Jet Set Willy

1984 · Platform · ZX Spectrum

Overview

Jet Set Willy (1984) is Matthew Smith's sequel to Manic Miner: explore Willy's 60-room mansion collecting items before bed, in a sprawling Spectrum platformer.

Deep Dive

After the party, Miner Willy's housekeeper won't let him go to bed until every item left lying around his mansion has been tidied up. Unlike Manic Miner's separate caverns, the more than sixty rooms connect into one explorable house. It was a big commercial success, but it shipped with bugs that made it impossible to finish, and players traded fixes through magazines. It was Matthew Smith's last major game before he left the industry.

Developer Story

Jet Set Willy was written by Matthew Smith in 1984 as the sequel to Manic Miner. It expanded the house of eccentric millionaire Willy across over 60 rooms and was an enormous commercial success. However, the game shipped with several bugs — including at least one room that was impossible to clear — that prevented players from finishing it. Smith disappeared from the games industry shortly after and his whereabouts were the subject of speculation for years.

Did You Know?

Jet Set Willy shipped with game-breaking bugs that made several rooms impossible to complete — players discovered workarounds through the gaming press.
Software Projects offered a £1,000 prize for the first player to finish the game, but the bugs made this technically impossible.
The game featured over 60 rooms in Willy's mansion, each with its own hazard layout and personality.
Matthew Smith's disappearance after the game's release became a minor gaming legend — he resurfaced periodically in interviews over the following decades.

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