Jet Set Willy
From Free net encyclopedia
| Jet Set Willy {{#if:{{{image|}}}|<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">{{{image|}}} | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Software Projects {{#if:{{{publisher|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)<td>{{{publisher|}}} |
| Release date(s) | 1984 |
| Genre(s) | platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single player {{#if:{{{ratings|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)<td>{{{ratings|}}} |
| Platform(s) | ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit family {{#if:{{{media|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media<td>{{{media|}}} |
Jet Set Willy is a computer game for the ZX Spectrum home computer. Its release in 1984 was concurrent with the height of the Spectrum's popularity in the early 1980s.
It was written by Matthew Smith, hailed at the time as a games-writing genius. Smith later moved to the Netherlands and, since his whereabouts were widely unknown, he was largely thought to have "vanished" until he returned to the UK in the late 1990s. He has since appeared on a TV programme (Thumb Candy) to discuss his early games and has attended several retrogaming conventions.
The game is a sequel to Manic Miner (1983), is second in the immensely popular Miner Willy Series, and is largely credited with bringing the platform game to the home micro scene. It was published by Software Projects.
Contents |
Plot
A very tired Miner Willy has to tidy up all the items left around his house after a huge party. With this done his housekeeper Maria will allow him access to his bedroom. Willy's mansion house was bought with the wealth obtained from his adventures in Manic Miner but much of it remains unexplored and it appears to be full of strange creatures, possibly a result of the previous (missing) owner's experiments. Willy must explore the enormous mansion and its grounds (including a beach and a yacht) to fully tidy-up the house so he can get some much-needed sleep.
Gameplay
Jet Set Willy has a similar game engine to Manic Miner and is extremely simple to play, having only three controls: left, right and jump. Willy can climb stairs by walking into them (jumping through them to avoid them) and climb swinging ropes by pushing left or right depending on what direction the rope is swinging in. The play area itself consists of flick-screen rooms containing patrolling monsters (everything from killer jellies to rolling giant eggs to enormous flies), various platforms and collectable objects. The collectable items glow to distinguish them from other items in the room.
The game has become well-known for its peculiarities: for example, Willy loses a life if he falls too far, but if his fall causes him to enter another screen before dying then the game will send Willy back to where he entered the screen. On losing a life, Willy therefore begins another fall, dies, is sent back again and will die repeatedly with no possible escape until his lives run out. Another peculiarity of the game is that the in-game music changes pitch and goes more out of tune every time Willy loses a life. (Technically: the frequency of each note is shifted rather than scaled.)
Trivia
- In the 1980s, Matthew Smith suggested that he was working on a further Miner Willy game possibly to be titled either The Megatree or Miner Willy Meets the Taxman. However, neither game has yet appeared.
- One of the most infamous levels is called "We must perform a Quirkafleeg", based on a Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers cartoon. (The screen was called "The Gaping Pit" in pre-release versions.)
- Due to bugs, the game could never be completed and various POKEs (low-level memory-writing hacks) were necessary to correct this. There were also other pokes that would allow Willy infinite lives or invulnerability to monsters.
- The original in-game music is taken from "If I Were a Rich Man", itself from the musical Fiddler on the Roof. The title music was adapted from the first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.
- Issuing the command "POKE 35899,0" after loading the game and before running it provided infinite lives in the game.
- There is an in-game cheat mode, which involves typing the phrase WRITETYPER whilst standing between the stairs and hole in the floor on the First Landing.
Third-Party Modifications
In its original Spectrum version, Jet Set Willy has a clear separation between the game engine and the data describing the rooms. The rooms themselves are stored in a straightforward format, with no compression. It is therefore relatively easy to create customised versions of the game.
The review of JSW in issue 4 of Your Spectrum included a section entitled 'JSW - A Hacker's Guide'; remarks in this section imply that the author had successfully deduced at least some of the data structures, since he was able to remove sections of wall in the Master Bedroom<ref>"Join The Jetset", Your Spectrum, Issue 4, June 1984</ref>. The following year, issue 13 contained a program that added an extra room ("April Showers") to the game<ref>"April Showers", Your Spectrum, Issue 13, April 1985</ref>, and issue 15 described the data formats in some detail<ref>"Interior Decorating", Your Spectrum, Issue 15, June 1985</ref>.
Several third-party editing tools were published between 1984 and 1986, allowing players to design their own rooms and sprites. Since then, these and other programs have been used by fans to create many modified versions of JSW, ranging from relatively minor changes in a few rooms to completely new games. In recent years, a Windows-based JSW editor has been created.
Henry's Hoard, released by Alternative Software in 1985, was based on a modified version of the JSW game engine, apparently without the knowledge of Software Projects.
Ports
The following ports to other computer platforms were made:
- Jet Set Willy II, an expanded version for the Amstrad CPC, was later converted back to the ZX Spectrum.
- Both the original game and Jet Set Willy II were released for the BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, MSX, Commodore 16 and Commodore 64. The original BBC Micro release also contained a bug which made it impossible to complete the game - though not the same bug as the Spectrum version.
- A different expanded version of Jet Set Willy was released for the Dragon 32/64, with 13 extra rooms<ref>"Jet Set Willy Remakes : Dragon 32/64"</ref>.
- A port of Jet Set Willy to the Atari 8-bit family of computers was released by Tynesoft. Apparently, the game was not as good as the original, but the music for this port was done by Rob Hubbard<ref>"Jet Set Willy Remakes: Atari ST"</ref>. Like the Spectrum version, it was impossible to complete but for different reasons. Some of the legitimate items that were needed caused the player to lose a life (e.g. the bottles in the Off Licence).
- Software Projects made ports to the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST but cancelled them before they were released<ref>"The Home of Jet-Set Willy for the Atari ST"</ref>
- Unofficial ports exist for the Acorn Archimedes, DOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, Gameboy, Cambridge Z88 and the Java platform.
See also
- Animated version of the topmost image showing the game in play
- List of computer and video games by name
- List of ZX Spectrum games
- ZX Spectrum
- Miner Willy series of games
- Roller Coaster (video game)
- Technician Ted
References
<references />