Point and Click: An Adventure Game Podcast 642f2t

It's time for our final podcast episode, as we explore the series of books that started my love of the adventure game genre, that being "Choose Your Own Adventure" titles.  As always, we'll talk about the history of the concept and the popularization of the titles, and then, as we end this particular podcasting journey, we'll bid everyone a fond farewell (at least for the time being). Timestamps: Intro:  00:00:00 - 00:05:00 History:  00:05:01 - 00:34:14 Final Remarks:  00:34:15 - 00:46:41

It's time to journey to Paris and uncover the secrets of the Knights Templar, as we look at the very first Broken Sword title, Shadow of the Templars.  Learn about how the game was created and how Revolution Software evolved as a development studio, and then, dive deep into the experience of actually playing the title as we discuss the story, gameplay, and puzzles during our talkthrough portion of the podcast. Timestamps: Intro:  00:00:00 - 00:26:06 Talkthrough:  00:26:07 - 02:08:10 Final Remarks / Preview for Next Episode:  02:08:11 - 02:17:21

It's time to take a trip to South America, as we look into the slightly lesser known mid-90s adventure game, Flight of the Amazon Queen.  Learn about how the game was created and what inspired its creation, and then, dive deep into the experience of actually playing the title as we discuss the story, gameplay, and puzzles during our talkthrough portion of the podcast. Timestamps: Intro:  00:00:00 - 00:23:20 Talkthrough:  00:23:21 - 01:26:58 Final Remarks / Preview for Next Episode:  01:26:59 - 01:35:26

Try not to get bitten as we explore the very first season of Telltale's The Walking Dead.  Learn about the rise and fall of Telltale Games, the creation of their most popular game series, The Walking Dead, and then, dive deep into the experience of playing the game during our talkthrough section of the podcast. Timestamps: Intro:  00:00:00 - 00:30:20 Talkthrough:  00:30:21 - 02:08:39 Final Remarks / Preview for Next Episode:  02:08:40 - 02:22:43

It's time to delve into one of my personal favorite sub-genres of adventure games, Full Motion Video games!  Learn about the history of FMV in gaming, and see how the technology evolved to become a major staple of adventure games in the 90s.  And, in a stunning turn of events, learn about some of the ways FMV is gaining a new following even today!

Grab your flashlight and your cape as we discuss the very first Pajama Sam game, "No Need to Hide When It's Dark Outside".  Learn about the creation of Humongous Entertainment, the company behind the game, and then, dive deep into the experience of playing the game during our talkthrough section of the podcast. Timestamps: Intro:  00:00:00 - 00:19:24 Talkthrough:  00:19:25 - 00:43:24 Final Remarks / Preview for Next Episode:  00:43:25 - 00:55:59

me as we speak with Natalia Dolzycka and Magda Cielecka from Artifex Mundi, a company primarily known for developing and publishing casual hidden object adventure experiences, but who are now in the process of creating their first traditional point and click adventure game, Irony Curtain.  Learn about the origins of the company, some of the challenges they've faced over the years, and then, delve deep into the background of Irony Curtain, releasing later in 2019. Timestamps: Intro:  00:00:00 - 00:01:41 Talkthrough:  00:01:42 - 01:07:03 Final Remarks / Preview for Next Episode:  01:07:04 - 01:10:42

Come on a badass road trip with me as we explore the Tim Schaefer classic, Full Throttle!  Learn about the inspiration behind the game and the process for creating the title, and then, dive deep into the game's puzzles, design, and story as we conduct our traditional "talkthrough" of the entire experience.   Timestamps: Intro / Background / History:  00:00:00 - 00:24:54 Talkthrough:  00:24:55 - 01:10:13 Final Remarks / Preview for Next Episode:  01:10:14 - 01:23:04

Set sail with me as we explore the world of Douglas Adams' Starship Titanic!  Learn about how the game was created, including its origins, which can trace its lineage back to the interactive fiction games of the early 80s.  Then, dive deep into the game's puzzles, design, and story as we conduct our traditional "talkthrough" of the entire experience.   Timestamps: Intro / Background / History:  00:00:00 - 00:22:30 Talkthrough:  00:22:31 - 01:02:06 Final Remarks / Preview for Next Episode:  01:02:07 - 01:20:04

Set sail with me as we explore the world of Douglas Adams' Starship Titanic!  Learn about how the game was created, including its origins, which can trace its lineage back to the interactive fiction games of the early 80s.  Then, dive deep into the game's puzzles, design, and story as we conduct our traditional "talkthrough" of the entire experience.   Timestamps: Intro / Background / History:  00:00:00 - 00:22:30 Talkthrough:  00:22:31 - 01:02:06 Final Remarks / Preview for Next Episode:  01:02:07 - 01:20:04

