The Adventures of LucasArts, Game Developer Quiz

Answer: Labyrinth

Based on the 1986 fantasy film that starred David Bowie and a 15-year-old Jennifer Connelly, "Labyrinth: The Computer Game" required players to collect objects and navigate a labyrinth surrounding King Jareth's castle, avoiding goblins and secret dungeons along the way. The game was fairly faithful to its source material, and included memorable characters and places from the film, like The Wall of Hands and The Bog of Eternal Stench. Many elements of the game were conceived by "Hitchhiker's Guide" author Douglas Adams, who brainstormed ideas with the game designers during the development phase of the game. It was Adams who suggested that the game start off as a traditional text-based adventure, before transforming into a full color graphic-based adventure game after the player encounters Jareth and enters the labyrinth.

The game featured the humorous, often corny kind of puzzle-solving that would epitomize many of LucasArts future games. For instance, players could use a camcorder to make a "rock video", which was of course a video of some rocks. If a player found himself trapped inside one of the game's many oubliettes, one way of escaping was to summon a nerd, who would talk to you until he eventually drove you up the wall, allowing you to climb out of the dungeon.

Answer: Maniac Mansion

When Dave's girlfriend, Sandy, is kidnapped by a mad scientist, it is up to Dave and his friends to brave the mysteries of the Edison mansion to rescue her before she loses her brains to Dr. Fred's "Zom-B-Matic" machine. "Maniac Mansion" was the game that announced LucasArts' (then Lucasfilm Games) arrival on the adventure gaming scene and established the SCUMM game engine that would power their adventure games for the next decade. The game was one of the first point-and-click adventure games, eliminating the need for keystrokes and guesswork that typified other games in the same genre, and was groundbreaking in having players control three different characters, which allowed for unique puzzles that required teamwork to solve and several different ways to complete the game depending on which characters you picked to help Dave in his quest. Players could choose from a geeky nerd, a writer, a punk rocker, a shutter bug, or a hydrophobic surfer dude, all with different strengths and weaknesses that determined their progress in the game.

"Maniac Mansion" was initially released on the Apple II and Commodore 64 systems, before being ported to other platforms, like IBM PC, Amiga, Atari ST and NES. The game was hailed by "PC Gamer" in 2011 as "one of the most intricate and important adventure games ever made", and even inspired a short-lived Canadian TV sitcom.

Answer: Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders

Zak McKracken is a reporter for "The National Inquisitor" who spends his days making up stories about possessed kitchen appliances and two-headed squirrels for his sleazy tabloid, but yearns for something more. When he uncovers an evil alien conspiracy to reduce the IQ levels of the Earth's population, he joins forces with Annie, the leader of The Society of Ancient Wisdom, and her two friends from Yale to outwit the malevolent Caponians before all of humanity are transformed into morons. The sheer scope of the game was impressive, taking players to Egypt, the Bermuda Triangle, Stonehenge, Atlantis and even Mars. The creators of the game credit "Maniac Mansion" as the reason for the broadness of "Zac McKracken" - after spending months trapped in the mansion during the development of the earlier game, the designers felt the need to get out and "see the world" while working on the follow-up.

Despite having less impressive graphics and production values than many of its successors, the game has truly stood the test of time, and has even inspired numerous fan-created sequels. In an interview given in 2004, creator David Fox described "Zak McKracken" as the favorite game he had ever worked on, explaining how he still gets fan mail from people telling him how much they love the game. "It's really gratifying to know that people are still playing it - something we never anticipated when we created our games," he said. "Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders" was initially released on the Commodore 64 and IBM PC systems, before being ported for the Amiga and Atari ST.

