Adventure Classic Gaming - www.adventureclassicgaming.com

Mikael Nyqvist - Interview

2008-05-07T01:01:00+00:00

Mikael Nyqvist and his wife Eleen are co-proprietors of the indie development house MDNA Games, based in Norrköping, Sweden. MDNA Games develops and publishes the Carol Reed Mystery, a detective adventure series that uses photography of Norrköping and local history of the city as the backdrop for its games. Since the company’s foundation in 2004, MDNA Games has released 4 titles in the series and another title is already planned.
In this interview, Nyqvist talks about his artistic experience and background, the inspirations that Norrköping offers for his games, his approach to rapid game development, and his company’s position as an independent developer and publisher. He also reveals that MDNA does not just stand for “mitochondrial DNA”!

What filmmaking experience did you have prior…

Overclocked - Review

2008-05-02T01:01:01+00:00

House of Tales has created a sure winner with the release of its adventure game Overclocked (also known as Overclocked: A History of Violence). This interactive psychological thriller combines a masterful plot, superb graphics, challenging puzzles, and a score of creepy, suspenseful, and haunting music. The game explores the abstract concept of justifiable violence through the minds of 5 mentally disturbed patients in an asylum and the eyes of their treating psychologist who analyzes their memories and illusions through flashbacks, dreams, and hypnosis. Overclocked is a retelling of these 2 stories that run parallel to each other but ultimately converge to meet at their final conclusion.
Overclocked is also a story about grand conspiracies, brainwashing, secret projects, and government…

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened - Review

2008-05-01T01:01:00+00:00

A watercolour sketch of a mist shrouded street gradually takes on solidity… and one of the most beloved sidekicks in mystery fiction arrives at the famous 221b Baker Street, home of the great—although irascible—detective, Sherlock Holmes. Holmes is bored. It has been too long since a case has engaged his interest, but events are about to lead him into a mystery not even he can foresee. A portentous alignment of celestial stars, missing immigrants, strange medallions, an ominous temple, a tortured sacrificial victim’s body, opium, dodgy imports coming through customs, mysterious happenings at the Black Edelweiss Institute (which turns out to be a mental asylum), daring jewel robberies, ladies of pleasure upon a Louisiana Nymph riverboat, the involvement of an aristocrat named Lord…

Martin Ganteföhr - Interview

2008-04-28T01:01:00+00:00

The German development studio House of Tales was born out of a collaboration between 2 friends—Martin Ganteföhr and Tobias Schachte—that started back in 1996. After more than 10 years of working together, their portfolio of games includes such titles as Mystery of the Druids and the critically acclaimed The Moment of Silence. Overclocked (also known as Overclocked: A History of Violence), an ambitious psychological thriller third-person adventure game, is their latest completed project.
Ganteföhr is both the writer and the creative director of Overclocked. Working together with publisher Lighthouse Interactive, he and House of Tales have just completed the English localization of the game in early 2008. In the meantime, Ganteföhr has been enjoying Overclocked’s success in Germany,…

A history on remaking King’s Quest - Feature

2008-04-23T01:01:00+00:00

The advent of King’s Quest series in the early 80s heralded in a new era for graphical adventure games. The original King’s Quest was a true classic and arguably the best of its genre. Since its first release in 1984, the game had undergone no fewer than 10 re-releases or remakes by its original developer. The game had also been heavily redeveloped by a large community of enthusiastic fans who released their fan made remakes for free. In fact, the 18 years of developments of King’s Quest had overseen great advances in both software and hardware on which the game was built, with improved graphic engines, higher screen resolutions, and enhanced display colours. Despite all these changes, the core of what made King’s Quest a timeless masterpiece had basically remained the same.

Single…

80 Days - Review

2008-04-15T01:01:00+00:00

80 Days is an adventure game loosely based on Jules Verne’s famous fictional novel Around the World in 80 Days. At first glance, you may be enticed by the game’s few original ideas, decent graphics, and colorful characters. Once you start playing the game, however, you will be overwhelmed quickly by its frustrating controls, inconsistent puzzles, awful music, and dreadful voice acting.
The game is set in London in 1899. You take on the role of Oliver Lavisheart, a young Englishman who has agreed to help his uncle Matthew to collect proof of the inventions that his uncle has made around the world. Not only has Oliver’s uncle made a bet against his detractors about these inventions, he will also be sacked from his job if Oliver can not recover, within 80 days, 4 lost patents that will…

Bone: Out from Boneville - Cheat

2008-04-13T01:01:00+00:00

LOST IN THE DESERT

You control Fone. Optionally, talk to Phoney and Smiley. Then, pick up the small rock nearest to Smiley. A map is lying underneath the small rock but it is also stuck beneath the boulder where Smiley is sitting. Talk to Smiley until he tells you he wants 1 dollar before he will help you get the map out. Talk to Phoney until he says he hates the song, “Old Gray Mare”. Talk to Smiley until you get him to play “Old Gray Mare”. Phoney gives you the dollar to make Smiley stop. Give the dollar to Smiley. Smiley helps you get the map out from under the boulder.

