Red Shift (publisher)

Infobox Defunct Company
company_name = Red Shift
company_
fate = Main investor stopped supporting
successor = Games Workshop
foundation = 1983
defunct = 1985
location = Stoke Newington, London [Red Shift advertising from Personal Computer Games issue 3 page 104]
industry = Video games
key_people =
products = Strategy video games
num_employees =
parent =
subsid =

Red Shift was a video game publisher active between 1983 and 1985. They were well known for their strategy games [http://www.crashonline.org.uk/09/gw.htm "From Tin Soldiers to Computer Games"] ; "CRASH" issue 9, October 1984; retrieved from CRASH The Online Edition] and had a close working relationship with Julian Gollop and Games Workshop. [cite web |url=http://chaosquad.mediacorporation.net/bio.html |title=Julian Gollop Biography |accessdate=2007-08-19 |format= |work=Chaos Squad]

History

Red Shift's two initial releases were designed, but not coded, by Gollop just after he left school ("Time Lords" and "Islandia"). Subsequently, Gollop learnt to program himself, designing and coding "Nebula" and "Rebelstar Raiders" for Red Shift. [cite web |url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=46987 |title=Games that changed the World: X-Com |accessdate=2007-08-19 |format= |work=computerandvideogames.com ]

"Apocalypse" and its two expansion packs were produced under license from Games Workshop, being based on of their board game, "Apocalypse".

In 1984, a group of Harlow-based Red Shift programmers split off to form SLUG. They continued to program under license from Games Workshop (producing Spectrum versions of their board games "Battlecars" and "Talisman".)

By 1985 Red Shift had a range of different strategy titles that appealed to fans of that genre turning to more intelligent and demanding games. [ [http://www.crashonline.org.uk/12/news.htm News, The 14th ZX Microfair] from CRASH issue 12, Christmas Special 1984/85; retrieved from CRASH The Online Edition]

Red Shift closed after their main investor stopped supporting the team. Some staff moved on to Games Workshop.

List of games

Red Shift produced eight games between 1983 and 1985 for the ZX Spectrum and BBC Micro. [ [http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekpub.cgi?regexp=^Red+Shift+Ltd$&loadpics=on Red Shift] at World of Spectrum]

*"Apocalypse" (1983), ZX Spectrum and BBC Micro – based on the Games Workshop board game.
*"Time Lords" (1983), BBC Micro – based on a paper and dice game.
*"Islandia" (1984), BBC Micro - a "Risk"-style game.
*"Nebula" (1984), ZX Spectrum
*"Rebelstar Raiders" (1984), ZX Spectrum
*"First Empire" (1984), ZX Spectrum – a table-top computer-moderated war game. [WoS game|name=First Empire|id=0009734]
*"City of Death" (1985), ZX Spectrum – a graphic adventure game by Peter and George Carmpouloni. [WoS game|name=City of Death|id=0000977]
*"The Tripods" (1985), ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro and Amstrad CPC – a graphic adventure designed by Watermill Productions and licenced by BBC Enterprises, based on the BBC TV series of the same name. [WoS game|name=The Tripods|id=0005417]

In addition, three expansion packs for "Apocalypse" were released in 1984.

References