Urban Upstart
Urban Upstart is a 1983 text adventure programmed by Pete Cooke and published by Richard Shepherd Software for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. Set in the fictional British town of Scarthorpe, a particularly grim town with high crime and unemployment rates. The protagonist begins in their house at three o'clock in the morning, with the objective of escaping from Scarthorpe.
Urban Upstart
- Date
- 1983
- Publisher
- Richard Shepherd Software
- Genre
- interactive fiction
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Urban Upstart is a 1983 text adventure programmed by Pete Cooke and published by Richard Shepherd Software for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. Set in the fictional British town of Scarthorpe, a particularly grim town with high crime and unemployment rates. The protagonist begins in their house at three o'clock in the morning, with the objective of escaping from Scarthorpe.
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Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Urban Upstart • Developer — Pete Cooke • Publisher — Richard Shepherd Software • Released — 1983 • Genre — Interactive fiction • Modes — Single-player • Platforms — ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64
Gameplay
Gameplay
• Illustration — Trying to leave the protagonist's house Urban Upstart is a text adventure in which the player types actions in verb-noun format. The upper half of the screen displays an illustration of the current location. Typing in expletives results in the protagonist being arrested on obscenity charges and sent to a gaol. Unlike Richard Shepherd Software's previous adventure, Invincible Island, Urban Upstart did not come supplied with a separate "help program". This was intended to take the pressure off the company with regards to giving hints, but only caused customer confusion. With Urban Upstart, Shepherd instead supplied help sheets to customers who wrote in asking for information.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- United Kingdom
Named but not plotted · 1
Urban Upstart is associated with United Kingdom.
Country
Reception
Urban Upstart received mixed criticism. Computer and Video Games found the scenario to be original, but was frustrated with the implementation. Some obvious nouns were not recognized (for example, "SHOP" outside a chip shop) and the illustrations took too long to draw, with no option of turning them off. The maze-like hospital and gaol locations were also seen as frustrating. Your Spectrum highlighted the game's graphics and recommended it as a good, entertaining adventure. CRASH magazine awarded 64%, finding the story to be a nice change from the usual fantasy setting, highlighting a large vocabulary and detailed (but slow) graphics. In contrast, Micro Adventurer found the vocabulary to be limited, with some occasionally confusing graphics, but recommended the game to those who can appreciate bleak humour. Sinclair User awarded 8 out of 10, finding the portrayal of Scarthorpe to be inventive and convincing. Despite mixed reviews, Urban Upstart consistently sold well and is considered to be a fondly remembered adventure.
Primary material
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reference work
- “Urban Upstart”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
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authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q2100703: Urban Upstart
General reference · Wikidata
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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