One of the iconic heads of British game development in the 80s, for platforms like the Sinclair ZX81 and ZX Spectrum, Mike Singleton, perhaps most well known for games like Lords of Midnight and Midwinter, has passed away, prompting heaps of tributes from fellow developers and fans alike.

The tweets have been pouring in their thousands, with people praising not only the fact that Singleton's games were some of the fondest early gaming memories they had, but that they were so far ahead of their time. Lords of Midnight featured thousands of locations at a time when most games featured just over a hundred.  Midwinter similarly was years ahead of its time, crossing genres to create a meaningful experience that was both open world explorer, first person shooter and turn based strategy game all bundled together.

One person using the alias “Wibby” remembered Singleton fondly in a post on Giantbomb:

“He was also my first employer,” he wrote. “I used to go straight from school to his company for his wisdom and generosity, He was an amazing boss, single father of two young boys but most importantly he was my friend.”

“The last 12 months where hard for him he was diagnosed with cancer of the jaw and had to have it removed but he always kept his spirits up. I even sat with him in our local pub for our first post-op beer! Alas last week he died in Switzerland of natural causes.”

“I just wanted for you guys to understand where most of the roots of the games you play today came from, so next time you pop in a disk, raise a glass and say ‘Cheers Singo!'”

According to programmer Jon Wild, Singleton had been working on an iPhone conversion for Lords of Midnight up until his death. No doubt someone will make sure it gets finished.

KitGuru Says: Some KG members may be a little young for first hand Singleton game experience, but what about the rest of you? Any fond memories?

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