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On This Day - 2nd October

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Valhalla is released for the ZX Spectrum
1983

Valhalla is released for the ZX Spectrum

Valhalla, an ambitious graphical adventure game from Legend Software, is released for the ZX Spectrum.

Set in the world of Norse mythology, Valhalla combined a text-based adventure system with animated graphics and independently moving characters. Players could issue commands to their own character and interact with other characters in the game world, creating a more dynamic experience than the largely static graphics used by many contemporary adventures.

The game was developed by a team including Richard Edwards, Graham Asher, Charles Goodwin, Andrew Owen, James Learmont and Jan Ostler. It was designed for the 48K ZX Spectrum and was published on cassette by the Cambridge-based company Legend.

Valhalla became one of the more technically ambitious adventure games of the early Spectrum era and was subsequently re-released as part of Elite's £2.99 Classics range.
Source: Centre for Computing History; World of Spectrum; Popular Computing Weekly.
The Centre for Computing History records 2 October 1983 as the release date of the ZX Spectrum version. World of Spectrum records the original release as 1983, published by Legend at £14.95.
Valhalla Legend Software Richard Edwards Graham Asher Charles Goodwin ZX Spectrum 48K Spectrum Adventure Games Interactive Fiction Norse Mythology Computer Games Home Computers British Computing Retro Computing
1983

Micro Live makes its television debut

The BBC broadcasts the first Micro Live, a special live edition of Making the Most of the Micro, as part of its Computer Literacy Project.

Broadcast on BBC One at 11:00 on Sunday 2 October 1983, the two-hour programme featured live demonstrations of computer hardware and software, a download from the BBC's new Telesoftware service, electronic mail, computer music and teams of programmers writing software against the clock.

Presented by Ian McNaught-Davis, the programme demonstrated how computers and telecommunications were rapidly becoming part of everyday life. The success of the live specials eventually led to Micro Live becoming a regular BBC television series in October 1984.
Source: BBC Genome — Micro Live, BBC One, 2 October 1983
The BBC Genome schedule records Micro Live as a live edition of Making the Most of the Micro, broadcast on BBC One London at 11:00 on 2 October 1983. The programme included demonstrations of hardware and software, a live Telesoftware download, electronic mail and programming challenges.

The BBC Computer Literacy Project archive records the later regular Micro Live series as beginning on 5 October 1984. This entry therefore refers specifically to the 2 October 1983 live special, rather than the start of the regular series.
BBC BBC Television Micro Live Making the Most of the Micro Computer Literacy Project Ian McNaught-Davis Telesoftware Electronic Mail Microcomputers Television 1983
BBC Genome — Micro Live, 2 October 1983

Also in this month

Other historical information recorded for October.

Spectrum sales top 500,000
1983

Spectrum sales top 500,000

Sinclair Research announced that sales of the ZX Spectrum had passed half a million machines. The figure covered mail-order and retail sales between April 1982 and August 1983. Sinclair said the Spectrum had sold faster than the ZX81 over comparable periods and promised continued support through new peripherals, including the recently launched ZX Interface 1 and Microdrives.
Source: Sinclair User October 1983
Sinclair User Issue 19 reported that Sinclair Spectrum sales had exceeded 500,000. The figures covered sales from April 1982 to August 1983 and included both mail-order and retail sales. The article compared this with 400,000 ZX81s sold between March 1981 and July 1982. It also mentioned the August launch of the ZX Interface 1 and Microdrive, with a joystick and cartridge interface planned for later in the year.
ZX Spectrum Sinclair Research Spectrum Sales Sinclair Sales ZX Interface 1 Microdrive ZX81 Sinclair Hardware Sinclair Peripherals UK Home Computers
Sinclair User Issue 19
Deus Ex Machina Released
1984

Deus Ex Machina Released

Automata released Deus Ex Machina, an ambitious multimedia work created by Mel Croucher and programmed for the ZX Spectrum by Andrew Stagg. Designed as an experience combining computer graphics, narration, music and a separate synchronised audio soundtrack, the 48K Spectrum program follows a lifeform through creation, birth, development, adulthood and death. The soundtrack featured contributions from performers including Ian Dury, Jon Pertwee, Frankie Howerd, Donna Bailey and E. P. Thompson. Croucher later described Deus Ex Machina as “the best game you never played”, a phrase subsequently used as the title of his book about the project and its creation.
Source: Sinclair User, November 1984; Your Spectrum, December 1984; Mel Croucher interview; Deus Ex Machina: The Best Game You Never Played in Your Life
Contemporary Sinclair User and Your Spectrum material documents Automata's Deus Ex Machina as a highly unusual 48K Spectrum production combining a computer program with a separate synchronised audio soundtrack. The work was created by Mel Croucher and programmed by Andrew Stagg, with contributions from Ian Dury, Jon Pertwee, Frankie Howerd, Donna Bailey and E. P. Thompson. In later interviews and his book about the project, Croucher reflected on Deus Ex Machina and described it as “the best game you never played”. The commonly cited release period is October 1984, although an exact day has not yet been established from contemporary evidence.
Deus Ex Machina Mel Croucher Andrew Stagg Automata Ian Dury Jon Pertwee Frankie Howerd Donna Bailey E. P. Thompson ZX Spectrum 48K Spectrum Multimedia Interactive Audio Soundtrack Music Experimental Software Art Software Simulation Adventure Philosophy Political Commentary
Page Revised: 07/09/2026

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