From Manic Miner to Jet Set Willy: The Story and Games of Matthew Smith | Kim Justice

[@Kim_Justice]

If you liked this then think about having a gander through my social media, and get yourself on my Patreon: www.patreon.com/KimbleJustice

[@raafmaat]

EDIT ah you talk about his time in Holland, although you state it was a few months, while it was more like 2 years, he found jobs here in holland like in food processing factories and the like, he says he lived in a commune but there was an article i read once that talked about him living in a Anti-squatting arrangement, which is basically when a housing agency rents out a disused property so that it wont get squatted, its very cheap but you can get kicked out without any rights and only 1 week of notice. but then again who knows, in his interviews he never went in-depth..

[@yehbytheway2297]

When a set of stamps was released in tribute to British computer games they chose dizzy over manic miner. Shocker!

[@j0nnyism]

I hope Matty doesn’t watch the second part of this vid. He’s a kindly soul but it’ll stress him out. Thankyou for remembering him. It still means a lot that he has so many fans about

[@CoLD.SToRAGE]

No mention of Jester Interactive and their mobile phone (JAVA) and Gameboy versions of Matthew's games? Probably for the best, as it wasn't exactly a fun period either. But here's a video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2jGe6yLfMyiq5I

[@zamiadams4343]

Absolutely brilliant documentary Kim, bravo sir!

[@colonelclaw]

Jet Set Willy was THE game that defined my childhood. Thank-you, Matthew Smith.

[@happysunshinydays6349]

To Matthew Smith, As kids of the 80's we loved Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy. God only knows how many nights were spent gaming into the early hours. Many thanks for the memories : )

[@crazytrain7721]

Exactly. I hope he knows how much happiness he brought to people like me.

[@SVpedro68]

Matthew Smith was a former pupil of The Mosslands School in Wallasey and was 2 years above me in said school. "Dr Jones" (immortalised in JSW) was my maths teacher! I also believe that the many penguins you would see around MM and JSW were a "nod" to Mr Scudamore (former geography teacher who went on to become deputy headmaster). He walked a little bit like a penguin because he had a problem with his foot. I'm sure there are more. I eventually managed to complete 2.5 circuits of MM and it was playing that and other games that gave me an appetite to learn Z80 and to try and write my own games. I was beaten to it by a classmate called Clem Pryke who wrote Quackshot! Then me and a friend sat down to start story-boarding a game based on driving a car around a city, and then Lotus Turbo Esprit came out and we knew we'd missed the boat. By that stage, games were being churned out by the likes of Ocean, Ultimate, Psygnosis, etc. and the "bedroom coders" were becoming the exception. Great times though!

[@EgoShredder]

Brilliant stories, thank you for sharing them with everyone.

[@danielhumphries2026]

"20 Years later and I'm a legend". Beautiful.

[@vespasian606]

As a wannabee from the same era I remember taking his Z80 code apart to see what made his games tick. I was not disappointed. Every operation consumes clock cycles and while 3.5 million cycles per second might sound like a lot you have to divide that by your desired frame rate which could put you as low as 70,000 if you were going for 50 fps. He had the knack of using instructions with a low cycle count and applying them in such a way they replaced their higher cycle count cousins. So SET would be used to adjust pointers and addresses rather than loading a whole value. Four clock cycles doing the work of fifteen and he repeated this trick again and again. While he could be downright wasteful in the way he used memory it inevitably served one goal. Speed. Which translated to being able to have multiple animations on screen at the same time complete with a looping soundtrack, collision detection and keyboard input. I never saw faster Z80 code and I doubt I ever will.

[@ScoopDogg]

Thankgod we have unity : )

[@pigknickers2975]

great comment, those were the days!

[@KaitainCPS]

Interesting. As a non-assembler coder (it had been superseded by C by the time I started programming seriously), can you give an example of the pointers vs value assignment trick, of how it would be used in practice?

[@Etcher]

@@KaitainCPS Yes I would be very interested in this also.

[@Etcher]

Interesting comment! thanks!

