Cannon Fodder
Encyclopedia
Cannon Fodder is a short series of war
(and later science fiction
) themed action
video games developed by Sensible Software
, initially released for the Commodore Amiga
. Only two games in the series were released, but were converted to most active systems at the time of release. The series has a clear, somewhat darkly humorous method of gameplay that perhaps even doubles as social commentary
. The pre-mission screen shows a hill with a grave
for each dead soldier, with recruit
s lining up in front of it and a sports-like score at the top of the screen. Soldiers each have unique names, while on the grand scale of things being nothing more than interchangeable cannon fodder. The tagline for the first game was "War has never been so much fun", and for the second (with a more sci-fi
background, which included some alien missions) "War has only been this fun once before". A sequel, Cannon Fodder 2, was released in 1994 for Amiga and DOS.
with unlimited ammunition
, as well as limited caches of grenade
s and rocket
s that can be found on the map. In later levels, the player is provided with some grenades and rockets at the start of the mission. The player's machine guns do not harm its own soldiers, but friendly fire from grenades and rockets is possible, which are also the only weapons capable of destroying buildings and vehicles. Men can also die if hit by debris flung from exploding buildings and vehicles, get caught in man-traps, mired in quicksand
, and hit by enemy fire. Men usually walk, but several vehicles are available in some missions. The games are split into several missions, which are usually sub-divided into phases. Dead soldiers are replaced by new ones at the start of each phase. Each soldier that survives a mission is promoted and receives a small increase in the rate of fire, accuracy, and range. The player is only able to save the game upon completion of a whole mission.
Each phase is structured around mission objectives which range from "Kill all enemies" or "Destroy enemy buildings" to "Rescue all hostage
s". Some phases are complex, and require the player to use their imagination, pre-planning and strategy. For example players may have to split their team into two or more groups and leave one group to defend an area or route, assigning its control to the game's artificial intelligence
, while taking control of another group.
, with musician Richard Joseph
. Vocals were sung by Hare himself. A little-seen music video
of the song was put together to promote the original release.
Shot over just one day and for a total budget of £
500, it featured the entire team dressed up in military uniforms, an assortment of masks (including one of Mario
) and toy guns. The version of the music track is more complete than the one that appeared on the 16-bit versions and was recorded professionally. In fact, the menu screen track is also a pared down version of a proper song, featuring studio-standard vocals. Both of these tracks were written and performed by Jon Hare
, as were many of the other songs featured in Sensible's games.
, Jops
, Stoo
and Rj
— were named directly after the development staff. As each recruit is killed in battle, he receives a tombstone on the hill and the next recruit in line takes his place.
.
called Cannon Soccer (or Cannon Fodder - Amiga Format Christmas Special) was included on the coverdisk of the Amiga Format
Christmas issue. It was essentially two bonus levels of Cannon Fodder in which the soldiers fought hordes of Sensible Soccer players in a snowy landscape. The levels were titled "Land of Hope and Glory
", and "It's Snow Time".
On the Amiga Power Coverdisk 21 one of the demos was Sensible Soccer Meets Bulldog Blighty. It was an homage to the famous Christmas-time football match between the Germans and the British over no-man's land in 1914. It featured a mode of play that involved replacing players with soldiers from Cannon Fodder, and the ball with a hand grenade. The grenade would randomly begin to flash and would eventually explode after a few minutes, killing any nearby players.
was sold off to Codemasters
, the decision was taken to port the game over to the Game Boy Color
. The limit on having two men in your squad and a much smaller playing area meant changes had to be made to the gameplay, mainly to make it easier. Jon Hare
described the change as converting "11-a-side football to 5-a-side football".
set up a small mobile phone
games team known as Tower Studios. Their first release was Sensible Soccer in 2004, followed by Cannon Fodder in 2005. Both titles were published by KUJU
. The games were only playable on certain color models and due to many keypads' inability to register a diagonal movement (like UP & RIGHT) the control systems for both games had to be radically redesigned.
