# Richard Shepherd Software > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Richard_Shepherd_Software > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Richard_Shepherd_Software.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Shepherd_Software > Source revision: 1357178611 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|British software house active between 1982 and 1985}} {{Infobox company | name = Richard Shepherd Software Ltd | logo = | type = Private | fate = Folded | founded = February 1982 | founder = Richard Shepherd | defunct = {{End date|1985}} | hq_location_city = [Slough](/source/Slough) | hq_location_country = [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom) | key_people = Richard Shepherd, [Pete Cooke](/source/Pete_Cooke) | industry = [Video games](/source/Video_games) | products = ''[Urban Upstart](/source/Urban_Upstart)'', ''[Everest Ascent](/source/Everest_Ascent)'' }} '''Richard Shepherd Software''' was a British software house active between 1982 and 1985. The company was mainly known for releasing [text adventure](/source/text_adventure) games.{{cite journal|journal=CRASH|issue=14|page=120|title=Ski Star 2000 review|date=March 1985}} These were programmed by Richard Shepherd himself and [Pete Cooke](/source/Pete_Cooke). == History == Richard Shepherd had worked as an accountant and taught himself programming on a [ZX81](/source/ZX81) in his spare time.{{cite magazine | last= | first= | date=30 August 1983 | title=The spare-time sideline that took off | url=https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=2592&page=29 | magazine=Home Computing Weekly | page=29 | location=London | publisher=Argus Specialist Publications | access-date=2022-05-05}} During this time his wife Elaine took an interest in text adventure games. Upon her disappointment about a purchased game Richard suggested writing their own. Their company started out in February 1982 from the Shepherd's dining room in their house in [Maidenhead](/source/Maidenhead). Its first product was ''Bargain Bytes'', a collection of games and utilities for the ZX81. Due to the release of the ZX81's successor [ZX Spectrum](/source/ZX_Spectrum) in April 1982 the company had to switch to the new machine. A major step for the company was when retailer [WHSmith](/source/WHSmith) ordered the adventure ''[Transylvanian Tower](/source/Transylvanian_Tower)'' for its stores in February 1983. At this point Richard Shepherd quit his daytime job and focused on the software company. The company moved into an office in [Slough](/source/Slough) and hired the first employees. Richard Shepherd's finance utility, ''Cash Controller'', was the first Spectrum program to be designed to work with the [ZX Microdrive](/source/ZX_Microdrive).{{cite journal|journal=ZX Computing|issue=8402|page=84|title=Software News|date=February–March 1984}} In 1991 an issue of Amstrad Action (May, No. 68 p. 70) published an [artillery game](/source/artillery_game) [type-in program](/source/type-in_program) called ''Warzone''. Consisting of 144 lines of code, the author was noted down as one "Richard Shephard down Bristol way". ==List of publications== {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Caption text |- ! Program Title !! Prod year !! Informantion |- | [Cash Controller](/source/Cash_Controller) || 1983 || {{Cite web|url=https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.php?cat=96&id=8004|title = Cash Controller at Spectrum Computing - Sinclair ZX Spectrum games, software and hardware}} |- | [Devils of the Deep](/source/Devils_of_the_Deep) || 1983 || . |- | [Everest Ascent](/source/Everest_Ascent) || 1983 || . |- | [The Inferno](/source/The_Inferno_(video_game)) || 1984 || . |- | [Invincible Island](/source/Invincible_Island) || 1983 || . |- | [Jackpot Fruit Machine](/source/Jackpot_Fruit_Machine) || 1982 || . |- | [Monster Mine](/source/Monster_Mine) || 1982 || . |- | [Shaken but Not Stirred](/source/Shaken_but_Not_Stirred) || 1982 || . |- | [Ship of the Line](/source/Ship_of_the_Line_(video_game)) || 1982 || . |- | [Ski Star 2000](/source/Ski_Star_2000) || 1985 || {{Cite web|url=https://ia801309.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/4/items/your-spectrum-magazine-15/YourSpectrum_15_Jun_1985_jp2.zip&file=YourSpectrum_15_Jun_1985_jp2/YourSpectrum_15_Jun_1985_0052.jp2&id=your-spectrum-magazine-15&scale=4&rotate=0|title = Your Spectrum 15 - Joystick Jury}} |- | [Submarine Attack](/source/Submarine_Attack_(video_game)) || 1982 || . |- | [Super Spy](/source/Super_Spy_(video_game)) || 1982 || . |- | [Transylvanian Tower](/source/Transylvanian_Tower) || 1982 || . |- | [Upper Gumtree](/source/Upper_Gumtree) || 1984 || . |- | [Urban Upstart](/source/Urban_Upstart) || 1983 || . |- | || || . |} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekpub.cgi?regexp=^Richard+Shepherd+Software+Ltd$&loadpics=1 Richard Shepherd Software] at [World of Spectrum](/source/World_of_Spectrum) * {{MobyGames company|company=richard-shepherd-software-ltd}} Category:1982 establishments in England Category:1985 disestablishments in England Category:British companies disestablished in 1985 Category:British companies established in 1982 Category:Defunct video game companies of the United Kingdom Category:Software companies disestablished in 1985 Category:Software companies established in 1982 --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Richard Shepherd Software](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Shepherd_Software) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Shepherd_Software?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.