Anyone interested in remaking Zak McKracken?

[PetuniaCon1413]

So we all agree that Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders was an important game.  But it was extremely flawed.  I have tried to love this game so often, but it is so hard.  So I propose a fan remake.

It would be relatively simple to do.  Ripping all of the graphics and music from the FM Towns version, the new version would have an improved interface, taken from DOTT, and be far more linear.  Major changes would include the ability to look at everything, and do far more interaction and exploration, with constant commentary from Zak.  There would also be conversations with the different characters, including constantly updated and location appropriate ones with Annie.

The game would be linear in the sense that the game tells you where to go, and gives you hints on what to do.  Zak and Annie would decide together where to go, and there would be far more necessary interaction between the two characters.  In essence, it would be less overwhelming, and would feature a tighter storyline.

I have been working on writing all the necessary dialogue, and I have the example of Zak's apartment, both rooms.  It's not too tidy at this time, but I'm sure you will get the idea.  It shows each item in the room, and the unique descriptions he gives depending on which action you use.  If they repeat, it means that there are multiple random descriptions, or they change after a specific action.

I will be responsible for the entire script, but I need someone who can program, and rip the graphics from the FM Towns version.  If anyone is at all interested, I think it would be very fun, and make the game more enjoyable for anyone who wants to play it, including ourselves.  Like I said before, it would be relatively easy and quick to make, since no original graphics or music are needed.  However, if anyone has the time or expertise, a talkie version would be quite fun...



Here is an example of the work I have done so far:

San Francisco:
Zak's Bedroom:

Zak: Oh boy!  What a strange dream!  I wonder if it could have meant something important...  I should make a drawing of the map I saw before I forget.   First thing's first, though.  What should I take on this bogus trip to Seattle?

Ticket:
Look: Point of departure: San Francisco, CA.  Destination: Seattle, WA.  Value: $260.  Ticket is refundable.  One way!?!  That cheap slob!

Bed
Look: It's my bed.  It's comfy enough, but it may be the cause of some of my lower back problems.

Use: This is no time for sleeping!  It's the middle of the day!

Dresser
Look: It's my dresser.  I shove everything I try to forget about in there.

Open: I should open the drawers. 

Dresser Drawer
Look: It's the top drawer to my dresser.

Open: There's just my phone bill in there.

Look: It's empty.

Phone Bill
Look: $1138!  I'd better pay this soon!

Sushi In Fish Bowl
Look: It's my best friend and companion!  Sushi never let's me down or leaves my side.

Talk To: Hi little Sushi!  Is your day as stressful as mine?

Talk To: Would you like some more fish food?  I'm hungry too.  I need to go shopping for us.

Talk To: Do you think I should go write this story, or should I rebel against my journalistic oppressors?

Talk To: Do you ever think I will find true love?  I mean, besides you, of course.

Pick Up: I don't think Sushi wants to come with me on a bogus assignment.

Push/Pull: I would never taunt Sushi!

Window Shade
Look: If there's anything to complain about in this apartment, it's the view.  Whoever thought an American city could be so dirty and dangerous in this futuristic era?

Open: It's too cold outside, thanks to the ozone layer depletion...

Pull: Boy, it's dark in here now!

Pull: That's better!

Cat Clock
Look: How tacky.  It came with the apartment.  And it's permanently attached to the wall!

Use: Gosh, it's getting late!

Pick Up: It's attached to the wall with nuts and bolts!

Plant
Look: His name's Chuck.

Talk To: Hi Chuck.  He's not as talkative as Sushi.

Pick Up: I don't think Chuck will help out much on this mission.

Telephone
Look: It's state of the art.  I don't like to use it much these days.  Something about it hurts my ears...

Use/Pick Up: I have no one to call right now, I guess...

Receiver
Look: I think I talk into this...

Answering Machine
Look: Since I'm gone so often, this thing comes in handy whenever anyone calls. 

Use:  No one's left a message.

Lamp
Look: It's my lamp.  I use it to light up my room when nightfall comes.  Jeez, I sure state the obvious sometimes, don't I?

Use: Boy, it's brighter in here.

Look: It's too bright!

Desk Drawer
Look: I keep stuff I care about in that one.

Open: My Kazoo!

Look: It's empty.

Kazoo
Look: This represents all my musical knowledge and talent.  And I'm not even very good at it.  But it helps my self esteem because I like to think it looks cool when I play.

Pick Up: Key of Sea Kazoo.

Use: That's the only song I know.

Plastic Card
Look: I can't make out what it says.

Pick Up: Oh no, I pushed it way under the desk!  Nice one, Zak.

