Let's Play - Monster Manor

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ewhac
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Let's Play - Monster Manor

Post by ewhac » Mon Sep 24, 2012 8:43 pm

Let's Play - Monster Manor (3DO, 1993) - Levels 1-2

I guess this is the appropriate forum for these, so here's the first episode of our latest effort: Escape from Monster Manor. Since the game is too long to creatively edit down to even a gargantuan two hours, we're doing this one in episodic form as we work our way through the entire game. I'll post links in this thread to new episodes as they become available.

In addition to the fact that my co-host and I both used to work at 3DO, I also wrote (most of) Monster Manor in a blur back in 1993, and thus can hopefully lend a genuinely unique perspective on the game and its creation.

We hope you all enjoy it. Thanks for watching!

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Post by Trev » Mon Sep 24, 2012 9:45 pm

I'm glad you guys are making more videos. I really enjoyed the Burning Soldier one. :)
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Post by bitrate » Tue Sep 25, 2012 4:28 am

I'll have to wait until this weekend to check this out, but I am really looking forward to it!

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Post by BryWI » Tue Sep 25, 2012 6:19 pm

Just watched it! It was a very Entertaining 49 and a half minutes! Thanks for continuing to do these. :)

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Post by Scarlettkitten » Tue Sep 25, 2012 9:08 pm

Yay, love it. Keep 'em coming :)

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Post by 3DO Experience » Thu Sep 27, 2012 12:55 am

This is awesome, I'm glad you are doing these! And this is one of my fav games!

PS. Yes, this is the right place for them. Sorry I didn't respond the last time.
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Post by ewhac » Mon Oct 01, 2012 5:39 pm

Episode 2 is up!

Let's Play - Monster Manor (3DO, 1993) - Level 3

A couple pieces of 3DO tech goodness are discussed, gammadev reminisces about P.O'ed, and I get killed.

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Post by 3DO Experience » Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:39 pm

YES!
"Wait. You don't have a bag of charcoal in your gaming room???"

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Post by BryWI » Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:48 pm

watched and liked! :)

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Post by ewhac » Mon Oct 08, 2012 9:11 pm

Episode 3 is up!

Let's Play - Monster Manor (3DO, 1993) - Levels 4-5

In which we go slightly over an hour (sorry), NTG's role in the development of the 3DO is discussed, and ewhac's greed receives immediate karmic feedback.

I'll be traveling next week, so there won't be another episode for at least another two weeks. Hopefully, I will be able to make it worth the wait...

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Post by 3DOKid » Mon Oct 08, 2012 10:29 pm

I am (breaching Youtubes T&C's apparently) and burning the Mp3 to CD and listening to these in the car. :) It's not like I need to see the video having played the game to death.

This is fantastic stuff. Hugely appreciated. Thank you :)

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Post by 3DO Experience » Tue Oct 09, 2012 4:14 am

I play it on my iPhone and just listen to it myself.
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Post by ewhac » Sun Oct 21, 2012 7:17 am

This post is somewhat off-topic, but for the last couple weeks I've been working on a GIMP plugin to load 3DO cel files. I just got it working this evening:

Image

Using my plugin, I loaded the original 3DO cel file, stripped the alpha channel, and then saved it back out as the above PNG.

Please excuse my self-indulgent happy dance...

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Post by 3DO Experience » Sun Oct 21, 2012 2:17 pm

I'm doing my own happy dance! I'm still waiting to here the story behind that opening logo, and happy you dumped the data.
"Wait. You don't have a bag of charcoal in your gaming room???"

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Post by Martin III » Wed Oct 24, 2012 3:39 pm

I've been commenting on these videos on YouTube, but let me add here that I'm really enjoying the behind-the-scenes insights offered in these.

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Post by ewhac » Sat Oct 27, 2012 12:59 am

Episode 4 is up!

Let's Play - Monster Manor (3DO, 1993) - Level 6

In which we go way over an hour (largely because I died again), gammadev speculates on Monster Manor's possible place in console gaming history, and I get to show off the fruits of my 3DO cel plugin for the GIMP.

