From Manic Miner to Jet Set Willy: The Story and Games of Matthew Smith | Kim Justice

[@Kim_Justice]

If you liked this then think about having a gander through my social media, and get yourself on my Patreon: www.patreon.com/KimbleJustice

[@raafmaat]

EDIT ah you talk about his time in Holland, although you state it was a few months, while it was more like 2 years, he found jobs here in holland like in food processing factories and the like, he says he lived in a commune but there was an article i read once that talked about him living in a Anti-squatting arrangement, which is basically when a housing agency rents out a disused property so that it wont get squatted, its very cheap but you can get kicked out without any rights and only 1 week of notice. but then again who knows, in his interviews he never went in-depth..

[@yehbytheway2297]

When a set of stamps was released in tribute to British computer games they chose dizzy over manic miner. Shocker!

[@j0nnyism]

I hope Matty doesn’t watch the second part of this vid. He’s a kindly soul but it’ll stress him out. Thankyou for remembering him. It still means a lot that he has so many fans about

[@CoLD.SToRAGE]

No mention of Jester Interactive and their mobile phone (JAVA) and Gameboy versions of Matthew's games? Probably for the best, as it wasn't exactly a fun period either. But here's a video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2jGe6yLfMyiq5I

[@zamiadams4343]

Absolutely brilliant documentary Kim, bravo sir!

[@vespasian606]

As a wannabee from the same era I remember taking his Z80 code apart to see what made his games tick. I was not disappointed. Every operation consumes clock cycles and while 3.5 million cycles per second might sound like a lot you have to divide that by your desired frame rate which could put you as low as 70,000 if you were going for 50 fps. He had the knack of using instructions with a low cycle count and applying them in such a way they replaced their higher cycle count cousins. So SET would be used to adjust pointers and addresses rather than loading a whole value. Four clock cycles doing the work of fifteen and he repeated this trick again and again. While he could be downright wasteful in the way he used memory it inevitably served one goal. Speed. Which translated to being able to have multiple animations on screen at the same time complete with a looping soundtrack, collision detection and keyboard input. I never saw faster Z80 code and I doubt I ever will.

[@ScoopDogg]

Thankgod we have unity : )

[@pigknickers2975]

great comment, those were the days!

[@KaitainCPS]

Interesting. As a non-assembler coder (it had been superseded by C by the time I started programming seriously), can you give an example of the pointers vs value assignment trick, of how it would be used in practice?

[@Etcher]

@@KaitainCPS Yes I would be very interested in this also.

[@Etcher]

Interesting comment! thanks!

[@happysunshinydays6349]

To Matthew Smith, As kids of the 80's we loved Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy. God only knows how many nights were spent gaming into the early hours. Many thanks for the memories : )

[@crazytrain7721]

Exactly. I hope he knows how much happiness he brought to people like me.

[@TomekSamcik69]

Jet Set Willy and Manic Miner were two most memorable games from my early childhood. Matthew Smith, I salute you.....

[@colonelclaw]

Jet Set Willy was THE game that defined my childhood. Thank-you, Matthew Smith.

[@Nautilus1972]

Matthew Smith. Legend to the era of spotty young Adrian Moles. Chewed up and spat out but the time he was twenty. Fucking legend. Well worth his own feature length Doc. Nice one, Kim.

[@realmchat6665]

These deep dives into the bedroom devs are inspiring, your presentation, editing and production are top notch - well done.

[@SVpedro68]

Matthew Smith was a former pupil of The Mosslands School in Wallasey and was 2 years above me in said school. "Dr Jones" (immortalised in JSW) was my maths teacher! I also believe that the many penguins you would see around MM and JSW were a "nod" to Mr Scudamore (former geography teacher who went on to become deputy headmaster). He walked a little bit like a penguin because he had a problem with his foot. I'm sure there are more. I eventually managed to complete 2.5 circuits of MM and it was playing that and other games that gave me an appetite to learn Z80 and to try and write my own games. I was beaten to it by a classmate called Clem Pryke who wrote Quackshot! Then me and a friend sat down to start story-boarding a game based on driving a car around a city, and then Lotus Turbo Esprit came out and we knew we'd missed the boat. By that stage, games were being churned out by the likes of Ocean, Ultimate, Psygnosis, etc. and the "bedroom coders" were becoming the exception. Great times though!

