Al Lowe
Encyclopedia
Al Lowe is an American musician
and game designer/programmer
who developed several adventure game
s, mostly for Sierra On-Line. He is best known for his creation of Leisure Suit Larry
and the long-running series it spawned.
for 15 years. After that time, he decided to teach himself programming and in 1982 he created three games for the Apple II: Dragon's Keep, Bop-A-Bet
, and Troll's Tale. Sierra Entertainment
bought these games in 1983 and Al worked for them as a programmer and game designer for 16 years.
His first projects included Winnie the Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood
, Donald Duck's Playground
, and The Black Cauldron, all based on Disney
properties.
In 1986, he was lead programmer on King's Quest III
and Police Quest I
and also created the music for other Sierra games.
He is best known for his Leisure Suit Larry
series of games and its infectious theme song, which he composed. After Larry's success, Lowe also designed other games such as Torin's Passage
and Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist
(with Josh Mandel). Throughout his career, Lowe was known for his distinctive bald
head, full beard
, and considerable belly. He liked to call himself "the world's oldest game designer".
In 1994, he moved with his family to Seattle and supposedly enjoyed retirement since 1998. Lowe has played saxophone
professionally since age 13 and still performs with local jazz band
s, including MOJO.
As of January 2007, the website for Sam Suede developer iBase Entertainment lists the project as postponed pending acquisition of additional development funding.
2007 in Helsinki, Finland and played saxophone live with David Hasselhoff Big Band. Lowe's primary emphasis now is his humor web site Al Lowe's Humor Site and CyberJoke 3000, a daily joke
mailing list
.
Lowe has been a model railroader for several decades. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the 4th Division of the Pacific Northwest Region of the National Model Railroad Association
.
Lowe has been recruited by Replay Games to work on high-definition remakes of the first seven Leisure Suit Larry games, originally released on the PC unlike Magna Cum Laude and Box Office Bust, the only titles Lowe had no involvement in.
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and game designer/programmer
Game programmer
A game programmer is a software engineer, programmer, or computer scientist who primarily develops codebase for video games or related software, such as game development tools. Game programming has many specialized disciplines all of which fall under the umbrella term of "game programmer"...
who developed several adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
s, mostly for Sierra On-Line. He is best known for his creation of Leisure Suit Larry
Leisure Suit Larry (series)
Leisure Suit Larry is a series of adventure games written by Al Lowe and published by Sierra from 1987 to 2009. The main character, whose full name is Larry Laffer, is a balding, dorky, double entendre-speaking, leisure suit-wearing "loser" in his 40s...
and the long-running series it spawned.
Early career
Lowe began his career teaching public school musicMusic
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
for 15 years. After that time, he decided to teach himself programming and in 1982 he created three games for the Apple II: Dragon's Keep, Bop-A-Bet
Bop-A-Bet
Bop-A-Bet is a 1983 computer game developed by Al Lowe for the Apple II and published by Sierra On-Line.The game teaches letter recognition and alphabetization. The speed of the game increases as the child becomes more proficient....
, and Troll's Tale. Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
bought these games in 1983 and Al worked for them as a programmer and game designer for 16 years.
His first projects included Winnie the Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood
Winnie the Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood
Winnie the Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood was a single player adventure game created by Sierra On-Line. It is based on the character Winnie the Pooh.-Plot:...
, Donald Duck's Playground
Donald Duck's Playground
Donald Duck's Playground is a computer game for the Commodore 64, based on the Walt Disney cartoon and comic book character Donald Duck. It was also ported to the IBM PCjr, Apple II, Atari ST and Amiga...
, and The Black Cauldron, all based on Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
properties.
In 1986, he was lead programmer on King's Quest III
King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human
King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human is the third installment in the King's Quest series of computer games produced by Sierra On-Line. It was the first game in the series not to feature King Graham as the player character....
and Police Quest I
Police Quest
Police Quest is a series of computer games produced and published by Sierra On-Line between 1987 and 1993. The original series was composed of four adventure games, the first three of which were designed by former policeman Jim Walls, with the fourth title designed by former LAPD Chief Daryl F....
and also created the music for other Sierra games.
