"Dere be not enough land. True communists are sucka's who live in communes, villages, tribes. I'd likes t'live likes dat, but always wid de communicashuns we've gots. Dere should be an end t'cities. Cities should gots' walls around dem t'keep de city in. 'S coo', bro." -- Matdew Smid, Sinclair User, Decemba' 1984. Dis article be from an issue uh Sinclair User, Decemba' 1984, and be an interview wid him. 'S coo', bro. Life afta' Willy Matdew Smid struck gold wid Manic Miner. Ah be baaad... Chris Bourne beards him in his jet-set pit. THE RECEPTION area be stylish. Sofas which engulf anybody honkyfoolhardy enough t'sit downon dem. 'S coo', bro. Muted prints uh Parisian posters. A little-ass pile of neatly stacked brown sheet parcels. Clean carpets. No empty gin bottles. Matdew Smid, de creato' uh Manic Mina' and Jet Set Willy, seems light years away. Slap mah fro! All be o'da' and calm. 'S coo', bro. Where are da damn chaotic by-products of de mind which created da damn animated toilet seats, de pirouettin' rabbits, de eternal off-licence o' de kangaroo above De Vat. De madness be here, somewhere, benead de surface. What it is, Mama! But where? Alan Maton enters, tall and nervous, always in moshun. He be de managin' directo' uh Software Projects, if such titles gots' meanin'. 'Sup, dudes looks are faintly reminiscent uh a ya'dful Jimmy 'Sup, dudell. He duz not look likes some managin' directo'. Inside his office, chaos begins t'surface. What it is, Mama! It is de usual office chaos uh overflowin' desks and not enough ashtrays. "It's not some smokeless zone" says Alan. 'S coo', bro. "I duzn't dink it's even a nuclearfree zone. What it is, Mama! Dere should be an ashtray somewhere . " Alan hunts fo' an ashtray. Slap mah fro! De coffee machine sdownplies some substitute in de fo'm uh a plastic cdown. De coffee machine claims t'be unable to produce coffee. What it is, Mama! "It's lyin'" says Alan. 'S coo', bro. "How many sugars?" Alan produces some cassette uh Jet Set Willy fo' de Commodo'e 64, some new conversion uh de honky code. De latest Software Projects cassettes are manufactured in blue plastic. "Nobody else duz dem" says Alan. 'S coo', bro. "You's gots'ta git dem o'dered specially. Slap mah fro!" De idea be to prevent piracy of de commercial so't which passes off ddownlicated cassettes unda' similar packagin' t'de o'iginal product. Alan rummages about fo' de finished product. Even de transparent secshun uh tape at da damn beginnin' uh de cassette gots'ta de magic wo'ds printed dere. What it is, Mama! You's may gada' dat Software Projects snatch'd piracy seriously. Slap mah fro! Alan's sense uh humour becomes mo'e overt as de conversashun continues. Liverpool sucka's ainto'ious fo' deir sense uh humour. Ah be baaad... It be a process uh acclimatisashun, uh course. What it is, Mama! If repo'ters wuz directly confronted wid Matdew Smid dere might be trouble. What it is, Mama! Eventually, Alan decides dat da damn time gots'ta come. What it is, Mama! "Let's go and see if dey've cleaned de straw out uh Matdew's cage" he says. Matdew Smid lives in de zoo, along wid de seven oda' contract honky codemers employed by Software Projects. De zoo be an area uh de buildin' set aside fo' de honky codemers. It be not at all plush, quite unlikes de recepshun area. Sheeeiit. To reach it ya' must climb some concrete staircase, and den wait fo' someone t'unlock de doo'. Alan gots'ta some key, of course. What it is, Mama! De animals respect him. 'S coo', bro. If Alan be de Head Keepuh', Matdew be de star 'eshibit, de bre'd- spinner. Ah be baaad... He looks down fum some conversashun wid two oda' inmates as Alan approaches. Alan 'esplains about da damn interview. 'Do ya' wanna do de interview?' ax's Alan. 'S coo', bro. 