I hope he doesn't mind me linking to his fantastic work. It really is an incredible effort.
http://walkthroughs.homeip.net/
Ashley Bennett: Has played many more adventure games than me!
My home country is... Australia - born here and never found a reason to live anywhere else.
My age is... Well it appears I'm a single day older than you - just turned 37 on Sunday.
The first adventure game I played was... Many years ago I had a Vic 20, and that was followed by a Commodore 64. There were a few text adventures like the Infocom classics that I played in those days, but the first adventure game that really sticks in my mind is King's Quest. My dad used to fix TVs and then CRT monitors for people. I distinctly remember one night he called me out to have a look at a game he had started up to check everything was working on a monitor he had fixed. The opening screen of KQ1 was there, with Graham standing outside the castle and the inviting prompt at the bottom, all in glorious orange-screen monochrome. I must have spent a full 30 minutes sitting at the computer (on the floor no less) typing everything I could think of to get Graham to move across the screen. walk. walk left. left. go. run. shit. east. e. help. fuck you. Every time, either nothing happened, it said something like "You can't do that", it ignored me, or it just didn't understand. Anyway the guy came to get his computer and I was still sitting there. In desperation I ran my finger across all the keys and must have managed to turn off num-lock before hitting the arrow keys and suddenly Graham moved! And with that, the power was turned off and the computer was taken home. Needless to say, I pestered the heck out of my parents until a wonderful IBM PC XT made its way into our lives. With CGA graphics!
F............U...........C......
When I'm not playing games I like to... Go running, particularly at night time. Or play with my kids. Or my wife ;)
I like my games in (a box, digital format)... I still like my games in a box. I like having them all lined up, in alphabetical order. Steam is great (and cheap!) but there's something about having a physical thing you can hold in your hands that I will sorely miss if/when they disappear for good.
My favourite adventure game is... Monkey Island 2. Don't get me wrong, I love the improvements to graphics and interface over the years, but there was something about that game that was just magic. My friend and I would both play for 20 minutes, then get on the phone to see how much progress we had each made, then go back and keep playing. We kept that up for a few nights until we had completed it. Ooh, but if I had to pick a second favourite, it would be Spellcasting 101.
For someone as experienced as Ashley to pick this as their second favourite adventure game, it must be good. I'm excited to play it!
The thing I miss about old games is... How much harder they seemed to be. And the fact that you had to always just work things out for yourself. I know I could just exert some self-restraint, but knowing that the FAQ for the latest game I've just purchased is already on the net somehow takes away the thrill.
The best thing about modern games is... The sheer variety, and I guess the fact that if I want a new game, I can just get online and get it. Now.
My favourite movie is... The Matrix. Closely followed by The Fifth Element.
Leeloo Multipass!
The one TV show I never miss is... Game of Thrones and Suits. And I'm working my way through a DVD box set of The Wire at the moment.
If I could see any band live it would be... Muse. They came to my home city last year but I had a wedding to go to, so I couldn't make it.
One interesting thing about me is... In my life away from computer games I spend my working life also in front of a computer - as a radiologist.
If there's anyone else out there that would like to share, or get their hands on 20 sweet CAPs, please send your responses to theadventuregamer@gmail.com.
Mool-tee-pass!
ReplyDeleteI only know that movie as Future Shop used a scene at an opera as its demo TV display for ages. Is it that good? I don't know anything about it.
DeleteSorry, not Future Shop, it was Radio Shack. Back when they had a display of 10 joysticks. Man, whatever happened to PC joysticks and flight sims? Now it is all X-box controllers and gamepads...
DeleteIt was a decently good movie. I think the opera sequence was the best part.
DeleteReally? That scene was crazily gory as I recall.
DeleteOnly at the end when the bad guys shoot the opera star. Otherwise the music was great and Leeloo was winning!
Delete(I though Spellcasting was borderline? Did anyone pay for it?)
