LucasArts adventure games

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For the 1998 titleGrim Fandango, LucasArts retired the SCUMM engine in favor of a new 3D engine.[4]The GrimE (Grim Engine) technology was created, using theSithengine as a base and coded usingLua.[5]The new engine resulted in a redesign in control and gameplay: instead of using point-and-click mechanics, the player uses the keyboard or agamepadto interact with the game.Full-motion videocut scenes are used to advance the plot, stylized to be nearly indistinguishable from the in-game backgrounds. GrimE was also atrue 3Dengine: characters are collections of 3D-rendered polygons.[6]

Archivedfrom the original on 2011-10-05

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Many of the games shared similar game interfaces and technology, powered bySCUMM(Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion). After 1997, these games transitioned into3D graphicswith theGrimEgame engine. Common features between the games includein-jokereferences to both other LucasArts games andLucasfilmproductions, as well as other running gags, such as Chuck the Plant andSam & Maxcameo appearances, that spanned numerous games. Most of the games were designed by the people with experience from creating preceding adventure games for LucasArts, whilst the same composers were involved in the majority of productions.

Aric Wilmunders archiveof LucasArts adventure game design documents

. Adventure Advocate. 2006-07-04. Archived fromthe originalon 2008-12-11

(2009) updated the original game with high resolution artwork.

Adams, David (2004-03-24).Missing in Action: The Lost Games of the PC. IGN.Archivedfrom the original on 2012-02-11

Labyrinthwas followed in 1987 byManiac Mansion.Maniac Mansionwas the creation ofRon Gilbertand Gary Winnick, and marked the debut ofSCUMM, thegame enginethat powered all but two of LucasArts later adventure games. The game was also the first LucasArts adventure game to be released forDOS.Maniac Mansionwas LucasArts first fullgraphic adventure game, using apoint-and-clickinterface rather than the text-based gameplay seen inLabyrinth. A menu of verbs allows the player to choose how to interact with the games environment.Maniac Mansionaims to parody thehorrorgenre. The game was subject to several enhancements and re-releases, and was included as a game within a game in its sequel,Day of the Tentacle.[2]

The Greatest Games of All Time: The Only Good Tentacle Is a Green TentacleGameSpot. 2004-04-30. Archived fromthe originalon 2004-11-24

Following the success of the first special edition, LucasArts released the sequel,Monkey Island 2 Special Edition, in the summer of 2010.[1]Like the original special edition, the second special edition used an updated engine that supported high resolution graphics, and utilized the original games resource files. This time, since the game used the iMuse system, the engine had to be modified to run the new live orchestra music in various arrangements that simulated the shift in tone and pitch from scene to scene that iMuse performed on the original midi music. The second special edition featured a change in control scheme as well as a change in art direction due to criticism of the first special edition.[11]

Double Fine Productionshas remasteredGrim Fandangoin 2015,Day of the Tentaclein 2016, andFull Throttlein 2017.

The TeamTelltale Games. 2009-06-01.Archivedfrom the original on 2009-06-02

The LucasArts golden guy logo, used during the companys adventure game golden years

, San Francisco: Game Developers Conference,archivedfrom the original on 2015-05-13

This article includes alist of references, but

As various designers left LucasArts, new companies were created to produce adventure games in similar styles to those created by LucasArts.Monkey Islandcreator Ron Gilbert, who left LucasArts after the completion ofLeChucks Revenge, went on to foundHumongous Entertainment, in 1992. The company was primarily a childrens game developer, but they also developed titles aimed at more mature audiences under theCavedog Entertainmentlabel. Humongous created several series of point-and-click adventure games aimed at children, some of which used SCUMM.[22]

Butts, Steve (2004-03-03).Sam and Max Cancelled. IGN.Archivedfrom the original on 2010-04-13

.Archivedfrom the original on May 30, 2016

Graphic Adventures, a book about the history of LucasArts and Sierra games

Zak McKracken: Between Time and Space

In 1989, LucasArts released their first adaptation of one ofLucasfilmsmajor franchises:Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, based on thefilm of the same name. The game again upgraded the SCUMM engines capabilities, but kept similar gameplay. The project was led by Ron Gilbert, David Fox and Noah Falstein; it was Foxs last adventure game for the company. A quotient point system, referred to as Indy Quotient, allowed the player to overcome puzzles in several different ways, such as fighting a guard, sneaking past the guard, or convincing the guard to allow the player to pass.

