Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders
Encyclopedia
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders is a graphical adventure game
, originally released in October 1988 http://web.archive.org/web/20060428061222/http://www.lucasarts.com/20th/history_1.htm, published by LucasArts
(known at the time as Lucasfilm
Games). It was the second game to use the SCUMM
engine, after Maniac Mansion
. The project was led by David Fox and was co-designed and co-programmed by Matthew Alan Kane.
Like Maniac Mansion, it was developed for the Commodore 64
and released in 1988 on that system and the PC. An Apple II
version was apparently planned, but never released. The following year, the game was ported to the Amiga
and Atari ST
and rereleased on the PC with enhanced graphics. Finally, a version was produced for the Japanese FM-Towns computer, which came on a CD-ROM and featured 256-color graphics, full soundtrack and redrawn sprites in Anime
style (when played in Japanese).
scientist
; and Melissa China and Leslie Bennett, two Yale University
coed students, in their attempt to prevent the nefarious alien Caponians (who have infiltrated the phone company) from slowly reducing the intelligence of everybody on Earth using a 60 Hz "hum
".
The Skolarians, another ancient alien race, have left a defense mechanism hanging around to repulse the Caponians, which just needs a quick reassembly and start-up. Unfortunately, the parts are spread all over the Earth
and Mars
.
and mysterious civilizations. The many places visited in the game are common hotspots for these ideas, such as the pyramids of Egypt
and Mexico
, Lima
, Stonehenge
, Atlantis
, a space Cadillac with an alien Elvis and the Face on Mars. Lead designer and programmer David Fox, consulted with New Age
writer David Spangler
, before Ron Gilbert
and Matthew Alan Kane persuaded Fox to increase the humorous aspects of the game.
All versions of Zak except the FM-Towns port require the player to enter copy protection codes whenever they fly outside of the United States. The codes do not have to be entered when flying into the US, or when the player is at an airport in another country. If the player enters the wrong codes five times, Zak gets locked in jail and his guard makes a lengthy anti-piracy speech.
described Zak McKracken as a good game, but "it simply could have been better." CGW described the game's central flaw in the game's environments, limited to a relatively small number of screens per location, giving each town a movie-set feel compared to the size and detail of Maniac Mansion. The large number of mazes in the game was also a source of criticism, but David Fox felt it was the best way to maximize the game's size and still have it fit on a single Commodore 64
floppy disk.
The game was reviewed in 1989 in Dragon
#142 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 3½ out of 5 stars.
and some original art. The original release was notorious for containing a somewhat perverse ending. However, the ending was soon changed. That sequel is very short and fairly limited, compared to the two other fan sequels ; Zak McKracken Between Time and Space, which was released to the German speaking public on the 19th April 2008 http://www.mckracken.net/News/, and Zak McKracken and the Alien Rockstars, which was planned to be released sometime in 2007. A sequel named Zak McKracken and the Lonely Sea Monster was scheduled on 1 July 2007, and it was supposed to maintain the look of the original.
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,...
, originally released in October 1988 http://web.archive.org/web/20060428061222/http://www.lucasarts.com/20th/history_1.htm, published by LucasArts
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...
(known at the time as Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm
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....
Games). It was the second game to use 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....
engine, after Maniac Mansion
Maniac Mansion
Maniac Mansion is a 1987 graphic adventure game developed and published by Lucasfilm Games. It was Lucasfilm's first published video game, and it was initially released for the Commodore 64 and Apple II. A comedy horror parody of B movies, it follows teenager Dave Miller as he ventures...
. The project was led by David Fox and was co-designed and co-programmed by Matthew Alan Kane.
Like Maniac Mansion, it was developed for the 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...
and released in 1988 on that system and the PC. An Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
version was apparently planned, but never released. The following year, the game was ported to the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and rereleased on the PC with enhanced graphics. Finally, a version was produced for the Japanese FM-Towns computer, which came on a CD-ROM and featured 256-color graphics, full soundtrack and redrawn sprites in Anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
style (when played in Japanese).
Storyline
The story is set in 1997, 10 years after its production. The plot follows Zak (full name Francis Zachary McKracken), a writer for the National Inquisitor, a tabloid newspaper; Annie Larris, a freelanceFreelancer
A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labor and that of others to its clients with or without project management and...
scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
; and Melissa China and Leslie Bennett, two Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
coed students, in their attempt to prevent the nefarious alien Caponians (who have infiltrated the phone company) from slowly reducing the intelligence of everybody on Earth using a 60 Hz "hum
Mains hum
Mains hum, electric hum, or power line hum is an audible oscillation of alternating current at the frequency of the mains electricity, which is usually 50 Hz or 60 Hz, depending on the local power line frequency...
