▲
1
▼
Like most ZX Spectrum games, Jet Set Willy was stored on a cassette tape. Simply making an audio copy of the cassette allowed people to easily copy Spectrum games. Jet Set Willy was one of the first to come with a form of copy protection: a card with 180 coloured codes on it was bundled with the cassette. Upon loading, one of the codes from the card had to be entered before the game would start. Although the cassette could be duplicated, a copy of the card was also needed and at the time, home colour reproduction was hard to do. Thus copying Jet Set Willy was trickier than most Spectrum games. However, means of circumventing the card were quickly found, and, reflecting the attitude to software piracy at the time, one method was published in a UK computer magazine.
▲
1
▼
As originally released, the game could not be completed due to several bugs. Although actually four completely unrelated issues, they became known collectively as "The Attic Bug". After the player entered the room The Attic, various rooms would undergo corruption on all subsequent game plays, including all monsters disappearing from The Chapel, and other screens triggering instant death. This was caused by an error in the path of an arrow in The Attic, resulting in the sprite traveling past the end of the Spectrum's video memory and overwriting crucial game data instead. This bears similarities to a buffer overflow, and as such is an early example of such an error - and the problems it can cause.
Related Games
Lode Runner
OutRun
The Amazing Spider-Man
Back to the Future Part III
Klax
Time Pilot
Final Fight
SimCity
Death Stalker
How to Be a Complete Bastard
Karateka
ThunderCats: The Lost Eye of Thundera
Dragon's Lair: Escape from Singe's Castle
Gladiator
1942
Asterix and the Magic Cauldron
The Addams Family
Boulder Dash
Rampart
Ms. Pac-Man
Dragon Warrior II
Dragon's Lair
Oh Shit!
Herbert's Dummy Run
Zombi
The Simpsons Arcade Game
Strider
Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny
Yes Prime Minister: The Computer Game
First Samurai
The Simpsons: Bart vs. The Space Mutants
Popeye
Crazy Kong
Missile Command
Cool World
Congo Bongo
Ghostbusters
Back to the Future
Paradroid
Defender of the Crown
Beyond the Ice Palace
Double Dribble
Solomon's Key
Uninvited
Line of Fire
Metal Gear
Altered Beast
Xenon
Chase H.Q.
Pengo