SOFTWARE HOUSE CAPERS

2021-06-25 -

In Norse mythology Odin preceded Thor (being his dad). However, in Liverpool in the mid1980s Thor preceded Odin (being software houses). The two companies were stable mates yet produced wildly different standards of games. Some were heinous and some pure genius but all are now collectible. Are you OCD for OCG?

Thor Computer Software (Games from the Gods) began releasing games in 1984, mainly for the Spectrum alongside a smattering of other formats, and mostly created by bedroom coders who had contacted Thor. The quality was variable, with more misses than hits, with only Jack and the Beanstalk showing any real promise in the early days. In total 13 games were released on the Thor label which included a four game collectors pack that was a repackaging of

old stock, rather than a new compilation.

1985 arrived and Thor was about to be shelved… and then reinstated… but not before Odin took centre stage. Odin was formed with the purpose of leaving the somewhat tarnished reputation of Thor behind, by developing and releasing their own original games rather than continuing to publish third party material. With this, Odin Computer Graphics Ltd (or OCG) was born.

With an array of programming talent onboard including Steve Wetherill, Stuart Fotheringham, Marc Dawson, Colin Grunes and Robbie Tinman, Odin wanted

their output to be quality throughout all the creative processes, including the packaging and inlay artwork.

Odin consciously modelled themselves on the mighty Ashby Computers & Graphics Ltd (ACG) otherwise known as Ultimate Play The Game. Odin even used the same packaging format for their first game,

Nodes of Yesod, as Ultimate had used for many of their own releases — the stylish and distinctive black cardboard box, complete with glossy instructions booklet.

Nodes of Yesod proved to be a superb game with great animation of characters, engaging story, a fiendishly difficult game to complete yet beautiful to look at. Comparisons were drawn between Nodes of Yesod and Ultimate’s own arcade platform adventure

Underwurlde, with knowing nods and raised eyebrows at their perceived similarity. While imitation may indeed be the sincerest form of flattery, many thought that Nodes of Yesod was arguably a better, more rounded and enjoyable

game. Gamers certainly loved it and propelled Nodes up the gaming charts.

Robin of the Wood was released next and followed the same Ultimate formula by pulling inspiration from

Sabre Wulf and was a very enjoyable game. Both Robin and Nodes received many plaudits and were later rereleased as 128K versions to capitalise on that success.

With Odin Computer Graphics doing so well, a decision to resurrect the

Thor label was made. It was refreshed with a slight name change becoming

Thor Computer Software (TCG) and used as a sister label to Odin, primarily for cheaper (but not budget) releases. This included The Arc of Yesod and I.C.U.P.S. (short for the overly wordy International Commission for Universal Problem Solving).

While Odin were enjoying positive reviews and feedback on their games during this time, their entire back catalogue still only consisted of six games

and that included the two 128K versions. Things were progressing nicely for Odin… and then came the ill-fated Telecomsoft deal.

British Telecom’s software arm approached Odin to produce ten new games for them over a period of a year. These were to be across different computer formats and almost immediately the deal started to unravel. The sheer workload involved and revolving door of staff at Odin meant that by the end of the deal period, ten games were in varying states of completion and the ones that had been finished were so bad they couldn’t be released. Odin as a company was in its death throes as many of the programmers and musicians had left to join other software houses during the Telecomsoft deal and Odin finally closed in 1987.

Thor and Odin were both short-lived entities and would be remembered for differing reasons. Of course, the end isn’t necessarily the actual proper end. In 2005 Thor/ Odin’s Managing Director Paul McKenna reformed

Odin Computer Graphics

Ltd and five years later, in conjunction with Steve Wetherill’s Uztek Games, released an iOS version of Nodes of Yesod with plans for further Odin conversions to follow. A 30th anniversary edition of Nodes of Yesod

was released for Apple TV’s operating system tvOS in February 2016.

Most Spectrum gamers have a soft spot for an Odin game, whether it be the excellent Nodes of Yesod

with its moon munching mole, pesky red spaceman and alchiem hunt or the graphically lovely Heartland

with its super gameplay.

By association, Odin collectors tend to seek out Thor games to complete the family set. With both labels having small back catalogues, it should, in theory, be a fairly untroubling task to obtain complete runs of all of Thor and Odin’s output.

While Odin is relatively

straightforward, Thor is most certainly not. With many of Thor’s games being unexceptional and not selling in significant numbers, some of the very early titles are quite rare and hard to locate. Thankfully for collectors, there are no inlay or packaging variants on either label.

Collecting Thor titles is a tale of two polar opposites, with half their games easy to track down and the other half very elusive. The easiest titles to pick up are the games in the chunky graphical Jack trilogy

which incorporates Jack and the Beanstalk, Giant’s Revenge and The House that Jack Built. These are readily available and shouldn’t cost more than £2/£3 each. Should you want new and sealed copies, these are also very plentiful and can be bought for around £5 each.

Both the 48K and 128K versions of The Arc of Yesod are easy to obtain although condition is key. Complete and in mint condition you’ll be looking to stump up £20 for the 48K and £30+ for the 128K version. Completing the easier to find Thor games is I.C.U.P.S. A copy with an unbroken clamshell case and clean

complete inlay should cost around £10.

The earlier Thor releases are where the problems arise. Titles such as Twilight Zone, Gremlins, Night Stalker and Spiders Web could set you back £25 each whilst Geography and Mega Fruit a few pounds more again. They’re hard to find, not great to play and will also siphon goodly amounts of cash from your wallet.

The Thor four pack collection is more expensive as a whole than the sum of the individual parts. Containing the Jack and the Beanstalk trilogy and Twilight Zone, you are essentially

paying for the flimsy cardboard sleeve packaging. However, it is the rarest of all Thor releases, so expect to pay a premium.

Odin’s output was more polished and desirable and this is reflected in the prices, although they are far easier to find than many of the Thor titles. Nodes of Yesod 48K in its big black box packaging will cost £15/£20 with the 128K clamshell version nearer the £30 mark. It’s a similar story and prices for Robin of the Wood, although both versions of Robin

were released in clamshell cases. The remaining two Odin titles, Heartland and Hypaball are less desirable and can be snapped up for £10/£12.

Amid the fallout of the Telecomsoft deal, there were two Odin developed Spectrum games that did manage to see the light of day, albeit published on Telecomsoft sub-labels. So, Odin and Thor completists, add The Plot and Sidewize

to your checklist. The Plot

appeared on Firebird’s

Silver Range budget label and Sidewize as a full price Firebird release. Both games retained the Odin company logo on their loading screens.

You may also want to add Crosswize, the followup to Sidewize, to your list. Strictly speaking it was not developed by Odin but was created by two of Odin’s old guard, Steve Wetherill and Colin Grunes, after leaving the company. They also wrote Sidewize

while employed by Odin for Telecomsoft. The Plot, Sidewize and Crosswize

should cost no more than £5/£7 each.

THOR CHECKLIST

Arc of Yesod

Arc of Yesod 128K Geography

Giants Revenge

Gremlins

I.C.U.P.S.

Jack & the Beanstalk Mega Fruit

Night Stalker

Spider’s Web

The House that Jack Built Twilight Zone