Resource centre for ZX Spectrum games
using Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy game engines
Archive of the
Manic Miner & Jet Set Willy Yahoo! Group
messages
|
|
|
|
|
Message: 5570
Author: Daniel
Date: 23/02/2006
Subject: "Ultimate Manic Miner" - Daniel's first reactions
I have had my first look at "Ultimate Manic Miner", and I have to
say that "ultimate" it really is! I haven't played it very seriously
yet, just wandered around a bit (got stuck in "Heavy Environment
Coolage System" for some time, then passed it thanks to the tips
published in the previous messages), but I can already express my
very high praise to Igor for this groundbreaking product. It does
set new standards, indeed, and it is a very powerful show, for me at
least, of the possibilities offered by the JSW64 game engine (with
which a part of the praise should go to John Elliott, I guess :-) ).
Igor, your game is truly wonderful in the sense of the atmosphere,
graphics and new ideas. When playing it, I had the feeling I was not
playing a JSW game at all, so different it was from
the "traditional" games (that feeling subsided a little bit when I
had to make use of the well-known quirky features). And, as a JSW
author, I actually felt depressed and discouraged, because I kept
thinking how much effort I would have to put into learning how to
fully use the JSW64 engine, and then how much time it would take me
to actually create a game which would be at least a little
interesting. All this not to mention the graphics department, where
it's next to impossible to compete with professional artists :-( .
I haven't read all of the Club reactions to "UMM" carefully yet,
because I don't want to see too many spoilers before playing the
game seriously. I have seen Andrew's comments though, and I have
pondered on the questions of the lack of importance/missing the joy
of item collection and the uncertainty about the cell-behaviour
because of the abundance of cell-classes. And a response comes to my
mind, also in relation to what I have written above, which is: it
may be that one simply cannot think of an advanced JSW64 game in
terms of what has come to be known as a JSW game, because the game
engine allows to create games in which the gameplay and the very
purpose of the game have very little to do with the original JSW.
Which is good, I suppose, although at some point won't it provoke
some nostalgia for "the good old JSW48"?
Well, these are my first spontaneous comments and observations. Once
again, Igor, congratulations on your magnificent job and I very much
look forward to seeing new games from you! And your university
professors should give you your diploma already for the graphics,
instead of persecuting you when you work on MM/JSW games in the
classroom!
Daniel
|
|
|