[@EgoShredder]

Brilliant stories, thank you for sharing them with everyone.

[@danielhumphries2026]

"20 Years later and I'm a legend". Beautiful.

[@kodoyama]

Great work as always. Matt is truly a legend from the golden age of British game development. A fascinating and enigmatic character. I always regarded him as the coding equivalent of Syd Barrett and I wasn't surprised to see you draw the same parallel. There were so many amazing characters in the scene back then. The games they made were so packed with personality and creativity. The good old days before it all went so corporate.

[@cronosoft]

Another superb documentary. A great way to spend a bank holiday morning. Matthew Smith's story is always one tinged with sadness. When we had a stall at the first CGE in Croydon in 2004, (where the stand up interview you showed was filmed), we spent a fair amount of time with him the night before at Pizza Hut. Seemed such an alert and sharp minded kind of guy, very knowledgable, and above all, a really happy and easy person to get on with, despite not having the easiest of lives, and having been exploited and ripped off in the past. Seems a little bit distant these days from the Manchester footage. Was in contact with him briefly 6 months ago over gaining permission to release the newly written Vic 20 version of Manic Miner, but unfortunately couldn't happen (at least at the moment).

[@simongrantham2230]

Back in the early 80s, anyone at my school who could actually complete Manic Miner was treated with awe and reverence (and rightly so). Personally, I never got past Skylab Landing Bay. Of all the games in existence, this is the one that I remember most fondly.

[@MC-kz9we]

I'd love to know how many actually completely Manic Miner (original release, no cheats).... I remember it being insanely hard..... my mate had it so didn't spend much time myself..... seem to remember him doing a couple of levels only

[@ArtistontheBorder]

"The Syd Barrett of computer gaming". Pure poetry. Besides if I may nerd a bit. That black and white image of Matthew by the computer (top down) is eerily to some of Mick Rocks images of Syd.

[@Saavik256]

My sister (born 1975) and I (born 1985) played so many hours of Manic Miner on our ZX! I don't think we ever managed to finish it, but it gave us so many hours of fun!

[@johnwilliams7999]

I completed manic miner as a kid, I loved that game. I can still remember the day when I completed it. Great documentary such a shame he went off the rails. Hope he is OK.

[@j0nnyism]

Mathew has that rare talent. The ability to make a game that gave you that “one more go” feeling. It’s intangible in the most practical of art forms

[@speedbird737]

number of subscribers at time of watching - 48K ;-)

[@pbarratt73]

Well spotted mate 🤟🏻🕹

[@syrus3k]

Ok that's weird

[@stefanavic6630]

Took me two goes to get it, I'll admit that. My excuse is that Commodore was more the go here in Australia. Piss poor excuse from a confessed computer nerd, but there you go :)

[@DodderingOldMan]

One the one hand, amusing. On the other hand... that's still a shockingly low number of subscribers for what is one of the best channels on KZbin.

[@Jayce_Alexander]

@@DodderingOldMan hi there. I'm from the future. Over the past ten months Kim has gained about 11k subscribers. Still way too low for a channel of this quality, but that's steady growth.

[@danmann9116]

Wow. I actually suggested you do a docu on Matty Smith a few months back. My wish has been granted. Totally blown away. Fantastic work. Thanks kim

[@KhalOisha78]

From 24:24 to 24:50 is a pure work of art. Thank you very much Kim for this wonderful content you always drop. EDIT: As an italian I'm stumped by the connection of Matthew coming to Italy and being inspired by Florence to design tiles, and also Sorrentino did a short movie about him :O

[@littleNorwegians]

Solo game-dev me and this feels like a cautionary tale that leaves me with a slight feeling of dread. Excellent documentary, Kim

[@handsomebrick]

His story reminded me a lot of guys like David Crane and Derek Yu, who are much more positive examples.

[@sheepthehack]

I think you might be putting the cart before the horse here.. you have to make a game people WANT first :) Plus.. distribution is so different today.

