Developed and published by Software Projects in 1983 Follow me on Twitter:
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Originally developed for the ZX Spectrum, Manic Miner and it's developer, a young Matthew Smith, were thrust into the spotlight as one of the most prominent, up-and-coming 'BritSoft' developers of the age. Having been released in 1983, the impact of Manic Miner was somewhat lost on my younger self (I'd have been a mere 1 year old at the time). It wasn't until 1988 or so that I got my Commodore 64, so Manic Miner was a fairly old release by then. Since recording longplay videos for my channel, I've played Blagger, China Miner and several other games that took inspiration from Smith's game, but never Manic Miner itself. Curious to see what all the fuss was about, I decided to tackle the game head on. Manic Miner is a flick-screen platform game, with the objective to collect all of the glowing keys (and other items) and get to the exit door before your air supply expires. The player must then find the best route around the screen, executing pixel-perfect jumps between platforms, as well as to avoid the game's many traps; make no mistake, putting a foot wrong in this game results in a swift death and loss of one of Miner Willy's lives. Each of the screens plays home to a, quite frankly, absurd menagerie of enemies. From flying telephones to the Kong Beast, these bizarrely abstract creatures are a big part of the game's identity, as well as why it is well-remembered. Having gone back and played the game through for this video, I can understand some of the game's significance, particularly for the ZX Spectrum. Here we have a game with multiple, full-colour, animated sprites, with simultaneous sound and music - a significant step up from earlier games. The level design strikes a balance between relying on the player's ability to react to situations on the fly, as well as requiring a few moments to consider how best to plot a course around the screen to collect all of the keys. On the whole, the levels are well considered and laid out. They are all tough, but always within the limits of the average player's ability to complete, something that many later games in the genre (e.g. China Miner) seemed to ignore entirely. In regards to the quality of conversion from the Spectrum to the C64 (Chris Lancaster/Kris Lancaster), it's pretty much identical, even better in some ways. The game runs faster and more smoothly than the Spectrum version, and has much better sound - some might argue that the primitive pops and beeps were part of the Spectrum's charm, but for me, this is the better version. However, I did notice that some some of the graphics on the final level seem to be missing and I'm not sure if there was a bug in the C64 release, or whether there was something wrong with the version I was using. As a game, Manic Miner is a solid and fun experience, but I feel I might have been late to the party with regards to this title; C64 games had become increasingly advanced and technically accomplished by the time I got my Commodore and the gameplay would have felt primitive, even back then. As a piece of gaming history, however, it's significance is not in question and I know that it is remembered fondly by many gamers who owned it. Therefore, let us raise a pixelated glass to Matthew Smith in celebration, and all the other talented individuals that made our childhoods so memorable. #retrogaming
