Gridrunner++ for the PC	Finally, after much struggle and ox-like grunting, it's here :). Initial reactions have been very favourable and there are already quite a few healthy addictions developing. If you loved Llamatron, if you loved Tempest 2000 or Tempest 3000... then I don't think you will be at all disappointed in this :). Details'n'Downloads on the official Llamasoft.co.uk web site.

Llamasoft are proud to announce the launch of our Queen-Mum-tastic, fluffy and furry, fun'n'frolicsome action/puzzle game Deflex for PC and PocketPC. This challenging and humorous game of dexterity and skill actually has a pedigree going back over 20 years. If you're a Llamasoftie of long standing, then you'll enjoy the historical look at the evolution of Deflex on the Deflex History page. And if you're new to Llamasoft and don't know what we're all about, then catching up on some Llamasoft history should give you a better idea! Download the demo version of the game, and read the Player's Guide to get a feel for how it works and what to expect in the full game. Then, when you fall in love with the game's goaty goodness, purchase the whole thing for only five pounds - that's only 10 pence per level :-). Head over to the Deflex page on the Llamasoft Archive or on the gnu Llamasoft site and check it out!

Deflex for the PC and PocketPC

Hover Bovver 2 - Grand Theft Flymo for the PC and PocketPC

Slapstick comedy and enjoyable gameplay combine in this unique game that gently parodies an English suburban ritual - mowing the lawn on a Sunday afternoon. Guide Gordon Bennett around 50 lovely lawns whilst avoiding the irate Neighbour, trying not to incur the wrath of the Gardener, and keeping the lawn free of moles by terminating them with extreme prejudice! Lob garden furniture at your pursuers and set your faithful dog on your neighbour - but be sure to keep the dog happy, and watch out for it's loose bowels! Llamasoft fans of old will recognise a classic title brought joyously up to date. Newcomers will be treated to a fine example of the Llamasoft game design philosophy - that games should be humorous as well as fun to play. Head over to the Hover Bovver page on the Llamasoft Archive or on the gnu Llamasoft site, where you can find out about the history behind Hover Bovver, download the demo version, peruse the Player's Guide, and - we hope - return to buy the full version of the game, which, at only a fiver for fifty levels, represents by far the best value in the world of humorous lawn-mowing games featuring sheep and llamas.

LLAMASOFT - What's it all about?

For some people who have been waiting eagerly for the appearance of this page and these games, Llamasoft will need no introduction. But to others coming here for the first time, I would like to offer a few words of explanation, about where we come from and what we're trying to do here.

I should firstly introduce myself. I am the individual referred to on this site as Yak - a pseudonym chosen a long time ago, back in the days when hi-score tables on coin-op machines only held three letters, and I settled on Yak because the yak is a scruffy hairy beast - a lot like me ;-).

I first started writing games on an old Commodore PET at the end of the 1970s, and in 1982 I founded a company called Llamasoft, developing games for the Commodore Vic-20 and 64. Llamasoft flourished for a while, mainly in Europe, and became known for its distinctive style - the games usually contained a degree of humour, references to various ungulates, and satisfying gameplay. Satisfying to some people, anyway - Llamasoft games weren't to everyone's tastes, but those who did enjoy them were loyal, and Llamasoft is fondly remembered by many.

As the videogame market evolved, self-publishing became unfeasible for a small company like Llamasoft, and I began to look at other ways of getting my stuff published. I was instrumental in helping to break the concept of shareware into the UK with my Atari ST, Amiga and PC game Llamatron. I also did some contract work for Atari; perhaps my best-known creation for them being Tempest 2000 for the Atari Jaguar.

More recently I've spent the last five years working for a company called VM Labs, and I produced Tempest 3000 whilst employed by them. But that was a huge project... taking me over two years from start to finish. And no matter how good the end-product, being engaged on one project for such a length of time ceases to become fun after a while. The worsening economic climate at VML and a growing dissatisfaction with how I was feeling about my work there led me to wonder whether it might not be possible somehow to work in a way that was closer to the enjoyable spontaneity that characterised the Llamasoft years - where projects lasted a couple of months, and one could enjoy producing a lot of simple-but-amusing games that were almost as much fun to create as they were to play.

In the end, my hand was forced as VML filed for Chapter 11 and I found myself out of a job. I had already considered the PocketPC as a potential market for games that were simple and fun - the sort of games that I used to enjoy making back in the Llamasoft days. And given that the market for PPC games is almost entirely online, distribution wouldn't be a problem; Llamasoft could once again become self-publishing.

I experimented with programming the PPC, and found it easy to develop for, yet quite amazingly powerful for such a little device :-). I knew that I could have a lot of fun producing games for these little machines. So here I am, and here is Llamasoft, with the first couple of games. Whether I carry on doing this - and I certainly would like to - depends upon whether enough people out there actually want to play such games - and pay for them.

Our philosophy is simply to create games that are easy to learn, humorous, and which draw on my 20 years' experience as a game designer and therefore are hopefully fun to play, as well. The games will also be cheap, at five pounds for the full versions. I don't think the price of a couple of beers is too much to ask for games that hopefully will provide a few hours of enjoyable amusement.

As long as it pays enough to keep me in beer and curry, I'll carry on producing Llamasoft games every couple of months. We hope you'll keep coming back to the site, not only to download the latest games, but also perhaps because you will enjoy reading our blogs and articles, laughing and pointing with us at the strange stuff we encounter on the Web, and reading about the long history of Llamasoft as we put together the large archive we have planned over the next few months. The idea is that the Llamasoft site will be far from static - it'll be a constantly-evolving resource, somewhere interesting you'll want to hang out in as well as a place to come to download some fun games with sheep in ;-).

Anyway - welcome to Llamasoft :-). We hope you'll like what we do. And if you do, spread the word :-).