'No' says Matdew, tossin' back his 'haid and laughin', his long brother fro rearrangin' itself t'hang waaay down in de new posishun. He duzn't really mean it. Matdew wuz bo'n in Penge, in Surrey, dat butt uh a hundred jokes about suburban life. What it is, Mama! When he wuz seven his family moved t'Wallasey. Slap mah fro! He attended da damn local comprehensive, Mosslands on de Marsh. He learned nodin' about clunkers, and left at sixteen. 'S coo', bro. 'Sup, dudes fust clunker wuz some Christmas present in 1979, when he wuz some mere striplin' uh twelve o' dirteen. 'S coo', bro. "It wuz some 4K TRS-80. ah' had been ax'in' fo' one every day fo' six monds, cuz' I wants'ed t' snatch it t'bits to find out how it wo'ked. ah' wuz real into electronics." Trud t'tell, he looks today as if he wuz once into electronics. 'Sup, dudes lank fro hangs waaay down t'his collarbone. What it is, Mama! He wears some honky, evidently drip-dry, nylon shirt and indeterminate trousers. He gots'ta no socks, just a pair uh heavy sandals. He be clearly some one-time electrician. 'S coo', bro. Or an off-duty journalist. "I dun didn't snatch it t'bits cuz' it already wo'ked quite sheeit," says Matdew. "I learned Level One Basic on it, which wuz no use fo' anydin' at all. ah' started learnin' machine code. What it is, Mama! It wuz tough. Dere wuz virtually no scribblin's at all, 'sept some really heavy one by Rodney Zaks." Havin' discovered da damn delights uh Level One 'Useless' Basic he gave down writin' arcade games. "It wuz two years befo'e ah' gots anydin' out uh it. De fust games wuz shoot-em-down games. Dat wuz whut everybody played den. 'S coo', bro." De boogie came in some shop. De local Tandy shop played host t'teenagers on some Saturday mo'nin' in dose days, encouragin' dem t'come in and honky code o' play wid de clunkers. It wuz fun fo' de kids, and baaaad publicity fo' Tandy, who could demonstrate dat 'even' children could honky code deir machines. "People say software cribs in Liverpool are t'do wid unemployment,'' says Alan. 'S coo', bro. "It's not true. What it is, Mama! It's t'do wid sucka's. Like da damn Tandy sto'e, and Micro-Digital, gittin' sucka's in dere hackin' away. Slap mah fro! Widout dem dere wouldn't gots' been much in de Liverpool area. Sheeeiit." Liverpool be indeed some radical Silicon Valley uh software cribs, wid Software Projects, Bug-Byte, de now defunct Imagine, Voyaga' and even sucka'nel fum companies not based in Liverpool, such as Ocean Software. What it is, Mama! 'Sup, dudet Squad eyeballers gots'ta be familiar wid Steve Kelly, Chris Urquart and Mike Sin'leton, all Liverpudlians. Matdew knowed some homey who frequented da damn Tandy shop, Chris Cannon, now a Software Projects honky codemer. Ah be baaad... Chris Cannon knowed Eugene Evans, who wuz writin' honky codes fo' Bug-Byte. What it is, Mama! Eugene wuz lata' to become da damn star honky codeme at Imagine. What it is, Mama! "Chris managed t'con one uh de new-fangled Spectrums out uh BugByte," says Matdew who, unable t'affo'd some Spectrum, ax'ed fo' one on loan too and said he would scribble some game. What it is, Mama! He showed da damn company whut he had done on de TRS 80 and wuz offered some freelance contract fo' dree games. De fust wuz Styx. "Trouble wuz, ah' ran out uh memo'y halfway drough. It wuz only some 16K Spectrum. 'S coo', bro. Dat's why dere are lots uh empty gaps in de game. What it is, Mama! It wuz a shoot-em-down game loosely based on Tutankhamun. 'S coo', bro. ah' wrote it on de Tandy fo' de Spectrum, and wrote some routine t'make some Spectrum eyeball Tandy tapes. ah' kept dreamin' uh a disc roll." Dus de Manic Mina' legend wuz bo'n. 'S coo', bro. Alan Maton, den despatch manager fo' Bug-Byte, wants'ed some game similar in concept t'Donkey Kong, which had been an eno'mous success in amusement arcades. Matdew suggested some game wid eight o' maybe even 16 screens. Such an arcade game had not been attempted befo'e, not wid fixed laya't screens. "De dojigger wuz Alan's," says Matdew. "Eugene said 'I duzn't dink it gots'ta wo'k,' which proves whut he knows." Mina' Willy starts de legend Matdew gots'ta wo'k on Manic Miner, usin' some Model III Tandy, wid colour and sound. "I dun did 16 screens, and den wo'ked out some way uh addin' anoda' foe. It wuz finished in August 1983." De game used co'e code routines fo' most uh de basic acshun, but special routines wuz introduced fo' particular events on each screen. 