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| Deus Ex Machina | |
|---|---|
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| 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 | |
| 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.
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.