Name Mel Croucher | Role Broadcaster | |
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Albums Deus Ex Machina 2, Deus Ex Machina, The Automata Songs, The Music of Mel Croucher and Automata U.K. Ltd Similar People Ian Dury, Chris Madin, Jon Pertwee, Frankie Howerd, Christopher Lee | ||
Mel Croucher is a British writer and video games pioneer. Originally an architect, he moved into computers and launched one of the very earliest games companies, Automata UK, as an extension of his travel guide publishing business. He is now credited for setting up "the first games company in the U.K." and celebrated as "the father of the British videogames industry". His first broadcasts of computer game software were made over AM and FM radio. After the release of the Sinclair ZX81, his label published several games for the early home computer market, including three Computer Trade Association award-winners: Pimania (1982), Groucho (1983, a.k.a. My Name Is Uncle Groucho, You Win A Fat Cigar), and the groundbreaking "multi-media" title Deus Ex Machina (1984).
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Deus ex machina mel croucher automata source 2014
Career
Croucher has written text books, computer manuals and comedy, and worked as a journalist, writing regular columns like Without Prejudice, The Rubber Room, and a humorous sci-fi serial called Tamara Knight for the ZX Spectrum magazine CRASH in the 1980s, as well as columns for various computer magazines since.
Mel Croucher is the author of Zygote in Computer Shopper every month since 1987, and the Rants And Raves column and the Great Moments In Computing cartoon strip in the same magazine.
In 2010 Feeding Tube Records, a small label in the United States, released "Pimania: The Music of Mel Croucher", a deluxe vinyl LP album of the music to the Pimania games, as well as tracks from other Automata releases. The album came with extensive liner notes by Croucher and Caroline Bren, as well as a large poster featuring selections from the original Automata print campaigns.
In 2012, Mel Croucher reformed Automata as Automata Source Ltd., with leading figures from the video games, online marketing and music industries.
Mel Croucher produced a reimagination of Deus Ex Machina, starring Sir Christopher Lee, released in 2015 as Deus Ex Machina 2, alongside a 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition of the original game including new graphics and a director's commentary. He collaborated with Christopher Lee on several other games titles, and their game for children was released as Eggbird in the same year.