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I got introduced into adventure games by LSL1. Everyone was playing it then, because hurr sex. We were twelve. I learned about the word 'lubber' and I had to learn English to play all those game. In fact, where I'm from it was primarily Sierra games. I remember introducing Lucasarts games to my school. And when people called me to ask for puzzle help, they were always stuck at the very beginning in every game they tried before they went back to their Prince of Persia or Operation WOLF. I still remember how cool I thought it was when suddenly all adventure games started using full mouse controls. But enough about how old I am.
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Jan 11, 2018 14:21
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John F Bennett posted:I remember friends from school calling me via TELEPHONE to ask me if I knew the solution to certain puzzles. I used to call my dad's friend at his office and ask things like where the moonstone was in Fate of Atlantis and then he'd put the phone on his shoulder and ask his colleague, then you could hear them all leave their desks and talk about the game instead of working.
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Jan 11, 2018 15:13
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I maaaaay have gotten in trouble when I was a kid because of that LucasArts hint hotline.
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Jan 11, 2018 22:15
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I think MI2 is around the time I started downloading UHS files off a BBS (although for the life of me I can't remember which one - hell it could have been Prodigy). Before that (KQ4 era), I bought a couple of the hint books with the Transformers-box-like see-through red windows. Those were a hoot.
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Jan 11, 2018 22:47
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The hardest part of Monkey Island 2 for me were (spoilering in case Cervixalot plays it) the timed puzzles. Trying to figure out what to do in Largo's room was bad enough, but it was way worse with the final battle against LeChuck. I know you can't die from it, but I found it hard to get my bearings straight and puzzle out what to do or what item to use before LeChuck barges in to distract you. And since we're talking about MI, how is Tales of Monkey Island? I've seen it on sale on GOG, so I'm curious if it's as good as 1 and 2.
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Jan 12, 2018 09:27
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amigolupus posted:The hardest part of Monkey Island 2 for me were (spoilering in case Cervixalot plays it) the timed puzzles. Trying to figure out what to do in Largo's room was bad enough, but it was way worse with the final battle against LeChuck. I know you can't die from it, but I found it hard to get my bearings straight and puzzle out what to do or what item to use before LeChuck barges in to distract you. Tales of Monkey Island was pretty decent, from memory. It gets better as it goes, but never gets amazing or anything.
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Jan 12, 2018 09:30
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As a huge fan of all that is Monkey Island, I'm not a fan of Tales. It doesn't have that particular 'feel' of Monkey Island to me. Don't really know how to explain it better.
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Jan 12, 2018 10:23
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amigolupus posted:The hardest part of Monkey Island 2 for me were (spoilering in case Cervixalot plays it) the timed puzzles. Trying to figure out what to do in Largo's room was bad enough, but it was way worse with the final battle against LeChuck. I know you can't die from it, but I found it hard to get my bearings straight and puzzle out what to do or what item to use before LeChuck barges in to distract you. Tales of Monkey Island wasn't bad, I actually had fun playing it and some bits were funny. It wasn't amazing though, definitely miles away from any of the first three games. It also suffers from being an "early" Telltale game: they used to be set basically in only a few locations and there was a lot of character reuse, which makes it feel a bit cheap. They got much better about that later, but back then that was what you were getting.
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Jan 12, 2018 10:23
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Mendigo posted:they used to be set basically in only a few locations and there was a lot of character reuse, which makes it feel a bit cheap. They got much better about that later, but back then that was what you were getting. This is one of the reasons I feel Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People was the strongest of their early titles and has held up extremely well. It probably wouldn't have felt like a Homestar Runner game if they didn't do this.
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Jan 12, 2018 10:39
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The best time I've ever had playing an adventure game was the entire middle part of MI2. This is when the world opens up and you have to find the map pieces. I enjoyed the openness of it and the very loose guidance you receive. Every part of it is memorable. Diving for treasure with Kate Capsize, Elaine's costume party, the spitting contest, the drinking contest, ... Best adventure game for me.
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Jan 12, 2018 10:53
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Rollersnake posted:This is one of the reasons I feel Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People was the strongest of their early titles and has held up extremely well. It probably wouldn't have felt like a Homestar Runner game if they didn't do this. You are right, in that specific case it fits the original perfectly. The last episode was really funny, too, way better than any of the other ones although all of them kinda got the tone right.
