Editing Jeff Minter (section)

==Game development career==

===Pre-commercial career (early years)===
Minter began programming computers at a young age. He wrote the game ''Deflex'' for the [[Commodore PET]] in 1979.<ref name="minotaurproject.co.uk">{{cite web|url=http://minotaurproject.co.uk/blog/?p=302|title=Skeletons in the Closet: my own early Vic 20 efforts|work=minotaurproject.co.uk}}</ref> However it would not be until a long illness during a university year that Minter's talents would develop in any meaningful way. Following a three-month stint due to a sudden eruption of [[pericarditis]], in which Minter was restricted to lying on his back and was confined to his bed between November 1981 and January 1982, boredom led him to take up computer programming in earnest to pass the time.<ref name="homecomputing">"Business Born in Bed". Home Computing Weekly Issue 4, 29 March – 4 April 1983 on page 11</ref>

Upon recovery, Minter teamed up with Richard Jones, a fellow pupil, and together they started writing their own games on their school's Commodore PET.<ref name=ls-history-part-7/> They soon parted ways. Jones went on to commercial projects, some of them in the software market (e.g., ''[[Interceptor Micros]]'').

===Commercial 8-bit games===
In 1981 Minter started independently writing and selling video games for the [[ZX80]], the first machine he owned.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kotaku.co.uk/2017/01/13/britsoft-focus-jeff-minter|title = Britsoft focus jeff minter}}</ref> Some were made for software company dk'tronics.<ref name="dadgum.com">{{cite web|url=https://dadgum.com/halcyon/BOOK/MINTER.HTM|title=Jeff Minter|work=Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers}}</ref> These titles were sold as a package but this was not available for very long, as Minter left the company following a royalties dispute.<ref name="minotaurproject.co.uk"/> He formed a partnership with his mother, Hazel Minter. Together they developed and commercially produced 20 games for the [[ZX81]], [[VIC-20]], [[Atari 8-bit computers]], [[ZX Spectrum]], and [[Commodore 64]]. Having been studying physics at the [[University of East Anglia]], success in the programming industry prompted him to drop his studies and take up video game development full-time.<ref name="homecomputing" />

The following year, he founded the [[software house]] Llamasoft.<ref name="eg61208">{{cite web|last=Purchese|first=Robert |title=Llamasoft's Jeff Minter -Interview|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/llamasofts-jeff-minter-interview|website=Eurogamer|access-date=19 September 2010|date=16 December 2008}}</ref> His first Llamasoft game was a ''[[Defender (1981 video game)|Defender]]'' clone for the VIC-20 called ''Andes Attack'' (US version: ''Aggressor''). In ''Andes Attack'', little llamas advanced upon and attacked the player instead of the spaceships from ''Defender''. As a fan of ''Defender'', Minter would [[Video game remake|remake]] it again as ''Defender 2000''. Through the Brighton-based software house, Salamander Software, Minter had his games written for the Spectrum and other home microcomputers. It was Mr S.A. Tenquist who was responsible for the ZX Spectrum 16K version of ''[[Gridrunner]]''. The conversion was released and published for Christmas 1983 by [[Quicksilva]] Ltd., UK. Jeff Minter's original Commodore version was written in a week<ref>{{cite journal|last=Krouwel|first=Andy|date=January 2005|title=Clearly Minter|url=http://www.sockmonsters.com/ClearlyMinter.html|journal=Retro Gamer|issue=12|access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> and marked his first commercial success both in the UK and in the US.

Minter went on to develop a number of games for the [[Commodore 64]], [[Atari 8-bit computers]], and [[Atari ST]] which were marketed by word of mouth and [[computer magazine|magazine]] advertisements. These included ''Gridrunner'', ''Abductor'', ''Matrix: Gridrunner 2'', ''Hellgate'', ''[[Hover Bovver]]'', ''[[Attack of the Mutant Camels]]'', ''[[Revenge of the Mutant Camels]]'', ''Return of the Mutant Camels'', ''Laser Zone'', ''Mama Llama'', ''Metagalactic Llamas Battle at the Edge of Time'', ''[[Sheep in Space]]'', ''Voidrunner'', and ''Iridis Alpha''.

===Post 8-bit work===
[[Image:Nuon-N2000-wController-R.jpg|thumb|left|Minter developed ''[[Tempest 3000]]'' and the second [[Virtual Light Machine]] for the [[Nuon (DVD technology)|Nuon]] game system.]]

In 1989, Minter helped{{Vague|date=July 2020}} in the production of the [[Konix Multisystem]] console.

