JSW Central - Resource Centre for ZX Spectrum games based on Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy game engines

Resource centre for ZX Spectrum games
using Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy game engines

II. Jet Set Willy (JSW48)

C. Artistic modifications of the original Jet Set Willy

2. STORY

Authors: Joan Heemskerk and Dirk Paesmans (JODI)

Year: 2003-2016

Language: English

STORY is one of JODI's artistic Jet Set Willy Variations. It lets the protagonist wander around the text, spelled in all capital letters and without punctuation marks, of the first part of the instructions from the original JSW:

"Miner Willy, intrepid explorer and nouveau-riche socialite, has been reaping the benefits of his fortunate discovery in Surbiton. He has a yacht, a cliff-top mansion, an Italian housekeeper and a French cook, and hundreds of new found friends who REALLY know how to enjoy themselves at a party.

"His housekeeper Maria, however, takes a very dim view of all his revellry, and finally after a particularly boisterous thrash she puts her foot down. When the last of the louts disappears down the drive in his Aston Martin, all Willy can think about is crashing out in his four-poster. But Maria won't let him."

At least four versions of STORY can be found among the various editions of Jet Set Willy Variations available on the web. A TAP, a SNA and a WAV file bearing a time stamp of July 2016 are hosted on JODI's website. SNA files modified in April 2003 and November 2010 can be retrieved from the older versions of JODI's download via the Wayback Machine. Finally, a SNA file dated March 2003 is hosted on Andrew Broad's archived website.

The differences between the versions include: the text on the title screen, the status bar (Willy's remaining lives are displayed in the lower-third of the screen in the 2016 version, but not in any of the earlier versions), the title-screen and in-game sounds, the number of items (please see the details below), minor difference in the layout of some rooms (in particular, concerning the placement of Fire cells) and a significant difference in room 60: while in both 2003 versions and the 2010 version the graphics there read "THIM", in the 2016 version they read, "TLET". Thus, while in the 2003 and 2010 versions the instructions from the original JSW end in "But Maria won't him" (omitting "let"), in the 2016 version they end in "But Maria won't let" (omitting "him").

In further analysis, the title STORY, spelled in all capital letters, will be used for all versions, corresponding to the current spelling on JODI's website.

STORY is meant to be a work of art. It is playable, but apparently it was not its authors' intention that it should be played like a typical game, with the aim of actually completing it. The game is incompletable by design, because Maria (or rather, the blank sprite thereof) is in room 61, inaccessible in the game. The code which checks if Willy is in the Master Bedroom has been modified accordingly (a value of #3D at #9538 points to room 61 being the Master Bedroom). Consequently, even if all items were collected, it would not be possible to trigger the toilet run (an invisible, blank sprite of the toilet is in room 33). This means that the game is not toilet-, bed- or Maria-completable.

The game is item-completable. In the March 2003 version there are 197 items to collect. In the November 2010 and July 2016 versions there are 199 items to collect. The April 2003 version has only one item.

There are no guardians in the game, but Willy can get killed by Fire cells. Some jumps to adjacent rooms can lead to multiple-death scenarios (getting killed by the same Fire cell over and over again).

The information below is the same for all versions of the game unless differences are indicated.

Number of edited rooms: 61

Number of rooms accessible without cheating: 61

Number of items to collect:

197 (March 2003 version)

1 (April 2003 version)

199 (November 2010 version)

199 (July 2016 version)

Bugfix needed after original release? N/A

(The game is apparently not meant to be toilet-, bed- or Maria-completable.)

Spare lives at the start: 7

Completable? Item-completable only.

(The game is not toilet-, bed- or Maria-completable.)

Starting time: 7:00 am

Best documented completion time (at the collection of the last item):

7:33 am (March 2003 version)

7:00 am (April 2003 version)

7:32 am (November 2010 version)

7:32 am (July 2016 version)

Download links

Homepage	Jet Set Willy Variations on JODI's website

Official release	Current ZIP package on JODI's website

Direct game download	Game files of all known variants of the game in various formats

RZX Archive	RZX walkthroughs of all known variants of the game showing the collection of all items