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Jan 12, 2018 10:58
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I remember thinking Tales of Monkey Island was okay, but I really didn't like what they did with the Voodoo Lady. It's revealed that she's been secretly pulling the strings the whole time, that LeChuck originally wasn't evil and the Voodoo Lady turned him evil, and that all of the encounters between Guybrush and LeChuck throughout the series were set up by her. Or something along those lines.
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Jan 12, 2018 11:00
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Mendigo posted:You are right, in that specific case it fits the original perfectly. The last episode was really funny, too, way better than any of the other ones although all of them kinda got the tone right. Episode 4 was my favorite. Even removed from the whole Homestar Runner context, the whole premise of playing a character who is playing a character in his own lovely homemade action movie complete with flubbed lines and bad edits was clever and totally hilarious.
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Jan 12, 2018 11:29
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Chev posted:That the powerful and secret anti-ghost voodoo ritual you sought to the end of the world and to the hell beyond is in fact a common soda the likes of which any north american kid would likely have had a gulp of and which you can literally find in any vending machine. The actual joke is that it's one of the most obvious references to On Stranger Tides in the game, where the Grog is acutal Grog, but as the Monkey Island series is family friendly...
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Jan 12, 2018 14:46
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ookiimarukochan posted:The actual joke is that it's one of the most obvious references to On Stranger Tides in the game, where the Grog is acutal Grog, but as the Monkey Island series is family friendly... I don't get it.
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Jan 12, 2018 18:27
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amigolupus posted:And since we're talking about MI, how is Tales of Monkey Island? I've seen it on sale on GOG, so I'm curious if it's as good as 1 and 2. BlueHeron posted:It's revealed that she's been secretly pulling the strings the whole time, that LeChuck originally wasn't evil and the Voodoo Lady turned him evil, and that all of the encounters between Guybrush and LeChuck throughout the series were set up by her. Or something along those lines.
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Jan 13, 2018 00:30
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Tales impressed me at the time in that it wasn't a complete trainwreck like Escape.
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Jan 13, 2018 00:48
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Speaking of newer episodic adventure games. I just picked up Kings Quest 2015, and am really enjoying it. I've only just finished the first chapter, but I'm pretty impressed with the writing so far. Puzzles are interesting but a tad on the simple side, and controls are a but janky. But the comedy and characters are pretty great so far. Hopefully it keeps it up.
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Jan 13, 2018 03:21
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Tales definitely isn't as good as MI 1-3, but it's much better than 4. And I agree that Tales improves with each episode. I remember not being on board with the first two but by the end really enjoying myself.
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Jan 13, 2018 05:36
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Chairman Capone posted:Tales definitely isn't as good as MI 1-3, but it's much better than 4. And I agree that Tales improves with each episode. I remember not being on board with the first two but by the end really enjoying myself. Yes, this was my experience too from what I remember. Not impressed with episode one, but then it kept getting more interesting. Definitely a title I'd recommend to a Monkey Island fan. I think I'd like it if Telltale revisited that more relaxed kind of adventure game with less emphasis to their "Choice and Consequences" system.
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Jan 13, 2018 08:09
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AbstractNapper posted:I don't get it. Grog is an alcoholic drink - in Monkey Island it's a brand of ginger beer (or at least tastes like it) - the climatic scene of On Stranger Tides is very similar to Monkey Island, including a ghost-killing potion that's made with a grog base. Just read On Stranger Tides - it's a great book, and Monkey Island hews closer to the plot than the Pirates of the Caribbean film "based" on it.
