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Get Lamp

Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 3:12 am
by Amby
This has probably already been discussed, but I just want to remind everyone here about "Get Lamp" - the documentary about adventure games. I have been looking forward to this since I bought this filmmakers BBS documentary.

Website: http://www.getlamp.com/

Youtube previews:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzOPVe7Usms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwZxUGmqSOo

Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:52 am
by Mark
Now that looks awesome! Never heard of it before, but looking forward to it very much. Any idea when it will come out? Seems to be in production for quite some time already...

Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 12:15 pm
by Mr Creosote
It's scheduled for release in March 2010. The opportunity to pre-order (for 10$ off) ends with this year, though, so better hurry! Disclaimer: I'm not involved in the project.

Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:51 pm
by Gunness
Thanks for the heads-up regarding the discount - this should make for an entertaining package!

Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 4:03 pm
by Gunness
I just took another closer look at the interviewees. It certainly contains an appetizing selection. I was rather surprised to find FPS maestro John Romero in there, but it turns out he worked on Infocom's Shogun.

Seems that he's covered the American scene very well, including most (all?) of the Infocom luminaries. I was disappointed, though, to see a distinct lack of British authors. I'd love to hear from the Level 9 and Magnetic Scrolls people, among others.

Still, order placed, of course :)

Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 4:08 pm
by Mr Creosote
Gunness wrote:Seems that he's covered the American scene very well, including most (all?) of the Infocom luminaries. I was disappointed, though, to see a distinct lack of British authors. I'd love to hear from the Level 9 and Magnetic Scrolls people, among others.
Same here, though I think this reflects how Text Adventures are predominantly represented on the Internet. It's pretty much the same with all other kinds of classic computer games: The large European legacy is widely ignored, US and Japanese products are the only ones with any mindshare.

Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 5:26 am
by Eriorg
There's an interviewee talking about British text adventures, Richard Hewison, who was (among other things) a beta-tester for Magnetic Scrolls. But I don't know if there are any others. Even in more recent IF, I didn't notice any important British authors in the interviewees, such as Graham Nelson or Eric Eve...

Well, Jason Scott is American himself, so it was maybe easier (and not as expensive!) for him to organize interviews in the United States, rather than flying to Europe with all his video equipment.

He also seems to be a really huge Infocom fan; see this text at his Textfiles site: "Every once in a while, a company or group of people enter an industry (or create it) who are so far ahead of everyone else, so absolutely the best at their craft, that others stop even referring to them and just concentrate on doing the best they can compared the rest of the competitors. In this case, the industry was Text Adventures, and the company was Infocom." Personally, I love Infocom too, but I can't help thinking that's a bit exaggerated (except maybe for the early 1980s)...

Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 1:26 pm
by Gunness
Eriorg wrote:Personally, I love Infocom too, but I can't help thinking that's a bit exaggerated (except maybe for the early 1980s)...
My thought exactly! Perhaps Magnetic Scrolls didn't break a great deal of new ground (except for the wonderful graphics and the occasionally really odd storylines :)), but neither did the latter Infocom titles.
Speaking of MS, from what I know Anita Sinclair isn't very interested in being contacted about their past games.

Of course, I understand the practical obstacles of having an American coming to UK (or worse still, various European countries) and travelling around to film authors who are all over the map. Still, I can't help but feeling that it's a bit of a missed opportunity.

But at the end of the day, I'm still very impressed with the job Jason Scott has done, and I'd be an ungrateful bastard if I didn't appreciate the result.

Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 4:08 pm
by Mr Creosote
I'll be looking forward to it in any case. Also to Jacob's alternative documentary about European Text Adventures! ;)

Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 4:24 pm
by Gunness
Hey, I'm working on it :D Given the speed of which I've interviewed people so far, I guess I'll have all of the European writers covered around the year 3000!

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 11:54 am
by Gunness
Well, it seems as if the dvd's are almost ready to ship. Including a genuine Feelie (tm). Ohhhhhh :D

Yeah, I know I've been whining about the lack of non-American writers, but I know I'm going to love every minute of it, anyway.

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 3:14 pm
by Eriorg

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 9:51 am
by Gunness
I don't know how many of you ordered it already, but I am planning on reviewing it once it reaches my mailbox. I was wondering if anyone else would like to join me in writing the review? It looks like a fairly comprehensive package, so there should be plenty of material to cover.

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 11:31 am
by Mr Creosote
What do you have in mind?

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 12:50 pm
by Gunness
A collaborative review of some sort. Either with people writing a section each and then somebody (me?) linking them together, or perhaps a back-and-forth style review, with two or more people giving their input to the various aspects of the product.

If Get Lamp is just half as good as the previews would suggest, I think we're in for a real treat and this could be a fun way of doing it. Hopefully.

What's your angle?