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Monkey Island II was a revelation for me. I could make progress! I could mess up, try again, and eventually get through things! Here was this genre of games that I'd always liked the idea of, but never been able to really enjoy due to difficulty, and someone had finally said, "Hey, how about we ONLY have the fun part." I mean, the beautiful art, the genuinely funny dialog, all of that was wonderful, but the thing I really fell in love with was being able to actually get through the game.
- Ian Adams, game designer at Seattle's Z2Live
They were built on a winning combination of low-stress mechanics and propelled by genuinely good writing.
Many of the characters had heart and soul, the imagined worlds they inhabited were crafted with an impressive attention to detail, and in many cases the personalities and some aspect of the of the creators came through.
Each of the mid-'90s LucasArts adventure videogames is memorable on its own, but taken together they represent a studio's glorious golden age that, in a fate similar to Atlantis (sorry), seemed to suddenly and cataclysmically sink beneath the ocean waves in the late '90s.
- Craig "Superbrothers" Adams
Full Throttle, probably the only game to ever start you off in a dumpster outside of a biker bar.
The Curse of Monkey Island is still one of the funniest games I’ve ever played. Then there was Loom, a beautiful game with a completely unique user interface that used music in a way never used before or since, as far as I know. Finally on my truly memorable scale is Grim Fandango, a 3D evolution from the older SCUMM games -- quirky, funny, mysterious and, once again, unique.
Technology in games is ever improving, but game design, when it’s done impeccably, is timeless.
- Game design consultant and author Rusel DeMaria
Manny Calavera feels a little ripped off in 1998's Grim Fandango.
The worlds still feel original and fresh, and the writing was witty and memorable, where every character is distinct and remarkable.
Even in their time, they managed to cross cultural boundaries. Many people in my generation in Spain, where I'm from, know by heart most of the insults to win at sword fighting in Monkey Island. Many adventure games coming from Europe will include nudges to LucasArts games, from direct quotes to similar puzzles (see Ben There, Dan That, or Ceville). They really struck a chord outside of North America.
- Researcher and scholar Clara Fernandez Vara
Honestly, I don't even know where to begin; they had so many titles that stand out. Their adventures games basically defined an era, with Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle, Escape from Monkey Island, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango.
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is probably one of my favorite adventure games of all time. Indiana Jones and the adventure game genre go together... well, like Fedoras and bull whips. And for me Fate of Atlantis delivered not only one my favorite adventure stories but also one of the best Indiana Jones stories ever. Certainly better that the Crystal Skull. Sorry George.
- Infinity Ward executive producer Mark Rubin
 You can sucker punch Adolf Hitler in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but it's not a good idea.
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They are the inspiration to a number of game ideas I have rolling around in my brain just waiting for the chance to break free and run rampant in the streets.
Let remember the demographics of computer games players back in the day was pretty specific to certain gender, age, education level and in being so, we all had roughly the same senses of humor, got the references , etc etc. It was just a magical time in gaming and Lucas Arts was at the forefront at that time. I will miss them, but will always fondly remember their games.
One odd thing that comes to mind about their games besides the obvious awesomeness, was the fact that they were some of the only true plug and play PC games of their times. I remember that if I saw the LucasFilms label I knew I could expect an easy install and get up in playing fast. Which today to younger players may seem odd, but back in the DOS days man sometimes you never knew what to expect. I remember some games required you to spend half a day in DOS just trying to get your soundblaster card to be recognized by the program.
All the playground kids talking about Maniac Mansion on the NES when it came out weren't either. We didn't even have computers, for the most part.
I guess the lesson here is that LucasArts adventure games lead to breakups.
The point is, if LucasFilm games didnt capture the hearts of the 1980 nerd gamer, they wouldnt of been hits and Lucasfilms would not of kept funding and making those classics for that time span 1987-92
I think the popularity of LucasArts' games has little to do with the social status of the people who played them and everything to do with quality and humor.
As far as demographics, back during this time I was a buyer for an east coast computer and gaming retailer, the 1980 nerd demographic was the bread and butter demographic. NES games were much more mainstream, broadening the base from the previous consoles such as intellivision, atari, coleco et.
Even back then we had niche apple users, commodore users, and the emerging pc dos users. You have to remember if a computer title sold over 100k copies back then, that was a major hit.
Even in 1993 as these great games winded down Ron Gilbert noted:
In 1993 the graphic adventure game “Day of the Tentacle” the sequel to Maniac Mansion. It sold around 80,000 copies upon release, and was critically acclaimed.
Putting aside the gender issue, LucasArts adventures could appeal to folks who liked games, folks who likes comedy, folks who liked movies, and folks who liked cartoons - this is a way wider audience than was targeted by, say, arcade shooter games.
To add on to Frank and Michale's pile-up of anecdotal dismissals of your claim, during my 90's adolescence, I was a computer nerd and played a ton of different types of game, LucasArts adventures being my definite favorite. However, all of my cousins were girls and young women, and while they weren't as into Warcraft, or MegaMan, they did enjoy LucasArts and Sierra adventures, and it was actually their interest in graphic adventures that led me to play King's Quest games and eventually independently discover the glory of LucasArts.
