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Escape from Monster Manor

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Escape from Monster Manor
Developer(s)Studio 3DO
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Producer(s)Stewart Bonn
Trip Hawkins
Programmer(s)Leo Schwab
Artist(s)Stefan Henry-Biskup
Composer(s)Robert Vieira
Platform(s)3DO
Release
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Escape from Monster Manor is a first-person shooter video game developed by Studio 3DO and published by Electronic Arts exclusively for the 3DO.

The game was released as Virtual Horror: Norowarate Yakata[a] in Japan.

Gameplay

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Escape From Monster Manor is a first-person shooter where the player character explores a haunted mansion in a 3D environment, and must defeat spiders, ghosts, and other menaces to escape.[2]

The objective of the game is to collect pieces of a sacred talisman in each stage, then make it through twelve levels to the exit to escape. Rather than having a HUD, the player's health is visible as damage to the on-screen hand and the ammunition is listed as a bar on the gun sprite.

Development and release

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The game's main developer was Leo Schwab.[3] A computing and programming prodigy, Schwab was best known for his Amiga screen hacks and animations during the mid-late 1980s[4] and for developing Disney Presents: The Animation Studio for Silent Software in 1990.[5][6] Schwab joined Electronic Arts head Trip Hawkins when the latter founded The 3DO Company for the release of the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer.[7] For Escape from Monster Manor, Schwab has cited Wolfenstein 3D as the chief inspiration for the game. After some months working on a different 3DO game, Schwab and his team abandoned that project and switched to the less ambitious Escape from Monster Manor so that they could have a demo to present at that year's Consumer Electronics Show.[8] The game's source code was released onto GitHub under the MIT License on August 7, 2022,[9] with an accompanying live stream on YouTube by original developer Leo Schwab.[10]

Reception

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Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game a 6.75 out of 10, mentioning some minor issues with the control but overall recommending the game for its well-rendered graphics and genuinely creepy audio.[13] GamePro praised the game's frightening graphics and audio, nerve-wracking challenge, and strafing ability.[15] A review in Edge praised the "look and feel" of the game, but criticized the simplicity of the game design and gameplay. The game was compared unfavorably to DOOM and given a score of 5/10.[12] The game was reviewed in 1994 in Dragon #204 by Sandy Petersen in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Petersen gave the game 2 out of 5 stars.[2]

Notes

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  1. ^ Japanese: バーチャルホラー 〜呪われた館〜, Hepburn: Bācharu Horā ~Norowareta Yakata~, lit. Virtual Horror: Cursed House

References

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  1. ^ a b c Famitsu staff (April 29, 1994). "新作ゲームクロスレビュー" [New Games Cross Review]. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin (in Japanese). No. 280. ASCII Corporation. p. 75.
  2. ^ a b c Petersen, Sandy (April 1994). "Eye of the Monitor – Escape from Monster Manor" (PDF). Dragon. No. 204. TSR, Inc. pp. 61–62. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  3. ^ Matthews, Will (December 2013). "Ahead of its Time: A 3DO Retrospective". Retro Gamer. No. 122. Imagine Publishing. p. 26.
  4. ^ Skelton, Mindy (March 1988). "Leo Schwab Is Just Having Fun". .info. No. 19. Info Publications Ltd. pp. 47–9. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  5. ^ Schenck, Ben (March 1991). "Graphics". .info. No. 37. Info Publications Ltd. pp. 20–3. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  6. ^ Means, Ben and Jean (December 1990). "Interview with Leo Schwab, Creator of Disney's The Animation Studio". Compute!. No. 124. ABC Publishing. p. A8. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  7. ^ Times Roman (April 1994). "The Outside World". Amiga News. Vol. 2, no. 3. Portable Computing International. p. 8. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  8. ^ Schwab, Leo (September 24, 2012). Let's Play – Monster Manor, YouTube. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  9. ^ Escape from Monster Manor - GitHub
  10. ^ Schwab, Leo (August 7, 2022). Escape from Monster Manor: A Source Code Walkthrough (Podcast). YouTube. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  11. ^ Smith, Geoffrey Douglas (1998). "Escape From Monster Manor – Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Testscreen – Escape from Monster Manor". Edge. No. 7. Future Publishing. April 1994. p. 79.
  13. ^ a b Semrad, Ed; Carpenter, Danyon; Manuel, Al; Williams, Ken (March 1994). "Review Crew – Monster Manor". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 56. Sendai Publishing. p. 38.
  14. ^ Halverson, Dave; Sgt. Gamer; Rickards, Kelly; Brody (February 1994). "Viewpoint – Monster Manor". GameFan. Vol. 2, no. 3. DieHard Gamers Club. p. 19.
  15. ^ a b Tommy, Toxic (April 1994). "ProReview: Escape from... Monster Manor". GamePro. No. 57. IDG. pp. 58–59.
  16. ^ Wynne, Stuart (1995–1996). "Review: Escape from Monster Manor – A laughing skull, howling ghosts and a hanged man make for an extraordinairly packed haunted house". 3DO Magazine (Special Gold). No. 1. Paragon Publishing. p. 38.
  17. ^ Otto, Dr.; R.I.P. (March 1995). "The Final Word game review – Escape from Monster Manor – Electronic Arts". Game Zero Magazine. Game Zero. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  18. ^ "Tests Express... Escape from Monster Manor (Electronic Arts)". Génération 4 (in French). No. 63. Computec Media France. February 1994. p. 75.
  19. ^ Lord Casque Noir (February 1994). "CD Tests: Escape from Monster Manor – Trop peu d'action, pas assez de décors mais une ambiance réussie". Joystick (in French). No. 46. p. 162.
  20. ^ Forster, Winnie (September 1995). "Spiele-Tests – Monster Manor". MAN!AC (in German). No. 23. Cybermedia. p. 50.
  21. ^ Schneider, Ulf (April 1995). "Real 3DO – Reviews: Escape from Monster Manor". Video Games (in German). No. 41. Future-Verlag. p. 79.
  22. ^ Davila, Mike (April 1994). "Power Reviews: Escape from Monster Manor". VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine. No. 63. Larry Flynt Publications. p. 75.
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