[@CatWeazle21]

Brilliant, thanks KJ! Quite the definitive subject this, and you've done a stellar job - am about to rewind and watch it again :)

[@gregskuza7166]

If Mathew ever makes another game for speccy I’ll buy it and I got a feeling that a lot of people would too. So Mathew, we are waiting for one more, one last game!!!! Keep the legend alive! Ps: Finally Mathew got a decent documentary, I grew up with Manic and JetSet and every once a while when I turn my spectrum on I always have a go, it brings me back 35 years in a second, what an amazing feeling, thanks Mathew. Great documentary!

[@virusfr33]

As always, another amazing doc. Nobody does this as easily or as well as you do, Kim!

[@pow1983]

48:54 oh look at that, 2ltr Coke at 69p we'll never see that again :-(

[@lwaves]

I spotted that too. Happy I wasn't the only one. You can't get a standard can at regular price for 69p these days.

[@kduhtdkzrt]

Good.

[@sperrin]

You can see it as many times s you like, just keep re-watching that bit.

[@user-vg5rv5xf4u]

Matt looks like a pretty girl there 😂

[@danielhines6728]

(warning, boring comment) Well, you can get 2l ASDA cola for 41p

[@madTbonez]

Great vid. Just realised towards the end that playing manic miner on my sister’s msx is my first gaming memory, and how my preschool mind was marvelled by it.

[@hastonian]

The most Willy I've seen for 30yrs. Fond memories

[@theshamanarchist5441]

Were you in the navy? lol

[@UltraSilver64]

Me and my brother were at that event in Manchester. He even answered my question about what inspired him to create the characters in the games! I felt deeply honoured...😌

[@CountDrunkula]

Me and my mate used to just randomly put pokes in for games and one caused the end sequence of Jet Set Willy to happen. We saw him sprint to the toilet an ram his head in but of course had no idea how many bottles were needed. I really liked this piece. I think it has a gentle melancholy for some of us. Thanks.

[@vapourmile]

That was really well researched, well written and well thought out. You did a good job of extracting the positives from the story too. All it left me wanting is something really nobody has yet achieved which is to do far more to fill in that blank during his "wilderness years". He looked for odd jobs and found his way onto a commune is only a few words for such a long fallow period. His drug taking past is really only ever insinuated rather than dealt with directly. It seems as if people have accepted or assumed drugs were involved without being able to say much about it. He still has a dark history which took him from being the Matt Smith of the black and white pictures and the Matt Smith after he reemerged, and so little is still known about that transitional period. I'd love to know much more. Hopefully people will ask and he'll feel free to answer at length!

[@happysunshinydays6349]

Matthew Smith, many thanks for the hours my friends and I enjoyed in the 80s playing Jet Set Willy & Manic Miner into the early hours, especially during the school holidays.

[@waitthatsgoingtocostyouext5450]

What a absolutely fantastic video. As a gamer who is now in his mid 40's and grew up with the ZX spectrum, I remember those jet set and manic miner days, very well indeed. I hope that Mat Smith gets the recognition and rewards he so rightly deserves. Anyhoo, well done on a fascinating video (you also get bonus points for adding the theme music from Star glider. I played that music constantly!!). I have recently subscribed and I am now hooked on your videos. Informative and very witty indeed. I wish you and your channel, the very best for the future.😀👍👍

[@MrKnightlore]

Aside from a few Grandstand built-in titles, this game is the first one that sticks in my head as a nipper (I was 5). Dripping with nostaligia for me. Thanks Matt, for making such a great game and Kim for a great documentary. All the best.

[@absinthedude]

I had the and honour of exchanging a few emails with Matthew when he first re-emerged in the early 2000's. I'd been showing kids at the school where I worked Manic Miner on an emulator, and they got into playing it themselves. He seemed thrilled that children still enjoyed his games. Legend. And if Brian Wilson could complete SMiLE (spoiler, he did), then maybe Matt can deliver another game. But whatever he does, I hope he's happy. Matt, if you read this....just know that you inspired thousands if not millions of people.