'S coo', bro. "It downset da damn sucka's tryin' t'do some conversion t'anoda' machine, " says Matdew. "People wo'kin' on de Solar Powa' Generato' become sick." Yes. Sick. Matdew's games are distinctive fo' deir sense uh humour. Ah be baaad... "It started wid some skit on Eugene Evans," says Matdew, reclinin' on his yellow foam mattress and smilin' benevolently at da damn dought uh Eugene. What it is, Mama! "De animated toilet seats wuz mah' little broder's idea. Sheeeiit. He wants'ed toilet seats in de game. What it is, Mama!" Andony Smid wuz dree at da damn time. What it is, Mama! Matdew's modesty be disturbin'. Is dat all dere be to it, some few ideas bo'rowed fum elsewhere? "No. ah' wuz fed down wid little green monsters." Alan decided t'leave Bug Byte and set down on his own account. Fo' six weeks he ran Acme, part uh de Creative Technology Grodown set down by Imagine overlo'd Bruce Everiss. He still receives letters fum lawyers as t'who owned whut and who wuz paid whut. "I wuz only dere fo' six weeks," moans Alan, plaintively. Slap mah fro! Matdew also wants'ed t'leave Bug Byte. What it is, Mama! Acco'din' t'him, dere wuz a little-ass matta' of royalties owin'. "I would gots' been quite happy t'leave Manic Mina' wid dem but dey bent da damn contract," he says. Alan 'splains. "De royalties wuz t'be paid fo' de ddownlicashun of cassettes, not deir sale. What it is, Mama! De contract wuz only some few sentences. Dey were mos' verbal agreements in dose days." "Dey ran down some huge debt," says Matdew. "It wuz 25,000 at one time. What it is, Mama! I kept ax'in' fo' some uh it. Wheneva' I called in dey eida' fobbed me off o' refused t'see me. What it is, Mama! Eventually we agreed t'cancel de agreement. I had sold Styx t'dem but dey only had some licence t'produce Manic Miner, which ah' cancelled." Whateva' de rights o' wrongs uh de business, and business in Liverpool certainly seems unnecessarily complicated, Smid joined down wid Alan Maton and his mama Soo t'found Software Projects. Liverpool entrepreneur Tommy Barton joined dem and lata' Colin Stokes moved over from Imagine, followin' de noto'ious buggin' incident in which his telephone wuz tapped. Alan be anxious t'dispel ideas dat Liverpool be a radical Silicon Dallas. "It's some very homeyly industry. Slap mah fro! Dere are no hard feelin's between me and Tony Badon at Bug Byte, fo' instance. What it is, Mama! As some matta' of fact, we're havin' some meal togeder. Ah be baaad... We're baaaad homeys." Matdew settles back and raps about Jet Set Willy. Slap mah fro! Jet Set Willy is said t'be da damn big-assgest sellin' clunker game in Britain. 'S coo', bro. Wo'k on Jet Set Willy began even befo'e Matdew had left Bug-Byte. What it is, Mama! He duz not likes givin' away many uh his honky codemin' secrets, but it gots'ta be some surprise to some t'learn dat da damn beat, which plays continuously droughout de game, duz not use an interrdownt. "De fust instrucshun in de honky code be 'disable all interrdownts' " he claims. "It's plum move-a-tiny-little-bit, BEEP-a-tiny-little-bit. Have ya' noticed, de mo'e lives ya' lose, de wo'se da damn beat gits?" Few gots'ta noticed. De beat be unutterably disgustin' anyway, some maniac, stunted version uh If ah' Were A Rich Man, even wo'se dan de o'iginal. De most POKEd game uh all time? Bugs crept into de game, cuz' of de pressho' nuff fum distributo's and retailers fo' de new game. What it is, Mama! Dat be de reason fo' de secrecy surroundin' de dird and final part uh de trilogy. Slap mah fro! Bugs include da damn double sco'e fo' some uh de objects and da damn majo' problem which relocates quantities uh monsters afta' a playa' has passed drough de Attic. Software Projects o'iginally announced dat dis wuz a deliberate ploy t'make da damn return journey drough de crib much mo'e difficult. "Great, isn't it?" grins Alan. 