Andrew Glaister
Encyclopedia
Andrew Glaister, born July 4, 1967 in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
, England, is a video game programmer
.
He initially started programming games on the ZX81 and ZX Spectrum
between 1981 and 1987, forming a company called Programmers Development Systems Ltd.
Andrew then worked as a developer for Viacom New Media, Kinesoft Development and FASA Interactive
in the US. When Microsoft Game Studios
acquired FASA in 1999
, Andrew continued to work for them as a Development Manager, in later years particularly for the Windows Graphics and Gaming team working on Direct X 10
, display drivers
and other features for Windows Vista
.
, in a wooden box with 8 LED
s, 8 input switches and 32 bytes of RAM
from 4 74LS89 16x4 chips.
In 1981 his parents purchased a ZX81 for Andrew, and within months he began selling his own games. This was done at first through one of the first computer stores in England–the Buffer Micro Shop in Streatham
. Duplication was performed on C15 cassette tapes after school, with photocopied inserts. He managed four or five duplications a night, selling each for ten pounds. Andrew would then go by train from Crawley
to Streatham and return with his profits. After meeting an employee from Silversoft in the shop one day, Andrew decided to let that company publish the games instead.
1982 saw the release of the ZX Spectrum. Glaister's first program for Silversoft was the video game Orbiter, which sold 30,000 copies over Christmas. He started working with Softek (later EDGE Games
), writing a number of games such as Ostron
.
Using the money from those games, Andrew purchased an Osborne 1
and started to use Z80 assemblers to try and produce code for the Spectrum. He also used the built-in 300 baud modem to play (with friends Jez San
and Fouad Katan) a new game called MUD
- Multi User Dungeon, remotely logging into Essex University. Andrew is credited for becoming the second external 'Wizard' in the game (Jez San of Argonaut Games
being the first.)
In the late 80s, he worked on the development of an early IBM PC clone
, the Apricot PC
. It was sold under the name Programmers Development Systems Ltd., a company founded with Jacqui Lyons and Fouad Katan. Due to the Apricot's programming tools and connectivity with home computers like the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64
and Amstrad CPC
, it became popular with many developers, such as Richard Aplin and the Oliver twins
.
During this time he was writing both Spectrum ports (of Konami games Jail Break and Salamander
for example) and original games (Empire!
).
In 1989 Andrew moved to Vancouver
after joining Mission Electronics as their lead firmware
engineer, to help develop the first MCA laptop. In 1992 he joined Icom simulations
in Illinois
, working on the official development system for the TurboGrafx-16
.
and art and programming tools for many console games. During this time Andrew met Peter Sills and Mark Achler. Together they worked on converting console games to Windows
as Kinesoft Development
. Their conversion of Pitfall
, Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure
, was published in time for the launch of Windows 95
. This game was then used by Bill Gates
at the E3 prior to the Windows 95 launch to show off the 'Direct X Gaming Technologies' in Windows, even though Pitfall contained no DirectX technology.
These converions led to a Windows 95 'gaming shell' called Exodus Technologies and other emulation technology.Kinesoft was approached by a number of companies to buy or license the technology, eventually signing a deal with GameBank, a company setup by SoftBank
and Microsoft
to bring console titles to Windows. Kinesoft, expanding, had 30 employees at its peak, and Andrew was now developing as part of a full team rather than a sole programmer.
Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Marlow is a town and civil parish within Wycombe district in south Buckinghamshire, England...
, England, is a video game programmer
Game programmer
A game programmer is a software engineer, programmer, or computer scientist who primarily develops codebase for video games or related software, such as game development tools. Game programming has many specialized disciplines all of which fall under the umbrella term of "game programmer"...
.
He initially started programming games on the ZX81 and ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
between 1981 and 1987, forming a company called Programmers Development Systems Ltd.
Andrew then worked as a developer for Viacom New Media, Kinesoft Development and FASA Interactive
FASA Interactive
FASA Studio was a video game developer that was founded in 1995 by the tabletop game company FASA Corporation, Spectrum HoloByte and Denny Thorley....
in the US. When Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Studios is the video game production wing for Microsoft, responsible for the development and publishing of games for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Games for Windows and Windows Phone platforms. They were established in 2002 as Microsoft Game Studios to coincide with the release of the Xbox, before...
acquired FASA in 1999
1999 in video gaming
-Events:*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 2nd annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards*March – Game Over republished as “Game Over: Press Start to Continue”...
, Andrew continued to work for them as a Development Manager, in later years particularly for the Windows Graphics and Gaming team working on Direct X 10
DirectX
Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with Direct, such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay,...