Pick Up: It's way under the desk.

Use Phone Bill With Plastic Card
Zak: That got it.  Yay, it's my CashCard!

CashCard
Look: Zachary McKracken.  It shows my balance on the card.

Rug Corner
Look: It's a very understated and stylish rug, if I may say so myself.  This corner sticks up for some reason.

Pick Up/Pull: Hmm...  Maybe I can get to the bottom of this.

Loose Boards
Look: They seem to be loose.  I could probably get through them.  My landlord would kill me though.

Pull/Pick Up: They're not THAT loose.  I'll need some help.

Loose Wallpaper
Look: Hmm... a loose piece of wallpaper.  That could make some good drawing paper in a pinch.

Pick Up/Pull: Whoops!  Maybe this wasn't the best idea...  I could just put a painting there if my landlord comes over.

Torn Wallpaper
Look: Ready to be turned into an artist's interpretation.  I just need something to draw with.

Door
Look: This leads into my living room and kitchen.  That's for your benefit, not mine.  I already know my way around the apartment.





Zak's Living Room

Door
Look: Even though I just came from there, I'll tell you.  It goes back into my bedroom.

TV
Look: This one cost me quite a pretty penny.  It was worth it though.  This is the only reason I haven't lost contact with the outside world completely. 

Use: It doesn't have any controls on it.

Couch
Look: It's extremely comfortable.  This also cost me a pretty penny.

Pick Up: So that's where my remote went!

Remote
Look: State of the art. 

Use: I wonder why it's not working?

Seat Cushion
Look: How did this get on the floor?

Pick Up: Good idea!  This place is a mess!

Power Outlet
Look: Hmm... This could explain a lot...  I should call back the cable company and apologize for complaining so much. 

Power Cord
Look: It needs to be plugged in.

Use Power Cord In Power Outlet
Zak: That should get some juices flowing again.

Use Remote Control On TV
Lori: Good morning San Francisco, this is Lori Amore.  We'll continue with today's top story about the Yale coeds' mission to Mars, after this important message:

Annie: Hello, I'm Annie Larris from The Society for Ancient Wisdom in San Francisco. 

Zak: Gosh, she looks VERY familiar.  Where have I seen her before?

Annie: Our quest for a greater understanding of the past can make a better world today.  But we need your help!  Please deposit artifacts in our 14th Avenue drop slot.  I promise they will be returned undamaged.  Thank you for your time.

Lori: Now from Mars, one of the women who made this dangerous journey, Melissa China.

Melissa: Hi there!

Lori: Melissa, why have you and your friend Leslie traveled all the way to Mars?

Melissa: We had dreams in which aliens told us how to convert our van into a spaceship.  We were told to fly to Mars and await further instructions.  So here we are!

Lori: I see.  And have you received your, um, "instructions?"

Melissa: No.  We haven't talked to any "intelligent beings" since we landed.  But we're willing to wait!  Oops.  My helmet says my oxygen level is low.  I have to go refill it.

Lori: OK, Melissa.  Thank you, and good luck!  We'll continue with today's top story about the stupidity epidemic, after this... uhh... after this... uhh... after this story about the universal stupidity epidemic.  If you've been feeling increasingly stupid lately, you're not alone!  Scientists are baffled by a mysterious buzz that is affecting people worldwide.  The 60-cycle hum seems to come from every telephone line on the planet.  A spokesperson for The Phone Company refused to comment. 

Zak: That's enough TV for today.  I have a plane to catch. 

Sink
Look: It's my sink and it's empty.

Faucet
Look: It vibrates a lot.  I need to get that looked at.

Disposer Switch
Look: That works the garbage disposal.

Use Sink (after garbage disposal is activated)
Zak: Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!  I cut off my hands!!!  I'll never be able to save the world now!!!  Haha, got you.  I'm not really that stupid.  I'm not going to do EVERYTHING you tell me to.

Butter Knife
Look: It's not that sharp, but it could be useful I suppose.

Pick Up: You never know if I have to fight off that stupid two-headed squirrel.

Stove
Look: I've burnt myself many times using this stupid thing.  And it's never worth it.  My food is terrible.

Use: I don't feel like cooking.

Cabinet
Look: It leads under the sink.

Box Of Crayons
Look: This is the best writing utensil I have around.

Pick Up: Hmm.  Only one yellow crayon left.  This could be useful.

Use Yellow Crayon On Phone Bill
Zak: I probably shouldn't.  I might need to turn this in.  Maybe I can find something better to write on...

Use Yellow Crayon On Torn Wallpaper
Zak: I drew the map from my dream on it.  I'm pretty sure I got it right.

