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[Guardians][Psygnosis]    
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Psygnosis
-incorporating Psyclapse & Sizzlers

The Backstory

Psygnosis was formed in October 1984 from the ashes of the legendary (but by then defunct) company 'Imagine Software', a company which was famous not only for producing many classic titles such as the Galaxian clone 'Arcadia', but also for its fabled yet never released MegaGames and for making millionaires out of its programmers. 

From the very outset, Psygnosis (which is bastardized Latin for 'Knowledge Of The Mind' ) would seek to distinguish themselves from other publishers.  They would develop a unique look and style all of their own, with particular emphasis being placed on futuristic science fiction and fantasy themes.  Indeed, in these early days they would frequently call upon the talents of the much in demand and legendary science fiction artist 'Roger Dean' who is perhaps best known for his work on record sleeves for bands such as Yes!  Dean's contributions to Psygnosis would include not only the now instantly recognisable owl insignia which became the Psygnosis logo (rather fitting given the meaning of Psygnosis -Knowledge Of The Mind' !), but also the artwork on numerous game boxes including Brataccas and Shadow Of The Beast.  Psygnosis were showing that they were making serious software.

The Atari ST and the 16-bit era

Psygnosis' debut release on the Atari ST was the 1985 arcade adventure 'Brataccus', a game (interactive movie) that was once heralded as THE most difficult game to get to grips with (and complete) on the ST.  Contrary to popular belief however, Brataccus was neither an extrapolation or fusion of Imagine's two fabled MegaGames although it was similar in style.  This release would be swiftly followed by other classic games including the sci-fi space simulator/adventure 'Deep Space', and the visually pleasing arcade jaunts Barbarian and the very similar Obliterator. Psygnosis would not rest on this early success however, and over the years they would go from strength to strength, building up a reputation for producing software hallmarked by both impressive visuals and soundtracks.  However this came at a cost, as they often stood accused of implementing poor control systems and of neglecting both playability and gameplay.  It is perhaps more than a little ironic therefore that they would later opt to change the tagline used on their advertisements from 'Psygnosis - Games People Play' to 'Seeing Is Believing'!!

Other classic releases on the Atari ST would include 'Blood Money', a shoot'em up par excellence (expertly converted by Wayne Smithson) and the hugely anticipated 'Shadow Of The Beast'.  Their greatest success however, arguably came in 1991 though when they unleashed DMA Design's ground breaking, genre defying and infuriatingly addictive 'Lemmings' on an unsuspecting public.  This would go on to receive universal acclaim, and be converted to numerous other platforms (and in doing so becoming one of the most ported games ever).  It would also spawn 2 sequels on the Atari ST, one of which - 'Lemmings 2: The Tribes' - would mark their final release for this machine.

During its lifetime on the ST, Psygnosis would also go on to release titles under 2 other labels, 'Psyclapse' and 'Sizzlers'.  The 'Psyclapse' label was in many regards a blast from the past, as name perhaps fittingly can be traced back to the days of Imagine Software and its never released Megagame 'Psyclapse' which was announced in 1984 .The first release from this new branch of Psygnosis was Menace in early 1989 (Feb 89).  Sizzlers on the other hand was Psygnosis' budget label.  Through this, it would rerelease many of its classic full price games at budget prices including Shadow Of The Beast and Blood Money.

Psygnosis - The Legacy

The Liverpool based software house Psygnosis was unquestionably one of the best known and instantly recognisable game publishers of the mid 80s-mid 90s.  With their self confessed emphasis on technical excellence (their modus operandi) and a desire to push to get the most out of machines they would continually set the visual benchmark by which all games were judged.  Indeed, the very fact that they set the standards to which others ultimately aspired aptly illustrates that their impact and influence resonated far beyond that of merely their own software!
Mini company details by : X3peri_MENTaL

[Guardians][See...]    
Brataccas Brataccas (Release Name) Preserved 0 of 3
Dungeon Master Dungeon Master (Release Name) Preserved 0 of 8
Lemmings Lemmings (Release Name) Preserved 0 of 4
Lemmings 2 : The Tribes Lemmings 2 : The Tribes (Release Name) Preserved 0 of 1
Lemmings: Limited Edition Double Pack Lemmings: Limited Edition Double Pack (Compilation) Preserved 0 or 1
Never Mind Never Mind (Release Name) Preserved 0 of 1
Oh-No! More Lemmings Oh-No! More Lemmings (Release Name) Preserved 0 of 3
Ork Ork (Release Name) Preserved 0 of 1

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