This unique and interesting game was developed and first published by Automata UK on the ZX Spectrum in 1984.

Deus Ex Machina was the first video game to feature a fully synchronised soundtrack that featured celebrity narration and music. The cast includes Ian Dury, Jon Pertwee, Donna Bailey, Frankie Howerd, E.P. Thompson, and Mel Croucher – the latter being the author of the game. The soundtrack was supplied on cassette, which was played while the game ran.

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.

Deus Ex Machina was also released in its original form on the Commodore 64 and MSX, and was re-made (by the original author) – with a different cast (including Christopher Lee) – in 2015.

More: Deus Ex Machina on Wikipedia