ReplyDeleteI just love that story about using the phone to check on your friend's progress. That's similar to what we did in high school, only we checked with each other every day in class (I think we stopped by the time we all got stuck in King's Quest 3 -- turns out playing that without a manual was deceptively difficult).
To me, sharing and exchanging notes is one of the greatest things about adventure gaming. And this site is a great way to recreate at least part of that thrill.
And Trickster, that pic with the kid is gold XD
Thanks. It had me laughing while I was doing it, so I knew I was onto something. :)
DeleteCurrent list says Spellcasting 101 is accepted (and not too far off) but I'm happy to chip in if that turns out to be incorrect... Now I just hope it's not those old rose-tinted lens making it seem better than it really was...
ReplyDeleteNo, I dare say it really was that damn good.
DeleteAnd Trix, when you get there... TURN OFF THE DAMN PARENTAL CONTROL!
According to the "Year Ahead 1990" post it's in thanks to Ilmari. I'm intrigued enough to play along.
ReplyDeleteGOG sale! It has some adventure games as well as others at about 75% off:
Scratches - Director's Cut
Sherlock Holmes: Secret of the Silver Earring
Journey to the Center of the Earth
http://www.gog.com/promo/explore_strange_worlds_weekend_promo_060614
A very good offer in this week's weekly humble bundle:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.humblebundle.com/weekly
A lot of good german adventures like Tiny&Big, The Book of Unwritten Tales or The Night of the Rabbit
*waves at fellow semi-lurker with a what's your story post*
ReplyDeleteThe story of the computer reminded me of my first experience with console games. One summer we went to visit a friend of my mom's. She had a son who had an NES - with Dragon Warrior. I spent most of the visit playing it. And the next summer when we visited again, I played some more. Never finished it though.
*waves back - hmm, never been called a semi-lurker before, but seems apt given the circumstances*
DeleteYes, well, you're not a true lurker if you have any comments and especially not if you have any posts about you. But if you tend to lurk a lot, following along without commenting often, then you're a semi-lurker. ;)
DeleteTo make this comment have some actual value, that computer story reminded me of something else. Anyone see any of the Kids React series trending on YouTube lately? Modern kids who have grown up with smartphones are filmed trying to interact with old Apple II or similar-era computers. Of course, they don't know even how to turn them on at first. Hilarity ensues. I'd post a link, but I'm commenting from my iPhone.
@Reiko - Very similar story. But we were playing Dragon Knight on PC instead of Dragon Warrior on NES.
DeletePlease don't Google it. I think Chet the CRPG Addict also blogged about it before though...
I'm not sure I like your walkthrough of the game that was just played two games ago. The terms 'OH GOD, THE PAIN' were not mentioned once, after all!
ReplyDeleteI do give the fearful note that Spellcasting 101 is (in my opinion, at least) definitely one of those games that you would have had to have a slightly rosy tint to remember favourably. It's not that it's a terrible game - but it's certainly not a fantastic one. The humour in it is consistently good, but the puzzles let it down some (but I haven't played it for quite a while, so I'm not sure on that. Anyone else have any memories of it?)
The thing that concerns me is that perhaps I remember it so fondly because I was a teenage boy and there were titties... :D There were definitely some very satisfying and clever puzzles to be had on some of the islands though if I remember correctly.
DeleteBut it does also have not so good puzzles like the whole vfynaq onfrq ba chaf. Generally it feels like a cross between Meretzky's two earlier games - it has clever puzzles involving use of spells, like Sorcerer, and semi-naughty humor, like Leather Goddesses. A decent game, even if a bit old-fashioned compared with Legend's later games (that is, puzzles and jokes are more important than plot).
DeleteInteresting looking game just released on GOG - Lifeless planet - not sure how Adventurey it is - looks very exploration focused - one of those games that's hard to pin to a genre.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gog.com/game/lifeless_planet
I've watched the opening played by two people; Some puzzles, some platforming. I'm planning on buying it when it goes on sale.
Delete