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Thalamus Ltd (also known as Thalamus) was a British computer game developer that published titles for a number of 8-bit and 16-bit platforms during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
History
To take advantage of their position as a leading publisher of computer game magazines during the mid-1980s, Newsfield Publications Ltd created their own software publishing label, Thalamus Ltd, in 1986.
Thalamus capitalised on the success of the Commodore 64 gaming scene by releasing their first batch of titles on this platform. Having established numerous contacts within the C64 development scene through the popularity of their Zzap!64 gaming magazine, Thalamus were able to sign up Finnish programmer Stavros Fasoulas to develop their first three titles, Sanxion, Delta and Quedex. Legendary C64 musician Rob Hubbard came on board to provide the music for the first two titles, while Matt Gray provided the music for Quedex.
The loading music that accompanied the C64 version of Sanxion proved to be so popular amongst fans that Zzap!64 later included a full synthesised version of Rob Hubbard's classic tune on one of their cover cassettes.
The C64 version of Delta popularised the concept of the Mix-E-Load loading system. Provided as standard on the cassette versions of each game (and as a bonus on the floppy disk versions), the Mix-E-Load system allowed players to remix the loading music of the game, in real time, as the main program loaded in the background.
Stavros Fasoulas was later recalled to Finland to serve in the National Guard, so for their next release Thalamus turned to upcoming C64 programmer Martin Walker. Having already programmed a number of well-received C64 titles, namely Rupert and the Toymaker's Party, Chameleon and Back to the Future, Martin Walker delivered an innovative puzzle/shooter hybrid named Hunter's Moon. Despite a favourable response from critics and gamers alike, the game didn't sell as well as previous Thalamus titles.
In the second half of 1988, Thalamus returned from a period of relative silence with two new titles. Hawkeye marked the commercial debut of The Boys Without Brains, a Dutch collective who had already made a name for themselves within the C64 demo scene. The game was an above average side-scroller with colourful graphics and an impressive soundtrack from Jeroen Tel. Armalyte was originally conceived as a sequel to Delta but later assumed its own unique identity. The first Thalamus game to be awarded a Gold Medal by Zzap!64, Armalyte was an impressive shoot-em up in the spirit of R-Type.
As the 1980s drew to a close, Thalamus continued to release a strong line-up of C64 games, including the surreal puzzle/shooter Snare, an impressive horizontal scroller, Retrograde, from the Rowlands brothers and Heatseaker, another original spin on the shoot-em up genre. A brief experimentation with the ZX Spectrum format saw conversions of Sanxion and Delta being released, but by this time the Spectrum market was in decline and Thalamus decided to halt development of a number of Spectrum projects. The title Thalamus were most reluctant to cut was The Search for Sharla, an epic exploration game that intended to combine the best elements of Spectrum classics such as Lords of Midnight and Driller.
Thalamus entered the 1990s with a few more strong C64 titles, including Creatures and Creatures 2 from the Rowlands brothers, as well as the cartoon-style platformers Summer Camp and Winter Camp. But a multitude of problems began to overcome the company, threatening their demise. In 1991, Newsfield ran into serious financial trouble when their youth-orientated LM magazine went way over budget and failed to ignite the interest of its intended demographic. Newsfield were forced to halt publication of their popular gaming magazines. Europress stepped in to save the magazines, but they slowly died out over the next year or two as their respective markets dwindled.
Thalamus managed to survive the liquidation of Newsfield, but funds were running low. With 8-bit gaming being superceded by 16-bit gaming, production costs were rising, forcing hundreds of independent publishers, such as Thalamus, to either close down or allow themselves to be consumed by a publishing giant. Thalamus released their final C64 game, Nobby the Aardvark in 1993, but it was too little too late. With their various Amiga projects spiralling out of budget and no further income, Thalamus had no choice but to close down their operations.
Softography
Commercial releases
- Sanxion (1986, C64)
- Delta (1987, C64)
- Quedex (1987, C64)
- Hunter's Moon (1987, C64)
- Armalyte (aka Delta 2) (1988, C64)
- Armalyte: Competition Edition (1988, C64)
- Hawkeye (1988, C64)
- Snare (1989, C64)
- Retrograde (1989, C64)
- Sanxion: The Spectrum Remix (1989, Spectrum/Spectrum 128)
- Hawkeye (1989, Amiga)
- Armalyte (1990, Amstrad CPC)
- Q8 Team Ford Rally Simulation (1990, Amstrad CPC)
- Delta Charge (1990, Spectrum)
- Creatures (1990, C64)
- Summer Camp (1990, C64)
- Heatseeker (1990, C64)
- Venom Wing (1990, Amiga)
- Armalyte: The Final Run (1991, Amiga)
- Creatures II: Torture Trouble (1992, C64)
- Winter Camp (1992, C64)
- Borobodur (1992, Amiga)
- Nobby the Aardvark (1993, C64)
- Mindroll (1990, Amiga)
- Creatures (1993, Amiga)
- S.U.B. (1993, Amiga/PC)
Unreleased titles
- Q8 Team Ford Rally Simulation (1990, Spectrum)
- The Search for Sharla (1990, Spectrum)
- Creatures (1990, Spectrum)
- Armalyte (1990, Spectrum)
- Armalyte II (1990, C64)
- Bombuzal (1990, Spectrum)
- Delta Patrol (1992, Amiga)
- Arsenal FC (1992, Amiga)
- Beastmaster (1992, Amiga)
- Winter Camp (1992, Amiga)
- Nobby the Aardvark (1992, Amiga)
- Street Warriors (1993, Amiga)
- Restrictor (1993, Amiga)
External links
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