Easy Art
An art package for the Amstrad CPC, developed after the Twins' original BBC Micro version was commissioned but left unpublished.
Image credits and source
Original cover / promotional artwork
Credit: Interceptor Software — artwork belongs to its respective rights holders
Source: The Oliver Twins archive
Game at a glance
- Status
- Classic
- Released
- 1985
- Platforms
- Amstrad CPC
- Genres
- Creative software
- Developer
- The Oliver Twins (original development)
- Publisher
- Interceptor Software
Development and publication
Development: The Oliver Twins (original development). Publication: Interceptor Software.
The named development credit refers to the original or specifically identified version. Other ports and later re-releases may have different development teams.
Making the game
Computers in the early 80’s were uninspiring when switched on. They’d have a black screen with some simple white or green text and a flashing cursor. We wanted to see graphics on screen and this often meant loading up a game, which were usually fairly crude. We thought it would be good to produce an art package where people could draw any pictures limited only by the resolution of the computer.
The “fill command” was so slow that we learnt, with a little help from our computer studies teacher, how to write 6502 Assembly code to speed it up. This was a fundamentally skill required for professional game development and was a significant turning point for us.
Firebird (a division of British Telecom) paid us £2,000 for Easy Art on the BBC, but sadly dropped support for the BBC Micro before it was published. Thankfully they didn’t ask for their money back, which was just as well since we’d spent it on a car – a secondhand Silver Datsun Cherry. They suggested we remake it for the Amstrad CPC, but after we completed it they decided they didn’t want this version either, so we looked for other publishers and did a publishing deal with Interceptor Software.