The Encyclopedia Frobozzica

I was a huge fan of Lucasarts’ adventure games (Loom, The Monkey Islands and so on), and the fact that they were primarily word driven. There were graphics – and what graphics! – but for the most part they presented the player with an interesting dichotomy – nothing ever really happened, but you were responsible for it all. You would chat to somebody who would tell you that they wanted a compass, for example, and it was up to you to get that compass. Only, they would never just say “Get me the compass”. Instead, it would be a conversation that could take up to twenty minutes, where you found out about the character’s history, family, likes and dislikes, and, above all, the reason for them wanting the compass in the first place. —The Encyclopedia Frobozzica (Progression: Following Myself)

A well-done personal reflection on the graphical adventure genre.

View Comments

  • I LOVE the old Lucasarts games! Who can forget Grim Fandango?? GF is my all time favorite game. I still go back and play it from time to time. It is one of the main reasons that I feel the need to keep a Windows PC around!

Share
Published by
Dennis G. Jerz

Recent Posts

No interior yet. Getting there. Gotta start somewhere. Low-poly background detail for a medieval theater project. #blender3d

No interior yet. Getting there. Gotta start somewhere. Low-poly background detail for a medieval theater…

4 hours ago

This is manageable. Far better than some semesters.

This is manageable. Far better than some semesters.

21 hours ago

Creating textures for background buildings in a medieval theater simulation project. I can always improve this later. #blender3d

Creating textures for background buildings in a medieval theater simulation project. I can always improve…

2 days ago

Yesterday my stack of unmarked assignments was about 120, so this is not bad.

Nothing in this stack is pressing, but they do include rough drafts of final papers,…

3 days ago

ai, ai, ai: critical thinking and literacy won’t save you

Here’s the underlying problem. We have an operating image of thought, an understanding of what…

3 days ago

Representing the Humanities at Accepted Students Day.

Representing the Humanities at Accepted Students Day.

6 days ago