Matthew Smith

Matthew Smith is a British video game programmer. He created the games Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy for the ZX Spectrum, released in 1983 and 1984 respectively. Smith left the games industry in 1988 and later moved to the Netherlands. He has since returned to the UK and has worked on some games as well as appearing at conventions and in documentaries.

Early life Smith was born in Penge. His family moved to Wallasey when he was seven years old.

Programming career 1980s Smith started programming when he received a TRS-80 for Christmas in 1979.

He obtained a ZX Spectrum on loan from Bug-Byte Software Ltd. in return for a freelance contract for three games.

He wrote Manic Miner in eight weeks The sequel, Jet Set Willy, took considerably longer to write. for publication by his company Software Projects. Unlike his previous two hits The Mega Tree was not developed for the ZX Spectrum but the Commodore 64. The project failed to gain traction and was cancelled three months into development. The development disks containing some of the graphics from the unreleased game were eventually auctioned for charity in 2004.

In 1987 adverts began appearing in games magazines for a new game Attack of the Mutant Zombie Flesh Eating Chickens From Mars said to have been programmed by Smith, and due for release by Software Projects. It is reported that Smith was unhappy with the finished product and it was never released. in which, in a brief interview, he discussed Manic Miner and his 1980s career. He has also attended and given talks at retrogaming conventions during this decade.

In 2013, Smith was working on producing a new game with Elite Systems, who have republished his original games on mobile platforms.