of R-Type
, originally conceived as its own unique identity but publicised as a sequel to Delta.
As the 1980s drew to a close, Thalamus continued to release a strong line-up of C64 games, including the surreal puzzle/shooter Snare, an impressive horizontal scroller, Retrograde, from the Rowlands brothers and Heatseeker, an unusual platform game with an environmental theme by Paul O'Malley. A brief experimentation with the ZX Spectrum format saw conversions of Sanxion
and Delta being released, but by this time the Spectrum market was in decline and Thalamus decided to halt development of a number of Spectrum projects. The title Thalamus were most reluctant to cut was The Search for Sharla, an epic exploration game that intended to combine the best elements of Spectrum classics such as Lords of Midnight and Driller.
and Creatures II: Torture Trouble
from the Rowlands brothers, which have been lauded by several computer magazines for the strength of their gameplay and graphics on the aging machine. Cartoon-style platformers Summer Camp and Winter Camp were also released. But a multitude of problems began to overcome the company, threatening their demise. In 1991, Newsfield ran into serious financial trouble. Newsfield were forced to halt publication of their popular gaming magazines. Europress
stepped in to save the magazines, but they slowly died out over the next year or two as their respective markets dwindled.
Thalamus managed to survive the liquidation of Newsfield, but funds were running low. With 8-bit gaming being superseded by 16-bit gaming, production costs were rising, forcing hundreds of independent publishers, such as Thalamus, to either close down or allow themselves to be consumed by a publishing giant. Thalamus released their final C64 game, Nobby the Aardvark
in 1993, but it was too little too late. With their various Amiga projects spiralling out of budget and no further income, Thalamus had no choice but to close down their operations. Eidos Interactive
snapped up many Thalamus rights.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
computer game developer that published titles for a number of 8-bit
8-bit
The first widely adopted 8-bit microprocessor was the Intel 8080, being used in many hobbyist computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, often running the CP/M operating system. The Zilog Z80 and the Motorola 6800 were also used in similar computers...
and 16-bit
16-bit
-16-bit architecture:The HP BPC, introduced in 1975, was the world's first 16-bit microprocessor. Prominent 16-bit processors include the PDP-11, Intel 8086, Intel 80286 and the WDC 65C816. The Intel 8088 was program-compatible with the Intel 8086, and was 16-bit in that its registers were 16...
platforms during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Genesis
Thalamus Ltd was created in 19861986 in video gaming
-Events:-Notable releases:*Namco releases Sky Kid Deluxe, Hopping Mappy, Toy Pop, The Return of Ishtar, which is the sequel to Tower of Druaga, Genpei Tōma Den, and Rolling Thunder....
as an in-house software publishing label of British magazine publisher Newsfield Publications Ltd, to take advantage of their leading position publishing computer game magazines, such as Crash
CRASH (magazine)
Crash was a magazine dedicated to the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published from 1984 to 1991 by Newsfield Publications Ltd until their liquidation, and then until 1992 by Europress.-Development:...
and Zzap!64
Zzap!64
Zzap!64 was a computer games magazine covering games on the Commodore International series of computers, especially the Commodore 64 . It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact....
, during the mid-1980s. Ex-Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
PR Manager Andrew Wright was assigned the position of Company Director and Newsfield staff writer Gary Liddon
Gary Liddon
Gary "Gaz" Liddon is a former British games reviewer who wrote for Crash and Zzap!64 in the '80s and is a games industry veteran. He worked for games developer Thalamus Ltd as Technical Executive.Since 2008 he is Studio Head at Ruffian Games....
was appointed Technical Executive. The company was initially based in Canonbury
Canonbury
Canonbury is a residential district in the London Borough of Islington in the north of London. It is roughly in the area between Essex Road, Upper Street and Cross Street and either side of St Paul's Road....
, North London, in an office shared with staff of Newsfield's newly launched lifestyle magazine LM.
First Titles
Thalamus capitalised on the success of the Commodore 64 gaming scene by releasing their first batch of titles on this platform. Having established numerous contacts within the C64 development scene through the popularity of their Zzap!64 gaming magazine, Thalamus were able to sign up Finnish programmer Stavros FasoulasStavros Fasoulas
Stavros Fasoulas is one of the most famous Finnish game programmers of the late 1980s. He is mostly known as the designer and developer of the Commodore 64 games Sanxion, Delta and Quedex. The games were published by the British publisher Thalamus....
to develop their first three titles, Sanxion
Sanxion
Sanxion is a 1986 side-scrolling shoot 'em up by Thalamus Ltd., developed by Stavros Fasoulas, along with Delta, another shoot 'em up, and Quedex.-Gameplay:...
