Manic Miner

Manic Miner
Developer(s)	Matthew Smith
Publisher(s)	Bug-Byte (1983), Software Projects (1983) Amsoft (1985)
Platform(s)	ZX Spectrum, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Commodore 16, Commodore 64, DOS, Dragon 32/64, Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows, Mobile phones, MSX, Oric 1, SAM Coupé
Release date(s)	1983
Genre(s)	Platform
Mode(s)	Single player
Media/distribution	Cassette, Floppy disk, Cartridge

Manic Miner is a platform game originally written for the ZX Spectrum by Matthew Smith and released by Bug-Byte in 1983 (later re-released by Software Projects). It is the first game in the Miner Willy series and among the pioneers of the platform game genre. The game itself was inspired by the Atari 800 game Miner 2049er.^[1] It has since been ported to numerous home computers and video game consoles.

Gameplay

Manic Miner's animated loading screen

At the time, its stand-out features included in-game music and sound effects, excellent playability, and colourful graphics, which were well designed for the graphical limitations of the ZX Spectrum. The Spectrum's video display allowed the background and foreground colors to be exchanged automatically without software attention and the "animated" load screen appears to swap the words Manic and Miner through clever manipulation of this feature. An homage to this loading screen appeared in one episode of the 2005 British sitcom Nathan Barley.

On the Spectrum this was the first game with in-game music, the playing of which required constant CPU attention and was thought impossible. It was cleverly achieved by constantly alternating CPU time between the music and the game (which accounts for the music's stuttery rhythm). The in-game music is In the Hall of the Mountain King from Edvard Grieg's music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt. The music that plays during the title screen is an arrangement of An der schönen blauen Donau (popularly known as The Blue Danube), a waltz by Johann Strauß.

Manic Miner's first room, "Central Cavern".

Objective

In each of the twenty caverns are several flashing objects, which the player must collect before Willy's oxygen supply runs out. Once the player has collected the objects in one cavern, they must then go to the now-flashing portal, which will take them to the next cavern. The player must avoid enemies (listed in the cassette inlay) as "...Poisonous Pansies, Spiders, Slime, and Manic Mining Robots...", which move along predefined paths at constant speeds. Willy can also be killed by falling too far, so players must time the precision of jumps and other movements to prevent such falls or collisions with the enemies.

The game ends when the player has no lives left; extra lives are gained every 10,000 points.

Version differences

There are some differences between the Bug-Byte and Software Projects versions. The scroll-text during the attract mode is different, to reflect the new copyright, and there are also several other changes:

1. In Processing Plant, the enemy at the end of the conveyor belt is a bush in the original, whereas the Software Projects one resembles a PacMan ghost.
2. In Amoebatrons' Revenge, the original Bug-Byte amoebatrons look like alien octopuses with tentacles hanging down, whereas the Software Projects amoebatrons resemble the Bug-Byte logo - smiling beetles, with little legs up their sides.
3. In The Warehouse, the original game has threshers travelling up and down the vertical slots, rotating about the screen's X-axis. The Software Projects version has 'impossible triangle' sprites (i.e. the Software Projects logo) instead, which rotate about the screen's Z-axis.
4. The Bug-Byte cheat code was the numerical sequence "6031769" - based on Matthew Smith's driving licence.^[2] In the Software Projects version this changed to "typewriter". (Smith would later use the code "writetyper" to activate the cheat mode for Jet Set Willy.^[3])

Reception

Manic Miner was placed at number 25 in the Your Sinclair official top 100 Spectrum games of all time, and was voted number 6 in the Readers' Top 100 Games of All Time in the same issue.^[4]

It was the winner of a Golden Joystick Award for best arcade style game by Computer & video games magazine in the 1983 edition of the Competition. Placed third in "Game of the Year 1983" of the same competition.^[5]

Ports

Official ports exist for the Commodore 64, Commodore 16, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Dragon 32/64, Commodore Amiga, Oric 1, Game Boy Advance, MSX, SAM Coupé and mobile phones.^[6]

Unofficial ports exist for the IBM PC compatibles (Windows, DOS and Linux), Apple Macintosh, Atari ST, ZX81, Sony PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Neo Geo Pocket Color, Acorn Archimedes, Orao, Z88, PMD 85, HP48, and Microsoft Zune.^[7]

SAM Coupé

SAM Coupé version of Manic Miner (1992)

The SAM Coupé version, programmed by Matthew Holt, like the ZX original requires pixel-perfect timing, and both graphics and audio were greatly updated. In addition to the original twenty caverns, forty additional caverns were included in this release. Levels were designed by David Ledbury, and winners of a competition run by SAM Computers Ltd.

