Vektor Grafix
| Formerly | Vektor Grafix (1987-1992) |
|---|---|
| Type | Video game developer |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | June 1987 |
| Defunct | 1993 |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Key people | John Lewis Ian Martin Andy Craven |
| Products | Combat flight simulators |
| Parent | MicroProse (1992-1993) |
Vektor Grafix was a British video game developer led by John Lewis and Andy Craven. Vektor Grafix was founded by Craven and Danny Gallagher in June 1987.[1]
History
In June 1987, Andy Craven, who was a former college lecturer, along with Danny Gallagher, formed the computer game developer Vektor Grafix, specifically developing 3D video games.[1][2][3]
Their first releases were home ports of the Star Wars arcade video games, which were best-sellers for Domark.[2] After the success of the games, Gallagher in 1988 left to be a freelance developer, creating Voyager for Ocean Software and Infestation for Psygnosis, leaving Andy Craven to run the company.[3]
The company became a major success developing 3D titles, pushing computer graphics to the limits.[4][5] In 1990, the company begin development on Shuttle: The Flight Simulator, for Virgin Mastertronic, which was released in 1992.[6] In 1991, the company begin development on a flight simulator, Death or Glory, an aerial flight simulator, which was later released as B-17 Flying Fortress.[7]
The Leeds-based company then went on to become a developer of mostly 3D simulation games and was eventually bought by MicroProse in July 1992,[8] becoming their development studio as MicroProse Leeds.[9] The company was dissolved in 1993 as part of the company's financial troubles that led to its sale of MicroProse to Spectrum HoloByte.[10] Many team members, including Ciaran Gultnieks, Mark Griffiths and Ian Martin left to form The Software Refinery to develop Slipstream 5000 and Hardwar for Gremlin Interactive,[11] and Psygnosis' studio in Stroud.[12]
Games
- Star Wars (ports, 1987)
- Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (ports, 1988)
- Ring Wars (1988)
- Fighter Bomber / Strike Aces (1988)
- Killing Cloud (1991)
- Shuttle: the Space Flight Simulator (1992)
- B-17 Flying Fortress (1992)
- Dogfight (1993)
References
- 1 2 "Bomber". The One. October 1989. pp. 89–93. Retrieved August 3, 2026.
- 1 2 "Vektor Grafx Interview". Retro Gamer. December 2015. pp. 24–27. Retrieved August 3, 2026.
- 1 2 "Killing Cloud". The One. May 1990. pp. 19–20. Retrieved August 3, 2026.
- ↑ "The Thrilling Crowd". The One. May 1991. pp. 47–48. Retrieved August 3, 2026.
- ↑ "On the launch pad with Vektor Grafix". Games-X. July 1991. pp. 36–37. Retrieved August 3, 2026.
- ↑ "Doing the Shuttle Shuffle". Raze. January 1991. p. 5. Retrieved August 3, 2026.
- ↑ "Sneak Peek: Death or Glory". Games-X. 26 September 1991. p. 44. Retrieved August 3, 2026.
- ↑ "MICROPROSE BUYS VEKTOR GRAFIX FOR MORE THAN FUN AND GAMES". The Washington Post. 13 July 1992 – via www.washingtonpost.com.
- ↑ "MicroProse: More than just F-numbers". PC Review. June 1993. pp. 34–37. Retrieved August 3, 2026.
- ↑ "Spectrum + MicroProse = MicroProse Inc". GamePro. No. 56. IDG. March 1994. p. 186.
- ↑ "Fast Cars, Faster Women". PC Games. April 1995. pp. 29–30. Retrieved August 3, 2026.
- ↑ ":: Climax :: Corporate ::". www.climax.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2003-12-12. Retrieved 2026-08-03.