The Fourth Dimension (company)
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Predecessor | Impact Software |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Founder | Mark Botterill, Steve Botterill |
| Defunct | 1998 |
| Fate | Brand and software library acquired by CJE Micro's |
| Headquarters | Sheffield , United Kingdom |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Key people | Mark Botterill, Steve Botterill |
| Products | Video games for BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, Acorn Archimedes, RiscPC |
The Fourth Dimension (4D) served as a prominent video game publisher for platforms such as the BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, Acorn Archimedes, and RiscPC between 1989 and 1998. Originally operating under the name Impact Software, the company concentrated primarily on producing games for the BBC Micro. Several team members had prior experience at Superior Software. Among its well-known releases were Cyber Chess, Stunt Racer 2000, Galactic Dan, and Chocks Away.
History
Established in 1989 by brothers Mark and Steve Botterill in Sheffield, The Fourth Dimension began as Impact Software, developing titles for both Acorn's 8-bit and 32-bit computer ranges.
Following the demise of Acorn and the subsequent shrinkage of the RISC OS gaming sector, CJE Micro's acquired The Fourth Dimension’s brand along with its existing software library.
In 2002, under the Fourth Dimension label, the publisher participated in a program that subsidized hardware expenses for developers as part of the revived "RISC OS Programming Initiative."
By 2004, CJE Micro's transferred the software rights to APDL, known as the Archimedes Public Domain Library.
Market focus
Despite the relatively limited size of the Archimedes user base, its advanced 32-bit RISC processor featured a high-speed pipeline optimized for graphical performance. Several of 4D’s titles predicted trends in 3D first-person gameplay that later gained popularity on mainstream PC platforms. For instance, E-type is a racing game; Chocks Away delivers aerial combat including a two-player dogfight mode; and Galactic Dan is an early 1992 first-person shooter blending a 3D maze environment with ray-traced sprite graphics.
List of published games
- Apocalypse (Gordon J. Key, 1990)
- Arcade Soccer (Peter Gillett, 1989)
- Birds of War
- Black Angel (Gordon J. Key, 1992)
- Boogie Buggy (Coin-Age, 1991)
- Break 147 & Superpool (Gordon J. Key, 1991)
- Carnage Inc. (Programming: Chris & Stuart Fludger; Artwork: Andrew Jackson; Puzzle Design: Chris Fludger; Vector Graphics: Stuart Fludger, 1993)
- Cataclysm (David Postlethwaite)
- Chocks Away (Andrew Hutchings, 1990)
- Chocks Away Extra Missions (Andrew Hutchings, 1991)
- Chopper Force (Andrew Norris, 1992)
- Cyber Chess (William Tunstall-Pedoe, 1993)
- Custom McCoy (Selection of four games chosen by purchaser)
- Demon's Lair (Dr. Kevin Martin)
- Drop Ship (Andrew Catling, 1990)
- The Dungeon (Martin Dennett & John Parker, 1993)
- Enter The Realm (Audio/Visual/Programming: Graeme Richardson; Music: Peter Gillett, 1991)
- E-Type series (Gordon J. Key, from 1989 onwards)
- The Exotic Adventures of Sylvia Layne
- Galactic Dan (Programming: Ian Holmes; Artwork: James Davidson, 1992)
- Grievous Bodily 'ARM (Software Engineering: Simon Hallam; Graphics: Sophie Neal; Music composed by The Byford Brothers, 1991)
- Haunted House (Gordon J. Key)
- Holed Out! series (Gordon J. Key, from 1989 to 1991)
- Inertia (David Postlethwaite, 1990)
- Logic Mania - Gloop, Blindfold, Atomix, Tilt (Robin Jubber, Dave Williams, 1996)
- Man At Arms (Programming: Matthew Atkinson; Music: Peter Gillett, 1990)
- Nevryon (Programming & Graphics: Graeme Richardson; Music: Peter Gillett, 1990)
- The Olympics (1990)
- Pandora's Box (Programming: Chris & Stuart Fludger; Graphics: Andrew Jackson; Music by Simon Carless, 1992)
- Powerband (Gordon J. Key, 1990)
- Pysanki (Programming: Matthew Atkinson; Music: David Postlethwaite, 1990)
- Quazer (Released under Impact Software name, 1990)
- Real McCoy Compendium series:
- Real McCoy 1 - Arcade Soccer, Quazer, U.I.M., White Magic (1990)
- Real McCoy 2 - Apocalypse, Holed Out!, Inertia, The Olympics (1991)
- Real McCoy 3 - Drop Ship, Nevryon, Powerband, The Wimp Game
- Real McCoy 4 - Cataclysm, Galactic Dan, Grievous Bodily 'ARM', X-Fire
- Real McCoy 5 - Anti-Grav, Chopper Force, Demon's Lair, Pandora's Box
- Real McCoy 6 - Bloodlust, Carnage Inc., Silverball, Technodream
- Saloon Cars series (Andy Swain, from 1991 to 1992)
- Spobbleoid Fantasy (Graeme Richardson, 1995)
- Stunt Racer 2000 (Fednet aka Andrew Hutchings and Tim Parry, 1993)
- The Time Machine (Gordon J. Key)
- U.I.M: Ultra Intelligent Machine
- Virtual Golf (Gordon J. Key)
- White Magic series (John Whigham, starting in 1989)
- The Wimp Game (Thomas E.H. Nunns, 1990)
- X-Fire (The Soft Lads aka Mark Neves, Martin Portman and Paul Carrol, 1992)