Lazy Jones

Lazy Jones

Game No.	269
Voting	7.25 points, 28 votes
Developer	David Whittaker
Publisher	Terminal Software, Load 'n' Run, Edigamma S.r.l., Pubblirome
Musician	David Whittaker
HVSC-File	/MUSICIANS/W/Whittaker_David/Lazy_Jones.sid
Release	1984
Platform	C64, ZX Spectrum, MSX
Genre	Action, Platform, Arcade, Miscellaneous
Gamemode	Single player
Operation
Media
Language
Information	Alias: Mr. Juego / Sala Giochi / Crazy Joe Follower: Lazy Jones Rides Again

Description[edit | edit source]

... an animation from the game Lazy Jones

Lazy Jones holds the mirror up to the computer player, because you play to play computer games. The focus is on Shoot'em up's and skill games. The whole thing is accompanied by a basic tune which changes when you enter a room. So each room has its own tune, mostly you can recognize known music pieces from the early 1980's.

You are Lazy Jones, the janitor in a hotel. Instead of doing your work, you rather play computer games. The hotel as altogether 18 rooms, which are on 3 floors with each 6 rooms. The single floors are connected to each other with a lift. The 18 rooms are divided as follows:

15 guest rooms, in 14 of them there is a game console.
a hotel bar
a broom closet
a toilet

Your task is to visit each room once. In the 14 guest rooms with the game console and at the hotel bar you can play until the time for the room has run out. After that you leave the room automatically. The time in these rooms starts at "9999" and counts to "0". In some games you can "die", then the game is already over before the time has run out. This is possible in the following games:

Eggie Chuck (when you get caught)
Jay Walk (when you get rolled over)
Res Q
The Wall (when the wall hits an obstacle)

Each room can only be entered once. An exception are the rooms without games, so the guest room without console, the broom closet and the toilet. You can take flight there any time to avoid meeting the hotel manager in the uppermost floor, the cleaning cart in the middle or the ghost of the former hotel manager on the ground floor, because then you will lose a life. But you can also simply walk over these "enemies".

Which room hides behind which door is decided at the start of the game randomly. If you have visited all rooms once, every room is available again, the game starts anew only everything is a bit more difficult.

Design[edit | edit source]

The single rooms in detail

99 Red Balloons Here you have to levitate to the upper platform with 2 ballooons (only with the second balloon the character lifts off) and the balloons must not be shot. After kissing the girl you go back to the upper platform and grab a balloon. With this you float down again, etc. Background melody: 99 Luftballons by Nena (1983)
Eggie Chuck Just collect all eggs and do not get caught. Background melody: ?
Jay Walk Frogger. Get over the busy main street, kiss the girl, go back, kiss the girl and so on. Background melody: ?
Laser Jones Space Invaders Background melody: ?
Outland Shoot 'em up Background melody: Gene Page - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) (which in turn is based on the John Williams Soundtrack for the movie with the same name)
Res Q Reminds of H.E.R.O. Rescue all people in the cave with the backpack helicopter. Background melody: ?
Scoot Skill is required, land on all platforms. Any number of mistakes is allowed. Background melody: ?
Star Dust Shoot asteroids. Collision causes time decrease! Background melody: Electronic Ensemble - It Happened Then (1980) (for the cover version by Zombie Nation, see Miscellaneous)
The Hills are Alive Defender Background melody: ?
The Reflex You need juggling abilities here, the sticks need to be kept in the air. Any number of mistakes is allowed. Background melody: ?
The Turk The turkey goes over the conveyor belt into the trash bin, hit the bird with the fork as often as possible, but take care that the telephone does not come in between - Christmas Game :-) Background melody: ?
The Wall Same as Tron, Lines, etc. The wall should get as long as possible, do not bump against obstacles. Background melody: ?
Wild Wafers The pad needs to be shot up. Collision causes time decrease! Background melody: Fade To Gray by Visage (1981)
Wipe Out As Break-Out or later Arkanoid. The wall needs to be broken through with the ball. It is not enough to hit the ball, press fire at the same time! Background melody: ?
The bar / cocktails It is not easy to get to ones drink at the bar, especially if you are constantly held back by this drunk. Background melody: ?
Nightmare Well, this is what you get as a slacker from playing only computer games the whole day, as Lazy Jones does, you get nightmares. Background melody: ?
The broom closet Even the laziest should sweep around a bit... but it seems as if Lazy Jones does the same here as he should do at the toilet..
The toilet Probably the only time in the game, when Lazy Jones does not have to feel guilty. Background melody: Living On The Ceiling by Blancmange (1982)

Hints[edit | edit source]

The controls on the floors need a bit of explaining[edit | edit source]

All control commands are transmitted only once shortly and then conducted constantly. So you have to tip the joystick just briefly. That way, Lazy Jones is always on the move. If Lazy Jones is in front of a door, you can enter the room or lift with the fire button. Very important: the joystick must not point into any direction during this, or else he will walk past the door. If you want to go up with the lift, you have to push the joystick up instantly after entering, because without any direction the lift will always go down.

The controls[edit | edit source]

Joystick	Keyboard	Effect in the game	Effect in the aisle
LEFT	C=	To the left	Lazy Jones walks to the left until he gets another command.
RIGHT	SHIFT	To the right	Lazy Jones walks to the right until he gets another command.
Forward	Arrow up	Up	Lazy Jones jumps, whereby you can steer him with 'right' and 'left'.
BACK	=	Down
FIRE	RETURN	Fire	Enter room or lift
	M	Music on/off
	P	Pause on/off

Score[edit | edit source]

The overall score adds together from the reached score in the single games.

Solution[edit | edit source]

Video

Video at Archive.org

Cheats[edit | edit source]

The version by "Remember" contains next to 2 cheats (unlimited lives, collision query off in the hall) also the manual and some smaller bug fixes.

Voting[edit | edit source]

Voting of the C64-Wiki users (10=the best vote):
7.25 points at 28 votes (rank 349). You need to be logged in to cast a vote.
C64Games	6	25th September 2010 - "good" - 5.158 downs
Lemon64	8,1	25th September 2010 - 104 votes
Kultboy.com	8	25th September 2010 - 7 votes

Reviews[edit | edit source]

Worf: "The idea for the game is great. The single games are rather modest but let you see which game were meant. Lazy Jones shines with diversity and is fun!".

Guybrush: "That's right, the game idea and the sound are good, the realisation of the mini games rather not. However, 6 points from me."

Borna: "The game has offered many mini games compactly, which were kept together by a frame plot (with each game the rooms were shared out anew) and very good music. A hit."

Robotron2084: "Games that you can play FOREVER, because they are simply as easy as a pie, they bore you quickly. Same here. 5 points (what a pity!)."

Blubarju: "I only like the good music in this game. The mini games are simply such ones. For 5 or 10 minutes you might be well entertained here, but then the fizz has gone. Just barely 5 points."

Blaster194: "In my youth the game was a revolution for me. A game in which you could play games. I am inclined to make a remake for years, as I have done with the Werner Flaschbier series. I have no idea if I will do it. But the work would pique my interest though."

Miscellaneous[edit | edit source]

Kernkraft 400[edit | edit source]

The tune of the subgame Stardust was covered by the German group "Zombie Nation"^[1] ^[2] in 1999. The title "Kernkraft 400" was a hit. In Greece and Denmark it went to first place, in Belgium, Great Britain and the Netherlands Kernkraft 400 reached the top ten of the charts, in Germany 21st place. In the SID file it is the Subtune 21.