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Jet Set Willy - Monstrum!
Jet Set Willy - Monstrum!
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Before we begin...
Jet Set Willy is Copyright 1984 by Software Projects. JetSet Editor is Copyright
1984 by Paul Rhodes. As far as I understand the current situation, Matthew Smith
and Paul Rhodes have given permission to distribute their software in a non-profit
way. Monstrum! is based on the autobiography of Tony 'Doc' Shiels, which was
published by Fortean Tomes in 1990.
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Tony Shiels is a painter who, for the past forty years or so, has worked in the
Cubist, Rheotist, Abstract and Surrealist traditions. He has exhibited widely and
has been described as "the finest painter of abstract seascapes" within the St.
Ives' School. He has also worked in the spheres of theater, music and conjuring.
NOT a very good basis for a wacky JSW game, is it? That would be so if it weren't
for Tony's 'alter-ego', the genuinely bizarre 'Doc' Shiels. Imagine the scene - Doc
is standing on a cliff top, overlooking the mighty Helford River. While his
assistant fires out a Celtic tune on a button accordion, Doc violently shakes what
seems to be a cow skull, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Morgawr! Morgawr!" He
is attempting to summon the famous Cornish sea-serpent.
Doc did a lot of this, mainly in the late seventies, and claims to have aided in
the summoning of Morgawr, The Loch Ness Monster (which he photographed), a bizarre
winged-entity called The Owlman, and a Marine Pieste (a type of Irish sea-serpent).
He describes all this in his autobiography, 'Monstrum!', which is well worth a
read. What exactly Doc Shiels was attempting to accomplish during this period is
'complex' to say the least, and only one author, Jonathan Downes, has attempted to
get to the bottom of it; his book, 'The Owlman and Others', is also worth a read.
When writing my previous Willy game, I included a secret room called 'Doc Shiels'
Sea-Head Factory' (Sea-Heads are an artistic symbol Doc uses). The room was created
mainly because of the similarity between Willy's top hat and Doc's (slightly
taller) stove-pipe hat; this lead to my contemplation of an entire game based on
Doc's weird adventures - Andrew Broad has proved conclusively that the subject
matter for a Willy game can be decidedly non-Willy. So I did do this, and here is
the result.
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Recreate Doc's adventures while collecting various 'goodies' on the way; after all
they're there, so why shouldn't you grab them? Maybe they'll help you at some
point.
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I've listed the rooms in the vague order you will encounter them (although the game
isn't entirely sequential). Good luck!
The Red Lion Pub
Doc reckons that booze (particularly stout) is an important factor in monster-
spotting. As he says: "It's amazing what you can see when you've had a couple of
these." Beware the clientele; they tend to fling their beer glasses about the
place.
Norman Crocodilidine
Doc describes (in a Sunday Independent interview) how he and a friend, John Gordon,
were on the way to the pub one night when an alien called Norman Crocodilidine made
them Custodians of the Entire Universe. As Jonathan Downes says: "Tony has never
really cared whether people take him seriously or not, except as a painter."
The Top
of the hill. The spinning star Guardians turned out quite well, considering the
general difficulties of doing animation.
The Layby
As Jonathan Downes relates in his book: "(Doc) passed me back my telephone, and
John Gordon told me a garbled and mildly incoherent tale about how he and Tony had
been walking to the pub in Ponsanooth one night when suddenly someone leaped out of
a lay-by and offered to sell them lemonade. I thanked him politely and switched off
the telephone."
West Ponsanooth
I've never been in Ponsanooth, so I can't vouch for the accuracy of the
architecture! Getting from the right-hand edge to the bottom can be tricky, but is
necessary only if you have to return the way you came for some reason.
East Ponsanooth
Lots of stars here, marching across the screen in a nicely regimented fashion.
Parson's Beach
Parson's beach isn't as close to Ponsanooth as I make out here, but the rooms are
arranged according to narrative rather than real geography. The Guardians here SO
do not look like beach balls.
The Lethal Tides of the Helford
My colour code is cyan for lethal water and blue for safe water. I've applied this
consistently throughout the game. Can you see how to make progress here?
Cubist Dream
Cubism is one of the styles Tony Shiels, the artist, has employed. Because all JSW
rooms are representations made within a geometric 32x16 array of squares, perhaps
JSW room design is a form of Cubism. Well, it isn't, but it would be nice to think
it was art.
The Owlman
Although Doc never saw The Owlman, we can alter 'history' for this encounter. You
can walk through the cross to drop down into the church.
An Eerie Cave
Some subtle rope manipulation will be required here if you are to get in and out
without losing a life. This room isn't really eerie, is it?
Tourist Trap
I don't think Urquhart castle has that many visitors, but I couldn't resist the
'pun' - will Doc be trapped between the wandering tourists?
Loch Ness
A trio of Nessies. How many monsters are there in Loch Ness? Three, one, none? To
get all the items you'll have to traverse this room first from right to left, then
from left to right.
Puck Fair
Which is held in Killorglin, County Kerry, every year. Doc Shiels is a frequent
visitor.
West Killorglin
Collect the booze glasses here; tricky as there's not much room.
East Killorglin
The three sphere arrangement looks tricky to negotiate, but it's easy when you know
how.
Peat Bog
With authentic peat bog man (preserved from ancient times - well, at least 1984).
Careful, even going near the peat bog man can be hazardous to your heath.
Marine Peiste
A pieste is an Irish sea-serpent. From Doc: "I met up with a pair of elderly
American golfers, and we stood chatting on O'Brian's Bridge, looking across to
Liscannor Bay. Then it appeared, in the estuary of the Dealegh River, a black
sinuous shape. 'What's that?' asked one of my American friends. 'It's a marine
peiste,' I replied, very casually. 'Is that a common animal here?' he asked. 'Quite
a lot of them in the West', said I, aiming my camera at the thing."
Rheotist Dream
Rheotism is a painting technique whereby one draws with a single continuous line;
another style employed by Tony Shiels. The blocks here are line-like, but hardly
one continuous line! I particularly like the (admittedly obvious) Willy and
Periscope Guardian combination here.