Origins: Chelmsford, 1986
Sensible Software was founded in 1986 by Jon Hare and Chris Yates in Chelmsford, Essex. [1] The pair had been writing games together since their teens, drawn together by a shared obsession with the Commodore 64. Their first commercial release, Parallax (published by Ocean Software), appeared in 1986 and demonstrated the tight scrolling and responsive controls that would become the studio's trademark.
A year later, in 1987, came two defining titles. Shoot 'Em Up Construction Kit (SEUCK) gave players the tools to build their own shoot-em-ups — an audacious idea that proved enormously popular. And Wizball, published by Ocean, became one of the most celebrated games on the C64. Martin Galway's SID score for Wizball is still considered a masterpiece of chip music; Zzap!64 awarded the game its "Best Game Ever" award with a 98% score. [2]
The Amiga Years: 1988–1993
With the arrival of the Amiga, Sensible Software's ambitions expanded. MicroProse Soccer (1988) brought the top-down football formula to a wider audience, paving the ground for their greatest creation. Mega Lo Mania (1991), published by Imageworks, was their most technically ambitious work of the early era — a real-time strategy god-game spanning four epochs, ported to SNES and Mega Drive. [3]
Then, in 1992, came Sensible Soccer. Published by Renegade Software, it transformed the football genre with its top-down view, frenetic pace, and unerring responsiveness. It became one of the best-selling Amiga games of the era. [4] The following year, Cannon Fodder arrived via Virgin Games — a darkly comic war game that provoked tabloid controversy with its poppy field imagery on Remembrance Sunday, and whose Richard Joseph-composed theme song, "War Has Never Been So Much Fun," became one of gaming's most iconic and provocative anthems. [5]
The Peak: 1994–1996
The mid-1990s were Sensible Software's commercial zenith. In 1994 alone the studio shipped Cannon Fodder 2, Sensible Golf, International Sensible Soccer, and the landmark Sensible World of Soccer (SWOS) — a complete overhaul of Sensible Soccer featuring a database of over 27,000 real players across more than 1,500 clubs. [6] SWOS shipped in annual editions through 1996/97 and was re-released on Xbox Live Arcade in 2007, a testament to its enduring quality.
This period also saw Stoo Cambridge join the studio as artist and designer, his pixel-art work and UI design leaving a lasting mark on the studio's visual language. [7]
Codemasters Acquisition: May 1999
Codemasters acquired Sensible Software in May 1999. [8] Jon Hare and Chris Yates departed following the acquisition. Jon Hare went on to found Tower Studios, where he produced a mobile port of Cannon Fodder in 2005. Codemasters later published Sensible Soccer 2006, developed by Kuju Entertainment, which attempted to revive the franchise for a new generation — with mixed results.
The independent Sensible Software story spanned thirteen years and produced fifteen or more titles. The studio operated entirely from Chelmsford, Essex, throughout its existence — a reminder that world-class creative work can come from anywhere with two programmers, a pitch-green imagination, and an Amiga.