Winter Camp is the 1992 sequel to the popular Summer Camp. Both were ‘auteur pieces’ on the Commodore 64, with John D. Ferrari doing design, programming, and graphics on both releases.
Category Archives: Thalamus
Summer Camp, Commodore 64
Summer Camp is an old school platform game that came out towards the end of the C64‘s life – 1990 to be precise.
It’s a cartoony collect ’em up in the style of Manic Miner, although in this you play Maximus Mouse trying to collect pieces of a blueprint.
Creatures, Commodore 64
Also known as “Clive Radcliffe Exterminates All The Unfriendly Repulsive Earth-ridden Slime“, Creatures is a beautifully-realised platform/puzzle game with colourful graphics and challenging gameplay.
The game was programmed by John Rowlands, with graphics by Steve Rowlands, and was published by Thalamus in 1990.
Retrograde, Commodore 64
Developed by Apex Computer Productions, in association with Transmission Software, and published by Thalamus in 1989, Retrograde is a side-scrolling, progressive weapons shooter written by the same guys who made Creatures.
Retrograde came before Creatures, though.
Hunter’s Moon, Commodore 64
Hunter’s Moon is a multi-directional scrolling shooter by Martin Walker, published by Thalamus for the Commodore 64 in 1987.
Armalyte, Atari ST
Armalyte is a 1991 conversion of the classic Commodore 64 shooter by Cyberdyne Systems.
Actually, it’s not really a conversion – more a ‘re-imagining’. More accurately: a ruining…
Armalyte, Commodore 64
Developed by Cyberdyne Systems and published by Thalamus (the software arm of Newsfield Publishing), Armalyte is known for its furious blasting action, and it’s wonderfully detailed and atmospheric graphics.
Considering that it was squeezed into 64K (less, actually), it is a remarkable achievement.
A sequel was planned, but the guy who did the graphics in the first game (Robin Levy) left Cyberdyne and as a result the game was canned. One Armalyte is enough, I think, though. There’s only so far you can take this type of game – even with rose-tinted spectacles…
More: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armalyte
Armalyte C64 title screen.
Armalyte is clearly influenced by Irem’s R-Type.
The graphics are beautifully drawn, but it is the use of colour that differentiates the levels.
Armalyte is one of a number of great C64 shoot ’em ups from publisher Thalamus.
The end of level bosses are not particularly original, but they all do their job quite well.
Every progressive shooter has a straight laser type weapon.
The Armalyte craft can acquire extra satellite pods that expand it’s firing spread. Just like in every other shooter made at the time.
Robin Levy was the artist responsible for the excellent Armalyte graphics.
Another Armalyte end of level boss. This one clearly HR Giger influenced.
How the hell am I supposed to fit through that gap?!
Racked-up a score of almost eight million.
