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Gremlin Graphics
1984-99


Softography

(Spectrum only)

See World of Spectrum for
downloadable versions

Title Year
Monty Mole 1984
Potty Pigeon 1984
Copius (Spellbound) 1984
Rocky 1985
Grumpy Gumphrey Super Sleuth 1985
Sam Stoat Safebreaker 1985
Future Knight 1985
Monty on the Run 1985
West Bank 1985
Tinderbox 1985
Monty is Innocent 1985
Metabolis 1985
Avenger 1986
Death Wish 3 1986
Way of the Tiger, The 1986
Trailblazer 1986
Bounder 1986
Footballer of the Year 1986
Post Horn 1986
Jack the Nipper 1986
Future Knight 1987
Snakes and Hazards 1987
Shove a Sledge 1987
Gary Lineker's Super Star Soccer 1987
Gauntlet * 1987
Samurai Trilogy 1987
Gauntlet: Deeper Dungeons * 1987
Final Matrix, The 1987
Thing 2: Thing Bounces Back 1987
Basil the Great Mouse Detective 1987
Deflektor 1987
Tiddly Drinks 1987
Auf Wiedersehen Monty 1987
Alternative World Games 1987
Footballer of the Year 1987
Jack the Nipper 2: In Coconut Capers 1987
Krakout 1987
Alien Evolution 1987
Moley Christmas ** 1987
Convoy Raider 1987
Mask 1987
Mask 2 1987
Masters of the Universe - The Movie 1987
X-Mas Ludo 1987
Abu Simbel Profanation 1987
Mickey Mouse 1988
Vampire's Empire 1988
Ultimate Golf 1988
Krakout 2 1988
T-Wrecks 1988
Butcher Hill 1988
Muncher Compo, The 1988
Muncher, The 1988
Tour de Force 1988
Night Raider 1988
North Star 1988
Dark Fusion 1988
Pink Panther 1988
Duct, The 1988
Gary Lineker's Hot-Shot 1988
Hercules: Slayer of the Damned 1988
Roy of the Rovers 1988
Techno-Cop 1988
Super Sports - The Olympic Challenge 1988
Gary Lineker's Super Skills 1988
Skate Crazy 1988
Gauntlet 2 * 1988
Blood Brothers 1988
Mask 3: Venom Strikes Back 1988
Paranoia Complex, The 1989
HATE (Hostile All Terrain Encount... 1989
Super Scramble Simulator 1989
Ghouls 'n' Ghosts 1989
Motor Massacre 1989
Artura 1989
Shadow of the Beast 1990
Nigel Mansell's World Championship 1990
Super Cars 1990
Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge 1990
Impossamole 1990
Hero Quest 1991
Hero Quest: Return of the Witch Lord 1991
Toyota Celica GT Rally 1991
Blood Valley 1991
Switchblade 1991
Margot's Magic Coloring 1992
Space Crusade 1992
Shoe People, The 1992
Bulldog 198?

* Published by US Gold

** Published by Your Sinclair, Christmas 1987

One of the most prolific publishers of 8-bit games, Gremlin was also one of the very few to survive the demise of the 8-bit computers. They lasted until 1999 when, now renamed Gremlin Interactive, they were swallowed up by the giant French entertainment company Infogrames.

Gremlin's very first game, Monty Mole - a well-executed Manic Miner clone - was a massive hit, thanks to a carefully-arranged controversy which made the company's name. At the time, the British news agenda was dominated by the bitter year-long miners' strike and the personal struggle between Margaret Thatcher and miners' leader Arthur Scargill. Gremlin, who were based in Sheffield not far from the South Yorkshire coal mines, hit on the idea of setting Monty Mole in a mine with Scargill as the notional "baddie". (In fact, Scargill's involvement was limited to a caricature on the loading screen and a nondescript miner sprite on the last screen of the game.)

Gremlin's founder Ian Stewart was open about it - "We didn't aim to get adverse publicity, even though that can be beneficial. It was just as well the miners' strike continued or we would have fallen flat on our faces." The gambit paid off and the game received a lot of coverage from the press as well as being featured on the ITN News at Ten. It duly became a bestseller.

Gremlin settled down after that, producing a steady stream of mostly good to excellent games for the Spectrum and Commodore 64 over the next eight years. Although most were published under its own name, on a few occasions Gremlin worked as a contractor for other publishers - most notably for Gauntlet and Gauntlet 2, published by US Gold.

The company was one of the last to leave the dying Spectrum market, in 1992, concentrating instead on the growing 16-bit, PC and console markets. The change in emphasis was reflected in a change of name in 1994, to Gremlin Interactive. It produced a number of well-received games, most notably the Lotus Turbo Esprit Challenge series (the first of which did appear on the Spectrum) and the Actua series of sports games. In March 1999, Infogrames bought Gremlin outright for £25 million.

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© Chris Owen 1994-2003