Back in 1984 in the UK there was an infamous, historic miner’s strike that lasted for over a year and caused hardship for many communities. Rather than sit and spectate, young Peter Harrap wrote a satirical platform game about a mining mole and published it, with all the profits going to help the struggling, striking miners. That game was Wanted: Monty Mole, and it launched Pete Harrap on his career making video games, and also the Monty Mole ‘franchise’. Although I can’t really call it a franchise because it wasn’t. It was simply a series of games.
Tag Archives: 1984
Lode Runner, MSX
There isn’t a great deal of information available about Lode Runner on the MSX. From what I can tell, Broderbund themselves developed it, with some Japanese help. Sony published it in Japan in 1984.
Lode Runner, BBC Micro
Lode Runner on the BBC Micro was part of the Software Projects conversion releases of 1984 and is another fine release on the Lode Runner franchise train.
Lode Runner, ZX Spectrum
Part of the later Software Projects UK releases, Lode Runner was first made available on the ZX Spectrum in 1984.
The small graphics and precise gameplay are perfectly suited to the Spectrum and as a result the game enjoyed some success on the system.
Lode Runner, NES
The 1984 NES version is the only one of the early releases of Lode Runner to feature scrolling levels.
Lode Runner, Arcade
The 1984 arcade version of Lode Runner was made by Irem Corporation of Japan and features, bigger, cuter graphics than the Broderbund original, but still the same great gameplay.
Lode Runner, Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 conversion of Lode Runner was a member of the original Broderbund releases of 1983 , with designer Doug Smith being ably assisted by Dane Bigham in this instance.
Excitebike, NES
Nintendo‘s fun motocross racing game on the NES, Excitebike, was designed by legendary Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto.
Excitebike was a launch title for both the Japanese and American release of the Nintendo Entertainment System video game console, in 1984 and 1985 respectively.
Defender II, Atari 2600
The original Defender on the Atari 2600 is rubbish, but Defender II is the shizzle.
Hercules, Commodore 64
Steve Bak‘s insane-but-fun platform game, Hercules, was first released on the Commodore 64 by Interdisc in 1984. By “insane” I mean: the game is deliberately deceptive to the point of driving the player to insanity! 🙂
The King of Grabs 