[@brothermaleuspraetor9505]

A delightful walk down memory lane, sir! I remember as a kid playing miner and willy on the Amstrad in the mid-late 80's. It was thanks to my Uncle, a fellow of the University of Manchester throughout that time. I guess I was lucky to be able to play it then. Really really fond memories, and it was great for kids. Oh boy it was hard too! An integral part of my childhood, Jet set willy got me started on my journey through computer gaming :) I'm SO glad I didn't get into gaming any later, because I can appreciate gaming, thanks to the past. (Millennials call us PC elitists, but I know who we really are).

[@LasRozasDeMadrid]

The idea of programming on a TRS-80 and sending the program with a cable to the Spectrum for testing was pretty intelligent.

[@jamiegwhite30]

an amazing thing really, I still am amazed...

[@factorylad5071]

I tried connecting a daisy typewriter to a teletext tv with a piece of string , how's that?

[@LasRozasDeMadrid]

@@factorylad5071 Google about 1973 Don Lancaster's TV Typewriter

[@nebularain3338]

A custom piece of electronics hardware built by a teenager in the early 80s with no internet to help. That's fucking impressive!

[@SerBallister]

@@nebularain3338 Its rare enough to find a talented coder at that age, let alone a hardware engineer on top of that. That is god tier talent.

[@evelghostrider]

I believe my brother got this with our first speccy in 1983. I was 11 and thought compared to my atari 2600 manic miner was just another world apart. It and pitfall on atari were two games that set me up for life on platform type games. My thanks to the creator of the game, much respect and thanks for a life time of great memories sir 🙏 🙌 👍

[@gerryh8367]

Spent many hours and hours on MM, JSW + JSWII Would just love to say thanks for many happy memories

[@wisteela]

Excellent video. He was the reason there is a TRS-80 in the Tuckersoft office in Bandersnatch. I'd forgotten about Thumb Candy. I can only just about remember it. On the Amstrad Emailer it wasn't charged per minute to play the games, they were either purchased or rented.

[@colinatherton8402]

This video is gold! Matthew smith created a legendary game(s). Thank you so much for making this. I miss those rubber keys

[@mUbase]

Great video about the living legend himself. It takes me back, MM and JSW. The strangeness of the atmosphere those games put you in and the never ending playability of them. Well put together as ever. Thanks Kim. :)

[@rdvrdv8920]

I’m really enjoying your long play doccos. Very grateful I found you in my suggested videos. Keep up the great work Kim

[@videopdstudio]

JET SET WILLY - 40th ANNIVERSARY let's jump on the Banyan Tree! kzbin.info/www/bejne/fILKnp5riaeGZ7c

[@koko7682002]

I remember early 80s asking my dad to get my 16k upgraded to a 48k spectrum when in London. I'm in Glasgow, he worked on the trains, back when British rail.. Jeez, the advent of the computer age, and society has gone to shit since.. Lol

[@j0nnyism]

Those fucking rubber keyboards were a nightmare for any wannabe coder anyone who was serious would use any other computer available at the time rather than write on the thing

[@FuchsiaShocked]

Another really interesting look at gaming history. I do love when a new Kim Justice video comes out.

[@andyw8988]

Thankyou so much for this, cant wait to sit back and enjoy. Love your retro documentaries and loved Manic Miner and JSW so this will be an awsome watch! 😍

[@jonathanadnitt7704]

Befor i`v even watched it, i gave it a like.

[@higgins007]

I think I liked it before Kim made it! :p

[@mrtiff99]

Yep you just know it's going to be good

[@Thunderpuddle]

Love your videos Kim. So good and interesting, especially for a UK lad who remembers these classic games and Mr Smith..

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

It's really a shame how success destroys some people. History is littered with examples.

[@pbarratt73]

Fantastic upload. Thoroughly enjoyed it start to finish.. The banyan tree still haunts me to this day 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@stevenixx3595]

wtf, the timing of this - literally lastnight I was thinking it would be great if you did a video on Matt smith because I was re-watching some old retro stuff on here and he appeared. This is crazy.

[@jamesheyworth3566]

That will be your mobile phone listening to your thoughts. Tin foil hat time. Excellent upload.

[@FireTripperJeff]

Worked with Matt when he was at Runecraft, 20 years ago now. Really nice guy and quite a character :).

