Miner Willy
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Miner Willy was a computer game character from that bad old decade known as the 1980s who appeared in three official games and has since appeared in several unofficial games. These games were written for the ZX Spectrum computer and were later ported to other computer platforms.
His first game was Manic Miner, in which the intrepid little fellow made his way through several screens of varying difficulty collecting enough objects on each screen to open the exit. This game was written by Matthew Smith and published in 1983 by Bug Byte. This game, along with titles such as "Miner 2029er" (which it was based on) created the genre of "platform games", whose decendants include titles such as "Crash Bandicoot".
His second, probably most famous, official game was Jet Set Willy. In this game, Willy donned a natty top hat and once again was made to collect dozens of objects, but this time from his mansion of interconnecting rooms. This game, also written by Smith, was published by Software Projects in 1984. This game became famous among 1980s game-players for it's infuriating, "keep getting killed by falling" "feature", the "Attic Bug" and the weird room names ("We must perform a quirkafleeg")
Jet Set Willy was the subject of a famous hoax that claimed that waiting around on a screen called "The Yacht" would transport you to a desert island and some other hidden screens. This hoax was to some extend made true in "Jet Set Willy 2". The screens mentioned in the hoax were incorporated into a JSW Unofficial sequel, Join the Jet Set, by Richard Hallas.
One final official game, Jet Set Willy II, was published on the Spectrum in 1985. This game was basically Jet Set Willy with additional rooms, including a section where Willy goes into space (?).
Another Willy game "Willy Meets the Taxman" was planned but never released.
Since then, poor Willy has been made to run around collecting objects in numerous unofficial sequels, thanks to the publishing of a Jet Set Willy editor. An adjusted Jet Set Willy engine, Jet Set Willy 128, was also released, allowing many more rooms and other additional features.
His first game was Manic Miner, in which the intrepid little fellow made his way through several screens of varying difficulty collecting enough objects on each screen to open the exit. This game was written by Matthew Smith and published in 1983 by Bug Byte. This game, along with titles such as "Miner 2029er" (which it was based on) created the genre of "platform games", whose decendants include titles such as "Crash Bandicoot".
His second, probably most famous, official game was Jet Set Willy. In this game, Willy donned a natty top hat and once again was made to collect dozens of objects, but this time from his mansion of interconnecting rooms. This game, also written by Smith, was published by Software Projects in 1984. This game became famous among 1980s game-players for it's infuriating, "keep getting killed by falling" "feature", the "Attic Bug" and the weird room names ("We must perform a quirkafleeg")
Jet Set Willy was the subject of a famous hoax that claimed that waiting around on a screen called "The Yacht" would transport you to a desert island and some other hidden screens. This hoax was to some extend made true in "Jet Set Willy 2". The screens mentioned in the hoax were incorporated into a JSW Unofficial sequel, Join the Jet Set, by Richard Hallas.
One final official game, Jet Set Willy II, was published on the Spectrum in 1985. This game was basically Jet Set Willy with additional rooms, including a section where Willy goes into space (?).
Another Willy game "Willy Meets the Taxman" was planned but never released.
Since then, poor Willy has been made to run around collecting objects in numerous unofficial sequels, thanks to the publishing of a Jet Set Willy editor. An adjusted Jet Set Willy engine, Jet Set Willy 128, was also released, allowing many more rooms and other additional features.
