Spanish Version Available HERE!!
Once again, Aventura y Cía had the honor of meeting another of the great masters of the adventure gaming. No need to introduce him, he's known enough and has gained a name in the genre: he's Al Lowe. One of the most important personalities of the old great Sierra On-Line: former school teacher, designer, programmer, saxophonist, and the most important - creator of such funny adventures as Freddy Pharkas or Torin's Passage; and also father of the brilliant Larry Laffer has talked to us about his particular filosophy, his games and his very interesting point of view over the controversy with Sierra Entertainment....
1.- Despite the fact that you are one of the most
approachable ex-designers from Sierra, we haven't learned very much of you
lately. Have you cut yourself off from computer entertainment? In the last years
you have probably had enough spare time to play some game or other. Which was
the last adventure game you played? Which is, in your opinion, the company that
makes now the best adventure games?
>>If you haven't heard from me lately, it's only because you haven't been visiting http://www.allowe.com/ regularly. I've been busily posting humor, stories about the "good old days" at Sierra, inside stories about Leisure Suit Larry, and much more there. I try not to play games any more. It's just too depressing. I loved Spellcasting, Space Quest, Monkey Island, and many more humorous games.
Don't gamers laugh any more?
2.-A few weeks ago we had the pleasure in talking with an ex-coworker of
yours, Josh Mandel, who said he would be very happy to make another game with
you. In Aventura y Cia we would really like to be witness of a new uniting. What
would you say in view of a hypothetical proposal from Josh? Haven't you ever
thought in proposing one of your colleagues to work again with you in a new
project?
>>I'd love to work with Josh
again; only one thing stands in my way. Money. Plain and simple, there just
doesn't seem to be the market today for the kind of games I enjoy making. And if
there's no possibility of reward, why take the risk? Adventure games are
expensive to create. I have no desire to work a year, spend all the money I
have, and end up with… the pleasure of the experience. Sorry. I'm a capitalist.
I did 15 years of public school teaching for my "missionary work."
3.-Since the 80s, videogaming has changed a lot, but the adventure games
seem to have reached its evolutionary limit. Loyal adventure gamers that we are,
we are worried about the future of our beloved genre. Despite the great success
that these games have in Europe, there are fewer companies which dare to make
adventures each time, most of them saying that the strict genre of "Graphic
Adventure" is now totally exploited. We definitely refuse to believe this, but
the truth is that there isn't much innovation within this kind of game. What
would you do if you felt an absolute necessity, almost physiological, of making
an innovatory adventure game?
>>Light up a big cigar, pour myself a double shot of whiskey, and head for my patio with this morning's New York Times. <grin> Seriously, that just won't happen. When you've created 28 games, seen them professionally produced, widely advertised and promoted, internationally published, and sold to millions, why would I want to produce a game "just for fun?"
4.-You've been making adventure games for years, and most of them had a great success, surviving to the pass of 15 years. What is the formula to make an instantaneous classic?
>>There's only one secret: and
that's a secret! <grin>
I think there are many things that go into making a good game. Here are just a few. It has to be fun. Consistent. Fair. Interesting. Non-obvious. Slightly different, but not too different. Accessible within the first hour of play, but with enough depth so that you don't finish quickly. Interesting, well-developed characters. A plot that reveals itself to you as you play. An over-arching concept that ties the game together.
Oh, yeah. Sex and humor helps, too! <grin>
5.-Let's talk about our friend Larry. This character, which you created
15 years ago, has become an icon in the world of computer entertainment, being
one of the most played franchises, and even one of the most pirated ones. That
hot touch the game had made it a "special" product in Sierra's catalogue. How
come an adult game, politically incorrect (I got myself crazy to get through
those age-check tests!!) was included between such others as King's Quest or
Space Quest? It was even considered as "scandalous" (which isn't completely
true, I played it myself and I didn't ever get shocked), so much so that, from
what the legends tell, you were "friendly" pressed by several groups to make
your second Larry "lighter." What made Al Lowe wake up some day, and say, "I
want to make an obscene game?"
>>I don't consider any of my games
obscene (which means, "offensive to accepted standards of decency or modesty").
Hell, I wasn't offended, nor were any of my friends, nor the millions of players
who paid for it and never exercised the "money-back guarantee" that came in
every package.
What I did want to do was make people laugh. And to me, a bumbling
dolt 40 years old and still a virgin with nothing on his mind but sex and yet
unable to score seemed funny-and still does!
