Simon Carless has written a great article about Matthew Smith, mysterious creator of two landmark games for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum: Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy. Mr. Carless (who occasionally reads this blog - hi!) also writes about how Smith disappeared from the face of the earth (apparently he joined a commune in the Netherlands), then came back. But he never made another game... I still remember reading the ads for Attack of the Mutant Zombie Flesh-Eating Chickens from Mars (Starring Zappo the Dog).

Additionally, I learned about the cool mods for the Jet Set Willy games that have been made over the years. 'The Hobbit' as a Manic Miner mod? 'Lord of the Rings' set inside Jet Set Willy? I love it. Formal constraints can be so much fun.