Today's gaming machines allow for experiences that we could only dream of decades ago, but nevertheless, the early years of gaming were a time ripe with innovation. While gaming at home was no longer a new concept by the time the 80's came around, the decade was still a time of creativity as developers experimented with genres and art styles that wouldn't hit their heydays until years later. Others were just weird by design, such as Deus Ex Machina, an interactive movie released in 1984 that has now found its way over to Android.
Deus Ex Machina placed an emphasis on music, acting, and storytelling at a time when most others could hardly provide enough backstory to fill the first page of an instruction manual. Designed by Mel Croucher, it featured Ian Dury, Jon Pertween, Donna Bailey, and others, including the designer himself.
This release comes with updated visuals, but the original version is included as well. The game also includes a remastered soundtrack. Since the experience is difficult to gauge from screenshots, here is a clip of the beginning.
Deus Ex Machina launched on the ZX Spectrim before eventually moving over to other platforms. Now you can get it on Android for $4.99, as long as you're willing to go through the Amazon Appstore. It hasn't yet made an appearance on Google Play (though you can get this book on the game written by Mel Croucher if you're interested). Considering how difficult it was to get your hands on the game back in its day, this almost seems appropriate.