[@kodoyama]

Great work as always. Matt is truly a legend from the golden age of British game development. A fascinating and enigmatic character. I always regarded him as the coding equivalent of Syd Barrett and I wasn't surprised to see you draw the same parallel. There were so many amazing characters in the scene back then. The games they made were so packed with personality and creativity. The good old days before it all went so corporate.

[@realmchat6665]

These deep dives into the bedroom devs are inspiring, your presentation, editing and production are top notch - well done.

[@simongrantham2230]

Back in the early 80s, anyone at my school who could actually complete Manic Miner was treated with awe and reverence (and rightly so). Personally, I never got past Skylab Landing Bay. Of all the games in existence, this is the one that I remember most fondly.

[@MC-kz9we]

I'd love to know how many actually completely Manic Miner (original release, no cheats).... I remember it being insanely hard..... my mate had it so didn't spend much time myself..... seem to remember him doing a couple of levels only

[@TomekSamcik69]

Jet Set Willy and Manic Miner were two most memorable games from my early childhood. Matthew Smith, I salute you.....

[@johnwilliams7999]

I completed manic miner as a kid, I loved that game. I can still remember the day when I completed it. Great documentary such a shame he went off the rails. Hope he is OK.

[@Nautilus1972]

Matthew Smith. Legend to the era of spotty young Adrian Moles. Chewed up and spat out but the time he was twenty. Fucking legend. Well worth his own feature length Doc. Nice one, Kim.

[@absinthedude]

I had the and honour of exchanging a few emails with Matthew when he first re-emerged in the early 2000's. I'd been showing kids at the school where I worked Manic Miner on an emulator, and they got into playing it themselves. He seemed thrilled that children still enjoyed his games. Legend. And if Brian Wilson could complete SMiLE (spoiler, he did), then maybe Matt can deliver another game. But whatever he does, I hope he's happy. Matt, if you read this....just know that you inspired thousands if not millions of people.

[@happysunshinydays6349]

Matthew Smith, many thanks for the hours my friends and I enjoyed in the 80s playing Jet Set Willy & Manic Miner into the early hours, especially during the school holidays.

[@littleNorwegians]

Solo game-dev me and this feels like a cautionary tale that leaves me with a slight feeling of dread. Excellent documentary, Kim

[@handsomebrick]

His story reminded me a lot of guys like David Crane and Derek Yu, who are much more positive examples.

[@sheepthehack]

I think you might be putting the cart before the horse here.. you have to make a game people WANT first :) Plus.. distribution is so different today.

[@KhalOisha78]

From 24:24 to 24:50 is a pure work of art. Thank you very much Kim for this wonderful content you always drop. EDIT: As an italian I'm stumped by the connection of Matthew coming to Italy and being inspired by Florence to design tiles, and also Sorrentino did a short movie about him :O

[@danmann9116]

Wow. I actually suggested you do a docu on Matty Smith a few months back. My wish has been granted. Totally blown away. Fantastic work. Thanks kim

[@ArtistontheBorder]

"The Syd Barrett of computer gaming". Pure poetry. Besides if I may nerd a bit. That black and white image of Matthew by the computer (top down) is eerily to some of Mick Rocks images of Syd.

[@cronosoft]

Another superb documentary. A great way to spend a bank holiday morning. Matthew Smith's story is always one tinged with sadness. When we had a stall at the first CGE in Croydon in 2004, (where the stand up interview you showed was filmed), we spent a fair amount of time with him the night before at Pizza Hut. Seemed such an alert and sharp minded kind of guy, very knowledgable, and above all, a really happy and easy person to get on with, despite not having the easiest of lives, and having been exploited and ripped off in the past. Seems a little bit distant these days from the Manchester footage. Was in contact with him briefly 6 months ago over gaining permission to release the newly written Vic 20 version of Manic Miner, but unfortunately couldn't happen (at least at the moment).

