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Manic Miner is a classic 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.
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.
Miner Willy, while prospecting down Surbiton way, stumbles upon an ancient, long forgotten mine-shaft. On further exploration, he finds evidence of a lost civilisation far superior to our own, which used automatons to dig deep into the Earth's core to supply the essential raw materials for their advanced industry. After centuries of peace and prosperity, the civilisation was torn apart by war, and lapsed into a long dark age, abandoning their industry and machines. Nobody, however, thought to tell the mine robots to stop working, and through countless aeons they had steadily accumulated a huge stockpile of valuable metals and minerals, and Miner Willy realises that he now has the opportunity to make his fortune by finding the underground store.
In each of the twenty caverns are several flashing keys, which you must collect before your oxygen supply runs out. Once you have collected the keys in one cavern, you must then go to the now-flashing portal, which will take you to the next cavern. You must avoid enemies like Poisonous Pansies, Spiders, Slime, and Manic Mining Robots.
The game ends when you have been captured by an enemy or fallen heavily three times.
There are some differences between the Bug-Byte and Software Projects versions. Obviously the scroll-text at the start is slightly different to reflect the different copyright . However, there are three more subtle changes.
Official ports exist for the Commodore 64 , Amstrad CPC , BBC Micro , Dragon 32/64 , Commodore Amiga , Oric 1 , Game Boy Advance and SAM Coupé . Unofficial ports exist for the IBM PC , Apple Macintosh , Atari ST , ZX81 , Nintendo 64 , Neo Geo Pocket Color , Acorn Archimedes and PMD 85 .
SAM Coupé version of
Manic Miner
(1992)
The SAM Coupé version, programmed by Matthew Holt, was very faithful to the original ZX Spectrum version in that it required pixel-perfect timing, however 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.
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.
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 version of
Manic Miner
(1984)
The Dragon 32 version, programmed by Paul Burgin, had two extra rooms (i.e. 22 altogether). The Archimedes version was converted from the Dragon release.
The sequel to Manic Miner was Jet Set Willy .
In addition quite a few unofficial sequels, remakes, homages and updates have been released, even up to this day.