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Residual!The International House of MojoArchivedfrom the original on 2012-12-26

.Telltale Games. 2007-07-24. Archived fromthe originalon 2007-12-31

Later in 1995,The Digwas published. Production had started in 1989, howeverThe Digwas plagued with development problems. The final version of the game was overseen by Sean Clark, although two previous versions had involved Noah Falstein, Brian Moriarty and Dave Grossman. The games story itself was envisioned bySteven Spielberg, who had concluded that a film version would be prohibitively expensive. Spielbergs story focused on a group of astronauts becoming stranded on an alien world while on a mission to stop an asteroid hitting Earth.The Digused the SCUMM engine and the INSANE technology. In addition, fellow Lucasfilm companyIndustrial Light & Magicwas involved in the games special effects. Michael Land composed the games music, which included excerpts, many as short as one or two chords, fromRichard Wagnerswork.[3]

In June 2009, LucasArts announced anenhanced remakeof the 1990 titleThe Secret of Monkey Island, with the intent of bringing the old game to a new audience.[1]According to LucasArts, this announcement was just the start of LucasArts new mission to revitalize its deep portfolio of beloved gaming franchises. Described by British journalistJohn Walkeras a cautious toe in the water for LucasArts,[9]the move was prompted by LucasArts president Darrell Rodriguez, who had assumed the post only two months prior.[9]According to Walker, many LucasArts employees had grown up playing the games from the 1990s, suggesting that should the renewed endeavour be successful, the developers would be keen to continue with further adventure titles.[9]

A sequel toThe Secret of Monkey Island,Monkey Island 2: LeChucks Revenge, followed in 1991. As with its predecessor, it was designed by Ron Gilbert, Dave Grossman and Tim Schafer, though it would be Gilberts last work for LucasArts. The game once again placed the player in the position of Guybrush Threepwood, searching for a fabled treasure in the Caribbean. Gameplay remained mostly unchanged fromThe Secret of Monkey Island, though the games user interface was simplified to be more user-friendly.LeChucks Revengeagain featured music by Michael Land, although Land was joined byClint BajakianandPeter McConnell. In addition, the game marked the debut ofiMUSE(Interactive Music Streaming Engine), a system developed by Land and McConnell that allowed for the games MIDI music to be synchronised with the visuals.

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The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition

Following the focus on theManiac Mansion,Monkey IslandandIndiana Jonesfranchises, LucasArts developed a game based on a different existing franchise in 1993 withSam & Max Hit the Road. Designed bySean ClarkMichael StemmleSteve Purcelland Collette Michaud, the game was based on comic book charactersSam and Max, which were created by Purcell. As withDay of the Tentacle, the game featured a full voice soundtrack upon release. The players interaction with the games environment was redesigned. Command functions were compressed into a number of cursor modes instead of having a list of verb actions to choose from on screen, and the inventory system was moved to an off-screen menu. The more streamlined interface allowed for more of the screen to be dedicated to gameplay. Land, Bajakian and McConnell returned to score the games music. While Bajakian did not compose any further LucasArts adventure games, he was still involved with sound production in later titles (note: he is credited as both a music supervisor and one of 4 composers onEscape From Monkey Island).

SCUMM makes a comeback in Indie Indy GameKotakuArchivedfrom the original on 2010-02-13

Grim Fandangowas created by Tim Schafer, his final work for LucasArts. The game follows the tale of Manny Calavera, a travel agent in the Land of the Dead, as he becomes embroiled in a web of crime and corruption. As well as drawing inspiration fromAztecconcepts of theafterlife,Grim Fandangois strongly rooted infilm noirtradition. Peter McConnell composed the musical score; as with Schafer, this was McConnells last LucasArts project. As withThe Curse of Monkey Island, the game was only released for Windows.

