GAMEPLAN

… that weren’t made by LucasArts!

This is a video I made after reading and enjoying an article in Retro Gamer magazine issue 84 – the article detailed the best 20 adventure games that weren’t made by LucasArts and I liked the cut of its gib! So, I decided so spend a bit of time (read: a lot of time) making this video so that people can enjoy the article in a more visual manner.

Known problems with the video include:
My rubbish narration
No footage for Game 16 and barely any screenshots available
Generally quite rough around the edges

But hopefully it’ll still be enjoyable to a few of you and fingers crossed it will highlight some games to you that perhaps you’ve never played, or maybe you’ve played before but wouldn’t mind another crack at it. All in all, I just want this to spark a bit of debate and a bit of nostalgia.

If people like this, I’ll endeavour to make more in the future.

Duration : 0:36:49

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Technorati Tags: 20, 25th, Adventure, adventuresoft, affair, anniversary, beast, beneath, blade, bond, Broken, corpse, count, countdown, cruise, delphine, Down, express, for, gabriel, gamer, games, gone, greatest, heir, hideo, james, Jane, Jensen, jordan, Journey, king's, knight, kojima, Larry, Last, Leisure, Longest, love, lucasarts, mouth, must, operation, policenauts, quest, retro, revolution, runner, sail, sanitarium, scream, sierra, simon, sky, snatcher, sorceror, Space, star, stealth, Steel, Suit, Sword, today, tomorrow, top, top20, Trek, within

First launched in 1989, The Sierra Network (TSN) or the ImagiNation Network (INN) was a graphics-heavy online gaming network that was truly ahead of its time. Unfortunately for TSN, maybe TOO ahead of its time; after all, these were the days of 2400 baud modems and 286 and 386 PC’s. (Before everyone was surfing the world wide web!) Created by legendary computer game company Sierra Online, known for King’s Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, Space Quest and dozens of other bestselling games.

Duration : 0:2:31

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Technorati Tags: 90's, computer, Game, games, Imagination, INN, ken, Larry, Leisure, network, Nineties, Online, Roberta, sierra, Suit, The, TSN, Williams

This is a selection of different songs found in some classic PC adventure games. Just a sampling of some of my favorite music featured in many of my favorite adventure games. Do you remember an adventure game that had great music? Post your favorite tunes from your favorite games in the comments or post a video reply with your favorite adventure game music.

Hope you enjoy!

Track List:

1. Dune Variation – Stephane Picq
(From “Dune”)

2. Freeing the Black Jaguar – Dan Kehler
(From “Eco Quest 2: Lost Secret of the Rainforest”)

3. The Crab Raft – M. Land, C. Bajakian, P. McConnell
(From “Indiana Jones: The Fate of Atlantis”)

4. Gabriel Knight Opening Theme – Robert Holmes
(From “Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers”)

5. The Timbermist Woods – Frank Klepacki
(From “The Legend of Kyrandia”)

6. Loom Main Theme – Tchaikovsky (arr. by FatMan)
(From “Loom”)

7. Closing Credits – Bob Siebenberg
(From “Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon”)

8. The Secret of Monkey Island Theme – Michael Land
(From “The Secret of Monkey Island”)

9. Cassima’s Theme – Mark Seibert & Ken Allen
(From “Kings Quest 5: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder”)

10. Cathedral of the Lost – Michael Land
(From “The Dig”)

11. The Oracle – Chris Braymen
(From “King Quest 6: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow”)

Duration : 0:9:59

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Technorati Tags: Adventure Game, Chris Braymen, Dan Kehler, Dune, EcoQuest 2, Fate of Atlantis, Frank Klepacki, Gabriel Knight, Indiana Jones, Ken Allen, Kings Quest 5, Kings Quest 6, Kyrandia, Loom, lucasarts, Mark Seibert, Michael Land, MT-32, PC Game Music, Robert Holmes, sierra, Sins of the Fathers, Stephane Picq, The Dig, The Legend of Kyrandia

A short video that gives you a peek into the golden age of Computer adventure games from Sierra On-Line with appearances by Roberta Williams, Jane Jensen and Bill Skirvin. This video dates from around 1991-92, back when hand-drawn animation, watercolor backgrounds, motion captured video and an original musical score were the primary foundation of a game compared to today’s cookie-cutter productions. Enjoy the Memories!

Duration : 0:3:52

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Technorati Tags: Adventure, bill, classic, comptuer, Game, Jane, Jensen, king's, making, On-Line, quest, Roberta, sierra, skirvin, VGA, vintage, Williams

A shorter version (without the screenshots) of a tribute to Sierra games and the people behind them. Does anyone know where the music is from?

King’s Quest
Space Quest
Leisure Suit Larry
Conquests of Camelot
Conquests of the Longbow
Gabriel Knight
Laura Bow
Police Quest
Freddy Pharkas

Jane Jensen
Al Lowe
Roberta Williams
Ken Williams
Mark Crowe
Scott Murphy
Christy Marx
Lori and Corey Cole
Mark Seibert
Josh Mandel

Duration : 0:2:37

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Technorati Tags: Adventure, computer, Game, Glory, Hero's, king's, Online, quest, sierra, Space

Discovey Channel’s “The Age of Videogames”. This was their take on computer games. It features interviews with Ken Williams, Roberta Williams and Al Lowe.

