Public speaking
Cluley has given talks about computer security for some of the world's largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and regularly appears on TV and radio explaining computer security threats.Computer games
Before entering the computer security industry, Cluley achieved notoriety for two''Jacaranda Jim''
Cluley wrote ''Jacaranda Jim'' while studying computing at Guildford College of Technology. He began developing the game in 1987, borrowing liberally from an earlier unreleased game named ''Herbie''. The game "took about 6 months to write, and was finished by April 1988". The game, which was written in Pascal, was then ported to the PC platform with the help of Alex Bull, another student at Guildford. The premise of the game, as presented in promotional materials, is:Following an attack on his cargo-ship by a crack squad of homicidal beechwood armchairs, space cadet Jacaranda Jim is forced to crashland into the strange world of Ibberspleen IV. "Luckily", Jim is rescued from the burning wreckage by the mysteriously smug creature, Alan the Gribbley. Can you help Jim escape back to the safety of Earth?In its original incarnation, the game was named ''Derek the Troll'' in honour of its central character, based upon one of Cluley's lecturers. When Cluley's maths lecturer questioned the lampooning of one her colleagues, the character was renamed "Alan the Gribbley" – inspired by one of Cluley's fellow students, "a failed accountant with vaguely homicidal tendencies" – and the game itself rechristened ''Jacaranda Jim''. ''Jacaranda Jim'' was well-reviewed, with Sue Medley writing in computer gaming magazine '' Zero'' that "''Jacaranda Jim'' is well worth trying and will certainly give you some sleepless nights before you solve it!" A sequel called ''The Case of Spindle's Crotchet'' was planned and partially completed, but never released. Some of the content from this game, including "a lot of ideas and jokes," were included in Cluley's next game, ''Humbug''.
''Humbug''
''Humbug'' is Cluley's second and final text adventure computer game, first distributed as shareware with the February 1991 issue of ''PC Plus''. In a 1992 interview in ''SynTax'' magazine, Cluley estimated that the game "took about a year to write." The premise of this game, as presented in promotional materials, is:You, Sidney Widdershins, are sent to your Grandad's for the Christmas holidays. Lurking in the shadows is Grandad's evil neighbour – Jasper Slake. Jasper, a particularly sadistic dentist, is after Grandad's crumbling manor.While maintaining the playful tone of its predecessor, ''Humbug'' is considerably more difficult than ''Jacaranda Jim'', with one contemporary reviewer noting that it "is not, perhaps, an adventure for novices". A quite extensive review of ''Humbug'' was written in 2018 by Joe Pranevich on ''The Adventure Gamer''. Pranevich noted that the game has "more charm than it has any right to have," but that "it's also quite difficult".
Later games
Cluley went on to produce two graphical games: a Tetris clone called ''Blox'' (1990) and a Pacman-based game called ''Wibbling Wilf'' (1991). As of 2009, ''Blox'' was on display in the computer museum at Bletchley Park.References
External links