Wallpaper Map
Look: Hmm.  I wonder what these places represent.  I think it's of the world before the continents divided.  Maybe I'll make heads or tails of it someday.

Pipe
Look: It must be for the garbage disposal.

Open: I'll need some tools for that.  Or maybe I can learn to harness The Force.

Refrigerator
Look: I hope there is something I can grab quick on the way out.  I'm famished, but I don't have the time to cook anything.

Open: Oh great.  Talk about a banquet. 

Look: Hmm, do I get to take my pick?

Egg
Look: It's a perfectly good egg.

Pick Up: I hope I don't have to eat this raw.

Small Key
Look: It opens my mailbox.

Pick Up: Not a bad idea to take this with me.

Door
Look: It leads outside onto 13th Avenue.


If you liked it, or even if you didn't and can add some suggestions, please let me know.

[nulluser]

-

[blueskirt]

I like remakes, even if personally I'd rather if people remade less Sierra and LucasArts games to remake more underdogs adventures games, games with great story and introducing awesome concept, yet games that nobody ever played because weren't from Sierra or LucasArts, thus were filled with timed events, walking-deads, bad interfaces or illogical puzzles.

But Zak is perfect as it is, at the right dosage between playability and reward upon completing the game, between logical puzzle and good puzzle difficulty, between fun and challenge. Remaking a perfectly playable and enjoyable LucasArts game, just to add only this seems rather overkill to me.

[Radiant]

The non-linearity of Zak McKracken is one of its strengths.

[Helm]

because they weren't from Sierra or LucasArts, thus were filled with timed events, walking-deads, bad interfaces or illogical puzzles.

all sierra and lucas arts games have wonderful interfaces, no walking deads, no timed puzzles and every puzzle is extremely logical.

Okay, don't want to derail this, but most non-LEC and non-Sierra adventure games though the quality varied, were about as oddly designed on the whole as the Sierra/LEC ones. Some where better, some where worse. Most people that played adventure games at played them, I don't know anyone who strictly played LEC/Sierra games.

[Venus]

Sushi In Fish Bowl

Pick Up: I don't think Sushi wants to come with me on a bogus assignment.

You are aware that Zak actually needs to pick up Sushi in her fish bowl?!? And I seriously doubt that Zak and Sushi have such a close relationship, since he doesn't hesitate for even a second to pour the fish into Chuck's pot.

Apart from that, I totally agree with BlueSkirt and Radiant. The game is perfect as it is. Taking away the non-linearity would just ruin it imo.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

I'd be interested to know what about it you consider extremely flawed, and whether you played the original (non-FM Towns) version or not.  The FM-Towns version had some of the most shoddy, ill-conceived background color and texturing I've ever seen in a game.  The phone company floor in particular looks like someone took a 32x32 texture and stretched it into a tile to fit.

[Mr Flibble]

Much like with Loom, I preferred the 16 coloured goodness to be quite honest.

I also would like to know what was so flawed about it, because in my opinion it's a marvellous game. Even the unforgiving parts and dead ends have a certain charm. I remember having a lot of fun having to re-do the flight to Mt Rainier, and indeed Mt Rainier, puzzles over and over to get things right.

[blueskirt]

Helm: Yes, my bad. Real bad choice for word here with "thus" and "weren't from Sierra or LucasArts" because it took both of these companies a few if not a lot of attempts until they started to follow the golden rules. It's what I should have said instead. Remaking adventure games which do not follow the golden rules. The golden rules which are still followed by most of us nowaday, and by this I mean those established by Ron Gilbert in his Why Adventure Games Suck article.

I guess it's a matter of case by case, there are a lot of games that followed those rules, Coktel Visions games, BASS, Simon the Sorceror, Discworld... all these are must play and rare are those who never heard of these. But there is also a lot of games, sometimes a lot of great games, with amazing plot, games that are little gems on their own, games which bring something new to the genre, games that are witty and which are either overlooked, less played or less appreciated because they are buried under a bunch of "Warning, walking deads" signs, or because they got uneasy or outright clumsy interface.

I've seen so many remakes or fangames projects attempts, successful or not, for Sierra games or LucasArts games: King's quest, Maniac Mansion, Space Quest, Quest For Glory, Police Quest, Loom, Monkey Island, Indy... you name it, I've seen it. And I wonder why nobody ever thought of remaking Rise of the Dragon? Seriously. To remove that annoying "one movement/one precious minute wasted" feature. I keep hearing great things about that game and its story, but I've never got real far in it because there's always that pesky bouncer at the bar that keep stealing my pistol.

