David Jones is a former freelance computer game programmer who was prolific in the mid-to-late 1980s. He is best known for the creation of the cult

Cult

The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...

 computer game character Magic Knight

Magic Knight

Magic Knight is a computer game character created by freelance programmer David Jones in his 1985 game Finders Keepers for the Mastertronic budget label. Finders Keepers is a flip-screen platform game released on the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, MSX and Commodore 64...

 in his 1985

1985 in video gaming

-Notable releases:* Brøderbund releases Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, the first game of the prolific Carmen Sandiego series* Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. on September 13, 1985, which eventually sells 40 million copies making it the best-selling video game of all time until 2008.*...

 game Finders Keepers

Finders Keepers (computer game)

Finders Keepers is a computer game written by David Jones and the first game in the Magic Knight series. It was published on the Mastertronic label for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, MSX and Commodore 64 in 1985...

for the Mastertronic

Mastertronic

Mastertronic was originally a publisher and distributor of low-cost computer game software founded in 1983. Their first games were distributed in mid-1984. At its peak the label was the dominant software publisher in the UK, a position achieved by selling cassette-based software at the £1.99...

 budget label and released on the ZX Spectrum

ZX Spectrum

The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...

, Amstrad CPC

Amstrad CPC

The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...

, MSX

MSX

MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...

 and Commodore 64

Commodore 64

The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...

.

Finders Keepers

Finders Keepers (computer game)

Finders Keepers is a computer game written by David Jones and the first game in the Magic Knight series. It was published on the Mastertronic label for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, MSX and Commodore 64 in 1985...

spawned three cult sequels: Spellbound

Spellbound (computer game)

Spellbound is a computer game that was designed and programmed by David Jones with music by Rob Hubbard and released in 1985 for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC home computers...

(1985

1985 in video gaming

-Notable releases:* Brøderbund releases Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, the first game of the prolific Carmen Sandiego series* Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. on September 13, 1985, which eventually sells 40 million copies making it the best-selling video game of all time until 2008.*...

), Knight Tyme

Knight Tyme

Knight Tyme is a computer game released for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and MSX compatibles in 1986. It was published by Mastertronic as part of their Mastertronic Added Dimension label....

(1986

1986 in video gaming

-Events:-Notable releases:*Namco releases Sky Kid Deluxe, Hopping Mappy, Toy Pop, The Return of Ishtar, which is the sequel to Tower of Druaga, Genpei Tōma Den, and Rolling Thunder....

) and Stormbringer

Stormbringer (computer game)

Stormbringer is a computer game written by David Jones and released in 1987 by Mastertronic on the Mastertronic Added Dimension label. It was originally released on the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and MSX. A version for the Atari ST was published in 1988. It is the fourth and final game...

(1987

1987 in video gaming

-Notable releases:* January 14, Nintendo releases Zelda II: The Adventure of Link in January for the Famicom Disk System in Japan only. The game would go unreleased in America for nearly two years afterwards.* February 20, Konami releases Contra...

).

The in-game instructions for Finders Keepers

Finders Keepers (computer game)

Finders Keepers is a computer game written by David Jones and the first game in the Magic Knight series. It was published on the Mastertronic label for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, MSX and Commodore 64 in 1985...

, and the printed instructions for Knight Tyme

Knight Tyme

Knight Tyme is a computer game released for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and MSX compatibles in 1986. It was published by Mastertronic as part of their Mastertronic Added Dimension label....

and Stormbringer

Stormbringer (computer game)

Stormbringer is a computer game written by David Jones and released in 1987 by Mastertronic on the Mastertronic Added Dimension label. It was originally released on the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and MSX. A version for the Atari ST was published in 1988. It is the fourth and final game...

, refer to the character of Magic Knight as 'he'. However, in a feature on the Magic Knight games in issue 27 of Retro Gamer

Retro Gamer

Retro Gamer is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Although launched as a quarterly publication, Retro Gamers soon became a monthly...

magazine, David Jones states that Magic Knight "was always female" and that if he had written another Magic Knight game, this would have been "the big reveal at the end".