Back in elementary school me and my best friend since kindergarten got hold of "Monkey Island". We spent all the time we were allowed to (and some more) in front of my friends computer. He had an older brother and probably because of this access to the game. When I walked the 3-minute walk from my house to his after finishing my homework, I feverishly looked forward to spending the afternoon figuring out what Guybrush needed to do.
We both were 4 years old when the game came out, so we didn't quite play it upon release. I can't remember exactly how old we were when we played it for the first time, but I can narrow it down to between 7 and 10. For me the magic already started, when we had to combine the pirate-heads on the dial-a-pirate wheel in order to start the game. I thought it was awesome and already felt like an adventurer before even playing. It was the first riddle to solve and it was real! And you could combine those faces in the most hilarious ways!
But why was this game so much fun for me even though I only sat there, next to my best friend and watched him play it?
The main reason for this in my opinion is that I didn't just watch him play. Monkey Island, with it's riddles, it's call for out-of-the-box-thinking and it's often crazy solutions allowed something very unique in these days: a kind of multiplayer.
My friend did control the mouse but this didn't mean only he played the game. We played it together. I told him to try things or go places he didn't think of himself. His hand steered the mouse, but it was controlled by both of us. We pondered the difficult riddles together, consulted in what to do next, how to react...
Now what was my favorite moment in all of this? The first thing I though of was when we figured out that we had to use the rubber chicken on the cable. That was such an awesome and hilarious moment. Since then, every time I see a cable somewhere I imagine sliding down it with a rubber chicken. For two approximately 8-year-old boys this idea was incredibly funny.
But then I remembered something else. Something that at that time somehow almost seemed tedious: Fighting the pirates. When I think about it now, though, I see that it was SO awesome!
First, it was the incarnation of the kind of multiplayer I mentioned. We figured out how it worked together (we needed some time until we realized how we got hold of more answers), consulted before giving each answer, got better together and finally were (and felt) so skilled that we were able to fight the Sword Master. Only to get ripped apart and try again. Defeating Carla for the first time was one of the most rewarding moments in my gaming career. Hard work and concentration, mustered up in a team effort had led to this victory.
Second, it gave us something to talk about for YEARS. Even though we played it in german, the lines were just great! And they could be used in everyday situations. I don't know how often I unsuccessfully tried the "Look behind you! A three-headed monkey!"-line. We shouted those harmless insults at each other in the corridors of our school and were proud that we knew them.
Today this kind of shared experience of a game (as well as the adventure-genre itself) is getting increasingly rare. Multiplayer in its usual meaning has enabled us to really play simultaneously. Coop-modes even have made it possible to experience stories together. And online multiplayer has provided the possibility to play together no matter if we live 3 minutes or 30 hours away from each other. And while I was (and still am) extremely excited by multiplayer gaming in its usual meaning, I think it's a bit sad that it will probably eliminate the kind of shared gaming I experienced as a kid.
For me it isn't completely gone yet, though. Although I mostly play multiplayer online with a bunch of strangers, I have managed to find games that allow to be played in the kind of collaboration I originally played Monkey Island. Heavy Rain, above all, has managed to deliver in this aspect. I played it with my girlfriend. But I'll cover that story in another "My favorite moments in gaming"-post.
We both were 4 years old when the game came out, so we didn't quite play it upon release. I can't remember exactly how old we were when we played it for the first time, but I can narrow it down to between 7 and 10. For me the magic already started, when we had to combine the pirate-heads on the dial-a-pirate wheel in order to start the game. I thought it was awesome and already felt like an adventurer before even playing. It was the first riddle to solve and it was real! And you could combine those faces in the most hilarious ways!
But why was this game so much fun for me even though I only sat there, next to my best friend and watched him play it?
The main reason for this in my opinion is that I didn't just watch him play. Monkey Island, with it's riddles, it's call for out-of-the-box-thinking and it's often crazy solutions allowed something very unique in these days: a kind of multiplayer.
My friend did control the mouse but this didn't mean only he played the game. We played it together. I told him to try things or go places he didn't think of himself. His hand steered the mouse, but it was controlled by both of us. We pondered the difficult riddles together, consulted in what to do next, how to react...
Now what was my favorite moment in all of this? The first thing I though of was when we figured out that we had to use the rubber chicken on the cable. That was such an awesome and hilarious moment. Since then, every time I see a cable somewhere I imagine sliding down it with a rubber chicken. For two approximately 8-year-old boys this idea was incredibly funny.
But then I remembered something else. Something that at that time somehow almost seemed tedious: Fighting the pirates. When I think about it now, though, I see that it was SO awesome!
First, it was the incarnation of the kind of multiplayer I mentioned. We figured out how it worked together (we needed some time until we realized how we got hold of more answers), consulted before giving each answer, got better together and finally were (and felt) so skilled that we were able to fight the Sword Master. Only to get ripped apart and try again. Defeating Carla for the first time was one of the most rewarding moments in my gaming career. Hard work and concentration, mustered up in a team effort had led to this victory.
Second, it gave us something to talk about for YEARS. Even though we played it in german, the lines were just great! And they could be used in everyday situations. I don't know how often I unsuccessfully tried the "Look behind you! A three-headed monkey!"-line. We shouted those harmless insults at each other in the corridors of our school and were proud that we knew them.
Today this kind of shared experience of a game (as well as the adventure-genre itself) is getting increasingly rare. Multiplayer in its usual meaning has enabled us to really play simultaneously. Coop-modes even have made it possible to experience stories together. And online multiplayer has provided the possibility to play together no matter if we live 3 minutes or 30 hours away from each other. And while I was (and still am) extremely excited by multiplayer gaming in its usual meaning, I think it's a bit sad that it will probably eliminate the kind of shared gaming I experienced as a kid.
For me it isn't completely gone yet, though. Although I mostly play multiplayer online with a bunch of strangers, I have managed to find games that allow to be played in the kind of collaboration I originally played Monkey Island. Heavy Rain, above all, has managed to deliver in this aspect. I played it with my girlfriend. But I'll cover that story in another "My favorite moments in gaming"-post.
Christian is an enthusiastic gamer since childhood and writes his own blog at:
http://insearchoftheperfectgame.blogspot.com/
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