Box art and screenshots from the Singleton catalogue. Filter by platform below.
Images sourced from Internet Archive and Lemon64.
Shadowfax (1982)
Singleton's debut — a horse-racing and action game whose animal graphics were traced from
Muybridge's 19th-century photographic studies. Published by Postern Ltd on C64 and Spectrum.
Shadowfax - Commodore 64 box art (Postern Ltd, 1982). Singleton's first commercial release.Shadowfax - Commodore 64 gameplay. The horse animations were derived from Muybridge's locomotion photographs — "the oldest computer graphics about," in Singleton's own words.
Lords of Midnight - The Panoramic Realm
The Lords of Midnight (1984) generated 32,000 unique panoramic views across 4,000 locations
from eight directional viewpoints - all on 48KB of ZX Spectrum RAM.
The Lords of Midnight - ZX Spectrum box art (Beyond Software, 1984)Lords of Midnight - ZX Spectrum gameplay. Luxor the Moonprince at the Tower of the Moon. The "landscaping" engine renders horizon, mountains, and foreground terrain as layered sprite sheets.The Lords of Midnight - Commodore 64 box art (Beyond Software, 1984). The C64 port appeared in 1985; Zzap!64 covered it in their debut issue, scoring 91%.Lords of Midnight - Commodore 64 gameplay. The C64 version retained the full 4,000-location world and 100+ characters of the Spectrum original.Lords of Midnight - Commodore 64. The panoramic views used the same "landscaping" layer technique adapted for the C64's colour palette.Lords of Midnight - Commodore 64. Strategic map view showing lords' positions across the world of Midnight.
Doomdark's Revenge (1985)
Doomdark's Revenge expanded the ZX Spectrum world to 6,000 locations with a more complex
alliance system. Amstrad Action voted it one of the top ten games of all time.
Doomdark's Revenge - emulator screenshot showing the expanded landscaping engine. The alliance system made this the more strategically complex of the two early Midnight games.Doomdark's Revenge - Commodore 64 box art (Beyond Software, 1985).Doomdark's Revenge - Commodore 64 gameplay. The C64 port maintained the 6,000-location world of the Spectrum original.Doomdark's Revenge - Commodore 64. The game's alliance system allowed characters from different factions to cooperate — a mechanic Singleton had not anticipated players fully exploiting.
War in Middle Earth (1988)
Maelstrom's official Tolkien licence — a real-time strategy spanning all of Middle-earth.
Published by Melbourne House; 8-bit versions by Maelstrom, 16-bit by Synergistic Software.
War in Middle Earth - Commodore 64 box art (Melbourne House, 1988).War in Middle Earth - Commodore 64 gameplay. The strategic map view covers all of Middle-earth from the Shire to Mordor.War in Middle Earth - Commodore 64. Tactical combat mode during a battle sequence.War in Middle Earth - Commodore 64. The game tracked the Fellowship's progress alongside the wider war effort.
Dark Sceptre (1987)
Dark Sceptre was Maelstrom's action-strategy debut - notable for its 4-channel sound on the
ZX Spectrum and its parallel play-by-mail mode.
Dark Sceptre - ZX Spectrum gameplay (Firebird Software, 1987). Sinclair User gave it 10/10; Your Sinclair 9/10 for its "nifty graphics and sound."
Midwinter (1989/90) and Midwinter II (1991)
Midwinter moved Singleton to real-time 3D on the Atari ST. A fractal-generated island of
160,000 square kilometres with over 60 recruitable characters. Zzap!64 gave it 97%.
Midwinter - PC/DOS box art (MicroPlay Software / Masters of Strategy Series, 1989/90). Originally released on Atari ST; Amiga and DOS ports followed in 1990.Midwinter II: Flames of Freedom - PC/DOS box art (MicroProse, 1991). The spy-thriller sequel moved the action from arctic tundra to tropical islands. C+VG 96%; ACE 95%.
