Sensible Software 1986–1999

The definitive biography of one of the world’s most groundbreaking game companies launches on Kickstarter, twenty years after the release of its legendary title ‘Sensible Soccer’.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...ad-only-memory

Produced by new publishing company Read-Only Memory together with Sensible Software founder Jon Hare, Sensible Software 1986–1999 is the ultimate retrospective of the software house behind some of the greatest and most fondly-remembered games ever produced, including Sensible Soccer, Cannon Fodder, Mega Lo Mania and Wizball.

It is the flagship title for Read-Only Memory (ROM), which aims to publish considered, high-end books on games and gaming history. Founded by London-based graphic designer Darren Wall, ROM combines immaculate design with the best in games journalism. It hopes to publish its flagship title with the fans’ support via a Kickstarter campaign running until 07 October 2012.

Sensible Software 1986–1999 will tell the Sensible story through anecdotes and first-hand interviews with legendary developers, industry bods and games writers. The book is compiled by renowned games journalist Gary Penn and contributors include:

• Jon Hare and the Sensible team
• Martin Galway (legendary games composer and Sensible sound man)
• Archer MacLean (creator of IK+ and Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker)
• Stuart Campbell (ex-writer for Amiga Power and unstoppable force of nature)
• Peter Molyneux (creator of Fable, Syndicate and Theme Park)
• Dominik Diamond (ex-presenter of Gamesmaster), and many more.

This will be paired with a visual retrospective celebrating the company's idiosyncratic style: title screens, sprites, game maps, typefaces and box art, all beautifully reproduced. We're also excited to announce that ROM will be digging into the Sensible vaults to uncover never-before-seen archival material including fan letters and hand-drawn maps, characters and menus that show the first inklings of Sensible's most famous games.

Jon Hare says of the project: “I was absolutely thrilled when Darren approached me about making this book. The interviews, the images and the music take you back to that moment in time when video games really were the new rock’n’roll and the British development scene was on top of the world.”

Limited products available exclusively through the Kickstarter campaign include:
• Personalised Edition, signed and dedicated by Jon Hare, in an individually-printed wrapper.
• Vinyl EP Edition, which includes a numbered, heavyweight 12” record featuring the songs ‘Goalscoringsuperstarhero’ from Sensible Soccer and ‘War’ and ‘Narcissus (The Hill Theme)’ from Cannon Fodder.
• Poster Edition, which includes a totally unique A1 print, giclée printed on fine art matte paper, and developed and designed together with buyers.