Ultimate Play the Game ZX Spectrum
Founded in 1982 by Tim and Chris Stamper, Ultimate Play the Game were an influential British computer game developer most famous for the Filmation engine adventure games for the ZX Spectrum. By selling hundreds of thousands of computer games on 8 bit micros in 1983-84, Ultimate Play the Game also became one of the most successful early computer-game developers.
Ultimate Play the Game is the trading name for the developer, Ashby Computers & Graphics Ltd. Led by the Stamper Brothers, Ultimate developed for the 16 kbyte ZX Spectrum before evolving to the 48 kbyte variant.
Ultimate's most famous series is the Sabreman Series.
Ultimate's influential Speccy games were powered by their proprietary Filmation engine. Most of Ultimate's adventure games were presented in isometric perspective and featured contiguous flip-screen exploration of hundreds of individual screens.
Image-masking was employed to separate foreground objects from background ones, thereby creating a "walk-mesh" and granting depth illusion.
In addition, some objects were interactable. Moreover, verticality was employed.
Screen-scrolling and seamless transition were introduced to Filmation in Nightshade and Gunfright (Filmation II).
Suffice it to say that Ultimate's adventure games were some of the most sophisticated computer games of the early 80s. In fact, I have played 1990s computer games that are not as sophisticated as Ultimate's adventure games.
Chronological List of Ultimate Play the Game ZX Spectrum Games
This is a chronological list of ZX Spectrum games that were developed by Ultimate Play the Game aka Ashby Computers & Graphics Ltd. Note that this chronology is based on order of release, not necessarily on order of completion.
At a glance, it should be obvious that Ultimate's catalogue is NOT one-dimensional as the hacks of computer game journalism would have you believe; that Ultimate tried their hand at several different types of computer game -- including shoot 'em ups -- and utilized three different perspectives, not just isometric.
Tranz Am ZX Spectrum 1983
Ultimate Play the Game released Tranz Am for the ZX Spectrum in July of 1983. Based loosely on a post-apocalyptic Mad Max-style theme, Tranz Am was designed by Chris Stamper and Tim Stamper; it was programmed by Chris Stamper and John Lathbury.
Pssst ZX Spectrum 1983
Ultimate Play the Game released Pssst in June of 1983 for the 16k ZX Spectrum.
Cookie ZX Spectrum 1983
Ultimate Play the Game released Cookie in 1983 for the 16k ZX Spectrum.
Lunar Jetman ZX Spectrum 1983
Ultimate Play the Game released Lunar Jetman in 1983 for the 48k ZX Spectrum.
Atic Atac ZX Spectrum 1983
Ultimate Play the Game released Atic Atac in 1983 for the 48k ZX Spectrum.
Sabre Wulf ZX Spectrum 1984
Ultimate Play the Game released Sabre Wulf in 1984 for the 48k ZX Spectrum.
Underwurlde ZX Spectrum 1984
Ultimate Play the Game released Underwurlde in 1984 for the 48k ZX Spectrum.
Knight Lore ZX Spectrum 1984
Ultimate Play the Game released Knight Lore in November of 1984 for the 48k ZX Spectrum. Knight Lore is a proper isometric flip-screen adventure game that profoundly influenced cRPGs and adventure games via its image-masking technique, precise movement and positioning, and focus on environmental interaction and exploration. There are 128 separate screens in Knight Lore.
Nightshade ZX Spectrum 1985 (Filmation II)
Ultimate Play the Game released Nightshade in 1985 for the 48k ZX Spectrum. (Filmation II)
Alien 8 ZX Spectrum 1985
Ultimate Play the Game released Alien 8 in 1985 for the 48k ZX Spectrum.
Gunfright 1986 ZX Spectrum (Filmation II)
Pentagram ZX Spectrum 1986
Ultimate Play the Game released Pentagram in 1986 for the 48k ZX Spectrum.
Examples of Ultimate Play the Game Influence
Released in 1987-91, System 3's Last Ninja series on the Commodore 64 sold millions of copies in the late 80s and early 90s. Last Ninja was clearly influenced by Ultimate Play the Game's Knight Lore or its dozens of derivatives.
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