Crystal Computing, later renamed Design Design, was a British

video game developer A video game developer is a broad term for 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 larg ...

founded in 1982 by Chris Clarke and Ian Stamp while students at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

. Graham Stafford, Neil Mottershead,

Simon Brattel Simon Brattel is a British hardware and software designer. He founded Design Design in 1976 as a company name to use on various hardware designs, mainly in the audio field. When at Crystal Computing he was part of the team that produced the ...

and Martin Horsley, joined the company as it expanded.''

Popular Computing Weekly ''Popular Computing Weekly'' was a computer magazine in the UK published from 1982 to 1990. It was sometimes referred to as ''PCW'' (although that abbreviation is more commonly associated with ''Personal Computer World'' magazine). Overview T ...

'', 26 January-1 February 1984 (p.26), Sunshine Publications Ltd.Rebirth of the Things: Design Design, ''

CRASH Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch s ...

'', issue 8 (p.88),

Newsfield Publications Newsfield Publications Ltd (also known as Newsfield) was a British magazine publisher during the 1980s and early 1990s. Newsfield Publications Ltd was founded by Roger Kean, Franco Frey and Oliver Frey in 1983. Based in Ludlow, Shropshire, Newsf ...

, 1984 The company's first software release was a compilation of games for the Sinclair

ZX81 The ZX81 is a home computer that was produced by Sinclair Research and manufactured in Dundee, Scotland, by Timex Corporation. It was launched in the United Kingdom in March 1981 as the successor to Sinclair's ZX80 and designed to be a low-c ...

, though it was with the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...

that Crystal found its greatest success. A deal with the machine's manufacturer

Sinclair Sinclair may refer to: Places * Lake Sinclair, near Milledgeville, Georgia * Sinclair, Iowa * Sinclair, West Virginia * Sinclair, Wyoming * Sinclair Mills, British Columbia * Sinclair Township, Minnesota * Sinclair, Manitoba People * Si ...

to distribute Crystal's ''

Zeus Assembler Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, ...

'' gave the company sufficient funds for a major marketing campaign for their next product, ''

Halls of the Things ''Halls of the Things'' is a video game developed by Design Design for the ZX Spectrum and released by Crystal Computing in 1983. It was ported to the Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64. The player travels through seven floors of a tower, searching f ...

'', an

arcade adventure Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

game that became their most successful title. Clarke left in 1984 to join

Artic Software Artic Computing was a software development company based in Brandesburton, England from 1980 to 1986. The company's first games were for the Sinclair ZX81 home computer, but they expanded and were also responsible for various ZX Spectrum, Commo ...

, where he worked on the "business side", before collaborating with

Jon Ritman Jon Ritman is a game designer and programmer notable for his work on 1980s computer games, primarily for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC home computers. His first experience with a computer was when he was 13, his first computer was a Sinclair ...

on the ''Match Day'' series. With Clarke's departure the company was reorganised as Design Design, a trading name that had been used by Brattel since 1976 for his electronic audio designs. Design Design's core consisted of Stafford working mainly on titles for the Commodore 64, Brattel and Mottershead working on the

and

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the S ...

, and David Lewellyn, the company's administrator. According to Stafford the new name was part of a wider re-branding, as they wanted a more professional image, along with a better relationship with the press and the public. Stafford went on to form developer Walking Circles producing titles including ''

The Living Daylights ''The Living Daylights'' is a 1987 spy film, the fifteenth entry in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first of two to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by John Glen, the film's ...

'' and ''

Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a television in the United Kingdom, British satire, satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productio ...

'' for

Domark Square Enix Limited (formerly Domark Limited and Eidos Interactive Limited) is a British subsidiary of the Japanese video game company Square Enix, acting as their European publishing arm. The company formerly owned ''Tomb Raider'', which was in ...

and the PC version of '' Bloodwych'' for Image Works.

Softography

Crystal Computing *''ZX81 Games Pack'',

, 1982. Includes versions of ''

Asteroids An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

'' and ''

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and licensed to the Midway division of Bally for overseas distribution. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed shooter and ...

'', as well as a ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (T ...

