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Tim Schafer returns to roots with Conquest of Humor

Words to live by, folks.

First a brief (I promise) history lesson: A long time ago (in a galaxy very much like our own,) industry giant LucasArts (a branch of the legendary Lucasfilm Ltd,) created some of the more clever, challenging, and well designed adventure games of all time. Their golden age titles included such classics as the Monkey Island series, Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, and one of my all-time favorites, Grim Fandango. Adventure game fans, including myself, were happy and satiated.

 

Then… came the dark times. Around the dawn of the 21st century, all adventure game production ceased, and henceforth LucasArts produced only unmemorable Star Wars games and poorly-executed third-person shooters with goofy-looking protagonists named Jet Brody. The end.

 

Actually, it was merely the end of LucasArts’ credibility, and only a new beginning for the careers of its former adventure game specialists. A few dissidents, for example, splintered off to form Telltale Games, whose excellent Adventures of Sam & Max titles gave me some hope of the graphical adventure one day regaining its former glory. Meanwhile Tim Schafer, the project lead for Full Throttle and Grim Fandango, and perhaps the most renowned comedy writer in the industry, formed Double Fine Productions, releasing the platformer Psychonauts in 2005.

 

Psychonauts, while not without its frustrations,was an excellent game: it had plenty of the trademark Schafer wit, featured some creative gameplay innovations, and was especially notable for its dazzling level design (particularly the unforgettable conspiracy stage.) I must admit, however, that I found myself resenting the inclusion of platforming elements, even, paradoxically, as I enjoyed them. I suppose some part of me had been unreasonably hoping that Schafer would, just once more, deliver the old school adventurey goodness that had brought me so much joy in my younger days. Perhaps I hadn't been reading my Thomas Wolfe. In any case, with the announcement that Double Fine's next project, Brütal Legend (due to be released this fall,) will also be action-oriented, I reluctantly gave of hope of another Schafer-helmed adventure title.

 

Then, while unsuspectingly perusing the Double Fine website Monday afternoon, I found those long-abandoned hopes suddenly revived, and my silly, naïve wish fulfilled. Not by a big-budget, multi-console release, but by a Flash game with the unlikely title Host Master and the Conquest of Humor, thrown together by Schafer and Double Fine webmaster Klint Honeychurch.

 

My heart fluttered in anticipation as the title screen came up. Upon what sort of epic quest would I be embarking? Would I be a mighty pirate, performing bold feats of swordplay and rattling off clever insults? A team of time-traveling teenagers, out to save the future from a megalomaniac appendage? A stone-jawed biker with a heart of gold? A wisecracking skeleton? Not even close, as it turns out. The eponymous Host Man is in fact Schafer himself, in has capacity as host of this year’s Game Developer’s Conference Awards. His task? Put together 22 jokes to soften up the award show crowd.

 

…Yeah. A bit underwhelming as a concept, perhaps, but appropriate insofar as Host Man is essentially a one-screen, tongue-in-cheek tribute to the old-school adventure game. The interface will be instantly recognizable to Monkey Island fans: the old 12-verb interface (pick up, look at, push, pull, etc.) the sectioned-off inventory at the bottom right of the screen, and the little flickering bit of text that tells you what you’re about to do – it’s like a reunion with an old friend. While it’s certainly shorter than the average adventure game (you hunt for jokes in your dressing room, and once you leave the game is over – you get a number of different endings depending on how many jokes you collected,) it has a pleasing density of content which makes it feel longer; almost every possible interaction of verb and object has a unique line of dialogue. The writing ranges from clever bits of wordplay (try using “turn off” on the door) to ridiculous non sequiturs (try to “look at” the phone before you pick it up.) Collecting all 22 jokes is a pretty stiff challenge, but if you're anything like me it's one which you'll have no trouble subjecting  yourself to.

 

While it's by no means a substitute for a full-length adventure, Host Master and the Conquest of Humor is exactly what it sets out to be: an extremely satisfying and much appreciated bit of fan service, especially coming from a man so obviously focused on his future in video games rather than his past (a line from Schafer’s Q and A page: “Q: Are adventure games dead? If yes, then what killed adventure games? A: Next person to ask me this gets a punch in the mouth.”) While I still pine for the glory days of the graphical adventure, at least now I know that one of my favorite game designers is pining right along with me, if only a little.