Answer: The Secret of Monkey Island

If "Maniac Mansion" marked LucasArts' arrival on the adventure gaming scene, then "The Secret of Monkey Island" solidified its position as an adventure game developer to reckon with. "The Secret of Monkey Island" follows Guybrush Threepwood who "dreams of guzzling grog and plundering galleons", but instead finds love with Elaine Marley, the lovely governor of Mêlée Island, pitting him against a rival suitor, the villainous undead pirate LeChuck! The game design saw a significant improvement over previous adventure titles, deftly balancing the existing inventory-based puzzle solving style with a new branching dialogue system for communicating with other characters that provided more opportunities for comedy and drove the game forward. The game was a hit with critics, who praised its ease of gameplay, improved graphics and humor. As promised on the box, the game features "relentless jabs and cryptic in-jokes only smart people will understand". In fact, "Ender's Game" author Orson Scott Card contributed some of the insults that show up during the sword fighting segments of the game.

In 1996, "Computer Gaming World" voted "The Secret of Monkey Island" as #19 of the 150 Best Games of All Time, and #2 on their list of the Funniest Computer Games of All Time. The game spawned numerous sequels, and a "Special Edition" remake of the game with advanced visuals and newly added voice work was released for iOS, Xbox 360 and PS3 starting from 2009.

Answer: Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis

LucasArts had previously developed a graphic adventure game based on "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" to coincide with the release of the film in 1989. For the follow-up, LucasArts went with a completely original story conceived by Hal Barwood, best known for co-writing the screenplays to the films "The Sugarland Express", "MacArthur" and "Dragonslayer". "Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis" saw everyone's favorite archaeologist partnering with a psychic to find the lost city of Atlantis, while dodging Nazis who are bent on harnessing the advanced powers of the ancient continent to fulfil their desire for supremacy.

The game was released on the DOS, Mac OS and Amiga platforms, and was both a commercial and critical success. Many reviewers had high praise for the middle act of the game, which presented players with the option of selecting three possible modes of gameplay: the Wits path, with an emphasis on puzzle-solving, the Fists Path, with a focus on action and fighting, or the Team Path, where Indy is given hints along the way by his psychic companion, Sophia Hapgood. Upon the game's release, "Computer Gaming World" said that "Fate of Atlantis" had a "strong enough storyline to hold its own next to any of the 'Indy' films".

Answer: Day of the Tentacle

This sequel to "Maniac Mansion" returns players to the wacky Edison mansion, where Bernard, Hoagie and Laverne are trapped in different eras, thanks to a malfunctioning Chron-o-John - a portable toilet that has been modified to become a time machine. Players have to take control of the unlikely trio of heroes and travel back and forth in time to save the world from Dr. Fred's evil purple tentacle, eventually changing the course of history as we know it. The complex but ultimately rewarding gameplay required the characters to work together across the different time settings to solve the puzzles in the game. For instance, one puzzle required players to hide a bottle of wine in the past, so that it could transform into vinegar over time and be used by another character to construct a battery.

"Day of the Tentacle" was initially developed for DOS and Mac OS, and featured a playable copy of the entire "Maniac Mansion" game as an Easter egg. Even years after its initial release, "Day of the Tentacle" is fondly remembered for its crazy humor, wonderful cartoonish visuals, and its inventive gameplay. In 2004, "Day of the Tentacle" topped the "Adventure Gamers" website's list of the 20 Greatest Adventure Games of All Time.

Answer: Sam & Max Hit the Road

Sam, a dog, and Max, a "hyperkinetic rabbity thing", are a pair of private investigators who are called in to investigate when a local carnival loses two of its biggest attractions - a frozen bigfoot named Bruno and Trixie the Giraffe-Necked Girl from Scranton. Together, they embark on the mother of all road trips, visiting all manner of strange tourist sites across the United States in their search for the missing carnies. Players controlled Sam, who could occasionally use Max as an item of his inventory, usually to unleash his lagomorphic fury on an unsuspecting victim. The game was known for its irreverent, oddball humor, in particular the witty and dizzying repartee between the canine sleuth and his psychopathic companion. For instance, when Max asks Sam if he minds him driving their DeSoto, Sam replies, "Not if you don't mind me clawing at the dash and shrieking like a cheerleader."

