Hewson Consultants
Hewson Consultants were one of the smaller software companies which produced games for home computers in the mid-1980s. They had a reputation for high-quality games which continually pushed the boundaries of what the computers were capable of and can be compared favourably with other ground-breaking software houses like Ultimate Play the Game and Beyond. Fourteen of their games were awarded "Megagame" by Your Sinclair.[1]
Hewson was founded by Andrew Hewson in the early 1980s. He became interested in computers while working at the British Museum when their first machine arrived.[2] After learning to program, Andrew wrote the programming guide book Hints and Tips for the ZX80.[2] Following the publication, bedroom coders began to send Andrew the games they had programmed on cassette tape, giving Andrew the idea to publish the games. Hewson Consultants was born, and initially released games via mail order advertisements in computing magazines.[2] Andrew was also a columnist in Sinclair User magazine throughout the 1980s.[2]
Andrew and other members of the Hewson management team went on to form 21st Century Entertainment[3] after Hewson shut down in the early 1990s, releasing several chart topping games such as Pinball Dreams,[3] Pinball Fantasies and Pinball Illusions. Andrew was also the founder of ELSPA (European Leisure Software Publishers Association) which continues to be the European regulating body for the video games industry.
Although Hewson Consultants closed in 1991, their games are still covered in the retro gaming press, and many of their hit titles, including Uridium, Paradroid, Nebulus and Cybernoid, have recently launched on Nintendo's Virtual Console game download service. Pinball Dreams and Pinball Fantasies have also now been released as iPhone apps.
In 2013 Hewson Consultants Ltd was re-formed to launch a Kickstarter campaign for a book by founder Andrew Hewson about his experiences in the industry.[3] The book has a planned release date of early 2015.[4] On May 8, 2015 Hewson Consultants released a digital soundtrack album featuring remakes of title tracks from 10 Hewson Consultants games.[4]
They were heavily involved with the design team Graftgold who produced many of their titles.[5]
Releases
- Space Intruders - 1981 - Space Invaders clone for the ZX81
- Pilot - 1982
- Quest Adventure - 1983
- 3D Space-Wars - 1983
- 3D Seiddab Attack - 1984
- 3D Lunattack - 1984 - Reviewed in Crash issue 4 - 90%
- Avalon - 1984 - Reviewed in Crash issue 10 - 91%
- Technician Ted - 1984 - Reviewed in Crash issue 13 - 96%
- Dragontorc - 1985
- Astro Clone - 1985
- Paradroid - 1985
- Gribbly's Day Out - 1985
- Firelord - 1986
- Pyracurse - 1986
- Quazatron - 1986
- Southern Belle - 1986
- Uridium - 1986
- Technician Ted: The Megamix - 1986
- Cybernoid - 1987
- Exolon - 1987
- Zynaps - 1987
- Impossaball - 1987
- Nebulus - 1987
- Ranarama - 1987
- Evening Star - 1987
- Netherworld - 1988
- Cybernoid II: The Revenge - 1988
- Marauder - 1988
- Zamzara - 1988
- Eliminator - 1988
- Stormlord - 1989
- Astaroth - 1989
- Onslaught - 1989
- Deliverance - 1990
- Insects in Space - 1990
- Zarathrusta - 1991
References
- ↑ "Company Softography". Ysrnry.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
- 1 2 3 4 One Life Left. Season 9. Episode 6. 2013-10-14. Resonance FM.
- 1 2 3 "Hints & Tips for Videogame Pioneers by Andrew Hewson & Rob Hewson « My Commodore 64". Mycommodore64.com. 2013-10-28. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
- 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
- ↑ "For the best in C64 nostalgia". C64.COM. Retrieved 2016-08-07.