Walker, John (2008-02-19).Michael Stemmle Joins Telltale. Rock, Paper, Shotgun.Archivedfrom the original on 2009-06-06

LucasArts at E3G4tv. 2006.Archivedfrom the original on 2012-10-16

Walker, John (2009-06-09).RPS At E3: Returns To Monkey Island. Rock, Paper, Shotgun.Archivedfrom the original on 2009-06-10

Gilbert, Ron(2009-06-01).Stuff and Things and

In the aftermath ofFreelance Polices cancellation in 2004, LucasArts dismissed many of their designers who worked on adventure games.[19][23]Most of theFreelance Policedevelopment team, includingBrendan Q. Ferguson, Dave Grossman andChuck Jordan, formedTelltale Gamesin 2005, to continue the development of graphic adventures.[24]Michael Stemmle, the lead designer ofFreelance Police, joined the company in 2008.[25]In 2005, LucasArts license with Steve Purcell concerning theSam & Maxfranchise expired. Purcell, who had left LucasArts in 1997, moved the franchise to Telltale Games. The company subsequently releasedSam & Max Save the Worldinepisodicfashion from late 2006 to early 2007.[26]A second run ofSam & Maxgames,Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space, was released across late 2007 and early 2008. The thirdSam & MaxseasonThe Devils Playhousewas released in 2010.[27]At theElectronic Entertainment Expoin 2009, LucasArts announced a collaboration with Telltale Games to create a new series of episodic adventure games,Tales of Monkey Island.[1]Development of this project was led byDave Grossman, withMichael Stemmleassisting with design and story production. The development team also included members with past experience from bothThe Curse of Monkey IslandandEscape from Monkey Island.[28]In addition, series creatorRon Gilbertwas involved in the early design of the project.[29]Sam and Max were also included in the casual poker games developed by Telltale Games,Poker Night at the Inventory, released in 2010, and its sequel,Poker Night 2, released in 2013.[30]The company has gone on to develop other episodic adventure games from licensed properties, reaching critical success with their series ofThe Walking Deadgames.

After Darkness Comes the Light (Part 2).

The second title to use GrimE and the final original LucasArts adventure game to be released wasEscape from Monkey Island. Released in 2000, the game is the fourth installment in theMonkey Islandseries. The games development was led by Sean Clark and Michael Stemmle. The GrimE technology was slightly modified for the game, althoughEscape from Monkey Islandwas in most respects similar toGrim Fandangoin both graphics and gameplay.Escape from Monkeyagain follows Guybrush Threepwood, this time attempting to deal with an Australian land developer attempting to eradicate piracy through a voodoo talisman. The games music was created by five different composers: Michael Land, a different composer coincidentally named Michael Lande, Bajakian, McConnell, and Anna Karney.[7]In addition to the Windows version, support was added forMac OS 9and aPlayStation 2version was released in 2001.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis

EurogamerArchivedfrom the original on 2009-02-07

This page was last edited on 15 May 2018, at 18:00.

AnotherFull Throttlesequel began production in 2002. EntitledFull Throttle: Hell on Wheels, the game was to be for thePlayStation 2andXboxconsoles. In contrast to the originalFull Throttle,Hell on Wheelswas to be anaction-adventure game. Development was headed by Sean Clark, his last work for the company.Hell on Wheelswas showcased at the 2003Electronic Entertainment Expo, where a playable demonstration and ateaser trailerwere displayed. Despite this, LucasArts halted production in late 2003. Commentators cited poor graphics compared to other action-adventures of the time and Schafers lack of involvement in the project as possible reasons for the decision.[14]Additionally,Roy Conrad, the voice actor for the series protagonist, had died in 2002.

