Games
We talk to the creators of cult classic Speedball about their rise to fame - and their return.
It's little wonder that games design is such an appealing career path these days - after all, it seems like you only have to put together an simplistic and additive concept like Flappy Bird and you're a millionaire almost overnight - but game developers haven't always had it so good. In the early years of the industry, much coding was done in dimly-lit bedrooms by tech-savvy teens looking for an escape from the grim inevitability of "proper" employment.
As the market for games started to grow and mature, that changed - the amazing amounts of money changing hands ensured that the profession acquired a rather more attractive lustre, and suddenly those same quiet coders were driving around in expensive sports cars. This image change was due in no small part to studios like The Bitmap Brothers, arguably the first Western development house to acquire the kind of status usually reserved for rockstars. Many of the studio's titles - including Xenon 2, The Chaos Engine and Speedball 2, the latter of which has recently been given the HD treatment on PC - have all gone on to be cult classics, regarded by many as some of the best games of the late 80s and early 90s.
"It stemmed from getting fed up with publishers taking all the credit for games and the dev teams made to look like nerds," says Bitmap Brothers co-founder Mike Montgomery when asked about why his company took such a different approach to its rivals. "You don’t go to a music shop and ask for an Apple CD - you ask for a Beatles album. So we hired our own photographer and took some cool photos and set them to all the magazines, and to our delight and surprise they all printed them. When we signed a publishing contract with Mirrorsoft, it was written into the contract that they had to promote 'The Bitmap Brothers' as much as the game, and we had ultimate control over that." By creating a desirable and cool image, the Bitmaps gained a level of fame that developers of the period simply hadn't witnessed before.
Montgomery's route into development was typical of the era; he started making games in his spare time. "I was actually a manager at Woolworth’s before I made the jump," he tells Red Bull UK. "When they first got a computer it was a huge change - everything was done manually until then, but I loved the idea of computers, so I bought some software and learnt how to program in my spare time. It soon became an obsession. When I wasn’t at my day job, I was coding. Of course in those days very few people were interested in computers, so I had no idea how good I was. I decided to apply for a job just to find out, but to my surprise I actually got it! Very soon I was earning more money and I quickly progressed to becoming a lead programmer managing my own team." The Bitmap Brothers was founded in 1987 by Montgomery, Eric Matthews and Steve Kelly.
The Bitmaps knew they had talent, but they still needed to get themselves recognised in what was fast becoming a crowded marketplace. It would be a late '80s UK children's television show by the name of Get Fresh which would provide the new company with its big break. The programme contained a segment where viewers would play a vertically-scrolling shooter live on TV by shouting commands down the phone. That game was Xenon, the first title to be produced by the fledgling Bitmaps. "I did some work for a guy who used a Commodore Amiga to do a game show on TV," Montgomery explains. "I did this for free, and whilst he was in a meeting with the producers of Get Fresh, the idea of playing a video game on TV was discussed. Needless to say, he returned the favour." Being on prime-time TV afforded the kind of publicity that money simply couldn't buy - not that the studio was shy about creating its own hype, of course.
An enduring image exists of the Montgomery, Matthews and Kelly standing next to a privately-owned helicopter - the epitome of fame and fortune. It seemed to sum up what the studio was all about, and where the games industry as a whole was headed - however, as Montgomery reveals, the reality behind that stylish image is somewhat different. For starters, the helicopter wasn't theirs - it was owned by the late Robert Maxwell, the media tycoon behind Mirrorsoft, which published the games created by the Bitmaps.
"We never did meet Robert Maxwell," Montgomery admits. "The day we got permission to use his helicopter for the photo-shoot was a nightmare, as we had only twenty minutes to do it before it was wrapped up and we had no idea what time this would be. Robert was at an Epsom race horse meeting that day, so we had to wait with our photographer from about midday until he landed on the top floor of the Maxwell building. It was a stroke of luck that he landed just as the sun went down, which of course made the pictures even better."
The Bitmap Brothers would follow Xenon with Speedball (1988) (Think no holds barred ice hockey played with scythes), Xenon II: Megablast (1989) and Cadaver (1990), all of which came to the popular home computer formats of the period and showcased the studio's trademark "chrome" visual style. This striking artistic choice - which looked especially effective on the 16-bit home computers of the period - was an intentional move to make the games unique in terms of aesthetics as well as gameplay. "Our philosophy was that not only did the game's visual style have to be the best, but so too did all the other elements," Montgomery says. "Everything had to be great."
1990 would bring what many regard as the best Bitmap Brothers title: Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe. Like its predecessor, it was heavily influenced by the Hollywood movie Rollerball, and featured a futuristic sport that played like a cross between American Football and Soccer. The game was a commercial and critical smash-hit. "We are very lucky in that our titles have done well and people recall them with fond memories," Montgomery replies when asked about the continued adulation that Speedball 2 attracts from players. "It’s humbling that our games stand the test of time and are still considered by many as some of the best ever."
