Some Q&A I had with Paul via e-mail:
Q: are you able to play your games on your PC (there are very advanced emulators) or real MSX nowadays?
A: Yes, I have tried various emulators, and seen the games running - and decided they're better in my memories!
Q: can you tell us more about the softcard thing? Is it 'borrowed' from HudsonSoft Japan, who had the BeeCard?
A: Hardware wise I don't remember a lot about the softcards - I know they were imported the guy handling it all was Mike Hall - but I don't remember from whom. I do recall having to port at least two games onto softcard / ROM cartridges too - those were the days - every byte of code counted!
Q: how many people worked on MSX titles at E.S.?
A: It was a small company - about five software developers. Myself, Mick Rouse (tech lead, generally, and author of Le Mans), Andy (Eltis?), Jake Dowding, and a fifth whose name escapes me currently. Electric Software was part of GST (General Systems Technology) which was owned by Jeff Fenton - all the companies are now defunct, I believe (so much for my shares!).
[note: in the mean time he did remember the fifth name, at least partly: Graham]
Q: how long did it take to make a game?
A: Depends upon the game - Buzz off was quick, and showed it - I used it to learn the MSX system, and I think it was a matter of a couple of months or so. Shark Hunter was much more of a team effort, and took maybe six-seven months, if my memory's good. Mick developed Le Mans single-handedly I believe, so I don't know how long that took, but I'd say around six realtime months for one of the bigger games. Graphics Editor was also of that order of magnitude, as was Music Editor.
[note: Graphics Editor is also known as MSX Artist.]
Q: any ideas on sales figures? (I got the sales figures of Mastertronic e.g.)
A: No idea at all of sales figures, I'm afraid. I do recall the market was a bit incestous - as I recall, reviewers were slightly bribable, and often used anagramatic names to hide their identities - but perhaps I'm not supposed to say that!
Q: in those days, did you or E.S. ever thought about doing something with MSX2? (Or was the market in the UK already too small for that, as it never caught on there, in contrast to the Netherlands.)
A: As far as I recall, there were no firm plans for MSX2 - probably for the reasons you mention. Mick might have had ambitions for Le Mans, but I don't recall.
Q: what tools did you use to create the software (debuggers, assemblers, monitors), the graphics and the music?
A: Some of the graphics - e.g. the title screens - were created by an external artist. The rest by ourselves. Development took place on a unix system, using a cross compiler, and an ICE, as I remember - other details are hazy.
Q: Well, and if you have more interesting stories, do let me know
A: We were one of the first companies in the UK to get our hands on MSX machines - Mick Rouse used to work for Phillips in Eindhoven, so there was a link there - GST used to write video games for the Phillips G7000 VideoPac - Mick did backgammon for that machine, for example, and I think there was a version of Buzz Off (but not by that name) that also ran on it.
I also recall one of the first (if not the first) machine we got - maybe the only one in the UK at the time - Mick plugged it in, and a flame shot up to the ceiling - someone had wired the UK plug incorrectly!!
Q: [About Graphics Editor being a softcard and MSX Artist being a tape version of the same]
A: also remember having a ROM cartridge version of the Graphics Editor too -but this may have been a prototype, and I don't know whether it was ever sold this way. On the other hand, I still have a proper manual in a hard backed folder for the graphics editor, and there's a slot for a softcard in the folder - so there was at least an intention to sell it this way, if nothing else.
Q: [About OEM software from Sega]
A: Yes - I remember Buck Rogers as being Sega, but I'm sure ES marketed it too, along with another Sega game -
whose name completely escapes me.
[He later confirms that this other game is probably Zaxxon.]
Q: What systems did E.S. develop for, besides MSX? And how are these devided? (So, e.g. 25% MSX, etc.)
A: Electric Software was specifically founded for MSX, on the back of their early technology knowledge. I can't recall any inhouse development that wasn't MSX - although having said that I seem to remember a connection between Graham (the fifth developer, whose name I forgot earlier) and the Commodore 64 - but not sure what that connection is.
Q: When did the companies die?