A sister project ofScummVM, calledResidualVM, is developing afreeimplementation of the GrimE engine byreverse engineeringthe original.[8]

DeMaria, Rusel.An Interview with Ron GilbertGameSpot

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personal recollection as audio director and interactive music designer on the game

Developers Form New StudioGamasutraArchivedfrom the original on 2013-12-30

The twelfth and final game to utilize SCUMM technology was the 1997 titleThe Curse of Monkey Island. The game was the third entry in theMonkey Islandseries, and the first not to involve series creator Ron Gilbert. Development was instead led byJonathan AckleyandLarry Ahern. For its final outing, the SCUMM engine was completely overhauled to produce significantly more advanced graphics than any previous LucasArts adventure game. The resulting distinctcartoonstyle was created by artistBill Tiller.The Curse of Monkey Islandfeatured slightly refined gameplay based on the pie menu interface used inFull Throttle. The character of Guybrush Threepwood returns, with a voice actor for the first time in the series, in an effort to save his girlfriend from a voodoo curse. Michael Land once again composed the games score.The Curse of Monkey Islandwould mark the end of support for DOS; the game was released on CD-ROM solely for Windows.

How Evil Dead, Venture Bros. and Borderlands ended up at the poker tablePolygon. 2013-05-07.Archivedfrom the original on 2013-06-06

Following the release ofEscape from Monkey Islandin 2000, LucasArts put three further adventure games into development. However, all three were later canceled. The first of these wasFull Throttle: Payback, a sequel toFull Throttlethat began production in early 2000.[12]Tim Schafer, the original creator ofFull Throttle, was not involved in the project. Instead, development was led by Larry Ahern and Bill Tiller, who had both worked onThe Curse of Monkey Island.[13]In the early stages, the project received positive feedback from other LucasArts employees. According to Tiller, however,Paybackeventually fell apart because of disagreements over the games style between the development team and a particularly influential person within the management division. Production ceased in November 2000, when a quarter of the levels and about 40 percent of the preproduction art were complete.[14]Ahern and Tiller both left LucasArts in 2001.[12]

. LucasArts Fan Network, LLC. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-01-05

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: a conversation with Bill Tiller. Adventure Classing Gaming.Archivedfrom the original on 2009-02-28

Monkey Island 2: Special Edition announcedbit-tech. 2010-03-11. Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-03

Grim Fandango ReviewGameSpotArchivedfrom the original on 2012-03-31

The first game to adopt the design philosophy wasLoom. After designer Brian Moriarty learned that players tended to list as their favourite Infocom games those they had completed, he designedLoomso that it would be impossible to lose.[21]AfterLoomthe sole exception wasFate of Atlantis, as the designers felt that player death was necessary to create tension, which was required for an Indiana Jones story.

Gilbert worked with Winnick, Fox and Ferrari to developThimbleweed Park, which released at the end of March 2017. The game, also funded through Kickstarter, was designed as an homage to the early LucasArts adventures mimicking the original 8-bit style interface.

The third LucasArts adventure game wasZak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders, designed by David Fox, Matthew Kane, David Spangler and Ron Gilbert. Set within ascience fictionsetting, the game was released in 1988. It used a slightly upgraded version of the SCUMM engine, but adopted the same control and gameplay methods of the earlier games.Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbendersintroduced digital music to LucasArts adventure games in the form ofMIDI.

announcedGameSpot. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-07-17

LucasArts Entertainment Companyofficial website

Telltale Games Sam & Max: The Devils Playhouse premiere episode The Penal Zone will release April 15th.

Meer, Alec (2009-06-01).LeChuck Me:

In 2004, after a string of titles that never reached release, LucasArts ceased development on graphic adventure games. Many of the development staff involved in the making of these games moved on to form new companies, continuing to produce similar games at studios such asTelltale GamesDouble Fine Productions, andAutumn Moon Entertainment. In 2009, however, LucasArts announced a collaboration with Telltale to revive theMonkey Island series, one of the old LucasArts adventure franchises, as well as stating its intent to revisit its past portfolio. This collaboration brought the LucasArts developedspecial editionsof the first two Monkey Island games and the Telltale helmed adventure gameTales of Monkey Island.[1]

LucasArts first adventure game was the 1986 titleLabyrinth. The games development was led byDavid Fox, with contributions fromDouglas AdamsChristopher CerfNoah FalsteinandBrenda Laurel. Based on thefilm of the same name, it is LucasArts first video game adaptation of a film. It is the only adventure game not published by LucasArts, asLabyrinthwas published and distributed byActivision.Labyrinthdiffers significantly from later LucasArts adventure games as it usestext parser gameplayas the main means of play.

