The Gadget Helpline: RETRO REPLAY feature will bring you a regular throwback to the days of old school gaming and will present a little history on the new wave of classic titles currently getting a revival on our modern gaming gadgets.
This week we’ll take a look back at the crudely classic MS-DOS game Leisure Suit Larry in The Land of the Lounge Lizards – as enthusiastic pixel porn fans and a team of deviant developers attempt to get enough support and financing to get the game rereleased for Android and Apple iOS on our mobile gadgets through a Kickstarter project. The idea has already amassed a backing of $299,077 thanks to 7218 supporters (at publishing of this article) and the rebirth of Larry will be overseen by his original creator, Al Lowe!
Developed by Sierra games, Leisure Suit Larry began life in 1987 and his first exploit – Land of the Longue Lizards – was originally distributed on the 5 1/4-inch floppy disk format and featured a 16 colour EGA graphics system and Adventure Game Interpreter engine, which produced a selection of look-a-like games including King’s Quest and Police Quest.
Waking up in a hungover state outside of the now infamous “Lefty’s Bar” (which recently topped the table in Destructoid’s Top Ten Bars in Video Games) Larry, a middle-aged man in matching white jacket and trousers, must be controlled by players using keyboard arrows and typed commands as he travels Lost Wages (spoofing Las Vegas, of course) trying to find the girl of his depraved dreams, from a choice of four pixelated pretties. Land of the Lounge Lizards had a two-hour time limit, but this time could be increased in typical Larry fashion by visiting a “working lady” named Fawn!
All of Larry’s desirable dames would put players through their paces with missions to find certain items or perform tasks in one of the several game zones including Lefty’s Bar, an epilepsy-inducing disco, a corner store (“Dad, what’s a lubber?”) and a 24-hour wedding chapel all of which could be travelled to by taxi. Just don’t step out from the curb, or you’d be ran over and need to be rebuilt and resurrected in the Sierra labs!
Due to the nature and themes of the game, Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Longue Lizards launched as an MS-DOS based game with little publicity or promotion, but soon became a cult phenomenon and many of us remember it fondly to this day, making Larry a gaming hero right up there besides Super Mario and Sonic. It’s this fan base that has allowed the game to spawn several sequels and even brought Larry to some of our top gaming consoles through Xbox LIVE and the Playstation Network. But the original could never be topped, and the Kickstarter project looks to bring it back for modern mobile platforms we use today. Redesigning the characters and all the favourite locations of the original with the help of creator Al Lowe and offering backers the chance to appear as characters in the game!
Leisure Suit Larry Kickstarter Project
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