A: Electric Software more or less went under after MSX never really made the expected inroads. As I said earlier, I'll try and check dates later. I effectively went back to the parent company GST, and worked on Timeworks Desktop Publisher for GEM on the Atari ST - remember GEM? I ported First Word Plus from the Atari ST to GEM on the Amstrad PCW1512 - oh, and knowing Don Priestley from my DKTronics stint I also ported his "Minder" game from the Spectrum to the Amstrad. Fond memories.
Q: Who made what? (part 1)
A: Mick Rouse did both versions of LeMans - as far as I remember. The Wreck and Norseman were Andy Eltis, pretty exclusively I think. Oh - there was a game called "Barnstormer" that Andy did too - not sure if that's in your list. Shark Hunter was a team effort. Buzz Off, Graphics Editor / MSX Artist and the aforementioned (and stillborn) Music Editor were mine.
Q: How did you test then? Only on the real machines?
A: I don't recall exactly which machines we tested on, but as you say the Toshiba HX10 would almost certainly have been one. We didn't have a vast range - not that I recall anyway.
Oh - and I recall advertising "The Wreck" - we had a stand at a trade show, and hired a full size skeleton which we dressed in a captains outfit. We drove our "captain" to and from the London exhibition in an American car, which meant he appeared as the driver at a cursory glance!
Q: Why was the E.S. version of Zaxxon different than the Sega version?
A: Zaxxon was never anything we wrote, or modified software-wise, as I recall - in fact, it was probably the other Sega title I remembered us distributing.
Q: Well, as Philips published a few of those [Sega] games as well, maybe you guys did it for the UK and Philips for the Netherlands. After all, there were good contacts, as you said. And I do know that some of your games were published by Philips in the Netherlands (e.g. Norseman, Backgammon, Zaxxon).
A: Mick Rouse (and maybe Andy Eltis & Jake Dowding too - I'm unsure on that) had been employed through GST to write G700 VideoPac software for Philips - it was on the back of that (and the burgeoning video games industry in general) that Jeff Fenton founded Electric Software.
Q: Then we also have "GST-C", released for MSX2, as far as we know. An obscure thing. Do you know anything about it?
A: I didn't know GSTC was released for MSX2 - I can't see it as being taken up in droves(!) - but yes, the parent company did have a C compiler, as I recall - it would probably have been written by either Tim Ward or Howard Chalkley, but I can't be certain.
As an aside, GST also provided 68KOS, which was the officially commissioned OS for the QL, and was used for the QLs initial journalist demos, and which supported multi-tasking from BASIC. For internal political reasons, Clive Sincalir substituted this at the last minute with one written in-house (which I believe didn't offer full multi-tasking within Basic) - I don't think we ever really knew why. There was one book author that even blamed GST for the financial failure of the QL - simply because we were paid and then not used! GST did try and sell 68KOS as a QL hardware add-on, but that was hardly a mass market!
Q: This Mike Hall, did he work for E.S. as well?
A: Yes, Mike Hall worked for Electric Software - he was the salesman, and our 'entrepeneur' - hence softcards.
Q: Hm, but how did the E.S. release [of Zaxxon] end up being so different than the Sega release in Japan?
A: Was the ES Zaxxon significantly different software-wise from the Sega release? Sorry if your database already answers this question, but I can understand packaging differences - Mike, Jeff & Mick crafted a sort of Electric Software branding.
Q: By the way, you didn't tell me waht Jake and Graham worked on. Curious about that as well, of course.
A: You're correct - I didn't credit Jake and Graham with individual games - that's because I'm unsure what they did largely on their own. Shark Hunter involved everybody, pretty much - thinking a bit more, could you please add Jake to the Norseman credits.
Q: Did you see this, by the way, talking about Clive Sinclair:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-kI0urN9tI
A: I'd not seen it, and it's wonderful! The Spectrum being 2 or 3 times as powerful as an MSX machine - my Arse, as they say! Bill Gates is funny too in his younger incarnation.
Well, this is most of what we discussed. Paul, let me know if you want something corrected or if things are missing.
I'm currently adding the info to GenMSX, where applicable.
Posted: April 24 2008, 22:07 
