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HOME / INTERVIEWS / Tero Heikkinen
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INTERVIEW WITH TERO HEIKKINEN
Amigapd would like to thank Tero for for taking time to answer some questions about his wonderful Jet Set Willy clone "Top Hat Willy".
This interview was completed August 2012. Thanks to Lifeschool from Lemon Amiga forum and contributors to our facebook page for providing questions for the interview. |
Tero Heikkinen - creator of Top Hat Willy
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What was it about Jet Set Willy (JSW) that inspired you to make an amiga update?
TH: Around 1994, the emergence of Spectrum emulation was a major impetus for making Top Hat Willy. Replaying the old games showed to me that it was often the simplest games that had stood the test of time. Matthew Smith's Jet Set Willy was one of the more memorable early games. I probably played JSW more on the emulator than ever on the Spectrum, harvesting ideas and getting inside the game. Each room had unique character, and the map was not just another boring maze. In that game, finding new rooms was a reward in itself, and you could always believe there was more to find. It also had intensity that was lacking in the 90's platform games, where the action tended to be thinned out along a vast scrolling playfield. The only problem was that JSW was a bit slow, and this motivated me to go for a faster and smoother version.
Importantly, Jet Set Willy was modest enough to be finished with my relatively little coding experience. I had been dabbling with Basic programming ever since the Spectrum days, and with Amiga it was quite easy to make something comparable to the 8-bit games. Numerous similar projects were started, seeking inspiration from 8-bit games, but most were far too ambitious to be finished.
Importantly, Jet Set Willy was modest enough to be finished with my relatively little coding experience. I had been dabbling with Basic programming ever since the Spectrum days, and with Amiga it was quite easy to make something comparable to the 8-bit games. Numerous similar projects were started, seeking inspiration from 8-bit games, but most were far too ambitious to be finished.
Was Top Hat Willy (THW) your only Amiga game or did you work on other projects - if so were these published and are they still available to the public?
TH: Automobiles was released prior to Top Hat Willy. Hardcore Bomberboy and Slot Warriors came after. Automobiles was a bit clunky top-down racing game. Bomberboy was obviously a Bomberman clone, simple, but very fast and frenetic. Slot Warriors was a relatively straight remake of an obscure Atari 2600 game. These were multiplayer games with no solo mode. All the game files are on the internet but they are getting perhaps harder to find these days.
Did you also program Turbo Duel which is listed on Back2Roots site as being produced by Overflow.
TH: Turbo Duel was not written by me and I did not contribute to it in any way really. Overflow was a sort of local group thing, with less connected "members". Some were more interested in demo scene type of things, whereas I was really only fascinated about games. Overflow would be mentioned in our games, even if the larger group had not participated
The game seemed a family affair with your brothers helping with the development - how much input did they have in the game's development?
TH: I did the programming and designed the game for the most part. My big brother supplied many suggestions and was generally an annoying back-seat coder! (It has to be noted the Amiga belonged to him.) I was initially aiming to make it look like a Speccy game, but he convinced me to make it more colourful, an Amiga game. He did additional room design and visuals, drew some of the critters and gave them a smoother overall look. As such our roles were not so clearly divided. Often I would be satisfied with something, but he would pester me to make it better. Most importantly, we played the game a lot. We could look together if rooms were too hard, too easy or just plain broken. I would then grudgingly agree to do the suggestions, as they always tended to increase the workload rather than lessen it…
This process was a very organic, tight loop of playing, observation and execution. Nothing at all like getting "comments from beta-testers". My little brother, quite young at the time, would also contribute to the play sessions. He went on to program the PC conversion of Top Hat Willy. These days, he is making visuals for mobile games. My big brother - appropriately - writes game reviews for a magazine.
This process was a very organic, tight loop of playing, observation and execution. Nothing at all like getting "comments from beta-testers". My little brother, quite young at the time, would also contribute to the play sessions. He went on to program the PC conversion of Top Hat Willy. These days, he is making visuals for mobile games. My big brother - appropriately - writes game reviews for a magazine.
The same 'chain of death' bug appears in THW to mirror the iconic faults of JSW - how did you decide which bugs to include from JSW and which ones to fix (C64 version of JSW was originally impossible to complete due to certain bugs)?
TH: It was plain laziness not to fix that one. But it felt kind of acceptable because the original had it too. There is a glitch in THW that makes it at least slightly less fatal than in the original. If you hold down diagonal jump as the character re-enters the screen after death, Willy jumps into that direction. This can be done as many times as there are lives left. In rare situations, this can be used to break the death loop.