Or Superhero League of Hoboken. This is easily the best adventure game I played last year. I was missing the awesomeness of SLH so much after I played it, that I had to stop playing AGS games for a little while, because anything else I played in the following days looked pale in comparison and I didn't want to spoil myself a few AGS games. How come there is no fan sequel for it?

Or Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I heard about it countless of time, it seems to have some of the most, if not the most, witty, original and creative puzzles I ever heard of in an adventure game, the Babelfish puzzle, no tea, ">Go South -Are you sure?", yet I'd like to do a little bit more than make 8 steps after I get out of my house before the Vogons nuke the crap out of everything. What can you do with IF, which you couldn't do with a SCI interface, text parser and absolutly every line of text from the game? Would it be a sacrilege to remove a few gratuitous walking deads from that game, like that "Whoopsie, you forgot to pick the screwdriver in your house at the very begining of the game. Too bad. Sound like you will have to restart from the very begining."?

I'd be interested to know what about it you consider extremely flawed

I think he meant 2 things: For one, unlike any LucasArts games released after Zak, it was completly impossible to examine your surrounding, which ruin a bit of the humorous and parodic atmosphere you usually find in other LA games. And for two, this overall feel that you have absolutly no idea about what you need to do at the begining.

The game is separated into 2 phases. The first one being trials and errors and exploration: you think this is a traditionnal LA game, where you can't die or get stuck anywhere, and you mindlessly roam around, explore the various cities, think how to solve the puzzles, map the labyrinths, figure out how to win money, or escape the aliens' laboratory, but you accomplish nothing. You only examine how things work in Zak's universe. Once you figured how to overcome a few of the problems that will give you a lot of troubles later on, the second phase begins: traditionnal adventuring and puzzle solving, where most of us restart from scratch and where you finally solve puzzles and progress into the game and the story, without running out of money, dying, or forgetting to take a few additionnal tokens for the tram.

Personally I thought it was challenging without being frustrating. But if there are more flaws, I'd be interested to hear them too.

[ManicMatt]

*Use remote control with crystal*

I was stuck with that puzzle for so long, that the discs became corrupted with age and I couldn't actually solve it.

Tell a lie, the discs just got corrupted rather abruptly. But I still hate the very thought of that puzzle.

[PetuniaCon1413]

Well... it seems as if the unanimous feeling is that remaking Zak would be a bad idea and a waste of time.  I would be lying if I said I wasn't disillusioned, but there is certainly no point in making a project that would not have an audience.  I do wonder though, if maybe some of this is due to the stubbornness of die hard fans, thinking the original way is the best, no matter what.

I just know that I prefer Maniac Mansion Deluxe far more than the original, due to the superior interface, fantastic music, and better atmosphere, and I grew up with the first version.  It just occurred to me that Zak could benefit much in the same way.

As far as some minor questions brought up in this forum, yes I have played both versions of Zak, and I prefer the FM Towns version, though mainly because of the soundtrack.  Yes I know that Sushi comes with Zak later, but I propose that some of the more ridiculous puzzles could only be achieved after you knew you had to do them (when Zak needs a space helmet, he can then take the fishbowl and dump Sushi somewhere.  I also took an artistic license and expanded upon Zak and Sushi's relationship). 

As far as BlueSkirt's comment on "Remaking a perfectly playable and enjoyable LucasArts game, just to add only this seems rather overkill to me."  I see what you mean, but I think you misunderstand my meaning.  This is far from "it".  This is just what I wanted to show as an example.  The descriptions of exploration would only be one thing, but turning the game into far more of a concise story, complete with multiple chances for dialogue, was the driving force behind this. 

To me, Zak McKracken has always seemed like a brilliant idea that was never fully played out.  Remember, the original will always be available to people who do not like the remake, even though it is getting hard to come by these days.  People who like Zak McKracken HAVE Zak McKracken.  People who do not have it do not know where to find it, and would be overwhelmed if they were to try and play it.  The remake, however, would be easily available online, and easy for first timers to get their heads around, most likely inspiring them to play the original.

Zak the remake would be easy, quick, and fun.  However, if there is no audience, and no one else who is interested in making it, it will forever stay undone. 

[m0ds]

There may not be an audience here but that's not to say there won't be one at all.

