Birmingham-based Adventuresoft UK was founded by Mike Woodroffe.
They started with porting Scott Adams games to the Spectrum, under the Adventure International UK name licensed from Scott. Brian Howarth was hired because he had a Z80-based engine for Scott Adams databases which he wrote for his Mysterious Adventures. The engine for the block-drawn gfx was designed by Graham Lilley.
The story goes that they started developing their own games when there weren't any new Scott Adams-written games left to port. That's unlikely though, since they only did graphics ports of about 10 of his 18 text adventures. In any case, in 1985 they started publishing their own games under the Adventuresoft UK name.
Originally they did their own distribution, later some games were distributed by Newcastle-based Tynesoft, and from 1987 onwards distribution was handled via U.S. Gold.
| Game | Series | Released | Interpreter | Author | GFX by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adventureland | SAGA 01 | Q3/1984 | Brian Howarth | Scott Adams | ? | |
| Pirate Adventure | SAGA 02 | Q3/1984 | Mak Jukic | Scott Adams | ? | |
| Secret Mission | SAGA 03 | Q3/1984 | Brian Howarth | Scott Adams | Julian Howell | |
| The Hulk | Questprobe 1 | Q3/1984 | Mak Jukic | Scott Adams | Teoman Irmak | |
| Sorcerer of
Claymorgue Castle |
SAGA 13 | Q3/1984 | Brian Howarth | Scott Adams | Teoman Irmak | |
| Voodoo Castle | SAGA 04 | Q4/1984 | Mak Jukic | Scott Adams | ? | |
| Spider-Man | Questprobe 2 | Q4/1984 | Brian Howarth | Scott Adams | Teoman Irmak | |
| Savage Island 1 | SAGA 10 | Q4/1984
(or Q4/87?) |
Brian Howarth | Scott Adams | Jon Blacow | distributed by Tynesoft
(dates of this one are very unclear) |
| Savage Island 2 | SAGA 11 | Q1/1985
(or Q4/87?) |
Brian Howarth | Scott Adams | Jon Blacow | distributed by Tynesoft
(dates of this one are very unclear) |
| Super Gran -
The Adventure |
1985 | Brian Howarth | Brian Howarth,
Mike Woodroffe |
Jon Blacow | distributed by Tynesoft | |
| Gremlins -
The Adventure |
Q2/1985 | Brian Howarth | Brian Howarth | Teoman Irmak | German and Spanish version also published | |
| Robin of Sherwood a.k.a.
Touchstones Of Rhiannon |
Q3/1985 | Brian Howarth | Mike Woodroffe,
Brian Howarth |
Teoman Irmak | ||
| Seas of Blood | Fighting
Fantasy 1 |
Q3/1985 | Brian Howarth | Mike Woodroffe,
Alan Cox |
Teoman Irmak
(Alan Cox did the crab pic) |
|
| Lone Survivor | 1985 | Brian Howarth | Brian Howarth | - | distributed by Tynesoft
apparently there was no gfx version of this one (or maybe it belongs to the MA series?) |
From now on, a new engine was used, presumable the one written by Roger Taylor. Taylor programmed adventures published by Melbourne House, first using The Quill (Hampstead), later using his own rewritten Quill version (Terrormolinos, Dodgy Geezers[?]).
| Game | Series | Released | Interpreter | Author | GFX by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Human Torch & The Thing
a.k.a. Fantastic Four |
Questprobe 3 | Q3/1985 | Roger Taylor | Scott Adams | (Teoman Irmak?) | |
| Blizzard Pass | 1986
(or 87) |
Roger Taylor | Alan Cox | Alan Cox | only ran on 128k Spectrums
(there was a 48k version that remained unreleased) |
|
| Rebel Planet | Fighting
Fantasy 2 |
Q3/1986 | Roger Taylor | Stefan Ufnowski | Stefan Ufnowski | |
| Kayleth | Q1/1987 | Roger Taylor | Stefan Ufnowski,
Ann Ufnowski |
Stefan Ufnowski | ||
| The Temple of Terror | Fighting
Fantasy 3 |
Q2/1987 | Roger Taylor | Simon Woodroffe,
Mike Woodroffe, Graham Lilley |
Teoman Irmak | |
| HeMan a.k.a
Terraquake a.k.a. Masters of the Universe |
Q3/1987 | Roger Taylor | Stefan Ufnowski,
Graham Lilley, Mike Woodroffe |
Teoman Irmak | ||
| Sword of the Samurai | Fighting
Fantasy 4 |
[Q3/1987] | Roger Taylor | ? | unreleased/unfinished | |
| Devils of the Deep | Fighting
Fantasy 5 or 6 |
- | Roger Taylor | - | unreleased/unfinished
(playable text-only version existed) |
|
| Appointment with F.E.A.R. | Fighting
Fantasy 5 or 6 |
- | Roger Taylor | ? | unreleased/unfinished | |
| Heroes of the Lance | Q1/1989 | ?? | Teoman Irmak | probably doesn't use the old system anymore |