Developer: Gray Design Associates
Platform: MS-DOS
Release: 1992
Genres: Adventure, Parser, Text-based
It's been far too long since I've had time to write up on this blog. Life is busy with a baby and a full time job, and on top of that I'm working on a game development project of my own called Broken Planet. Check out our progress on our website:
www.brokenplanet.co.nz
We're also writing tutorials about how to get into game development, especially about how to use the Unreal Development Kit.
Back to the game!
Plot
If you've played the original Hugo's House of Horrors or Hugo II: Whodunnit? you'll be familiar with the format. You play the take the role of the protagonist Hugo, and your objective is to obtain an antidote to save the life of your girlfriend Penelope (who's been bitten by a spider).
Gameplay
All the Hugo games are text based parser adventures. The player experiences the game through a 2D side on view of the character and his surroundings, and the game plays out through a series of "rooms" or areas.
To interact with the environment the player types in commands, for example "Look in draw" or "Pick up hammer". A lot of the commands require carefully examining the scene around you to figure out what to interact with, plus a healthy amount of guesswork.
Positives
Decent story and cohesive world.
In the final game in the trilogy the developer brought in a graphical artist to help with the scenery which was actually the reason it was set in a jungle; the artist (Gary Sirois) was particularly good at drawing vegetation.
An example of Gary Sirois' vegetation artwork.
Negatives
Too hard, frustrating beyond belief in an age where there wasn't internet to use Uncle Google to help you.
Memorable Moments
Trying to work out what to do with a bouillon cube, a term I'd never heard of before. I now know it's just a stock cube... ugh...
This takes me back. The Hugo games were such a huge part of early PC gaming for me. The parser-based adventure style was frustrating but also rewarding when you finally figured out the right command. The bouillon cube moment is classic — those obscure items were the bane of every player's existence.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that the developer brought in a graphical artist for the jungle setting. The artwork does look nice, even by today's standards. I can imagine how much better the game felt visually compared to the earlier titles.
Sometimes in gaming — whether it's solving a parser puzzle or tackling a difficult challenge — you just want to skip the headaches and get straight to the good parts. Check out https://wowvendor.com/shop/diablo-4/ diablo 4 carry— clean, simple, and no stock cubes required.
Thanks for the nostalgia. 🗡️🌿