Editing Plok! (section)

=== 1988: Rare hires Zippo Games ===
[[File:Tim and Chris Stamper outside the FortuneFish offices.jpg|thumb|left|[[Rare (company)|Rare]] founders [[Tim and Chris Stamper]] in 2015. They required [[Ste and John Pickford]] to play ''[[Mario (franchise)|Mario]]'' and ''[[The Legend of Zelda|Zelda]]'' games on the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]], which shifted the Pickfords' perspective on game development.]]  
In the summer of 1988, [[Ste and John Pickford]], employees at Zippo Games—owned by John and their friend Steve Hughes—were struggling to complete games for 16-bit [[Atari ST]] and [[Amiga]] computers, with many projects being canceled.<ref name="Vinylalbumnotes">{{cite AV media|last=Pickford|first=Ste|date=March 2020|title=Plok!|others=[[Tim Follin]] and Geoff Follin|publisher=Respawned Records|type=notes|id=RR-003}}</ref> They learned that [[Rare (company)|Rare]] was seeking developers for [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] (NES) titles. At the time, the console had yet to gain popularity in the United Kingdom. Despite viewing the 8-bit system as "horribly overpriced and terribly underpowered," the Pickfords accepted the offer due to financial necessity and their admiration for the work of Rare founders [[Tim and Chris Stamper]] during their time at [[Ultimate Play the Game]].<ref name="Vinylalbumnotes"/> Zippo Games became the only company Rare consulted for NES development.<ref name="Vinylalbumnotes"/>

Although initially skeptical of the NES, the Pickfords' experience working on ''Ironsword''—along with the Stamper brothers’ requirement that they play [[Mario]] and [[The Legend of Zelda|Zelda]] games on the console—gave them a newfound appreciation for the system. This shifted their development priorities from focusing on technical sophistication to emphasizing the player's experience.<ref name="Vinylalbumnotes"/> This design philosophy ultimately shaped their approach to ''Plok!''.{{Sfn|''GamesTM''|2014|p=9}}