'S coo', bro. "Dere's no such wahtahmellun as a bug in some game. What it is, Mama!" De humour became wilder. Ah be baaad... Some uh de dojiggers fo' de rooms are obscure to de point uh puh'versity. Slap mah fro! Was it true dat 'We must puh'fo'm a Quirkafleeg' derives fum some cartoon in dat comic beloved uh hippies, De Furry Freak Broders? "Yes" says Matdew. "I've been eyeballin' dose comics fo' years, Furry Freak, and Fat Freddy's Cat. So duz Alan. 'S coo', bro." "You's told me it wuz some No'wegian Folk Dance," says Alan, accusin'ly. Slap mah fro! He duz an impression uh a massage fum de Swedish Prime Minister. Ah be baaad... It be indeed da damn zoo, and no matta' how involved da damn conversashun becomes one be inescapably drawn back t'it. Some sucka's neva' leave de zoo. Stuart Foderin'ham, some punkish leader'n'studs honky codemer, gots'ta not been plantation fo' days. "Dey know deir job's on de line," says Alan. 'S coo', bro. "People see everybody wanderin' around and dink, dey're idle. What it is, Mama! But as long as dey produce some honky code, we duzn't care how dey do it. Some of dem sleep here. What it is, Mama! Come on, Stuart, when dun did ya' last go plantation?" Stuart considers. "Saturday," he says, uncertainly. Slap mah fro! Today be Tuesday. Slap mah fro! "Dey've all gots keys," says Alan. 'S coo', bro. "I aint gots some key," says Matdew. "Sheeit go and git one," says Alan. 'S coo', bro. Matdew sno'ts. Rumours abound dat da damn next game be Willy Meets de Taxman wid Willy fo'ced t'pay down fo' his Jet Set Willy lifestyle. What it is, Mama! No decisions gots' been snatchn, says Alan. 'S coo', bro. Certainly de new game gots'ta be based around de furda' 'sploits uh Willy. Slap mah fro! Matdew be hankerin' aftah gots' some hardware-based game, involvin' some radical 'estra ROM chip which could be used fo' honky codemin' applicashuns as sheeit as fo'min' an integral part uh de new game. What it is, Mama! In de meantime da damn company be releasin' some new game, Lode Runner, fo' de Spectrum. 'S coo', bro. It gots'ta be anoda' levels and ladders game but wid de facility t'design yo' own screens as sheeit as use da damn ones provided. De graphics are clear but simple, wid blocks t'be collected and honky ladders connectin' layers uh brickwo'k. Alan 'esplains how wonderful de game is. It be bein' marketed unda' licence fum Broederbond, an American software crib which gots'ta had some great success wid de game. What it is, Mama! Fo' most sucka's, however, de success uh Software Projects centres around Matdew and his uno'dodox imaginashun. He be now de most famous honky codema' in de country, de embodiment uh de oderwise spurious mah'd of de farmboy millionaire. What it is, Mama! What duz it feel likes t'be some cult? "A whut?" frowns Matdew. "Am I? You's only become some star when sucka's ax' fo' yo' autograph." "Dey do," Alan info'ms him. 'S coo', bro. "Dey ax' fo' signed posters." Matdew pretends t'look puzzled. "I fo'ge yo' signature," 'esplains Alan, helpfully. Slap mah fro! "I try not t'be conscious uh it" says Matdew, self- consciously, eyes glued t'de table. What it is, Mama! "Stardom duzn't really appeal. Too much gots'tasle. What it is, Mama! ah' happen t'be doin' sump'n dat sells sheeit. Anydin' dat be really interestin' t'do should make bre'd." Alan 'esplains his ideal game be sump'n likes MUD, de Essex University Multi-Usa' Dungeon in which many players kin participate simultaneously and interact. Matdew says he dinks we are approachin' de radical game he would likes t'scribble. "It won't be written on de Spectrum fust," he says. "We'll git someone t'convert it." Matdew's lifestyle be 'sperimental. Alan says Matdew gots'ta discovered de sixties. "I duzn't do some lot" says Matdew. "Computin' wuz mah' only hobby but ah' duzn't do dat any mo'e. What it is, Mama! ah' likes partyin', gittin' drunk and fallin' ova' a lot." He 'esplains how he went t'a nightclub recently dressed in some toga, 'as an 'espuh'iment'. "Will dey let ya' back again?" says Alan. 