, display drivers
Device driver
In computing, a device driver or software driver is a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device....
and other features for Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
.
Work history
Andrew first started playing with electronics at age 10, and had built his first computer at age 12. This was a simple design based on the SC/MP 8060National Semiconductor SC/MP
The SC/MP from National Semiconductor is an early microprocessor, which became available in early 1974. The name SC/MP is an acronym for: "Simple Cost-effective Micro Processor".It features a 16-bit address and an 8-bit data bus...
, in a wooden box with 8 LED
LEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
s, 8 input switches and 32 bytes of RAM
Ram
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
from 4 74LS89 16x4 chips.
Sinclair projects
In 1980 he acquired his first 'real' computer, a Microtan 65, and spent time using his friend's ZX80.In 1981 his parents purchased a ZX81 for Andrew, and within months he began selling his own games. This was done at first through one of the first computer stores in England–the Buffer Micro Shop in Streatham
Streatham
Streatham is a district in Surrey, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
. Duplication was performed on C15 cassette tapes after school, with photocopied inserts. He managed four or five duplications a night, selling each for ten pounds. Andrew would then go by train from Crawley
Crawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
to Streatham and return with his profits. After meeting an employee from Silversoft in the shop one day, Andrew decided to let that company publish the games instead.
1982 saw the release of the ZX Spectrum. Glaister's first program for Silversoft was the video game Orbiter, which sold 30,000 copies over Christmas. He started working with Softek (later EDGE Games
EDGE Games
Edge Games is a video game developer and publisher headquartered in Pasadena, California, known for the aggressive reputation of its chief executive and founder, Tim Langdell, in enforcing their trademarks relating to the word "edge"...
), writing a number of games such as Ostron
Ostron
Ostron is a ZX Spectrum video game developed and released by Softek in 1983. It was also released with the title Joust. Gameplay is similar to the arcade game, Joust. -Reception:...
.
Using the money from those games, Andrew purchased an Osborne 1
Osborne 1
The Osborne 1 was the first commercially successful portable microcomputer, released on April 3, 1981 by Osborne Computer Corporation. It weighed 10.7 kg , cost USD$ 1795, and ran the then-popular CP/M 2.2 operating system...
and started to use Z80 assemblers to try and produce code for the Spectrum. He also used the built-in 300 baud modem to play (with friends Jez San
Jez San
Jeremy 'Jez' San OBE is an English game programmer and entrepreneur who founded Argonaut Software as a teenager in the 1980s. He is also a writer and helped design the Super FX chip for the Super NES.-Biography:...
and Fouad Katan) a new game called MUD
MUD
A MUD , pronounced , is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, with the term usually referring to text-based instances of these. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat...
- Multi User Dungeon, remotely logging into Essex University. Andrew is credited for becoming the second external 'Wizard' in the game (Jez San of Argonaut Games
Argonaut Games
Argonaut Games plc was a British video game developer. Founded as Argonaut Software by teenager Jez San in 1982 the company name is a play on his name and the movie title Jason and the Argonauts. It had its head offices in Edgware, London....
being the first.)
In the late 80s, he worked on the development of an early IBM PC clone
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
, the Apricot PC
Apricot PC
The Apricot PC was Apricot Computers' first personal computer made for business use. The press received it well, especially for the high resolution of its time and its trackball cable . It is the first non-Japanese computer using 3.5" Sony floppy disc units.It uses a Intel 8086 processor running...
. It was sold under the name Programmers Development Systems Ltd., a company founded with Jacqui Lyons and Fouad Katan. Due to the Apricot's programming tools and connectivity with home computers like the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
and Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC 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 Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, it became popular with many developers, such as Richard Aplin and the Oliver twins
Oliver Twins
The Oliver Twins are two British brothers, Philip and Andrew Oliver, who started to professionally develop computer games while they were still at school. Their first game, Super Robin Hood for the Amstrad CPC, was published in 1985 by Codemasters...
.
During this time he was writing both Spectrum ports (of Konami games Jail Break and Salamander
Salamander (arcade game)
, retitled Life Force in North America and in the Japanese arcade re-release , is a scrolling shooter arcade game by Konami. Released in 1986 as a spin-off to Gradius, Salamander introduced a simplified power-up system, two-player cooperative gameplay and both horizontally and vertically scrolling...
for example) and original games (Empire!
Empire!
Empire! is a space combat and trading video game designed by Andrew Glaister and published by Firebird Software in 1986 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC.-Gameplay:...
).