"Sam & Max Hit the Road" was based on the "Sam & Max, Freelance Police" comic book series by Steve Purcell, and was possibly the funniest of all the LucasArts adventure games. The game featured several 'mini-games' that were just as entertaining as the main game, like the "Battleship" inspired "Car Bomb" mini-game, "Highway Surfing", and the unforgettable "Wak-A-Rat".

Answer: Full Throttle

When Malcolm Corley, CEO of Corley Motors, shows up dead after being accompanied to a meeting by a biker gang known as the Polecats, his murder is pinned on Ben and his gang by Adrian Ripburger, Malcolm's dastardly vice president who wants to take over Corley Motors and transform it into a mini-van manufacturer. Ben goes on the run and tries to clear his name with help from Miranda, a feisty reporter, and Maureen, Malcolm's illegitimate daughter and true heir to the company. The game was notable for featuring two different gameplay modes - the more traditional, 'point-and-click' puzzle solving style familiar to adventure gamers, and more action oriented game elements for the biker fights and demolition derbies.

More serious in tone than its previous adventure entries, "Full Throttle" has become a cult classic, with fans praising its immersive settings and excellent voice acting, singling out Mark Hamill as the voice of Ripburger, the primary antagonist. Some critics complained that the game was too easy and short, and felt that the action-oriented mini-games distracted from what was supposed to be an adventure game, but it remains a worthy addition to the LucasArts canon. "Full Throttle" was a CD-ROM only game for DOS, Mac OS and Windows.

Answer: The Dig

When scientists discover an asteroid bound for a collision course with Earth, NASA sends a team of astronauts to intercept the planet killer and plant explosives on its surface to divert its trajectory. The plot may sound familiar, but "The Dig" actually predated the "Armageddon" and "Deep Impact" films by several years, and that is where the similarities end. The asteroid turns out to be a spacecraft that transports the astronauts to an abandoned alien world, where they have to unlock the mysteries of an ancient extra-terrestrial civilization in order to get home.

The game was based on an unused idea of Steven Spielberg's that was meant to form the basis of an episode of his "Amazing Stories" television anthology series, but proved to be too costly to produce as a live-action film. Still, LucasArts didn't skimp on the production of the game, which featured dialogue contributed by "Ender's Game" author Orson Scott Card, and special effects by Industrial Light and Magic. "The Dig" also marked a departure from the style of LucasArts' earlier successes, being less humorous and darker in tone. The game was well-received by players and critics, who praised the game's voice work, full orchestral score, and the "cinematic feel" of the game's atmospheric alien world.

Answer: Grim Fandango

Manuel "Manny" Calavera is a reaper-like travel agent whose job is to help recently deceased souls make the journey through the Land of the Dead into the Ninth Underworld, and on to their eternal resting place. The trip can take four years or four minutes, depending on how good you were in life, with the quickest trips saved only for the most virtuous of souls. He uncovers a grand conspiracy involving the diversion of these "deluxe" transportation packages to the highest bidders, and it is up to Manny to right this terrible wrong. In a time when it was hard to tell some adventure games apart, "Grim Fandango" really set itself from the rest of the pack with its unique storyline that featured elements inspired from Spanish culture, Aztec folklore and classic film noir. The game was originally released for Windows only, with a re-mastered version released in January 2015 for the PS4, PS Vita, Windows, Max OS X and Linus platforms.

Despite winning many accolades and gaming awards, "Grim Fandango" turned out to be the penultimate original adventure game released by LucasArts before it was sold as part of Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012. The studio would release one other adventure game, 2000's "Escape From Monkey Island", before ceasing development on planned "Full Throttle" and "Sam & Max" sequels in favor of more "Star Wars" games. The adventure game division of LucasArts was effectively shut down in 2006, bringing an end to an era. Eventually, LucasArts ceased all video game development in 2013 and moved to a licensing model, with future games being developed by Disney's own game division, or by other developers.