Deus Ex Machina (video game)

Last updated
Deus Ex Machina
Deus Ex Machina Coverart.png
Developer(s) Automata UK
Publisher(s) Automata UK
Electric Dreams
Designer(s) Mel Croucher
Programmer(s) Andrew Stagg
Platform(s) ZX Spectrum, MSX, Commodore 64, Android, iOS, Ouya, Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
Release
October 1984
    • EU: October 1984 (ZX Spectrum)
    • EU: 1985 (MSX)
    • EU: 1986 (C64)
    • WW: January 30, 2015 (Android)
    • WW: February 2, 2015 (iOS)
    • WW: February 14, 2015 (Ouya)
    • WW: February 20, 2015 (Win, Linux, Mac)
Genre(s) Art game, music game
Mode(s) Single player

Deus Ex Machina is a video game designed and created by Mel Croucher and published by Automata UK for the ZX Spectrum in October 1984 and later converted to MSX and Commodore 64.

Contents

The game was the first to be accompanied by a fully synchronised soundtrack which featured narration, celebrity artists and music.[ citation needed ] The cast included Ian Dury, Jon Pertwee, Donna Bailey, Frankie Howerd, E.P. Thompson, and Croucher (who also composed the music). Andrew Stagg coded the original Spectrum version, and Colin Jones (later known as author/publisher Colin Bradshaw-Jones) was the programmer of the Commodore 64 version.

The game charts the life of a "defect" which has formed in "the machine", from conception, through growth, evolution and eventually death. The progression is loosely based on "The Seven Ages of Man" from the Shakespeare play, As You Like It [1] and includes many quotations and parodies of this. The original game would later be rereleased alongside a sequel/remake in 2015.

Gameplay

Players of the game take control of a defective machine which has taken the form of the human body. The players would experience the different stages of life, all the way from being a cell to being a senile old being. It is considered to be a work of audiovisual entertainment although the game itself does not have sound. It is separated into an audio cassette where the tape needs to be played alongside the game. [2] The length of the audio cassette is 46 minutes which is also the length of the game itself. Although the game could be played without the audio cassette, it would make it easier to understand with the help of the soundtrack. The soundtrack includes songs, musical compositions, and also voices of famous actors. As the game comes with a full transcript of the speech, it could at times be played without audio. [3]

Reception

Despite critical acclaim at the time, the game did not conform to conventions of packaging and pricing required by distributors and retailers and the game was sold mail-order only direct to the public. It subsequently gained cult status as an underground art game. [4]

Legacy

Croucher retrospectively viewed the game as a disappointment, saying "I should have sold the game at a sensible price. But I wanted to put a lovely poster in it and nice packaging and a double vinyl gatefold" and that as a result the price of £15 compared to the more usual £8 meant that sales were low, and the game only broke even. [5]

In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die . [6] In 2014 Croucher released a book about the game's (and his) history, and the making of the new game, entitled Deus Ex Machina - The Best Game You Never Played in Your Life. [7]

Rereleases and sequel

A re-imagining of the game went into production in 2010, under the title Deus Ex Machina 2, once again under the design and creation of Croucher. The new cast is led by Sir Christopher Lee as The Programmer, with Chyna Whyne as The Machine, Chris Madin as The Defect, Joaquim de Almeida as the Defect Police, and original Ian Dury session vocals. [8] It was eventually released on 11 March 2015. [9] It marked the final performance of Christopher Lee that was released in his lifetime, being released 4 months prior to his death. Alongside the sequel, a remastered version of the game entitled Deus Ex Machina, Game of the Year, 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition was released for the Android, iOS, Ouya, Microsoft Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. [10] A second remastered version, Deus Ex Machina - The Final Cut, was released in 2016 for Microsoft Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Deus Ex</i> (video game) 2000 video game

Deus Ex is a 2000 action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm and published by Eidos Interactive. Set in a cyberpunk-themed dystopian world in the year 2052, the game follows JC Denton, an agent of the fictional agency United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition (UNATCO), who is given superhuman abilities by nanotechnology, as he sets out to combat hostile forces in a world ravaged by inequality and a deadly plague. His missions entangle him in a conspiracy that brings him into conflict with the Triads, Majestic 12, and the Illuminati.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Minter</span> British video game designer

Jeff Minter is an English video game designer and programmer who often goes by the name Yak. He is the founder of software house Llamasoft and has created dozens of games during his career, which began in 1981 with games for the ZX80. Minter's games are shoot 'em ups which contain titular or in-game references demonstrating his fondness of ruminants. Many of his programs also feature something of a psychedelic element, as in some of the earliest "light synthesizer" programs including Trip-a-Tron.

