Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion (
SCUMM) is a scripting language developed at
LucasArtsLucasArts Entertainment Company LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
(known at the time as
LucasfilmLucasfilm 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 Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
Games) to ease development of the graphical
adventure gameFrom the late 1980s to the early 2000s, LucasArts was well known for their point-and-click graphic adventure games, nearly all of which received high scoring reviews at the time of their release. Their style tended towards the humorous, often irreverent or slapstick humour, with a few exceptions...
Maniac MansionManiac Mansion is a graphical adventure game originally released in 1987 by Lucasfilm Games . Maniac Mansion has become known among gamers and programmers for its highly-acclaimed gameplay and its introduction of new ideas into gaming, including multiple possible endings, multiple user-selectable...
.
It falls somewhere between a
game engineA game engine is a software 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 desktop operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X...
and a
programming languageA programming language is an artificial language designed to express computations that can be performed by a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine, to express algorithms precisely, or as a mode of human...
, allowing designers to create locations, items and dialogue sequences without writing code in the actual language the game
source codeIn computer science, source code is any collection of statements or declarations written in some human-readable computer programming language...
would end up in.
Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion (
SCUMM) is a scripting language developed at
LucasArtsLucasArts Entertainment Company LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
(known at the time as
LucasfilmLucasfilm 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 Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
Games) to ease development of the graphical
adventure gameFrom the late 1980s to the early 2000s, LucasArts was well known for their point-and-click graphic adventure games, nearly all of which received high scoring reviews at the time of their release. Their style tended towards the humorous, often irreverent or slapstick humour, with a few exceptions...
Maniac MansionManiac Mansion is a graphical adventure game originally released in 1987 by Lucasfilm Games . Maniac Mansion has become known among gamers and programmers for its highly-acclaimed gameplay and its introduction of new ideas into gaming, including multiple possible endings, multiple user-selectable...
.
It falls somewhere between a
game engineA game engine is a software 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 desktop operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X...
and a
programming languageA programming language is an artificial language designed to express computations that can be performed by a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine, to express algorithms precisely, or as a mode of human...
, allowing designers to create locations, items and dialogue sequences without writing code in the actual language the game
source codeIn computer science, source code is any collection of statements or declarations written in some human-readable computer programming language...
would end up in. This also meant that the game's script and data files could be re-used across various
platformIn computing, a platform describes some sort of hardware architecture or software framework , that allows software to run...
s. SCUMM is also a host for embedded game engines such as
iMUSEiMUSE is an interactive music system used in a number of LucasArts video games. The idea behind iMUSE is to synchronize music with the visual action in a video game so that the audio continuously matches the on-screen events and transitions from one musical theme to another are done seamlessly...
(standing for
Interactive MUsic Streaming Engine), INSANE (standing for
INteractive Streaming ANimation Engine), CYST (in-game animation engine),
FLEMFlem may refer to:*Phlegm*Flemish people*Flem - unrequested forwarded email...
(places and names object inside a room), and MMUCUS. SCUMM has been released on the following platforms:
3DOThe 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in . Further renditions of the hardware were released in by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by Dave...
,
AmigaThe Amiga was a family of personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation. Development on the Amiga began in 1982 with Jay Miner as the principal hardware designer. Commodore International bought Amiga Corporation and introduced the machine to the market in 1985...
, Apple II,
Atari STThe Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was commercially available from 1985 to the early 1990s. It was released by Atari Corporation in 1985...
,
CDTVThe Commodore CDTV was a computer made by Commodore International and launched in March 1991. It was the first computer to come with a CD-ROM drive as standard. The CDTV was designed and marketed as a set-top box to go along with one's VCR and be used as a CD-player and games console...
,
Commodore 64The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January, 1982. Volume production started sometime in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$ 595...
,
Fujitsu TownsThe FM Towns system is a Japanese PC variant, built by Fujitsu from February 1989 to the summer of 1997. It started as a proprietary PC variant intended for multimedia applications and PC games, but later became more compatible with regular PCs...
&
MartyThe FM Towns Marty was a video game console released in 1991 by Fujitsu, exclusively for the Japanese market. It was the first 32-bit home video game system, and had a CD-ROM and disk drive built in. It was based on the FM Towns computer system Fujitsu had released in 1989. The Marty was...
, Apple Macintosh,
Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in . In most of Asia, including Japan , China, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines, it was released as the , commonly abbreviated as the...