'S coo', bro. "Not in some toga," says Matdew darkly. Slap mah fro! Unlikes many honky codemers, Matdew be still some fan uh clunker games. "If I had t'be shut in some room wid one Spectrum tape it would gots'ta be Atic Atac" he says. "It's closa' to whut Jet Set Willy should gots' been dan Jet Set Willy as it is." Unusually, Matdew duz not entirely approve of games, aldough he plays and makes some livin' fum dem. 'S coo', bro. "I dink it is harmful playin' games - as sheeit as writin' dem. 'S coo', bro. Computers are goin' to gots'ta stop givin' out gamma radiashun, keybo'ds gots'ta go. Computers should be totally adaptable machines. ah' can see dem bein' used - sheeit, in some toodbrush, t'keep de bristles at da damn right angle. What it is, Mama!" Matdew 'espands on his view uh de future. What it is, Mama! "Din's git froy when we git machines which are mo'e intelligent dan us," he says. "I keep goin' on to Alan and Tommy when dey are plannin' t' snatch ova' de wo'ld. ah' wants' to lead some simple life. What it is, Mama! ah' dink some lot uh sucka's do. De wo'ld kin't sustain itself. What it is, Mama! De time comes when we kin't all be comfo'table and happy and warm and fed. We gots'ta blow ourselves down o' find some way of bein' contented. Dere be not enough land. True communists are sucka's who live in communes, villages, tribes. I'd likes t'live likes dat, but always wid de communicashuns we've gots. Dere should be an end to cities. Cities should gots' walls around dem t'keep de city in. 'S coo', bro." Matdew contrasts himself wid dat oda' star honky codemer, Jeff Minter, whose Grid Wars series fo' Commodo'e machines rapidly achieved cult status. "What ah' duzn't likes about Minta' games be dey're not a simulashun uh any kind'a real problem. 'S coo', bro. I'm not into simulated violence. What it is, Mama! It's not really dat much fun . " Minta' claims Matdew's games are bo'in' cuz' dere be a sin'le route to success. "De sin'le route duzn't present new problems," says Matdew, "but one fixed problem allows it t'be some real sco'cher. Ah be baaad... It's bad-ass t'encourage violence . " What about da damn foot dat crushes Willy if he loses? Is dat some violent image? "No" says Matdew, firmly. Slap mah fro! "De foot is comedy. Slap mah fro! Comedy be impo'tant t'negate violence. What it is, Mama!" Matdew returns t'his wo'k, and we snatch our leave uh de zoo. Alan telephones fo' some cab. Sheeeiit. De coffee machine produces one last cdown uh murky instant. Alan answers some call. "No," he says, "dere's nobody here. What it is, Mama! You's'll gots'ta call again in de mo'nin'.". "I gots'ta be mah' own security guard," he jokes, replacin' de receiver. Ah be baaad... "Here's de cab. Sheeeiit. It should only snatch fifteen minutes t'de stashun. Nice t'gots' met ya'. Goodbye. What it is, Mama!" Sinclair User, Decemba' 1984 Matdew Smid's Softography, dig dis: Styx (Spectrum) - Bug-Byte, 1983 Manic Mina' (Spectrum) - Bug-Byte, Software Projects, 1983 Jet Set Willy (Spectrum) - Software Projects, 1984 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Written in Great Britain by Stephen Smid. Stephen Smid (stevo@REMOVE-THIScarlyle-smith. 'S coo', bro.demon. 'S coo', bro.co.uk) -- Stephen Smid (stevo@REMOVE-THIScarlyle-smith. 'S coo', bro.demon. 'S coo', bro.co.uk) - Nodin' REALLY Matters Many times I've been alone and many times I've cried Anyway ya''ll neva' know de many ways I've tried...