Editing Codemasters (section)

=== Background ===
[[File:Codemasters logo (1986).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Codemasters' logo between 1986 and 1993]]
While attending school in [[Vancouver]], Richard Darling and his elder brother, [[David Darling (entrepreneur)|David Darling]], had learned programming with [[punch card]]s and had access to the school's computer room outside of hours through one of the school's janitors.<ref name="rg">{{cite web |url=https://www.retrogamer.net/profiles/company/codemasters/ |title=Codemasters |first=Darran |last=Jones |date=30 December 2016 |website=[[Retro Gamer]] |access-date=29 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170603133828/https://www.retrogamer.net/profiles/company/codemasters/ |archive-date=3 June 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, on weekends, they were allowed to use the [[Commodore PET]] computer owned by their father, James, to create a text version of ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]''.<ref name="rg" /> Later on, the two brothers and school friend Michael Heibert, whose family possessed a [[VIC-20]] computer, founded Darbert Computers and created [[video game clones]] of popular games, such as ''[[Galaxian]]'' and ''[[Defender (video game)|Defender]]''.<ref name="rg" />

The Darling brothers later returned to England, where they acquired their own VIC-20 and founded Galactic Software, again with the help of Heibert.<ref name="rg" /> An advertisement placed in the magazine ''[[Popular Computing Weekly]]'' caught the attention of [[Mastertronic]], a British software publisher, and the two brothers quit their education to pursue development of budget-priced games for the company.<ref name="rg" /> These games included ''Space Walk'', ''BMX Racers'', ''Jungle Story'', ''Orbitron'', ''Sub Hunt'' and ''Pigs in Space''.<ref name="rg" /> They also developed The Games Creator, a game-making tool that would later be sold commercially.<ref name="rg" /> The Darling brothers found success in making these games, gaining {{GBP|200,000|link=yes}} by the time they were 16 and 17 respectively.<ref name="rg" /> In 1985, the two owned a 50% stake in Mastertronic, which they proceeded to sell in March 1986 when they decided to become independent.<ref name="rg" /> By October 1986, the Darling brothers, with help from their father, had founded Codemasters.<ref name="rg" /> They initially worked out of the Beaumont Business Centre in [[Banbury]], where their elder sister Abigail managed the front desk.<ref name="rg" />

Codemasters' first game was ''[[BMX Simulator]]'', a successor to ''BMX Racers''.<ref name="rg" /> According to David Darling, the company aimed at making budget-priced games with the quality of full-priced games, as they would gain a larger customer base that would subsequently create better exposure.<ref name="rg" /> To produce more games in less time, Codemasters started hiring developers on a [[freelance]] basis.<ref name="rg" /> Products developed using this strategy include ''G-Man'' and ''Danger Zone'' by Mike Clark, ''Terra Cognita'' by Stephen Curtis, ''[[Super Robin Hood]]'' and ''[[Ghost Hunters (video game)|Ghost Hunters]]'' by the [[Oliver Twins]], ''Super Stuntman'' by Peter Williamson, ''Lazer Force'' by Gavin Raeburn, and ''ATV Simulator'' by Timothy R. Miller.<ref name="rg" /> By April 1987, Codemasters started seeking [[Video game programmer|programmers]] that would create [[Porting|platform conversions]] of Codemasters' games in exchange for four-digit sums, via placements in ''Popular Computing Weekly''.<ref name="rg" />