[@speedsterh]

What a detective work to put that documentary out ! Very impressive. I didn't know Manic Miner's author was such a strong personnality. Now I will have a look at your other videos, they seem super interesting

[@nickthelick]

Just to iterate what someone else once commented several years ago... (paraphrasing): "These interviews (and deep dive reviews) are exactly what Charlie Brooker wanted to achieve with his 'GamesWipe' episodes"! I was literally five years 5 years old when I came across Matthew Smith (and other old-skool Spectrum games' programmers)! And Kim, thank you for this, and your other wonderful interviews and retrospectives... X

[@neildhan]

I had Jet Set Willy on the Commodore Plus 4, and found a cool bug. If you jumped off the edge of a screen, so that you landed just into the next one, you would skip that screen and appear in the one after. This was interesting when there wasn't one after, because you'd find yourself coming into another screen far away.

[@crazytrain7721]

I am back to watch this again! Thank you Matt Smith, JSW is one of my fondest memories of childhood. Thanks for making this, brilliant!

[@NukSooKow-yp9py]

27:31 the memories that came flooding back to me as soon as this scene popped up. I was too young to understand the concept and had to always ask my pops to get by through this so I could play!

[@LasRozasDeMadrid]

The idea of programming on a TRS-80 and sending the program with a cable to the Spectrum for testing was pretty intelligent.

[@jamiegwhite30]

an amazing thing really, I still am amazed...

[@factorylad5071]

I tried connecting a daisy typewriter to a teletext tv with a piece of string , how's that?

[@LasRozasDeMadrid]

@@factorylad5071 Google about 1973 Don Lancaster's TV Typewriter

[@nebularain3338]

A custom piece of electronics hardware built by a teenager in the early 80s with no internet to help. That's fucking impressive!

[@SerBallister]

@@nebularain3338 Its rare enough to find a talented coder at that age, let alone a hardware engineer on top of that. That is god tier talent.

[@Huddison]

The ultimate Jet Set Willy documentary - great watch!

[@CatWeazle21]

Brilliant, thanks KJ! Quite the definitive subject this, and you've done a stellar job - am about to rewind and watch it again :)

[@virusfr33]

As always, another amazing doc. Nobody does this as easily or as well as you do, Kim!

[@dansplain2393]

I’m in heaven. Thank you for this beautiful retrospective, and thank you Matthew for your brilliance

[@DodderingOldMan]

Jesus Christ, I got emotional at the end there. Very powerful words, Kim, and once again some of the best content on KZbin.

[@andrewsmail8307]

I been glued to it, gotta save last 20 mins for tomorrow as its getting too late lol.

[@multiversos1]

I really enjoyed this thanks a lot. I used to live in Liverpool and visited Software Projects when I was a teenager. Magical place. Back when teens would write games all on their own and receive sports cars as bonuses. It's sad the news about Mathew Smith not continuing with his software.

[@mazonemayu]

Awesome vid mate, one of your best yet. It brought back a lot of memories...when I was a lad in the 80's , I had this friend who's dad "worked" with computers, and he had a Spectrum+ at home, we played Manic Miner to death on it. So a year or so later, when I convinced my grandma that this was the future, she bought me a 48k Speccy with the rubber keys (somewhere around '86 or '87). needless to say she didn't know anything about it, so she gave the money to my friend's dad to get everything and set it up at her house. His "surprise" for me, was a copy of Manic Miner, which he hacked and he changed the loading screen into Speedy Mike (which is what they called me, for being a hyperactive child). Obviously I was very happy with it, but it also got me to think...if he could do it, then so could I. So I started reading everything there was to read on programming (which wasn't a lot ;) ) in our local library, and got to work. The first things I did was trying to combine different sets of code from those books, to see where it got me, when that appeared to be easy as pie, I finally decided to do something like my friend's dad. So I broke into Thro' The Wall, a Breakout clone that came with one of the Psion instruction tapes, and changed all the graphics: bricks turned into aliens, the paddle became a space ship, and the ball was a laser beam.ball of fire...it took me days to draw it all out on graph paper. Then started the tiresome process of adding it all to the game & I started testing it...I remember being so happy to see it running, and let all my mates play it, just to show off...I was 13 or 14 at the time, and was sure I'd become a programmer & was going to design videogames...it never happened though...still those were awesome times. :)

[@KieronEdwards]

Superbly researched - thank you for this fascinating programme.