Minter worked for [[Atari]]<ref name="dadgum.com"/> and [[VM Labs]]. For Atari he produced ''Tempest 2000'' (1994) on the [[Atari Jaguar|Jaguar]]. It was a remake of [[Dave Theurer]]'s 1981 ''[[Tempest (video game)|Tempest]]''. He followed it with ''[[Defender 2000]]'' (1995) on the Jaguar, a remake of the 1981 arcade game. Listing Minter in their "75 Most Important People in the Games Industry of 1995", ''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' called him the Jaguar's "leading developer".<ref>{{cite journal|title=75 Power Players|journal=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=11|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|date=November 1995|page=51}}</ref> Minter also produced the ''[[Virtual Light Machine]]'' (''VLM-1'') for the [[Jaguar CD]] add-on.<ref>{{cite journal|title=WCES: The Calm Before the Storm |journal=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=3|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|date=March 1995|pages=18–19|quote=Once again, Jeff Minter's efforts paid off, though, and his ''Virtual Light Machine'' which comes packed into the Jaguar CD's hardware unit delivers a psychedelic enough experience for any audio CD-playing, Jaguar-owning hippies.}}</ref> For VM Labs he created the ''[[Virtual Light Machine|VLM-2]]'' and ''[[Tempest 3000]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sheffield|first1=Brandon|title=Llamas in Space: Catching Up with Llamasoft's Jeff Minter |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/129999/llamas_in_space_catching_up_with_.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509033340/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/129999/llamas_in_space_catching_up_with_.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 May 2012|website=Gamasutra|access-date=18 May 2016|page=1|date=4 April 2007}}</ref>

Minter then wrote games for the [[Pocket PC]] platform, some of which also have Windows conversions: ''Deflex'', ''[[Hover Bovver|Hover Bovver 2: Grand Theft Flymo]]'' (a reinterpretation of his own 1984 game, ''Hover Bovver''), and ''[[Gridrunner++]]''.

[[Image:Jeff minter at asm04.JPG|thumb|Jeff Minter at [[Assembly demo party|Assembly 2004]]]]

In 2002, he began work on a [[music video game]] for the [[GameCube]] to be called ''[[Unity (video game)|Unity]]''. Using the newest version of his ''[[Virtual Light Machine|VLM]]'', the ''VLM-3'' or ''[[Neon (light synthesizer)|Neon]]'', ''Unity'' was to combine the two main threads of Minter's prior career: light synthesis and classic arcade style shooting. Minter was involved in writing this game for [[Lionhead Studios]] throughout 2003. The project was cancelled in December 2004. ''Neon''  has since been reprogrammed and significantly expanded and is used in [[Xbox 360]] media visualisation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/655/655146p3.html |title=X05: Live in the Next Generation – IGN |date=3 October 2005 |publisher=Xbox360.ign.com |access-date=2 August 2013}}</ref>

In 2007 Minter released ''[[Space Giraffe]]'', an action video game with similarities to ''[[Tempest (video game)|Tempest]]''. ''Space Giraffe'' was released for Xbox 360 through [[Xbox Live Arcade]].

In 2008 it was announced at the [[Tokyo Game Show]] that designers at Llamasoft were working on the visualisation aspects of the Xbox 360 version of ''[[Space Invaders Extreme]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamerbytes.com/2008/10/tgs_08_space_invaders_extreme.php |title=Gamasutra – Topic: Console/Digital Games |publisher=Gamerbytes.com |access-date=2 August 2013 |archive-date=12 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012070313/http://www.gamerbytes.com/2008/10/tgs_08_space_invaders_extreme.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> The game was released in 2008. In December 2008 ''[[Space Giraffe]]'' was released for Windows.

In September 2009 he released ''[[Gridrunner Revolution]]'' for Windows as a digital download.

===The Minotaur Project===
In 2010, frustrated with the delays surrounding the release of his titles, Minter was keen to return to a style of game development where games could be produced and released quickly. The [[iOS]] platform was chosen and Llamasoft announced that a series of games would be produced under the banner ''The Minotaur Project''.<ref>{{cite web |title= Llamasoft announcement of the Minotaur Project |url= http://minotaurproject.co.uk/Minotaur/minotaurprj.php |access-date= 23 March 2012}}</ref> The idea behind the series is that Llamasoft would develop a game in the style of a past computer or console but without the constraints of the original hardware.

