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Miner Willy
Miner Willy is the protagonist in a series of platform games for the ZX Spectrum, MSX, Amstrad CPC and the Commodore 64 home computers. The first two games - ''Manic Miner'' and ''Jet Set Willy'' were written by Matthew Smith during the early 1980s. The Willy saga was to be a trilogy and a third game in the series was planned, ''Miner Willy Meets The Taxman''. The series started in 1983 with the release of ''Manic Miner'', and was followed up a year later with ''Jet Set Willy'' and ''Jet Set Willy II''. Another game in the series, ''The Perils of Willy'', was released solely for the VIC-20. ''Andre's Night Off'' was published as a type-in listing in the June 1984 issue of Computer & Video Games. In addition, quite a few unofficial sequels, remakes, homages and updates have been released. listing, showing the large number of fan-m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jet Set Willy
''Jet Set Willy'' is a platform video game originally written by Matthew Smith for the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published in 1984 by Software Projects and ported to most home computers of the time. The game is a sequel to ''Manic Miner'' published in 1983, and the second game in the Miner Willy series. It spent over three months at the top of the charts and was the UK's best-selling home video game of 1984. Plot A tired Miner Willy has to tidy up all the items left around his house after a huge party. With this done, his housekeeper Maria will let him go to bed. Willy's mansion was bought with the wealth obtained from his adventures in ''Manic Miner'', but much of it remains unexplored and it appears to be full of strange creatures, possibly a result of the previous (missing) owner's experiments. Willy must explore the enormous mansion and its grounds (including a beach and a yacht) to fully tidy up the house so he can get some much-needed sleep. Gameplay ''Jet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platform Game
A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels that consist of uneven terrain and suspended platforms of varying height that require jumping and climbing to traverse. Other acrobatic maneuvers may factor into the gameplay, such as swinging from vines or grappling hooks, jumping off walls, air dashing, gliding through the air, being shot from cannons, or bouncing from springboards or trampolines. Games where jumping is automated completely, such as 3D games in ''The Legend of Zelda'' series, fall outside of the genre. The genre started with the 1980 arcade video game, '' Space Panic'', which includes ladders, but not jumping. '' Donkey Kong'', released in 1981, established a template for what were initially called "climbing games." ''Donkey Kong'' inspired many clon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Type-in Program
A type-in program or type-in listing was computer source code printed in a home computer magazine or book. It was meant to be entered via the keyboard by the reader and then saved to cassette tape or floppy disk. The result was a usable game, utility, or application program. Type-in programs were common in the home computer era from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, when the RAM of 8-bit systems was measured in kilobytes and most computer owners did not have access to networks such as bulletin board systems. Magazines such as ''Softalk'', ''Compute!'', '' ANALOG Computing'', and ''Ahoy!'' dedicated much of each issue to type-in programs. The magazines could contain multiple games or other programs for a fraction of the cost of purchasing commercial software on removable media, but the user had to spend up to several hours typing each one in. Most listings were either in a system-specific BASIC dialect or machine code. Machine code programs were long lists of decimal o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Video Game Franchises Introduced In 1983
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) systems which, in turn, were replaced by flat panel displays of several types. Video systems vary in display resolution, aspect ratio, refresh rate, color capabilities and other qualities. Analog and digital variants exist and can be carried on a variety of media, including radio broadcast, magnetic tape, optical discs, computer files, and network streaming. History Analog video Video technology was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) television systems, but several new technologies for video display devices have since been invented. Video was originally exclusively a live technology. Charles Ginsburg led an Ampex research team developing one of the first practical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Video Game Franchises
This is a list of video game franchises, organized alphabetically. All entries include multiple video games, not counting ports or altered re-releases. 0–9 *''1080° Snowboarding'' *''1942'' *''3D Ultra Minigolf'' *'' 3-D Ultra Pinball'' *'' 7th Dragon'' A *''A Boy and His Blob'' *'' Ace Attorney'' *''Ace Combat'' *''ActRaiser'' *'' Adventure Island'' *''Adventures of Lolo'' *'' Aero Fighters'' *'' Aero the Acro-Bat'' *''After Burner'' *'' Age of Empires'' *''Age of Wonders'' *'' Airforce Delta'' *''Aleste'' *''Alex Kidd'' *''Alien Breed'' *'' Alien Syndrome'' *'' Alone in the Dark'' *''Alpine Racer'' *''Altered Beast'' *'' Alundra'' *'' American McGee's Alice'' *''America's Army'' *'' Amnesia'' *'' Amped'' *''Angry Birds'' *''Animal Crossing'' *'' Anno'' *'' Anomaly'' *''Another Century's Episode'' *''Another Code'' *''Ape Escape'' *''Arc the Lad'' *''Arkanoid'' *'' ARMA'' *''Armored Core'' *'' Army Men'' *''Army of Two'' *''Art Academy'' *''Ar Tonelico'' *''Asheron's Call' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Software Projects
