Supersoft is a

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

and

computer game developer A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with em ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

founded in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1978. It was founded by Peter Calver and Pearl Wellard to develop and publish software primarily for the

Commodore PET The Commodore PET is a line of personal computers produced starting in 1977 by Commodore International. A single all-in-one case combines a MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor, Commodore BASIC in read-only memory, keyboard, monochrome monitor ...

History

The earliest Supersoft catalogue known to have survived dates from December 1979. Earlier catalogues were photocopied in small quantities. Dec 1979 cover WP

Hardware

In 1980 Supersoft released the first user-installable

firmware In computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computer, computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both computer hardware, h ...

product to be developed in the UK, the ''Petmaster Superchip''. The following year the company expanded into hardware with the release of a high-resolution graphics card for the

- and although by modern standards the resolution of 320 × 200

pixels In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest addressable element in a dot matrix display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the sma ...

is not high, it was a considerable improvement on the 80 × 50 capability of the standard model. Originally run from the founders' home in Eastcote, Middlesex the business moved to office premises in

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow, London, Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont, Harrow, Belmont and Kenton, London, Kenton, ...

in 1981.

Software

Early games published by Supersoft for the

included ''Air Attack'' (see '' Blitz computer game'') and ''Super Glooper'', the latter based on the popular ''

Pac-Man ''Pac-Man,'' originally called in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The pla ...

'' arcade game. A text-adventure game based on the

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, humorist, and screenwriter, best known as the creator of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the ...

book '' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' was withdrawn following legal action. The game's programmer, Bob Chappell, rewrote the game to remove all ''Hitchhiker's'' references, and Supersoft republished it as "Cosmic Capers.".Design Manual
for the

Interactive Fiction Interactive fiction (IF) is software simulating environments in which players use text Command (computing), commands to control Player character, characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narrati ...

language

Inform Inform is a programming language and design system for interactive fiction originally created in 1993 by Graham Nelson. Inform can generate programs designed for the Z-machine, Z-code or Glulx virtual machines. Versions 1 through 5 were released ...

. Accessed 2 August 2006. See als
their works cited
under "Hitchhiker-64." The most successful business program developed by Supersoft was ''Busicalc'', a spreadsheet program originally produced for the

, and converted to the

Vic-20 The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit entry level home computer that was sold by Commodore International, Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commod ...

and

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

; it was one of Supersoft's most successful products in the UK and became the company's first and most successful product in the USA, where it was published under licence by Skyles Electric Works. ''Busicalc 2'' and ''Busicalc 3'' followed, the latter offering three-dimensional capabilities.

Forming Audiogenic

In 1984 development commenced on a cricket game for the

, which was programmed by Michael McLean and released the following year as '' Graham Gooch's Test Cricket'' by Audiogenic Software, a newly formed subsidiary of Supersoft. From 1985 onwards Supersoft focused on home office programs and utilities, as the Audiogenic name was better-known in the games business.

Microvox

In 1987 Supersoft released ''Microvox'', a high-quality digital sampler for the

which, with its accompanying software was developed by Andrew Trott. While only hundreds were sold (the device cost more than the computer), many were used by serious musicians and in professional studios, and one was supplied to

Feargal Sharkey Seán Feargal Sharkey (born 13 August 1958) is a singer and environmentalist from Northern Ireland. He was the lead vocalist of punk band the Undertones in the 1970s and 1980s and a solo artist in the 1980s and 1990s. His 1985 solo single " ...

, the former lead singer of the Undertones.

Present day

Although Supersoft is still in existence, the company has not developed any new products for retail sale since 1990. The company is wholly owned by Peter Calver.

Reception

Ahoy! ''Ahoy!'' was a computer magazine published between January 1984 and January 1989 in the US, covering on all Commodore color computers, primarily Commodore 64 and Amiga. History The first issue of ''Ahoy!'' was published in January 1984. The ...

'' in May 1984 stated that the original Busicalc program was written in

Commodore BASIC Commodore BASIC, also known as PET BASIC or CBM-BASIC, is the Dialect (computing), dialect of the BASIC programming language used in Commodore International's 8-bit home computer line, stretching from the Commodore PET, PET (1977) to the Commodore ...

and was "very sluggish". The original program had been rushed out to compete with an earlier spreadsheet for the Commodore PET called Simplicalc, which was also written in BASIC. By the time the review was published the program had been largely superseded by Busicalc 2, written in compiled BASIC and machine code, and which was many times faster.

Notes

{{Authority control Video game companies established in 1978 Software companies of the United Kingdom Defunct video game companies of the United Kingdom Video game development companies Video game publishers Software companies established in 1978 1978 establishments in England