[@davidkennedy1077]

Kim, you are on proper mad form!!! Yet another incredible hour plus documentary, you are truly spoiling us!!!

[@julien2983]

What a lovely tribute, thanks for the awesome video Kim!

[@Andy-W-32]

Thankyou so much for this, cant wait to sit back and enjoy. Love your retro documentaries and loved Manic Miner and JSW so this will be an awsome watch! 😍

[@hooloovooloo]

Did I hear the music from Starglider 128 in the mix there? Great nostalgia; thank you. ☺️

[@Zadster]

Kim, you make the most amazing documentaries. Never pulling punches, but yet utterly sympathetic and understanding. Some biographers seem to forget they are dealing with real people, but certainly not you. Matthew is one of the greats for me, the first big name in games software, and one of those elements that made the early 1980s such an incredible time for those of us growing up around then. Much that I would like to see Matthew back and producing a new indie game, I suspect that would just be my own selfishness, and may not be the road to happiness for him. Still, hope springs eternal. Every time the actor Matt Smith's name is mentioned on TV, I can't help looking up, expecting to find the original and definitive Matt Smith. For there can only be one. For now, I can only send wishes for good health and happiness.

[@peternagy-im4be]

I always got the feeling he never received the money he should have. Ripped off?

[@pbarratt73]

Fantastic upload. Thoroughly enjoyed it start to finish.. The banyan tree still haunts me to this day 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@eib8412]

OMG Kim that was awesome, your best video yet. Very honest yet respectful. I still remember the sheer joy of discovering new levels of Manic Miner and JSW. I remember plotting, in pencil on graph paper, the map to JSW as I uncovered it in my grandparents' house. I didn't know you couldn't finish it, no chance of getting that far! So many good trivia points I never knew. I nostalgically and instantly recall some of those Crash covers I read to death as a kid but haven't seen for decades. I forgot that video games used to get rated on "Instructions"! Some of the imitators are so close to JSW but deemed as homage while people are worried about Nintendo suing for that warped alien Kong level - not even like they can claim the word "Kong"! Matt won't sue, he is just extremely flattered. The stark difference between bedroom enthusiasts and big corporations I guess. Matt if you are watching or reading this, I salute you sir. You are a massive part of my childhood.

[@mildgrooveon]

This... story Is FASCINATING. I hate that I'm so late to your Channel... but I'm also so glad that I'm just finding it now after I feel like I've seen the same stories over and over for 10 years I'm so invested that I haven't fallen asleep ...as planned.

[@madTbonez]

Great vid. Just realised towards the end that playing manic miner on my sister’s msx is my first gaming memory, and how my preschool mind was marvelled by it.

[@Just_lift_anyone]

Such a wonderful and very respectful account of Matthew Smith and his games, fantastic video! I would like it twice if I could.

[@JontGore]

Absolutely incredible video, Kim. I really hope Matthew can find some solace in the fact that he brought so much joy to so many people. Outstanding work from the both of you.

[@Jayce_Alexander]

A new Kim Justice video on my birthday! Best present! :D

[@davidpike766]

Really well done Kim, I would have paid for this after watching Bedrooms To Billions. Again, I must address your great and fair journalism- thank you for this. :D

[@davidpike766]

Monetise this; there is a market. Get what you're owed, Kim.

[@RetroRelixRestorer]

Another well written, produced and delivered hour of fact and entertainment; on someone who deserved so much more - but lost their way.

[@MrSegAsh]

These documentaries are on another level now Kim. These should be shown to our younger generation as part of a history lesson.

[@j0nnyism]

Mathew has that rare talent. The ability to make a game that gave you that “one more go” feeling. It’s intangible in the most practical of art forms

[@JutmanCustoms]

Phenomenal work here Kim. A truly excellent and insightful documentary.

[@patrickfitzpatrick7245]

Kim. As always a top quality video! The research is amazing! Thanks!

