Ex-LucasArts Legends Announce New "Old-School" Adventure Game

Steven Bogos

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Jan 17, 2013
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Ex-LucasArts Legends Announce New "Old-School" Adventure Game


The minds behind Manic Mansion and Monkey Island have just announced Thmimbleweed Park, new, "old-school" adventure game.

Do you ever think to yourself that there aren't enough classic adventure games like Manic Mansion and Monkey Island anymore? Do you think it would be awesome if someone made a new adventure game in the vein of those old-school classics, with the same deliciously retro pixel art? Well, my friend, today is your lucky day. Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick, the masterminds behind Manic Mansion - one of the greatest adventure games of all time, and responsible for kicking off LucasArt's legacy as an adventure game dev - have announced plans to do just that.

Thimbleweed Park [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thimbleweedpark/thimbleweed-park-a-new-classic-point-and-click-adv] is a new, "old-school" adventure game from the legendary programming/artist duo, that is being made in the exact same format and art style as all those classic LucasArts adventures you grew up with.

It's like opening a dusty old desk drawer and finding an undiscovered LucasArts adventure game you've never played before.

"Thimbleweed Park is the curious story of two washed up detectives called in to investigate a dead body found in the river just outside of town. It's a game where you switch between five playable characters while uncovering the dark, satirical and bizarre world of Thimbleweed Park," says the game's Kickstarter page.

The pair are hoping to raise $375,000 to make their game, and at time of writing have already hit $89,000. No stretch goals have been announced as of yet, but the rewards tiers range from a simple digital copy of the game on release ($20), to having one of the supporting characters in the game named after you, and based on your likeness ($5,000). So far, the game has only been confirmed for PC release.

They are hoping the game will be finished by June, 2016 (provided they raise all the money needed, of course). I must say, as a die-hard point & click fan, this game looks absolutely amazing, and you should all throw your money at Ron and Gary as quickly as you can. I'll leave you with some amazing screenshots from the game in progress to help convince you:

[gallery=3539]

Source: Kickstarter [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thimbleweedpark/thimbleweed-park-a-new-classic-point-and-click-adv]



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Queen Michael

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Jun 9, 2009
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Oh goodie, I was fed up with all these modern games where the solutions make logical sense. (Search your feelings. You know me to be right.)
 

Redryhno

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Queen Michael said:
Oh goodie, I was fed up with all these modern games where the solutions make logical sense. (Search your feelings. You know me to be right.)
But how else are supposed to play the drinking game of "WTF IS THAT AND HOW DOES IT WORK LIKE THAT"? We've played all the old-school adventure games so much that we have a book of tallies of drinks you need to play it through.
 

Callate

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Y'know, I played the original Maniac Mansion. Also Zac McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders. I wouldn't be averse to seeing something in the style again.

...But I have to imagine that after Broken Age, there may be a fair number of people hanging on to their wallets.

(Yes, I know that was Schafer, but nostalgia-wise, they're aiming for a nearly identical audience.)
 

Dalisclock

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I'd totally forgotten about Zak McKraken. Ah, Memories......


......that game was wierd.....even by Lucasarts(sorry, Lucasfilm Games) standards.

Also, does it come with a hint book? Because I have a feeling I'm gonna be running to it a lot so I can ask "How was I supposed to figure that out?"
 

Vault101

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Queen Michael said:
Oh goodie, I was fed up with all these modern games where the solutions make logical sense. (Search your feelings. You know me to be right.)
I realise I don't actually like thease "games" at all...its like you start to read a book but 5 minutes in someone snatches it from you

"nuh uh! solves this puzzle first"

"but....I just want to see the story"

"after you do this"

"but I hate puzzles!"

"YOU WILL DO THIS PUZZLE AND YOU WILL ENJOY IT!!!"
 

Schmeiser

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BigTuk said:
Ugh.. no... just no... see we all remember those games and remember that for many of them it wasn't about logic it was trial and error. Rubbing everything in your inventory against everything on the screen.
Oh you made me laugh quite a bit, pretty much sums up my whole monkey island experience. That and also my friend and I calling each other every time we discover something new
 

Baresark

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I was just looking for Ron Gilberts name, it was very important, and I found it. So I'm happy.

Also, for the complainers, they are puzzle games, not stories. The stories are fun, but the characters are great and you learn more about the characters in those old adventure games than anything else.
 

fractal_butterfly

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Great, another potential cash grab using nostalgia. I really like Ron Gilbert, but he can do better than this (I really liked Deathspank).
 

harryhenry

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fractal_butterfly said:
Great, another potential cash grab using nostalgia. I really like Ron Gilbert, but he can do better than this (I really liked Deathspank).
I think Ron Gilbert's doing this because he WANTS too, not because he has to.
 

Quellist

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Ooh, so tempting...*opens wallet*

Maniac Mansion was so much fun, even if i did need a hint book to complete it...so screw it, i'm backing!
 

Sight Unseen

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Callate said:
Y'know, I played the original Maniac Mansion. Also Zac McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders. I wouldn't be averse to seeing something in the style again.

...But I have to imagine that after Broken Age, there may be a fair number of people hanging on to their wallets.

(Yes, I know that was Schafer, but nostalgia-wise, they're aiming for a nearly identical audience.)
What are you implying about Broken Age? I loved the first half of that game, even if it was on the easy side, and they're promising to make act 2 harder.
 

Callate

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Sight Unseen said:
Callate said:
Y'know, I played the original Maniac Mansion. Also Zac McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders. I wouldn't be averse to seeing something in the style again.

...But I have to imagine that after Broken Age, there may be a fair number of people hanging on to their wallets.

(Yes, I know that was Schafer, but nostalgia-wise, they're aiming for a nearly identical audience.)
What are you implying about Broken Age? I loved the first half of that game, even if it was on the easy side, and they're promising to make act 2 harder.
Hey, I've heard plenty of good things about the final product. But if I was going to finance a similar product, the fact that the original received eight times its funding goals while a) still requiring more funding and b) getting split into two parts, might give me pause.
 

CaitSeith

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I loved "Maniac Mansion" and "Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders". But I think that's too old-school for my taste (at least they reduced the commands to 9 actions, instead of the 15 that those games used to have). I would pretty much need to know more, because I can't seem to get the charm the old games had from that trailer...

PS: Will we able to finally use the chainsaw?
 

Steve the Pocket

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Queen Michael said:
Oh goodie, I was fed up with all these modern games where the solutions make logical sense.
And where the graphics look like something you'd need at least a Pentium computer to render.

Hell, I think this actually looks worse than the original Monkey Island.
 

Sight Unseen

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Callate said:
Sight Unseen said:
Callate said:
Y'know, I played the original Maniac Mansion. Also Zac McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders. I wouldn't be averse to seeing something in the style again.

...But I have to imagine that after Broken Age, there may be a fair number of people hanging on to their wallets.

(Yes, I know that was Schafer, but nostalgia-wise, they're aiming for a nearly identical audience.)
What are you implying about Broken Age? I loved the first half of that game, even if it was on the easy side, and they're promising to make act 2 harder.
Hey, I've heard plenty of good things about the final product. But if I was going to finance a similar product, the fact that the original received eight times its funding goals while a) still requiring more funding and b) getting split into two parts, might give me pause.
It's a lot more complicated than that. I've been following the development of this game very closely as I am a backer, and I'd be happy to explain the situation in more detail in a pm if you're interested, but I don't want to go too far off topic here or bore you if you don't really care. Let me know if you're interested.