Matthew Smith
aka:
M. Smith,
Matt Smith
Moby ID: 18395
Biography edit · view history
Although he wrote a couple of earlier games for the TRS-80 and the Vic-20, Matthew Smith is best known for creating the platform games Manic Miner and its sequel Jet Set Willy for the ZX Spectrum.
Smith wrote his first commercial game when he was 14 years old. It was a clone of the arcade game Galaxian, called Delta Tau One.
Following his departure from Bug-Byte who had released Manic Miner, Smith set up Software Projects Ltd. with Alan Maton and Soo Maton (coming from Bug-Byte) in 1983. After producing Jet Set Willy for his new company Smith worked on a couple of other new titles but none were released. This included a planned 3rd game to feature Miner Willy called Miner Willy Meets the Taxman.
Smith left the company in 1988 and later moved to the Netherlands although he was eventually deported and returned to Britain in 1997. He took on a role with the computer games developer Runecraft in 1999 but they went out of business after releasing only one game, Scrabble for the Game Boy Color.
He has attended several conventions devoted to retro gaming as well as appearing in a tv documentary on the history of video games.
Credited on 12 games
Displaying most recent · View all
| Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered (2024, Windows) | Programming Intern |
| Bzzzt (2023, Windows) | Manic Miner |
| Scrabble (2001, Game Boy Color) | Additional Programming |
| Jet Set Willy II: The Final Frontier (2001, DOS) | Based on an original game by |
| Jet Set Willy (1999, DOS) | Based on an original game by |
| Manic Miner (1997, DOS) | Original Concept |
| Jet Set Willy II: The Final Frontier (1985, ZX Spectrum) | Original Idea and Concept |
| Jet Set Willy (1984, ZX Spectrum) | By |
| Manic Miner (1984, BBC Micro) | Original Program by |
| The Birds and the Bees (1983, ZX Spectrum) | Graphics aided by |
| Styx (1983, ZX Spectrum) | By |
| Delta Tau One (1982, TRS-80) | By |
[ full credits ]
Frequent Collaborators
People- 2 games with Thomas Pytel
- 2 games with Charles Scheffold
- 2 games with Andy Noble
- 2 games with Derrick P. Rowson
- 2 games with David Tolley
- 2 games with James McKay
- 2 games with Matthew Simmonds
- 2 games with Roger Tissyman
- 1 game with Su Waites
- 1 game with Ruslan Komlev
[ 603 more people ]
Companies
- 3 games with Software Projects Ltd.
- 3 games with Bug-Byte Software Ltd.
- 2 games with Valve Corporation
- 2 games with GOG Poland Sp. z o.o.
- 1 game with Aspyr Media, Inc.
- 1 game with Saber Interactive Russia
- 1 game with Ricochet
- 1 game with Ravencat
- 1 game with GamesVoice
- 1 game with Crystal Dynamics, Inc.
Contribute
Add your expertise to help preserve video game history! You can submit a correction or add the following: