I've always been hopelessly obsessed with all things Maniac Mansion since being a kid, and when you weigh in the nostalgic factor, it doesn't taste a lie to call it my favorite game of all time. It would appear that I am not the only person the franchise has had this effect on, as the fan scene surrounding the game has always been pretty remarkable. You're probably familiar with Maniac Mansion Deluxe, the 256 color remake from 2004. Lesser known projects include the likes of an ongoing series of micro spinoff games powered by AGS, a project dubbed Maniac Mansion Mania. A million years ago I even remember an inventive fan creating a playable, fully 3D environment of just the exterior of the mansion.
The latest example of impressively excessive fan devotion to the father of SCUMM is this, a new remake of the game observed in one of our forum threads. What makes this remake of the classic original Maniac Mansion worthwhile when an acclaimed one already exists?
That's right: it's being re-imagined in the style of Day of the Tentacle. You can see some sprites and animation tests here, as well as an open call for help. It's unclear how far along the effort is at the moment, the status being that "the backgrounds are almost done." Still, whether or not this remake will end up being completed, or end up being like 99% of all fan projects, the work seen so far is pretty impressive.
Somehow in MMdx I felt that the DOTT background music was a bit out of place.
On a side note, I'd rather see the Edisons in flesh tone again than the blue.
I think it would be great to do what someone on the message boards the Maniac Mansion Deluxe suggested. Have the Edisons blue until Dr. Fred turns off the meteor's mind control switch.
That would explain the blue brilliantly. :)
Although the original version of Maniac Mansion depicted the Edisons as white, I thought the blue-skinned versions seen in the Enhanced and NES releases of the game worked really well with the schlock horror/scifi movie flavor of the original game, what with its haunted house setting and its radioactive meteors and its galactic police force. I think it was wise to revert their skin to white in DOTT, but DOTT is a very different type of game tonally and in personality. It's what always made the possibiltiy of a third game so compelling to me - the franchise isn't all that grounded in a highly specific style, and so there's freedom to go a ton of different directions with a subsequent outing. Not that I would mind a third game that essentially approached as DOTT2, but I do feel it would be a missed opportunity.
When the Enhanced version was made a year later, the re-release covered the C64 and Apple II (as well as PC, Atari ST and Amiga), so versions where the Edisons are white and versions where they are blue exist for the same platform.
(Note: I probably suspect that had Maniac Mansion been made in 1993 instead of when it was, it would resemble DOTT a bit more in style and humor, but there's still discernibly that "Group of teenagers entering a creepy mansion" element that DOTT didn't have at all that can't really be traced to graphics limitations.)
Unless a certain publisher is considering a certain new Special Edition...
Also they'd have to reanimate everything, perhaps making it too expensive to do, considering the price point and smaller market than MI.
Close Window