announced that a brand new version of Cannon Fodder would appear exclusively on the PlayStation Portable
. The game would have retained its familiar top down view, and the big heads of the soldiers, and for the first time the game would have been 3D. After a large launch announcement which included character renders and screenshots, the game was quietly canceled without explanation.
to Codemasters
, Jon Hare
ended up consulting on many of their development projects. One of which was the PS2 title Prince Naseem Boxing. Work on this title was performed in a satellite studio based in Hammersmith, London. However due to the commercial failure of this title, the studio was shut down. A casualty of this was cancellation of a 3D update of Cannon Fodder, something that Hare had been working on for at least nine months. Hare did speak about how he was looking to expand on the whole theme of war and include gameplay not just set on the battlefield: "I'd like to focus on the public's perceptions of war and warfare. There's many interesting things that go on behind the scenes with politicians".
In an interview with Eurogamer
in late 2005, Jon confirmed that there was up to two years' work (on and off) put into a 3D update of Cannon Fodder: "I designed Cannon Fodder 3 with Codies six years ago, development stopped and started three times and eventually it was seemingly permanently halted when the London studio was closed four years ago."
He then went on to add: "Nothing would please me more than to see this project resurrected, it was very advanced in its structure and therefore would need little modernisation."
veteran
s, was also used as the game logo. The Royal British Legion
reacted strongly against the usage of the Remembrance Day
poppy
, since they claimed it could induce buyers in error, believing the game was endorsed by them. When the use of the poppy was revealed in a magazine article prior to the game's release, Britain's Daily Star newspaper wrote an outraged article about this, urging its readers to "Make sure you do not buy this shameful game". Virgin Interactive
was able to remove the poppy from the box before the game's release, but it remained on the title screen, and the developers also added an opening screen that read "This game is not in any way endorsed by the Royal British Legion".
the game was banned for sale to minors. Ironically, given its detractors, the game itself is a satire
on war and those who revel in it, and makes numerous statements to this effect. These include the title of the game, the title song (which includes the lyrics "go up to your brother / kill him with your gun / leave him lying in his uniform / dying in the sun"), and the enlisting recruits queuing next to a hill covered with soldiers' graves. Each soldier has a name, and the player is reminded of the casualties by name at the end of the level. The game manual ended with "And on a more serious note: don't try playing this at home, kids, because war is not a game - war, as Cannon Fodder demonstrates in its own quirky little way, is a senseless waste of human resources and lives. We hope that
you never have to find out the hard way"
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
(and later science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
) themed action
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
video games developed by Sensible Software
Sensible Software
Sensible Software was a software house active during the 1980s and 90s, from the United Kingdom.The company was well-known for the very small sprites used for the player characters in many of their games, including Sensible Soccer, Cannon Fodder and Sensible Golf.- Early history :Sensible Software...
, initially released for the Commodore Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
. Only two games in the series were released, but were converted to most active systems at the time of release. The series has a clear, somewhat darkly humorous method of gameplay that perhaps even doubles as social commentary
Social commentary
Social commentary is the act of rebelling against an individual, or a group of people by rhetorical means, or commentary on social issues or society...
. The pre-mission screen shows a hill with a grave
Grave (burial)
A grave is a location where a dead body is buried. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as graveyards or cemeteries....
for each dead soldier, with recruit
Army recruit
Recruit or army recruit is a term often colloquially used to refer to the lowest military rank in various armed services. It usually implies that the soldier so labeled has not yet completed basic training....
s lining up in front of it and a sports-like score at the top of the screen. Soldiers each have unique names, while on the grand scale of things being nothing more than interchangeable cannon fodder. The tagline for the first game was "War has never been so much fun", and for the second (with a more sci-fi
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
background, which included some alien missions) "War has only been this fun once before". A sequel, Cannon Fodder 2, was released in 1994 for Amiga and DOS.
