Grumpy Gamer

MAY 12, 2004

I wrote this back in 1989 while I was designing Monkey Island. It is now the futuristic year of 2004 and we are all driving around in flying cars and wearing sliver jumps suits. A lot has changed for Adventure Games as well, but unfortunately not in the right direction. Adventure Games are officially dead. I think this article from Old Man Murray (written in 2002) sums it up pretty well.

Puzzle 64

Puzzle Games Entertainment Graphics 64

Grumpy Gamer

DECEMBER 24, 2004

The Twelve Days of Crunch Time A poem by Gilbert and Kauzlaric On the twelfth day of crunch time, My project gave to me. Twelve cents in royalties, Eleven kiss-ass previews, Ten nerdy testers, Nine patent lawsuits, Eight unplanned for features, Seven frames a second, Six angry spouses, Five focus groups! Four unstable hacks, Three days without sleep, Two surly artists, and a crappy publishing deal.

Feature 52

Feature 52

Grumpy Gamer

OCTOBER 18, 2004

Note: I wrote this in 2004. In the days before Steam and Kickstarter, but most of it is still applicable, but a lot has also changed. Someone recently submitted a question asking what it would take to build a classic 2D point-n-click adventure today and would it be a viable business? The internet is filled with classic adventure fan sites centered around the LucasArts and Sierra games and a common thread is always how much people would like to see new ones being made, and why isn't it being done

Retail 40

Retail Point and Click Co-op Build 40

Grumpy Gamer

SEPTEMBER 19, 2004

I was sorting through some boxes today and I came across my copy of Tim Power's On Stranger Tides, which I read in the late 80's and was the inspiration for Monkey Island. Some people believe the inspiration for Monkey Island came from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride - probably because I said it several times during interviews - but that was really just for the ambiance.

Agent 40

Agent Fantasy Games 40