Microsphere was a British software company formed in

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, London, Highgate, Hampstead Garden ...

, north

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1982 by husband and wife team David and Helen Reidy, best known for several popular computer games in the mid 1980s.

Company history

The company was formed in November 1982 as a consulting firm, before transforming into development the following year. The Reidys targeted the then recently released

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

, and initially attempted to write business software, producing the

Visicalc VisiCalc ("visible calculator") is the first spreadsheet computer program for personal computers, originally released for the Apple II by VisiCorp on October 17, 1979. It is considered the killer application for the Apple II, turning the microco ...

clone ''Omnicalc'', but quickly realised that the future for the machine lay with games after their first effort, a cassette containing ''Crevasse'' and ''Hotfoot'', received a good review in

Sinclair User The ''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 ...

. After recruiting local artist and family friend Keith Warrington, they released one of their best known and critically acclaimed games, ''

Skool Daze ''Skool Daze'' is an open world action-adventure game released by Microsphere in 1984 for the ZX Spectrum and ported to the Commodore 64 the following year. It was written by David Reidy, with graphics designed by Keith Warrington. The game was c ...

'' in 1984, which sold 50,000 copies and Crash described as "excellent value, plenty to do, addictive, unusual" and followed it up with ''

Back to Skool ''Back to Skool'' is an open world video game, sequel to the '' Skool Daze'', created by David Reidy with graphics by Keith Warrington for the ZX Spectrum and released by Microsphere in 1985. The gameplay is very similar to - if more advanced ...

'' in 1985, which drew similar praise. When interviewed, the Reidys said that they used no

compiler In computing, a compiler is a computer program that Translator (computing), translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primaril ...

s or

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, and designed everything on pencil and paper, adding the raw, hand assembled

Z80 The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog that played an important role in the evolution of early personal computing. Launched in 1976, it was designed to be software-compatible with the Intel 8080, offering a compelling altern ...

machine code In computer programming, machine code is computer code consisting of machine language instructions, which are used to control a computer's central processing unit (CPU). For conventional binary computers, machine code is the binaryOn nonb ...

onto the computer. Warrington tried using a computer to design his graphics, but decided he preferred traditional methods on

graph paper Graph paper, coordinate paper, grid paper, or squared paper is writing paper that is printed with fine lines making up a regular grid. It is available either as loose leaf paper or bound in notebooks or graph books. It is commonly found in mathe ...

. The company never expanded, as the founders had no motivation to do so, and as time progressed, they found it increasingly difficult to cope with the more professional marketing campaigns that started to be introduced in the maturing computer game industry. In an interview, Helen Reidy said that "It seems they're etail storesmore concerned with your advertising budget and the size of your box - it's very difficult to get a good game from a small software house into the large stores." The company's last release was the detective adventure ''

Contact Sam Cruise ''Contact Sam Cruise'' is an action-adventure game created by David Reidy with graphics by Keith Warrington for the ZX Spectrum and released by Microsphere in 1986. Using a modified '' Skool Daze'' engine, the game follows the exploits of play ...

'', which according to David Reidy wasn't commercially successful, blaming

software piracy Online piracy or software piracy is the practice of downloading and distributing copyrighted works digitally without permission, such as music, movies or software. History Nathan Fisk traces the origins of modern online piracy back to similar ...

for lack of sales. Uninterested in developing for the emerging 16 bit computers and consoles, he decided to change careers and became an

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

Releases

* ''ZX-Sideprint'' (1983) * ''Omnicalc'' (1983) * ''Crevasse / Hotfoot'' (1983) * ''

The Train Game ''The Train Game'' is a simulation video game originally published by Microsphere for the ZX Spectrum in 1983. Gameplay The player assumes the role of a chief operations manager at a railway. Two different track layouts are included, A and B, ea ...

'' (1983) * ''Evolution'' (1983) * ''Wheelie'' (1983) * ''

'' (1984) * ''Skyranger'' (1984) * ''

Back To Skool ''Back to Skool'' is an open world video game, sequel to the '' Skool Daze'', created by David Reidy with graphics by Keith Warrington for the ZX Spectrum and released by Microsphere in 1985. The gameplay is very similar to - if more advanced ...

'' (1985) * ''

'' (1986)

References

External links

Microsphere on World of Spectrum
{{Microsphere Defunct video game companies of the United Kingdom