Seymour series

The Seymour series of games consisted of five computer games released by Codemasters in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They starred the eponymous Seymour, a slug- or potato-like character with large feet. In Your Sinclair magazine, it was repeatedly stated that Seymour was in fact 'a blob of lard', though doubt has been cast as to the veracity of these claims.

Seymour had his origins in Codemasters' decision to move the established Dizzy series out of their fantasy-style settings and into the real world. They later changed their minds about this, but liked the game that had been designed for the move. Consequently, Seymour was created to star in it.

In all, five Seymour games were released, of which two were Dizzy-style arcade adventures, and three, also echoing Dizzy, were arcade style. A notable short adventure was also released as a free gift with computer magazines.

Seymour Goes to Hollywood

Also known as Seymour at the Movies, this game established that Seymour was a noted movie actor, who had arrived on set one day to discover that the scripts for his movie were locked in a safe with the keys missing. Seymour had to wander around the studios, solving puzzles in his attempts to access the script. He also had to collect oscars with which to bribe other actors to appear in his film.

Due to being set in the real world, the puzzles were perhaps more logical than those in the Dizzy series. That said, the various film sets Seymour explores are depicted as if real: notably, the King Kong style set is essentially a Donkey Kong-based mini-game.

The game was generally well received in the computer-game press, with Amstrad Action voting it one of the top ten games of the year. It perhaps benefited from Dizzy's experience, as Seymour could carry three items at a time, and had three lives and an energy bar. One criticism was that it was very easy to get lost in the area between the sets.

Wild West Seymour

Seymour's second adventure was based around a western he was shooting, and featured him attempting to track down a villain who was attempting to sabotage the movie. The game was divided into four sections, as Seymour visited various American locations in his quest.

Other than being in four parts, this game had a similar format to the first, but was somewhat less successful, as it was perceived to be a little too easy.

Super Seymour Saves the Planet

This was the first of Seymour's pure arcade-style games. It was described as Seymour's first starring role in a film, and was a platform game, heavily based on the well-known game Bomb Jack.

Sergeant Seymour RobotCop

In this action game, Seymour played a bionic policeman. He could use his extending arm against the assorted enemies as he worked his way towards the centre of the spiral-shaped screens.

Stuntman Seymour

Seymour is a stuntman in a number of different films. He must negotiate obstacles and take on end of scene bosses. This is regarded among fans as the most successful game in the series and the most fun to play.

Seymour: Take One

This short adventure was given away free to readers of Your Sinclair and Amstrad Action, and constituted a prequel to Seymour's adventures, telling of how he got his big break. Although a mere cleaner at the studio, Seymour found himself having to produce, direct, and star in a scene from a film that was being made at the time. It was very hard for Seymour to lose all his lives in this game: the object was to film an acceptable version of the scene. This gave the game some staying power, as, even after succeeding, players could still amuse themselves by trying to find new ways of failing.