Paco Menéndez

Francisco "Paco" Menéndez (1965-1999) was a Spanish computer game programmer who wrote games for the CPC, ZX Spectrum and MSX. His most famous work is La Abadia Del Crimen which is regarded by many as one of the best games made for any 8-bit machine.

Menéndez's first work was Fred, an arcade maze game released in 1983 on the ZX Spectrum and released as a launch title by Amsoft and Indescomp with the CPC in 1984.

In 1988, Menéndez teamed with Juan Delcán to write La Abadia Del Crimen (The Abbey of Crime) for Opera Soft. The game was to be a version of Umberto Eco's book The Name of the Rose but a license was not obtained as Eco never replyed to Menéndez's request, so the game was renamed La Abadia Del Crimen. The game was critically acclaimed for its graphics, sound and detail. The game helped Menéndez claim the Best Spanish Programmer award from Spanish Spectrum magazine MicroHobby. Despite its immense popularity and success, the game was never officially released outside Spain.

After La Abadía del Crimen, Menéndez left the scene in order to finish his degree in Telecom Engineering. It is believed that the progressive commercialism in the videogame market and bad experiences with Mikro-Gen's distribution of Sir Fred were Menéndez's reasons for his sudden departure. Though he only made three games, Menéndez is widely considered as one of Spain's greatest ever game programmers.

In 1999 Paco Menéndez committed suicide jumping from his apartment in Sevilla. He was 34.

to Paco Menéndez on World of Spectrum

Softography

• Roland on the Ropes / Fred (1984)
• Sir Fred (1986)
• La Abadia Del Crimen (1988)