DARRYL STILL
Profile, November 2002
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Quick C.V.:
- Reading University Bookshop
- 1980 - running Science depts inc 1 shelf of Computer Books
- 1983 Computer Dept is 1/2 shops
turnover selling hardware & software and selling to whole
town
- 1984 set up and manage Computer
Shop in town centre. Poached by software company opposite.
- Incentive Software 1984-85.
Incentive employed many ex Reading University programmers, published ZX Spectrum, C64 & Dragon titles. Hits Include Splat!, The Ket Adventure Trilogy and Moon Cresta. One of their main programmers is a guy called Tag (Anthony Taglione) currently responsible for The Total War series (Shogun and Medieval). Check out www.mjwilson.demon.co.uk/crash/06/news.htm pic from this time! I held onto the rights for a number of titles I produced and even republished one of the titles I co-wrote at this time for Top Ten later! See www.lysator.liu.se/adventure/Top_Ten_Software.html
- Audiogenic Software 1985-87.
Audiogenic, in those days had been a major player in the C64 market (Aztec Challenge etc), but had finance issues, so Supersoft bought 50% of the company. Biggest game before the BBC thing was The Graham Gooch Test Cricket title. Then with a name change to ASL the company bought Icon republished loads of their titles and signed up Partis, Scotty etc. Ran that studio.
- Maynard Int/Top Ten/Go-Dax 1987-88.
A chaotic period, running the Top Ten label, my own "studio" (basically a houseload of uni dropouts coding conversions for licenses for other publishers), lots of meetings, lots of drugs, no sleep!!!
- Atari 1988-96.
A proper job at last. In 8 years at Atari I was responsible for launching the ST as a games machine all those multigame packs etc were mine. Created and co-ran the ARC label with Rob Katz who now runs Electronic Arts in Australasia. ARC Software was The revolutionary concept of Atari publishing for the Amiga and PC as well as ST, the only way we could get the licenses!).Loads of TV/Radio/Press etc. Launched the Lynx (a hugely underated machine) and the Jaguar. Ran the European development studio with Al Bodin (now X-Box games guru). Games included : Fever Pitch Soccer,
Attack of the Mutant Penguins, Zero 5. justclaws.atari.org/jagsite/atarilad.htm has an interesting take on it!
- Electronic Arts 1996-99
I left Atari to run a bunch of EA Affiliate labels (publishers marketed and distributed by EA in Europe, but not actually owned by EA). Labels inc Accolade, Melbourne House, MGM. Not a great time for me....don't think I am a corporate EA type of person. Left to ...
- VNU Entertainment Media 1999-02
Loads of "exciting" new media and web projects, which, after the EA experience allowed me to regroup, replenish the finances, rediscover that I had an individual personality and return to the industry in 2002 refreshed and ready to rumble!