<i>Jetpac</i> 1983 arcade-style shooter video game

Jetpac is a shooter video game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game and released for the ZX Spectrum and VIC-20 in 1983 and the BBC Micro in 1984. It is the first game to be released by Ultimate Play the Game, the company which later became Rare. The game follows Jetman as he must rebuild his rocket in order to explore different planets, while simultaneously defending against hostile aliens. It was written by Ultimate co-founder Chris Stamper with graphics designed by his brother, Tim Stamper. Reviewers praised Jetpac's presentation and gameplay, and it won "Game of the Year" at the Golden Joystick Awards in 1983.

<i>Pimania</i> 1982 video game

Pimania is a text-and-graphics adventure game written by Mel Croucher and released by Automata UK in 1982 for the BBC Micro, ZX Spectrum, Dragon 32, and Sinclair ZX81. It was the first real-life video game treasure hunt to be released. It was inspired by the 1979 Kit Williams book Masquerade. Automata gave a prize of a golden sundial worth £6,000 for the first person to solve the various cryptic clues to its location that were hidden within Pimania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feral Interactive</span> British video game publisher

Feral Interactive is a British video games developer and publisher for macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows platforms. It was founded in 1996 to bring games to Mac and specialises in porting games to different platforms.

<i>Noctropolis</i> 1994 video game

Noctropolis is a 1994 MS-DOS third-person adventure game by Flashpoint Productions and published by Electronic Arts. In the game, the player assumes the role of the character Peter Grey, a lonely bookstore owner who winds up in the world of his favorite comic book. Grey soon discovers that he is destined to assume the role of his former comic book hero.

<i>Wanted: Monty Mole</i> 1984 video game

Wanted: Monty Mole is a platform video game published in July 1984 for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 home computers. It is the first game released by Gremlin Graphics and the first game in the Monty Mole series. Monty Mole is a fictional mole created by Ian Stewart, the director of the company.

<i>Cauldron</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Cauldron is a video game developed and published by British developer Palace Software in 1985 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC home computer. It contains both platform game and horizontally scrolling shooter sections. Players control a witch who aims to become the "Witch Queen" by defeating the "Pumpking"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mel Croucher</span> British writer and video game pioneer

Mel Croucher is a British entrepreneur and video games pioneer. Originally an architect, he moved into computers and in 1977 launched one of the very earliest games companies, Automata UK, as an extension of his publishing business. He is now credited for setting up "the first games company in the U.K.", celebrated as "the father of the British videogames industry" and presented as "a pioneer in affective computing". His first broadcasts of computer game software were made over AM and FM radio. After the release of the Sinclair ZX81, his label published several games for the early home computer market, including three Computer Trade Association award-winners: Pimania (1982), Groucho, and the groundbreaking "multi-media" title Deus Ex Machina (1984). Croucher has championed immersive entertainment throughout his career as director and producer, mixing audio, video, spoken word, real-world locations and computer-generated effects. He is currently Executive Chairman of the Jeeni streamed entertainment channel.www.jeeni.com

Deus ex machina is a Latin term meaning "god from the machine", and is used to indicate a person or event which provides a sudden, unexpected solution to a story.

The ZX Spectrum's software library was very diverse. While the majority of the software produced for the system was video games, others included programming language implementations, Sinclair BASIC extensions, databases, word processors, spread sheets, drawing and painting tools, and 3D modelling tools.

<i>My Name Is Uncle Groucho, You Win a Fat Cigar</i> 1983 video game

My Name Is Uncle Groucho, You Win a Fat Cigar is a computer game developed and published by Automata UK for the ZX Spectrum in 1983. Groucho was designed by Mel Croucher who was better known for his later works Deus Ex Machina and ID.

