Software:Escape from Monster Manor

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Escape from Monster Manor
Escape from Monster Manor Cover.jpg
Developer(s)Studio 3DO
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
  • JP: Electronic Arts Victor[1]
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[lower-alpha 1] in Japan.

Gameplay

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

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

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGame2.5/5 stars[11]
Edge5/10[12]
EGM6.75/10[13]
Famitsu30/40[1]
GamePro18.5/20[14]
3DO Magazine3/5 stars[15]
Game Zero Magazine30.5/50[16]
Génération 468%[17]
Joystick73%[18]
MAN!AC73%[19]
Video Games67%[20]
VideoGames8/10[21]

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.[14] 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

  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

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Famitsu staff (April 29, 1994). "新作ゲームクロスレビュー" (in ja). Weekly Famicom Tsūshin (ASCII Corporation) (280): 75. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named DragonEfMM
  3. Matthews, Will (December 2013). "Ahead of its Time: A 3DO Retrospective". Retro Gamer (Imagine Publishing) (122): p. 26. 
  4. Skelton, Mindy (March 1988). "Leo Schwab Is Just Having Fun". .info (Info Publications Ltd) (19): 47–9. https://archive.org/details/Info_Issue_19_1988-03_Info_Publications_US/page/n45/. Retrieved July 16, 2022. 
  5. Schenck, Ben (March 1991). "Graphics". .info (Info Publications Ltd) (37): 20–3. https://archive.org/details/info_Issue_37_1991-03.info_Publications_US/page/n19/. Retrieved July 16, 2022. 
  6. Means, Ben and Jean (December 1990). "Interview with Leo Schwab, Creator of Disney's The Animation Studio". Compute! (ABC Publishing) (124): A8. https://archive.org/details/1990-12-compute-magazine/page/n133/. Retrieved July 16, 2022. 
  7. Times Roman (April 1994). "The Outside World". Amiga News (Portable Computing International) 2 (3): 8. https://archive.org/details/Amiga_News_Vol._02_No._03_1993-04_Portable_Computing_International_US/page/n7/. 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 (7 August 2022). Escape from Monster Manor: A Source Code Walkthrough (Podcast). YouTube. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  11. Smith, Geoffrey Douglas (1998). "Escape From Monster Manor – Review". AllGame. All Media Network. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=17102&tab=review. 
  12. 12.0 12.1 "Testscreen – Escape from Monster Manor". Edge (Future Publishing) (7): 79. April 1994. https://archive.org/stream/Edge_UK_007#page/n78/mode/1up. 
  13. 13.0 13.1 Semrad, Ed; Carpenter, Danyon; Manuel, Al; Williams, Ken (March 1994). "Review Crew – Monster Manor". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Sendai Publishing) (56): 38. https://archive.org/stream/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_56#page/n37/mode/1up. 
  14. 14.0 14.1 Tommy, Toxic (April 1994). "ProReview: Escape from... Monster Manor". GamePro (IDG) (57): 58–59. https://archive.org/stream/GamePro_Issue_057_April_1994#page/n59/mode/2up. 
  15. 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 (Paragon Publishing) (1): 38. https://archive.org/stream/3-do-gold-01#page/38/mode/1up. 
  16. Otto, Dr.; R.I.P. (March 1995). "The Final Word game review – Escape from Monster Manor – Electronic Arts". Game Zero Magazine. Game Zero. http://www.gamezero.com/team-0/final_word/3do/escape_monster_manor.html. 
  17. "Tests Express... Escape from Monster Manor (Electronic Arts)". Génération 4 (Computec Media France) (63): 75. February 1994. http://download.abandonware.org/magazines/Generation%204/generation4_numero063/G%C3%A9n%C3%A9ration4%20063%20-%20Page%20075%20%28f%C3%A9vrier%201994%29.jpg. 
  18. Lord Casque Noir (February 1994). "CD Tests: Escape from Monster Manor – Trop peu d'action, pas assez de décors mais une ambiance réussie". Joystick (46): 162. http://download.abandonware.org/magazines/Joystick/joystick_numero046/Joystick%20046%20-%20Page%20162%20%28f%C3%A9vrier%201994%29.jpg. 
  19. Forster, Winnie (September 1995). "Spiele-Tests – Monster Manor". MAN!AC (Cybermedia) (23): 50. https://archive.org/stream/MANIAC.N023.1995.09/MANIAC.N023.1995.09-DURiAN_Searchable#page/n49/mode/1up. 
  20. Schneider, Ulf (April 1995). "Real 3DO – Reviews: Escape from Monster Manor". Video Games (Future-Verlag) (41): 79. https://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=t&id=15920. 
  21. Davila, Mike (April 1994). "Power Reviews: Escape from Monster Manor". VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine (Larry Flynt Publications) (63): 75. https://archive.org/stream/Video_Games_The_Ultimate_Gaming_Magazine_Issue_63_April_1994#page/n76/mode/1up. 

External links