History Creator / SynapseSoftware

'''Synapse Software''' was a computer software company from TheEighties, best known for their ShootEmUp games for the UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers and UsefulNotes/{{Commodore 64}}, and at their peak were the biggest third-party developer for Atari computers.

Synapse's first games were for the UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers, typically [[SerialNumbersFiledOff thinly-disguised copies]] of popular arcade games of the era. While their early games did reasonably well, it was their second wave of games that provided their biggest hits, such as ''VideoGame/{{Shamus}}, Blue Max, Necromancer,'' and ''Fort Apocalypse.'' Many of Synapse's games were distributed in Europe by U.S. Gold under the "Synsoft" brand, and the company also released an official port of ''VideoGame/{{Zaxxon}}'' for the Commodore 64.

Heady with success, Synapse began quickly diversifying In 1983, with increased support for the Commodore 64, a series of InteractiveFiction games ("Electronic Novels"), and even a suite of business software titles for the UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers. Unfortunately, that last move led to their downfall -- the company had entered into a collaboration with Creator/{{Atari}} Inc. for the business suite, but when Jack Tramiel purchased Atari's consumer division, he refused to pay for the software.[[note]]Tramiel's position was that the deal was made with the earlier Atari management, and he was therefore not legally obligated to uphold it.[[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Breakers}}''[[note]]No relation to the Neo Geo fighting game of the same name.[[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Necromancer}}''

* ''VideoGame/{{Protector}}''

* ''VideoGame/{{Slime}}''
* ''VideoGame/{{Survivor}}''
* ''VideoGame/{{Zeppelin}}''

* ''VideoGame/{{Breakers}}''

* ''Alley Cat''
* ''Blue Max''
** ''Blue Max 2001''
* ''Claim Jumper''
* ''Dimension X''
* ''Drelbs''
* ''Encounter!''
* ''Fort Apocalypse''
* ''Necromancer''
* ''The Pharaoh's Curse''
* ''Protector''

* ''Quasimodo''
* ''Rainbow Walker''

* ''Slime''
* ''Survivor''
* ''Zeppelin''

* ''Breakers''
* ''Brimstone: The Dream of Gawain''
* ''Essex''
* ''Mindwheel''

Heady with success, Synapse began quickly diversifying In 1983, with increased support for the Commodore 64, a series of InteractiveFiction games ("Electronic Novels"), and even a suite of business software titles for the UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers. Unfortunately, that last move led to their downfall -- the company had entered into a collaboration with Creator/{{Atari}} Inc. for the business suite, but when Jack Tramiel purchased Atari's consumer division, he refused to pay for the software.[[note]]Tramiel's position was that the deal with with the earlier Atari management, and he was therefore not legally obligated to uphold it.[[/note]]

'''Synapse Software''' was a computer software company from TheEighties, best known for their ShootEmUp games for the UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers and UsefulNotes/{{Commodore 64}}. At their peak, they were Atari's top third-party developer.

Synapse's first games were for the UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers, typically [[SerialNumbersFiledOff thinly-disguised copies]] of popular arcade games of the era. While their early games did reasonably well, it was their second wave of games that provided their biggest hits, such as ''VideoGame/{{Shamus}}, Blue Max, Necromancer,'' and ''Fort Apocalypse.'' The company also released an official port of ''VideoGame/{{Zaxxon}}'' for the Commodore 64. Many of Synapse's games were distributed in Europe by U.S. Gold under the "Synsoft" brand.

Heady with success, Synapse began quickly diversifying In 1983, with increased support for the Commodore 64, a series of InteractiveFiction games ("Electronic Novels"), and even a suite of business software titles for the UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers. Unfortunately, that proved to be their downfall -- the company had entered into a collaboration with Creator/{{Atari}} Inc. for the business suite, but when Jack Tramiel purchased Atari's consumer division, he refused to pay for the software on the grounds that he did not agree to the deal.

* ''[= SynTrend=]''

Heady with success, Synapse began quickly diversifying In 1983, with increased support for the Commodore 64, a series of InteractiveFiction games ("Electronic Novels"), and even a suite of business software titles for the UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers. Unfortunately, that proved to be their downfall -- the company had entered into a collaboration with Creator/{{Atari}} for the business suite, but when Jack Tramiel purchased Atari's consumer division, he refused to pay for the software that had been shipped, crippling Synapse.

Synapse ended up being sold to Creator/{{Broderbund}}; after attempts to continue the "Electronic Novel" line failed, the company was closed.

* ''Brimstone''

* ''Mindwheel''

* ''Shamus''