Lords of Midnight creator Mike Singleton dies, aged 61
If you were raised on 8-bit gaming (especially the ZX Spectrum of Commodore 64), as I was, the name Mike Singleton and his game The Lords of Midnight should be instantly recognisable. That title, and its sequel, Doomdark’s Revenge, set a monumental bar for design and world creation for videogames in the 1980s.
Given the limited memory and capabilities of hardware from that era, both games offered incredible scope. Lords of Midnight’s vast, Tolkien-esque plains encompassed an urgent duel quest; to unite the armies of the realm against Doomdark, the Witchking of Midnight, in order to buy enough time for Morkin to destroy Doomdark’s powerful Ice Crown.
Singleton was also responsible for several other important strategy titles, including War in Middle Earth, Midwinter and Dark Sceptre (probably not his best game, but the one I played the most).
Mike Singleton died in Switzerland on 10 October, aged 61. He had been suffering from cancer of the mouth.
Source: Icemark.com
This is truly sad news. I don’t know how many hours I have spent on Lords of Midnight which was truly a classic. I still have the boxed copy tucked away with my Speccy. A real talent lost.