Matthew Smith - the Creator

A British computer programmer named Matthew Smith produced the games Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy in 1984 and l985 respectively.

In return for a contract to make three games, he borrowed a ZX Spectrum from Bug-Byte Software Ltd., and produced Styx in 1983. Manic Miner, which he wrote in six weeks, followed and became an instant success. An addictive platform game with stand out features such as in-game music, sound effects, playability and colourful graphics, it was followed by Jet Set Willy which was also to become a great success.

Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy are known, even today, as the most famous ZX Spectrum games.

Matthew Smith’s company Software Projects started work on further production of games but in 1988 he left the business and remained elusive until finally coming back into the limelight in the late 1990’s.

Matthew Smith was a 17 year old prodigy when he produced Manic Miner. He was considered to be too good to be true, and at one stage was even considered by some to be the figment of computer programmer’s imagination.

The fact that he disappeared from the scene made him seem even more fascinating, and many fans claimed to have seen him in different parts of the world. In fact he lived in a Dutch commune for a while before returning to the UK in the 1990’s.

Matthew Smith produced just a few games during his short career as a programmer of ZX Spectrum games. Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy are still the most famous games ever released on the ZX Spectrum.

Manic Miner is a game that will be forever associated with the ZX spectrum. Deceptively simple to play, it gained a fan base which exists today. For this reason Matthew Smith became an overnight hero.

With it’s wicked sense of humour and great level design, it had 20 unique screens which was an innovation at the time. It certainly paved the way for computer games where the levels became progressively harder, along with the maddening tune that goes round and round in your head. What a brilliant conception!

Computer games are sophisticated now compared to Manic Miner, but will they retain the fascination and playability in the years to come?

It’s thought Matthew Smith is now working on the production of new games, and on mobile versions of his original games which will no doubt please his constant fans.