".
The Skolarians, another ancient alien race, have left a defense mechanism hanging around to repulse the Caponians, which just needs a quick reassembly and start-up. Unfortunately, the parts are spread all over the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
.
Production
The game was heavily inspired by the many popular theories about aliens, ancient astronautsAncient astronauts
Some writers have proposed that intelligent extraterrestrial beings have visited Earth in antiquity or prehistory and made contact with humans. Such visitors are called ancient astronauts or ancient aliens. Proponents suggest that this contact influenced the development of human cultures,...
and mysterious civilizations. The many places visited in the game are common hotspots for these ideas, such as the pyramids of Egypt
Egyptian pyramids
The Egyptian pyramids are ancient pyramid-shaped masonry structures located in Egypt.There are 138 pyramids discovered in Egypt as of 2008. Most were built as tombs for the country's Pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods.The earliest known Egyptian pyramids are found...
and Mexico
Mesoamerican pyramids
Mesoamerican pyramids, pyramid-shaped structures, are an important part of ancient Mesoamerican architecture. These structures were usually step pyramids with temples on top – more akin to the ziggurats of Mesopotamia than to the pyramids of Ancient Egypt...
, Lima
Caral
Caral was a large settlement in the Supe Valley, near Supe, Barranca province, Peru, some 200 km north of Lima. Caral is the most ancient city of the Americas, and is a well-studied site of the Caral civilization or Norte Chico civilization.- History :...
, Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
, Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
, a space Cadillac with an alien Elvis and the Face on Mars. Lead designer and programmer David Fox, consulted with New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
writer David Spangler
David Spangler
David Spangler is an American spiritual philosopher and self-described "practical mystic". He helped transform the Findhorn Foundation in northern Scotland into a centre of residential spiritual education, and is a friend of William Irwin Thompson...
, before Ron Gilbert
Ron Gilbert
Ron 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...
and Matthew Alan Kane persuaded Fox to increase the humorous aspects of the game.
All versions of Zak except the FM-Towns port require the player to enter copy protection codes whenever they fly outside of the United States. The codes do not have to be entered when flying into the US, or when the player is at an airport in another country. If the player enters the wrong codes five times, Zak gets locked in jail and his guard makes a lengthy anti-piracy speech.
Reception
Most reviews, both online and in print, rate Zak McKracken as among the best adventure games ever made, but others disagree. A review in Computer Gaming WorldComputer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
described Zak McKracken as a good game, but "it simply could have been better." CGW described the game's central flaw in the game's environments, limited to a relatively small number of screens per location, giving each town a movie-set feel compared to the size and detail of Maniac Mansion. The large number of mazes in the game was also a source of criticism, but David Fox felt it was the best way to maximize the game's size and still have it fit on a single 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...
floppy disk.
The game was reviewed in 1989 in Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#142 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 3½ out of 5 stars.
Injokes and references
- In Maniac MansionManiac MansionManiac Mansion is a 1987 graphic adventure game developed and published by Lucasfilm Games. It was Lucasfilm's first published video game, and it was initially released for the Commodore 64 and Apple II. A comedy horror parody of B movies, it follows teenager Dave Miller as he ventures...
, a red herringRed herring (plot device)Red herring is an idiomatic expression referring to the rhetorical or literary tactic of diverting attention away from an item of significance...
chainsaw can be found, but it has no fuel; in Zak, chainsaw fuel can be found, but not a chainsaw. When one of the characters is ordered to pick it up, the character replies "I don't need it, it's for a different game."
- The Green Tentacle's Demo Tape from the Enhanced PC Maniac MansionManiac MansionManiac Mansion is a 1987 graphic adventure game developed and published by Lucasfilm Games. It was Lucasfilm's first published video game, and it was initially released for the Commodore 64 and Apple II. A comedy horror parody of B movies, it follows teenager Dave Miller as he ventures...
plays a variation of the Zak McKracken Theme.
- There is a poster advertising Maniac Mansion in Lou's Loans merchandise store in San Francisco. Similarly, in the FM TownsFM 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...
version, a poster for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic AdventureIndiana 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...
can be seen in the back room of the phone company.
- There is also a wanted poster for the Purple Meteor from Maniac MansionManiac MansionManiac Mansion is a 1987 graphic adventure game developed and published by Lucasfilm Games. It was Lucasfilm's first published video game, and it was initially released for the Commodore 64 and Apple II. A comedy horror parody of B movies, it follows teenager Dave Miller as he ventures...
inside the Friendly Hostel on MarsMarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
and in the Kathmandu, Nepal Police office.
- Razor and the Scummettes, Razor's band from Maniac Mansion, are the band playing the song "Inda Glop Oda Krell" on the Digital Audio TapeDigital Audio TapeDigital Audio Tape is a signal recording and playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987. In appearance it is similar to a compact audio cassette, using 4 mm magnetic tape enclosed in a protective shell, but is roughly half the size at 73 mm × 54 mm × 10.5 mm. As...
(until it is recorded over).
- Additionally, Weird Ed, from Maniac Mansion, will leave a message on the Answering MachineAnswering machineThe answering machine or message machine, also known as the telephone answering machine in the UK and some Commonwealth countries) and previously known as an ansaphone, ansafone, or telephone answering device is a device for answering telephones and recording callers' messages.Unlike voicemail,...
eventually, complete with references to Sandy and an EdselEdselThe Edsel was an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company during the 1958, 1959, and 1960 model years. The Edsel never gained popularity with contemporary American car buyers and sold poorly. Consequently, the Ford Motor Company lost millions of dollars on the Edsel's development,...
.
- The three girls in the game are named after the programmers' wives or girlfriends. For example, Annie Larris was David Fox's wife's maiden name and the character's appearance was inspired by her looks. Similarly, Leslie Edwards (Leslie Bennett in game) was Matthew Alan Kane's girlfriend, who also worked as a major playtester during the game's production.
- Each time Leslie's helmet is taken off, her hair is a different colour. This is an in-joke referring to the real Leslie Edwards, who changed her hair color practically every week.
- One of the random 'strange markings' glyph solutions, completed with the yellow crayon, is David Fox's initials.
- The 'words of power' (Gnik Sisi Vle) that mend the crystal in StonehengeStonehengeStonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
read 'Elvis is king' backwards.
- Zak's phone bill at the start of the game is $1138, in reference to George LucasGeorge LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
's THX 1138THX 1138THX 1138 is a 1971 science fiction film directed by George Lucas in his directorial debut. The film is based on a screenplay by Lucas and Walter Murch...
. $1138 is also the balance of Melissa's cashcard (until the player spends it on tokens for the Tram).
- When Zak or Annie read the telephone in the Telephone Company's office, it gives a phone number, if you call that number, the representative goes to the phone and asks if it is Edna calling again (a reference to where you called Edna in Maniac Mansion).
- The 1955 science fiction film This Island Earth is referenced during the game with big headed aliens who are disguised as humans, interstellar communications through video screens, and an airplane pulled into a flying saucer.
Fan sequels
In the absence of an official sequel (and a very low likelihood of one ever appearing), numerous Zak McKracken fans have turned to designing their own sequels to the cult game. The first one to reach completion was The New Adventures of Zak McKracken by "LucasFan Games", containing graphics from the Japanese FM Towns 256 color version, country-specific backgrounds from King of FightersKing of Fighters
, officially abbreviated KOF, is a series of fighting games by SNK Playmore . The series was originally developed for SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade hardware, which served as the main platform for the series until 2004, when SNK retired the MVS in favor of the Atomiswave arcade board...
and some original art. The original release was notorious for containing a somewhat perverse ending. However, the ending was soon changed. That sequel is very short and fairly limited, compared to the two other fan sequels ; Zak McKracken Between Time and Space, which was released to the German speaking public on the 19th April 2008 http://www.mckracken.net/News/, and Zak McKracken and the Alien Rockstars, which was planned to be released sometime in 2007. A sequel named Zak McKracken and the Lonely Sea Monster was scheduled on 1 July 2007, and it was supposed to maintain the look of the original.
See also
- LucasArts adventure gamesLucasArts adventure gamesFrom 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...
- SCUMMSCUMMScript Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion is a scripting language developed at LucasArts to ease development of the graphical adventure game Maniac Mansion....
- ScummVMScummVMScummVM 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. It was originally written by Ludvig Strigeus...
- Ron GilbertRon 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...
- David Fox
External links
- The Zak McKracken Archive
- gameFAQs Review of Zak McKracken
- Netjak Review of Zak McKracken
- other reviews of Zak McKracken
- Zak McKracken C-64 version theme from the High Voltage SID Collection
- Zak's theme, original 1987 recording predating the in-game versions
- Zak McKracken Between Time and Space
- Zak McKracken and the Alien Rockstars
- Some Zak McKracken theme remixes
- Walkthrough
- Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders at C64.COM