[@LeKreso]

Beautiful video about the author of the best game of my childhood, Jet Set Willy. Thank you!

[@vapourmile]

That was really well researched, well written and well thought out. You did a good job of extracting the positives from the story too. All it left me wanting is something really nobody has yet achieved which is to do far more to fill in that blank during his "wilderness years". He looked for odd jobs and found his way onto a commune is only a few words for such a long fallow period. His drug taking past is really only ever insinuated rather than dealt with directly. It seems as if people have accepted or assumed drugs were involved without being able to say much about it. He still has a dark history which took him from being the Matt Smith of the black and white pictures and the Matt Smith after he reemerged, and so little is still known about that transitional period. I'd love to know much more. Hopefully people will ask and he'll feel free to answer at length!

[@waitthatsgoingtocostyouext5450]

What a absolutely fantastic video. As a gamer who is now in his mid 40's and grew up with the ZX spectrum, I remember those jet set and manic miner days, very well indeed. I hope that Mat Smith gets the recognition and rewards he so rightly deserves. Anyhoo, well done on a fascinating video (you also get bonus points for adding the theme music from Star glider. I played that music constantly!!). I have recently subscribed and I am now hooked on your videos. Informative and very witty indeed. I wish you and your channel, the very best for the future.😀👍👍

[@flyingcod14]

I have aways said there is a film (or netflix series) about Matt and Willy's lives.

[@gregskuza7166]

If Mathew ever makes another game for speccy I’ll buy it and I got a feeling that a lot of people would too. So Mathew, we are waiting for one more, one last game!!!! Keep the legend alive! Ps: Finally Mathew got a decent documentary, I grew up with Manic and JetSet and every once a while when I turn my spectrum on I always have a go, it brings me back 35 years in a second, what an amazing feeling, thanks Mathew. Great documentary!

[@AndyMin1978]

Absolutely brilliant documentary style video, I’ve always wondered what happened with Matthew Smith, The Miner Willy games have always held a special place in my heart since I was very young. Superb work.

[@havoctrousers]

Wonderful documentary, thank you. I was really shocked by this, I had no idea he was a teenager when he wrote these games or what happened to him afterwards. I first played JSW and MM at a friend's house when I was 8 and it was like a bomb going off in my brain. I immediately nagged my parents for a Spectrum, taught myself to code, wrote my own 8-bit games and have been a professional programmer for the last 27 years. It brought back a lot of happy memories seeing these games again.

[@Tossphate]

Just arrived at the lake District for a nice relaxing holiday, and this popped up. Awesome. I'll kick back and watch this later on with a glass. I owe Matthew Smith so much, he's responsible for many childhood happy memories and sense of adventure and wonder for me. Cheers Kim.

[@John-lp5xh]

I'm a very well respected gentleman

[@kins749]

A legend, paid full respect in this great video. Ending with Rob Hubbard's masterpiece JSW tune on the Atari. Perfect Kim!

[@DaveMcGarry]

Superb documentary Kim! Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy were such amazing games for the time, shame Matt didn't seem to have as much fun as we all did with his games. You did an excellent job.

[@brothermaleuspraetor9505]

A delightful walk down memory lane, sir! I remember as a kid playing miner and willy on the Amstrad in the mid-late 80's. It was thanks to my Uncle, a fellow of the University of Manchester throughout that time. I guess I was lucky to be able to play it then. Really really fond memories, and it was great for kids. Oh boy it was hard too! An integral part of my childhood, Jet set willy got me started on my journey through computer gaming :) I'm SO glad I didn't get into gaming any later, because I can appreciate gaming, thanks to the past. (Millennials call us PC elitists, but I know who we really are).

[@gedbyrne8482]

You really should crowd fund videos like this. I don’t do Patreon but I would have happily supported this.

[@gedbyrne8482]

Ah, you’ve got a paypal link. Sent my support.

