The developer of the first Pac Man game updates engineering skills at CRC

The man who developed the first PacMan game for the BBC Micro Computer in 1981 has told how much he has enjoyed updating his engineering skills at Cambridge Regional College.

Jonathan Griffiths is a software writer and is currently studying the hardware side of things on our adult engineering evening classes.

“I’ve been writing all this software but had no idea how the hardware works so I came to CRC to find out,” Jonathan said. “I haven’t done anything educational wise since Sixth Form in 1981 so it felt strange coming back, but have loved it.

“I’m now signed up to the Intermediate course and hope to go on to the Advanced Electronics course. It’s been a great learning experience!”

In 1981 Jonathan was writing games software for the first micro-computers and created a version of PacMan called “Snapper”. He also wrote a version of Scramble which was an arcade game called “Rocket Raid”.

“I was so engrossed in games writing, I failed my A-Levels! I worked at Acorn Computers for two years then went freelance working in software development.

“I’ve written several 3D tank games, including “Conqueror”. In the mid-1990s huge teams started writing games, so I switched to writing embedded software for a range of companies including Amino Communications and AlertMe, an early burglar alarm system. Most recently I worked for Hive Active Heating.”

Jonathan says it is never too late to learn a new subject and is enjoying the skills he is developing as a bolt-on to his already successful career.

Find out more about the wide range of adult evening classes here