Around the same time, Montgomery, Matthews and Kelly decided that it was time to take publishing into their own hands, and founded Renegade Software to handle the distribution of their own titles, as well as those of other developers. This approach came about due to the establishment of another famous Bitmap Brothers trademark: the use of professional artists when it came to in-game music. "We came up with the idea one day and thought we’d see if it worked out," say Montgomery. "We chose some bands and contacted them to see if they were interested in working with us and it proved fruitful, whilst evoking their interest in game development. Renegade Software really developed through our friendship with record publisher Rhythm King Records, who helped us get some of the music."
Renegade would go on to publish games created by the legendary British studio Sensible Software, such as Sensible Soccer and Sensible World of Soccer, as well as other seminal 16-bit titles such as Turrican 3, Flight of the Amazon Queen and Elfmania. It would of course also release subsequent Bitmap Brothers classics, including Gods and The Chaos Engine.
The foundation of Renegade was timely. By the middle of the '90s the games industry was exploding, and many media giants were opening their wallets, looking to make their own routes into this potentially lucrative business. Renegade, with its enviable track record and stable of hits, was ripe for acquisition and Warner Interactive Entertainment - operated by multinational media giant Time Warner - was the company which came knocking in 1995. "For me, it was a shame that we sold it, but when someone makes you an offer you can’t refuse, what can you say?" Montgomery explains. "The biggest problem for us was that we now had to find a new publisher, which was hard as it always has been."
Despite the sale of Renegade, The Bitmap Brothers and Sensible Software would continue to enjoy a relationship - although not in quite the way you might expect. Montgomery and Jon Hare - one of the founders of Sensible Software - set up a new company in 2004. "Jon and I have been friends for so long it makes me feel old!" laughs Montgomery. "We started Tower Studios with John Phillips - former technical director at The Bitmap Brothers - to make mobile games before smartphones took over the market. We did well for two years, then interest in mobile development nose dived and there was simply not enough money for the three of us, so John and I moved on."
Jon Hare has since taken over the reins, and continues to maintain ties with Montgomery. "Business wise, Mike and I go back as far as Sensible Soccer, which his company Renegade published for me." says Hare. "Years later, we swapped roles and I was publishing Speedball for Mike under the Tower label. Now I look after some Bitmap titles for Mike, find developers and publishers he approves of and then I manage all the design and contracts, and work to bring the games to market." There's clearly a strong relationship - as well as a lot of respect - between these two giants of British games design. "It's been great working with Jon over the last few years on Speedball 2," says Montgomery. "He appreciates what it means to me." Montgomery now has sole control of the Bitmap Brothers brand and its associated IP, and explains that the company exists now in name only.
Speedball 2's recent PC-based HD remaster is typical of the kind of project Montgomery and Hare are involved in these days. Developed by an external studio - Poland's Vivid Games - this update looks to improve on what has gone before but at the same time harness the intense love fans have for the series. "Aesthetically, the main improvements are HD graphics and some special effects," explains Hare. "The game contains teams from four different planets. In career mode you start with the regular teams like Brutal Deluxe and Super Nashwan, but as you get better you enter intergalactic cups against the rest of the teams. There's a great multiplayer mode and the ability to customize competitions for up to eight players - plus you can change formations to be more defensive or more attacking before or during play."
Another classic Bitmap Brothers title which has recently gone under the surgeon's knife is 1993's steampunk shooter The Chaos Engine, which saw a re-release last year, courtesy of Dutch studio Abstraction Games. In this instance, it was Abstraction which pitched the idea, but Montgomery was keen to ensure that the finished product would reflect the same values as the esteemed original before giving the project the green light.
"I have been dealing with external studios for many years and my main concern when working on The Chaos Engine was that we stay true to the original gameplay and feel without losing its style in the restoration process," he says. "When the team at Abstraction approached me, it was clear they understood the Bitmap philosophy and shared the passion for the game as The Chaos Engine was a title they grew up with. As many developers have said, their fondness for The Chaos Engine and other Bitmap titles is the reason they went on to work in the industry. I have been very hands-on; I test the game, help with the design and also make sure that the quality is one hundred percent."
Montgomery may have been intimately involved with these collaborations, but it's still not quite the same as the good old days, where he was the one doing all of the heavy lifting. Has he ever been tempted to get back behind the keyboard and resurrect The Bitmap Brothers as a proper studio once more? The industry veteran pauses before answering that question. "I have been involved with many studios for a long time," he says. "Will I open The Bitmap Brothers again? I'm not sure, but you will be seeing new versions of the classic games coming out very soon. There has been a lot of interest in bringing some of the other Bitmap titles to modern formats, so who knows what the future will bring?"
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