Games That Weren't^®

1991 Domark / Tengen

Platform: ZX Spectrum

ThunderJaws was a 1990 arcade machine from Atari that saw you and/or a friend fighting the underwater forces of Madam Q. Domark picked up the licence for the Tengen range, and it was released on the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga and Atari ST… but no Spectrum version.

The game was previewed in Crash (Issue 88, May 1991, page 24) and Your Sinclair (Issue 66, June 1991, page 54). Crash also gave away a demo of the entire first level – each level was split into two stages: an underwater stage and an interior stage – on their Issue 91 cover tape (August 1991), and that is all Speccy users ever got to see of the game. Computer and Video Games also previewed the game in Issue 115 (June 1991, page 128), showing a Speccy screenshot alongside an Amiga or ST shot.

Crash reviewed the game in that same issue (page 14) and awarded it a Crash Smash, which I think was a little too generous. The review advertised the game as being available on tape for £10.99, or a very expensive £17.99 on disc (the same price Amstrad CPC disc users were asked to pay, too).

But what happened to the game? Why didn’t Domark release it? It seems there was a complete version, as the screenshots in the review don’t match the contents of the demo. No other Spectrum magazine reviewed it — I would have expected the CPC version to have been cancelled, not the Spectrum.

The puzzle doesn’t end there, though. In Sinclair User Issue 127 (September 1992, page 19), they included a multiface poke for it and tip from a Filipe McManus. It doesn’t state whether this was for the full game or the demo, but it’s very odd that a rival magazine would include such a cheat — although, at the time, they were boasting “Incorporating Crash” on the cover. It would be interesting to reach out to Filipe to see if it was for the demo that the cheats were made.

So what did Crash actually review? The entry for the game on Spectrum Computing lists David Quinn and Jolyon Vincent Myers as being behind this version. Myers had previously worked on games for Top Ten Software, as well as the movie licence of The Hunt for Red October for Grandslam and Super Space Invaders for Domark around the same time.

Quinn, meanwhile, only had two other credits under his belt: Star Control for Accolade and Trantor – The Last Stormtrooper for Go/Probe. The game’s entry on CPC Power also lists Messrs Quinn and Myers as working on the CPC version on behalf of The Kremlin, who were doing a lot of work for Domark at the time.

Is it possible a full version of the game is still out there somewhere? Why was the Spectrum version cancelled and not the CPC version? You would have thought that situation would have been reversed, considering the quality of Domark’s CPC output (ahem Pit Fighter).

The game isn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t deserving of a Crash Smash. Amstrad Action — who also included a demo that I played a lot back in the day — gave the game a rating of 63%, and aside from the colour, could this have been a fair representation of what the Speccy version would have been?

FRANK: Just a few things to add below to Patrick’s write up. Firstly, some screenshots in the Crash review are identical to those printed by Your Sinclair – suggesting that there is a possibility that Crash didn’t review a complete game. However, its more likely that they just saved time by using press screens sent to them by Domark. It is plausible that a very very limited release snuck out, as similar has happened for titles such as Judge Dredd on the Spectrum. Could there be a copy out there waiting to be found?

Also – it seems that some screens have a lot more colour attributes in them compared to the final version. Looking at the boss part – the backgrounds look a bit more detailed and there is a bit of shading on the spheres in the preview screenshot.

The demo was also unlocked by a World of Spectrum member called Ralf. This was present on the TZX Vault regarding it:”

WoS member Ralf has dug around the code in the demo version and discovered that by entering two pokes you can see some extra parts of the level after the first boss:-

Poke 40888,0 to re-enable scrolling and poke 39812,201 to become invincible from the end of level boss.

Then straight after posting the article, our friend Graeme Mason got in touch, as they had ironically just done their own investigation into the game and had crucially reached out to those involved. Firstly, Graeme had found that Slovakian magazine BiT had interviewed Domark’s project manager, John Kavanagh, who stated that the Spectrum version was much faster than the CPC edition and took about five months (I assume to complete?), and that The Kremlin had devised its own scrolling system.

Graeme then looked at the Crash review, and points out that the screenshots have subtle differences compared to the playable demo released in the same magazine. The energy bar is simplified and the shark is shaded differently – along with a few other bits and pieces. A little odd perhaps, as you’d expect the demo to be just a cut down version of the final game that Crash reviewed.

As Graeme was in touch with a number of people already, he was able to reach out to people involved on ThunderJaws. Firstly, Jolyon ‘Joe’ Myers responded:

“Honestly, I don’t know why it wasn’t released. I’m sure I have a clipping of a Crash magazine review of it, which was positive, so I have no clue as to why it wouldn’t have come out. It was very much at the end of the Spectrum life cycle, and the last game I did any art for on that machine. Maybe they thought it didn’t make sense money-wise.

It’s funny that I don’t even recollect that. Although I’d spent a few days writing the Music for the Amiga version of the title, I was already thinking about the next project, Super Space Invaders, which was my first full Amiga title artistically as well as doing the sound and music.”

Domark’s Dominic Wheatley and John Kavanagh didn’t recall anything at all about the game, or even that they had the licence to it. Understandable, given its 35 years since then.

It all was left with finding David Paul Quinn, the programmer – and Graeme got a response back with the following:

“Hi Graeme, I worked for the Kremlin which was owned/funded by Domark. I coded the Amstrad and Spectrum versions, the Amstrad version was completed, but the Spectrum version was around 60% completed, I left the company then, and they did not finish the Spectrum version as far as I know. There was a one level Spectrum demo version released on issue 91 of Crash. I had been commuting from London to Weybridge for over six months, they had promised to help with re-location when I joined the company, when I pressed this issue, they told me tough shit.

I doubt Crash reviewed an unfinished game, but back in those days, money and gifts were exchanged for good reviews across many magazines. It was a long time ago, I am almost 57 now, but I remember what went on there. Basically Crash reviewed the first level on the spectrum and based the rest on the Amstrad version which was almost complete at that time.”

This wasn’t good news – sadly due to leaving The Kremlin, David’s conversion to the Spectrum wasn’t finished.

It should be noted that it isn’t clear whether Crash reviewed the game based on the Amstrad edition, or whether the version supplied to the magazine was a Spectrum build that was considered sufficiently complete at the time. It’s possible that the version received was not a final retail build, but was complete enough to be deemed reviewable. Some magazines would review games that were, for example, 90–95% complete, which was generally considered acceptable at the time, and quite different from reviewing something much earlier in development.

We’re currently trying to clarify the circumstances around the review with those involved, and will update this page if any further information comes to light.

It seems unlikely though that the code was finished by someone else, and was likely just quietly retired due to the dwindling market. However, strange things have happened – so we’ll have to wait and see what comes to light. Sadly, all of David’s work was left at The Kremlin – so trying to recover his 60% complete conversion is going to be tricky.

If you know anything more about the game, please do get in touch.

With a huge thank you to Graeme Mason for sharing his findings and quotes from those directly involved to pretty much close the case on this one. Please be sure to check out Graeme’s recent ZX Dreams 2 book as well.

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