However, overkill it may seem. There are quite a few games I would liked to have seen expanded much more, but I wouldn't choose to remake them. Zak fan sequels seem to be very popular. Maybe you could go down that route.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

but I propose that some of the more ridiculous puzzles could only be achieved after you knew you had to do them (when Zak needs a space helmet, he can then take the fishbowl and dump Sushi somewhere

This is actually far more realistic (and preferable imo) than just picking up everything at random with no immediate need or reason for it.  Such things spoil my enjoyment of many graphic adventures.  I'd much rather there was a goal that I knew I needed to solve before I went about picking up a giant mutant ant and a tub of tar and feathers to make a 'Scary Monster' (tm) to scare the bully away.  As m0ds said, this is a small community and I'm not sure why our opinions one way or another should sway you if you are committed to recreating Zak in your vision. 

[MrColossal]

"To me, Zak McKracken has always seemed like a brilliant idea that was never fully played out."

But it wasn't YOUR idea so why are you the one to fully play it out? I urge you to do something original but if you think you'll have fun making this then I fully support that. I don't really have a desire to replay Zak but I love when anyone has fun.

[blueskirt]

Of course, like m0ds said, maybe you are just looking at the wrong place. If I were you I would also ask at the Adventure Gamers, Mix N Mojo forums, and possibly a few Zak communities. Maybe there you will find people interested in such project. And if you still can't find anyone, and since writing seems to be what you like, nothing prevent you from novelizing the entire game, for the experience, for yourself and for those who would be interested in a Zak novel.

[nulluser]

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[PetuniaCon1413]

But it wasn't YOUR idea so why are you the one to fully play it out?

Wow.  That's a fantastic point. 

There's nothing I can really say in my defense, except maybe that no one else is going to do it?  And I don't even think that's a reason to continue, just a reason to explain what I was thinking in the first place.

And if you still can't find anyone, and since writing seems to be what you like, nothing prevent you from novelizing the entire game, for the experience, for yourself and for those who would be interested in a Zak novel.

That's a great idea, actually.  I always wanted to do a novelization of Broken Sword, ever since I was a kid, but it was far too massive for my first novel.  Maybe Zak would be a better first attempt. 

[dodgethesnail]

I must say that a remake of Zak would be fantastic! It is really too bad that no one seems interested.
The way I see it, Zak certainly is not a perfect game, but it has potential. It has several flaws that make it less enjoyable, but a remake could really work out all of it's problems.
*Adding in the much needed dialogue and commentaries would vastly enhance the interaction and depth of the game, and expand Zak's world and the personalities of the characters.
*Preventing Zak from picking up every random object without having a use for it yet would make the puzzle solving process much more fun and logical.
*Making the story linear and systematic so you know what you are supposed to do and why, would keep the story flowing and on track.
*An improved interface would remove unnecessary actions that only take up more space on the screen.
*Preventing Zak from losing the game without even knowing it would also increase the enjoyability and make the game less frustrating.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm no Zak hater. It is a fun game, but often very disappointing because it could be so much better!
If I had the skills, I would do the remake! But I don't, so I guess I will just have to accept it as it is and stop complaining about it. (and eagerly wait for the novelization)

[Radiant]

*Preventing Zak from picking up every random object without having a use for it yet would make the puzzle solving process much more fun and logical.

I disagree with that. In adventure games, you pick stuff up, and most of Zak's stuff is just ordinary items anyway. Blocking players from doing something logical because the character thinks he does not need it yet is simply an artificially increase of playtime, forces the player to retrack later for no good reason, and is rather annoying.

You're comparing apples and oranges. LucasArts made a few games that are linear and have a minimalistic interface. This is not one of those games. It is nevertheless a good game, and this is in large part due to its sense of freedom which comes from both the wide variety of verbs, the non-linearity, and the optional sidequests.

[GarageGothic]

To me, half the fun of Zak McKracken was to pick up everything I could get my hands on (giant bobby pin?) and criss-cross the world at more or less random. I've always enjoyed the paranoid logic of the game, where everything is somehow related  (in some ways it's like a comedic Thomas Pynchon story) and your job is to make these leaps of logic.

I eventually got around to play Maniac Mansion Deluxe, but while it was nice remake, it gave me a been-there-done-that feeling. It didn't give me anything, which the original version couldn't have done. And without the sense of nostalgia, I doubt I would have had much interest in the gameplay. There's a reason why games like this are rarely made anymore, and that those few that do come out are mostly a waste of time (Runaway 2?).
Sure, you could change some parts. Perhaps the money aspect could be removed, at least as far as travels are concerned, but that would also undermine the need for one my favorite parts of the game (Bermuda Triangle). If there was one thing I would change for sure, it would be to make the mazes more interesting. But a large part of your audience would already have played the original, and for these people, the puzzles are merely a matter of routine. I say make a sequel instead, that way you can fix what you consider problem and at the same time give everyone a new experience.