Welcome to another Mini-Documentary. In this first part of Wings, we explore the origins of Cinemaware and the 16-bit revolution that arrived with the Commodore Amiga 1000.

Building upon the technological breakthrough of the Amiga, entrepreneur Robert Jacob set out to bridge the gap between games and Hollywood. He partnered with independent talent and hired the company’s first full-time designer, John Cutter.

Jacob and Cutter rejected the cold, high-score-driven hostility of early 1980s games and, together, looked to classic Hollywood to prove that interactive software could mirror the epic grandeur, deliberate pacing, and, eventually, emotional depth of the silver screen.

Cinemaware mastered the art of visual showmanship and, in the process, captured the imagination of a generation. By the twilight of the 1980s, the company had set the stage for its ultimate, most intimate masterpiece in the unforgiving skies of the Great War.