According to LucasArts game design philosophy, the player should be entertained, focusing on story and exploration, instead of being excessively punished for mistakes or frustrated by trial and error. Their adventure games would not contain dead ends nor player death, unlike the majority of early adventure games such as those of Sierra.

From the late 1980s to the early 2000s,LucasArtswas well known for their point-and-clickgraphic adventure games, nearly all of which received high scoring reviews at the time of their release. Their style tended towards the humorous, often irreverent orslapstick humor, with the exceptions ofLoomandThe Dig. Their game design philosophy was that the player should never die or reach a completedead-end, although there were exceptions.

Please help toimprovethis article byintroducingmore precise citations.

GameSpot. Archived fromthe originalon 2014-10-04

Kerr, Chris (March 23, 2016).SCUMM co-creator digs up game design treasure trove.

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The final attempt by LucasArts to develop an original adventure game wasSam & Max: Freelance Police, a sequel to the 1993 titleSam & Max Hit the Road. The game was announced for Windows in 2002 as a counterpart toHell on Wheels. Michael Stemmle, one of the co-designers forSam & Max Hit the Road, was the lead designer for the project. Series creator Steve Purcell, who had left LucasArts in 1997, worked as an advisor for the development team.Freelance Policewas displayed alongsideHell on Wheelsat the 2003 E3 convention, where the games trailer was revealed.[15]Although development appeared to be proceeding smoothly,Freelance Policewas abruptly canceled in early 2004, just a few weeks before the games marketing campaign was about to begin. LucasArts cited current market place realities and underlying economic considerations as the reasons for their decision.[16]Commentators, however, felt that the move was representative of a perceived decline in the adventure game genre, and that LucasArts was moving to maintain its position with low business riskStar Wars-themed titles instead of the high risk graphic adventure games that had brought success in earlier years.[17][18][19]LucasArts subsequently dismissed many of the designers involved with developing their adventure games, and in 2006 LucasArts president Jim Ward stated that the company may return to developing adventure games in 2015,[20]effectively ending their adventure game era.[19]

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Editionran in an engine updated for high definition graphics that utilized the original games resources, including the original SCUMM scripts. The special edition featured new high definition art and music played by a live orchestra. The original DOS CD version of the game was playable at any time with the press of a button.[10]

Tim Schafer, the creator ofFull ThrottleandGrim Fandango, left LucasArts at the beginning of 2000 to foundDouble Fine Productions. Among their games includeThe Cave, a game designed by Gilbert and developed by Double Fine, inspired by the multiple-character approach ofManiac Mansion, andBroken Age, a point-and-click adventure game financed bycrowdfundingthroughKickstarter, one of the first games demonstrating this as a viable mechanism for game development. Double Fine has been able to engage in acquiring the rights to the LucasArts games for making remasters. To date, they have releasedGrim Fandango Remastered(2015),Day of the Tentacle Remastered(2016), andFull Throttle Remastered (2017).

Aric Wilmunder, one of the co-creators of the SCUMM engine, had taken some of the original design documents for the LucasArts games when he left the company. Sometime later, he decided to return these back to LucasArts, but the company suggested that since Wilmunder had kept his copies safe for years, that Wilmunder keep the whole set of documents together. Wilmunder has subsequently been working with an archivist at Stanford to preserve all the documents and potential donation to a museum, while scanning all of the documents and providing these on the Internet, along with transcribing the source code for SCUMM toGitHub.[31]

Returns. Rock, Paper, Shotgun.Archivedfrom the original on 2009-06-05

Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders

Ratliff, Marshall; Jong, Philip (2008-08-26).The rise and fall of

Feldman, Curt (2004-08-13).LucasArts undergoing major restructuring

In 1989, while designing the first Monkey Island game, Ron Gilbert wrote an article titledWhy Adventure Games Suckoutlining what he perceived to be design flaws in adventure games of the time.