[@YadonTheCat]

That DIE MORTAL screen must have scared many kids shitless I'm amazed I've never seen anyone mention it anywhere, this is the first time I've seen it

[@pauldavies2025]

Possibly the creepiest screen in computer games. Used to freak me right out when I was a young 'un! And an adult to be honest 😫

[@paulpetroleum]

Scared the crap out of me as a kid yeh. First time a game had broken the fourth wall for me.

[@manjx15]

What an amazing video.. many thanks for taking the time and researching something and someone who were truly influential in gaming and home computing in general. Brilliant.

[@ScoopDogg]

FANTASTIC WORK Great documentary thanks, from a kid who remembers these days : )

[@speedsterh]

What a detective work to put that documentary out ! Very impressive. I didn't know Manic Miner's author was such a strong personnality. Now I will have a look at your other videos, they seem super interesting

[@mazonemayu]

Awesome vid mate, one of your best yet. It brought back a lot of memories...when I was a lad in the 80's , I had this friend who's dad "worked" with computers, and he had a Spectrum+ at home, we played Manic Miner to death on it. So a year or so later, when I convinced my grandma that this was the future, she bought me a 48k Speccy with the rubber keys (somewhere around '86 or '87). needless to say she didn't know anything about it, so she gave the money to my friend's dad to get everything and set it up at her house. His "surprise" for me, was a copy of Manic Miner, which he hacked and he changed the loading screen into Speedy Mike (which is what they called me, for being a hyperactive child). Obviously I was very happy with it, but it also got me to think...if he could do it, then so could I. So I started reading everything there was to read on programming (which wasn't a lot ;) ) in our local library, and got to work. The first things I did was trying to combine different sets of code from those books, to see where it got me, when that appeared to be easy as pie, I finally decided to do something like my friend's dad. So I broke into Thro' The Wall, a Breakout clone that came with one of the Psion instruction tapes, and changed all the graphics: bricks turned into aliens, the paddle became a space ship, and the ball was a laser beam.ball of fire...it took me days to draw it all out on graph paper. Then started the tiresome process of adding it all to the game & I started testing it...I remember being so happy to see it running, and let all my mates play it, just to show off...I was 13 or 14 at the time, and was sure I'd become a programmer & was going to design videogames...it never happened though...still those were awesome times. :)

[@PATTHECATMCD]

Manic Miner was definitely the most fun for the least money I ever had on the Spectrum. And no, I never did quite beat that Solar Power Generator.

[@flyingcod14]

I have aways said there is a film (or netflix series) about Matt and Willy's lives.

[@Jamesharveycomics]

Good video, but as someone who has had two family members succumb to severe mental illness, I feel a bit queasy with regards to how Smith's mental illnesses are referred to only euphemistically ("demons") and with much coyness and tiptoeing. He's not "paying the price for hard living", or whatever you said- he's suffering from a very real and unfortunate condition that should be addressed with the frankness and clear-mindedness that such a condition warrants. Otherwise, we're just perpetuating stereotypes and ensuring that the UK remains in the dark ages in terms of its understanding of mental illness. This aside, it was a very enjoyable watch! Please keep making videos!

[@stupossibleify]

This might be the definitive account of the programmer all of us growing up in the 80s recognised

[@DodderingOldMan]

Jesus Christ, I got emotional at the end there. Very powerful words, Kim, and once again some of the best content on KZbin.

[@andrewsmail8307]

I been glued to it, gotta save last 20 mins for tomorrow as its getting too late lol.

[@mingtooter]

As a life-long stoner, part time pillhead, and occasional astronaut, I can tell that is a man who has taken a LOT of drugs and had a few breakdowns. I feel bad for the guy honestly, he looks like he really did himself some damage. You can really f*ck yourself up if you push it too far. I'm glad he's still around and no matter what he's an icon and made a game I still love to this day. I hope he's doing okay x

[@KieronEdwards]

Superbly researched - thank you for this fascinating programme.

[@patrickfitzpatrick7245]

Kim. As always a top quality video! The research is amazing! Thanks!

[@kaksikymmenta3]

I don't want to live in a world where Fat Freddy's Cat is obscure.

[@evelghostrider]

Thank you sir for manic miner and almost 40 years of great memories ❤

[@FredSmith110]

Fascinating. Thank you for making this documentary.

