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On This Day - 9th October

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Ant Attack sets a world record as the first isometric home-computer game
1983

Ant Attack sets a world record as the first isometric home-computer game

Sandy White's Ant Attack is recognised as the first isometric home-computer game.

Published by Quicksilva for the ZX Spectrum in 1983, Ant Attack placed the player in the ruined city of Antescher, where giant ants had taken over the streets. The game used White's Softsolid 3D system to create a three-dimensional isometric environment, allowing the player to move around the city, climb onto buildings and escape the giant ants.

Ant Attack was also notable for allowing the player to choose between a male or female character. Its distinctive filled 3D graphics made it one of the most technically impressive early Spectrum games.
Source: Guinness World Records; World of Spectrum; Centre for Computing History. — 9 October 1983
Ant Attack was released for the ZX Spectrum in 1983. 9 October 1983 is the date recorded by Guinness World Records for its achievement as the first isometric home-computer game.
Ant Attack Sandy White Quicksilva ZX Spectrum Isometric Graphics 3D Graphics Softsolid 3D World Record Guinness World Records Computer Games Home Computers Retro Computing Computing History

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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