Sensible Software
Encyclopedia
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 character
s in many of their games, including Sensible Soccer
, Cannon Fodder
and Sensible Golf
.
, Essex
in 1986 by two former school friends, Jon Hare
(A.K.A. Jovial Jops) and Chris Yates (A.K.A. Cuddly Krix). After cutting their teeth for 9 months at LT Software in Basildon
, Hare and Yates set up Sensible Software in March 1986.
Sensible initially released games for the ZX Spectrum
and later the Commodore 64
, clinching market praise with Parallax, Shoot'Em-Up Construction Kit
and Wizball
(later to be voted 'Game of the Decade' by Zzap64 magazine). At the time, the pair's output was well known among gamers for its high quality and offbeat sense of humour.
In 1988 Martin Galway
joined the team and Sensible Software became a 3-man partnership. That summer they released Microprose Soccer
, their first venture into association football games.
in the USA, and over the next few years the company swapped the 8 bit machines for the more powerful Amiga
and Atari ST
, where games such as Mega Lo Mania
, Sensible Soccer
, and Cannon Fodder
became classics. With the rise of the 16-bit home console market, Sensible released seven number one hit games, winning numerous industry awards in the process. Sensible's games were ported to a wide range of computing platforms, including MS-DOS
, the Mega Drive and Super Nintendo
.
that came to prominence in the mid '90s. Their trademark look of cute 2D characters had slipped out of vogue with the advent of cheap 3D rendering abilities and titles such as Actua Soccer
and FIFA
turned to 2.5D and 3D gradually shoving the Sensible Soccer
series into the sidelines despite Sensible's belated attempt to convert the game to 3D in 1998.
Sensible Golf, a simple golf
video game (not a simulation), in classic Sensible style, did not perform well in the market and with most of Sensible's staffing resources having been thrown into a very progressive but politically unreleasable political hot potato of a game called Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll that had initially been signed by Warner International Entertainment and subsequently dropped by their purchasers, GT Software, Sensible's days were looking numbered and the owners were looking for a smooth exit.
Though never finished, this final epic project was discussed in certain sections of the media outside of the game press. It was featured in an Independent on Sunday article in the summer of 1997. Two years later in 1999, the pre-rendered music videos - created for the game with animation by Khalifa Saber - were showcased within a feature piece on Ex Machina, a show covering the CG animation
scene on .tv.
Another cancelled game that was being developed during this final development period was a PlayStation
action game titled Have a Nice Day. Though screenshots of the game have never been released, the title was a first person shooter, inspired somewhat by the simplicity of Re-Loaded, a "first generation" PlayStation title by Gremlin Interactive
. Jon Hare
has spoken about the project in various interviews, but has never discussed the game's content and gameplay features in depth. Aside from the likelihood that the game contained themes as controversial as Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll, in an interview with Total Video Games Derek dela Fuente, Jon did mention that the title had "hit some technical barriers" during its development. Sensible were not known to have worked on the PlayStation
hardware before, which may have made getting to grips with the console's problematic 3D libraries
a huge issue for the inexperienced team.
Sensible Software was eventually sold in 1999 to veteran UK games publishers Codemasters
and since this date Jon Hare
has maintained a close working relationship with Codemasters
designing many games for them including a variety of updates of both Sensible Soccer
and Cannon Fodder
.
Software house
A software house is a company whose primary products are software.- Types :There are a number of different types of software houses:*Large and well-known companies such as Microsoft, SAP AG, Oracle Corporation, HP, Adobe Systems, Apple Inc...
active during the 1980s and 90s, from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The company was well-known for the very small sprites used for the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
s in many of their games, including Sensible Soccer
Sensible Soccer
Sensible Soccer, often affectionately known as Sensi, is an association football video game series which was highly popular in the early 1990s and which still retains a cult following...
, Cannon Fodder
Cannon Fodder
Cannon Fodder is a short series of war 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...
and Sensible Golf
Sensible Golf
Sensible Golf was a 2D golf game released by Sensible Software in 1994 for the Amiga.The game featured the same pin-like characters that had previously been used with great success in Sensible Soccer and Cannon Fodder, although upon release it was deemed a commercial failure and received lacklustre...
.
Early history
Sensible Software was formed in ChelmsfordChelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
in 1986 by two former school friends, 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...
(A.K.A. Jovial Jops) and Chris Yates (A.K.A. Cuddly Krix). After cutting their teeth for 9 months at LT Software in Basildon
Basildon
Basildon is a town located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.It lies east of Central London and south of the county town of Chelmsford...
, Hare and Yates set up Sensible Software in March 1986.
Sensible initially released games for the 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...
and later the 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...