.Future plc. 2006-08-26. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-10-12

Loomwas the fourth game to utilize the SCUMM engine and was released in 1990. Designed byBrian Moriarty, the game was set in afantasysetting. As well as updating the engines graphics,Loommarked a major deviation in interacting with the games world. Instead of using the standard point-and-click interface of previous games,Loomrequires players to use four-note musical tunes to create spells on objects or other characters.Loomalso introduced the game design philosophy that the player character cannot reach a dead-end or die; this design decision was applied to all later adventure games, with the exception of Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. A laterCD-ROMre-releaseadded Red BookCD-DAmusic featuring the compositions ofPyotr Tchaikovskyand a full voice soundtrack (although, as a consequence of using Red BookCD-DAfor the speech, the dialogue script had to be shortened considerably to fit on the CD-ROM).

In 1995, after a year-long hiatus from adventure games, LucasArts releasedFull Throttle.Full Throttlewas designed by Tim Schafer, and follows the story of Ben, abikerin adystopianfuture who has been framed for murder. It was the first LucasArts adventure game to be released forWindows, although support for DOS was still retained. The game was the tenth to use the SCUMM engine, which had undergone further enhancements. The game kept a modified version of the streamlined interface used inSam & Max Hit the Road, but introduced a contextualpie menuthat dictated how players interacted with the game.Full Throttlefeatured technology calledINSANE(Interactive Streaming Animation Engine) to assist withcut sceneanimation and the games action sequences. The games musical score was produced by Peter McConnell, and incorporated a title theme byThe Gone Jackals.Full Throttlewas the first LucasArts adventure game to be distributed only on CD-ROM.

The evolution of an extension language: a history of LuaLuaArchivedfrom the original on 2014-01-03

Day of the Tentacleis the sequel to the 1987 titleManiac Mansion. Released in 1993, it was designed by Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman and focused on saving humanity from a megalomanic mutant tentacle by usingtime travel. It was Grossmans last project for LucasArts before leaving in 1994. The game featured a further upgrade in the SCUMM engine to enhance the graphics capabilities.Day of the Tentacles music was composed by Michael Land, Clint Bajakian and Peter McConnell, who composed the themes for the future, past and present settings of the game respectively.Day of the Tentaclewas the first game to drop support for older, less successful platforms, instead initially releasing only forDOSandMac OS. The game was one of the first video games to feature a full voice soundtrack upon its release.

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Telltale Announces Sam & Max: The Devils Playhouse Epic Five Game Comedy Saga Debuting on PSN(Press release). Telltale Games. 2010-03-12.Archivedfrom the original on 2010-03-15

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition ReviewIGN. 2009-07-15

Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts

The 1992 titleIndiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantiswas the second LucasArts adventure game based on theIndiana Jonesfranchise. Unlike its predecessor,The Fate of Atlantisfeatured an entirely original storyline. The development was led byHal Barwoodand Noah Falstein, the latter of whom was one of the co-designers ofThe Last Crusade.The Fate of Atlantiswas Falsteins last LucasArts project. The game incorporated the Indy Quotient system fromThe Last Crusadeto allow the game to be completed in several ways. A 1993CD-ROMre-releaseadded a full voice soundtrack.

Special editions and remakes (2009present)

The Secret of Monkey Islandis the first game in theMonkey Islandseriesand was released in 1990. The game, noted for its greater use of witty humor over previous titles, was designed by Ron Gilbert,Dave GrossmanandTim Schafer. The concept itself was pioneered by Gilbert. Following the deviation in gameplay inLoom,The Secret of Monkey Islandreturned to similar point-and click gameplay featured inIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The SCUMM engine was again upgraded for the title. Set in the Caribbean in theGolden Age of Piracy, the game introducedGuybrush Threepwood, a hapless amateur pirate. The games MIDI music soundtrack was the first to feature work byMichael Land. TheCD-ROMre-releaseadded a new CD-audio music soundtrack, and updated the games graphical user interface.