In 1989 Andrew moved to Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
after joining Mission Electronics as their lead firmware
Firmware
In electronic systems and computing, firmware is a term often used to denote the fixed, usually rather small, programs and/or data structures that internally control various electronic devices...
engineer, to help develop the first MCA laptop. In 1992 he joined Icom simulations
ICOM Simulations
ICOM Simulations was a software company based in Wheeling, Illinois. It is best known for creating the MacVenture series of adventure games including Shadowgate.Following the foundation in 1983 a number of game titles for the Panasonic JR-200 were produced...
in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, working on the official development system for the TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
.
Windows projects
In 1994 Icom Simulations was acquired by Viacom New Media. Andrew was retained and he worked on several projects such as Beyond ShadowgateBeyond Shadowgate
Beyond Shadowgate is a TurboGrafx CD sequel to the 1987 Mac and MacVenture Shadowgate. Unlike its predecessor, Beyond Shadowgate is a classical point-and-click adventure viewed from a platform perspective. The player controls Prince Erik, the descendant of the hero from the first game, Lord Jair...
and art and programming tools for many console games. During this time Andrew met Peter Sills and Mark Achler. Together they worked on converting console games to Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
as Kinesoft Development
Kinesoft
Kinesoft Development was a video game development company founded by Peter Sills in 1991. Mark Achler joined the company in 1994 to serve as president. Along with Director of Technology, Andrew Glaister, Sills developed the concept which became known as Exodus, a video-game development...
. Their conversion of Pitfall
Pitfall
Pitfall refers to a series of video games:* Pitfall!, the 1982 original* Pitfall II: Lost Caverns, a 1984 sequel* Super Pitfall, a 1987 sequel and a quasi-remake of Pitfall II* Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure, a 1994 sequel...
, Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure is a 1994 video game developed and published by Activision. A sequel to Activision's classic game Pitfall! for the Atari 2600, the player controls Pitfall Harry, Jr., son of the protagonist of the original game, as he attempts to rescue his father from a Mayan jungle...
, was published in time for the launch of Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
. This game was then used by Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
at the E3 prior to the Windows 95 launch to show off the 'Direct X Gaming Technologies' in Windows, even though Pitfall contained no DirectX technology.
These converions led to a Windows 95 'gaming shell' called Exodus Technologies and other emulation technology.Kinesoft was approached by a number of companies to buy or license the technology, eventually signing a deal with GameBank, a company setup by SoftBank
SoftBank
is a Japanese telecommunications and internet corporation, with operations in broadband, fixed-line telecommunications, e-Commerce, Internet, broadmedia, technology services, finance, media and marketing, and other businesses....
and Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
to bring console titles to Windows. Kinesoft, expanding, had 30 employees at its peak, and Andrew was now developing as part of a full team rather than a sole programmer.
ZX Spectrum
- OstronOstronOstron is a ZX Spectrum video game developed and released by Softek in 1983. It was also released with the title Joust. Gameplay is similar to the arcade game, Joust. -Reception:...
/ Joust (1983), Softek Software–a Joust clone - Warlords (1985), Century Software–another Joust clone
- The Fourth Protocol (1985), with Electronic Pencil Company for Hutchinson Computer Publishing
- Empire!Empire!Empire! is a space combat and trading video game designed by Andrew Glaister and published by Firebird Software in 1986 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC.-Gameplay:...
(1986), Firebird Software - Jail Break (1987), KonamiKonamiis a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
–Spectrum port of the arcade game - Salamander (1987), KonamiKonamiis a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
–Spectrum port of the arcade game
Windows 95
- Pitfall: The Mayan AdventurePitfall: The Mayan AdventurePitfall: The Mayan Adventure is a 1994 video game developed and published by Activision. A sequel to Activision's classic game Pitfall! for the Atari 2600, the player controls Pitfall Harry, Jr., son of the protagonist of the original game, as he attempts to rescue his father from a Mayan jungle...
(1994), ActivisionActivisionActivision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles... - Earthworm JimEarthworm JimEarthworm Jim is a run and gun platform video game starring an earthworm named Jim in a robotic suit who battles evil. Created by Doug TenNapel and designed by David Perry, the game was developed by Shiny Entertainment and Playmates Interactive Entertainment, released by Sega for the Mega...
(1995), Shiny EntertainmentShiny EntertainmentShiny Entertainment was an American video game developer based in Laguna Beach, Southern California, and the creator of several popular titles such as Earthworm Jim, MDK, Sacrifice and The Matrix: Path of Neo. Shiny was founded by David Perry in October 1993...