On 5 January 2011 he released ''[[Minotaur Rescue]]'' for [[iPhone 3GS]], [[iPhone 4]], [[iPod Touch]] (3rd generation), iPod Touch (4th generation), and [[iPad]].<ref name="minotaur">{{cite web|url= https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/minotaur-rescue/id408475782?mt=8 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110109044856/http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/minotaur-rescue/id408475782?mt=8 |url-status= dead |archive-date= 9 January 2011 |title=Minotaur Rescue for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod Touch (3rd generation), iPod Touch (4th generation), iPod Touch (5th generation) and iPad on the iTunes App Store |publisher=[[iTunes]] |date=28 September 2011 |access-date=2 August 2013}}</ref>

On 2 March 2011 Llamasoft released their second iOS game, ''[[Minotron: 2112]]''.<ref name=minotron>{{cite web|url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/minotron-2112/id421377889?mt=8 |title=Minotron: 2112 for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod Touch (3rd generation), iPod Touch (4th generation), iPod Touch (5th generation) and iPad on the iTunes App Store |publisher=[[iTunes]] |date=16 September 2011 |access-date=19 October 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715052546/https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/minotron-2112/id421377889?mt=8 |archive-date=15 July 2015}}</ref> ''Minotron: 2112'' is a remake of the [[Atari ST]] / [[Amiga]] game ''[[Llamatron]]'' (which was inspired by the coin-op video game ''[[Robotron: 2084]]''). An iOS version of ''[[Deflex]]'' was also released although this was not specifically labeled as being part of the Minotaur Project.

On 17 September 2011, Llamasoft released ''[[GoatUp]]'', their first platform game.<ref>{{cite web|title=App Store entry for GoatUp|website=[[iTunes]]|url=https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/goatup/id462286820|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111040859/http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/goatup/id462286820|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 November 2011|access-date=23 March 2012}}</ref>

On 27 January 2012 ''[[Caverns of Minos]]'' was released<ref>{{cite web|title=App Store entry for Caverns of Minos|website = [[iTunes]]|url=https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/caverns-of-minos/id493242214?mt=8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127012623/http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/caverns-of-minos/id493242214?mt=8|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 January 2012|access-date=23 March 2012}}</ref> followed on 24 March by [[Gridrunner iOS]].

''[[Super Ox Wars]]'', a shoot-em-up based on ''[[Ikaruga]]'', was released in July 2012; the final game in the series, ''[[GoatUp 2]]'' was released in March 2013, unique in that it is the only Llamasoft title to feature a [[level editor]].

Minter then announced his intention to abandon mobile development due to lack of discoverability, low turnover, and the dominance of [[free-to-play]] and [[video game clone]]s; he ultimately declared that, after accounting for his time, the Minotaur Project made a net loss.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}} Minter stated on Twitter than "Returning to iOS would be like returning to the scene of a mugging" <ref>{{cite tweet|user=llamasoft_ox|author=Jeff Minter|number=429655312363433985|date=1 February 2014|title=this is why for me returning to iOS would be like returning to the scene of a mugging}}</ref> and "I would advise any dev valuing integrity and sanity to just get the hell out".<ref>{{cite tweet|user=llamasoft_ox|author=Jeff Minter|number=431055537594466304|date=5 February 2014|title=@CraigGrannell see? Wasteland, full of poison. I would advise any dev valuing integrity and sanity to just get the hell out.}}</ref> As a result, the Minotaur Project games were not updated for 64-bit versions of iOS and were removed from the App Store while existing copies became unplayable on updated devices.

The code framework for the Minotaur Project games enables them to be rebuilt for both Mac and PC versions.<ref>{{cite web|title=Eurogamer interview with Jeff Minter|website=[[Eurogamer]]|date=12 January 2011|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-01-12-eurogamer-meets-jeff-minter-interview|access-date=23 March 2012}}</ref> Gridrunner was released for the Mac in August 2012.

===Return to console games===
In April 2013 it was announced that Llamasoft had signed a deal with [[Sony Computer Entertainment]] to create a [[tube shooter]] for the [[PlayStation Vita]] called ''[[TxK]]''.<ref name=txk-announced/> The game would be Llamasoft's fourth tube shooter in two decades and was described as the spiritual successor of 1994's ''Tempest 2000'' for the Atari Jaguar. As Minter explained in his development blog the project goals were to create a more traditional, straightforward and accessible tube shooter than ''Space Giraffe'', to improve on the flaws from ''Tempest 2000'' and ''Tempest 3000'', and to evoke the neo-retro aesthetic without being cheesy.<ref name=dev-blog/> ''[[TxK]]'' was released on 11 February 2014, by digital download through PSN.<ref>{{Cite web|title=PSN Tuesday: Lightning Returns, TxK, Far Cry Classic|url=https://www.engadget.com/2014-02-11-psn-tuesday-lightning-returns-txk-far-cry-classic.html|access-date=2020-09-17|website=Engadget|date=12 February 2014 |language=en}}</ref>