Duration : 0:5:45

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Technorati Tags: Adventure, al, games, ken, king's, Larry, Leisure, lowe, quest, Roberta, sierra, Suit, Williams

Unforgettable games! This movie is a tribute to all the classic Sierra On-Line games and also to EVERY person from Sierra who helped bring us these games.

A few people have asked me who all the faces were at the end of the video (I wish I had included their names in the video along with their pictures). In order of appearance after Ken and Roberta: Scott Murphy and Mark Crowe (“Space Quest” designers, as the Two Guys from Andromeda), Al Lowe (creator of “Leisure Suit Larry”), Christy Marx (“Conquests of Camelot” and “Conquests of the Longbow” designer, beautifully rendered holding Excalibur on the cover of “Sierra Magazine”), Lori and Corey Cole (creators of the “Quest for Glory” series), Josh Mandel (“Freddy Pharkas” co-designer, who also contributed to a wide variety of Sierra On Line products), Mark Seibert (musician and composer of some of Sierra’s most famous themes) and Jane Jensen (best known as the designer of the Gabriel Knight series). Of course, so many other wonderfully talented and hardworking people from Sierra no doubt also deserve recognition for their work in providing us with such great entertainment over the years. I also wish I had been able to include all of them in this video. Finally, someone mentioned that the end of the video seems a bit random with magazine and game box covers, but that run-through is just to show the incredibly prolific nature of Sierra and its evolving and consistently top quality products over nearly 20 years.

King’s Quest
Space Quest
Leisure Suit Larry
Police Quest
Quest for Glory
Gabriel Knight
Conquests of the Longbow
Laura Bow
Freddy Pharkas

These games rocked!

Duration : 0:7:50

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Technorati Tags: 64, Adventure, America, Amiga, Apple, Arcade, Atari, Blizzard, Card, Cards, Class, Comedy, Commodore, computer, Day, Disney, EGA, Game, games, Henson, IBM, Indiana, Jane, Jensen, Jim, Jones, JR, Keyboard, king's, Larry, Leisure, Line, lucasarts, Microsoft, Mouse, Naked, NES, Nintendo, Nudity, of, on, On-Line, Online, PC, PCJR, Playing, quest, retro, Roberta, Role, RPG, Sex, sierra, Sound, Space, Suit, Tentacle, The, Topless, USA, VGA, Video, Warcraft, Williams, World, WOW

History of adventure games (63 Adventure Games in 2 minutes).

1980 Zork (Infocom)
1980 Mystery House (Sierra)
1984 King’s Quest (Sierra)
1986 Space Quest (Sierra)
1987 Leisure Suit Larry (Sierra)
1987 Police Quest (Sierra)
1987 Maniac Mansion (LucasArts)
1988 Gold Rush! (Sierra)
1988 Zack McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders (LucasArts)
1989 Colonel’s Bequest (Sierra)
1989 Quest for Glory/Hero’s Quest (Sierra)
1990 Conquests of Camelot (Sierra)
1990 King’s Quest V (Sierra)
1990 Loom (LucasArts)
1991 Gobliiins (Sierra)
1990 The Secret of Monkey Island (LucasArts)
1991 Space Quest IV (Sierra)
1991 Police Quest III (Sierra)
1991 Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge (LucasArts)
1991 Leisure Suit Larry 5 (Sierra)
1992 Dark Seed (Cyberdreams)
1992 Quest for Glory III (Sierra)
1992 Indiana Jones & the Fate of Atlantis (LucasArts)
1992 Legend of Kyrandia (Westwood Studios)
1992 The 7th Guest (Trilobyte)
1992 The Journeyman Project (Presto Studios)
1993 Simon the Sorcerer (Adventure Soft)
1993 Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist (Sierra)
1993 Day of the Tentacle (LucasArts)
1993 Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (Sierra)
1993 Sam & Max Hit the Road (LucasArts)
1993 Return to Zork (Activision)
1993 Myst (Cyan)
1994 Beneath a Steel Sky (Revolution Software)
1994 King’s Quest VII (Sierra)
1995 Full Throttle (LucasArts)
1995 Discworld (Psygnosis)
1995 Space Quest 6 (Sierra)
1995 The Dig (LucasArts)
1995 Phantasmagoria (Sierra)
1995 The Journeyman Project 2: Buried in Time (Presto Studios)
1996 Broken Sword (Revolution Software)
1996 Discworld 2 (Psygnosis)
1997 Myst II: Riven (Cyan)
1997 The Curse of Monkey Island (LucasArts)
1997 Broken Sword II (Revolution Software)
1998 Grim Fandango (LucasArts)
1998 The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time (Presto Studios)
1999 The Longest Journey (Funcom)
2000 Escape from Monkey Island (LucasArts)
2001 Myst III: Exile (Presto Studios)
2002 Syberia (Microids)
2003 Broken Sword III (Revolution Software)
2004 Myst IV: Revelation (Ubisoft)
2005 Phoenix Wright (Capcom)
2005 Myst V: End of Ages (Cyan)
2005 Another Code/Trace Memory (Cinq)
2006 Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (Funcom)
2006 Broken Sword IV (Revolution Software)
2006 Sam & Max Season Episodes (Telltale Games)
2007 Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (Cinq)
2007 Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure (Capcom)
2008 Jack Keane (Deck 13)

Duration : 0:2:0

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Technorati Tags: Adventure, Game, island, king's, lucasarts, monkey, myst, phoenix, point'n'click, quest, retro, sierra, Video, wright