He is best known for his Leisure Suit Larry
Leisure Suit Larry
Leisure Suit Larry is a series of adventure games written by Al Lowe and published by Sierra from 1987 to 2009. The main character, whose full name is Larry Laffer, is a balding, dorky, double entendre-speaking, leisure suit-wearing "loser" in his 40s...
series of games and its infectious theme song, which he composed. After Larry's success, Lowe also designed other games such as Torin's Passage
Torin's Passage
Torin's Passage is a graphic adventure game developed and released by Sierra On-Line, designed by Al Lowe. The game holds the distinction of being a family friendly game by Lowe, designer of the adult-oriented Leisure Suit Larry series of games....
and Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist
Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist
Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist is a comic Old West adventure computer game created by Al Lowe and Josh Mandel and published by Sierra On-Line in 1993...
(with Josh Mandel). Throughout his career, Lowe was known for his distinctive bald
Baldness
Baldness implies partial or complete lack of hair and can be understood as part of the wider topic of "hair thinning". The degree and pattern of baldness can vary greatly, but its most common cause is male and female pattern baldness, also known as androgenic alopecia, alopecia androgenetica or...
head, full beard
Beard
A beard is the collection of hair that grows on the chin, cheeks and neck of human beings. Usually, only pubescent or adult males are able to grow beards. However, women with hirsutism may develop a beard...
, and considerable belly. He liked to call himself "the world's oldest game designer".
In 1994, he moved with his family to Seattle and supposedly enjoyed retirement since 1998. Lowe has played saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
professionally since age 13 and still performs with local jazz band
Jazz band
A jazz band is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands usually consist of a rhythm section and a horn section, in the early days often trumpet, trombone, and clarinet with rhythm section of piano, banjo, bass or tuba, and drums.-Eras:SwingDuring the swing era in the mid-twentieth...
s, including MOJO.
iBase Entertainment
In a 2006 interview, Al revealed that he was not actually retired, but had spent well over a year secretly designing a new game Sam Suede: Undercover Exposure, an action comedy game developed by iBase Entertainment, which he co-founded with Ken Wegrzyn. Unable to locate a publisher to promote and distribute Sam Suede, iBase Entertainment shut down in December 2006. Following this setback, Lowe expressed serious doubts whether he'd ever reenter the gaming industry again.As of January 2007, the website for Sam Suede developer iBase Entertainment lists the project as postponed pending acquisition of additional development funding.
Other
In November 2007 he was the guest of honor at the Alternative PartyAlternative Party
Alternative Party is a demoscene and art event in Finland. It was first organized in 1998 in Turku and since 2000 in Helsinki. The event is organized by Alternative Party ry, a non-profit association....
2007 in Helsinki, Finland and played saxophone live with David Hasselhoff Big Band. Lowe's primary emphasis now is his humor web site Al Lowe's Humor Site and CyberJoke 3000, a daily joke
Joke
A joke is a phrase or a paragraph with a humorous twist. It can be in many different forms, such as a question or short story. To achieve this end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices...
mailing list
Mailing list
A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is referred to as "the mailing list", or simply "the...
.
Lowe has been a model railroader for several decades. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the 4th Division of the Pacific Northwest Region of the National Model Railroad Association
National Model Railroad Association
The National Model Railroad Association is a non-profit organization for those involved in the hobby or business of model railroading. It was founded in the United States in 1935, and is now active in Canada, Australia, Great Britain, and the Netherlands...
.
Lowe has been recruited by Replay Games to work on high-definition remakes of the first seven Leisure Suit Larry games, originally released on the PC unlike Magna Cum Laude and Box Office Bust, the only titles Lowe had no involvement in.
External links
- Al Lowe's Humor Site
- Al Lowe profile at MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
- Artist profile at OverClocked ReMixOverClocked ReMixOverClocked ReMix, also known as OC ReMix and OCR, is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and paying tribute to video game music through arranging and re-interpreting the songs with new technology and software, as well as by various traditional means...