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Jan 13, 2018 19:41
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ookiimarukochan posted:Grog is an alcoholic drink - in Monkey Island it's a brand of ginger beer (or at least tastes like it)
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Jan 13, 2018 19:59
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ookiimarukochan posted:Grog is an alcoholic drink - in Monkey Island it's a brand of ginger beer (or at least tastes like it) - the climatic scene of On Stranger Tides is very similar to Monkey Island, including a ghost-killing potion that's made with a grog base. I guess I always just assumed that in the finale Stan's Grog machine just dropped a root beer bottle; when Guybrush earlier reads what is available in the "Grog" vending machine he mentions a few different stuff and they are: grog, classic grog, cherry grog, caffeine free grog, diet grog and root beer. I actually didn't remember them all off the top of my head, I just looked them up in a let's play. And it's the root beer that works as a substitute for the ghost killing root beer (which needed a ghost root), so I never really made the connection that it had grog as base. I still am doubtful. So I thought that was the joke. That the root beer available in a random vending machine could work (albeit less effectively as proven by the sequel) in place of the actual ghost killing root beer. When the (plain I guess?) grog is described in the game, it sounds like a real vile drink. I think some of the ingredients are sulphuric acid, battery acid and rum (how could it not have rum?); and I'll have to look the rest of it up, they are mentioned by the three important looking pirates in Scumm Bar. I remember the acid ones because later you use grog to melt the lock in the prison cell for one of your mutinous crew mates. ookiimarukochan posted:Just read On Stranger Tides - it's a great book, and Monkey Island hews closer to the plot than the Pirates of the Caribbean film "based" on it. The book would have helped with the translation, because at the time I was reading a few pirate books at the time, from the prototype English versions and then their Greek translations as part of a research for established translations for pirate lingo and stuff like "pieces o' eight".
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Jan 13, 2018 20:16
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AbstractNapper posted:I guess I always just assumed that in the finale Stan's Grog machine just dropped a root beer bottle Chev fucked around with this message at 22:13 on Jan 13, 2018 |
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Jan 13, 2018 22:07
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The only good thing to come out of the movie were new copies of the book being printed. Used copies got incredibly expensive in the early 2000s, probably because of MI fans driving up demand. Sam and Max: Surfin' the Highway was up over $100 on eBay back then too. It's important to note that this is what they wanted for paperbacks.
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Jan 14, 2018 00:48
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Casimir Radon posted:The only good thing to come out of the movie were new copies of the book being printed. Used copies got incredibly expensive in the early 2000s, probably because of MI fans driving up demand. Sam and Max: Surfin' the Highway was up over $100 on eBay back then too. It's important to note that this is what they wanted for paperbacks. Well drat, if I ever miss a mortgage payment then my signed hardback should bail me out.
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Jan 14, 2018 02:00
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Casimir Radon posted:The only good thing to come out of the movie were new copies of the book being printed. Used copies got incredibly expensive in the early 2000s, probably because of MI fans driving up demand. Sam and Max: Surfin' the Highway was up over $100 on eBay back then too. It's important to note that this is what they wanted for paperbacks.  I found a few copies of Surfin the Highway signed and sketched by Steve Purcell for $20 each at this site. Ended up buying two. 
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Jan 14, 2018 20:54
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I remember getting the Sam & Max Surfin' the Highway book right when it was republished by Telltale. Strange to think that a comic book is one of the first things that Telltale released. Since the Rama games got brought up here recently, that made me think - are the Ringworld games worth playing, both as someone who's a fan of adventure games, and someone who's a big fan of the Ringworld books?
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Jan 16, 2018 05:09
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Absolutely - it's been a long time since I last played them, the first one has an irritating minigame but other than that there were no real irritations.
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Jan 16, 2018 18:54
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gently caress Vice but I have to recommend this article - How Sierra and a Disgraced Cop Made the Most Reactionary Game of the 90s. It's about Police Quest Open Season and how Ken Williams saw Daryl Gates as the perfect guy to direct a game about a cop.
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Jan 18, 2018 22:25
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Terminally Bored posted:gently caress Vice but I have to recommend this article - How Sierra and a Disgraced Cop Made the Most Reactionary Game of the 90s. It's cool to see Josh Mandel talk about the game and what went on behind the scenes (that inside name for the game  ). I don't think they comment on the fact that Gates is one of the actors in the game (he's the chief), and that I think Tammy Dargan was the lead designer. They also don't really comment on Jim Walls departure (which I've never been clear on, though I think it's because a portion of Sierra staff jumped ship and went to form Tsunami Media). A lot of the screenshots in that article are also ripped straight from GOG's website (I recognize the captions in the bottom-right corner denoting which game is which.)Really, though, Police Quest: Open Season is an awful game. It's such a slog to play, it's an ugly game, it recycles art and music from other games (or maybe it's the other way around), and the last fourth just gets crazy stupid.