Software Projects was a computer game development company which was started by ''Manic Miner'' developer Matthew Smith, Alan Maton and Colin Roach. After leaving Bug-Byte as a freelance developer, Smith was able to take the rights to his recently developed ''Manic Miner'' game with him, due to an oversight in his freelance contract. Software Projects was then able to market and publish the ZX Spectrum hit game separately from Bug-Byte. Their logo was a Penrose triangle. Released games * ''Anaconda'' * ''Astronut'' * '' BC's Quest for Tires'' * ''Binky'' * ''Crazy Balloon'' * ''Crypt Capers'' * ''Dinky Doo'' * ''Dodo Lair'' * ''Dragon's Lair'' * '' Dragon's Lair Part II - Escape from Singe's Castle'' * ''Ewgeebez'' * ''Fatty Henry'' * ''Galactic Gardener'' * ''Harvey Smith Showjumper'' * ''Hunchback at the Olympics'' * ''Hysteria'' * ''Jet Set Willy'' * ''Jet Set Willy II'' * ''Karls Kavern'' * ''Learning with Leeper'' * ''Ledgeman'' * ''Legion'' * ''Loderunner'' * ''McKensie'' * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bug-Byte
Bug-Byte Software Ltd. was a video game company founded in 1980 by Tony Baden and Tony Milner, two Oxford chemistry graduates. It was one of the first to develop a range of 8-bit computer games during the early 1980s, for Sinclair, Commodore and other home computer brands, particularly for the Spectrum. Among the better known titles are ''Manic Miner'' and '' Twin Kingdom Valley''. The company was based in Mulberry House, Canning Place, Liverpool, England, and helped found a number of software houses in that region. In 1983, programmer Eugene Evans and two of the senior staff left to form Imagine Software. Later in the year Matthew Smith, a freelance developer who wrote ''Manic Miner'', left to join Software Projects. In June 1985, after a difficult trading season and a shake-out in the industry, the company went into voluntary liquidation, and the rights to their name and logo were purchased by Argus Press PLC. Argus continued to release both new games and budget versions of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Video Game Remake
A video game remake is a video game closely adapted from an earlier title, usually for the purpose of modernizing a game with updated graphics for newer hardware and gameplay for contemporary audiences. Typically, a remake of such game software shares essentially the same title, fundamental gameplay concepts, and core story elements of the original game, although some aspects of the original game may have been changed for the remake. Remakes are often made by the original developer or copyright holder, and sometimes by the fan community. If created by the community, video game remakes are sometimes also called fangames and can be seen as part of the retro gaming phenomenon. Definition A remake offers a newer interpretation of an older work, characterized by updated or changed assets. For example, '' The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D'' and '' The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D'' for the Nintendo 3DS are considered remakes of their original versions for the Nintendo 64, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Computer And Video Games
''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website was launched in 1999 and closed in February 2015. ''CVG'' was the longest-running video game media brand in the world. History ''Computer and Video Games'' was established in 1981, being the first British games magazine. Initially published monthly between November 1981 and October 2004 and solely web-based from 2004 onwards, the magazine was one of the first publications to capitalise on the growing home computing market, although it also covered arcade games. At the time of launch it was the world's first dedicated video games magazine. The first issue featured articles on ''Space Invaders'', Chess, Othello and advice on how to learn programming. The magazine had a typical ABC of 106,000. Website Launched in August 1999, CVG was o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jet Set Willy II
''Jet Set Willy II: The Final Frontier'' is a platform game released 1985 by Software Projects as the Amstrad CPC port of ''Jet Set Willy''. It was then rebranded as the sequel and ported other home computers. ''Jet Set Willy II'' was developed by Derrick P. Rowson and Steve Wetherill rather than ''Jet Set Willy'' programmer Matthew Smith and is an expansion of the original game, rather than an entirely new one. Gameplay The map is primarily an expanded version of the original mansion from ''Jet Set Willy'', with only a few new elements over its predecessor several of which are based on rumoured events in ''JSW'' that were in fact never programmed (such as being able to launch the titular ship in the screen called "The Yacht" and explore an island). In the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and MSX versions, Willy is blasted from the Rocket Room into space, and for these 33 rooms he dons a spacesuit. Due to the proliferation of hacking and cheating in the original game, ''Jet Set W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VIC-20
The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit home computer that was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PET. The VIC-20 was the first computer of any description to sell one million units. It was described as "one of the first anti-spectatorial, non-esoteric computers by design...no longer relegated to hobbyist/enthusiasts or those with money, the computer Commodore developed was the computer of the future." The VIC-20 was called ''VC-20'' in Germany because the pronunciation of ''VIC'' with a German accent sounds like the German expletives "fick" or "wichsen". The term ''VC'' was marketed as though it were an abbreviation of ''VolksComputer'' ("people's computer," similar to Volkswagen and Volksempfänger). History Origin and marketing The VIC-20 was intended to be more economical than the PET computer. It was equipped with 5 KB of st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colour'' and ''ZX82'', it was launched as the ''ZX Spectrum'' to highlight the machine's colour display, which differed from the black and white display of its predecessor, the ZX81. The Spectrum was released as six different models, ranging from the entry level with 16 Kilobyte, KB RAM released in 1982 to the ZX Spectrum +3 with 128 KB RAM and built in floppy disk drive in 1987; altogether they sold over 5 million units worldwide (not counting List of ZX Spectrum clones, unofficial clones). The Spectrum was among the first home computers in the United Kingdom aimed at a mainstream audience, and it thus had similar significance to the Commodore 64 in the US and the Thomson MO5 in France. The introduction of the ZX Spect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