,
MS-DOSMS-DOS is an operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems and was the main operating system for personal computers during the 1980s. It was preceded by M-DOS , designed and copyrighted by Microsoft in 1979...
/
PC-DOSIBM PC DOS is a Proprietary DOS system for the IBM Personal Computer and compatibles, manufactured and sold by IBM from the 1980s to the 2000s.-Naming:Official product name of "PC DOS" are as below:...
,
Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces...
,
Sega CDThe is an add-on device for the Mega Drive video game console, designed and produced by Sega and released in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and North America. In North America, it was renamed Sega CD, as the name Mega-CD bore no obvious associative meaning in that market where the console...
and
TurboGrafx-16/PC EngineThe TurboGrafx-16 , known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
.
History
The original version was coded by Aric Wilmunder and
Ron GilbertRon Gilbert is an American computer game designer, programmer, and producer, best known for his work on several classic LucasArts adventure games, including Maniac Mansion and the first two Monkey Island games. Gilbert was also co-founder of Humongous Entertainment and its sister company Cavedog...
in 1987, with later versions enhanced by Aric Wilmunder (a.k.a. the
SCUMM Lord) and various others.
SCUMM was subsequently reused in many later LucasArts adventure games being both updated and rewritten several times. There are at least 10 known versions of the SCUMM engine, numbered as "version 0" (for the original Commodore 64 version of Maniac Mansion), "version 1", "version 1.5" (for the NES version of Maniac Mansion), and "version 2" up through "version 8". LucasArts finally abandoned the SCUMM engine in 1998 when they switched to
GrimEGrimE 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....
, using the
free softwareFree software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with minimal restrictions only to ensure that further recipients can also...
scripting language
LuaIn computing, Lua is a lightweight, reflective, imperative and functional programming language, designed as a scripting language with extensible semantics as a primary goal. The name comes from the Portuguese word lua meaning "moon"...
, for the games
Grim FandangoGrim Fandango is a personal computer game in the graphic adventure genre released by LucasArts in and primarily written by Tim Schafer. It is the first adventure game by LucasArts to use 3D computer graphics overlaid on pre-rendered 2D backgrounds...
and
Escape from Monkey IslandEscape 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....
.
Versions
"Version 0" of SCUMM was the engine originally used for the
Commodore 64The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January, 1982. Volume production started sometime in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$ 595...
version of
Maniac MansionManiac Mansion is a graphical adventure game originally released in 1987 by Lucasfilm Games . Maniac Mansion has become known among gamers and programmers for its highly-acclaimed gameplay and its introduction of new ideas into gaming, including multiple possible endings, multiple user-selectable...
. This version was enhanced for the original
IBM PC compatibleIBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
version and termed "Version 1". Version 1 was the engine used for both PC and C64 versions of
Zak McKracken and the Alien MindbendersZak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders is a graphical adventure game, originally released in October 1988, published by LucasArts . It was the second game to use the SCUMM engine, after Maniac Mansion...
and further improvements were made for the
NESThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in . In most of Asia, including Japan , China, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines, it was released as the , commonly abbreviated as the...
version of
Maniac Mansion (Version 1.5). The enhanced re-releases of
Maniac Mansion and Zak McKracken
for the PC used SCUMM Version 2, as did the AmigaThe Amiga was a family of personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation. Development on the Amiga began in 1982 with Jay Miner as the principal hardware designer. Commodore International bought Amiga Corporation and introduced the machine to the market in 1985...
port and Atari STThe Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was commercially available from 1985 to the early 1990s. It was released by Atari Corporation in 1985...
ports.
For Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic AdventureIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure is a graphical adventure game, originally released in 1989 , published by Lucasfilm Games . It was the third game to use the SCUMM engine.-Plot:The plot closely follows, and expands upon, the film of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade...
, SCUMM Version 3 was used on all ports. The FM-Towns port of Zak McKracken
used SCUMM Version 3, as did the Amiga and FM-Towns versions of Loom
. While the floppy diskA floppy disk is a data storage medium that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. Floppy disks are read and written by a floppy disk drive or FDD, the initials of which should not be confused with "fixed disk drive," which...
release of Loom
for the PC used SCUMM Version 3, Version 4 was used for the VGA PC CD-ROM port.
Version 4 was the version of SCUMM which powered the Amiga and PC floppy disk versions of The Secret of Monkey IslandThe Secret of Monkey Island is an adventure game developed by Lucasfilm Games. The game spawned a number of sequels, collectively known as the Monkey Island series. Released in October 1990, The Secret of Monkey Island is the fifth game to use the SCUMM engine. The game was primarily designed by...
