Interview with Mike Woodroffe

Introduction by Joe Pranevich

Head of Adventure Soft, Horror Soft, and Adventure International UK

A couple of weeks back, we posted a call for questions for an interview with Mike Woodroffe. And while he hasn’t been able to answer all of our questions, he has been kind enough to give us a peek into the thought processes behind one of the most important adventure game companies in Europe, if not globally. Here on The Adventure Gamer, we’ve still only scratched the surface of his catalog, covering Seas of Blood (1984), Robin Of Sherwood (1984), Elvira (1990), and Elvira II (1991). I know of at least ten more adventures that he created or was heavily involved in, several of which are already on the list for us to play in the future. Almost two dozen more were games that he helped shepherd to market in his role as head of several adventure game companies. He has made a terrific impact on our genre and I’m glad that he agreed to take some time to speak with us.

So without any more fanfare, here is our brief interview with Mr. Woodroffe, plus some bonus information from my correspondence with him over the last several weeks.

Call for Questions for Mike Woodroffe

Introduction by Joe Pranevich

If you’re like me, you’ve asked yourself more than once, “Who was it that got the brilliant idea to combine a 1980s horror movie personality with adventure and RPG game elements to create the Elvira series?” Or who it was that brought Scott Adams-style adventure gaming to Europe? Or who was the mad genius behind a cornucopia of licensed adventure games based on He-Man, Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, Robin Hood, and even Super Gran, a British TV series about a grandmother that gets super powers?