Andy Craven, the founder of Vektor Grafix, a computer game development company located in the United Kingdom, is a former video game developer. Initially, the company created home computer ports of Star Wars: The Arcade Game and its sequel, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
Prior to his career in video game design, Craven traveled around Europe performing music with different bands as a rock musician. He frequently performed at military bases, both British and American. He ultimately decided to stop touring and get married.
In the 1980s, a time when it was common to do so, Craven independently learned computer programming. He eventually became a programming qualifications instructor in Leeds, where he encountered Daniel James Gallagher. Craven and Gallagher established Vektor Grafix in June of 1987, and Ciaran Gultnieks was hired as their first employee. The company secured a contract within a month to create ports of Star Wars: The Arcade Game for three popular home computers of the time: the ZX Spectrum, the Commodore 64, and the BBC Micro.
Because the results were acceptable, Vektor received the contract to port the next game in the series, The Empire Strikes Back. During that time, the company experienced several staffing changes, including the departure of Gallagher.