RIP John "Rochdale Balrog" Wilson

[Alessandro]

John Wilson, better known to Spectrum users and text adventure fans in particular as the Rochdale Balrog, sadly passed away on 31 May. His son announced it on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/RochBalrog/status/1 ... 0420101121

[PeterJ]

That's incredibly sad news. I was never lucky enough to meet John, but every time I communicated with him in other ways he came across as a true gentleman.

What a huge loss to the retro computing community.

[arjun]

RIP Balrog. Must play a Zenobi game in his memory. Today is as good a day as any.

[Stefan123]

So sad news, RIP John Wilson.

[Andre Leao]

Oh no... RIP John, and thank you for the wonderful games you shared with us...

[Ralf]

I didn't know much about John but I certainly do recognize Zenobi label. Looks like he was a true fan, always faithful to his passion.

It's a big loss to the retro community. Rest in peace, John

[Mort]

Very Sad news, he will be missed by adventure and retro fans alike

[Mousey]

Really sad to hear this. I had noticed his website hadn't been updated in a while but assumed (hoped) he was just taking a break.

For quite a long period of time John was pretty much the ONLY person championing Speccy text adventures, and continued to do so pretty much until this day. His fantastic contribution will never be forgotten.

[Hank Scorpio]

Very sad news indeed, his games were among my favourite text adventures. RIP John.

[Ralf]

For quite a long period of time John was pretty much the ONLY person championing Speccy text adventures,

At some moment in the 90s he was probably the only person in the UK (and generally west of Russia) releasing ANY new Spectrum software.

[druellan]

I'm so sad with the news. Back in the day I was avid to play adventure games, but English is not my first language, so I was struggling with most. I'm still not sure how I get a copy of Behind Closed Doors, but fell in love on how simple and intriguing it was, perfect for my language level at the time, and I started to wonder if I can also create my own little adventure.
Thanks John for this and other wonderful memories in front of my Spectrum.

[AndyC]

Sad day indeed. RIP Balrog.

[Alone Coder]

Was his Goblin Gazette the first electronic press at ZX Spectrum, in 1988?

[Nick]

Sad news, he has left a fine legacy with his great adventure games.

[Quantum Sheep]

This is terribly sad news for his family, and for the rest of us ‘out here’.

I can’t claim to have known him well at all, but in the short time that I did, he was always kind, supportive, and generous in his interactions with me. I’m certain others will have had the same experience.

I also found him truly inspirational in that his imagination, enthusiasm, and interest in retro games in general, and in adventure games in particular, never seemed to diminish.

Rest in Peace, sir, and thank you for the *decades* worth of games you’ve left us.

*sheepyhugs*

QS

[R-Tape]

RIP. I've only completed one of John's games, but I've played a lot and liked his sense of humour. It's incredible that his enthusiasm for adventures kept going since the start, and (as I understand it) keeps going with his creation TAB. I feel there should be a blue plaque...

[PeteProdge]

It was incredible that in the early days of domestic internet (having picked it up in the dial-up era of 1996), that I could pop over to the biggest ZX Spectrum newsgroup (comp.sys.sinclair) and see Zenobi Software (which is pretty much John Wilson, let's be honest) still going, long after all the big names had gone off to publish games for the all-singing all-dancing PlayStation.

Behind Closed Doors is my favourite text adventure, really bringing a lot of amusement with its toilet humour. RIP, John.

[8BitAG]

The death of John Wilson this week came as a huge shock... Like many, my relationship with John was complicated, dating back to the 1980s, but I'd always promised him at least a profile (if not an entire book) about Zenobi... It's not something that I feel up to doing this close to his passing but here is probably the next best thing... (or arguably an even better thing)... here is John talking about Zenobi Software himself...

http://8bitag.com/info/zenobi.html

(It's heartening to read so many nice things written about John these past few days. Just to address some of the comments made in this thread...

At some moment in the 90s he was probably the only person in the UK (and generally west of Russia) releasing ANY new Spectrum software

While this isn't true, he was still the major force in British text adventures in the 1990s... certainly on the Spectrum side of things.

Was his Goblin Gazette the first electronic press at ZX Spectrum, in 1988?

No, electronic "tape" magazines were very common on the Spectrum. John wrote a column for Spectrum Adventurer in his early Zenobi days. John's hero, Fergus McNeill, had previously also released a similar electronic publication on the B-side of his games.

It's incredible that his enthusiasm for adventures kept going since the start, and (as I understand it) keeps going with his creation TAB.

No, TAB is by the talented Philip Richmond, author of Spectrum adventure 'Number Six in the Village'. Nothing to do with John. Philip is very much still with us.)

[RWAC]

An article about John from Eurogamer.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021 ... i-software

[Quantum Sheep]

An article about John from Eurogamer.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021 ... i-software

Thank you. A lovely article I missed, and glad to see John recognised by more 'mainstream' sites.

QS

[71owl]

This is really sad news. John has to be recognised as one of the giants of the Spectrum games industry. He may not have sold games in the many thousands, but he kept a whole genre of Spectrum games going, single-handedly (along with some good authors) for several years after the mainstream software houses had long gone.

I remember submitting my own game to him in the early 1990's. He was very helpful and kind. The game didn't make it onto the market but, if it did, the commission he would pay was fair and reasonable. Having read many articles and interviews with programmers, its clear that many were virtually swindled by the software houses at the time. John cared about everyone involved in the process. He made an honest living for himself, was good to the authors and programmers and provided value for money good honest games for the punters. That was the secret of his longevity and the reason why so many people are now paying tribute.

I had the pleasure of exchanging some emails with John just a couple of months ago relating to a technical issue with emulators and software. He couldn't have been more helpful. A real gentleman.

RIP John.