Labyrinth (game)
Encyclopedia
Labyrinth: The Computer Game is a graphic adventure
computer game
, inspired by the Jim Henson
fantasy film, Labyrinth
. The game was developed by Lucasfilm Games
(now LucasArts) and published by Activision
in 1986 for the Apple IIe
and IIc
, Commodore 64
/128
, and MSX2. It was the first adventure game to be developed by the LucasArts development house, and as such it can be seen as a more primitive precursor to the development of the SCUMM
game engine
. It is also one of the few adventure games made by the company to not use a variation of the SCUMM
game engine
(the other games being the GrimE
-based Grim Fandango
and Escape from Monkey Island
). The game engine and graphics are very similar to a later work by Lucasfilm Games called Habitat
.
, this wasn't too much of a surprise, except it was the first time Lucasfilm Games actually did a game based on a film.
It was decided that a team would fly to London
for a week of brainstorming
on the design. There they'd meet with Douglas Adams
(who is more famous as the author of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series). Members of the team included Steve Arnold (Lucasfilm Games General Manager), Brenda Laurel
(Activision producer), Charlie Kellner (Lucasfilm Games lead programmer), David Fox (Lucasfilm Games designer/project leader), Christopher Cerf
(writer, known for his work on Sesame Street
and other CTW projects, also a friend of Jim Henson's
— the writer/director of the film).
Adams had a good many ideas, many of which made their way into the final game, including the suggestion that the game open as a typical text adventure, a genre still popular at the time. Then, when the player gets into the movie theater playing the film, Labyrinth, the screen fills with David Bowie
's image, and the player enters the full color universe of the Labyrinth. From that point on, it's a graphic adventure.
The team came up with a "slot machine" text interface to drive the game, rather than typing text like other adventures of the time. There were two vertical strips of words next to each other. The one on the left had verbs (pick up, give, use, etc.), and the one on the right had nouns (objects in your inventory, objects in the vicinity). You chose a word from each to tell the game what to do.
Adams really liked the word "adumbrate", a rather obscure verb meaning "To prefigure indistinctly; foreshadow". So it ended up on the verb list. This obscure word was used in an even more obscure puzzle at one point in the game — you had to "adumbrate the elephant" when you were stuck in a prison, and an elephant would come and break a hole in the wall, freeing you.
version, but with a completely different design and gameplay.
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,...
computer game
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
, inspired by the Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
fantasy film, Labyrinth
Labyrinth (film)
Labyrinth is a 1986 British/American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson, produced by George Lucas, and designed by Brian Froud. Henson collaborated on the screenwriting with children's author Dennis Lee, Terry Jones from Monty Python, and Elaine May .The film stars David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin...
. The game was developed by Lucasfilm Games
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
(now LucasArts) and published by Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
in 1986 for the Apple IIe
Apple IIe
The Apple IIe is the third model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The e in the name stands for enhanced, referring to the fact that several popular features were now built-in that were only available as upgrades and add-ons in earlier models...
and IIc
Apple IIc
The Apple IIc, the fourth model in the Apple II series of personal computers, was Apple Computer’s first endeavor to produce a portable computer. The end result was a notebook-sized version of the Apple II that could be transported from place to place...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
/128
Commodore 128
The Commodore 128 home/personal computer was the last 8-bit machine commercially released by Commodore Business Machines...
, and MSX2. It was the first adventure game to be developed by the LucasArts development house, and as such it can be seen as a more primitive precursor to the development of the SCUMM
SCUMM
Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion is a scripting language developed at LucasArts to ease development of the graphical adventure game Maniac Mansion....
game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
. It is also one of the few adventure games made by the company to not use a variation of the SCUMM
SCUMM
Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion is a scripting language developed at LucasArts to ease development of the graphical adventure game Maniac Mansion....
game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
(the other games being the GrimE
GrimE
GrimE is an adventure game engine, created by Bret Mogilefsky at LucasArts using the free software scripting language Lua. It was first used for Grim Fandango. Partly based on the Sith engine, GrimE was the successor to SCUMM, preserving some of that engine's features...
-based Grim Fandango
Grim Fandango
Grim Fandango is a personal computer game in the graphic adventure genre released by LucasArts in 1998 and primarily written by Tim Schafer. It is the first adventure game by LucasArts to use 3D computer graphics overlaid on pre-rendered, static backgrounds...
and Escape from Monkey Island
Escape from Monkey Island
Escape from Monkey Island is a computer adventure game developed and released by LucasArts in 2000. It is the fourth game in the Monkey Island series....
). The game engine and graphics are very similar to a later work by Lucasfilm Games called Habitat
Habitat (video game)
Lucasfilm's Habitat was an early and technologically influential online role-playing game developed by Lucasfilm Games and made available as a beta test in 1986 by Quantum Link, an online service for the Commodore 64 computer and the corporate progenitor to America Online...
.
Gameplay
Labyrinth: The Computer Game is a menu-driven adventure game, played from a third-person perspective. The game begins by asking the player their name and gender, the game then opens as a text-based adventure. During the text-based portion of the game the player goes to the theater to see the film Labyrinth. The movie starts and an image of Jareth comes on the movie screen, after which the game becomes a graphic adventure.Development
Before the film Labyrinth came out, Lucasfilm Games was offered the opportunity to do a game based on it. Since the film was produced by LucasfilmLucasfilm
Lucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
, this wasn't too much of a surprise, except it was the first time Lucasfilm Games actually did a game based on a film.
It was decided that a team would fly to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for a week of brainstorming
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which a group tries to find a solution for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members...
on the design. There they'd meet with Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
(who is more famous as the author of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series). Members of the team included Steve Arnold (Lucasfilm Games General Manager), Brenda Laurel
Brenda Laurel
Brenda Laurel is a pioneering writer, researcher, designer and entrepreneur in the fields of human-computer interaction, interactive narrative and cultural aspects of technology ....
(Activision producer), Charlie Kellner (Lucasfilm Games lead programmer), David Fox (Lucasfilm Games designer/project leader), Christopher Cerf
Christopher Cerf
Christopher Cerf is a U.S. author, composer-lyricist, voice actor, and record and television producer. He is known for his musical contributions to Sesame Street, for co-creating and co-producing the award-winning PBS literacy education television program Between the Lions, and for his humorous...
(writer, known for his work on Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
and other CTW projects, also a friend of Jim Henson's
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
— the writer/director of the film).
Adams had a good many ideas, many of which made their way into the final game, including the suggestion that the game open as a typical text adventure, a genre still popular at the time. Then, when the player gets into the movie theater playing the film, Labyrinth, the screen fills with David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's image, and the player enters the full color universe of the Labyrinth. From that point on, it's a graphic adventure.
The team came up with a "slot machine" text interface to drive the game, rather than typing text like other adventures of the time. There were two vertical strips of words next to each other. The one on the left had verbs (pick up, give, use, etc.), and the one on the right had nouns (objects in your inventory, objects in the vicinity). You chose a word from each to tell the game what to do.
Adams really liked the word "adumbrate", a rather obscure verb meaning "To prefigure indistinctly; foreshadow". So it ended up on the verb list. This obscure word was used in an even more obscure puzzle at one point in the game — you had to "adumbrate the elephant" when you were stuck in a prison, and an elephant would come and break a hole in the wall, freeing you.
Versions
Labyrinth: The Computer Game also received a FamicomNintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
version, but with a completely different design and gameplay.