BBC Micro

The BBC Micro version does not have the Solar Power Generator, instead containing a completely different room called "The Meteor Shower". This has the "reflecting machines" from the Solar Power Generator, but there is no beam of light. Instead, it has meteors which descend from the top of the screen and disintegrate when they hit platforms, like the Skylabs in Skylab Landing Bay. It also has forcefields which turn on and off, and the layout is completely different.

Also, the very last screen (which is still called The Final Barrier) is complex and difficult (unlike the Spectrum version, which is considered to be fairly easy) and has a completely different layout. It also features the blinking forcefields.

Amstrad CPC

The Amstrad version was effectively the same as the Spectrum version by Software Projects, except that Eugene's Lair was renamed "Eugene Was Here," and the layout of The Final Barrier was again completely different (but is more similar to the Spectrum version than the BBC version).

Dragon 32/64

Dragon version of Manic Miner (1984)

The Dragon 32 version, programmed by Roy Coates, had two extra rooms (i.e. 22 altogether) and a cheat mode accessed by typing "P P PENGUIN". The Archimedes version was converted from the Dragon release.

Z88

The Z88 port has all the functionality (and cheats) of the Bug-Byte and Software Projects versions. The levels are the same and there is even some background music.

HP48

The HP48 version is somewhat limited by the low resolution screen size, scrolling the area rather than displaying the level as a whole. This makes it a very difficult port for those who have not previously mastered another version. Otherwise it is fairly loyal to the ZX Spectrum version. Sound is somewhat different sounding and colour omitted for obvious hardware reasons, but game play remains similar despite the awkward platform.

Commodore 16

The Commodore 16 version was limited in a number of respects. This was mainly due to the initial lack of developer material for the C16 machine, not to mention the two week deadline to produce the game, test and generate a master tape for the duplication house. Other issues related to the lack of a 'fast loader' system for the C16 cassette deck, as a result it took nearly 23 minutes for the game to load, and a bug resulted in the game entering the first screen as soon as the tape had finished loading instead of waiting for the user to start the game. Further issues related to the lack of music and in game sound, and the way that video memory was mapped in the C16, this resulted in a number of the screens having to be removed so that load time and video mapping could be correctly handled.

Sequels

The sequel to Manic Miner is Jet Set Willy. In addition quite a few unofficial sequels, remakes, homages and updates have been released, even up to this day, including a ZX81 version.

See also

• Miner Willy series of games
• Roller Coaster
• Miner 2049er
• Sir Lancelot

References

1. ^ Staff (January 2004). "Hall of the Miner King". Retro Gamer (1): 26. 
2. ^ Retro Gamer Magazine issue 48 - Interview with Matthew Smith
3. ^ Manic Miner version differences
4. ^ "Readers' Top 100 Games of All Time". Your Sinclair. September 1993. 
5. ^ "The Golden Joystick Awards". Computer & video games (29): 15. March 1984. 
6. ^ "Mobile phone java game for download". Matica.com. 2007-07-13. http://www.matica.com/mobile_Phone_Java_Game.php?gameID=4. Retrieved 2011-03-28. 
7. ^ "Manic Miner for 3.0 Zune". ZuneBoards. 2008-11-01. http://www.zuneboards.com/forums/download-completed-games/34900-manic-miner-3-0-zune.html. Retrieved 2011-03-28. 

External links

• Manic Miner at World of Spectrum
• Manic Miner at the Open Directory Project
• Manic Miner at MobyGames
• Complete video from the C64 Version on archive.org
• Retro Gamer Magazine: The Making Of Manic Miner