Gameplay
In both games, the player is in charge of a squad (the titular "cannon fodder") of between one to eight men that can be, for command purposes, split up to three groups (referred to as Snake, Eagle and Panther squads). All men have a machine gunMachine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
with unlimited ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
, as well as limited caches of grenade
Hand grenade
A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
s and rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
s that can be found on the map. In later levels, the player is provided with some grenades and rockets at the start of the mission. The player's machine guns do not harm its own soldiers, but friendly fire from grenades and rockets is possible, which are also the only weapons capable of destroying buildings and vehicles. Men can also die if hit by debris flung from exploding buildings and vehicles, get caught in man-traps, mired in quicksand
Quicksand
Quicksand is a colloid hydrogel consisting of fine granular matter , clay, and water.Water circulation underground can focus in an area with the optimal mixture of fine sands and other materials such as clay. The water moves up and then down slowly in a convection-like manner throughout a column...
, and hit by enemy fire. Men usually walk, but several vehicles are available in some missions. The games are split into several missions, which are usually sub-divided into phases. Dead soldiers are replaced by new ones at the start of each phase. Each soldier that survives a mission is promoted and receives a small increase in the rate of fire, accuracy, and range. The player is only able to save the game upon completion of a whole mission.
Each phase is structured around mission objectives which range from "Kill all enemies" or "Destroy enemy buildings" to "Rescue all hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
s". Some phases are complex, and require the player to use their imagination, pre-planning and strategy. For example players may have to split their team into two or more groups and leave one group to defend an area or route, assigning its control to the game's artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, while taking control of another group.
Music video
The theme tune (War Has Never Been So Much Fun) for the game was written by the lead game designer Jon HareJon Hare
Jon "Jops" Hare is a British computer game designer, game artist and musician. He is one of the two founder members and directors, with Chris Yates, of Sensible Software, one of the most successful European games development companies of the late 1980s and 1990s.Hare was co-designer and artist of...
, with musician Richard Joseph
Richard Joseph
Richard Joseph was a British computer game composer, musician and sound specialist. He had a career spanning some 20 years starting in the early days of gaming on the C64 and the Amiga and onto succeeding formats through to the present day.After being diagnosed with lung cancer, he died on 4 March...
. Vocals were sung by Hare himself. A little-seen music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
of the song was put together to promote the original release.
Shot over just one day and for a total budget of £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
500, it featured the entire team dressed up in military uniforms, an assortment of masks (including one of Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
) and toy guns. The version of the music track is more complete than the one that appeared on the 16-bit versions and was recorded professionally. In fact, the menu screen track is also a pared down version of a proper song, featuring studio-standard vocals. Both of these tracks were written and performed by Jon Hare
Jon Hare
Jon "Jops" Hare is a British computer game designer, game artist and musician. He is one of the two founder members and directors, with Chris Yates, of Sensible Software, one of the most successful European games development companies of the late 1980s and 1990s.Hare was co-designer and artist of...
, as were many of the other songs featured in Sensible's games.
Characters
The original game has hundreds of individually-named recruits, of which the first few — JoolsJools Jameson
Julian "Jools" Jameson is a British computer game developer, designer and producer. His gaming career spanned some 20 years starting in the early days of gaming "messing around" with machine code on the 6502-based Oric 1 and has programmed almost every home computer and console since.The most...
, Jops
Jon Hare
Jon "Jops" Hare is a British computer game designer, game artist and musician. He is one of the two founder members and directors, with Chris Yates, of Sensible Software, one of the most successful European games development companies of the late 1980s and 1990s.Hare was co-designer and artist of...
, Stoo
Stoo Cambridge
Stuart "Stoo" Cambridge is a British computer game designer and artist, and former member of British software developer Sensible Software.-External links:* on MobyGames* * *...
and Rj
Richard Joseph
Richard Joseph was a British computer game composer, musician and sound specialist. He had a career spanning some 20 years starting in the early days of gaming on the C64 and the Amiga and onto succeeding formats through to the present day.After being diagnosed with lung cancer, he died on 4 March...