The very first version of Top Hat Willy had a room design flaw which made a whole map section strictly one-way. This did not prevent from completing the game, but would have been very unfair. Fortunately we discovered it right away and no-one probably has this version. So, in conclusion, a bug that would have made completion impossible, would not have been acceptable.
I never wanted to replicate the physics of JSW. I wanted Top Hat Willy to be faster and have the character move around with more freedom. The game has numerous tiny glitches, but they are different to the ones in Jet Set Willy.
The very first version of Top Hat Willy had a room design flaw which made a whole map section strictly one-way. This did not prevent from completing the game, but would have been very unfair. Fortunately we discovered it right away and no-one probably has this version. So, in conclusion, a bug that would have made completion impossible, would not have been acceptable.
I never wanted to replicate the physics of JSW. I wanted Top Hat Willy to be faster and have the character move around with more freedom. The game has numerous tiny glitches, but they are different to the ones in Jet Set Willy.
How did you design the rooms - were they planned in advance or did they evolve during development?
TH: The map certainly arose during the making. I integrated a room editor in the game program, so we could fix things instantly and experiment with room ideas. The editor was mouse-based and Willy could be dropped anywhere in the action at any time. One design insight that I still like is that the monster start locations and their movement instructions were made a part of the tile map, and not as a separate list. A set of invisible tiles both generate the critters and tell them what to do. (These tiles would of course be visible in the editor.) This solution saved a lot of effort and was very flexible.
Most of the screens were some sort of homages or rip-offs of the original Jet Set Willy rooms, adapted to the larger screen layout. When naming the rooms, I avoided JSW and obvious gaming references, though. Also, I tried to include broader references than just Star Wars or Tolkien or whatever was common in PD and even commercial games. Looking back, some of it seems a bit pretentious now, but perhaps it helped add character to the game.
The initial decision to create the map as a 10x10 grid guided the overall plan a lot. This layout also simplified the room connections, which could not be negotiated. Although otherwise satisfactory, the editor was not that good for managing the overall map. It was not possible to copy and paste rooms to different places. So if a room was positioned somewhere, it tended to stay there. For example, I would have liked a longer yacht but there was no more space for it. When I wanted a "hell" section there was really only one corner where it could be positioned. I think limitations like these also helped get the game finished.
I never had an overall map view, like the one on the Appreciation Page. It was amazing to see that image. It's almost like the different sections were intentionally planned to form coherent wholes, but it really wasn't like that at all. Only a couple of broader guidelines were invented on the go, such as that below a certain point all rooms would be "underground". Another decision was that although the map could wrap around horizontally, this would not be exploited in the map design. (Yes, there are a couple of points where the wrap-around can be crossed, but it does not offer a genuine route.)
Most of the screens were some sort of homages or rip-offs of the original Jet Set Willy rooms, adapted to the larger screen layout. When naming the rooms, I avoided JSW and obvious gaming references, though. Also, I tried to include broader references than just Star Wars or Tolkien or whatever was common in PD and even commercial games. Looking back, some of it seems a bit pretentious now, but perhaps it helped add character to the game.
The initial decision to create the map as a 10x10 grid guided the overall plan a lot. This layout also simplified the room connections, which could not be negotiated. Although otherwise satisfactory, the editor was not that good for managing the overall map. It was not possible to copy and paste rooms to different places. So if a room was positioned somewhere, it tended to stay there. For example, I would have liked a longer yacht but there was no more space for it. When I wanted a "hell" section there was really only one corner where it could be positioned. I think limitations like these also helped get the game finished.
I never had an overall map view, like the one on the Appreciation Page. It was amazing to see that image. It's almost like the different sections were intentionally planned to form coherent wholes, but it really wasn't like that at all. Only a couple of broader guidelines were invented on the go, such as that below a certain point all rooms would be "underground". Another decision was that although the map could wrap around horizontally, this would not be exploited in the map design. (Yes, there are a couple of points where the wrap-around can be crossed, but it does not offer a genuine route.)
Top Hat Willy - Programmed by Tero Heikkinen
What feedback have you received from the Amiga community about the game and are you surprised it is still fondly remembered and still played after all these years?