[@colinthomson7518]

brilliant video thanks. manic miner is my favourite game.

[@jamiestanton]

Another magnificent and poignant video, thank you for the effort you put into these!

[@RowanDT]

Superb, especially love the old BBC Video opening

[@Mark-pr7ug]

He is a genius who set out to get rich - who can fault him. But he struggled with what came afterwards and handled it the best he could. There is nothing wrong with that and he is still around influencing millions of other people. He should be proud of himself because it's not what life throws at you that matters. It's all about sticking with it - warts and all. And that gentleman has perfected this.

[@ShapeyFiend]

This is a brilliant, and sympathetic, recap of Matthews output. As there's a fairly obvious mental health component the tone of comments on the internet seem a bit insensitive sometimes, but hey, that's the internet I guess.

[@theshamanarchist5441]

Mate. I'm less than 3 minutes into this. The guy hasn't even said a word and already you've framed him as a computing Sid Barrett. Give the guy a break!

[@theshamanarchist5441]

@Hash Lee Oh aiye yeah.

[@theshamanarchist5441]

@Hash Lee No worries bud. I appreciate your passion for the man. Have a good one.

[@dansplain2393]

I’m in heaven. Thank you for this beautiful retrospective, and thank you Matthew for your brilliance

[@simongreaves210]

Fab. Matty Smith was my Hero in the 80s. Made me enthused to take up coding, (Programming back then). A true Legend. Thanks Matthew. Hope you realise what a massive impact you had on us young hopefuls 🤣 I coded 'Star-Car' for the Spectrum when I was 12. It was an amazing time. That was what you would now call a PORT. I just re wrote it. (Moon-Buggy) Clones are good, if you're gonna make it available to more peeps.

[@fordprefect80]

I didn't play Manic Miner but enjoyed the c64 knock off, Blagger. Jet Set Willy brings back a lot of fond memories for me even though I was never skilled enough to get far.

[@smila007]

Superb as always Kim. cracking work ;)

[@neildhan]

I had Jet Set Willy on the Commodore Plus 4, and found a cool bug. If you jumped off the edge of a screen, so that you landed just into the next one, you would skip that screen and appear in the one after. This was interesting when there wasn't one after, because you'd find yourself coming into another screen far away.

[@syrus3k]

Absolute gold as always Kim. I ought to pay to watch these.

[@TheVanillatech]

My friends Dad killed the family Spectrum one night after what was probably his 1000th attempt to finish JSW. I was sleeping over at their house, and we heard a loud "SMASH" followed by an even louder "FUCK OFF!", before his Dad came up the stairs and told us he was sorry and he would replace the Spectrum at the weekend. That was an infuriating, captivating and magical game. I'd finish it in 2009 with a CPC emulator, about 40 ish saved states and two very long nights. I know it's cheating but after 20 years of failure, I needed to just see what happens when you finally complete the game. Back in the late 80's, on a good day I could make it to Space, collecting eveything on the way, before losing all my lives. Massive respect to Matthew Smith for making one of the best games of all time.

[@speakertreatz]

And to every smug moralist below who commented a 'don't take drugs/just say no' cliche, remember this: drugs fuelled Matthew's imagination and creativity, in the same way LSD fuelled Sgt Pepper or Pet Sounds. No drugs, no Jet Set Willy (as we know it). Now THERE'S a 'no' to go with your 'just say no'.

[@chrisherbert9924]

This is a very interesting video, I love the manic miner game too.

[@anactualmotherbear]

Another great video. You do such an amazing job telling these stories.

[@poohbear01x48]

Another great documentary, as always. Very informative and extremely interesting

[@guitarHero1885]

nice one! love your vids kim :)

[@count69]

31:41 "And not just minor bugs"... but Manic Miner bugs?!

[@heyhonpuds]

Matt From Earth is a legend. Thanks Kim.

[@hooloovooloo]

Did I hear the music from Starglider 128 in the mix there? Great nostalgia; thank you. ☺️

[@RTAC_1234]

When you read about Matthew Smith and what happened to him in Liverpool in the 80s, you realise the level of deprivation and the lack of opportunities there were for young people. Of course, that still exists today, the establishment and prevailing culture has just got better at disguising it.

