So last week’s announcement of Activision and Sierra titles appearing on GOG.com got me more than just thinking; it got me thumbing through my library going “Oooh, I wonder if they’ll do this one…or this one…or this one.” None of this is inside info — I’m going to have one of the founders of GOG on the podcast this week and he wouldn’t cough up any details — but I couldn’t help myself from doing a speculative wishlist. We know that 20 games are in the first batch; now it’s time to figure out what might appear.
Interstate ’76
Originally released: 1997
Last seen: Upgraded with an expansion pack and fathering a sequel, Interstate ’82
I’ve loudly proclaimed this as one of my top 5 favorite games of all time, so no surprise that this tops my wishlist. The setup: in an alternate past, the gas crunch of the late 1970s has turned to hostile open combat between roving automotive gangs. You’re Groove Champion, whose sister drove with a gang of freedom fighters; now it’s your turn to outfit your car with machine guns, rocket launchers, and other weapons of destruction to avenge her — and maybe save the country from high-octane terrorists while you’re at it. Picture MechWarrior 2 with muscle cars and a funk soundtrack.
This game consumed my life.
Will It Happen?: Since other people remember this game fondly too and it’s totally owned by Activision (no legal hassles with licenses or whatnot — even the funk soundtrack was original music composed for the game), I feel very good about its chances, maybe 3:2 odds. Plus, I really want that to be true.
The Lost Treasures of Infocom
Originally released: 1971 through 1989
Last seen: The 1996 compilation Classic Text Adventure Masterpieces, from Activision
I’ve always had an affection for text adventures. It’s pure gameplay — just puzzles and prose, no problems with dated elements or graphics drivers or anything like that. You’re the star an in interactive novel. Infocom wrote them in every genre imaginable — sci-fi, fantasy, noir, comedy, romance, horror. Douglas Adams was so taken with the genre that he not only co-wrote the interactive Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, but created an original game. Bureaucracy, that has never appeared in any other format.
Will It Happen?: Despite being unfettered by technical limitations like drivers, Infocom games have been out of print for years — and the last collection is only compatible with Windows 95 and Mac OS 9. Clever tech juggling can extract the core files to run through an interpreter, so the tech barrier can be lifted. Activision released the first three Zork games for free some years ago as a promotional move for Zork: Grand Inquisitor, but there are many more excellent games where they came from — and the secondary market is paying way, way too much for legit copies of the old compilations. (When smart people like Ken Jennings are willing to happily resort to piracy to get these things, you know you have a market opportunity — even if he is wrong about Masterpieces being the only CD reissue.) Hell, you can play them at your desk and it looks like you’re working!
Leisure Suit Larry
Originally released: 1987 through 1996
Last seen: Two weaksauce console games
Despite the regrettable existence of Magna Cum Laude and Box Office Bust, I’m marking 1996 as the last year of LSL, because after that, series creator Al Lowe was no longer involved in the games. Like it or not, Al made the games what they were — funny, dirty point-and-click adventure games filled with single entendres and low-brow humor. At the time, it was groundbreaking stuff, and it’s still naughty-giggle-inducing today. The series was most recently reissued as the Leisure Suit Larry Collection (which is the only one I was able to track down when I went looking a few years back), but purists clamor for the more complete 4-CD Ultimate Pleasure Pack.
Will It Happen?: With so many reissues in its history, I can’t see why this wouldn’t be a prime candidate for one more. It’s just a question of which games will be included and whether or not they will be bundled. But I personally suspect Larry Laffer will be back in his sleazy leisure suit on GOG.
Spycraft: The Great Game
Originally released: 1996
Last seen: Seen? A spy? Never.
This is the one game I hear many people saying was a favorite — even inside these walls. You take on the role of a CIA agent trying to unravel an assassination plot. It included William Colby, former director of the CIA, and Oleg Kalugin, former major general of the KGB, as consultants; they also played themselves in the game. Dark, taut, creepy — and mostly devoid of the sexy guns and running around you find in other spy games. This was based on real stuff, like surveillance and interrogation and data analysis. Kind of nothing else like it.
Will It Happen?: This one has a rare combination of mystique and name recognition; everyone who remembers it remembers it fondly, and I think it’s partly because so few games have successfully handled this subject matter. Again, with 3 CDs, it could be a data-packing problem; you’re looking at a 1.5GB download easy. Maybe there’s some better way around this that smarter minds have figured out.
You Don’t Know Jack
Originally released: 1995
Last seen: Playable online at http://www.youdontknowjack.com/ and, as of 2008, rumored to be coming to consoles
I somewhat controversially called this trivia game show CD “the game of the decade” in a review in the 90s — I was completely floored with the snarky attitude, brilliant writing, and excellent presentation. And almost all the data was audio — the interface was intentionally minimalist, so as to give more space on the disc for the voiceover. There were several sequels, some of which focused just on specific topics like movies and sports. A large part of my PC CD rack at home is occupied by YDJK titles.
Will It Happen?: I’m honestly not sure who owns what at this junction. The developer is Jellyvision, but Berkeley and later Sierra published the games, so I figure any publishing rights would still be with Activision…unless they have all reverted to Jellyvision now? I hate to think that a game as great as this would be lost to the mists of time, so maybe the rights are all easier than I’m assuming. A collection of two or three volumes would be fantastic as a GOG download, I think. Again, there’s lots of audio data; that could be a problem.
Phantasmagoria
Originally released: 1995
Last seen: Repackaged with its sequel in a 1999 compilation
I have to admit that I never finished this game when it came out. Roberta Williams was one of the first people to really seriously try to tackle horror (and I say this meaning “as opposed to the schlock that was Isle of the Dead and Harvester) in a serious, narrative setting. It was adult and not for the squeamish; there were several gory and controversial scenes. It also starred a live actor as the main avatar — well, not live, but you know, videotaped and digitized.
Will It Happen?: The game came out on seven CDs — that’s a lot of data, but some of that data was repeated on each disc so you wouldn’t go crazy swapping discs. Still, an FMV game with a large footprint…it’s going to be a task. On the other hand, it’s owned, truly classic, and still spoken of in hushed tones, and Roberta Williams herself says it’s her most representative work.
Mystery House
Originally released: 1980
Last seen: Playable on iPhone
This is the Roberta Williams adventure game that Bobby Kotick often cites as one of his earliest gaming loves. I don’t even care if it holds up today; bringing this to GOG would just be all kinds of appropriate.
Will It Happen?: Granted, the Apple II graphics don’t look like much today, but if $6 will buy you the iPhone version, why wouldn’t $6 buy you a PC version? Still, I wonder if this is just too old to make the cut for the first batch. I’m not expecting it, anyway.
King’s Quest, Space Quest, and Police Quest series
Originally released: 1984, 1986, and 1987
Last seen: Digitally downloadable as collections from http://digitaldownloads.activision.com
Everybody says they want to play these iconic point-and-click Sierra games again; I don’t think people realize they already can. I didn’t know until I went poking around.
Will It Happen?: If nobody knows they’re available as downloads already, maybe it’s time to try a GOG re-release. That’s where retro gamers are already looking, right?
That scratches the surface of what could be released this month. I have more ideas but I am tired of typing. What’s on your wish list?
