A Gremlin in the Works

With the British computer game scene about to explode, a small shop appeared on Sheffield's Carver Street. It was called Just Micro, and was founded by the partnership of Ian Stewart and Kevin Norburn, both with retail backgrounds but a desire to get into the business of games publishing. Fortunately, the shop attracted local talent such as Pete Harrap, Shaun Hollingworth and Tony Crowther, and so, in 1984, Gremlin Graphics was formed.

This lavish, 560-page book plots the course of the company, from initial successes with Monty Mole, Jack the Nipper and Thing on A Spring, to its ground-breaking Lotus-branded racing games, and eventual purchase by Infogrames in 1999.

Officially endorsed by founder Ian Stewart, A Gremlin In The Works by Mark Hardisty features interviews and anecdotes from all of Gremlin's key members, including Chris Kerry, Ben Daglish and Greg Holmes, along with stalwarts of the UK gaming scene: Rod Cousens, Tim Chaney, Jeremy Heath-Smith, Geoff Brown and Infogrames founder Bruno Bonnell, among many others.

Filled with game imagery, memorabilia and archive material such as old letters, business cards, staff photos and game design documents, this is an exhaustive and comprehensive chronicle of one of Britain's best-loved developers, and a fascinating exploration of the meteoric rise of the gaming scene in the '80s and '90s.

About the publisher:
Bitmap Books work with the world’s most experienced writers, designers and gaming experts to create meticulously researched, visually ambitious retro gaming books. As a design-led publisher, visual quality matters to us. We don’t just obsessively pursue the best printing quality currently available. We want to constantly push the envelope when it comes to expectations about printing techniques.