Level 9
British interactive fiction pioneers
Level 9 Computing brought sophisticated text adventures to 8-bit machines, cramming Infocom-quality experiences into 48K of RAM.
Overview
The Austin family—brothers Pete and Mike with father Margaret—founded Level 9 to create text adventures that rivalled Infocom on hardware Infocom considered inadequate. Their compression techniques fit sophisticated games into 32K and 48K machines, while their parser understood genuinely complex sentences.
Fast facts
- Founded: 1981, Berkshire, UK.
- Speciality: text adventures with advanced compression.
- Innovations: complex parser, multi-platform simultaneous release.
- Output: approximately 20 adventure games.
Key games
| Game | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Colossal Adventure | 1983 | 350-point Colossal Cave port |
| Snowball | 1983 | Original space thriller |
| Lords of Time | 1983 | Time-travel adventure |
| The Saga of Erik the Viking | 1984 | Terry Jones collaboration |
| Knight Orc | 1987 | Multi-character gameplay |
| Lancelot | 1988 | Arthurian epic |
Technical achievements
Text compression
Level 9’s A-code compression achieved remarkable results:
- Full games in 32K or 48K
- Text compression ratios rivalling or exceeding Infocom
- Multiple platform support from single source
Parser sophistication
Their parser handled:
- Full sentence input
- Multiple commands
- Pronouns and context
- Complex preposition phrases
Multi-format releases
Games released simultaneously on:
- ZX Spectrum (48K/128K)
- BBC Micro
- Commodore 64
- Amstrad CPC
- Later: 16-bit versions
A-Code system
Pete Austin’s A-code virtual machine:
- Bytecode interpreted adventure engine
- Portable across platforms
- Efficient memory use
- Supported graphics in later versions
Partnership with Rainbird
Later releases through Rainbird/Telecomsoft brought:
- Better packaging and presentation
- Wider distribution
- Graphics in adventures like Knight Orc
End of an era
Declining adventure game sales led to closure in 1991. The family had created some of Britain’s finest interactive fiction on hardware others dismissed as incapable.
Legacy
Level 9 proved that:
- Sophisticated adventures could run on cheap hardware
- British developers could match American quality
- Good compression solved “impossible” technical challenges