<i>Goody</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Goody is a platform game developed by Gonzalo Suárez Girard and released in 1987 by the Spanish company Opera Soft. The game was released for Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, MSX, ZX Spectrum, and for MS-DOS compatible computers.

Automata UK was a software house which developed and published ZX Spectrum video games between 1982 and 1985. Significant releases included Pimania (1982), My Name Is Uncle Groucho, You Win A Fat Cigar (1983) and Deus Ex Machina (1984).

<i>Shatter</i> (video game) 2009 video game

Shatter is a 2009 video game developed and published by Sidhe Interactive. The game was released on July 23, 2009 for PlayStation 3 via PlayStation Network, on March 15, 2010 for Microsoft Windows, on September 18, 2012 for OS X, and on March 14, 2013 for Linux. A remastered version developed by PikPok and published by Netflix was released for iOS and Android via Netflix Games on March 23, 2022. A version of the mobile remaster published by PikPok, subtitled Remastered Deluxe, was released on November 2, 2022 for Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Alberto José González Pedraza is a Spanish video game graphic artist, music composer, designer, producer, and co-founder of Bit Managers and Abylight, who has worked on a variety of titles, most notably games released by French video game publisher Infogrames. He has composed music for or worked on over 60 games, ranging from music composition to graphic programming, and eventually became one of the lead designers at the Spanish developer Abylight. Despite having composed dozens of full soundtracks for video games, González has never had any formal music training.

<i>The Thompson Twins Adventure</i> 1984 video game

The Thompson Twins Adventure is a 1984 graphic adventure game that was distributed by Computer and Video Games magazine as a promotional 7" flexi disc "freebie" along with its October 1984 issue. The game is based on the Thompson Twins' single "Doctor! Doctor!", and features the Thompson Twins band members as the protagonists. The unusual storage format of the game showcases an experimental technique pioneered by the London-based Flexi Records label, and places the game alongside a small handful of other games distributed on grooved disks. This format never became established and The Thompson Twins Adventure is today valued more for its nostalgic and artifactual value than for its ludological aspects which have been uniformly panned by critics.

<i>Type:Rider</i> 2013 video game

Type:Rider is a video game developed by Agat Films & Cie – Ex Nihilo and published by Bulkypix and Arte. It was released in for Microsoft Windows, Android, and iOS in 2013, for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in 2016, and for Nintendo Switch in April 2019.

<i>Ghostbusters II</i> (computer video game) 1989 video game

Ghostbusters II is a 1989 action game based on the film of the same name. It was published by Activision for various computer platforms. British studio Foursfield developed a version for Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum, which also got ported to the MSX by New Frontier. It features three levels based on scenes from the film. Dynamix developed a separate version for the DOS, also based on the film. The non-DOS versions were praised for the graphics and audio, but criticized for long loading times, disk swapping, and the final level. The DOS, Commodore 64 and Amiga versions were the only versions released in North America.

References

  1. ↑ "SFE: Deus Ex Machina".
  2. ↑ "SFE: Deus Ex Machina".
  3. ↑ "Deus Ex Machina for ZX Spectrum (1984)". MobyGames. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  4. ↑ Houghton, David. The Top 7... Maddest British old-school games - 1. Deus Ex Machina (1985) . GamesRadar. 19 October 2009.
  5. ↑ Campbell, Colin (2013-09-25). "The one-hour life of a 1980s video game auteur". Polygon. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  6. ↑ Mott, Tony (2010). 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. London: Quintessence Editions Ltd. p. 79. ISBN   978-1-74173-076-0.
  7. ↑ Croucher, Mel (2016). Deus Ex Machina: The Best Game You Never Played In Your Life. Andrews. ISBN   9781783336920.
  8. ↑ "Deus Ex Machina 2". Archived from the original on 2010-03-27.
  9. ↑ "DEUS EX MACHINA 2 on Steam".
  10. ↑ "Deus Ex Machina: Game of the Year, 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition Releases". MobyGames . Blue Flame Labs. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  11. ↑ Jones, Colin (July 28, 2016). "Deus Ex Machina - The Final Cut". Blogger . Retrieved March 19, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.