6.-We have a physical doubt: if Larry was a forty-ish in 1987, now he
should approximately 55 years old, and he keeps since then as an actual
stallion. What is the secret of Larry's virility? Maybe the king of polyester
works by the means of Viagra?
>>It's a well-known fact that wearing polyester makes your skin
younger. And remember: Robin was a young boy for 50 years. Say-and he lived with
a wealthy attractive older man. And they never dated…
7.-Mr. Laffer was an example to follow by most of the libidinous young
people (and a big percentage of thirty-year-old people) from many countries,
Spain included. Many have tried to follow the lessons of the twentieth century
Casanova (although only a few could reach his level). A character such as this
doesn't born overnight. Did you get the inspiration from somebody or it was some
kind of Frankenstein, made with pieces of beach wolves, and other specimens of
that sort?
>>Larry was styled after a type of person that I knew but didn't
respect. He was easy to insult. The hard part of designing those games was to
find an excuse so that at least one woman per game would actually accept him!
8.-Joking apart, one must admit that Larry has become one of the most charismatic characters ever created in an adventure game. Most of us got very sad after learning that the King of Polyester would not ever be back in our screens, and even more after watching the ending of "Love for Sail!" We thought it was all lost, but very recently the press have published some hopeful declarations about the return of the old Sierra, and the revival of the old series, abandoned until now. We've also talked with Jane Jensen and Josh Mandel and none of both rule out the possibility of returning to the company, now leaded by Mike Ryder. Furthermore, Jane stated her interest in making another game. Do you think that Sierra will be the same that it was?
>>Of course not. Those were special times and we were in a special
place. But could Sierra produce great adventure games again? Of course. All it
takes is commitment, interest, time, support, and money. Lots of
it.
9.-In the same
publishing, we've read that the new president of the company, Mike Ryder, has
begun to move, contacting the old creative people from the firm, including, of
course, Al Lowe. The last PC Gamer Magazine carries some words of yours, in
which you claimed that you had some meetings with Mike, about another possible
sequel to Leisure Suit Larry, which made us very happy. We're anxious to know
more details. How was the meeting? What are the conditions you set up (if you
set any) and what did he set, regarding the prototype of Larry 8? And most
important, there's any hopes to see it?
>>I had a short meeting with
Sierra's current president, Mike Ryder, on Feb. 1st. He said he was interested
in "reviving the franchises that made Sierra," including Larry. I was ready, but
skeptical. There were many details to consider. We agreed to work via email that
very week and get together again soon.
After hearing nothing from him for the next month, I emailed him to see what had happened. After a month, he emailed back, saying that he was really busy and would get to me soon. That was two months ago. I've heard nothing. Even an optimist like me would agree: the interest level at Sierra is non-existent.
Add to that the recent news that Sierra has no copies of any Larry
games left in the warehouse and they don't intend to reprint. "It's too
expensive to print the large quantities necessary to get a volume discount,"
says their production manager. Let's see: they have no cost of development, no
marketing, no advertising, no sales commissions, a near-empty warehouse that's
already paid for, etc., etc., but can't afford to keep a backlist. <sigh>
You may wonder how book publishers stay in business!
11.-Mike Ryder claimed that he's not about reviving only Mr. Laffer but
also the Space Quest, Gabriel Knight and King's Quest series, some of the most
representative franchises of the Sierra of the '80 and the '90. We know that you
are greatly in touch with your ex colleagues. Do you know if the president of
Sierra has contacted any of them? Imagine you are the person in charge to
persuade them to get back to the company, what would you tell
them?
>>I have heard that there is another Space Quest game in development, done by people who have never spoken with the original "Two Guys from Andromeda." A King's Quest game was started, then dropped.
What would I say? I'd make them an offer they couldn't
refuse!
12.-To end the interview, the question that we made to anybody we
interview, what would you like to say to all those fans that want to become a
substitute of Al Lowe?
>>I'd tell them to overeat for many years, pull out all their hair, grown a gray beard and learn to love life, because I do! I'd also tell them to drop by http://www.allowe.com/ immediately and look at all the great stuff I've posted there. Then I'd make them take a turn at mailing out free daily jokes every day like I do with CyberJoke 3000™, which I encourage all of your readers to sign up for immediately!
Seriously, I want to thank each and every one of you (well, not you
pirates! <grin>) and tell you how much I enjoy reading your messages. Drop
by AlLowe.com and post a message on my board or email me. You're the
best!
(25 de Junio de 2002)
