LaserSquadNemesis.com
Title
XCom UFO creators strategy game Laser Squad Nemesis
Description
Julian and Nick Gollop are veterans of the games industry. They originally started as independent publishers and developers before working exclusively as game developers, which proved to be a more difficult and unstable existence. Recently, they have returned to independent publishing and development, delivering games over the internet directly to the people who matter.
Julian Gollop - game designer
Julian started creating computer games in 1982 while at school, where he designed 'Time Lords' and 'Islandia' for the BBC Micro. He learned to program on a humble ZX81, before swiftly upgrading to the Sinclair Spectrum. After leaving school he created 'Nebula' and 'Rebelstar Raiders' for RedShift, a pioneering strategy games publisher based in North London. He then attended the London School of Economics to study sociology and econmics. Whilst there he created 'Chaos', published by Games Workshop, and 'Rebelstar', published on Mirrorsoft's budget label, Firebird. After moving back to Harlow he set up Target Games, and was joined by his brother Nick. They created 'Laser Squad' for the Spectrum, C64 and Amstrad CPC, with Atari and Amiga conversions outsourced. This was followed up by 'Lords of Chaos', a sequel to the original Chaos, but with strong RPG elements.
Julian showed a prototype of Laser Squad 2 to several publishers, and it was picked up by MicroProse and transformed into 'UFO: Enemy Unknown' (aka 'X-Com: UFO Defense'). X-Com sold massive numbers, and was followed by two sequels 'X-Com: Terror from the Deep' and 'X-Com: Apocalypse'. Terror from the Deep was developed by Microprose using code licensed by Mythos, while X-Com: Apocalypse was developed by an expanded Mythos development team. X-Com: Apocalypse was a successful and profitable game for Mythos, despite a troubled development, but it was the last X-Com game that the Gollop brothers worked on. Further sequels, 'X-Com: Interceptor' and 'X-Com: Enforcer' were developed by Microprose, but they departed from the established strategy game genre. The much touted 'X-Com: Alliance' was canned by Microprose, despite a massive amount of money being lavished on it.