I think it was all in the environment. LucasFilm Games in its golden age had a setup that I don't think we've seen before or since: a bunch of wildly creative young people were put under one roof and funded by a very wealthy man who was smart enough to just leave them alone (so long as they were making money).
The result was a financially comfortable game studio that was free to make the kinds of games they actually wanted to make, with little tinkering from anyone outside. Independent studios often have that same spirit, but they seldom have the comforts of a regular paycheck while they flesh their ideas out.
That age is long lost.*
Now is all about making money.
*Thankfully there are a number of smaller game developers out there that are "getting back to their roots" and creating amazing games for the sake of creating amazing games.
bit.ly/10F61iP
What's the last game that made you laugh out loud ... intentionally? It really was a magical, special time and place - a perfect storm of talent and creative freedom that i hope we'll see again, somewhere.
*cough* In Toronto. *cough*
****
It starts with "Star Wars". It has to. Seeing that Lucasfilm logo was a call to adventure for any boy or girl who loved those films. As the years passed, we branched out and discovered new things, but still...any time we saw that logo or heard that fanfare, we became kids again. That was the magic of Lucasfilm Games, later LucasArts. These weren't games made for children, though. They were stories which grew up with us.
For every adolescent who turned into a snarky teenager or a sardonic twenty-something, here were games made by our peers. They were games that made sense for where we were in life, made by people who walked the same road as we did. Eventually, we had children of our own and introduced them to "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones". Is it any wonder then that as they got older, our kids might have caught a glimpse of the "Monkey Island" remake or Telltale Games' "Sam & Max" series and had something click with them, too? Vastly different properties, but all of them infused with the same spirit of Lucasfilm inspiration.
The games endure because the stories are sharp and respect the audience's intelligence, the humor is inclusive, and because still today when we see "Lucasfilm" or "LucasArts", it brings us (and now our sons and daughters) back to those childhood memories when all we wanted was a great adventure and friends to share it with. I hope that whichever companies license the LucasArts brand understand its amazing legacy and strive to make it magical again for a new generation. To anyone who ever worked at the company, thank you a million times over!
To which my proper response is, "How appropriate, I'm crying like a baby"
On behalf of my colleagues of the time (we've been sharing our own surprise at how hard this hit us on the phone the last few days) let me thank you - and say how the best compensation for the sadness is hearing how many of you game developers of the current day we helped launch into this industry.
Noah Falstein - Lucasfilm Games Employee #7 (or maybe #8, it was a long time ago, get off my lawn!)
David Fox, Lucasfilm Games Employee #3, or #2 if you don't count Rob Poor.
It inspired me.
The adventure game industry mostly died with that title. This is probably why I'm not sharing the nostalgia. I said my goodbyes to a certain kind of game development a long time ago. Eventually, brand identities become faceplates. All we can do is try to make the games we want *now*.
...who won?
When I was a kid I had a C64 and I had an NES (of course.) I played a lot of games on my C64 but really, only a few stuck with me at all, and none of them meant anything like as much to me as the NES games as Maniac Mansion and Zak McKracken. They were (almost) the only ones (that I had) that did something meaningfully different or better than their competition on consoles, that carved out a space that meant something to me as a kid. I still have the box to Maniac Mansion. I had the poster on my wall for years.
I think they're still in the back of my head in some foundational way as what games "should be."
I guess the closure of LucasArts is a hidden blessing for me, because I can now move on from that dream.
Fate of Atlantis and Monkey Island II made me, a 6yo Brazilian back then, learn English so I could play :).
It was also playing FoA that I decided to work with videogames.
Disney, shame on you... Games are art and not just millions of units selling so you can be even more full of our money ¬¬
Point and click games are still being written and appear to be quite popular. Revolution (Broken Sword) appear to be still going strong. But instead of cutting Lucas-arts down to a more realistic and humble position, they decided to sell off it's IPs, then set fire to it - not making enough money you see.
When talking about video games, most people just keep remembering "back in the days" when they were playing. STOP IT. Nostalgia isn't everything. These games were good, but games nowadays are better than ever, especially the point and click adventure genre. I hate it how they all go unnoticed and only a small subset of people try them. It did not change, there are over 10 point and click adventure games released this year that are even better than the old LucasArt classics. Just try them. Daedalic Entertainment is a good start.
I don't agree with your opinion on this being just nostalgia, since I revisit these old games often -- DIG being one of my favorite games and the first graphic adventure I turned around and replayed...
The "MUSIC," the art( Not the rushed half-assed reworks. ), the HUMOR, the CHARACTERS, the story being told, all make Lucas's games more than just nostalgia and in many cases a step above this newer stuff.
Nostalgia in my case is PacMan. Walka walk walka.. Beweeeeeeeeuuuu Weeeeuuuuuuu Beweeeuuuuuuuuu...
Why do you even care if people have nostalgia for LucasArts games? If you can't relate, cool, enjoy the games you like. Let us enjoy the games we like.
As they tend to adapt to 2D art really well, that allows a lot of expression and individuality to come through from the creator (as well as they don't require such large teams). So we remember adventure games more as an experience.
These games really inspired us to make our game The Realm (http://kck.st/XZlFdU) so its great there is still interest in them.