Escape from Monster Manor

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Escape from Monster Manor
File:Escape from Monster Manor Cover.jpg
DeveloperStudio 3DO
PublisherElectronic Arts
ProducersStewart Bonn
Trip Hawkins
ProgrammerLeo Schwab
ArtistStefan Henry-Biskup
ComposerRobert Vieira
Platform3DO
Release
GenreFirst-person shooter
ModeSingle-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 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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  7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Schwab, Leo (September 24, 2012). Let's Play – Monster Manor, YouTube. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  9. ^ Escape from Monster Manor - GitHub
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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  15. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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  22. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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