, Delta
Delta (computer game)
Delta is a horizontally-scrolling shooter computer game originally released for the Commodore 64 by Thalamus Ltd in 1987. It was programmed by Stavros Flatley and the music was written by Rob Hubbard. The menu-music is based on the theme of Koyaanisqatsi by Philip Glass and the in-game-music is...
and Quedex. Sanxion was the first release to bear the Thalamus name, and it garnered a Sizzler rating from Zzap!64 - this led to accusations of favouritism from rival publications, in particular Commodore User
Commodore User
Commodore User, known to the readers as the abbreviated CU, was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines. A publishing history spanning over 15 years, mixing content with technical and games features...
, despite the game deserving the award - it was technically competent, visually attractive, and ran at breakneck speed for its time. Legendary C64 musician Rob Hubbard
Rob Hubbard
Rob Hubbard is a music composer best known for his composition of computer game theme music, especially for microcomputers of the 1980s such as the Commodore 64...
came on board to provide the music for the first two titles, while Matt Gray provided the music for Quedex. "Thalamusik", the loading tune that accompanied the C64 version of Sanxion proved to be so popular amongst fans that Zzap!64 later included a full synthesised version of Rob Hubbard's classic tune on one of their cover cassettes.
The C64 version of Delta popularised the concept of the Mix-E-Load loading system. Provided as standard on the cassette versions of each game (and as a bonus on the floppy disk versions), the Mix-E-Load system allowed players to remix the loading music of the game, in real time, as the main program loaded in the background. Mix-E-Load was created by Gary Liddon in conjunction with Rob Hubbard and derived from an idea by Nick Pelling
Nick Pelling
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 and an MBA with Distinction...
, author of well known BBC Micro
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...
games 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'...
and Firetrack
Firetrack
Firetrack 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...
.
The staff changes
During the development of Quedex, Liddon and Wright both left Thalamus, with Wright returning to Activision and Liddon pursuing a career in games programming. Ex-Electric DreamsElectric Dreams Software
Electric 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...
development manager Paul Cooper was brought on board to head up the company.
Stavros Fasoulas was later recalled to Finland to serve in the National Guard, so for their next release Thalamus turned to upcoming C64 programmer Martin Walker. Having already programmed a number of well-received C64 titles, namely Rupert and the Toymaker's Party, Chameleon and Back to the Future, Martin Walker delivered an innovative puzzle/shooter hybrid named Hunter's Moon. Despite a favourable response from critics and gamers alike, the game didn't sell as well as previous Thalamus titles.
In the second half of 1988, Thalamus returned from a period of relative silence with two new titles. Hawkeye marked the commercial debut of The Boys Without Brains, a Dutch collective who had already made a name for themselves within the C64 demo scene. The game was an above average side-scroller with colourful graphics and an impressive soundtrack from Jeroen Tel. The first Thalamus game to be awarded a Gold Medal by Zzap!64, Armalyte was an impressive shoot-em up in the spirit of R-Type
R-Type
is a side scrolling shoot-em-up arcade game produced by Irem in 1987. The player controls a space fighter named R-9a "Arrowhead" to defend humanity against a mysterious but powerful alien life-form known as "Bydo", which was later discovered to be not entirely alien in origin...
, originally conceived as its own unique identity but publicised as a sequel to Delta.
As the 1980s drew to a close, Thalamus continued to release a strong line-up of C64 games, including the surreal puzzle/shooter Snare, an impressive horizontal scroller, Retrograde, from the Rowlands brothers and Heatseeker, an unusual platform game with an environmental theme by Paul O'Malley. A brief experimentation with the ZX Spectrum format saw conversions of Sanxion
Sanxion
Sanxion is a 1986 side-scrolling shoot 'em up by Thalamus Ltd., developed by Stavros Fasoulas, along with Delta, another shoot 'em up, and Quedex.-Gameplay:...
and Delta being released, but by this time the Spectrum market was in decline and Thalamus decided to halt development of a number of Spectrum projects. The title Thalamus were most reluctant to cut was The Search for Sharla, an epic exploration game that intended to combine the best elements of Spectrum classics such as Lords of Midnight and Driller.