At the beginning of 2015, Minter was threatened with legal action by [[Atari, SA|Atari]], claiming that ''TxK'' was too similar to ''Tempest 2000'' - a game that Minter himself wrote, but Atari owned the rights to.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-03-18-jeff-minter-beyond-disgusted-with-atari-over-txk-block|title=Jeff Minter "beyond disgusted" with Atari over TxK block|first=Wesley|last=Yin-Poole|website=[[Eurogamer]]|date=18 March 2015}}</ref> This raised several issues, including Atari claiming that Minter that had illegally copied material from his own source code and violated design copyrights on his own design traditions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://yakyak.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=85897 |title=YakYak • View topic - Regarding the TXK persecution: A brief summary |access-date=23 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703153516/http://yakyak.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=85897 |archive-date=3 July 2015}}</ref> Sony was unwilling to support Minter and as such future versions of ''TxK'' were blocked from release, although the PS Vita version remains available.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/ps5/games/|title=PS5 games &#124; Extraordinary games coming to PlayStation 5|website=PlayStation}}</ref>

Minter and Zorzin's first publicly available game for a modern home console, ''[[Polybius (2017 video game)|Polybius]]'', was released on the [[PlayStation 4]] on 9 May 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-us/games/polybius/cid=UP4461-CUSA08328_00-LLAMASOFTPLB0002?emcid=or-st-107804|title=PlayStation  Games|website=PlayStation™Store}}</ref> The game features extensive support for the [[PlayStation VR]] headset, based on Minter's experience building the unreleased VR version of ''TxK''. Shortly after release, Llamasoft were contacted by [[Trent Reznor]] of the band [[Nine Inch Nails]], asking to use visuals from ''Polybius'' as the basis for the music video for the song "[[Less Than (song)|Less Than]]"; the video was released on 13 July the same year.

In August 2017, [[Atari, SA]] issued a press release, announcing a partnership with Llamasoft to develop ''[[Tempest 4000]]'' on the [[PlayStation 4]] and [[Xbox One]] [[video game consoles]] and [[Windows]]-based [[personal computers]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=O'Connor|first1=Alice|title=Jeff Minter making Tempest 4000 for Atari|url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/08/08/tempest-4000-announced/|website=Rock Paper Shotgun|access-date=28 January 2018|date=8 August 2017}}</ref> It was released in July 2018.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Machkovech|first1=Sam|title=Tempest 4000 finally lives after delays, legal threats—but what's up on PC?|url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/07/tempest-4000-finally-lives-after-delays-legal-threats-but-whats-up-on-pc/|website=Ars Technica|date=17 July 2018|access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref>

In March 2018, Minter announced that the framework for the Minotaur Project had also been ported to the [[PlayStation 4]] and stated an intention to release enhanced versions of the Minotaur Project games as console games in bundles under the name ''Minotaur Arcade''. In December 2018, Llamasoft released ''Minotaur Arcade Volume 1'' on Steam.<ref>{{cite web|title=Steam page for Minotaur Arcade Volume 1|url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/906110/Minotaur_Arcade_Volume_1|access-date=23 December 2018}}</ref> This contained much enhanced versions of ''GoatUp'' and ''Gridrunner'' with support for playing on the [[Oculus Rift]] but also playable in 2D. A PlayStation 4 version of ''Minotaur Arcade Volume 1'' was released in October 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP4461-CUSA15875_00-LLAMASOFTMARCADE|title=Minotaur Arcade Volume 1|website=store.playstation.com}}</ref>

Minter revisited the enhanced Minotaur Arcade framework to produce an original game, ''[[Moose Life]]'', released on Steam in August 2020 <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1342740/Moose_Life/|title=Moose Life on Steam|website=store.steampowered.com}}</ref> and on Playstation 4 in February 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/product/EP4461-CUSA26621_00-9854696025743028|title=Moose Life|website=store.playstation.com}}</ref>

In December 2022, Minter announced that he had been contracted to produce a complete and up-to-date version of Atari's abandoned 1982 prototype arcade machine ''[[Akka Arrh]]'', the original version of which had become available to the wider public as part of the recently published collection ''[[Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration]]''. In 2023, [[Digital Eclipse]] announced that they would be compiling 42 of Minter's games and releasing them as ''[[Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story]]'', the second entry in their ''Gold Master Series''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/digital-eclipses-next-interactive-documentary-is-llamasoft-the-jeff-minter-story/ | title=Digital Eclipse's next interactive documentary is Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story | date=6 December 2023 }}</ref>