When I was a child, I had a ZX Spectrum computer (Didaktik M). I didn’t play much on it — I was more interested in programming — but there was one game I loved and spent long hours solving its various absurd, funny levels. The game was called Jet Set Willy. For a long time, I couldn’t understand how so many levels, so much movement, graphics, wit, tricks, and secrets could be packed into 48 kilobytes of code.
Decades have passed since then, and I’ve often thought about that game. I still don’t really play on the computer — it doesn’t interest me. I used to play Tetris occasionally, but no other game has really engaged me. I tried several times to rewrite the game for PC, using different methods, programming languages (C, C++), and documentation and source code. There are a few websites on the internet where enthusiastic fans have published the game’s machine code, and I used those, but I didn’t get very far.
Yesterday, I decided to try one of the AI-based coding agents and attempt to rewrite Jet Set Willy in Rust using the disassembled source I found online.
It’s quite incredible, but with barely a day of work, I succeeded. It’s unbelievable, but I can play it again — and since I rewrote it in Rust, I can easily fix any bugs. The music, the graphics, and the logic are all the same because I was very careful to make the Rust version authentic. Of course, there were a couple of challenges, but I really enjoyed working on it.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t make the game and its Rust code public. Even though it was created about 40 years ago, due to copyright restrictions, I’m not allowed to publish it, so I use it only privately.
All 60 rooms are done and compiled in Rust; it works smoothly, and its code is entirely Rust, with no machine code.
I am uploading some screenshots.
So, I can play with my only favourite game again after three decades :)
<3 Jet Set Willy
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