Final titles and dissolution
Thalamus entered the 1990s with a few more strong C64 titles, including CreaturesCreatures (Commodore 64 game)
Creatures is a platform game for the Commodore 64 computer, released in 1990. It was developed by Apex Computer Productions, the company started by two brothers, John Rowlands and Steve Rowlands...
and Creatures II: Torture Trouble
Creatures II: Torture Trouble
Creatures II: Torture Trouble is a platform game for the Commodore 64 computer, released in 1992. It was developed by Apex Computer Productions, the company started by two brothers, John Rowlands and Steve Rowlands .It is the sequel to Creatures.-Gameplay:The game is composed of three islands,...
from the Rowlands brothers, which have been lauded by several computer magazines for the strength of their gameplay and graphics on the aging machine. Cartoon-style platformers Summer Camp and Winter Camp were also released. But a multitude of problems began to overcome the company, threatening their demise. In 1991, Newsfield ran into serious financial trouble. Newsfield were forced to halt publication of their popular gaming magazines. Europress
Europress
Europress was a British magazine and software publisher. Their magazine publishing business was previously known as Database Publications.-History:...
stepped in to save the magazines, but they slowly died out over the next year or two as their respective markets dwindled.
Thalamus managed to survive the liquidation of Newsfield, but funds were running low. With 8-bit gaming being superseded by 16-bit gaming, production costs were rising, forcing hundreds of independent publishers, such as Thalamus, to either close down or allow themselves to be consumed by a publishing giant. Thalamus released their final C64 game, Nobby the Aardvark
Nobby the Aardvark
-Summary:Nobby the Aardvark is a platform game taking place over multiple consecutive levels. The player takes the role of Nobby, an aardvark who is hungry for ants...
in 1993, but it was too little too late. With their various Amiga projects spiralling out of budget and no further income, Thalamus had no choice but to close down their operations. Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
snapped up many Thalamus rights.
Commercial releases
- SanxionSanxionSanxion is a 1986 side-scrolling shoot 'em up by Thalamus Ltd., developed by Stavros Fasoulas, along with Delta, another shoot 'em up, and Quedex.-Gameplay:...
(1986, C64) - Delta (1987, C64)
- Quedex (1987, C64)
- Hunter's Moon (1987, C64)
- ArmalyteArmalyteArmalyte is a shoot 'em up video game developed by Cyberdyne Systems in 1988.-Summary:It is a left-to-right horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up in the style of Gradius, including a weapons upgrade feature and large end-of-level Bosses. Armalyte was released for the Commodore 64 by Thalamus Ltd and...
(aka Delta 2) (1988, C64) - Armalyte: Competition Edition (1988, C64)
- Hawkeye (1988, C64)
- Snare (1989, C64)
- Retrograde (1989, C64)
- Sanxion: The Spectrum Remix (1989, Spectrum/Spectrum 128)
- Hawkeye (1989, Amiga)
- Armalyte (1990, Amstrad CPC)
- Q8 Team Ford Rally Simulation (1990, Amstrad CPC)
- Delta Charge (1990, Spectrum)
- Creatures (1990, C64)
- Summer Camp (1990, C64)
- Heatseeker (1990, C64)
- Venom Wing (1990, Amiga)
- Armalyte: The Final Run (1991, Amiga)
- Creatures II: Torture TroubleCreatures II: Torture TroubleCreatures II: Torture Trouble is a platform game for the Commodore 64 computer, released in 1992. It was developed by Apex Computer Productions, the company started by two brothers, John Rowlands and Steve Rowlands .It is the sequel to Creatures.-Gameplay:The game is composed of three islands,...
(1992, C64) - Winter Camp (1992, C64/Amiga)
- Borobodur (1992, Amiga)
- Nobby the AardvarkNobby the Aardvark-Summary:Nobby the Aardvark is a platform game taking place over multiple consecutive levels. The player takes the role of Nobby, an aardvark who is hungry for ants...
(1993, C64) - Mindroll (1990, Amiga)
- Creatures (1993, Amiga)
- S.U.B. (1993, Amiga/PC)
Unreleased titles
- Starline (1987, C64)
- Q8 Team Ford Rally Simulation (1990, Spectrum)
- The Search for Sharla (1990, Spectrum, C64, Amiga)
- Creatures (1990, Spectrum)
- Armalyte (1990, Spectrum) - a demo version of one level was released.
- Armalyte II (1990, C64) - this would have also been Delta III and Sanxion IV, as each game was related to the previous one in some respect.
- Bombuzal (1990, Spectrum)
- Delta Patrol (1992, Amiga)
- Arsenal FC (1992, Amiga)
- Beastmaster (1992, Amiga)
- Nobby the Aardvark (1992, Amiga)
- Street Warriors (1993, Amiga)
- Restrictor (1993, Amiga)