Grab your fedora and dust off your trenchcoat!  me in exploring one of the finest Full Motion Video (FMV) games ever created, and certainly one which demonstrates what a true "interactive movie" can be, as we discuss Under a Killing Moon.  Learn about what Access Software used to look like in its formative years, how the Tex Murphy character came into existence, and then, as always, dive into the game's story and puzzles during our in-depth talkthrough.    Timestamps: Intro / Background / History:  00:00:00 - 00:27:31 Talkthrough:  00:27:32 - 01:44:46 Final Remarks / Preview for Next Episode:  01:44:47 - 01:55:46

me on a fairy tale adventure as we discuss one of the first interactive graphical adventure games of all time, King's Quest!  We'll talk about some of the history behind Roberta Williams, the game's creator, and Sierra itself (which is the company that created the King's Quest series), as well as the development of the game itself.  After talking about the historical background of the game, we progress with our talkthrough of the game and dive deep into the story and puzzles, before ranking the experience and adding the title to our Pantheon of Adventure Games. Timestamps: Intro / Background / History:  00:00:00 - 00:32:15 Talkthrough:  00:32:16 - 00:50:41 Final  Remarks  / Preview for Next Episode:  00:50:42 - 01:02:46

Happy Holidays!  Today's episode is a recap of our current Pantheon of Adventure Games, as discussed over the last six months of podcast episodes.  In addition to recapping the games discussed thus far, we also take a look at similar, more modern, titles for each of our Pantheon entries to help build a holiday shopping list for that favorite adventure gamer in your life.    

It's the start of December, and what better way to kick off a month of holidays than finishing up the LucasArts "Maniac Mansion" series, by playing Day of the Tentacle!  Learn how one of the most influential, and best, adventure games of all time was created, and snuggle up and stay warm as we go through an in-depth talkthrough of the entire experience.  Finally, see where one of the most beloved adventures of all time stacks up against our current Pantheon of Adventure Games. Timestamps: Intro / Background / History:  00:00:00 - 00:36:45 Talkthrough:  00:36:46 - 01:57:32 Final  Remarks  / Preview for Next Episode:  01:57:33 - 02:07:01

It's the day after Thanksgiving, and I've got a feast for your ears!  This episode expands into new territory for the podcast, as we take a look at some melodic, amazing songs from classic adventure games.  As with most episodes, we start out with historical perspective, this time focused on the evolution of computer audio within the adventure game genre, followed by our "talkthrough" which, in this case, consists of ten songs from games we haven't yet covered.  Listen in and hear songs from such classics as Grim Fandango, Quest for Glory, Gabriel Knight 3, and more! Timestamps: Intro / Background / History:  00:00:00 - 00:43:51 Talkthrough (Individual Game Tracks):  00:43:52 - 01:36:13 Final  Remarks  / Preview for Next Episode:  01:36:14 - 01:48:37

Journey back to 1987 as we delve into one of the true classics of the adventure game genre, Maniac Mansion!  This is the game for which the SCUMM engine was built, a technology that would single-handedly shape the future of LucasArts adventure games for the next decade.  Learn about the development of the game, its cultural significance, and, as always, re-live the experience of playing the game through our talkthrough session, accompanied by music from the Maniac Mansion Deluxe fan remake.    Timestamps: Intro / Background / History:  00:00:00 - 00:39:52 Talkthrough:  00:39:53 - 01:21:52 Final  Remarks / Pantheon Ranking / Preview for Next Episode:  01:21:53 - 01:37:15

Grab a blanket and turn the lights off, as we delve into one of the spookier "classic" adventure games released in the 90s.  We discuss Phantasmagoria, one of Roberta Williams later games (and her first and only, to the best of my knowledge, FMV title) - learn about the history surrounding its development, the controversy it stirred, and its cultural significance.  Finally, re-experience the adventure as we discuss the story, in detail, during our talkthrough segment.  Happy Halloween everyone! Timestamps: Intro / Background / History:  00:00:00 - 00:51:30 Talkthrough:  00:51:31 - 02:02:46 Final  Remarks / Pantheon Ranking / Preview for Next Episode:  02:02:47 - 02:16:03

You always were a kidder!  Come spend some quality time listening to our discussion of Harvester, one of the most controversial and violent adventure games of all time.  Let's kick off Halloween month with a discussion of how Harvester came to be, and then hold on tight as we dive deep into our talkthrough of the entire experience.  

Grab your feather dusters...er...swords, and set sail on an adventure like no other!  In this episode, we talk about The Secret of Monkey Island, arguably one of the funniest adventure game titles of all time.  Listen in for a discussion of the history surrounding the creation of Monkey Island, along with a deep dive into Ron Gilbert's design methodology for both this and other adventure games.  Finally, relive the journey as we explore the entire game in our in-depth talkthrough of one of LucasArts' finest titles.

Disco is back!  In this episode, we revisit one of the classic Sierra Online titles, Leisure Suit Larry.  Learn where Larry came from, a little bit about its inspiration, and then, finally, take a trip down memory lane as we explore Lost Wages in detail.  It's all here in Episode 7 of our podcast devoted exlusively to adventure games - come listen in!