— were named directly after the development staff. As each recruit is killed in battle, he receives a tombstone on the hill and the next recruit in line takes his place.
Reception
Cannon Fodder was awarded Best Atari Jaguar Game of 1995 by Electronic Gaming MonthlyElectronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
.
Cannon Soccer
In 1994, a free minigameMinigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
called Cannon Soccer (or Cannon Fodder - Amiga Format Christmas Special) was included on the coverdisk of the Amiga Format
Amiga Format
Amiga Format was a British computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future Publishing. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when, in the wake of selling ACE to EMAP, Future split the dual-format title ST/Amiga Format into two separate publications...
Christmas issue. It was essentially two bonus levels of Cannon Fodder in which the soldiers fought hordes of Sensible Soccer players in a snowy landscape. The levels were titled "Land of Hope and Glory
Land of Hope and Glory
"Land of Hope and Glory" is a British patriotic song, with music by Edward Elgar and lyrics by A. C. Benson, written in 1902.- Composition :...
", and "It's Snow Time".
Sensible Soccer 92/93 Meets Bulldog Blighty
- Also known as Sensible Soccer: England vs Germany
On the Amiga Power Coverdisk 21 one of the demos was Sensible Soccer Meets Bulldog Blighty. It was an homage to the famous Christmas-time football match between the Germans and the British over no-man's land in 1914. It featured a mode of play that involved replacing players with soldiers from Cannon Fodder, and the ball with a hand grenade. The grenade would randomly begin to flash and would eventually explode after a few minutes, killing any nearby players.
Game Boy Color
Once Sensible SoftwareSensible Software
Sensible Software was a software house active during the 1980s and 90s, from the United Kingdom.The company was well-known for the very small sprites used for the player characters in many of their games, including Sensible Soccer, Cannon Fodder and Sensible Golf.- Early history :Sensible Software...
was sold off to Codemasters
Codemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
, the decision was taken to port the game over to the Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
. The limit on having two men in your squad and a much smaller playing area meant changes had to be made to the gameplay, mainly to make it easier. Jon Hare
Jon Hare
Jon "Jops" Hare is a British computer game designer, game artist and musician. He is one of the two founder members and directors, with Chris Yates, of Sensible Software, one of the most successful European games development companies of the late 1980s and 1990s.Hare was co-designer and artist of...
described the change as converting "11-a-side football to 5-a-side football".
Cellphone
In 2004, Jon HareJon Hare
Jon "Jops" Hare is a British computer game designer, game artist and musician. He is one of the two founder members and directors, with Chris Yates, of Sensible Software, one of the most successful European games development companies of the late 1980s and 1990s.Hare was co-designer and artist of...
set up a small mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
games team known as Tower Studios. Their first release was Sensible Soccer in 2004, followed by Cannon Fodder in 2005. Both titles were published by KUJU
Kuju
Kuju is a census town in Hazaribag district in the Indian state of Jharkhand.-Geography:Kuju is located at . It has an average elevation of 426 metres .-Demographics:...
. The games were only playable on certain color models and due to many keypads' inability to register a diagonal movement (like UP & RIGHT) the control systems for both games had to be radically redesigned.
PlayStation Portable
On 28 August 2006, CodemastersCodemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
announced that a brand new version of Cannon Fodder would appear exclusively on the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
. The game would have retained its familiar top down view, and the big heads of the soldiers, and for the first time the game would have been 3D. After a large launch announcement which included character renders and screenshots, the game was quietly canceled without explanation.
