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Message: 6483
Author: Daniel
Date: 21/10/2008
Subject: "Willy and the Dodecahedron" / Minutes-per-item coefficient
--- In manicminerandjetsetwilly@yahoogroups.com, "hraabhraab"
> It's interesting that your speed-run statistics show the game is
I think that's exactly the case. However, having analysed my "speed-
> more time-intensive than normal. I suspect that's because a portion
> of the game involves back-tracking to the central hub.
run statistics", or, to be exact, the minutes-per-item coefficient I
have invented (which tells you how many minutes of in-game time it
takes, on average, to collect one item while playing the game to
completion), I have to admit that it is not a very good tool for
assessing JSW games.
The value itself is calculated well, I believe. It is approximate,
because surely each of the RZX walkthroughs used for the calculation
could still be improved, but since they were all made by the same
person with the same goal (efficiency) and with the same skill level,
the comparison is fair.
However, what does the minutes-per-item coefficient really tell us?
Here it is for selected games:
JSW48 games
"JSW: The Lord of the Rings" Lite Version - 0,30
"Willy's Afterlife" - 0,34
"Join the Jet-Set!" - 0,35
"JSW: The Lord of the Rings" Hard Version - 0,42
"Jet Set Willy (again)" - 0,42
"Jet Set Willy Ivy" - 0,49
"Jet Set Willy" - 0,71
"Goodnite Luddite" - 0,71
"Party Willy 48K" SE Part 1 - 0,81
"Willy's Hoard" - 0,84
"Party Willy 48K" SE Part 2 - 1,09
"JSW: Montstrum!" - 1,05
"JSW: Utility Cubicles" - 1,23
"Jet Set Willy III" - 1,26
JSW128 games
"Madam Blavskja's Carnival Macabre" - 0,27
"Jet Set Willy 128K" v.0.04 - 0,50
"strangel" - 0,72
"Jet Set Willy: Mind Control" - 0,79
"Party Willy 128K" SE - 0,95
"Jet Set Willy in Paris" - 0,95
"where's woody" - 1,68
JSW64 games
"Willy in the Islands of Mystery (Part 1: Exploration)" - 0,38
"Willy on a Transatlantic Cruise" - 0,72
"Willy and the Dodecahedron" - 1,01
So what does it tell us? Not much, really. As you can see, some very
different games have the same coefficient. A lot depends on whether
the game uses the maximum number of items (256) or not. A fair
comparison would only be between games based on the same game engine
and having 256 items - then you could decide which one is more time-
intensive. But for that you don't really need any coefficient - you
can just compare the toilet-times, or, to be exact, the length of
time needed to complete the game (some games have clocks set to
different starting hour than 7.00 am, so the toilet-time itself is
not a good basis for comparison). And the time needed to complete the
game doesn't tell us much about its character, either - you could
design an easy game which is extremely time-intensive, because it
makes the player go round and round or wait forever for the right
position of the guardians, and you could design a forbiddingly-
difficult game, which played using the reloading of snapshots, or the
RZX rollback feature, could be completed rather fast.
"Willy and the Dodecahedron" has the coefficient of 1,0058, but if
you added items in the current rooms, up to 256, assuming their
collection wouldn't take any more time, because they would be along
the way the player has to cover anyway, the coefficient would go down
to 0,6718.
So I have to admit that the time needed to toilet-complete a game is
a simpler and more accurate illustration of its time-intensiveness.
For "Willy and the Dodecahedron" that would be 172 minutes, which
seems to be quite a lot. Now, that depends, of course, what you
compare it with. Most JSW48 games can be completed between 60 and 120
minutes, with "Goodnite Luddite" and "Willy's Hoard" being notable
exceptions. In the JSW128 and JSW64 cathegories comparisons are more
difficult, because the games vary so much in size. "where's woody",
the biggest JSW game ever created, has taken me over 7 hours (to be
exact, 430 minutes) of in-game time to complete. Now, that's a real
monster :-) . On the other hand, "Madam Blavskja's Carnival Macabre"
can be completed in just over 1 in-game hour (66 minutes). Not such a
macabre, after all...
--- In manicminerandjetsetwilly@yahoogroups.com, "hraabhraab"
> "Alcheringa" (029) is certainly one of my favourite rooms, although
It is really cool that you included an Endorian cluster, Stuart! The
> I'd admit there's an amount of repetition to get the items. For some
> reason, I see the Endorians as analogous to the Aboriginal people. I
> also see them as elfin; that's why one transforms from a flower in
> "The Lawn - Following a Trail" (084).
Endorian Forest is one of my favourite rooms in "Manic Miner" and
your reinterpretation of the theme is very nice :-) .
--- In manicminerandjetsetwilly@yahoogroups.com, "hraabhraab"
> (snip) (Actually, there's another visual gag with "The Pirates'
No, I've just had a look at the room again, but I'm not sure - what
> Secret Booty Cave" (054) - did you pick up on that?)
is it???
--- In manicminerandjetsetwilly@yahoogroups.com, "hraabhraab"
> I would like to do the sequel, which would probably be called "Willy
Please do! I will look forward to it very much! There is actually a
> Meets the Lemonade Man", but I'd reckon it would be a smaller game
> with (ideally) more sophisticated rooms. At the moment, I'm slowly
> playing the recent remakes in reverse chronological order. :-)
room called "Willy Meets the Lemonade Man" in the "Dodecahedron",
isn't there?, which can only be seen in the editor...
On an unrelated note, I forgot to mention that I also appreciate the
modified music in "Willy and the Dodecahedron". It's always good to
see technical innovations in new games!
On another unrelated note, one of my future (say, two years from now,
perhaps???) JSW commitments is to finish up and ready for a beta- and
then gamma-release the JSW128 Mass Collaboration (possibly together
with Sendy, as she was the project coordinator before - but I don't
know whether she'll have enough time or interest). Its starting point
and a significant portion of the game is your "Utility Cubicles",
with some edits, IIRC. So perhaps, apart from everything else, you
might participate in the development of this game again?
That's it for now. Thanks again for your comeback, Stuart, and
for "Willy and the Dodecahedron"! :-)
Daniel
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