. This version was also used for Passport to Adventure
, a compilations of PC EGA Demos of The Secret of Monkey Island
, Loom
, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
.
When The Secret of Monkey Island
was released on CD-ROM for VGA PCs, it used SCUMM Version 5. This version remained in use for the Amiga and PC versions of its sequel, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's RevengeMonkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge is an adventure game developed and published by LucasArts in 1991. It was the second game of the Monkey Island series, following The Secret of Monkey Island, and the sixth LucasArts game to use the SCUMM engine. It was the first game to use the iMUSE sound...
, as well as Indiana Jones and the Fate of AtlantisIndiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is a graphical adventure game, originally released in 1992 and published by LucasArts. It was the seventh game to use the SCUMM adventure game engine and is widely regarded as a classic of its genre....
. The iMUSEiMUSE is an interactive music system used in a number of LucasArts video games. The idea behind iMUSE is to synchronize music with the visual action in a video game so that the audio continuously matches the on-screen events and transitions from one musical theme to another are done seamlessly...
technology was first implemented in this version of SCUMM. At this point, the SCUMM system branched off when developer Ron GilbertRon Gilbert is an American computer game designer, programmer, and producer, best known for his work on several classic LucasArts adventure games, including Maniac Mansion and the first two Monkey Island games. Gilbert was also co-founder of Humongous Entertainment and its sister company Cavedog...
licensed it for use in the games created by his company, Humongous Entertainment. The SCUMM system continued to grow there on a separate track up to version 11.
Subsequent developments included Version 6 (Day of the TentacleManiac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle is a graphical adventure game, originally released in 1993, and published by LucasArts. It is the eighth game to use the SCUMM engine. It was released simultaneously on floppy disk and CD-ROM...
and Sam & Max Hit the RoadSam & Max Hit the Road is a graphic adventure computer game released by LucasArts during the company's adventure games era. The game was originally released for DOS in 1993 and for Mac OS in 1995. A 2002 re-release included compatibility with Windows...
), Version 7 (Full Throttle
and The DigThe Dig is a graphical adventure game developed by LucasArts and released in 1995, and a novel based on the game written by Alan Dean Foster...
) and Version 8 (The Curse of Monkey IslandThe Curse of Monkey Island is an adventure game developed and published by LucasArts, and the third game in the Monkey Island series. It was released in and followed the successful games The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge...
).
Design
Most SCUMM games feature a verb-object design paradigm. The player-controlled character has an inventory, and the game world is littered with objects with which the player can interact, using a variety of verbs — a large collection of these featured in the early games, but by Full Throttle
and The Curse of Monkey IslandThe Curse of Monkey Island is an adventure game developed and published by LucasArts, and the third game in the Monkey Island series. It was released in and followed the successful games The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge...
these had been whittled down to using one's eyes (to "Look at" or "Look through"), hands (to "Use", "Pick up", "Push", "Pull", etc.), or mouth ("Talk to", "Consume", "Inhale").
Puzzles generally involve using the right verb action with the appropriate object — "use biscuit cutter with another rubber tree", for example.
"Talk to" produces dialogue sequences, in which the player selects from a list of pre-defined questions or comments, and the character they are talking to replies with a pre-defined response.
The notable exception to this general paradigm is Loom, which does not use the standard verb/object paradigm, but does feature dialogue sequences.
Compiler
ScummC is a set of tools (including a script and a costume compiler, a walkboxes editor, charset, graphics, audio and midi tools), able to compile its own
JavaScriptJavaScript is an object-oriented scripting language used to enable programmatic access to objects within both the client application and other applications. It is primarily used in the form of client-side JavaScript, implemented as an integrated component of the web browser, allowing the...
-like language into Scumm v6
bytecodeBytecode is a term which has been used to denote various forms of instruction sets designed for efficient execution by a software interpreter as well as being suitable for further compilation into machine code...
, runnable as is in ScummVM. It allows anyone who's skilled enough to create completely new and original SCUMM games, with features on par with
Day of the TentacleManiac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle is a graphical adventure game, originally released in 1993, and published by LucasArts. It is the eighth game to use the SCUMM engine. It was released simultaneously on floppy disk and CD-ROM...
and Sam & Max Hit the RoadSam & Max Hit the Road is a graphic adventure computer game released by LucasArts during the company's adventure games era. The game was originally released for DOS in 1993 and for Mac OS in 1995. A 2002 re-release included compatibility with Windows...