[@speedbird737]

number of subscribers at time of watching - 48K ;-)

[@pbarratt73]

Well spotted mate 🤟🏻🕹

[@syrus3k]

Ok that's weird

[@stefanavic6630]

Took me two goes to get it, I'll admit that. My excuse is that Commodore was more the go here in Australia. Piss poor excuse from a confessed computer nerd, but there you go :)

[@DodderingOldMan]

One the one hand, amusing. On the other hand... that's still a shockingly low number of subscribers for what is one of the best channels on KZbin.

[@Jayce_Alexander]

@@DodderingOldMan hi there. I'm from the future. Over the past ten months Kim has gained about 11k subscribers. Still way too low for a channel of this quality, but that's steady growth.

[@chrisgoodson9312]

Loved this. On the the JSW modding scene I think you left out an important detail regarding April Showers. This was the very first screen mod for JSW, it was touted as a secret room which requires you to write a long bit of code but was in fact a complete screen mod. I think it was in Crash magazine in 84.

[@lowfinger]

It was Your Spectrum, I was in awe of my 11 year old mate when he typed it in and showed it me !

[@yethereweare6126]

Master piece Kim. Documentaries like this are what makes you stand out from the crowd. My hats of to you. Brilliant!!!!!!! ps I am from Australia and have never played any of the games mentioned so my opinion is not clouded by nostalgia

[@wisteela]

Excellent video. He was the reason there is a TRS-80 in the Tuckersoft office in Bandersnatch. I'd forgotten about Thumb Candy. I can only just about remember it. On the Amstrad Emailer it wasn't charged per minute to play the games, they were either purchased or rented.

[@heyhonpuds]

Matt From Earth is a legend. Thanks Kim.

[@NigelFoster1969]

An excellent and fascinating documentary. Very well done and many thanks.

[@rdvrdv8920]

I’m really enjoying your long play doccos. Very grateful I found you in my suggested videos. Keep up the great work Kim

[@axilmar254]

Awesome video. JSWII is one of the games I played the most over and over, thinking I always have missed a secret room or something.

[@lwaves]

It was a game series I loved to hate. Loved playing it but hated that I was crap at it. I know it won't happen, for copyright reasons, but I've always thought it would be great to bring this into the modern era. Maybe as a voxel based, 3D open world platformer. Really expand that mansion and exterior out into something worthy of it's legend status.

[@gordonedgar8513]

Fabulous work Kim - thank you so much for doing this for those of us of a certain age and certain dispositions. Manic Miner is still my favourite game ever and not just from nostalgia. It plays amazingly and every screen is like a piece of art - in fact I think it's the only game I would describe as also being art! And this at 17 - wow, ultimate respect Matthew.

[@colinatherton8402]

This video is gold! Matthew smith created a legendary game(s). Thank you so much for making this. I miss those rubber keys

[@celliott16]

Brilliant video, don't know how I got here but the time flew watching this, so many memories flooding back just seeing the screens and hearing the music. I still have the original MM and JSW cassette games today! They were such a huge part of my childhood. I had no idea about the man behind them, quite a sad tale all told, a school friend of mine got a similar amount of money at a similar age and it destroyed his life, literally :-( I hope Matthew can now look forward and cast aside his demons🤞

[@HerneLiedel]

I never grew up with this series, but I have a fascination for Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy.

[@gootballe583]

As a fellow sufferer I am really impressed by your description of Matthew's mental struggles. Great video. This is a TV worthy product.

[@pow1983]

48:54 oh look at that, 2ltr Coke at 69p we'll never see that again :-(

[@lwaves]

I spotted that too. Happy I wasn't the only one. You can't get a standard can at regular price for 69p these days.

[@kduhtdkzrt]

Good.

[@sperrin]

You can see it as many times s you like, just keep re-watching that bit.

[@user-vg5rv5xf4u]

Matt looks like a pretty girl there 😂

[@danielhines6728]

(warning, boring comment) Well, you can get 2l ASDA cola for 41p

[@MIKEPLUMMER]

Just simply fantastic - well balanced and extraordinarily researched. Thank you for completing my knowledge on the subject.

[@jamiestanton]

Another magnificent and poignant video, thank you for the effort you put into these!

