http://www.barnettcollege.com/demo.htm
There’s a demo out for this game and it looks pretty damn cool. It plays like the Lucasfilms adventure games like Last Crusade and Atlantis.
Hey, that looks really neat! Unfortunately, it also looks like it’s minutes away from being shut down by LucasArts.
Hypothetically, if the final project’s install file required a legitimate copy of FoA, would they be able to get around the IP concerns? What if the game actually used FoAs SCUMM engine, and just changed the graphics? That’s what the Freespace 2’s “Star Wars” mod did, and it seems an interesting, and possibly legal, approach to the problem.
Wow, I just assumed they had some arrangement with LucasArts on this. I suppose all they have to do is change a few character names and remove the “Indiana Jones” from the title and they’ll be ok. That would be a shame. Hopefully LA will be cool about this. After all, it’s a 320x200 old-style adventure game being released as freeware, and from what I can see it’s done very well… if anything, LA should help market it and maybe provide voice over talent.
Yeah, LucasArts stopped being quite so nazi about mods, so I think a really graphically dated adventure game won’t offend them too much.
Oh, that’s really cool! The tight grip companies like LucasArts kept on their IP was one of the reasons I stopped following the mod-development scene: Most collaborative mods seem to require a pre-existing IP (or historical scenario) as a way to help focus development, and keep people on the same page. This meant that a fair number of mods were released and immediately killed by the IP holder.
Honestly, that’s the IP holder’s right, but this stuff really is harmless. I’m glad that companies have started to see that.
No kidding. It isn’t as if we are going to ignore future LA releases just because someone goes and makes Indiana Jones Explores Bumblefuck Cave with a whole 30 rooms in it. That being said, I’d probably play that game just on principle. It probably doesn’t hurt that I’ve been playing Maniac Mansion and Leisure Suit Larry 2 this week, so I’m primed for a good old fashioned adventure game right now.
Okay, I for one would pay money to play that.
Indiana Jones is just one of a million pulp adventurers throughout film history (not to mention comics and, you, know, books). There’s nothing that special about him, besides Harrison Ford’s characterization in the movie. Is it that hard to make up your own pulp fiction adventurer guy/girl?
Apparently it is for some people.
I think you are overanalyzing, Sparky. They probably just liked the character and decided to do their own Indiana Jones adventure. So they just kept the name, since that inspired it.
The only point of this isn’t that it’s a new Indiana Jones adventure, it’s that it’s a new game like IJ & The Fate of Atlantis. So there’s two reasons for it to be Indiana Jones and not just some generic pulp hero. Sure they could still call it something else, but then it’d just feel like a ripoff of Indiana Jones anyway, since it’s got the exact same interface, graphical style, etc. They’re even putting in the lame fighting, apparently.
Yay, it’s just fanfiction. I hope Snape gets it on with Harry and Indy.
Someone did make an homage to Indiana Jones called Udoiana Ranes or some such thing, there’s more than one game in the series and they’re freeware, but I thought the dialogue and style was atrociously boring. Plus, how on earth do you pronounce that name? It comes out from we as something like “Oo-dwoi-ah-na”.
For much more satisfying and cool indy adventure games, I prefer:
Two of a Kind - Mystery solved by two kids working in tandem, one can levitate and is a negative nancy, the other is a cheerful, almost buoyant girl whose name isn’t Nancy, but can talk to animals. Working with both of them recalled Day of the Tentacle and switching them to hear their different takes on things was amusing.
Cirque de Zale -You’re a guy trying to start his own circus, which ends up being quite reminiscent of Monkey Island in the same way as you were a guy in a kooky adventure trying to become a pirate. In that way, definitely inspiration without being a knockoff and quite well done at that.
5 Days a Stranger - Really cool game where you’re a thief who gets stuck in a house with other people, short, but good, with great payoff.
Adventures in the Galaxy of Fantabulous Wonderment - This thing is pure gold. Made by the same guy as Five Days a Stranger, it arranges its adventure game in the context of some basic space sim gameplay. The best thing about it is the idea of the red shirts, guys who go down to the whole adventure thing and then die horrible deaths as disposable people so someone else doesn’t have to do it. In fact, that’s how the whole game starts. This game is obscenely fun and comes highly recommended.
Apprentice II: The Knight’s Move - A very nice game. Careful though, if you didn’t like the Sierra style adventures, this one is closer in style to them, though I don’t remember dying for random things in this one, the sometimes vague puzzles aren’t generally annoying and the whole game is just so colorful and pleasant to play through.
King’s Quest II - Romancing the Stones - A very cool and professional remake of King’s Quest II. There’s so much new content and it’s so beautiful, it is almost like a new installment of the series when it was in the days of V and VI. In most ways, the game is so heavily improved over the original, it boggles the mind how much time it took the developers. The flashbacks to Graham’s life and the expanded vampire’s castle are both highlights. Man, I need to play through this game again, it was spooky how good it was for a free game.
-Kitsune
I played 5 Days a Stranger and 7 Days a skeptic forever ago and I feel like I got my donation’s worth. I clicked on the link to download AitGoFW and my heart sank a little.
What happened to the www.the-underdogs.org?
Damn. Thanks.
These lists are awesome. I’ve been playing tons of older adventure games lately and have been searching around for good ones to sink my teeth into.
It started about a week ago when I was playing the original Mario Bros. with my daughter and out of nowhere recalled playing Maniac Mansion when I was younger. So off I went to search up a copy and found an awesome fan remake that is very well made: http://www.the-underdogs.info/game.php?id=4894
If anyone has more goodies to share please do. I’m currently playing the first two Kings Quest remakes and I may have found a copy of Day of the Tentacle. A lot of these are new to me as I’ve only been a pc gamer for about 3-4 years, and I’m having a lot of fun with these.
Anyone who enjoys homebrew games defintely don’t forget Pesant’s Quest by the Homestar people. That game really kicks ass.
Watch the trailer first if they still have it.
Spooks is an extremely well done and cute adventure game featuring a young girl in a land of the dead setting. It reminds me of Grim Fandango only for younger kids. Also be sure to check out the Ben Jordan games. The first few are pretty short, but they get better as the series goes on.
The main AGS website has tons of underground titles, some very good, some - uh - not so good. Basically anything under “Game of the Month” or “Award Winners” are fun. Everything Kitsune mentioned are great, especially Cirque de Zale and 5 Days a Stranger (probably two of my favorite adventure games ever).
As for the Indiana Jones game - I’m happy they finally released something because they’ve been saying things like “the demo is only days away!” since 2004.