A lot of what you described still sounds like a very "adventure" sort of gameplay. How would you capture what Larry is with a different kind of gameplay. I can't imagine Larry being, say, a shooter, or a platformer. If you were to update Larry, where would you take it, and would that be a step forward in your eyes or a compromise made to appease a publisher?
AL: I think that Larry was a product of the times, and for me to do a game today about a guy who's out of touch he wouldn't be a guy out of the 70s, he'd be out of the 90s [Editor: Mullet Marv? Hammerpants Harry?], so it's not really fair to try to bring that in. Vivendi Universal took an approach to MCL that I probably wouldn't have taken, but the part of it that worked for me was using the original Leisure Suit Larry in the game as an elder statesman or advisor. That's a good way to go. So I wouldn't want to do an update to LarryLarry started, we couldn't do that. Character couldn't do a range of actions. I tried to do the best with what I had. Now I would probably do a different sort of game, but I think it would still be recognizable, it would still be fun, and you'd still laugh. I just hope I get the chance to try it.
Along those lines, I wanted to note that you still see adventure games coming out like Syberia or Dreamcatcher's games, but they have these very dark, atmospheric worlds, and you don't see a Roger Wilco, or a Leisure Suit Larry, or a Guybrush Threepwood any more. Why is there this sort of double standard for humor?
AL: Well, there is humor in games now. I was so glad to play Psychonauts and see Tim Shaeffer's approach to this puzzle. I really respect him for getting his game published, let alone developed. I read that he started on his own, and then Microsoft picked it up, then Microsoft had a change of administration and dumped it, and finally Majesco picked it up. While it was a different approach, it was obviously a Tim Shaeffer game, crazy, wacky, funny, visually-unique...; a different approach to platforming. I loved it. It was really funny.
Psychonauts was definitely a great game. So is there an active interest on your part to get back into making a game? I'm sure there would be plenty of companies willing to work with you.
AL: You would think so, but so far I haven't found them. *pauses* I guess on the other hand I haven't looked recently. I talked to a few right after I left Sierra in 1998; at that time they just said, "Oh, no. You're an adventure game guy. You can't do anything else." It's okay. I was ready for a break after 16 years with the same company cranking out a game every Christmas. I was ready for some time off. Since retirement, I worked at a dot.com but just as we finished our software, the company went under so I went back to playing golf.
There's finally more of an effort to bring back adventure games, and finally some lighthearted adventure games. Companies like Autumn Moon Entertainment and Telltale games are dedicating themselves to the genre. Do you think any of these guys stand a chance?
AL: It depends on what you mean by "stand a chance." If it means millions of sales, I think they will be disappointed. But if you can do a game for a reasonable budget for a marketplace that will support it, then sure, you can be profitable. Look at the casual games market where Yahoo games and Real and other downloadable products. They're selling like hotcakes. They're inexpensive to produce and there's lots of money being made there. It's a viable marketplace. It doesn't interest me personally, but there is a marketplace for casual games. But I think if you're looking for a big breakthrough, Top 10 adventure game title, I don't think you'll ever see it again. One week, back in 1988, 3 of the top 10 selling games were adventure games: Police Quest, King's Quest 3, and Leisure Suit Larry. I still have that Top 10 list hanging on my home office wall since I programmed all 3 of them. That will never happen again.