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Jan 18, 2018 23:02
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Max Wilco posted:I don't think they comment on the fact that Gates is one of the actors in the game (he's the chief), and that I think Tammy Dargan was the lead designer. They do: "Although Gates was nominally hired as the “author” of the fourth Police Quest, the game was chiefly written and designed by Tammy Dargan, a Sierra producer formerly of the television show America's Most Wanted. Gates gave her script notes." "The former Chief is actually in Open Season. Not as a character, as himself. In the game, Gates is restored as Chief of the LAPD, encouraging John Carey in his quest and, in the final scene, presenting his gallant knight with the medal of honor." Never played it but remember it getting pretty polarizing reviews back in the day. I was never a Sierra fan tbh but didn't know Williams was such a Rush Limbaugh fan.
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Jan 18, 2018 23:44
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Terminally Bored posted:Never played it but remember it getting pretty polarizing reviews back in the day. I was never a Sierra fan tbh but didn't know Williams was such a Rush Limbaugh fan. Huh, I had no idea, and that doesn't gel with the image I had of Sierra at all. The Coles, for example, seem to be incredibly progressive people.
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Jan 18, 2018 23:53
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Peas and Rice posted:Huh, I had no idea, and that doesn't gel with the image I had of Sierra at all. The Coles, for example, seem to be incredibly progressive people. Roberta Williams had an elitist outlook towards her work, at least in the 90s. In response to why adventure games were dying she blamed affordable hardware and consoles as cheapening the market, allowing for dumb casuals (said in kinder words of course) to shape the work of developers.
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Jan 19, 2018 00:16
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Got curious and googled to see what the Williamses are doing these days. Cruising around the oceans in their pretty cool boat, it seems. Good for them.
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Jan 19, 2018 00:26
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Terminally Bored posted:They do: Shoot, I guess I skimmed over that. Sorry. al-azad posted:Roberta Williams had an elitist outlook towards her work, at least in the 90s. In response to why adventure games were dying she blamed affordable hardware and consoles as cheapening the market, allowing for dumb casuals (said in kinder words of course) to shape the work of developers. I remember someone talking about that a while ago, referencing an Old Man Murray article that covered it. The quote, as printed in the article: Roberta Williams posted:Back when I got started, which sounds like ancient history, back then the demographics of people who were into computer games, was totally different, in my opinion, then they are today. Back then, computers were more expensive, which made them more exclusive to people who were maybe at a certain income level, or education level. So the people that played computer games 15 years ago were that type of person. They probably didn't watch television as much, and the instant gratification era hadn't quite grown the way it has lately. I think in the last 5 or 6 years, the demographics have really changed, now this is my opinion, because computers are less expensive so more people can afford them. More "average" people now feel they should own one.
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Jan 19, 2018 03:01
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Terminally Bored posted:gently caress Vice but I have to recommend this article - How Sierra and a Disgraced Cop Made the Most Reactionary Game of the 90s. quote:Naturally, per Gates, gang terror is enabled by social welfare programs: “This is an all-girl Hispanic gang,” Carey reads in the LAPD files. “To enter and stay in the gang a girl must rob at gun-point a retail business. Many of these girls are unwed mothers and receive public assistance.” 
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Jan 19, 2018 03:34
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I vaguely remember reading a few interviews with Ken Williams and thinking he was a piece of poo poo. The Coles in particular always seem like nice (if somewhat deluded when it comes to feasibility and timescale) people, by its notable they were often in conflict with Sierra’s management.
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Jan 19, 2018 11:38
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Peas and Rice posted:Huh, I had no idea, and that doesn't gel with the image I had of Sierra at all. The Coles, for example, seem to be incredibly progressive people.
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Jan 19, 2018 21:17
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SupSuper posted:I imagine you didn't have to share the Williams ideals to work for them, they were very business-oriented and plucked designers of all kinds. Makes sense. I was passing acquaintances with Lorelei Shannon at one point (the writer/designer of Phantasmagoria 2, which was progressive AF for its time) and I know she left Sierra under circumstances that she's still not allowed to (or won't) talk about. Take from that what you will.
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Jan 19, 2018 22:14
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