Every time it appears I'm finally about to run out of What's Your Story responses, someone sends their answers through in the nick of time. This time it's Laukku that has come to the rescue! Another reader from that "traditionally forgotten land between Sweden and Russia", Laukku is already proving to be a welcome and knowledgable (particularly when it comes to audio) member of The Adventure Gamer community. So without further ado...
Laukku: No comment would do this image justice
My home country is… Finland, a very fine land indeed :-)
My age is… 20. I was born on the 2nd of April, just after April Fool's day.
The first adventure game I played was… Probably Monkey Island 1 or 2, but I was so young that I don't really remember. Heck, I didn't even understand English back then and still they were some of my favourite games!
My favourite adventure game is… Gabriel Knight 1. I just really like exiting thriller-type mystery stories, especially in adventure games. GK1 in particular has so many exiting, memorable moments! I would talk more about them but then I'd have to spoil you.
After the "best games ever" discussions this week, I want to play this game more than ever!
When I’m not playing games I like to… Draw and play the violin.
The one TV show I never miss is… Sherlock. Can't wait for the next season. In the meantime I'm watching Elementary, currently airing in Finland as Holmes NYC. It's another Sherlock Holmes set in modern times, in New York, if you didn't guess. ;-) What really got me interested in it was reading a description of its version of Watson: A young female Asian living in the US, and is apparently smart enough to do her own deductions and research. It made me think instantly of Grace Nakimura from the Gabriel Knight series!
I like my games in (a box, digital format)… copied to my hard disk, but just for the sake of convenience. I do have the original boxes of Legend of Kyrandia 1 and Kings' Quest V around, though.
King's Quest V: Would anyone really willingly go back to this?
The thing I miss about old games is… the many completely different audio and video technologies. For music especially, there were FM synthesis (AdLib and the Sound Blasters, Sega Genesis), low-fi PCM samples (SNES, Amiga, Macintosh), and MIDI (MT-32 and General MIDI). Sometimes I go to YouTube to compare the various ports of old games, or try out a game with a different video or audio card selected (well, the ones that DOSBox emulates). I like fiddling with the original configuration programs and it's one of the reasons I prefer playing games in DOSBox instead of ScummVM.
The best thing about modern games is… 3D environments. I've been playing the Frogwares Sherlock Holmes games recently, and the ability to actually explore things in detail and in first-person greatly adds to the immersion.
I rarely look at modern games these days, so I'm always surprised when I see the quality of the graphics
If I could see any band live it would be… The Beatles, I guess. I'm not much of a fan of any modern bands or even pop music in general, and the whole Beatles appearing alive today would be a miracle worth attending. (No, I didn't misunderstand what you meant by "live". ;-) I know English well enough.)
My favourite movie is… Mad Max 2, currently. I'm not even much of an action film fan, but the first time I saw it several months ago, I was absolutely awed throughout the film by how well made it was. I tend to watch films very analytically, and pick out any weaknesses in them (such as violations of "show don't tell", pacing problems...). There weren't any major flaws in that film that I could recognise. It was super entertaining. The characters were smart and believable. It was stylish, with good music and writing. Even just the opening narration is awesome.
I seriously don't think I've seen this movie since I was about 14. Your comment has made me want to revisit it!
One interesting thing about me is… I guess I'll use this section for random trivia that didn't fit anywhere else. Ilmari wanted to know the story behind my username, so here goes: My first name IRL is Lauri, and my family calls me with various nicknames that share the first syllable, such as simply "Lau", or random Finnish nouns such as "Laukku" (bag, case) or "Laukaus" (gunshot). I decided to use "Laukku" as my standard Internet username. I also have a YouTube account (http://www.youtube.com/user/laukkuthegreit) with various random videos of DOS games.
I really am out of responses now, so if anyone else wants to send theirs through and get 20 CAPs in the process, please send them to theadventuregamer@gmail.com.
Next Larry III post will be up tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, here's a riddle:
Just another day at work
Cleaning up the grime
But then I find that I have gone
And travelled back in time
Name the game for 20 CAPs!
Shgher Jnef?
DeleteNever played that game, but it involves time-travel and window cleaning AFAIK.
Right you are Laukku! Future Wars it is! You get the CAPs this time, and at your own party too!
DeleteThe next one will be harder...I promise!
So has anyone mentioned the Kickstarter for Mage's Initiation from the folks at Himalaya Studios? If not here it be: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2112639455/mages-initiation-a-classic-sierra-style-adventure
ReplyDeleteI got the pre-order email today, which pointed to the kickstarter. I'm not surprised they made that choice, it seems like a good avenue at the moment and should help with promoting the game too.
DeleteNow I've just got to consider how much I want to spend!
I actually had the pleasure of making it to the closed beta of Al Emmo. The game had its flaws, but the guys making it absolutely have the right ideals in mind as it comes to adventure gaming. I've no qualms giving them my money, especially after the work they did on the QFG2 remake.
DeleteMan, I love Road Warrior. I'm a big fan of all things post-apoc. And that movie was what kicked it off. Also a big fan of A Boy and his Dog, as far as post-apoc goes.
ReplyDeleteNow go and rewatch Mad Max, the Australian version instead of the American one.
DeleteGOG has added Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail to their evergrowing catalogue.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gog.com/gamecard/leisure_suit_larry_love_for_sail
So glad you didn't mention anything more about Gabriel Knight, just started it a couple of days ago. Must admit I was surprised at how much I enjoy Elementary, no where in the same league as Sherlock, but enjoyable none the less.
ReplyDeleteOkay. I'm no longer able to resist. All this talk of Gabriel Knight (and checking out your youtube and listening to the intro music again) is too much. I'm installing it tonight!
ReplyDeleteYou're going to love it. One of the best, ever.
DeleteQuick note to anyone who has the gog version of Leisure Suit Larry, LSL6 is now the SVGA talkie version
ReplyDeleteLaukku, you're quite young but you seem to appreciate and enjoy quality retro entertainment. I salute you :-)
ReplyDeleteI loved Mad Max 2 too, and it certainly didn't hurt my experience with the first Fallout to see it so influenced by the movie. Loved the ending too, that last shot is haunting.
One line stuck with me: "Lingerie! Oh, remember lingerie?" - it was supposed to be humorous, but I think it drove home effectively the reality of life in the wasteland where all the little luxuries we take for granted have been vaporized.
Laukku: Appreciated the answer to my question, you just don't see many people with Finnish words as usernames. By my count, you're already third Finnish commenter - we are pretty well represented here :-)
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Charles that it's awesome how even the younger generation appreciates these old games.
And I'd suggest not watching Mad Max 3, it's a bit cheesy ending to the series.
I've got to watch 3, as it can't be worse then two. "Gas is super rare, so everyone drives everwhere, really, really, fast!"
DeleteGlad to make you interested TBD! Hopefully you won't suffer any hype backlash.
ReplyDeleteCharles & Ilmari: Thanks! Apparently people are surprised by my age, but many 90's adventure games are a big thing in our family. I guess my parents and older siblings are to blame.
Too late to warn me about Mad Max 3, I suffered it already. :-P It had some very good ideas, but badly put together as a story.
I should mention I've played Gabriel Knight a few times before and loved it every time so don't think this will be any different.
ReplyDeleteI did install but actually haven't had time to play it yet.