[@smila007]

Superb as always Kim. cracking work ;)

[@ZombiWorkshop]

Awesome as always, Kim. Biggest thing I took from this though was the whole "Most games were dark due to protecting CRT screens from imageburn". I always just assumed it was about the colours popping on a blank black background and detailed BG's weren't really a thing as yet.

[@reagandow850]

What an amazing story and really well put together. Thank you for this wonderful documentary. This took some serious time and work to put together! Wow.

[@SteveMHN]

You never fail Kim.

[@mUbase]

Great video about the living legend himself. It takes me back, MM and JSW. The strangeness of the atmosphere those games put you in and the never ending playability of them. Well put together as ever. Thanks Kim. :)

[@playststeve8789]

Great video thank you, this guy is pretty damn cool at making videos on retro classics. keep it up!

[@LordmonkeyTRM]

She is amazing.

[@MrKnightlore]

Aside from a few Grandstand built-in titles, this game is the first one that sticks in my head as a nipper (I was 5). Dripping with nostaligia for me. Thanks Matt, for making such a great game and Kim for a great documentary. All the best.

[@stewmclean2223]

Not sure how I ended up here, but as a child of that era I enjoyed this! Nicely done

[@ShapeyFiend]

This is a brilliant, and sympathetic, recap of Matthews output. As there's a fairly obvious mental health component the tone of comments on the internet seem a bit insensitive sometimes, but hey, that's the internet I guess.

[@nicholasaldridge4574]

Yet another great, entertaining and in depth video! And thanks for mentioning my mod!

[@stevenixx3595]

wtf, the timing of this - literally lastnight I was thinking it would be great if you did a video on Matt smith because I was re-watching some old retro stuff on here and he appeared. This is crazy.

[@jamesheyworth3566]

That will be your mobile phone listening to your thoughts. Tin foil hat time. Excellent upload.

[@mcenglish4654]

Well done Kim up there with your very best. Enjoyed this so much - watched all in one sitting.

[@TheGodlessGuitarist]

I remember being blown away by these games. I couldnt fathom how they coded something so complex. Seeing the assembler and debugger adverts answers some questions. I was coding on paper. Dry running and debugging by staring at the code very hard!

[@Saavik256]

My sister (born 1975) and I (born 1985) played so many hours of Manic Miner on our ZX! I don't think we ever managed to finish it, but it gave us so many hours of fun!

[@darrenbeeken8648]

Fantastic video mate , beautifully put together 👍👍

[@mingtooter]

As a life-long stoner, part time pillhead, and occasional astronaut, I can tell that is a man who has taken a LOT of drugs and had a few breakdowns. I feel bad for the guy honestly, he looks like he really did himself some damage. You can really f*ck yourself up if you push it too far. I'm glad he's still around and no matter what he's an icon and made a game I still love to this day. I hope he's doing okay x

[@Thunderpuddle]

Love your videos Kim. So good and interesting, especially for a UK lad who remembers these classic games and Mr Smith..

[@YadonTheCat]

That DIE MORTAL screen must have scared many kids shitless I'm amazed I've never seen anyone mention it anywhere, this is the first time I've seen it

[@pauldavies2025]

Possibly the creepiest screen in computer games. Used to freak me right out when I was a young 'un! And an adult to be honest 😫

[@paulpetroleum]

Scared the crap out of me as a kid yeh. First time a game had broken the fourth wall for me.

[@PeasGraveny]

I love that BBC documentary (6:49) about Ocean etc .. and was saddened to hear of the passing of David Ward.

[@jasper-byrne]

was hoping you'd cover Matthew one day, great stuff. inspired me a lot as a child. similarly, i'd love to see some in depth stuff about other Spectrum / C64 legends, in particular Mike Singleton, Peter Harrap & Tony Crowther (about whom there is very little material out there). keep up the good work! :)

[@CountDrunkula]

Me and my mate used to just randomly put pokes in for games and one caused the end sequence of Jet Set Willy to happen. We saw him sprint to the toilet an ram his head in but of course had no idea how many bottles were needed. I really liked this piece. I think it has a gentle melancholy for some of us. Thanks.