I encoded this one as 720p, in the vague hope that some of the imagery -- particularly the original cel artwork -- would be clearer. Success? Failure? Let me know!

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Post by 3DO Experience » Sat Oct 27, 2012 5:12 am

Awesome! And I can watch it being the weekend. (as opposed to listening to the video at work)
"Wait. You don't have a bag of charcoal in your gaming room???"

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Post by JohnnyDude » Mon Oct 29, 2012 3:47 am

Thanks ewhac! :)

Also, check your forum private messages!

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Post by ewhac » Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:20 am

And now my GIMP plugin is loading animated cel images. Here's the blue gem from Monster Manor, saved back out as an animated GIF:

Image

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Post by ewhac » Tue Oct 30, 2012 7:02 am

Wow. I had totally forgotten about this.

On the "source code" disc I burned nearly two decades ago are all the art assets we created for the game, including stuff we didn't use. Understandably, there isn't much of it -- we threw very little away.

In the finished game, the "extra life" object appears as a rotating, beating heart. But apparently there was an earlier version of that:

Image

I'm glad we used the one we did.

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Post by 3DO Experience » Tue Oct 30, 2012 5:32 pm

I love this thread!
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Post by 3DOKid » Tue Oct 30, 2012 5:33 pm

ewhac wrote:Wow. I had totally forgotten about this.

On the "source code" disc I burned nearly two decades ago are all the art assets we created for the game, including stuff we didn't use. Understandably, there isn't much of it -- we threw very little away.

In the finished game, the "extra life" object appears as a rotating, beating heart. But apparently there was an earlier version of that:

Image

I'm glad we used the one we did.
That is awesome.

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Post by ewhac » Mon Nov 05, 2012 9:46 pm

Episode 5 is up!

Let's Play - Monster Manor (3DO, 1993) - Level 7

We keep it well under an hour this time, I give an incomplete description of the game's level file format, and gammadev relates a tale of when a stranger came to the door...

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Post by 3DO Experience » Mon Nov 05, 2012 11:47 pm

Gaming Gold!
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Post by 3DOKid » Thu Nov 08, 2012 11:05 pm

Hold on. Maps are 64x64 ascii text?

We can sign 3do disks...

New fan maps for monster manor...?

Edit: getting carried away...

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Post by Austin » Thu Nov 08, 2012 11:33 pm

3DOKid wrote:Hold on. Maps are 64x64 ascii text?

We can sign 3do disks...

New fan maps for monster manor...?

Edit: getting carried away...
I've got dibs on the Wolf 3D mod! ;) :lol:

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Post by 3DOKid » Thu Nov 08, 2012 11:46 pm

People have to listen to this one, it really is cracking.

The shocking truth (a truth) about Trip Hawkins.
A deal with Sega and 3DO.
A nice story about Need for Speed 3DO vs Ridge Racer PS1. Two games I really like (unlike Nights ;) ) and yes, they dumbed down 3DO games for the PS1.
And that story about the chipset for the M2 is kind of cool too.

I really enjoyed this one chaps. Thank you.

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Post by Martin III » Tue Nov 13, 2012 7:02 pm

ewhac wrote:Episode 5 is up!

Let's Play - Monster Manor (3DO, 1993) - Level 7

We keep it well under an hour this time, I give an incomplete description of the game's level file format, and gammadev relates a tale of when a stranger came to the door...
Another great one!

And LOL, Sewer Shark for president? I'd vote for him if I knew more about his economic policies...

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Post by Scarlettkitten » Tue Nov 13, 2012 10:32 pm

Another great video folks 8)

@Ewhac Here's a pic of the 3DO software you loved so much :D
Image

http://s22.beta.photobucket.com/user/sc ... 3DO/3dodev
Last edited by Scarlettkitten on Thu Nov 15, 2012 2:11 am, edited 4 times in total.

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Post by BryWI » Wed Nov 14, 2012 7:29 pm

Yeah I watched it the other day. Lovin it!

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