Leisure Suit Larry purchased by Codemasters

[TheReturnofDMD]

http://www.codemasters.com/games/index.php?gameid=3021

If you remember, Codemasters also purchased Sierra's old studio at Oakhurst when it was shut down in 1999; they also bought The Realm (Sierra's online gaming network) and owned it for a while.

[atec123]

Interesting.  I never played the larry games, though it's still interesting that other companies are taking Sierra stuff.  (maybe not in a good way, but it's still interesting)

[Yonkey]

It doesn't look like they bought Sierra though, just the rights to the Larry franchise.  And like MCL, the game itself seems to be based on the nephew again.

[TheReturnofDMD]

It doesn't look like they bought Sierra though, just the rights to the Larry franchise.  And like MCL, the game itself seems to be based on the nephew again.

The game was in production before they bought the rights. And it's an adventure game. I don't see what the problem is whether it's the nephew or Larry. Larry is in it, but it's an adventure game.

[Suzie]

I would hardly call it an adventure game. More like.. erotic-action adventure or something like that. It's sort of like just a collection of mini-games.

[TheReturnofDMD]

I would hardly call it an adventure game. More like.. erotic-action adventure or something like that. It's sort of like just a collection of mini-games.

MCL was like that, but this has been said to be an Adventure Game.

(Posted on: February 16, 2009, 01:17:56 PM)

This is what the producer said in an interview:


IGN: Would you describe this as an adventure game? If so, what do you think makes a good modern adventure game?

John Melchior: LSL is most certainly an adventure game. I think a good adventure game is when you can make player "lose time". We want them to look up at the clock and be shocked at how long they have been playing. We design these styles of games to flow smoothly through the story and entertain all the way. Great mechanics combined with dialogue and stories that keep the player wanting to see what is next, "will they take this gag farther?" or "what possibly could be next?"


IGN: The last Larry game wasn't exactly a critical success – what does this one do differently?

John Melchior: I took this game over after Magna Cum Laude and the initial designing of its sequel, but after we sat down and reviewed the last game and looked to where they wanted to take it we decided to put the brakes on this franchise and bring it back in a big way. The last game was torn apart and I think it was just the wrong approach for this franchise. Most of the criticisms of the game were not off base. This game is a total departure from the last game. I think it's safe to say that for the first time Larry is actually a game with tried and true mechanics and a vision that it catered towards today's gamers.

IGN: Will there be the same emphasis on mini-games as the last Larry title?

John Melchior: There really is nothing we are bringing over from the last game. With Team17 aboard we knew we had a developer that could handle comedy and an animation style that fit the new direction. This allowed me and the writers to handle the heavy lifting of the storytelling and script writing. Whatever we threw at them they got it and knew how execute on it. Obviously comedy in games is rare and far between so once we saw what Team17 could do we knew we had something. They were able to concentrate on creating game mechanics and a new conversation system that actually has gameplay attached to it. This game has some mini-games but they are not the focus on the game, they are small addictive side quests that fit into the storyline.

[dark-daventry]

I just read this on Joystiq, and I wish it the best of luck. I had read that this game will have some kind of Sandbox mode. I was reading an article somewhere that said that adventure games are in a rennasiance period; that they're starting to rise again. I would sincerely hope that Box Office Bust is a critical and financial success to show the rest of the world that Adventure Games are still a viable genre. Perhaps this game will lead into a return to the KQ franchise. If so, I would hope that either TSL develop it, or that another group of passionate people take up the rights. It all rests with this one game in my eyes. But I wonder whatever happened to Leisure Suit Larry: Cocoa Butter. That game was listed on several sites back in like 2005, but never announced nor releaased... I can only imagine it either morphed into Box Office Bust, or got cancelled. Anyway, I wish LSL: Box Office Bust the best of luck commercially. I likely won't be getting it anytime soon, mainly because the LSL games never really interested me. But this game will hopefully be a step in the right direction...

[PirateKingChris]

"I think it's safe to say that for the first time Larry is actually a game with tried and true mechanics and a vision that it catered towards today's gamers."

That quote flashes UH OH in big bright letters to me. Alot of companies that say they're trying to make an adventure fit in with today end up making something that isn't an adventure of old. I bet you just click on everything to make it happen, no differing cursors, there's nothing tough about adventures like that.