'' style adventure game and a

slalom skiing Slalom is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline, involving skiing between poles or gates. These are spaced more closely than those in giant slalom, super giant slalom and downhill, necessitating quicker and shorter turns. Intern ...

game, all designed to run on an unexpanded machine with 1K RAM.Trading With Crystal
,

Sinclair User ''Sinclair User'' was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum (while also occasionally covering arcade games). Initially published by ECC Publications, and later EMAP, it was pub ...

, issue 15 (p.27), ECC Publications Ltd., June 1983 *''Merchant of Venus'', ZX81, 1982. A space trading/investment game. *'' Monitor and Disassembler'', ZX81, ZX Spectrum, 1982. An assembly language utility. *''

Cosmic Guerilla ''Cosmic Guerilla'' is a fixed shooter arcade video game developed by Universal and released 1979. A ZX Spectrum port was published by Crystal Computing in 1983. Gameplay 200px, left, The aliens steal shields protecting the player's stock of ...

'', ZX Spectrum, 1983 *''

The Dungeon Master ''The Dungeon Master: The Disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III'' is a 1984 book by private investigator William Dear, in which the author gives his explanation of the 1979 "steam tunnel incident" involving the disappearance of James Dalla ...

'', ZX Spectrum, 1983 *''

'', ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64, 1983 *'' Invasion of the Body Snatchas!'', ZX Spectrum, 1983 *''

'', ZX Spectrum, 1983 *'' Rommel's Revenge'', ZX Spectrum, 1984 *''Bug Blaster'', ZX Spectrum, 1984. A ''

Centipede Centipedes (from New Latin , "hundred", and Latin , " foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', lip, and New Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, an ...

'' clone.''Bug Blaster'' review, CRASH, issue 3 (p.83), Newsfield Publications 1984 *''Cyber Zone'', ZX Spectrum, 1984 *''

The Island The Island(s) may refer to: Places * Any of various islands around the world, see the list of islands * The Island (Cache County, Utah), an island on the Bear River, Utah * The Island, Chennai, a river island in India * The Island, Chicago, a n ...

'', ZX Spectrum, 1984 *''

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain ''The Warlock of Firetop Mountain'' is a single-player adventure gamebook written by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, and illustrated by Russ Nicholson. Originally published by Puffin Books in 1982, the title is the first gamebook in the ...

'', ZX Spectrum, 1984 *''It's the Wooluf!'', ZX Spectrum, 1984. *''Tube Way Army'',

Dragon 32 The Dragon 32 and Dragon 64 are home computers that were built in the 1980s. The Dragons are very similar to the TRS-80 Color Computer, and were produced for the European market by Dragon Data, Ltd., initially in Swansea, Wales before mov ...

and Tandy 32K, 1984 Design Design *'' Dark Star'', ZX Spectrum and

, 1984 *''Spectacle'', ZX Spectrum, 1984 (Additional program supplied with ''Dark Star'' - simulated a

Teletext A British Ceefax football index page from October 2009, showing the three-digit page numbers for a variety of football news stories Teletext, or broadcast teletext, is a standard for displaying text and rudimentary graphics on suitably equipp ...

environment) *''

Return of the Things Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or ...

'', ZX Spectrum, 1984 *''2112 AD'', ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1985 *''On the Run'', ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1985 *''Forbidden Planet'', ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1986 *'' Halls of the Things Remix'', ZX Spectrum, 1986 *''Invaders'', ZX Spectrum, 1986. A ''

'' clone published as part of the ''Action Replay'' compilation of Crystal and Design Design games. *''N.E.X.O.R.'', ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, 1986 *''

Nosferatu the Vampyre ''Nosferatu the Vampyre'' (german: Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht, lit=Nosferatu: Phantom of the Night) is a 1979 horror film written and directed by Werner Herzog. It is set primarily in 19th-century Wismar, Germany and Transylvania, and was conce ...

'', ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64, 1986 *''Rogue Trooper'', ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64, 1986 *''Kat Trap'', ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64, 1987

References

{{Crystal Computing series Defunct video game companies of the United Kingdom Video game development companies Video game publishers