Atic Atac

The game was written by Tim Stamper and its graphics were designed by brother Chris Stamper. Atac received praise from critics upon release, mostly for its graphics and gameplay. It was later included in the 2015 release by Rare on the Xbox One retrospective compilation, Rare Replay. The game served as inspiration for the critically acclaimed adventure game show Knightmare.

• Title — Atic Atac • Developer — Ultimate Play the Game • Publisher — Ultimate Play the Game • Designer — Tim and Chris Stamper • Platforms — ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro • Released — ZX Spectrum BBC Micro • Genre — Action-adventure, maze • Modes — Single-player

• Illustration — A screenshot from the game, showing a room surrounded by locked doors, and the roast chicken energy meter on the right. The game is presented in a top-down perspective (albeit with sideways-on action) and is set inside a complex, labyrinthine castle with multiple floors (accessed by staircases and timed trapdoors) and secret passages. The player has been trapped inside and needs to collect three pieces of the "Golden Key of ACG" in order to escape. They can choose from three different characters; a Wizard, Knight or Serf. Each character has different ground friction, a different weapon to kill common enemies and access to a secret passage unique to them, meaning that navigating the castle is different for each one. There are a number of items scattered around the castle, of which the player may carry up to three at a time. Some of these are always in the same place at the start of the game, whereas others are distributed randomly. Items include differently-coloured keys which will unlock their respective doors, the three pieces of the ACG key, and other items that affect certain enemies or are mere red herrings. Common enemies appear in each room upon entering and will attack the player on sight. Collision with these enemies destroys them but drains a portion of the player's health. There are also stationary poisonous fungi which will drain health constantly if the player is in contact with them, and enemies that require special items in order to either distract, repel or kill them, otherwise they remain in the room, invulnerable to conventional attacks, and rapidly drain the player's health if touched. The player has three lives upon starting the game, and should they die a gravestone will appear at their location and stay in place for the remainder of the current game. Health can be replenished by collecting food scattered throughout the castle, however it will constantly drop the more the player moves, thus the player may eventually lose a life from starvation if they have not escaped the castle in time.

Ashby Computers and Graphics was founded by brothers Tim and Chris Stamper, along with Tim's wife, Carol, from their headquarters in Ashby-de-la-Zouch in 1982. Under the trading name of Ultimate Play the Game, they began producing multiple video games for the ZX Spectrum throughout the early 1980s. Prior to founding Ultimate, the Stamper brothers had backgrounds in designing arcade machines, but no marketing experience in the video game sector. The operations of Ultimate were secretive and the Stamper brothers rarely gave interviews. Computer and Video Games noted that during development of Atic Atac, staff would work in "separate teams" to ensure quality control; one team would work on graphics whilst the other would oversee gameplay or sound. The Stamper brothers worked seven days a week with little sleep in order to devote more time into developing video games, and would frequently re-use the same mechanics of their earlier games in newer ZX Spectrum games.