TH: Back then, the game was mentioned in magazine PD review sections, both in Finland and in UK. Paper magazines were very important back then so this was quite big to us, even if the reviews were not overwhelmingly positive. I did get an occasional letter and some e-mails about the game. I was pleased to learn someone had actually completed the game. It sort of justified making the game so difficult.
I'm quite proud every time the game gets mentioned! It's surprising to see that some people see it as a "canonical" Amiga game, listing it alongside their other favorites. I suppose it proves the original concept of Jet Set Willy is enduring. Maybe it also shows that when people now go back to Amiga games they prefer the simpler ones. However, I think the most positive comments have been from people who never saw Jet Set Willy and did not realize Top Hat Willy is a knock-off of an earlier game.
I'm quite proud every time the game gets mentioned! It's surprising to see that some people see it as a "canonical" Amiga game, listing it alongside their other favorites. I suppose it proves the original concept of Jet Set Willy is enduring. Maybe it also shows that when people now go back to Amiga games they prefer the simpler ones. However, I think the most positive comments have been from people who never saw Jet Set Willy and did not realize Top Hat Willy is a knock-off of an earlier game.
Some reviewers and gamers mention that THW has a high difficulty level - did you ever complete the game and are there any hidden cheats to make it easier?
TH. The difficulty was another nod towards the absurdly hard games made for the Spectrum and C64. This became part of the legend. If the game gets mentioned the difficulty is pointed out and the fact that even the creator has not completed it. I feel this is more common than one might think. The developer can only ensure the game can be completed, but does not necessarily ever play it straight from the beginning to the end. There's just no time.
More importantly, I never came anywhere near completing Jet Set Willy, but this did not prevent it from being enjoyable. I kept this in mind when making THW.
There are no cheat modes or exploits. I'm not even sure what is the best route through the map. And no, to this date, I have never completed Top Hat Willy.
More importantly, I never came anywhere near completing Jet Set Willy, but this did not prevent it from being enjoyable. I kept this in mind when making THW.
There are no cheat modes or exploits. I'm not even sure what is the best route through the map. And no, to this date, I have never completed Top Hat Willy.
Does a screen editor exist for THW and if so are you prepared to share this with the Amiga community?
TH: If I remember correctly, the screen editor is still part of the compiled program but it cannot be accessed. If so, a hacker might be able to get to it.
Back then, it was a conscious decision not to include the editor. I know many would have liked to have tools for building JSW-clones, but that was never what the project was about for me. A more practical reason is that the editor was not user friendly and creating instructions or new functionality would have just meant more work. In principle I'm not against sharing the material, but I'd still feel bit strange if someone made a "THW part XVIII" based on slightly changing the original.
Back then, it was a conscious decision not to include the editor. I know many would have liked to have tools for building JSW-clones, but that was never what the project was about for me. A more practical reason is that the editor was not user friendly and creating instructions or new functionality would have just meant more work. In principle I'm not against sharing the material, but I'd still feel bit strange if someone made a "THW part XVIII" based on slightly changing the original.
Do you still have the source code or original design documents for THW and if so are you prepared to share it with the Amiga community?
TH: The last time I checked, the whole project still exists on a hard disk on an Amiga. There is really no material outside the computer files themselves, as I did no preparatory work at all. I don't see much point in sharing the material but might give it a thought. As the game is an AMOS program, the source would be fairly meaningless today for porting purposes. I'm also a bit embarrassed to show the listing as it is very spaghetti-like, not written for human consumption. The C source of the PC conversion might be a more fruitful starting point, although I do not have it. It's possibly lost.
Was a sequel to THW ever started and if so how far did the development progress ?
TH: Indeed there was. It was nearly finished even in 1995, but it lingered in that state for a long time and was eventually abandoned. The game was rewritten completely. It had 32 colours both in the backgrounds and in the critters. Some screen drawing routines were even written in assembler. There were moving lifts, special case rooms, password-activated alternative starting rooms and improved background animation. The infinite death problem was resolved, and strangest of all, Willy could now crouch. (Which was rather pointless) Yet I was dissatisfied with the game. It had about 150 rooms laid out as a free-formed map, and this turned out to be a bad idea. The supposedly better visuals fostered poorer room design, and the rooms were rarely as compact as in the original. Even THW1 had its share of filler rooms, and it was just too much work to iterate the design of so many rooms, again. Also, the rooms largely rehashed the same ideas. Many rooms ended up as virtually empty and the map was just too sprawling. Occasionally I had hopes about releasing the game, but as the years drifted by, and Amiga was no longer a current platform I kind of gave up.
