Why Are We Still Talking About LucasArts' Old Adventure Games? 285
jones_supa writes "The gutting of LucasArts was a tragic loss for the video game industry, but for many of us, it was more than that. By most accounts the last truly great LucasArts game was released almost 15 years ago, and yet, many in the industry still hold these titles as the benchmark. But why is that? Why is it that we still consider these games among our pinnacle achievements as an industry? Why do developers still namedrop Monkey Island in pitch meetings when discussing their proposed game's story? Why do we all continue to mentally associate the word "LucasArts" as the splash screen we see before a graphical adventure game, even though the company hadn't released one in over a decade? Gamasutra has collected a good majority of the answers. Following these responses, as a special treat, Lucasfilm Games veteran David Fox attempts to answer that question with his own insider perspective."
I'll remember the pain. (Score:2, Informative)
The pain.. Oh the pain of trying to install their games on my kids' computers. The incompatibilities with the video and soundblaster cards. The endless trips to buy upgraded hardware, even though you had the hardware already per the side of the box.
My kids loved their stuff, but they haven't been a player in this space, unless it was supporting the venerable Star Wars brand and IMO, that's played out. Once it went to Disney, as foretold in "South Park", expect Mickey to put the merchandising and game tie ins on overdrive.
Full Throttle (Score:5, Informative)
Full Throttle had the greatest opening to a Videogame I have ever seen. I would point to the screen even years later to show people, "There! This is how you do it!" *Movies* didn't get me that juiced.
And while the gameplay itself was reminscent of "Sam and Max hit the Road" (since I believe it used the same SCUMM engine); it was still mighty entertaining. Considering that most CD-ROM based games at that time were terrible "click and wiggle" titles; the stuff that came out of LucasArts during that period was well thought out, richly designed, spectacularly written, and incredibly above-average. It was an exciting time.
Re:nostalgia circlejerk? (Score:5, Informative)
Those games are gone.
Really? I bought Monkey Island 1 and 2 on Steam in 2012. The updated graphics and sound are great, but you can switch it back to the original very easily.
Re:nostalgia circlejerk? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Full Throttle (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Book of Unwritten Tales (Score:5, Informative)
I know everyone wants to complain about adventure games being dead
The genre had quite a down in the early 2000's, but it hasn't been dead for many years. Not only is TellTale putting out adventure games on a regular basis, we also have Wadjet Eye games, Daedalic, Amanita Design and a whole lot of other companies releasing new games all the time. The Walking Dead even managed to grab numerous Game Of The Year awards. The Daedalic games are probably the closest in style to what LucasArts put out back then.
Re:nostalgia circlejerk? (Score:2, Informative)
Yeah, but the touch based interface makes it almost unplayable.
No! TOUCH is perfect for those games. However the right configuration is less than intuitive. You need to check the Mixed Adlib/Midi Box to enable direct touch mode. Otherwise it works in a touchpad emulation mode.
I just replayed MI2 and it was a blast!