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Message: 6794
Author: jetsetdanny
Date: 26/02/2015
Subject: Re: "Stay Kool", "The Archaeologist" and "Subterranean Nightmare" -
Hi Sendy,
Thank you for your excellent analysis of the reasons why MM and JSW are such fun to play. I agree completely! So much so that I would like to add your thoughts to my list of favourite MM- and JSW-related quotations (see point XIII of the Readme file of "JSW: The 2010 Megamix" for the latest version), soon to appear online (but that's a secret yet :-) ). I need to edit it a little bit for my purposes, and so I would like to kindly ask for your permission to quote you as follows, combining the current quote with the one I've already had from you before:
--- Classics like MM and JSW stand out among so many other games, which look like their pale imitations, for three reasons.
Firstly, the game engines of knockoffs tend to be flakey. They get the job done - your character can move, jump, animate, etc. - but they simply aren't fun to operate, have bad collision detection and irregular movement, often with stiff jumping, and frequently annoy the player. While MM and JSW indeed have stiff jumps (in that you can't modulate your jump height by holding down the jump key, nor get any kind of "air control" on your jumps), they are 100% reliable in that visually you can tell how far you will jump and your walking animation clues you in as to when you can jump from the very edge of a platform.
Secondly, MM and JSW show a remarkable level design. Manic Miner is still extremely fun to play to this day, and JSW was ahead of its time by catering to casual and hardcore players alike, by allowing easy passage around the levels to facilitate exploring. Matt Smith's level design chops are legendary in my opinion. Good level design has the player in mind and will create a space for him/her to move through, always considering the player's options and guiding them.
Thirdly, atmosphere is important. MM and JSW have a unique graphical style despite the straightjacket of 8-bit graphics. All of the rooms appear to be part of the same "world" and share an art style, while there's enough variation from room to room. Again, Matthew Smith excelled in this department, providing his layouts with a certain "feng shui".
Now, regarding the remakes, there are great JSW games which are stylishly minimal but work masterfully with themed clusters of rooms with similar graphics for the blocks. Other games cram an insane amount of challenge into condensed and attractive packages. You see so many different styles, each as individual as the author that penned (moused?) it. This clearly shows that JSW is art with a lot of room for individual expression.
---
Please let me know if you agree to be quoted in this way.
Regarding "JSW clones" from the 1980s reviews, I guess the problem is that back then they used the word "clone" for games which were visually similar to JSW and MM in spite of a totally different game engine, while when I think of a JSW clone, I instinctively associate it with our favourite game engine. Perhaps unnecessarily so.
"Pyramania" indeed has a great atmosphere and I guess I see what you like about "Odd Job Eddie" 's chaotic approach to screen layout. Fittingly, both games were on Andrew Broad's list of MM and JSW games, in the "Other Games of MM/JSW Interest" section.
Have you managed to get JSWED running on your current machine yet?
Daniel
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