Canceled PlayStation 2 update
After selling Sensible SoftwareSensible Software
Sensible Software was a software house active during the 1980s and 90s, from the United Kingdom.The company was well-known for the very small sprites used for the player characters in many of their games, including Sensible Soccer, Cannon Fodder and Sensible Golf.- Early history :Sensible Software...
to Codemasters
Codemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
, Jon Hare
Jon Hare
Jon "Jops" Hare is a British computer game designer, game artist and musician. He is one of the two founder members and directors, with Chris Yates, of Sensible Software, one of the most successful European games development companies of the late 1980s and 1990s.Hare was co-designer and artist of...
ended up consulting on many of their development projects. One of which was the PS2 title Prince Naseem Boxing. Work on this title was performed in a satellite studio based in Hammersmith, London. However due to the commercial failure of this title, the studio was shut down. A casualty of this was cancellation of a 3D update of Cannon Fodder, something that Hare had been working on for at least nine months. Hare did speak about how he was looking to expand on the whole theme of war and include gameplay not just set on the battlefield: "I'd like to focus on the public's perceptions of war and warfare. There's many interesting things that go on behind the scenes with politicians".
In an interview with Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
in late 2005, Jon confirmed that there was up to two years' work (on and off) put into a 3D update of Cannon Fodder: "I designed Cannon Fodder 3 with Codies six years ago, development stopped and started three times and eventually it was seemingly permanently halted when the London studio was closed four years ago."
He then went on to add: "Nothing would please me more than to see this project resurrected, it was very advanced in its structure and therefore would need little modernisation."
Poppy
The corn poppy, used as a symbol by World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
s, was also used as the game logo. The Royal British Legion
The Royal British Legion
The Royal British Legion , sometimes referred to as simply The Legion, is the United Kingdom's leading charity providing financial, social and emotional support to those who have served or who are currently serving in the British Armed Forces, and their dependants.-History:The British Legion was...
reacted strongly against the usage of the Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth...
poppy
Poppy
A poppy is one of a group of a flowering plants in the poppy family, many of which are grown in gardens for their colorful flowers. Poppies are sometimes used for symbolic reasons, such as in remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime....
, since they claimed it could induce buyers in error, believing the game was endorsed by them. When the use of the poppy was revealed in a magazine article prior to the game's release, Britain's Daily Star newspaper wrote an outraged article about this, urging its readers to "Make sure you do not buy this shameful game". Virgin Interactive
Virgin Interactive
Virgin Interactive was a British video game publisher. It was formed as Virgin Games Ltd. in 1981. The company became much larger after purchasing the budget label, Mastertronic in 1987. It was part of the Virgin Group...
was able to remove the poppy from the box before the game's release, but it remained on the title screen, and the developers also added an opening screen that read "This game is not in any way endorsed by the Royal British Legion".
Pacifism versus warmongering
The game was also criticised by the media for what was, at the time, considered excessive violence and glorification of war. In GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
the game was banned for sale to minors. Ironically, given its detractors, the game itself is a satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
on war and those who revel in it, and makes numerous statements to this effect. These include the title of the game, the title song (which includes the lyrics "go up to your brother / kill him with your gun / leave him lying in his uniform / dying in the sun"), and the enlisting recruits queuing next to a hill covered with soldiers' graves. Each soldier has a name, and the player is reminded of the casualties by name at the end of the level. The game manual ended with "And on a more serious note: don't try playing this at home, kids, because war is not a game - war, as Cannon Fodder demonstrates in its own quirky little way, is a senseless waste of human resources and lives. We hope that
you never have to find out the hard way"
External links
- Article on PSP Version
- Documentary Short (Quicktime, 4min) on the game's origins. Features segments from the music video.
- Cannon Fodder 2 development history The story behind Cannon Fodder 2 by Stuart Campbell
- Cannon Fodder on Games4Win
- Eurogamer's November 2005 interview with Jon Hare, where he discusses what happened with Cannon Fodder on PS2 and how the project's still on ice.
- The C64 revival band PRESS PLAY ON TAPE plays the soundtrack from Cannon Fodder live on game controllers
- Youtube link to some tracks from Cannon Fodder covered by Bob Fresco and The Retro Game Band.