LOCUST CHASE

A swarm of locusts descends on the Bones. You still control Fone. Avoid the obstacles in order to escape the locusts. Move the mouse to steer left or right. Click to jump over an obstacle. As long as you…

Sam & Max Episode 205: What’s New, Beelzebub? - Review

2008-04-10T01:01:00+00:00

All good things must come to an end… err… Hell! This time, Sam and Max goes to Hell and creates “hell” for everybody—Satan included. Surely, is this a strange way to end a season? Not at all, least for the freelance police. When they find out that their neighborhood street is just a “soul” train stop from Hell, they are not scared; rather, they cannot wait but to jump onboard and pay a visit to the place of eternal damnation to save Bosco’s soul.
Only this Hell is a bit different. It is crowded with familiar faces—faces whom Sam and Max have seen before and many of whom Sam and Max are responsible for sending there. To a casual visitor, Hell may not seem so bad. It is true that every day is Monday, and the clock shows just 1 minute before closing… forever. Every computer seems to run…

Lorne Lanning - Interview

2008-04-08T01:01:00+00:00

Lorne Lanning is the co-founder and president of Oddworld Inhabitants, best known as the developer of the Oddworld Quintology series of games. Lanning is a legend in both the game and the film industries. His career began while attending the School of Visual Arts in New York City and, later on, the California Institute of the Arts. He then worked at the TRW Engineering Visualization Lab as a Technical Director, before moving to Rhythm & Hues Studios where he transitioned from the position of Technical Director to Art Director to Visual Effects Supervisor. In 1994, he co-founded Oddworld Inhabitants with Sherry McKenna to develop the Oddworld series. Over the next 11 years, his award winning studio (to which he served as President and Creative Director) produced 4 game titles: Oddworld:…

Benoît Hozjan - Interview

2008-04-05T01:01:00+00:00

Benoît Hozjan is the cofounder and director of Kheops Studio, an independent game development company based in Paris, France. Founded in 2003 by former employees of Cryo Interactive Entertainment, Kheops Studio specializes in the development of graphical adventure games with historical or literary settings. Between 2004 and 2006, the studio has already released 8 games, and it has 3 more currently under development.
We are privileged to have this interview with the prolific game developer. In the interview, Hozjan speaks about video game development in France, the signature style of Kheops Studio’s games, the rapid development process that goes on behind the scenes, and what the future holds for his company.

How did you, personally, get started in the game development industry? Before…

Penumbra: Black Plague - Review

2008-04-03T01:01:00+00:00

Penumbra: Black Plague is an innovative and much improved sequel to Penumbra: Overture from Frictional Games. Originally planned as part of an episodic trilogy, Penumbra: Black Plague is a rework of the aborted second and third episodes of the Penumbra series into a single game. The original Penumbra: Overture has been praised by critics for being a forerunner in successfully integrating a fully interactive 3D physics engine into an adventure game. The game’s physics engine, based on the free but closed source Newton Game Dynamics engine, allows the player to interact with objects and environments inside the game world using the mouse and keyboard, so that the player can make full 360° turns, pick up or throw objects, pull out drawers, and even open or close doors by simply mimicking…

Bone: Out from Boneville - Review

2008-03-31T01:01:00+00:00

Bone: Out from Boneville, released by Telltale Games in September 2005, is the first chapter of an episodic adventure game series targeted mainly to younger gamers. The game’s story is based on an earlier comic series of the same name by artist Jeff Smith. Bone: Out from Boneville is the first adventure game title developed by Telltale Games, a company founded by ex-employees of LucasArts in 2004.
Bone: Out from Boneville features endearing heroes and villains who come to life in an amusing, well voiced script. The graphical style is simple yet pleasing, with expressive cartoon characters and colorful, scrolling backdrops, all rendered in real-time 3D. However, while the game tells its story well, its puzzles lack length and depth. There are no true brainteasers, and the game lasts…

Out Of This World - Review

2008-03-30T01:01:00+00:00

Out Of This World was a game originally released by French developer Delphine Software under the name Another World. The title was changed to avoid confusion with an unrelated American television soap opera that bore the same name. Originally developed for the PC, the game was also widely ported to multiple other platforms. The original version of Out Of This World was released for DOS in 1991, and a graphically enhanced version was released for Windows in 1994. In 2006, to celebrate the game’s 15th anniversary, a remake of the game was released and was known as the 15th Anniversary Edition or Collector’s Edition.
Much like Prince of Persia, Out Of This World is a game that sets the standards for action adventure games of that era. At its core, it is a 2D platform game. However, the game…

Ghost in the Sheet - Review

2008-03-27T01:01:01+00:00

Shakespeare named it “the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns”; Sophocles called it “the greatest of evils”. Death is a defining character of our culture and the inescapable finale of our existence: it is (almost) the only certainty in life. For ages, mankind has struggled to find meaning in the conclusion of life, often regarding it as just a transition between different planes of existence. The Afterlife, thought to be filled with the imaginary of Heaven and Hell, is believed to be where the soul will travel to exalt or repent for deeds acted in the previous life.
Ghost in the Sheet, developed by CBE (Cardboard Box Entertainment), takes a droll peek at the condition of a condemned soul who must endure a sour hereafter. You play a nameless character who, after…

Adventure gaming beyond the PC: Nintendo DS - Feature

2008-03-25T01:01:00+00:00

For decades, the PC has been the dominant platform for the release of adventure games. With less and less classic adventure games being released nowadays for the PC, another platform for adventure games has emerged: the Nintendo DS. In this article, I shall focus on adventure gaming beyond the PC by giving an overview of adventure games available for the Nintendo DS.
It is instructive to understand that it is in the nature of Nintendo’s portable handheld design which makes the Nintendo DS an ideal platform for playing adventure games. As a gaming device, the Nintendo DS offers possibilities that make it a lot more interesting to play adventure games on than other gaming consoles. Of these, the most important innovation is the touchscreen which, when in use, resembles closer to navigating…