.
Interpreters
ScummVMScummVM is a collection of game engine recreations. Originally designed to play LucasArts adventure games that use the SCUMM system , it now also supports a variety of non-SCUMM games by companies like Revolution Software and Adventure Soft.ScummVM is a reimplementation of the part of the software...
is a
freeFree software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with minimal restrictions only to ensure that further recipients can also...
and open source software project to make a portable,
SDLSimple DirectMedia Layer is a cross-platform, free and open source software multimedia library written in C that presents a simple interface to various platforms' graphics, sound, and input devices...
-library based, SCUMM-engine client which allows many of the SCUMM-engine games to be played on systems where the original versions will not work or have trouble operating including modern
WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces...
and Macintosh systems,
LinuxLinux is a generic term referring to Unix-like computer operating systems based on the Linux kernel. Their development is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration; typically all the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed,...
,
AmigaOSAmigaOS is the default native operating system of the Amiga personal computer. It was developed first by Commodore International, and initially introduced in 1985 with the Amiga 1000...
(3.x, 4.0, and its clones
MorphOSMorphOS is a computer operating system . It is a mixed proprietary and open source OS produced for the Pegasos PowerPC -processor-based computer, most models of PPC-accelerator-equipped Amiga computers, and a series of Freescale development boards that use the Genesi Firmware, including the EFIKA...
and
AROSAros may refer to:Aros-Eros-Cupid-AmorIt is believed that the origins above led Saint Valentines enthusiasts to appoint the Roman god Cupid as the patron of Valentine's day -- that is the story of Lupercalia and the love and romance associatied with the St. Valentine's legends.Cupid is also known...
),
Palm OSFor the modern smartphone operating system by Palm, see: webOSPalm OS is an embedded operating system initially developed by Palm, Inc. for personal digital assistants in 1996...
, PocketPC, Dreamcast,
PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony. The PS2 console is the sequel to the original PlayStation console. The successor to the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 forms part of the PlayStation series of video game...
,
PlayStation PortableThe PlayStation Portable is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on May 11, 2004 at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
,
Nintendo DSThe is a dual-screen handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in 2004 in Canada, the United States, and Japan. The console features a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP, with two LCD screens inside—with the bottom one being a touchscreen...
,
WiiThe is a home video game console released by Nintendo. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of both...
,
SymbianThe Symbian platform is an open source operating system for mobile devices. It was created by merging and integrating software assets contributed by Nokia, NTT DoCoMo, and Sony Ericsson, including Symbian OS, the S60, UIQ and MOAP user interfaces....
(SeriesXX and UIQ) and
iPhoneThe iPhone is an Internet and multimedia enabled smartphone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Because its minimal hardware interface lacks a physical keyboard, the multi-touch screen renders a virtual keyboard when necessary...
/
iPod TouchThe iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, and Wi-Fi mobile platform designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The product was launched on September 5, 2007, at an event called The Beat Goes On. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
platforms.
scvm is a SCUMM interpreter developed by the ScummC author . It is as of April 2008 in a prototype state, and is meant to become a script debugger for ScummC development. hiscumm is an attempt to port scvm plus some bits of ScummVM to the
haXehaXe is a programming language, designed for creating interactive web applications. Currently there are five official compiler targets: Adobe Flash, JavaScript, PHP, C++ Source Files and the Neko VM.-History:...
platform, in order to produce an interpreter with an
Adobe FlashAdobe Flash is a multimedia platform originally acquired by Macromedia and currently developed and distributed by Adobe Systems. Since its introduction in 1996, Flash has become a popular method for adding animation and interactivity to web pages...
backend.
See also
- 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....
- Adventure Game Interpreter
The Adventure Game Interpreter is a game engine which Sierra On-Line used through most of the 1980s to create and run animated, color adventure games...
- Sierra's Creative Interpreter
Sierra's Creative Interpreter is the scripting language created by Jeff Stephenson of Sierra On-Line for its adventure games after the older AGI, and the runtime environment for such adventure games....
- Z-machine
The Z-machine is a virtual machine that was developed by Joel Berez and Marc Blank in 1979 and used by Infocom for its text adventure games. Infocom compiled game code to files containing Z-machine instructions , and could therefore port all its text adventures to a new platform simply by writing a...
External links