Information AboutManiac Mansion |
''Maniac Mansion'' is a graphical Adventure Game originally released in 1987 by Lucasfilm Games (now known as LucasArts ). ''Maniac Mansion'' has become known among Video Game Player s and programmers for its highly-acclaimed Gameplay and its introduction of new ideas into gaming, including multiple possible endings, multiple user-selectable characters with significantly different abilities, and critical clues contained in numerous Cut Scene s. It was the game for which the SCUMM engine was created and named after (''Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion''), which went on to be used by LucasArts for ten more years to create 13 original titles. PLOT SUMMARY At the start of the game, the hero, Dave Miller, finds that his girlfriend, Sandy Pantz, has been abducted by Dr. Fred Edison, and sets out to save her, with two of his friends. The player could select the friends from a group of six, and the game would play somewhat differently depending on which friends were selected. The game was a parody of the Horror B-movie genre, featuring a secret lab, leftover tentacles, and an Evil Mastermind . ''Maniac Mansion'' was notable for its multiple possible endings, depending on which characters the player used (and which ones survived) and what those characters did. For instance, you can send the adversary off into space, or have him arrested by the Meteor Police, or make him famous by having his autobiography published, or feed him to the mutant plant. Unusual for Lucas games, it is quite possible to get the player characters killed (though largely only from severe mistakes on the player's part) and the loss of all characters also loses the game. The game was somewhat notorious for featuring famous ' Red Herring s', such as a Chainsaw for which there was no fuel, despite many wishful rumours to the contrary. In one of the in-jokes that are a hallmark of the LucasArts adventure games, the second SCUMM game, '' Zak McKracken And The Alien Mindbenders '', contains some fuel "for chainsaws only", but no chainsaw. Plus, in the second "enhanced" PC version of the Maniac Mansion game, the heroes can read a poster of the Zak McKracken game in the arcade room, upon which they will comment, "Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders. What a great game!! I never did figure out what to do with the can of gas on Mars." Another ''red herring'' is the staircase in the library (with a sign, 'staircase out of order') that appears to be a puzzle, but in fact there is no way to fix it or cross it. In another reference, the entire game is contained within its sequel, '''', on a computer in the bedroom of one of the characters. ''Maniac Mansion'' was the first game to feature Chuck The Plant (found in the library); Chuck is found in two other LucasArts adventure games, and several games by other publishers. OTHER CHARACTERS Unlike most adventure games, ''Maniac Mansion'' had several possible playable characters. The player controls Dave, the main protagonist, and two other characters, chosen from six additional characters, each of whom has their own distinct skills and quirks:
In addition to the playable characters, Doctor Fred and Sandy, a number of other colorful characters (metaphorically and literally) populate the mansion in the ''Maniac Mansion'' games.
VERSIONS AND PORTS The game was originally released for the Commodore 64 and was the first game to use the SCUMM engine, allowing relatively quick Port s to other platforms. The project leader was Ron Gilbert , and the game was designed by Gilbert and Gary Winnick . The game was scripted by Ron Gilbert and David Fox . Versions for the Apple II , Amiga , and Atari ST computers were also released. ''Maniac Mansion'' was ported to the PC with EGA graphics in 1988 (though it was also compatible with CGA graphics). In 1988 , ''Maniac Mansion'' was ported by Jaleco to the Famicom in Japan. In 1989 , an enhanced version of Maniac Mansion with higher resolution EGA graphics for the PC was released. In 1990 , a NES version was published in North America and Europe, but in a heavily censored form in order to comply with Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe's policy. For example, the line "brains sucked out" was changed to "brains removed", the graphic showing Michelangelo 's 'Dawn' sculpture was removed (due to nudity), and other such changes were made. However, NoA initially overlooked the infamous ability to microwave the hamster to death. Many thousand copies of ''Maniac Mansion'' had shipped before NoA noticed and demanded its removal. However, as there was no second printing of the game, all North American cartridges include the "hamster" and the "microwave". The PAL NES cartridges of Maniac Mansion have the hamster-microwaving ability removed. In the early '90s, programmer s, eventually becoming widely available on several websites. In the essay, Crockford details the arguably Absurdist policy NoA held in the early 1990s regarding its videogames; essentially, the policy held that all videogames had to be completely family oriented, and could not contain anything that anyone could find offensive in any way (such as religious references, foul language, violence, or sexuality). Jaleco had released an uncensored version of the game for the Famicom in Japan two years earlier; this version, however, featured vastly inferior graphics, with simplified non-scrolling backgrounds (many of the rooms, which featured elaborate details such as photographs and wallpaper patterns in Western versions of the game, were here presented as solid-colored screens devoid of anything except objects necessary to complete the game) and characters redrawn in a more cartoony, Super Deformed style (apparently an attempt to make the game more palatable to Japanese audiences; many of the characters ended up looking like blocks with faces). Due to the nature of the Famicom market in Japan, Jaleco was a game cartridge manufacturer, and Nintendo's censorship was never needed. However, this version used excessively long Passwords which were 104 characters long to save progress. There was a sitcom of the same name, very loosely based on the game, which aired from 1990 to 1993 on YTV in Canada and The Family Channel in the United States. In 2004 fans released a remake called ''Maniac Mansion Deluxe'', which would run under Windows, features heavily enhanced graphics, music throughout the whole game and fixes some bugs and inconsistencies found in the original release of the game. SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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