Deus Ex Machina

Andrew Stagg coded the original Spectrum version, and Colin Jones (later known as author/publisher Colin Bradshaw-Jones) was the programmer of the Commodore 64 version. The game charts the life of a "defect" which has formed in "the machine", from conception, through growth, evolution and eventually death. The progression is loosely based on "The Seven Ages of Man" from the Shakespeare play, As You Like It and includes many quotations and parodies of this. The original game would later be rereleased alongside a sequel/remake in 2015.

• Title — Deus Ex Machina • Developer — Automata UK • Publisher — Automata UK Electric Dreams • Designer — Mel Croucher • Programmer — Andrew Stagg • Genre — Art game, music game • Modes — Single player • Platforms — ZX Spectrum, MSX, Commodore 64, Android, iOS, Ouya, Windows, Linux, Mac OS X

Players of the game take control of a defective machine which has taken the form of the human body. The players would experience the different stages of life, all the way from being a cell to being a senile old being. It is considered to be a work of audiovisual entertainment although the game itself does not have sound. It is separated into an audio cassette where the tape needs to be played alongside the game. The length of the audio cassette is 46 minutes which is also the length of the game itself. Although the game could be played without the audio cassette, it would make it easier to understand with the help of the soundtrack. The soundtrack includes songs, musical compositions, and also voices of famous actors. As the game comes with a full transcript of the speech, it could at times be played without audio.

Deus Ex Machina was the highest new entry, at sixth position in WHSmith's ZX Spectrum Top Ten chart in November 1984, four places above the new entry for Underwurlde, the latest release from Ultimate Play The Game. The following week it fell three places to number nine. It subsequently gained cult status as an underground art game.

Croucher retrospectively viewed the game as a disappointment, saying "I should have sold the game at a sensible price. But I wanted to put a lovely poster in it and nice packaging and a double vinyl gatefold" and that as a result the price of £15 compared to the more usual £8 meant that sales were low, and the game only broke even. In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. In 2014 Croucher released a book about the game's (and his) history, and the making of the new game, entitled Deus Ex Machina - The Best Game You Never Played in Your Life.