3D Monster Maze is a survival horror video game developed from an idea by J.K. Greye and programmed by Malcolm Evans and released in 1981[1] for the ZX81 with the 16 KB memory expansion.

Using the 6 pseudo-graphics with a dithering pattern also made it possible for the game author to incorporate a third colour (grey) in the black-and-white picture.

Part of the screen is reserved for the score count, and a one-line status message is occasionally overlaid at the bottom of the graphical view.

[5] This is augmented by several dozen BASIC lines for less critical tasks, such as the initial greetings and the game legend animation inter-line delay.

[10] No copy protection is embedded into the game; moreover, the magnetic tapes of the time being unreliable, one could reuse the save entry point in the BASIC code (that was used by the original developers to have the game auto-run upon being loaded by the user) in order to save another program copy to the tape (for archival and backup purposes).

The game speed can also be controlled – according to the original cassette inlay, the BASIC line 370 has a hardwired constant determining a busy waiting loop delay.

A somewhat jerky motion is perceived at this slow framerate which gives a feeling of being jerked along with each step of a desperate heavy run.

[11] He worked in the aerospace industry, first in aircraft design, and then as a microprocessor scientist at Sperry Gyroscope in Bristol, United Kingdom.

Friends persuaded Malcolm that the game was of high enough quality to sell and it was eventually released by J.K. Greye Software in late 1981.

[12] When soon after that the Bristol branch of Sperry Gyroscope closed, Malcolm made a decision to concentrate fully on computer gaming.

[15] The game was sold domestically in the UK and overseas, and became a hit shortly after it was released: ... when the ZX81 had just been launched, software standards were generally pretty low.

[18] Even though it did not use the undocumented hi-res graphics feature of the ZX81, and rendered the scene with pseudo-graphics characters (available in the standard ZX81 character set), the game was considered to be a remarkable achievement, utilising the machine's capabilities to its best: If I had to choose just one programme to impress an audience with the capabilities of the ZX81, then 3D Monster Maze would be the one without a doubt.

[19]Soon the Sinclair platform users began switching over to the newer ZX Spectrum, which had better graphics resolution and colour, bigger RAM and ROM, as well as sound capability and a sleeker look and feel.

"[5] Retro Gamer agreed, in 2014 stating that "Survival horror may have been a phrase first coined by Resident Evil, but it could've easily applied to Malcolm Evans' massive hit.