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{{More citations needed|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
▲{{short description|Video game developer and publisher}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Level 9 Computing
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| location_country = United Kingdom
}}
[[File:Return to Eden cover (original release).jpg|thumb|right|This version of [[Return to Eden (game)|Return to Eden]] illustrates the general cover design used for most of Level 9's self-published releases. The "L9" logo is used as a background motif.]]
'''Level 9''' was a British developer of computer software, active between 1981 and 1991. Founded by Mike, Nicholas and Pete Austin, the company produced software for the [[BBC Micro]], [[Nascom]], [[ZX Spectrum]], [[Commodore 64]], [[Oric Atmos|Oric]], [[Atari 8-bit
Level 9's first release was an extension to Nascom [[BASIC]] called ''Extension Basic''.<ref name=plan6_34>{{cite journal | url=https://archive.org/stream/Page_6_Issue_34_1988-07_ABACUS_GB#page/n11/mode/2up | title=Level 9 - Masters of Adventure (and nice people too!) | journal=[[Page 6]] | date=July 1988 | issue=34 | pages=12–18 }}</ref> The first game, also for the Nascom, was called ''Fantasy'' and was similar to ''[[Valhalla (
==A-code==
Level 9 devised their own [[
(Level 9 A-code should not be confused with the A-code language developed by Dave Platt in 1979 for the purpose of writing the highly popular [[Colossal Cave Adventure#Later versions|550 points extension]] of the original Adventure game.)
In some ways A-code and the A-machine [[virtual machine]] were even more impressive than rival [[Infocom]]'s ZIL and [[Z-machine]]; both companies initially designed games for computers with 32K RAM and ZIL was in many ways more sophisticated. But Infocom products of the era required a disk drive, alleviating the memory restrictions of the platforms of the time. Level 9 due to different dynamics in the British market had to deliver their text adventures on [[Cassette tape#data|cassette tapes]], which generally meant that programs had to be loaded in one go and that they had to completely fit into memory.<ref name="maher20121022">{{cite web | url=http://www.filfre.net/2012/10/level-9/ | title=Level 9 | work=The Digital Antiquarian | date=2012-10-22 | accessdate=10 July 2014 | author=Maher, Jimmy | url-status=live | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140711194242/http://www.filfre.net/2012/10/level-9/ | archivedate=11 July 2014 }}</ref> Andrew Deeley, who worked for Level 9 on Software Development, recalls how the use of the A-Code interpreter enabled L9 to produce hundreds of cross platform versions of their entire catalogue in the space of 18 months, "with so many 8 bit computers on the markets and the introduction of Macs, Amigas and Atari STs, developing for cross platform versions of a game was becoming prohibitive in cost back in the late 1980s / early 1990s. Level 9 were able to hold their own as a small developer because they were able to optimise cross platform production of their games".<ref name=nowgamer/>
The first game to use this system was ''[[Jewels of Darkness#Colossal Adventure|Colossal Adventure]]'' in early 1982, a faithful conversion of ''[[Colossal Cave Adventure|Adventure]]'' by [[Will Crowther]] and [[Don Woods (programmer)|Don Woods]],<ref>{{cite book|title=The Inform Designer's Manual|first=Nelson|last=Graham|authorlink=graham Nelson|page=349|publisher=Dan Sanderson|year=2001|isbn=0-9713119-0-0|url=http://inform-fiction.org/manual/DM4.pdf|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107005951/http://inform-fiction.org/manual/DM4.pdf|archivedate=2015-11-07}}</ref> but with 70 extra locations<ref name="An Interview with Pete Austin">{{Cite web|url=http://l9memorial.if-legends.org/html/austin.html|title = An Interview with Pete Austin}}</ref> to the end game to fulfill Level 9's preexisting claim in advertisements of "over 200" locations; a remarkable achievement given that [[Gordon Letwin]]'s port of ''Adventure'' to the [[TRS-80]] required a disk drive. That year the company produced two sequels, ''Adventure Quest'' and ''Dungeon Adventure'',{{r|maher20121022}} both of which featured the Demon Lord [[Agaliarept]]. The three titles became known as the ''Middle-earth'' trilogy,<ref name=pcg04>{{ citation | url=https://archive.org/stream/personalcomputergames-magazine-04/PersonalComputerGames_04#page/n31/mode/1up | journal=[[Personal Computer Games]] | title = Level 9 Advertiesment | date=March 1984 | issue=4 | pages=30 }}</ref> with a reference in the instructions to ''Dungeon Adventure'' to the city of [[Minas Tirith]], which features in [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.<ref name=SUser/> When enhanced versions of the three games were published by [[Telecomsoft|Rainbird Software]], the reference to [[Middle-earth]] was quietly deleted; the series became known as ''Jewels of Darkness''; and
''Snowball'' was the first adventure in the ''[[Silicon Dreams]]'' trilogy, followed by ''[[Return to Eden]]'' and ''[[The Worm in Paradise]]''.<ref name="An Interview with Pete Austin"/> ''Red Moon'' and its sequel ''[[The Price of Magik]]'' were bundled together with ''[[Lords of Time]]'' by [[Mandarin Software]] to create yet another trilogy: ''[[Time and Magik]]''.
==List of software==
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* ''Compass for the Lynx'' (198x)
==List of
* ''Fantasy'' (198x)
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* ''[[Lords of Time]]'' (1983)
* ''[[Return to Eden (game)|Return to Eden]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Emerald Isle (video game)|Emerald Isle]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Red Moon (video game)|Red Moon]]'' (1985)
* ''[[The Worm in Paradise]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Adrian Mole#Other media|The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾]]'' (for
* ''[[The Archers (video game)|The Archers]]'' (for Mosaic, 1985)
* ''[[Erik the Viking (video game)|The Saga of Erik the Viking]]'' (for Mosaic, 1985)<ref name="An Interview with Pete Austin"/>
* ''[[The Price of Magik]]'' (1986)
* ''[[Jewels of Darkness]]'' trilogy (for [[Rainbird Software]], 1986) (also known as the ''Middle-Earth Trilogy'')
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** ''Red Moon''
** ''The Price of Magik''
* ''[[Lancelot (video game)|Lancelot]]'' (for Mandarin, 1988)
* ''[[Ingrid's Back: Gnome Ranger 2]]'' (for Mandarin, 1988)
* ''[[Scapeghost]]'' (1989)
* ''The Legend of Billy the Kid'' (for [[Ocean Software]], 1990; never released)
* ''[[Champion of the Raj]]'' (1991)
* ''[[It Came from the Desert]]'' ([[IBM PC compatible|PC]] port for [[Cinemaware]], 1991)
== References ==
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== External links ==
* [http://www.if-legends.org/~l9memorial/html/home.html Level 9 Memorial]
* [http://mirror.ifarchive.org/if-archive/level9/info/Level9_Facts.txt Level 9 Fact Sheet]
* [http://www.sinclairlair.co.uk/level9.htm Level 9 - Past Masters of the adventure game] by Richard Hewison
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