A couple of times I tried to do something for the PC but did not find the drive to finish them. These were not nearly as complete as the Amiga sequel.
A couple of times I tried to do something for the PC but did not find the drive to finish them. These were not nearly as complete as the Amiga sequel.
Exclusive Top Hat Willy 2 Pictures
What was the best thing about creating THW?
TH: Many things came together in the process and I can't really single out any one thing. Personally, as Top Hat Willy is now older than JSW was in the 90s, it also evokes memories of those times to me. Through making this game, I could dwell on the 8-bit games I liked so much and would have wanted to create myself. So it was kind of a fulfillment. It was a thrill to get it finished knowing that the result was pretty good. The good responses have also helped make it feel worthwhile.
Are you still involved in the computer industry today and if so are there any projects you are involved in which you would like to tell our readers about?
TH: I never made a career in the industry but I have continued the programming habit whenever there has been time. Finished projects are still scarce! As a platform, I like the Apple iPad quite a lot, as there's a lot of crazy creativity going on in the appstore, if one is willing to search around a bit. I have recently made two games for the iPad, SolarScraper and Daft Defectors. Daft Defectors is nearest thing to a published THW sequel. It takes more inspiration from Manic Miner than Jet Set Willy, though. As an adaptation it is much more loose, drawing from diverse influences so it's not really a Willy game. The touch screen is especially challenging for making platform games. A direct conversion is not viable with such an inaccurate control method. Now that there are peripherals like the iCade joystick, it might make sense.
Daft Defectors - Tero Heikkinen
Description of Daft Defectors
Spies, agents, moles, defectors - all rushing to find the secret formula. Can you find the evidence among all the tapes, documents... it’s all hidden somewhere! After clearing the rooms of stuff you may proceed to the next one.
The quick will be rewarded! Beware of enemy agents, treacherous nurses and mechanical mischief. Avoid the booby traps and bombs, yet find out how they can be made to work to your advantage!
Purchase from itunes.
The quick will be rewarded! Beware of enemy agents, treacherous nurses and mechanical mischief. Avoid the booby traps and bombs, yet find out how they can be made to work to your advantage!
Purchase from itunes.
Solarscraper - Tero Heikkinen
Description for Solarscraper
This is a space-themed shoot-em-up with a small tactical element. The player protects twelve different star systems from alien attack, with increasing difficulty.
The main game is controlled by simply turning the ship with other side of the screen and firing the laser weapon by tapping the other side.
The sector map is controlled by tapping the sectors around your ship to move. As the aliens are encountered in the sector map the game switches to the shoot-em-up screen.
If the alien forces reach the planets in the sector map, they will launch an invasion and all will be lost unless the attack force is destroyed.
The player can boost the ship by gathering bonus weapons, such as guided missiles, extra shields and warp keys. As the alien attack waves are destroyed, they leave behind cargo and useful items.
The game features simple controls, which can be inverted for left-handed or right-handed play. The controls can also be inverted vertically.
Purchase from itunes.
The main game is controlled by simply turning the ship with other side of the screen and firing the laser weapon by tapping the other side.
The sector map is controlled by tapping the sectors around your ship to move. As the aliens are encountered in the sector map the game switches to the shoot-em-up screen.
If the alien forces reach the planets in the sector map, they will launch an invasion and all will be lost unless the attack force is destroyed.
The player can boost the ship by gathering bonus weapons, such as guided missiles, extra shields and warp keys. As the alien attack waves are destroyed, they leave behind cargo and useful items.
The game features simple controls, which can be inverted for left-handed or right-handed play. The controls can also be inverted vertically.
Purchase from itunes.
DOWNLOADS
Download Automobiles
| automobiles_v1.50_1995-09-04overflow_productionspddisk_2_of_2trackdisk.zip |
Download Bomberboy
| hardcorebomberboy.adf |
Download Slot Warriors
| slotwarrior.zip |
Download Top Hat Willy
Top Hat Willy can be downloaded from the file below.
| top_hat_willy_v1.2_1995overflowpda.zip |
Downloads for current projects
To find out about Tero's current projects and where they can be download, please visit his blog.
Download PC version of Top Hat Willy
Visit Tero's brother's website to download the PC update of Top Hat Willy.
Thank you
AmigaPd would like to thank Tero Heikkinen for answering the questions and for creating such a wonderful game.
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