, clinching market praise with Parallax, Shoot'Em-Up Construction Kit
Shoot'Em-Up Construction Kit
Shoot'Em-Up Construction Kit was a "construction kit" for the Commodore 64, Amiga and Atari ST created by Sensible Software and published by Outlaw in 1987. It allowed the user to make simple shoot 'em ups by drawing sprites and backgrounds and editing attack patterns...
and Wizball
Wizball
Wizball is a computer game written by Jon Hare and Chris Yates and released in 1987 for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. Versions for the Amiga, Atari ST and PC were also released...
(later to be voted 'Game of the Decade' by Zzap64 magazine). At the time, the pair's output was well known among gamers for its high quality and offbeat sense of humour.
In 1988 Martin Galway
Martin Galway
Martin Galway is one of the best known composers of music for the Commodore 64 sound chip, the SID soundchip, and for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum...
joined the team and Sensible Software became a 3-man partnership. That summer they released Microprose Soccer
Microprose Soccer
Microprose Soccer is a soccer videogame published by Microprose in 1988. The original Commodore 64 version was developed by Sensible Software, with conversions carried out to other formats. It is the fore-runner of the 16-bit classic Sensible Soccer...
, their first venture into association football games.
16-bit era
Galway left in 1990 to join Origin SystemsOrigin Systems
Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004...
in the USA, and over the next few years the company swapped the 8 bit machines for the more powerful 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...
and Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
, where games such as Mega Lo Mania
Mega Lo Mania
Mega Lo Mania is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Sensible Software. It was released for the Amiga in 1991, and ported for a variety of other platforms. It was released as Tyrants: Fight Through Time in North America....
, Sensible Soccer
Sensible Soccer
Sensible Soccer, often affectionately known as Sensi, is an association football video game series which was highly popular in the early 1990s and which still retains a cult following...
, and Cannon Fodder
Cannon Fodder
Cannon Fodder is a short series of war 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...
became classics. With the rise of the 16-bit home console market, Sensible released seven number one hit games, winning numerous industry awards in the process. Sensible's games were ported to a wide range of computing platforms, including MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
, the Mega Drive and Super Nintendo
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
.
Decline
While Sensible had a strong presence on the machines that dominated the late 80s and early 90s they never really repeated this success on the newer machines such as the PlayStationPlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
that came to prominence in the mid '90s. Their trademark look of cute 2D characters had slipped out of vogue with the advent of cheap 3D rendering abilities and titles such as Actua Soccer
Actua Soccer
Actua Soccer is a football video game series that was developed by Gremlin Interactive as part of their Actua Sports series, and was the first football game to use full 3D graphics...
and FIFA
FIFA Series
FIFA, also known as FIFA Football or FIFA Soccer, is a series of association football video games, released annually by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label...
turned to 2.5D and 3D gradually shoving the Sensible Soccer
Sensible Soccer
Sensible Soccer, often affectionately known as Sensi, is an association football video game series which was highly popular in the early 1990s and which still retains a cult following...
series into the sidelines despite Sensible's belated attempt to convert the game to 3D in 1998.
Sensible Golf, a simple golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
video game (not a simulation), in classic Sensible style, did not perform well in the market and with most of Sensible's staffing resources having been thrown into a very progressive but politically unreleasable political hot potato of a game called Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll that had initially been signed by Warner International Entertainment and subsequently dropped by their purchasers, GT Software, Sensible's days were looking numbered and the owners were looking for a smooth exit.
Though never finished, this final epic project was discussed in certain sections of the media outside of the game press. It was featured in an Independent on Sunday article in the summer of 1997. Two years later in 1999, the pre-rendered music videos - created for the game with animation by Khalifa Saber - were showcased within a feature piece on Ex Machina, a show covering the CG animation
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
scene on .tv.
Another cancelled game that was being developed during this final development period was a PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
action game titled Have a Nice Day. Though screenshots of the game have never been released, the title was a first person shooter, inspired somewhat by the simplicity of Re-Loaded, a "first generation" PlayStation title by Gremlin Interactive
Gremlin Interactive
Gremlin Interactive was a British software house based in Sheffield and working mostly in the home computer market.- History :...
. 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...
has spoken about the project in various interviews, but has never discussed the game's content and gameplay features in depth. Aside from the likelihood that the game contained themes as controversial as Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll, in an interview with Total Video Games Derek dela Fuente, Jon did mention that the title had "hit some technical barriers" during its development. Sensible were not known to have worked on the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
hardware before, which may have made getting to grips with the console's problematic 3D libraries
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
a huge issue for the inexperienced team.