[@whatamalike]

Absolutely, and seemingly the only place in the country that is still firmly anti-tory to the point where The Sun ( a pro tory paper) is actively banned from circulation. They didn't cave into the whole irrelevant "brexit means brexit" bollocks (pro or against) like everywhere else and I have the upmost respect for them for that. My region of South Yorkshire by comparison? Gradually becoming the home of selfish bastards happy living in shit 🙄

[@beingatliberty]

If you fall for the romantic idea victimhood - you will never go anywhere, Matthews was a story of opportunity he made himself, the whole bedroom coder era was that of people creating an industry out nothing, thatcher though did lack foresight in letting the industry fracture and fall apart, instead working as a cohesive unit. I'm still not sure HS2 is better value than what gigabit broadband and what it might enable.

[@martinbennett9908]

Miner Willy starting in the same position isn't because of 'limitations of the machine', it was probably a technical choice to not spend ~200 bytes storing start positions in the room data for 20 screens. Looking at the code, there was a fair amount of space for this to have been squeezed in, I guess Matthew didn't find it necessary. As a design choice it was good, you don't play 'Where's Willy?' on entering a room.

[@3622Dave]

He doesn't start in the same position for each screen though. On some levels he starts on the right hand side and on 'Attack of the Mutant Telephones' it's the top left hand corner.

[@martinbennett9908]

@@3622Dave In the code there is actually a section in each room's data specifying the initial location, so Matthew did actually do what I suggested.

[@RetroRelixRestorer]

Another well written, produced and delivered hour of fact and entertainment; on someone who deserved so much more - but lost their way.

[@bsdims]

0:54 if only it was Paul Taylor :D He was a person who ported Manic Miner, (rather poorly) as well as Jet Set Willy (which was ported very well, complete with being able to save your game anywhere) onto the GBC. He talked about his old works back on an old 2000 forum, whivh is still up. Although, I wonder if he's still around, as well as what he's doing now.

[@bazza5699]

Outstanding documentary Kim.. i could have sworn there was a remake on the Amiga of manic miner, with bigger sprites.. maybe free on a cover disk.. i am remembering another game.. was there an amiga remake?

[@EXITMUSIC2011]

There was! I played it. May have been written in AMOS

[@bazza5699]

@@EXITMUSIC2011 yeah i remember it being pretty good too.

[@Tossphate]

Your exit....... ....is open

[@Jayce_Alexander]

A new Kim Justice video on my birthday! Best present! :D

[@eib8412]

OMG Kim that was awesome, your best video yet. Very honest yet respectful. I still remember the sheer joy of discovering new levels of Manic Miner and JSW. I remember plotting, in pencil on graph paper, the map to JSW as I uncovered it in my grandparents' house. I didn't know you couldn't finish it, no chance of getting that far! So many good trivia points I never knew. I nostalgically and instantly recall some of those Crash covers I read to death as a kid but haven't seen for decades. I forgot that video games used to get rated on "Instructions"! Some of the imitators are so close to JSW but deemed as homage while people are worried about Nintendo suing for that warped alien Kong level - not even like they can claim the word "Kong"! Matt won't sue, he is just extremely flattered. The stark difference between bedroom enthusiasts and big corporations I guess. Matt if you are watching or reading this, I salute you sir. You are a massive part of my childhood.

[@julien2983]

What a lovely tribute, thanks for the awesome video Kim!

[@gedbyrne8482]

You really should crowd fund videos like this. I don’t do Patreon but I would have happily supported this.

[@gedbyrne8482]

Ah, you’ve got a paypal link. Sent my support.

[@paulmorphy6187]

Who else played Technician Ted and didn't have the first clue what they were meant to be doing?

[@TheVerticalDave]

me. same with zoids, shadowfire and tir na nog

[@kriszteblade]

30 years after playing ZX as a kid I managed to finish Manic Miner (no pokes) and be able to finish JSW (with infinite lives). But Technician Ted is still an impossible and simply a terrible game.

[@MrLilac]

A very well made and interesting documentary, many thanks!

[@cpcnw]

I was just thinking about the similarities between Smith and Barrett too...