FROM ITS INCEPTION IN 1982 UNTIL ITS CLOSURE IN 2018, FIRST STAR SOFTWARE WAS A BYWORD FOR INNOVATION. COFOUNDER RICHARD SPITALNY REVISITS THE FIRM’S BOULDER DASH AND SPY VS SPY SERIES, AND REVEALS HIDDEN GEMS

WORDS BY RORY MILNE

RICHARD SPITALNY Originally a film producer, First Star Software cofounder Richard Spitalny got into games publishing as a sideline, and stayed there until 2018 when he retired.

First Star Software got its start in late-1982 with its debut title Astro Chase, and the following year its author produced the similarly popular paint-’em-up Bristles. First Star’s early Eighties output was then bolstered by arcade-style submissions to the firm like Panic Button and Flip And Flop. Peter Liepa’s cavebased crystal hunt Boulder Dash followed, and it received three sequels during the mid-Eighties.

It was a similar story with the superlative action title Spy Vs Spy, a best-seller with two followups released by 1986. First Star also licensed Superman, firstly for 1986’s Superman: The Game and then 1989’s Superman: The Man Of Steel.

In the late-Eighties and early Nineties the company regularly licensed its IP to others, with highlights being Rockford The Arcade Game and Spy Vs Spy: Operation Boobytrap. First Star also published the adventure Omnicron Conspiracy, the crime caper Security Alert and the beat-’emup Millenium Warriors during this time.

Following an eight-year hiatus where First Star founder Richard Spitalny worked for the developer Imergy, a wealth of popular Boulder Dash releases appeared online and on mobile platforms, from 2003’s Boulder Dash ME to 2014’s Boulder

Dash 30th Anniversary. Spy Vs Spy was also reimagined, for consoles in 2005 and tablets in 2012. Boulder Dash was a draw on consoles too, with titles like 2007’s Boulder Dash Rocks! and 2011’s Boulder Dash-XL being of particular note.

Then as it had started out, First Star Software went out on a high, when in 2017 its name and assets were sold to BBG Entertainment. In 2021, BBG released the wellreceived Boulder Dash Deluxe, which bodes well for First Star’s legacy.

FLIP & FLOP VARIOUS • 1983

Like Q*bert, the objective of Flip & Flop is to change the colour of tiles on an isometric playfield while avoiding persistent enemies. Where it differentiates itself is with its two player characters: a kangaroo and a monkey, which you play one after another. The second twist is that its monkey stages are upside down, and have him hanging from the tiles.

RICHARD’S MEMORIES

Jim Nangano worked in a top-secret navy facility while he was making Flip & Flop. He would post us disks, and we insisted he stamped them confidential. He finally told us it was taking him ages to leave work, because he first had to prove these confidential disks just had a game on them!”

ASTRO CHASE VARIOUS • 1982

Considering that it was developed at a time when many computer games were shameless coin-op clones, Astro Chase is impressively original. Fernando Herrara’s intense scrolling shooter tasks you with taking out mines before they destroy the Earth. These are tricky to target as they never stop moving, and your mission is made harder by the alien craft that home in on your position with all guns blazing.

RICHARD’S MEMORIES

There was a tremendous amount of innovation in Astro Chase, and that was all attributable to Fernando Herrara. We self-published it until I made a deal with Parker Brothers for the right to publish the cartridge versions.

We got $250,000 as an advance on royalties, and that guaranteed our future.”

BRISTLES VARIOUS • 1983

The trick to Bristles is timing; without it you don’t stand a chance. The idea is to get the rooms in a series of houses painted against the clock. To complicate matters, the elevators in these dwellings move at deadly speeds, and there are foes and objects that want to kill you. But if you work out the movement patterns of these hazards you can make brisk progress.

RICHARD’S MEMORIES

Fernando was very definite that having done Astro Chase he didn’t want to do another shoot-’em-up, I think he wanted to prove that there was a lot more to his creativity. So Bristles was a combination of us wanting to be different and wanting to appeal to both male and female players. I remember suggesting that to Fernando because I had two daughters.”

MANIC MECHANICS

A LOOK AT THE FAST-PACED PAINT-’EM-UP’S GAMEPLAY

ORIGINAL OBJECTIVE

Fixed-screen space shooters dominated early Eighties gaming, but the hazardplagued house decorating in Bristles bucked that trend with its novel mechanics.

ELEVATOR ACTION

The elevators in Bristles are insanely fast. They’re deadly if you’re under them when they move down a floor, and their speed helps create frenetic gameplay.

ECLECTIC ENEMIES

Bristles’ foes all behave differently. Flying Half Pints speed across the screen, Dumb Buckets block elevators and Brenda leaves handprints on painted walls.

SUPERB STAGES

As well as their unique layouts and foes, Bristles’ levels gradually introduce fresh features like painting walls the same colour and decorating in the dark.

CHARACTER BUILDING

Unusually for an Eighties game, there’s a whole cast of player characters in Bristles for you to play as, with both male and female protagonists available.