Gray Matter Interactive Studios, Inc. was a computer game developer founded in 1995.
Isle of the Dead is a science fiction novel by Roger Zelazny and illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon published in 1969 .. Roger Zelazny. Roger Zelazny. Leo and Diane Dillon. Leo and Diane Dillon. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1969 , and won the French Prix Apollo in 1972 .. Nebula Award. Nebula Award. Best Novel. Nebula Award for Best Novel. Prix Apollo. Prix Tour-Apollo Award. The title refers to the several paintings by Swiss-German painter Arnold Bocklin .. Arnold Bocklin. Arnold Bocklin. paintings. Isle of the Dead ( painting ). In the novel , Francis Sandow refers to `` that mad painting by Boecklin , The Isle of the Dead . ''. Bocklin created at least five paintings with that title , each depicting an oarsman and a standing figure in a small boat , crossing dark water toward a forbidding island .. paintings. Isle of the Dead ( painting ). A later Ace books edition featured a cover painting by Dean Ellis that was deliberately reminiscent of Bocklin 's work .. As to the novel 's inspiration , Zelazny noted , `` This was a spin-off from the novelette I did called ` This Moment of the Storm . '. Actually , it was n't the guy I was interested in , at first .. I wanted somebody that was born in the twentieth century , who had made it aboard one of these generation starships where he 'd been frozen and spent generations getting to this new planet which proved habitable .. generation starships. Generation ship. By the time he got there , they 'd invented a faster-than-light drive , because several centuries had gone by and they 'd become more sophisticated .. faster-than-light drive. faster-than-light drive. Earth had much higher technology , and he had the means of going back fast if he wanted to , but he did n't .. He was n't sure he was happy on the world he 'd reached , though , and decided to go out and try a few others , since it was easy to do .. There were still time dilation effects and , through making a few sharp investments here and there , with so much time passing , he became quite wealthy .. time dilation. time dilation. He also happened to become the oldest human in the galaxy , and because of the fancy new medicine he was in very good shape .. He also just happened to have been through the initiation ritual which would make him a god in this other religion , even though he did n't believe in it wholeheartedly .. But it was the concept of the big expanse of time that interested me . ''