Sensible Software was eventually sold in 1999 to veteran UK games publishers Codemasters
Codemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
and since this date 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...
has maintained a close working relationship with Codemasters
Codemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
designing many games for them including a variety of updates of both Sensible Soccer
Sensible Soccer
Sensible Soccer, often affectionately known as Sensi, is an association football video game series which was highly popular in the early 1990s and which still retains a cult following...
and Cannon Fodder
Cannon Fodder
Cannon Fodder is a short series of war 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...
.
List of games
| Year | Title | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Twister, Mother of Charlotte | 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... |
| 1986 | Parallax | C64 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... |
| Galaxibirds | ||
| 1987 | Wizball Wizball Wizball is a computer game written by Jon Hare and Chris Yates and released in 1987 for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. Versions for the Amiga, Atari ST and PC were also released... |
C64; ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC |
| S.E.U.C.K. Shoot'Em-Up Construction Kit Shoot'Em-Up Construction Kit was a "construction kit" for the Commodore 64, Amiga and Atari ST created by Sensible Software and published by Outlaw in 1987. It allowed the user to make simple shoot 'em ups by drawing sprites and backgrounds and editing attack patterns... |
C64; Amiga | |
| 1988 | Oh No | C64 |
| Microprose Soccer | C64; ZX Spectrum | |
| 1990 | International 3D Tennis | C64; ZX Spectrum; Amiga; ST Atari ST The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals... |
| 1991 | Insects in Space | C64 |
| Mega Lo Mania Mega Lo Mania Mega Lo Mania is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Sensible Software. It was released for the Amiga in 1991, and ported for a variety of other platforms. It was released as Tyrants: Fight Through Time in North America.... |
Amiga; ST; Mega Drive; SNES Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short... ; DOS MS-DOS MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating... |
|
| 1992 | Wizkid | Amiga; ST |
| Sensible Soccer Sensible Soccer Sensible Soccer, often affectionately known as Sensi, is an association football video game series which was highly popular in the early 1990s and which still retains a cult following... |
Amiga; ST; Mega Drive; SNES | |
| Sensible Soccer International Edition | Amiga; ST; Atari Jaguar Atari Jaguar The Atari Jaguar is a video game console that was released by Atari Corporation in 1993. It was the last to be marketed under the Atari brand until the release of the Atari Flashback in 2004. It was designed to surpass the Mega Drive/Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Panasonic... |
|
| Sim Brick Sim Brick Sim Brick is a parody of the popular Sim series of computer games, in particular SimAnt. It was a computer game written in 1991 by Sensible Software and included with Amiga Power issue 13.The game is designed to simulate a brick... |
Amiga | |
| 1993 | Sensible Soccer 92/93 | Amiga; ST |
| Cannon Fodder Cannon Fodder Cannon Fodder is a short series of war 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... |
Amiga; ST; DOS; Archimedes Acorn Archimedes The Acorn Archimedes was Acorn Computers Ltd's first general purpose home computer to be based on their own ARM architecture.Using a RISC design with a 32-bit CPU, at its launch in June 1987, the Archimedes was stated as running at 4 MIPS, with a claim of 18 MIPS during tests.The name is commonly... ; Mega Drive; Atari Jaguar; 3DO |
|
| 1994 | Cannon Fodder 2 | Amiga; DOS |
| Sensible Golf Sensible Golf Sensible Golf was a 2D golf game released by Sensible Software in 1994 for the Amiga.The game featured the same pin-like characters that had previously been used with great success in Sensible Soccer and Cannon Fodder, although upon release it was deemed a commercial failure and received lacklustre... |
||
| Sensible World of Soccer Sensible World of Soccer Sensible World of Soccer was designed and developed by Sensible Software as the 1994 sequel to their 1992 hit game Sensible Soccer which combined a 2D football game with a comprehensive manager mode... |
||
| 1995 | Sensible World of Soccer 95/96 | |
| Sensible Train Spotting Sensible Train Spotting Sensible Train Spotting is a video game by Sensible Software for the Amiga computer. It is Sensible Software's last ever Amiga game and was available only on an Amiga Power cover disk from issue 53, dated September 1995... |
Amiga | |
| 1996 | Sensible World of Soccer European Championship Edition | Amiga; DOS |
| Sensible World of Soccer 96/97 | ||
| 1998 | Sensible Soccer 98 | DOS; Windows 9x Windows 9x Windows 9x is a generic term referring to a series of Microsoft Windows computer operating systems produced since 1995, which were based on the original and later modified Windows 95 kernel... |
| 1999 | Sensible Soccer 98 European Club Edition | PlayStation PlayStation The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000... ; Windows 9x |
| 2000 | Cannon Fodder | 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... |